First Day

Well, this is the day I've been excited for and dreading for awhile now. Drew started Kindergarten today. Ever since his meet the teacher night, I have been a little anxious about him starting school. Since he's my first and all, it's just a little unsettling to think about sending him into the world without me. What if he gets picked on, what if he doesn't know where to go, what if he doesn't eat his lunch, what if he gets kidnapped from the playground?! I have thought of all these scenarios and more. Brent thinks I'm a little irrational but it's hard to cut the apron strings sometimes. I thought I would be a wreck this morning when I dropped him off but I surprised myself by staying totally cool, calm and collected. OK, at least calm and collected. I took him to his classroom and got him settled in his little chair and said goodbye. The little boy next to him looked like a deer in the headlights and there was a little girl crying. But Drew had a smile on his face and was ready for the day. That made it easier to leave and I was able to go home and enjoy my day. Avery and I had fun with just the girls and before I knew it, it was time to go back and get him. It's amazing how fast 7 hours flies by sometimes! It's going to be a good year and I'm so glad Drew is a well adjusted, happy little boy. I love him so much and I'm excited for him to start this new adventure. He didn't realize that he has to go to school everyday so once we established that, he asked how long he had to go to school. When I told him for at least 13 years, I think all that went through his head was that by then he would be allowed to watch a PG-13 movie. I know these years are going to fly by in an instant so I'm trying to enjoy them and not worry about things so much. Maybe I will sign him up for a self defense class just in case...

(This is everything that was on his supply list--quite the list for a Kindergartner!)

(Starting his day bright and early!)

(The official first day of school look)

(I have no idea who this little boy is. Even though Drew sat next to him all day, he couldn't remember his name. I'm sure by the end of the year, they will be best friends or hate each other's guts!)

Summer Vacation

We just got back from a great vacation. My brother, Kris, got married on July 31 and we all headed up to Utah for the wedding. Since Boise is only a few hours away, I decided it would be fun to see Brent's family so I went ahead and made the drive all the way up to Idaho. I packed the kids up and we headed out for a 3 day drive on the open road. They did great and we had an uneventful drive through 5 states and back. On our way up, we stopped and saw Zane and Bridget and their kids. Since they moved back to Utah, we don't get to see them very much so it was fun to spend some time with them.
Then it was on to Boise where Ami so graciously hosted 15 people at her house, (20 including her own family). We had 8 adults and 12 kids and we had a blast! The first night we were there, the kids slept on the trampoline under the stars. I was surprised both my kids wanted to and lasted all night but they loved it. Uncle Quinn was a trooper to stay out there with them, especially since Avery talked his ear off most of the night!We did lots of fun things while we were in Boise: the Boise music festival, the bounce house, the sand dunes, shopping, the water park. It was H-O-T but it was fun. The kids love getting to play with their cousins and I love that they are getting to know the family members we don't get to see as often as we like. All in all, we had a great time and I'm so glad everyone was able to make it! I was sad to leave.
Oooh, what I wouldn't give to have one of these velcro walls in my house. The ultimate time out!

But that wasn't the end of our fun. Our next stop was Salt Lake City for my brother's wedding. It was freaking H-O-T once again and I thought I was going to melt right out of my girdle but the celebrations were fun and we are so glad we got to go. Ashley looked beautiful and Kris was just beaming from ear to ear with his new bride. I didn't really take many pictures because there were a million people with cameras so I put mine away and figured I could get copies of pics later. So I don't have any close ups of the happy couple but there are some on their blog with more to come. We are so happy for them and love them so much.
Brent was able to fly up to Utah and drive home with us after the wedding so it was nice to have that time with him. We are all back to the grind today and life is unfortunately back to normal. I loved the time away and the chance to spend time with our family. Looking forward to the next get-together!

These are all the cousins minus one on Brent's side.
These are all the cousins on my side.

Birthday Girl

Avery turned 3 this week and I can't believe it! Time has just flown and she is getting so big. We had a family party at my parent's house and the next day, she got to have her friends help her celebrate at, where else, Chuck E. Cheese! She had so much fun and she loved being the center of attention all day!

Happy Birthday Avers! We love you!

4th of July

We had a great 4th. We went to the parade and then to the festivities at the park. Our branch had a barbecue and then everyone drove over to the park to watch the fireworks. Hereford actually put on a good fireworks show and it capped off a great day!

(I love how he smiles with his whole face!)

The motorcycles in the parade were a little too loud for the kids.
(Brent put the Smart Car in the parade.)

(Drew tried to dunk the football player in the dunking booth.)
(Distracted by bubbles on the way to the car.)

Girls Camp

I survived! And I had a great time! It brought back a lot of great memories and I am so glad I was able to go with the girls. The Stake sent everyone home a day early because there was some kind of virus that spread through camp and half the girls got sick. One of my girls got sick at camp and by the time we got home, all three of them were sick. They are feeling much better now so it didn't last too long. They think it might have been something in the water because some other campers down the road got sick as well. It managed to bypass me so I was able to drive the girls home with no problems.
I had to snag these photos from another website so I can't get them to go any bigger. Just get out your magnifying glass and enjoy the proof that I can rough it in the mountains for a few days! It didn't hurt to go as a leader though because we had access to a flushing toilet. I took one step in the latrine the first day and saw a huge spider crawling in the "toilet". I turned around and slammed the door (and may have let out a squeal and a dry heave) and never stepped foot in that nasty thing again. I have to give props to the girls that used it everyday because I would rather dig a hole and squat in the woods than pull my pants down in a latrine. *shudder* Bleck!
(And in case you were wondering, Avery's hand is doing much better. It's amazing how fast those little bodies heal. I was able to track down a calling card at camp and call home to check on her and by the time I got back, the blisters had popped and two of her fingers had completely healed over.)

Bad Mother Moment

I am leaving to take our Young Women to girls camp tomorrow and of course, I can't leave for 5 days without some sort of mishap right before I pack off to the middle of the woods. But, I have to admit, this one was 100% my fault. I was preparing the last little bit of packing today and decided to make some popcorn and put on a cartoon for the kids so they would be entertained while I finished up my to-do list. We were out of microwave popcorn so I decided to use our stovetop popper. Avery wanted to help so I told her to go ahead and help turn the stirrer. I was right next to her the whole time and I reminded her no less than 5 times that the stove is hot and not to touch it. When the popcorn stopped, I turned off the burner and pulled the popcorn popper off. The second I turned around to grab the bowl, she reached over and put her hand on the still hot burner. She instantly started to cry and it took about a nanosecond for me to realize what had happened. I dropped all the bowls and grabbed her because I knew she had just burned her hand. It immediately started to bubble up and I immediately felt horrible! I rushed her to the sink and put it under cold water and told her to sit there while I rounded up Drew and everything I might need for a little visit to the ER. Luckily Drew was able to stay with Brent at work while we went to the hospital. The good thing about a small town ER is we are probably the only action they had seen all day. We were in and out in less than an hour. Avery has second degree burns on all 5 of her fingertips and her palm was burned also. I Feel Awful! It happened so fast and she is hurting pretty bad. She is doing so good to keep her little ice pack on it but every once in a while, the pain sets back in and she just starts crying. It's so sad. They wouldn't cover the fingertips so they could breathe and heal and I think they are itchy too because I keep catching her trying to rub them on her clothes or something trying to relieve the pain. :(

I feel bad leaving her but I know Grammy will take good care of her and give her all the TLC she needs while I am gone. This was a lesson learned for both of us.Look at that sad face! I told her to hold up her hand but she wouldn't take it off of the ice pack so she is holding up her good hand. Little bandages are so pitiful. :(

A Good Day

Today was a good day for Drew. He was able to overcome a fear and I am so proud of him. He had swim lessons this week and each day, they end the swim lesson by letting the kids go down the big twisty slide. Drew was very apprehensive to go down alone so he insisted on riding down with his teacher. (I can't say I blame him. It's 3 flights of stairs to the top and it is pretty intimidating to a little kid.) I told him that he needed to make a goal that by the end of the week, he would try to go down the slide all by himself. He agreed but each day still insisted on going down with his teacher. We threw in a little extra incentive in the form of a new Indiana Jones video game (I am not above bribery!) and he has worked himself up all week to go down the slide by himself. I would catch him talking to himself as he tried to psych himself up. He would say "OK, Drew. It's going to be ok. Just be brave and your teacher will catch you at the end. I know you can do it. And just like dad said, it won't be so bad. Just don't be afraid Drew- you can do it." It was really sweet to watch him prepare his mind. So on the last day of class, it was time for the slide. He held his teacher's hand all the way up the stairs and on the first run down, he just couldn't bring himself to go down alone so she rode with him. I went over to the side of the pool and gave him a little pep talk to encourage him to try again all by himself and up he went for the last time. Avery yelled up to him, "Good job Drew-friend! You can do it!" (She had been encouraging him all week while he stood at the top waiting his turn. Very sweet.) I have to admit, my heart was pounding. I knew how scared he was but I knew how badly he wanted to be brave. The next thing I knew, he was coming around the last corner of the slide All By Himself!!! I was so happy for him. As soon as he landed in the water he screamed "I DID IT!! MY DAD IS GOING TO BE SO PROUD OF ME! I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO CALL HIM AND TELL HIM HOW BRAVE I WAS!!" As cheesy as it sounds, my heart leapt and I almost cried! Avery jumped up and down and said, "He did it!!" I am so proud of him for overcoming his fear and for giving it a try even though he was scared.
When they asked him if he wanted to go down again, he said "Nope!" and took that life jacket off as fast as he could. Enough bravery for one day!