The Kissing Hand

 This is by far one of my most favorite books in our library.

We have read it so many times that it is now a favorite for each of the boys.

 A must do tradition when sending off a kindergartner or when your kids are going through a change that is tough for them.

 Pages are wrinkled and dog eared and lines are memorized.

And now the boys' tiny hands hold millions of kisses that go with them wherever they go.

Not All Cousins Have To Be Boys...

To be FUN!!!

Justin's brother had been in a horrible bike accident and he had to be flown to Salt Lake City for surgery. We were able to go to Grand Junction and stay with my nieces for awhile while their parents were in Utah.

It was a really scary time especially for Claire and Hannah.  We had to become the masters of distraction for a bit and we had the perfect secret weapons... Nathan and Kendall.

The instant we arrived the kids transformed into Mr. and Mrs. Giggles.  It was so great to see the kids picking up right where they left off. 

We played a 3 hour game of monopoly, ate sandwiches, went on walks, played "Are You There" in the dark, fetched with Belle-the dog, listened to piano performances, talked, sang, ate peaches, did spotlights, and snuggled.

We even managed to go to the train station for breakfast and watch how you make toffee at the candy factory while the girls were at school.

We love these "girl cousins" and are so glad their dad is doing better and their whole family is home, together.

This Happened...

And I don't like it.

Kingergarten for Kendall

  My first day of school was Friday, August 23rd.  It was really AWESOME!  I wore a blue shirt and blue shorts.  For breakfast I ate oatmeal with brown sugar and ice cubes.  My friend and my mom took me to school.  My teacher is Mrs. Lawrence and my new friend is Nathan.  The first thing I did when I got in the classroom was walked in the door and put our lunch boxes in a bin.  Then I sat down at circle time.  My favorite part of the day was eating at the cafeteria.  What I didn't like about my day was if you are bad you have to change your card and talk to your parents about a rough day.  When it was time to go home I felt HAPPY and EXCITED because I can see my mom.  Tomorrow I am excited to have so much fun and eat at the cafeteria.

 Well... I'm not going to lie.  The first day of kindergarten was ROUGH.  It started great.  My friend Tamera came and picked us up and we all headed up to the school together.

Excitement filled the car and we exchanged high fives.  We skipped up to the classroom and looked around at lots of kids giving their moms a smile.  Kendall managed to give me a half forced jittery smile and the bell rang.

He locked onto my leg with a white knuckle grip and looked up at me.  He squeaked, "I don't want to go to kindergarten anymore!"

I was thinking in my head, "I know! Lets just run outta here!"

He started to get big alligator tears that filled his eyes.  So did I. Then I got a miracle.  My voice was smooth and not shaky and my tears did not spill out (until back at home) and I tried to reassure him over and over making kindergarten seem to be like the most amazing party of the century but he was not having it.

I managed to walk up to the classroom keeping my let straight while I swung it around so that Kendall wouldn't fly off.

Mrs Lawrence had to pry him off my leg and take him in the rest of the way.  I said goodbye, turned to leave, and didn't look back.

I was glad to be with my friend and grateful that she drove.

When we picked up the kids, I've never been more ready to hug them and hear about EVERY part of their day.

Love, love Mrs. Lawrence and Mrs. O'Brien.  They were Nathan's teachers when he was in Kindergarten.

That was one thing that really helped Kendall to feel better was already knowing Mrs. Lawrence.  We came to the school a lot to help and for all the class parties when Nathan had her.  Kendall knew that she was super nice.

We also got lucky to have Barrett in the same class too! 

Nathan's First Day of 3rd Grade!

 My first day of school was Wednesday, August 21st.  It was AMAZING!  I wore a row boat shirt with red striped shorts.  For breakfast I ate pancakes with syrup.  Tamera, my mom, and Kendall took me to school.  My teacher is Mrs. Fredrick and my new friends are Hannah and Michael.  The first thing I did when I got in the classroom was I went to the carpet and did lunch count.  Then I was made "chair" person.  My favorite part of the day was going to recess and playing two hand touch football.  What I didn't like about my day was NOTHING. I liked everything.  When it was time to go home I felt EXCITED because I wanted to see my mom, dad, and little brother.  Tomorrow I am excited to go to P.E. and recess.

 Exchanging smoochies...

 This guy is over the moon about being a 3rd grader! At Bradford primary the 3rd graders rule the school because they are the oldest before they go to Bradford Intermediate.  Papa says they can really do the "chant" now:

Hey, Hey!

Get out of my way!

I just got back from the USA!

They are too silly!

We got really lucky to get Mrs. Fredrick for Nathan's teacher this year and some really good kids in his class.

I'm excited to see Nathan's growth especially when he is stretched.  I love watching him get so enthusiastic when he tells us what he has learned.

Go BEARS!

Back to School Dinner

 On the Monday before school started we had an FHE full of food, fun, and a lesson on courage.

I was feeling a little medium so the boys really took charge and helped me by doing most of the set up for our dinner.  I just sat there and they asked me where I wanted all the stuff and they put it all together.

When Justin got home from work he brought in a loaf of hot french bread to go with our Costco lasagna (easy peasy) and we had corn on the cob.

After we ate, we had a lesson centered around Joshua 1:9- Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

We watched a movie about Captain Moroni and talked about being brave and strong.

I'm hoping this will help Kendall because he is nervous about starting kindergarten this year, like having a hard time falling asleep at night nervous.

 It's really been tugging at my mama heartstrings.

Ultimately, I feel the peace and know that he will be just fine.  I just wish he felt a little better about it.

My Life, My Heart....

The Fair...

I had recently gone to the files in my mind and pulled out an oldie but goodie.  The fair in my little town I grew up in, Farmington.

The small town feel.  Pies and jams and big blue ribbons.  Dirt floors and shinny goat coats.  Deep orange pumpkins and intricate quilts (preferably ones done by my Grandma). Cage after cage of floppy eared rabbits and stinky big pigs.  Fried cakes and rickety carnival rides.

I was craving my memories and even more yearning for Justin and my kids to get that experience.

We were able to find a small county fair and and although it was not the fair of my little girl days, it completed my desire.

And I made a promise to someday take my family back to that fair in my file box.

(Not to mention my Grandma won like a thousand blue ribbons on her quilt this year and that would be so fun to see.)

Fire Pit Friday Night

 Family fun Friday night rolled around and it was chilly for August!  We decided that a trip to target was in order to get supplies for Smoores. We needed a fire!

We found the JUMBO marshmallows and knew we had to try them.

We picked up a few shirts for Justin, some back to school supplies, ingredients for strawberry milk shakes, tons of gum, and headed home to change into our hoodies and get cracking on a fire.

Turns out that jumbo marshmallows do not disappoint and you get pretty darn full from eating just one.  Extra messy but we voted that its worth it!

The boys took lessons from Justin and became experts on roasting the perfect marshmallow; getting it golden on every side and just before it slips into the fire it somehow found a home in between a graham cracker and a piece of chocolate. MMMMMMMMM.

 Why yes that is a sippy cup that Nathan is drinking out of.

Goofy boy!

Flubber!

 Squishy, gooey, goodness.  That's the fun of homemade Flubber!

It was truly a treat.  I hope I remember to make this again.

FULBBER:

mix together:

3/4 C cold Water

1 C Elmers glue

food coloring

in another bowl combine:

1/2 C hot water

1 tsp Borax

 when borax dissolves add both mixtures together

and pour off remaining water

Monday Evening...

To mix it up a bit we took the boys over to the green filled beauty of Sterne park for FHE.

We sat on the plaid blanket under huge billowing trees and sang songs, read the story about Mormon as a 10 year old boy, and prayed.

A sense of serenity wafted up my body.  I looked up and as the world was still going on all around us, it felt like we were the only ones there.  As if we were stuck in the peace of the Garden of Eden listening to a little boys' choir.

They were extra quiet and their little smiles melted me and before I knew it a game of catch was going on overhead.

Pirates Cove

 Chatfield ward had a fun activity involving water and sun, only the sun did not cooperate.

We could see a storm brewing so as fast as the boys could they grabbed a tube, (Justin in such a hurry that he totally missed his and fell in- Ha, it was so funny!), and they all floated in the lazy river.

Our ward was the only one there so there was not much of a line. Justin and Nathan used that to their advantage and got to hit the water slides over and over.

Kendall and I hung out watching the lightening and waited for the lifeguards to call it.  Finally they did and everyone rushed over to gather under these huge METAL umbrellas.  After figuring out that it wasn't our best idea we'd ever had, everyone gathered under the locker shelters during the storm.

Once again... fun times with the ward!