Welcome to our World

It is always sad to hear a great friend is moving away.  In this case that bad news also came with the great idea to take advantage of terrific September weather and go camping and boating at the lake.  These pictures will do the talking for us.  We will miss this family so much when they move away to Boston! Doesn't it look like there is a hole in the picture beside Dan and behind Danny & Michelle?  I'm so sad I'm not there holding Natalie.  I would have much rather enjoyed all this fun than been home sick.

New hair cut:  6" and all the hair that had been dyed red gone. New bikes for K & D: thanks Craigslist.  And swimming gave M the confidence to begin riding a new bike too.  So now I get to see this cute sight when I take my children to school.  It makes my heart happy. We saw the transportation exhibit with the P family before it closed and met friends at the park.  It has been way too long!  And we've made Rockies fans out of our children.  Poor souls.  I was excited to take them and knew looking forward to awesome fireworks would help them sit through the game.  We bought overpriced hot dogs and loved the Rock pile for the freedom it provided and the opportunity to go down on the field.  Dan wanted to grab a picture before it got dark but N wouldn't join in.  Why?  Because when we set out the picnic blanket she assumed it was meal time and therefore we needed to pray first.  (:  I look fo...

After a great neighborhood potluck, complete with wagon parade, face painting, throwing kids around, and trying to make a dirt track on an empty lot, N couldn't contain her excitement at the thought of homemade cookies.  Recently she sticks out her tongue like that to signal when she really wants something.   M was absolutely delighted to start school after having to watch her siblings go off to school without her for a couple of weeks.  She loves loves loves her preschool.  M actually begged to begin going 3 days a week instead of 2, so we set it up for last week.  So far so good.  Makes me so sad she is happy to leave me, but I'm happy for her too.  For the next 3 weeks, swimming lessons consumed our lives.  4 lessons 4 times a week wore us out, but all of our children are doing great!  K, D, and M are finished with their private lessons and are taking group lessons once a week now.  So much easier.  My mornings are st...

Well, the anxiousness for the first day of school is over & done with.  Before our big first grader started us off, we had a s'more making camp fire at my parents house.  K started on Monday, D started on Wednesday, and M began the Wednesday after Labor Day and had a hard time waiting.  K is a totally different student than last year.  She feels so much more confident as a big first grader.  I think it helps her a lot to have Danny with her going to school every morning.  It's not a battle to get her out the door!  If you talked to me last year about this girl and kindergarten, you know this is huge!  I'm glad I got a picture of her at the back to school open house by the class lists because on the first day of school she was so afraid of being late she wouldn't let me take a picture.  She is loving having art, music, and pe everyday.  She likes eating lunch at school with her friends and coming home just in time for an afternoon sn...

We had a marvelous, big adventure to my Aunt Hope's house in northern Wisconsin.  My mother and the six of us flew to Minneapolis and rented a 12 passenger van for the drive up after spending some time at the Mall of America.  She has a wonderful house on ten acres that is simply perfect for young children, especially our boy.  We felt so loved by our extended family and were treated like royalty and spoiled rotten.  It was great to rekindle family ties after not seeing each other for three years.  We visited the WWII museum Hope volunteers at, had a great Saturday on the beach of Lake Superior, saw waterfalls at a state park, completely understood why Duluth beat Provo as the best little city in America, and fell in love with lighthouses.  The children want to go back every summer!  As long as I can get some more pie and rhubarb, I'm in.  Well, that and if airplane tickets were cheaper.  (; We also found out th...