First Day of School 2011

It's that time of year again. The kids were very excited to go back to school. I think they were ready to make new friends. We have been practicing getting up at 6:00 am for the last week so they would be ready to get on the bus at 6:56am for school that starts at 7:40. The morning actually went really well. Anne was nervous to she got up at 5:10am and was all ready and down stairs reading when I woke up at 6. We had scriptures, the kids ate breakfast and they still had a little time to play which is great in their books. I woke up Jackson at 6:45 and we all piled into the car (they wanted us to drive them their first day).

Zac dropped us off and I walked Anne to the gym where the older kids wait for the first bell to ring. I then walked Andrew to the cafeteria where the lower grades sit and read until the bell. They both seemed pretty confident with starting a new school. I feel bad they have had so much experience in doing so.

Anne's 1st day (in her words):

First I went into the classroom then sat down at my seat. Then Mrs. Westhoefer and Mrs. U introduced themselves. Then they gave us Tee Shirts to draw what we did during the summer. Then Mrs. Westhoefer gave us a tour of the school. Then we had snack time. Then we finished our T. Shirts then lunch. We had recess then we had Links with gym and math activities. Then we passed our papers, got our stuff, got on the bus and went home.

Andrew's Day (in his words):

First we went inside the classroom and sat down. We had a white sheet of construction paper on our desk. We drew what we did in the summer that was fun. I drew us moving. Mrs. Davies gave us our homework and our green homework folder. Then we had recess then snacks. Then we had a few minutes of quiet time. Then we had lunch. Then we finished our pictures. Then we got ready to go home then we went home.

How we survive...

When I came down to look for houses I was determined to get a house with a pool in the neighborhood. Well it turned out that I picked a house with out a pool in the neighborhood. Bummer. Real bummer. It is HOT! To survive I bought a blow up pool at Target and we cool off. The kids go back and forth between the play set and the pool. They jump in and get wet then dry off on the swings. I even hop in...it is just too hot to sit out there watching. Thank goodness for cold water out of the hose.

Andrew's Birthday

Poor Andrew....I was so prepared with his birthday. I knew we would be moving so I bought everything ahead of time. I made sure to know right where the packers packed all the presents. Then our stuff didn't arrive...for two weeks. So Andrew's Birthday came and we had no presents. Lucky for us Andrew had two really good sets of Grandparents who sent presents and saved the day. We took Andrew to Cars 2 and of course we had to go to his favorite restaurant Red Robin just like last year and the year before...he loves that place.

So the Sunday after our stuff finally came he was so excited. He and I made his brownie cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips...so much chocolate I thought I would be sick but he LOVED it. I don't know if it was the fact that he hadn't had any Legos or toys for a month but he was SO excited to get his gifts. We should do that every year before his birthday...just kidding.

We couldn't find any other paper for cards so Anne wrote her card right on the package. Isn't it cute?

Splash Park

Megan also took us to a fun splash park/pool. Just what we needed. It was so hot. Andrew and Jackson ran right in but Anne didn't want to wrap up her arm so she and I played WAR on the side. We never did finish that game...

Springfield, MO

Next we found ourselves in Springfield, MO to visit Zac's sister Megan and her family. The kids had so much fun playing with there cousins. Andrew and Hyrum got along especially well. One day they took us to this fun park/farm. The play area was turned into a barn and across the way they had some cows, turkeys, and even some pigs.

One night we dug out our firecrackers left over from the 4th (we never got around to doing them then) and let the kids go crazy in the driveway. They had a blast and nobody caught on fire.

St. Louis - Day 2

I have always wanted to go up into the St. Louis Arch. It was amazing...scary but amazing. I have a real fear of heights so it was hard to look down from such a height but I am so glad that I did. It was awesome.

St. Louis - Day 1

After Nauvoo we drove down to St. Louis. A few months ago I was excited to find out that our good friends from Medical School, the Ballards, had just moved there for Fellowship. Of course we had to stop and see them. We haven't seen them for six years but I swear it was just like I had seen Lynette yesterday. It was so nice to hang out with them again. I loved seeing Zac and Steve hang out and talk shop. The kids had so much fun playing too. Thanks again Ballards for a super fun evening.

Nauvoo

On our way to San Antonio we stopped over in Nauvoo for a few days. Although the weather was rather hot and humid we had a lot of fun visiting all the different church sites and seeing a few performances by the Young Missionary Performers. Jackson loved the band that was pulled around Nauvoo by horse. Anne wanted to play house in some of the smaller cabins and Andrew had fun learning how to make bricks and wagon wheels. We can't wait to go back when Jackson is a bit older so Zac and I can more fully enjoy all there is to learn about in Nauvoo and so we can take the time to go to the temple.