First Day of School 2010

Summer is over. Another school year has arrived. Here we go again with the early morning rush, the always daunting lunch packing, and tighter schedules. This year we have a 3rd grader, a 2nd grader, and a kindergartner. It's a new adventure for all, including Mom who only has one little one left at home. Emmalin wandered around the house looking for the kids all day. They were definitely missed!

Here they are taking the obligatory "first day of school picture".

Carrigan excitedly waiting for kindergarten to start. She says school is awesome but won't eat her lunch or snacks because Mom isn't with her. She scarfed down her lunch in the car after school.

"How was your first day?"...

They were so worn out after a terrific first day of school. Here they are having a little snack and enjoying a few minutes of TV while Mom cooked dinner.

Gage's 9th Birthday

Gage turned 9! That is crazy to me. He is growing up right before my eyes, and way tooooo fast. He is a wonderful part of our family. Always helpful and aware of the needs of his sisters. He can be ALL boy, but he can also be calm and sweet. At present time his favorite color is red (which changed this year. It has always been green), his favorite dinner is french dip sandwiches, he loves anything shark related, and he's about to start 3rd grade!

The bulk of his gifts were lego related, which he couldn't be more thrilled about.
He also got a pogo-stick. He seems to be a natural at it. He wants to keep getting better and better until he can manuever around the house and eventually go up and down the stairs. Nothing wrong with goal-setting!

Don't you love spontaneous fun!?! We were blowing up balloons and one shot off the end of the air pump, sending it sailing all around the downstairs. The kids hooted, hollered, and chased down the balloon. This fun game lasted for quite some time and completely wore them out!

Next up-- the birthday cake! ALWAYS a Texas Sheet Cake for this boy! It is his absolute favorite! Silly me thought we had plenty of birthday candles. When I went to get them out of the cupboard I realized I only had 7! So we lit the 7 candles, had him blow them out, and then lit 2 more! He thought he was the coolest! Love when something that could has been a catastrophe turns into something okay! PHEW!!

Happy Birthday little man!!!

Feeling Old

I celebrated my 37th birthday this past week. We have a tradition in our family that the kids make my cake. I found a recipe a few months back for a yummy looking cake and so I steered the kids in that direction. I measured out all of the ingredients and they went to town. I did the parts that involved the oven or stove but they did the rest. They did a wonderful job making this delicious Caramel Cake!! Mmmmm! Thanks kids! Phew-- that's ALOT of candles...

Kimball

Kimball was recently called to be the Young Men's President in our ward. He had been serving in the Stake Young Men's Presidency and really grew to love the young men. He is excited for this new challenge and a chance to get to know the boys in our ward better.

These are a few pictures from a recent stake YM/YW activity. I love this action shot (thanks Kary) of Kimball being taken down by our Bishop in a game of mud football.Those who know Kimball know what fun he can be. He loves to laugh and to make people laugh. He loves to play and have fun like in these pictures. I love that about him. But I also love that he can be incredibly spiritual and lead our family in choosing the right. He has a way of explaining the gospel that just makes it so clear and simple. I know he will be a wonderful leader for the Young Men he is serving just as he is a wonderful leader for our own little family.