Another First This Week

Emma also had a first this week. She had her first day of preschool! She was so excited. One of the ladies in our ward is doing a preschool playgroup. I was so happy to not have to do a rotating preschool for her. I just don’t have the energy to do it right now. This was a better alternative. Emma’s had a blast. They learned about the letter A and did apple paintings. She loved story time, but “the other kids were kinda noisy.”

She picked out her outfit and how she wanted her hair. I think she did a nice job:

She was being a little stinker, and was not very cooperative being my model. So sad that she’s hit that age. But It was really fun to have Beka all to myself for a few hours!

Emma came home so excited about things… sadly she’s is taking after her brother and not telling us anything that she did… except about the apple picture, which we were able to bring home today.

We’re going to be a part of it: First Grade! First Grade!

Anyone who went to a kindergarten graduation last year probably heard this little ditty, sung to the tune of  New York, New York.

I will catch up with my blog and the doings of August. But I really wanted to get this blogged before the moment was gone. Riley started 1st grade today. He got on the bus and went off into the world. And mommy was a little sad. It’s hard to let them go. However he was so ready!

The bus was a little late dropping him off... and it sure was hot waiting for him. Now, if we can just get out of him what happened today… that would really be something! I friend of mine posted this poem on her blog which I thought was perfect for today:

First Day of School

He started school this morning,

And he seemed so very small.

As I walked there beside him

In the 1st Grade hall.

And as he took her place beside

the others in the class,

I realized how all too soon

Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as

He first learned how to walk.

The words that we alone made out

When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed

In learning how to write.

It seems as though he must have grown

To boyhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred but hastily

I brushed the tears away.

Lest by some word or sign of mine

I mar his first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with him

And keep him by the hand

To lead him through the places

That he couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear

Was mingled with my pride.

I knew he would no longer be

A baby by my side.

But he must have his chance to live,

To work his problems out,

The privilege to grow and learn

What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy

With friends and work and play;

He's not a baby anymore-

He's in 1st Grade today.

Hope everyone had a great first day!

One Year…

One year ago today our dear mom, grandma and friend returned to heaven. I have trouble believing it’s been a year already. We miss her still, always. Emma I think has had the hardest time with it. She tells us every few days how much she misses her grandma a in heaven. They were really close. Joan truly loved her grandbabies.  And they loved her!

We miss you Joan! But I know you are watching over us. I’ve told Emma that her Grandma is always there, keeping her safe. It’s ok to miss Grandma, but isn’t it wonderful to know that we are a forever family and that we will see her again. I’m am so grateful for the gospel and the peace it brings. I’m grateful to have answers to the hard questions.  

Riley’s Fish

Around about January Riley and I made a deal. He’s teacher had been sending home a word ring. This is a ring that hold sight words. Sight words are commonly used words. Each group had 10 words to learn. In January Riley knew about 70 words. Riley also REALLY REALLY wanted his own pet. I said no to a cat or any kind of rodent. I also put my foot down on another dog. However, maybe we could do a fish. But this wasn’t something I was just going to give him. He had to earn it. I told him that if learned all of the word ring words he could have a fish. That’s 200 words. Riley worked really hard. But as school came to a close, he was still 20 words short. He was devastated. So, we made an amendment to our deal. He could still earn his fish, he would just need to pass of the 20 words with Grandma. It took him a little while, but he finally earned his fish and tank:

He also got a really cool tank:

Sadly, the fish passed away the day before Riley’s birthday. Poor guy. But we went to the store and for his birthday he got 3 new fish:

 

 

We got two goldfish, one orange and one gold. We also got a catfish type fish. She (for Riley told me that it is a she) cleans the tank for us.

If you look carefully at the bottom of the tank in the far back you can kind of see the little catfish. I was so proud of Riley. He reads really well. It’s so much fun to share books with him!

What happened to summer?

Ok, I’ve been a total slacker on with the blog! I have really struggled trying to be inspired to blog… don’t know why. It just is what it is. I’ve been really tired, and quiet time has been nap time for me. That and I’ve been spending my free time playing stupid video games… oops.

Anyway, summer vacation is almost over. Kind of sad about it. Kind of can’t wait. The end of summer means cooler weather should be on it’s way. Of course today it’s 110 outside.

So, what happened in July. I’m not really sure. I know it was pretty hot but not too bad. We had fun play dates with the Delvin family. Riley finally earned his word ring fish (stupid thing died the day before his birthday but that’s another post), got some cute clothes for my kids who all decide to grow at the same time, Allen got his dad’s pool blue, got a new niece, enjoyed Beka’s 4 hour naps… hmmm I think I really need to be better about updating my blog, the old memory isn’t what it used to be (BC, before children).

A few post to try to catch up. We have had a nice summer. July is gone and August is almost go too. Bye Bye Summer!

4th of July

Finally caught up with the blog. At least I’m in the right month now. 4th of July was a ton of fun. We spent Saturday just hanging out, and ran a few errands. I went on a fun bridal shoot with my sweet friend Erin. Then Erin and her sweetheart dropped me off at David and Celise’s house for the North Las Vegas fireworks. Such an amazing spot to watch! The kids had a blast running around the yards and going swimming. And yes, mommy and daddy got in too. Have to, Riley thinks he can swim, Emma’s afraid of the water, and Beka has NO FEAR! UGH! But it was so nice to get cooled off after stomping around at Corn Creek.

The fireworks were amazing as always. We brought the kids chairs, but they didn’t sit in them. As soon as the first firework went off both girls were clamoring into my lap. But then they were happy to watch the big booms overhead.

  I’m trying to be included in more pictures. Riley was off with the big kids this year. Made me a little sad to see him not wanting to hang out with us anymore. But I guess that what you call growing up. After the fireworks were over they kids got to play with sparklers.  And poor Riley grabbed the end of his and burned the first 3 fingers on both hands. Poor little dude. We didn’t even know he had done it until he started complaining about his fingers hurting. I asked him what why, and he finally confessed about grabbing the end and now his fingers hurt. We put his fingers into a cup of water, but he still blistered pretty good.

The final detail of the night I want to record was how well our little niece Faith did with the fireworks. This little girl has always struggled with the fireworks, she is just not a fan of bright lights and loud sounds. But this year she watched the display with no screaming and really seemed to enjoy them!

Yeah Faith!

Sunday was fun. It was great to sing some wonderful music and hear some good talks about our country.  I had super cute dresses for the girls. I got them about a month ago, and couldn’t help myself! They looked so cute, and I wanted to get a picture with the two of them together…. yeah that didn’t happen. Riley insisted on jumping in, which is fine. But… Well you’ll see:

Yeah, someone was feeling a little feisty! Poor Riley. And the only one that kind of sort of turned… Emma is all burly.

So after church we went to Mom and Dad’s for dinner. And I tried again… Same problem with Emma:

But we got a few cute ones of a sleep Beka. We had a bunch of late nights, and little to no naps. She was glad when the festivities were over.

On the 4th we took the kids to see Cars 2. All the kids. It was Beka’s first movie! She did pretty well. She really liked the popcorn. Emma snuggled into Daddy and fell asleep and missed the end. After nap time we went over to Dad Leavitt’s house and went swimming and set off fireworks. Riley braved another sparkler. He didn’t burn his finger this time, which he proudly announced to everyone.  It was a great day and a great weekend.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th too!

June Fieldtrips

I have tried to have at least one fun activity each week. We have 3 really fun trips.

We were invited to go to Anderson dairy. It was fun, Riley had been there with his class and was an “expert” he was so excited to show us the ropes:

  

Eating ice cream at the end was the best part! They were so good, I was really pleased.

Another little trip was to the corn creek nature sanctuary. It was so fun. We went with our friends the Hatchs. The kids had blast running down the path. We ate lunch out there. It was lovely!

 

It was so pretty! UGH and the light!

The final trip we took in June was a long awaited promise to the bird sanctuary. Riley had been asking and pleading to go.

One of our more memorable moments was going to pet the goats. It’s been interesting seeing these fellows again. The last time we were there, many of them were just 1-2 days old. These goats are really pretty gentle. However, Emma is going through a panicking stage. And she flipped out. OK, let me back track. Riley asked to go in. I said sure. Emma asked to go in, and I asked her if she was sure she wanted to go. She was. Now, to get in to the petting part, you have to go through a double gate. Well, Emma went through the two gates but held the second gate open. Two goats went in the corridor, and Emma did to. So there she is suck in a little space with two big goats. And she panicked! She started to cry and scream. I finally was able to get her calmed down.

Well, I asked Riley if he would take her around. As you can see he is an amazing big brother!

Emma finally got brave enough to try it on her own. She was so proud of herself!

     

So, even with all the things we’ve had to do this summer, I’m glad we’ve taken the time to do some of the things that we want to do.

More June Happenings

One of the highlights of June was having my sister Demya and family visit.  We have so much fun with them, and miss them terribly now! We went to the park and played in the water, played in Grandma’s backyard, ate ice cream, and just plain had a blast. 

One of the things we did was getting a new cousin picture:

Pretty cute. I called it a success. I got everyone to look at me at the same time! We also wanted to get some cute Grandma and kids pictures:

Playing at the park was so much fun:

  

We loved playing in Grandma’s playground:

 

And we celebrated my birthday:

 

It was so fun to have them around to celebrate Riley’s graduation and my birthday! We miss the tons. The next time we get to see them they will be a family of 4! Can’t wait to meet my new niece! Thanks for visiting us guys!