First Day of School!

It felt like such a quick turnaround to get home from our trip on Tuesday evening and have school starting the next Monday.  We had our last playgroup at the pool, swam a few other times, got organized for joy school, met the teachers, and did father's blessings.

On Aug. 22, I decided the time had come for Candy's first hair cut.  In fact, all the kids got trims that day, but Candy's was the most drastic change.  I was pretty nervous to cut at those curls, but it turned out just fine and is still as curly as ever. 

It was so long!  All the way to her waistband when it was combed out straight.

After--cutie.

Before we knew it, Monday had arrived.  I was SO READY this year.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer.  I love the freedom of being able to explore and play and swim and be together.  But boy, having all the kids home all the time makes it super-challenging to stay on top of more than the basics of the house.  The kids were ready for some time apart from each other and I was ready for some routine.  So we were all excited. 

Both girls marched right in this year.  We dropped Brooke off first in the first grade hallway and headed around the corner to the second grade hallway to see Megan off. 



Monday, Aug. 24 was the first day of school.  It was SO MUGGY that day.  I could NOT keep my lens from fogging up like crazy.  Here are the girls before school.

And with a wiped clean lens, all four kiddos.  Yes, Candy and Jack walked in for the drop off in their pjs.  I am like 75% sure I showered before the drop off.  I think.  It was a busy morning!

Brooke ready for first grade!

Megan ready for second grade!

The End of the Trip...

One thing I wanted to do while we were out of the Texas heat was to get up in the mountains and bask in the cool air and hike around a bit.  We were able to squeeze it in on our last free day.  We decided to head up to Mirror Lake in the Uintahs with Dan's parents on Saturday, Aug. 15. 

We stopped at a waterfall on our way up the canyon.  I think it was called Provo Falls, but I don't know for sure.  It was just perfect.  My kids all whined about how cold it was and insisted on jackets as we hiked around a little.  I was in heaven!

My boys...

The fam...

3 generations...

The girls...

When we got to the lake it was BUSY!  But we found parking and even staked out a picnic table.  Then we set off on a hike around the lake.  It was only a mile and a half or so, but it took a while with our slow hikers. 

Our kids really liked this log at the lake's edge.  And so did that random other kid in there who photobombed us.  She was cute :)

Beautiful day, clear mountain lake...

Dan's sisters Michelle and Amberly and their families met us up there.  Michelle and Robby brought their kayak (canoe?) and were kind enough to let us all have turns going for a spin.  Megan and Brooke loved it. 

Our little fish children were not so sure about the FREEZING mountain lake water.  Even though it was hot in the sun (and Dan did get all the way in), when Megan and Brooke attempted to swim out to him, they got RIGHT back out!  Even our Utah cousins shied away from too much time in that cold water.  Jack wanted to be right in the thick of things, but even he started to complain about his cold feet.

Candy hardly got in more than ankle deep, but she was chilled!  She kept trying to warm her hands up in her suit.

After Jack was convinced that the water was cold, he was content to hang out in the stroller and watch all the action.

Savannah, Megan, Will, Brooke, and Michelle out for a ride...

On our way home we picked up some Apollo Burgers for the whole fam and stopped at the store to stock up for our drive home.  My roomie from college, Maren and her hubby Brian came by to eat dinner and hang out for a few hours.  Maren and I have been friends for about a million years now (ok, just 13).  We got married the same summer, and we've had our kids around the same time (weirdly similar schedules with the kids), and if only Riverton and Houston were closer together, we'd still be partying all the time.  Dan and I had so much fun catching up with them.  The kids ran wild but had fun together.  Which is good since I'm planning to arrange a marriage there someday.  We've got enough kids, surely someone will hit it off!

Sunday we went to Heather's ward again for Primary and Sunday School and then dashed over to Dan's parents' ward for sacrament meeting.  His cousin just got home from her mission and she spoke.  So we got a chance to see lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Monday we left EARLY for our long trek home.  We stayed the night in Amarillo and made it home to Houston on Tuesday just before 5 pm.  It was SO good to be home (and out of the car).  Despite the challenges, I love family road trips.  It's so fun to be together and see sights, family, and friends.  Until next time Utah!

Utah Trip continued...

On Thursday, Aug. 13 we got to spend a few hours in the morning with my cousin Jennie and her mom, my Aunt Tobi.  It was so fun to catch up and to hear the little cadences in Tobi's voice and story telling that remind me of my mom. 
We grabbed some Cafe Rio to build up our strength before we spent the afternoon at Heather's making fruit ka-bobs for the luncheon on Friday. Heather, Michelle, Dan, and I made a LOT of ka-bobs.  They looked great but took a while!  We got to enjoy Michelle and Robby's new firepit for dinner that night.  Yummy hot dogs and lots of food.  And it was such a nice, cool evening once the sun set.  We LOVED being out of the Houston heat that week!

Jack was loving the little chairs that were just his size...

Dan and cousin Will getting the fire started...

Jack enjoying his s'more...

Cute 'Lyssa...

Lily, Sara, Candy, and Brooke

Cousin love...or plotting against Will! (That's Ty, Isaac, and Jake in the huddle)

On Friday, Aug. 14, came the reason for our trip!  Ben and Eboni were sealed for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Temple on their 1 year anniversary.  It was such a fun day to spend with everyone.  We dropped the kids off at Michelle's so cousin Savannah could watch them while we went to the sealing.  It started a little late because the temple staff was scrambling to accommodate an earlier sealing that had over 100 people that needed the room Ben and Eboni had scheduled.  So we ended up in a smaller room but it worked out just fine.  The sealing was beautiful. 
After the sealing, we quickly picked up all the kids and brought them up to the temple grounds for pictures.  They were good sports and in about an hour we were all on our way to the luncheon at Dan's parents' church building.  Everything looked great and tasted great and we had such a good time catching up with family. 

I snapped some pictures of all the grandkids and sibling's families while the pro was taking pics of the whole group and Ben and Eboni.

Ours...

Ali and Ben's...

Michelle and Robby's...

Amberly and Spencer's...

Heather and Randy's...

The Happy Couple...

The "fruit" of our labors...hahaha

The spread--including the highlight for the grandkids--a softserve ice cream machine...

Be warned that if you are tipping your ice cream cup to get that last drop, it may end up on your forehead :)

Ben and Eboni with Grandma Great...

Eboni shared her bouquet with the nieces--they were in HEAVEN!

It's tough to be so cute and party so hard all day...

After the festivities, most of the family came back over to chat, play games, eat soft serve ice cream, and celebrate the anniversary.  Ben and Eboni even stayed to hang out!