Happy Birthday Girls!

Four is my favorite birthday! Looking at these faces you can see why. We have been anticipating this day for the good part of this past year as they been compiling a list of things they want. Every where we would go I would hear, "For my birthday mama. I want this for my birthday." And I would agree, "Yes, for your birthday." It was a great way to get out of any store without incident or an empty wallet. I felt very smart. But as August loomed nearer I began to worry. Did they really think they were going to get all those stuffed animals, the real animals, the baby dolls, the fairies, the dress ups, the thing that goes in the water that spins and lights up (????)... and everything else? Boy, this great idea of mine was going to backfire!

But birthdays are magical at that age and when they opened up their measly roller skates and snap and go dolls they were thrilled. No mention was made of the list of things I had agreed upon over the past nine months that were missing; including the squirrel from Jackson Hole, the Dora doll at the grocery store, and the $65 babies at the toy store. Instead they were elated with their yogurt date with mom, trip to the toy store (to actually buy something), cupcake tower, the mound of colorfully wrapped presents, and all the birthday wishes. Good thing they're only four!

Back to School

Braden has been dreading this day all summer... the day school starts again. It's a big year for him though. He's in sixth grade.

How did I get old enough to have a sixth grader?

I remember sixth grade quite vividly. We played double dutch at recess, I wore my hair in a french braid everyday, and we learned German from a video on TV. I was sitting at my desk watching the launch of the Challenger Space Shuttle when it exploded.

Yet here I am and here he is, certainly getting closer to my 5'8". I do enjoy that we wear the same shoe size now though. When I'm looking for a pair of flip flops I can always find a pair lying around.

Emmry has had no problems moving into 1st grade and I'm realizing how fast the days pass. Braden will be 17 and Emmry 13 when this last one enters kindergarten. So until then I guess I better enjoy them... 1st and 6th grade only happen once!

Utah Pilgrimage

Going to Utah is always an adventure, the success of which is a delicate equation between the number of things we break at my parents' house and the amount of fun we've had. We were fortunate this year to have Ryan with us for two of our four weeks, so we may have just come on the positive side this year.

We were determined to truly vacation this year in our home state while visiting family, so we took advantage of all Utah has to offer. We hiked in Little Cottonwood, camped up Ogden Canyon, swam at the neighborhood pool, and surfed at Ogden's indoor wave. We visited museums, zip lined at Park City's Olympic Village, and rode Wicked at Farmington's Lagoon. We trekked up to Jackson Hole for a few days and floated down a creek in Evanston, Wyoming.

Now we did break a few things... perhaps a decorative plate and a pot... the abacus with its beads strewn all over the floor took a while to put back together... and I shouldn't forget to mention the flu that ran like wild fire through the family bringing one to throw up in a sleeping bag and tent and another on the floor of the Sweet's Candy Factory (although that one was likely car sickness). But all in all, we enjoyed the cooler weather, the company of family and friends, and all the activities. We deemed the vacation a success, although that really is relative to who is looking at the equation... me or my parents.