Carleton, Robyn, Apollo & Annie

First day of preschool. It's so cute to see Annie's little clothes laid out on her bed the night before preschool. Annie and Apollo love to choose their own outfits. Last preschool, Apollo came out with blue sweatpants, a brown polo-type shirt with a floppy collar (with a clip-on tie attached to one collar side), and light brown boots. Right now I let him do whatever he wants. I've heard that if you let them make decisions now, they are better able to make decisions later. I'll have to figure out my strategy when kindergarten comes. Annie asks me if she looks pretty in some of her funky outfits, and (not wanting to lie) I say, "YOU are pretty Annie." She did a great job today (her second day) and on her first day with her clothes. I have to admit, I teared up taking Apollo to preschool. My boy is getting big. I love my kids and love being with them. I will miss him when he goes to kindergarten.

Annie was soooo excited for her first day. She was chanting 1...2...3...Creative Academy! that morning. She wanted to go when Apollo went (his started a week or two earlier than hers). She told me she would talk and chat with the kids and make new friends. When we got there, I asked Matthew (another student) what his name was. He said hi to Annie but she was just quiet. The only indicator that she was nervous at all was before we left she said, "I will be sad when you leave me." I made her a foil heart and put it in her pocket and told her that if she was sad she could think of me and know that I loved her...that I would be back soon, and she could have a fun time. She had no problem, as she was playing with playdough when I left. She looooooves school and comes home so excited to talk about it.

Apollo loooooves school too! This is the first time I haven't run the preschool or done a coop preschool. I wanted him to be in a classroom with a teacher he didn't know before entering kindergarten. Apollo can be slow to warm up to new things so I read about other kids like this and tried to do things to make his beginning successful. I packed a surprise in his lunch and told him he could only look at it at lunch time-we picked out a fun lunch-I gave him his own heart and have him the same spiel I gave Annie-we talked about what would happen and that I wouldn't be there-I wrote him a note and put it in his back pack. When we were home, he asked if we could go back yet.

We love getting our Halloween stuff out every year.

Apollo's soccer.

Apollo's fans. For fun, we wore face paint to support Apollo. Annie liked taking pictures with the camera. I don't know if she's watched much of Apollo's practices, but she enjoys playing with the soccer balls, climbing the trees, and playing.

Michelle's Wedding.
Family Barbeque the night before.

The day of...

Mommy and me preschool. Since Annie goes to preschool one day a week (and Apollo two) we do our own thing that day. She helped me bake.

The kids have been working on their own projects painting a bird house, Thanksgiving corn, Halloween decorations, etc. while I got ready for my Halloween "BOO"tique.

The kids did great on their bake sale. We sold out of our cream cheese frosted pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. We'll be making more for Thanksgiving time. They're saving up for "a Lego set and a puppy with its house."

SeaWorld. We have a "Fun Day" Monday where we have field trips, do projects, etc. A fun social thing Apollo and Annie can do together.

Happy Birthday Grace!

I can cross doing a triathlon off my bucket list!!! Every race I do is very emotional, inspirational, and thought provoking for me. This race I thought of my children. I felt like I was showing them that becoming a mother doesn't mean that you become a vegetable and live vicariously though your children. I want to model for them that becoming a mother means setting and reaching goals and living life to it's fullest. So glad that Shannon did this with me. She is a proactive mom...a go getter.

My fans!

We have been very busy!!! We have been gone for three weeks on vacation through UT and ID. Carleton joined me for some of it but for the most part I braved it with the three kids alone...yes, I'm still nursing...and yes I'm patting myself on the back right now. Last week we went boating, this weekend we had three kids stay with us, and next weekend we're driving to UT for Michelle's wedding. We wanted to get a lot in before preschool, dance class, and soccer started.

Fun with Liz and her fam on the beach. The kids had fun together.

We had a blast on the Chapman's dad's boat. We went through the Newport Harbor...BEAUTIFUL! We went out to a great restaurant. I ordered guacamole that had candied walnuts, strawberries, and cucumbers in it. I got the recipe so I'll put it on my other blog some time. I also got a sweet potato and bean burrito. Great company. I surprised Carleton...he had no idea.

Homemade baby food.

I painted the kids' faces during the Olympics. Annie, as always, wanted to do her own thing.

Tanya and I have been working on pieces for our "BOO"tique. The kids picked out some items they could refinish at the Salvation Army too.

For our long road trip, the kids picked out 9 items from Walmart, the dollar store, and I added some from around here. They wrote their names and numbered them (so like items would be separated). Every few hours they would get a new project to work on. I'm not into dvd players in the car and this is a great alternative to keep sanity.

Carleton's annual family gathering. This year it was in St. George, UT. We had a huge house with two pools, volley ball court, golf area, basket ball court...fun. These first pictures are of a little hike we did with the kids in Zion.

Canyoneering. So beautiful. We repelled in these slot canyons.

Rock Climbing.

Even Parks.

Sam was so cute with Parks.

Grace got a pedicure to start off the school year. This was Annie's first "official" pedi.

Thanksgiving Gardens. Great to see Jodi and her good boys. Apollo and Annie had fun with them.

This jumper thing was one of Apollo and Annie's favs. Brave kids.

At Heidi's house we picked our own raspberries and blackberries and made our own jam. We also bottled tomatoes and Heidi gave some salsa to me that she had made. Domestic Divas. My mom joined us at Heidi's house. I got to spend time with Catherine, Jodi, Audrey, Kimberly, Jan, and Emily-great to catch up with family and friends.

So cute.

The farmer let us cut flowers (the raspberry farmer guy).

The kids put on a talent show for us. Maddy is a good orchestrator. She always has the kids busy with creative things.

Jan (one of my mission companions) had this awesome couch in her front yard. So fun to see her cute kids and catch up.

Dad took the kids for a ride in Josh's new Razor.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Audrey is a Vice Principal now-we're in her office! We taught high school together-love her!

The kids had fun with Nate and Catherine's kids. They lived with us in our condo complex before we had kiddos. We traveled through Europe with them...miss you!

Fun at Mom and Dad's cabin. There was a big bike that Apollo rode around on-we bought some cheap ones at a garage sale later.

Mom's so cute. She had a tea party with her tea cups and little cookies for the kids.

Apollo built this plane for Mom's bear. I thought it was darling.

Heidi at her best.

Justin...not at his best.

Dad put dance music on for the girls.

Birds were always hitting the window.

ID state fair.

Apollo's fav animal was the milk cow. Seeing the cows full of milk reminded me of...something.

Had a nice relaxing, yet fun filled time with Mom and Dad. I wish we lived closer!! We look forward to seeing them at the end of this month and at Christmas time.

Peach Days. Our yearly tradition. I needed me a dose of Grandma and Grandpa. They always make me feel great about myself, my kids, my parenting...we had a very special day. I treasure the time I get with them. They are so great with the kids.

Annie's favorite car.

Apollo's favorite car.

Home Again. Annie loves to dress up.

Annie and Parks playing during Apollo's soccer practice.

We love our meal exchanges. For more info check out my creative blog.

Boating in Northern CA. Apollo wake boarding with Carleton.

Skiing. Annie was more into the swimming this year.

Apollo wanted to jump in when ever he got the chance.

Parks with his ladies...Alice and Mia. We had such a great day!!

Tyler discovered Parks had two bottom teeth! Parks has had a lot of firsts lately...crawling, teeth, clicks his tongue, pulling himself up to standing (then falling), says Dada. I was thinking how a third baby could add stress to a family with all the feedings, diapers, etc but he brings such a peace and joy to our family. He is a people magnet with his bright personality...smiles, screams, funny faces.

If anything was tailor made for Annie...this Princess Dance class is!! She ate it up. I asked her if she was scared and she said, "no, I was just excited." She looked so darling. For their last class, they'll put on a dance and they can dress up in full princess gowns, crowns, ribbon-fun for her. She's really been dressing up a lot lately.

Apollo playing with Parks during the class. Apollo is so cute with him and Parks lights up when he sees him. I love how much Apollo and Annie want to play with him so much.

I was a mother of six for a few days. The kids played so well together and Tate and Londyn were so much help. I told Angela that I always want to freeze my kids because I love the age they're at, but after being around her kids, I look forward to the future. I want to sit down and get Angela's tips for raising good kids.