Kate Starts School

Kate has started preschool! She goes to school every Tuesday and Thursday morning and then has a field trip every Friday morning. She loves going to school to see her friends and learn and play. There are 4 other kids in her class and she gets to see them all at church, too!

Here she is with her backpack on the first day of school.

Let the Music Begin

This year in 4th grade, Josh and Jake get to play in the band. They each picked out the instrument that they wanted to play. Josh is playing the alto saxophone and Jake is playing the clarinet. I am so excited that they are exploring something new and even more excited that they are so enthusiastic about it. They pull out their instruments each night to practice for "band homework." They practice for at least 20 minutes. Right now there is a lot of squeaking and squawking going on but they improve a little more each practice.

Farmington Mini Golf

We've discovered a fun place to go minature golfing. It's called Farmington Minature Golf and Ice Cream Parlor. Not only can you go have a good time golfing but you can also have a yummy treat afterwards. When I asked the kids if they wanted to go today, there was no objections. The whole way there, Kate kept insisting that she was going to win at golf. When we were playing she kept putting her ball right by the hole and hitting it right in. She would cheered and say "I got it." I guess we can teach her the more technical rules when she is older. The boys did a great job playing and everyone had a great time. Josh even got a hole in one!

Jake, Josh, and Kate waiting for our turn on the next hole. It was a busy day here today!

Kate walking to the hole.

Kate watching the ball go in the hole.

Jake teeing off.

Josh teeing off.

Kate hitting her ball in the hole.

Waiting our turn.

The after game treat. Kate picked a sucker.

Kate being silly.

Josh and Jake with their milkshakes.
Josh had strawberry and Jake had peanut butter cup.

ESPN Day at Lake Compounce

Every year ESPN hosts a day for all employees and their families to go to Lake Compounce, an amusement park similar to Lagoon for all you Utahns. ESPN provides admission; all the food, drinks, and treats you can eat; entertainment; and even tickets for you to play games. We were able to go this year and spent most of the day there. Despite it being one of the hottest days since we've been here, we had a super time.

This ride was a favorite of Kate's. The Catepillar Train. She went on it several times. It's a train that takes you around this track where you see giant bugs. Here's Josh, Jake, and Kate.

Here's Kate with some friends from our ward whose dad also works at ESPN. They are on the Catepillar Train.

Here's me, Josh, and Jake getting ready to get soaked on Thunder Rapids.

And get soaked we did!

Kate on the motorcycles.

This ride is the first rollercoaster I went on at the park. It pulls you up going BACKWARDS and then shoots you off. You go through lots of twists and turns and even go upside down a couple of times. Believe or not, Josh went on this ride more than once! You can't see from this picture, but Josh and I are at the very top of the coaster getting ready to be shot down.

Here we are coming back. I felt a little woozy after that!

While Josh and I were on the coaster, Jake took Kate on the car ride. It may look like no one is driving, but look closer. You'll see a little head poking just above the steering wheel. Kate was driving and loving every minute of it!

Here are Kate and I on the carousel. She picked riding the bunny!

All the kids on the bumper cars.

Another one of Kate's favorite rides was the Dumbo ride.
Here she is going up into the air with Jake.

Kate and Jake

All the kids on the drums.

A close up!

Kate and I waiting in line at the kiddie coaster. Once it was our turn, we found out she wasn't quite tall enough. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Josh and Jake on another coaster.

Robb

Kate with the monkey Robb won playing Whac-A-Mole. The monkey is as big as she is!

After spending the day filling ourselves up with all the fun we could have, all three of the kids fell asleep on the drive home. Once we got home, we all fell into our beds (after getting jammies on and brushing our teeth) and went right to sleep. It was a great day!

My Latest Project

Well, here it is. My latest project...a bag made completely out of recycled chip bags!
After seeing my friend with hers (Thanks, Marciea, for sharing the website and all your hard work with me!) I decided I could tackle this project and make one myself. It took me a number of months and lots of chips, (Thankfully I didn't eat all the chips myself!) but I finally finished this project. The instructions came from this website:

http://candywrapperpurse.blogspot.com/

Some of them are a little tricky to figure out, but take your time and you will figure out how to do it. If you decide to tackle this project good luck and happy chip eating!

First Day of School

Josh and Jake started school this week. They are in the fourth grade! Since they started a new school, I requested that they be in the same class and luckily, the school was able to accommodate that request. Their teacher's name is Mrs. Deeb and so far we absolutely love her! We are looking forward to a great year this year!

Pinnacle Park

Another park we went to in West Virgina was Pinnacle Park. At this park, there are some rock toys the kids loved climbing on. There's also a trail you can hike up to get to some gorgeous views.

Abbi and Kate

Ethan climbed to the top of the rock toy.

All the kids climbing on the rock toy.

Kate at the very top! She climbed up here all by herself!

This is the beginning of the trail. Don't let the stairs fool you. It was so steep. That combined with the humidity made the journey a bear. I was grateful for the railing!

But, at the top, here's the view. Blankets of green as far as the eye can see.

Ethan, Josh, and Jake at the look out point.

Josh and Jake looking at a small cave.

I let Josh and Jake go off the trail to sit on these rocks...

...later I learned this is what is on the other side of that rock! Yikes!

Aside from the mini heart attack I had after realizing my boys were almost sitting on the edge of that cliff, we had a great time. The kids really enjoyed their time together. It made me grateful for all the family relationships and friendships I have.