Grant's Official First Day of Kindergarten

Grant gets to go to Kindergarten this year. Holy cow, I cannot believe I just wrote that. Where did all the time go? He's five? Really? This kiddo has grown leaps and bounds, and is super ready for Kindergarten. I think it might be rough in the beginning, but he will soon get how to be in the classroom.

He was way super excited to wear his new school clothes, and kept changing his mind on what he was wearing. He finally settled on his Blue shirt that says CHIEF, and some khaki pants. He looks so handsome with his freshly cut hair. Look how tan he is!

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I managed to sit him down and pose with his sign, just as we had done with Audrey on her first day of preschool the day before. She desperately wanted to be by him, so I took another one:




Two cute kids. Can we tell they are brother and sister? :)



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Audrey's First Official Day of Preschool

One excited little girl this morning! She is thrilled to be able to go to school, just like Grant has done, for, pretty much her whole life! She is three, and we are so thrilled that she can go to the school district's preschool this early, and that she is getting Grant's old teacher. Audrey dressed herself this morning. She did pretty good. I insisted on putting the leggings on, so she wouldn't get chilly while playing outside. I find the SUU balloon she is holding very appropriate for the occasion. Our home teacher was over the night before, and gave each of the kids a balloon. If you know my Audrey, she loves balloons. Sweet girl. I also managed to get her to hold this sign we made, and take a picture.

She started school on Monday, and Grant started on Tuesday, so I got to spend a little alone with Grant while she was at school. Grant sure missed Audrey. She is his favorite playmate that is for sure.

Audrey also gets to ride the bus home. It is nice because the preschool bus comes right to our house, so we can be there for her right when she steps off.

She loves school, and as soon as she comes home, she will empty our her backpack and show me what she did for the day. I'm so glad she likes to go to school!
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Cascade Falls

Every year in the fall, James and I like to pack up the kids in the car and drive and look at leaves. We like to go up Cedar Mountain and look at views and let the kids walk and play. This day though we came across the hike to Cascade Falls and decided that we could take the kids on it. At the time, I couldn't remember going on it ever, then I remembered my Senior Trip with my friends Brinda and Mindy, and soon discovered that I had been on it before.

The hike itself is really pretty, but a bit dangerous in spots. Lots of fallen rock. Audrey kept slipping and falling down, but luckily my death grip on her little hand kept her safe by my side. When we finally reached the end, it was very anti climatic.

See that little drizzle of water coming down? Yep, that was it. Audrey seemed a bit more excited than the rest of us. :) Surely this doesn't live up to its name. Maybe in springtime, when there is more runoff it is more breath taking. We will probably have to venture this way again...







Cute kids. They were sure good on the hike. It was a bit of a walk, and I had to carry Audrey a bit, but they actually did pretty good. I foresee a lot of trips to Zion in our future! :)







We had to get a family one while we were up there. So fun! I love my family!


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Family Fun Fest

Cedar is crazy busy in the summer. There is all kinds of things for families to do here. It's so awesome. Just passing by the park and going to dinner, we noticed huge booths set up, and also some bouncy toys. I also noticed a sign that said FREE for families.

We hurried and ate, and then went back for the fun. Grant did really at these bouncy houses. Before Brain Balance, Grant would get frustrated and not try to do hard things. At this activity, we found Grant doing this:

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He made it all the way to the top of the bouncy house with his sister and slid down. Way to go, Grant!










This little Ferris Wheel was a big hit. I think it took Grant some getting used to, but he liked it.





Audrey also did well, making her way around a ton of kiddos. I never have to worry much about her. She can pretty much hold her own.












On the way out, we hit the Park at the Library (or the Library at the Park?) and let the kids play for awhile. Not a bad impromptu Friday night.








I think her smile says it all!

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Another Sick Car

Our Chevy Trailblazer wasn't the only car suffering this summer.

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For our Killpack reunion, we pulled the Killpack's four-wheelers on the back of our truck. On the way home, we noticed the engine running hot, and a loss in power. It seemed to be giving out, although it still kept running (thankfully). We made it home, but it just wasn't running the same as it had. And with the Trailblazer not being able to be a source of transportation, we were required to use the red Mercury Sable that James bought as an in town car.

Since we kept saying the truck was sick, we had to get Dr. Grant to come and take a look at it:



So cute, I must say. Anyway, shortly after this debacle, we had to get one of these:


A black Nissan Pathfinder. With Grant going to Brain Balance, and we do travel a lot, we decided we would get our own brand new car.




The dealership really wanted to sell us a car, and they wanted to sell it to us the same day we decided to get it. The kids went to the Killpack's while James and I sat at the dealers and went through the process of buying a brand new car. Lots of negotiating.

But we got it, and rolled away with it at about 9:00 at night. I got to drive it back by myself, and believe me, I was super extra cautious about deer while traveling at night in my brand new car. The kids came home with James 45 minutes later and we had to snap a few pics. We love our new car. :)


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Who is Ready for Some Baseball?

James and I tried to get one last trip in before school started. So we decided to take the kids to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game, and then to Hogle Zoo the next day.

Things didn't quite go as planned.

We made it to the game, and we had a great time. There was plenty of grassy area where we sat, so the kids could run around. They even had a little train that was taking little kids around the stadium, and a huge play park for the kids to play at if they wanted. We ordered a root beer, which was a big treat for Grant, since it is technically against his diet. The weather was perfect. We didn't need our jackets, and we could just sit and enjoy the game.

Which we did. Even when I wanted to round the kids up at about 8:30, James insisted we stay. The game ended at about 10:00, and the kids were tired. Look at all the running around they did:

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Grant still doesn't know what to make of these characters when he sees them.


He had fun though. The kids were pretty tired by the time we left, and were sleeping soundly in the back.

We were almost to Paul's house in Lindon when, out of nowhere, came a buck, and hit our car right in the middle of town. Well that woke the kids right up. They didn't cry, just were a little startled. Then we had to fill out a police report, and wait for law enforcement, and all of that fun stuff. Luckily, our car could still run, so I was still thinking we could make it to Hogle Zoo. James informed me that with our vehicle being in the condition it was, we would be lucky to make it home the next day.

Very disappointed. I had really played up going to the zoo, and the kids were looking forward to it. When we didn't go the next day, they didn't seem to phased. They were more concerned that "our car is sick" than making it to the zoo. We had a mechanic look at it, and he said our car could make it back to Cedar, if we travel without the air-conditioning.

So we did. And it was a pleasant trip. There is something to be said about making the car as uncomfortable as possible. Both the kids slept most of the way. We made it to the zoo in September. :)


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Cooper's Best Friend

This summer Grant has really taken to Cooper. He wants everything to do with Cooper, but I am not so sure that feeling is mutual. Grant loves to wear Coopers harness, and will even have me hook up his leash to him while he pants like a dog. Here Grant set up a house for Cooper using his pet bed, and enclosed it. Cooper doesn't look too happy, but Grant totally loves it.

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