Hip, hip hooray, back to school today!!

Yesterday was actually the first official day of school, so Sam (1st grade), and Noah (3rd grade), went yesterday. But today marked the start of the year for Sophia, our Kindergartner, and to echo my friend, Lindsay, "Oh Happy Day"!
Chris starts his last year at ISU on Monday, so since he didn't have to work today, we made the most of our day together, just us and Nicolas. It was SOOOO quiet!!
Yesterday when Chris picked the boys up from school, Sammy started sobbing as soon as he saw his daddy. When Chris asked him what was wrong, he said: "I missed you and mom and it made me sad." Awe, poor little guy! We spent the rest of the evening reassuring him that he would feel better after a few days of school, once he's used to his new teacher, etc. Today when we came home from running some errands, there was a message on our voice mail from his teacher that said he did well until about noon, but after returning from library he started to get sad again, worrying that we might be missing him too much, so she was letting him leave us a "love phone message". Then came Sam's quivering voice saying: "I love you and I'll be home soon." What a soft and tender-hearted little boy.
Sophie and Noah, on the other hand, both were happy to be separated from us, if it meant getting to be with their friends.

What remains.

Those of you familiar with our area may know that the winters here come cold, hard and fast, and last for what seems like forever, so we're trying to make the most of the remaining days before Chris and the kids start back to school. So, yesterday we made the short drive over to Big Springs campground on the other side of Pebble Creek. We found a cool spot right next to the creek and just played.Poor little Nicolas, he grabbed the hot end of a roasting stick and burned his hands. Ouch!
.This is what Chris did while I took the kids for a walk on a nature trail.

They come, they go...

Chris' oldest sister, Angela, stopped by our house on her way home from dropping off her 2nd oldest child at a college in Colorado. Here is a picture of her new baby, Keoni-Van. He's a real doll. Our extended family is growing exponentially!

A Story, by Sophia.

"Little McMuffin, sat on a muffet. Along came a spider. I'll have to think about the next part...The End!"

Slip 'N' Slide

What's the Deal?

Here is a picture of all the school supplies we were required to purchase for our 3 kids starting school in less than 2 weeks - kindergarten, 1st grade and 3rd grade. In addition to all these items, which are all considered "community property", in otherwords, not necessarily to be used just by our children, but to be used by all the school kids, we're required to pay a $5.00 (per child) school activity fee, and a $10.00 (per child) class fee. What?? Where does this money go? To subsidize the out of pocket costs incurred by the teachers themselves? When there are field trips or other activities during the school year, we're asked to pay additional fees, so with all the supplies provided by the kids' families, what's the deal? Has it always been this way and I was just oblivious to it as a child? It seems like I remember going to the first day of school with a backpack containing a new notebook, folder or two and a few pencils. Our 3rd grader was asked to bring 48 pencils, not to mention all the other stuff - kleenex, ziploc bags, snacks,etc. - seems a bit much to me.

August 3, 1999 in the Salt Lake City Temple

It started with a kiss and an eternal promise...

...9 years, four kids and many experiences later, we're still hanging in there and growing stronger every year.

Happy Anniversary!

(Can't wait for number 10, it's going to be a doozy. Woohoo!)