Shaylyn and Friends

Yesterday I watched my friend Leah's kids, Ella is Shaylyn's age and Camden is her little brother. Anyway Ella and Shaylyn don't get a chance to play together that often but I think that is going to change, they had so much fun and they played so well together and they even included Camden.

They had popsicles!

They made a stick into a horse all three of them could ride.





And they all rode scooters. I love Camden's helmet! It is Austin's and as you can tell it is very big on him. He looks so cute. And he didn't crash until him mom came to pick them up:) Then Leah took Shaylyn and they got to play at Ella's house and I went to Costco kid free. That's always a nice thing. Thanks Leah. We need to do that more often!

Austin got glasses!

BEFORE




AFTER

Austin was complaining a little last school year that things were blurry and this summer we were at a park and he couldn't read a sign that he should have been able to. So I took him in to the doctor and sure enough he did need glasses. He is supposed to wear them all the time. We got them today and he put them on and he said everything is big. I am guessing that means he can see everything better. Here he is with them on, I think he looks very handsome. What do you think?

Lost and now found!

On October 1st it will be 9 years since we moved into our home. Not long before that Doug had bought me some diamond stud earrings. In the move I somehow lost one of my earrings out of my jewelry box. I remember being upset about it and I am not sure I ever told Doug I lost it. Anyway on Sunday our freezer in our garage got left open or something happened to allow all of my food to thaw out which was a bummer since I had recently gone shopping. So I cleaned everything out and yesterday Doug and I unpluged it to defrost it, and as we were cleaning up all the water I looked down and saw an earring on the garage floor in the water. The minute I saw it I knew it was my diamond. The back was smashed but the post was fine so I took it up stairs to my jewelry book where I had saved my other one for nine years, not sure why. Sure enough it was the one I had lost nine years earlier. So they are safely in my ears now. But what I don't understand is where it was for nine years. Was it frozen in the freezer's ice for nine years? No I know that I have cleaned my freezer more than once in nine years? Was it in our carpet? I have absolutley no idea where it was all that time and how it showed up now but it has been kind of exciting. So I will probably never loose them again because they will forever stay in my ears as a constant reminder that just because something is lost doesn't mean it can never be found again.

The tooth fairy came to our house

Shaylyn had another first yesterday! She lost her first tooth. She was so excited! After dinner she wanted an apple and with one bite the tooth was just hanging there and she pulled it out the rest of the way.

She got two big bucks for a tooth you could barely see. What's up with that! I want the tooth fairy to visit my pillow:) Anyway she was very excited to loose her first tooth. Just more signs she is growing up and I am actually ok with it. It's hard and sad at times but she is such a good girl and I am grateful everyday that I have her in my life along with her brothers.

Back to School!!!!!!!!

My three cuties!

Look at that cool Junior Higher!

Here is my spit fire 4th grader!

And my sweet special little baby girl!

They are back in school! Wohoo!!!! I love my kids very much but there comes a point every summer when they just need to go back to school. This year has been a little emotional for me because my oldest Chance started 7th grade and my youngest Shaylyn started Kindergarten, then Austin started 4th. So I was very nervous and still am about the whole junior high thing but Chance really liked it. I think the worse part was that the bus was really full and loud. He got the honors math class that he wanted and was very excited about all his classes. I told him he could buy lunch this week but then he would have to pack 3 or 4 days a week because school lunches are getting so expensive. Anyway when he got home I asked him what he had for lunch, he said "A super pretzel and jojo's" I said "Chance that is not a good lunch, you need some protein and a fruit or veggie" he said "The pretzel came with cheese:)" Somehow I don't think that makes it healthier. Oh well! He really did like junior high and for that I am grateful. Now Austin got the teacher he wanted but he still didn't want to start school. But he came home saying he loved it. So that is a good sign. His teacher this year we heard is tough but that is good for Austin. Shaylyn gets to go only one day this week for her assesment, which was yesterday. I was sad to see her take this step into the real world yet was happy for her because she was so excited. She rode the bus home and came off with a big smile. She absolutely loved kindergarten. She has a wonderful teacher that both Chance and Austin had so that makes it nice. So now she has to wait until Monday to go again but I am so happy that she loved it. All she kept saying when she got home was "I love kindergarten, I love kindergarten". Anyway over all everything went great but this getting up at 6:30 to get a junior high schooler off, I am not too sure about that:). I love them all so much and I am grateful they are having good experiences in school and I pray that that continues.

A Day of Fun

We were going to have one last little trip as a family yesterday but the weather wasn't great so we decided to stay close to home and just have a day of fun. We started off with pizza buffet at the The Rock, then headed over to a place called Charlie's Safari. This is in Olympia which really isn't too far away. My sister took her kids there and told us all about it. They really had a great time. Shaylyn was the perfect age but they all really liked it. It actually was a pretty good deal if you stay there for the day. They have a little mini golf course, jumpy toys, a huge jungle gym with a ton of different slides and a little place to shoot baskets, they have lazer tag which Shay did but I probably wouldn't do it if she was much younger and it was at a slow time so it was just the 5 of us. They have a snack bar and an arcade. They even have a parents lounge which is a kid free zone but is full of windows so you can watch your kids with a little peace and quiet. You can get the unlimited wristband for $24.95 so they can do everything except the arcade. If your in it for the day that is the best way to go. It was also very clean I thought compared to like Chuck E. Cheeses or the Odyssey. It really was a fun day for them. I brought a book so that helped:)

We also took a break about five and walked next door and went to see a movie. The Rock, Charlie's Safari and a Regal Theater were all in a row in this complex. We went and saw "Journey to the Center of the Earth" in 3-D. It was a really good movie, a little unbelievable but the kids loved it. It had some great 3-D effects. Chance and Austin loved it, Shaylyn didn't like to wear the glasses but she hung in there. And just a warning, they charge you extra for the 3-D glasses but you have to have them in order for the movie not to be blurry. It was over all a good day. I love my kids and I am happy we could have this fun day but I am also happy for school in 6 days :)

Our Annual Ward Picnic

Last night we had a yearly ward picnic in the field next to our church. We had a great time although it was really hot with little shade and lots of bees. They had water balloon toss which of course turned into a water balloon fight, they played frisbee, kick ball and of course us moms got a chance to have a little adult conversation. :)

Here is the result of the water balloon toss/fight.

I think Doug ended up more wet then anyone.

And here is my best friend Rachel and her two beautiful girls, she also has a cute little boy and husband also but they were off playing ball. Thanks Rach for being a great friend. I am so glad we are in the same ward having bar-b-ques with our husbands like we talked about in high school, even though they are not the husbands we thought they would be:) I think we both can agree we did better then we thought! I love ya Rach!