The Big Day

It finally came...Wednesday was our first day of school!! The girls were SO excited they could barely sleep (and Mom was so sad SHE could barely sleep!) They were all up and dressed super early which was great because we had plenty of time to get ready for the big day. Carli is starting 4th grade...where did the time go!? Carli didn't want us to walk her up to her classroom AT ALL (which makes me really sad!) She got out of the car, gave us a big hug and kiss, said goodbye, and walked to class alone! She's getting so big!! Regan is starting 1st grade! She was the MOST excited of all the girls because (this is the part that made me cry the most) she's now gone all day! She helped me pack her lunch, load her backpack, and couldn't wait to get to the school. Once we got to her class, she wanted me to go inside with her and wait for the bell to ring. She did NOT want to go to the playground :) Apparently it was a little too crazy! Mollie doesn't actually start Kindergarten until Monday, but we had her open house to meet her teacher so she got up and got ready with her sisters (she even wanted me to pack her a lunch, which she took in her backpack to open house!) I was happy to at least have her with me for the day. Yes, I cried this year just like I cry EVERY year when my girls go to school. I'm not ashamed. I'm getting better...this year I didn't cry until I got home and the tears were few in number. I hope I can hold it together next week when Mollie starts Kindergarten :) I know they are totally ready for school to start and will have a wonderful year, but I will miss having them ALL in school!! Its also a time for me to reflect on the previous year and hope that I did my best with them. Did I prepare them for what they will have to face this year? Did I spend enough quality time with them? Did we create enough happy memories? When I picked them up after school, they both said they had a GREAT first day! They were tired when bedtime came...it sure was a Big Day!!

Summer Fun (Warning: This is going to be long!)

As usual, our summer has been SO full of fun that it has to be condensed into one giant entry!

We have been to LOTS of places and had LOTS of visitors. Hard to believe July is already over...where did the summer go?

We have a great dinosaur museum here in Fruita and they got a new exhibit just through the summer. Its a life-size robotic T-Rex! It is really cool, but kinda scary! I can't imagine coming face to face with one of these guys :) They are HUGE!! We had a bet prior to seeing it as to what size its arms would be...they really AREsmall! (FYI: About as long as Carli's arms)

Mollie and Regan were super nervous when they saw the T-Rex for the first time. I had to snap a picture of Regan staying as far away as possible from it...she was so scared!

This is the "spitting" dinosaur that sprays venom at his predators. They loved getting wet! We love this museum!!

The trip I was looking forward to the most was going to visit my family in AZ!! Chad had to work, so I loaded up the girls and headed down for a week in the heat! I brought my camera but I never took any pictures, so the only pics I have are ones that my sister took with her phone when we went out on a girls night and a couple snapshots of the girls on the "velcro wall" at an indoor trampoline place. We did lots of swimming and playing with cousins...we sure miss them!! It was great to see family!

Just after the 4th of July, we went camping with a bunch of friends. It was really wet and muddy, but that didn't stop us from having some fun! It rained everyday, but only for about 15 minutes at a time (and we were SO happy to have our camper instead of a tent!) The kids had a blast going on rides on the RZR and playing in the mud.

They caught a horny toad on one of their hikes! Regan spotted it and Carli grabbed it. What a team!

The highlight of the trip was fishing for crawdads. I don't know why they love it so much, but the kids (and Dads!) will do this for hours!! Total- we caught over 100!! Chad and Krehl cooked them up and they were gone in minutes. Crazy!

Daddy's Girls

Overall, it was a fun weekend and I wish we could go camping more. This picture doesn't do it justice, but we came home muddy and exhausted! Love it!!
We have done a lot of hiking this summer too. We went when Tate and Grandma Donna were here and when the Munch family came. We have some great trails for kids around here.

Dinosaur Hill

Showing off their petrified wood

There are always some cool looking lizards out and about. We chased this guy up on a rock and Mike attempted to "catch" it. He got his hand on it and it hissed at him so he threw it! So funny!

Last, but not least, we have done a lot of bike riding. We took visitors mountain biking, of course, but we have a new bike park being built in Fruita, and Chad absolutely loves it! He has taken the girls enough that they like it too (I think most of it is too hard for the average rider, but I'm kind of a chicken!) We took the Munchs and they seemed to enjoy it, all except Kolt who broke his collarbone riding his bike in our front yard. Poor guy!

While mountain biking, Carli caught ANOTHER horny toad! None of her cousins from Iowa had ever seen one before! They all took turns holding it before they finally let it go.

Summer might not be completely over yet, but so far it has definitely been a summer full of FUN!!

9th Birthday

It's hard to believe, but my little freckle faced girl just turned 9!! Carli (aka "Chuck") is an all-around great kid. She is kind, thoughtful, smart, funny, hardworking, dedicated, active, is a great example to her sisters, always tries to choose the right, and has a strong testimony of the gospel. I have mixed feelings about her getting older...part of me is sad because it is going by so fast and it won't be long until she's all grown up. The other part of me is happy because she has developed a really fun personality that comes out more and more each day. She is super-sarcastic (because of her Dad!) and her witty responses catch us off guard constantly! She is growing into such a beautiful young lady!

For her birthday, she got to pick out breakfast (hashbrowns and pancakes in the shape of a "9") and we did some water coloring. Carli LOVES to paint and she got a kit just for water colors. For her dinner that night she wanted to go to Olive Garden for some ravioli. They don't sing or anything, but she got a yummy dessert with a candle (which we all helped her eat!)

A couple of days after her actual birth DAY, Carli had her party with 10 of her friends! She wanted a water party so we set up a big piece of plastic down the hill in our front yard to make a slip-n-slide, played some water games, and Chad filled up our big cooler FULL of water balloons. The girls LOVED the slip-n-slide!!

We played a game where they had to dunk a can in water, run down to a bucket (with the can over their head) and dump the water into it. The team to fill the bucket the fastest won. The catch: the can had holes all over the bottom of it! They got soaked!!

Water balloon volleyball wasn't what I thought it would be. The girls aren't very good working together to get the balloon up AND over the net. We tried it for a while, and finally resorted to a water balloon fight, which eventually turned into just a full-blown water fight!!

Such cute girls! They were so much fun!!
Like Mollie, Carli didn't want cake. She wanted ice cream with donuts! I made a donut tower with ribbon and sprinkles. It looked REALLY good when I first did it, but the donuts kind of "settled" by the time we actually sang to her, so the pictures just don't do it justice!

I sure love my freckle-faced girl! Happy 9th Birthday Chuck!! We love you so much!!