So not ready for this...

I've always told myself that if I could just get my kids past certain, simple benchmarks I'd consider myself a "good" parent. Things like crawling, walking, potty training, sleeping through the night were all admirable benchmarks that me and my kids would go through together. (At this point, I probably started this blog post more than 3 months ago, in an ill-fated effort to finish blogging 2013 before 2014 started, but that was not to be. So I had to think really hard about what the post was actually supposed to be about and I didn't remember until here.) However, no one could prepare me for when my firstborn started kindergarten and was at school for a FULL DAY!!! Half day pre-k was emotional enough but all day at school?, what parent does that to their child?!?!!! Alas, I bravely prepped Ryan for school, we got lunch boxes and backpacks, we got lunch supplies and classroom supplies, we got everything from pencils and paper to Clorox wipes and Kleenex tissues, I didn't realize all that kids had to bring to school these days!!! We laughed over first day of school outfits and whether or not she'd wear her hair up or down or with a bow or without (she settled for a bow worn half up half down). I even purchased a frame and spray painted the glass with chalkboard paint and wrote the cutesy "First day of Kindergarten" on it complete with the school year and other various data pertinent to Ryan and had her stand in front of it before we left the house, alone for a few clicks before sweet Brittyn photobombed us. She's just sweet that way. She kinda felt like it was her first day of school because she too picked out outfits and I packed a lunch for her to take to "Grandma's school" and she packed it in her own back pack. She will NOT be left out. I wish now I had made her her own chalkboard sign.

We finally made it to school and got in line to drop our baby off, we all walked as a family to her class and took a few more obligatory pictures outside her classroom door and with her cousin Amelia, who was in the classroom right beside her. I couldn't wait to pick her up when school got out, I had waited all day to hear all that she had done. She loved Ms. Dobbins (her substitute teacher, since her teacher Mrs. Cowart was still on maternity leave) and she had made lots of new friends and loved her new teacher and her lunch and tons of other things I can't remember because she spoke so fast with excitement. Overall it was a good day and she loved it and hasn't looked back. I honestly couldn't be more proud of her if I tried.
















































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Pioneer Day

I miss Pioneer Day at church. I remember when we were young that mom would dress us up if we would allow her and we'd go to the church and churn butter and make wax candles and eat deer meat and look at Indian arrows that were on display. Then we'd listen to tales of the Mormon pioneers and the sacrifices they made to make the trip to Utah. Inspiring, wish I'd listened better. But this year was the first year the girls have been able to go because Kylia and BB took them to Hosford to participate in their festivities. And let me tell ya, the Hosford ward knows how to honor the pioneer spirit!!! My girls out on their boots and our most pioneer chic dresses and did everything from pull sticks to rope tug of war to shooting and they had a blast doing it!!! So glad they were able to go!!!


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Pics on the beach...

So, we took some pics with Stacey Vowell this summer on the beach while we stayed in Panama City in August. I've decided that I like the beach a little bit more, so much so, in fact, that I also, with Kylia's help, drove my kids to Jacksonville in November to have my Christmas pictures done. But that's for another blog post, even though it's nearly December and I'm still posting about the summer. Anywhoooo...we had some crying pics and we had some laughing pics and we had some not listening pics and also some silly pics at the beach but it's amazing how all those components can actually make a great picture if you can click the camera quick enough! Thankfully, Stacey was patient and the kids weren't too irritable so we did get a few precious shots.














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Shipwrecked...

At the beginning of the summer, we took a short beach jaunt to St. George Island. So, it was only fitting that we end the summer at the beach as well. Enter my good friend Kari Copeland Smith and her mom Caroline Copeland and family to help us make that happen. Once again, we packed up what beach belongings we had (which are meager but seem to be multiplying nonetheless) and headed for 3 days of sand, sun and surf. This time the beach of choice was the home of the world's most beautiful beaches,Panama City beach. We stayed in a high floor beach condo, which the girls loved and we hung out at the pool during the evening and went hunting for crabs on the beach at night. The girls still talk about that! From there, we went to Shell Island at St. Andrews state park and were basically at our own private beach. Hunt finally tested the waters there, hopefully he had a good time, he seemed really interested tasting the salty sand and water at least. That was his last day because I had Joe pick him up at the condo (thankfully he was working in PC that day) so that the next day I could go with Kari and take the girls to Shipwreck Island water park. Needless to say, this was the highlight for them, they'd never been there or to any other water park before so they lived it up!!! I made sure to coat them in sunscreen but apparently forgot to apply it to myself. Oh well, the burn eventually peeled off. Anyway, we had a great time spending our last few "days of gold" with good friends and lots sunshine. Can't wait to do it again!!!



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Random summer sillies...

Not all pictures from summertime have to show bathing suits and swimming pools. We were so busy this summer that we really didn't get to do too much of those things. So, we settled for silly pictures of babies smooching their reflections in the mirror, kids with homemade tiara scarves and playtime at the park (when Mommy could tolerate the intolerable heat). We had a good time and were able to make memories along the way. I can't ask for more.























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Have bags, will travel...

Kiera and Terah and Duncan were able to come home for Ryan's birthday and Terah and Duncan got the crazy idea to take some kids back to Texas with them for a week!!! They asked me first if Ryan could go, then asked if Brittyn could go and finally Hunt...just kidding! Baby Huntington did not go, but the girls went and had the time of their lives. Terah and Duncan also packed Helaman and Cannon in the car as well as everyone's favorite Jami Copeland, aka (JC Lovely) and headed for the Lone Star State. The stopped in Monroe, LA on the way there to try and see some of the celebrities from "Duck Dynasty" and they got lucky and were able to meet Jep, Willie's other brother...haha, if you watch the show you'll get that reference. Then they finally got to TX and did all sorts of things. The went to Legoland, they went to the Dallas aquarium, they went to a huge fireworks show and even made their very own redneck water slide on the hill behind Kiera's house. They got to pal around with their older cousins Helaman and Cannon. I'm glad they did, I'm sure it's hard for those older boys who wanna be cool to be seen hanging out with their littler girl cousins. But I heard on good authority that those fellas were awesome and the girls loved getting to know them better.
The girls called me several times a day and didn't once sound like they missed me in the slightest. But I could tell they were just trying to be strong, cuz I know they did. I also know they had a blast because as I write about this experiences they had, nearly four months LATER, they are still talking about TX and how bad they want to go back. I hope Chickie, Terah and Duncan know how much fun my babies had and how much they love them even more now for letting them go on such an adventure, but they sure were HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY to be going on such an adventure!!!

Ryan's 5th birthday...

Right after we got home from our quick beach trip, I was in party planning mode for Ryan's 5th birthday. Truth be told, I had been planning for a while but I had to kick it up a notch to get stuff done. She made sure to remind me daily that she wasn't going to be a kid anymore. She had chosen a mani/pedi party and had agreed not to change it once I showed her the cake choices. She was excited. All her cousins and friends came over and we treated them to manicures and pedicures and let them manicure their own cookie hands (thanks to Kylia's great ideas). We ate posh "spa" food like little sandwiches and fruit and cookies and sipped juice straight from Capri Sun packs. The kids had a great time and got to go home with their own mani/pedi bags. Ryan was so happy to have all her family and friends over to celebrate her special day. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. I hope Ryan remembers it as a great day when she gets older and looks back over the blog.

















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St. George Island

This wasn't our first trip to the beach, but if you had been there to see the kids reactions to all the sand, seaweed, shells and water, you'd have thought it was. We went down and spent the night with Carolyn Copeland's family at a house on St. George Island one night this summer and the kids had a blast. The girls loved playing with my friend Kari Copeland Smith's girls and Huntington found a buddy with Stacey Copeland Vowell's son Adam. This was Bubby's actual first time on the beach, he went to the beach when he was first born but slept through it in his car seat. He totally made up for lost time and had a blast. I didn't get pictures of it but the girls went crabbing once it got dark on the beach. They caught a couple and talked about it for says after we got home. Score one for the first mommy's mini summer vacation 2013!!!




















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