Meridee Loves Kindergarten

Meridee's first day of kindergarten was so much fun. She was all smiles but she was a little nervous too. She wasn't sure she wanted me to leave the room right away. She asked me to watch her from the door for a little while. So I did for about 10 seconds and right away she forgot all about me and was having fun so I could see she didn't really need me to hang around and of course I cried as I walked away from her classroom.
She walked to school holding hands with Aida. Melt my heart.
Found her friend Carmen as we walked in. She ran right up to her and they held hands walking in to class. So cute.
I just love the look of excitement in her eyes as she found her name and sat down in her seat. I just can't believe I have sent another one off into the Big Wide World( for 2 1/2 hours anyway).
And here is Aida taking a break on our walk home. Life for that 2 1/2 hours has become really quiet. One on One time with Aida while Tanner sleeps is so delightful. I am learning a lot about her and I am simply enjoying the fact that she is so easy going and happy. I love afternoon kindergarten.

YAY!

I am so happy to send my kids off to school this year. The summer did seem too short and we didn't get to do everything I had planned so it felt like it was cut short but I am so happy for some routine and learning. It's only been one day but I can feel the difference.
I spent the last week shopping all over town with Paige for school clothes. Everyone else usually does okay with hand-me downs and a new pair of shoes but because Paige is the oldest she usually needs new stuff every year. How do you like the shoes we got for $3. 50? Paige has done a lot of babysitting this summer and saved all her money for school shopping. We really did great being thrifty too. She bought 10 shirts at D.I. for $16. Her skinny jeans, that we searched the whole earth for were her most expensive purchase at $20 but with her long skinny body it sure is hard to find pants for her. Her shoes were payless bogo sale. She got a pair of red loafers for $9 and then these blue ones $3.50. She really is growing up fast. 6th grade already. She is discovering her own sense of style and knows what she likes. Oh and I taught her to shave her legs. Ahhh!
Reed is so excited for school to start. He really had a hard time going to bed last night. He is in the 4th grade this year. He is also growing up fast. They all are. He had kind of a rough day. We are already dealing with some bullying that happened on his way home from school today. Why do kids have to be so mean?
Audrie is in the 2nd grade this year. She is becoming extremely independant and wants to do things on her own. I am looking forward to watching her learn and develop new talents.
Meridee also starts kindergarten this year but won't start until next week. It's like torture trying to keep her happy while she waits. Every day she asks "how many more days?" I can't wait for her to go too. She is so ready for school plus it means my days will be so much easier with Aida and Tanner. It has been a very long time since I just had two little ones at home during the day. I can sense the freedom is almost here.

Lessons Learned

We had a free day during the Nordstrom Reunion and hesitantly decided to hike MT. Timpanogos with Danny's sister Keri and his niece Brook. Danny was going to go and just take the older kids but I was feeling a little left out and decided to join them and so that meant hiking with all 6 kids. We've never done anything like it before. I usually shy away from it because it usually means work and stress for me but I have never been on this hike and really wanted to go. I am so glad I did. Of course the first lesson learned is that "We can do hard things". I was so proud of Danny for carrying an extra 20 lbs. the entire way and for the kids who really never complained and practically ran up the entire way. Even little Aida made it the whole way up without complaining.
I learned something interesting about Audrie. She is so cautious and kind of a worrier. She didn't complain about being tired really but freaked out if I wasn't by her side. The higher we got the more she worried about falling off the edge of the trail. This provided a teaching moment. While we walked we talked about life and how Heavenly Father sent us here to experience many things, even though he knew it could potentially be dangerous but that if we would follow his instructions we would be safe. We talked about how walking slowly and away from the edge would keep her safe just like living the gospel would keep her safe as well and that in the end we were going to see some really cool caves and that it would all be worth it in the end.
This was a pretty tough hike for some of us and we had to take breaks every now and then. I sure felt out of shape but it inspired me to keep trying to get in shape. Danny and I arrived at the top very last but I just kept telling myself "slow and steady wins the race". This was another lesson on my mind. So many times I compare my self to others and it always brings me down but just because someone is passing me up in life doesn't diminish the fact that we are on the same trail and headed to the same place. In the end it doesn't really matter how or when I get there as long as I get there. We all have different trials and paces at different times in our lives. I was secretly hoping though that those who ran ahead would slow down a little so we could enjoy the hike together and it got me thinking about a poem or something I read once that touched on that topic. In life we always want to have a winner but in God's race it's about the destination and there is no winner so maybe we need to slow down a little and stay back to help the one who is slower than the rest and enjoy the journey together.
Here we all are at the top together. This is the ultimate comparison really. My greatest desire is that we all make it back to our Heavenly Father. Man, I love my family. Wow, all that from a little day hike. These are a just a few of the things I thought about while I was walking up that beautiful mountain. Now coming down the mountain was a whole different story. Everyone was hungry or hot or had to pee and everyone's feet hurt. We pretty much complained the whole way back down and I had to carry Aida most of the way down, who after making it all the way up on her own, had finally had enough. We were so tired when it was all over but in the end it left me wanting more. I would do it all again in a heart beat. I had so much fun and I felt great about my abilities to take my kids on such a big outing. This is definitely something I want to do again very soon.

Our summer at a glance

I know, I know, I'm a lame blogger. Our summer has been pretty busy. Here are just a few highlights. We started off with our big uniform burning bonfire. Lots of fun.
We've had barbeques in the backyard, popsicles, a little swimming, movies in the park, parades, and a lot of relaxing and enjoying each others company.
I made a fun wreath for my front door with dehydrated oranges. I love it. So bright and summery and we went school shopping at NORDSTROM's. Not really, just going through the hand-me-downs in the storage room.

And the high light of our summer: DREAM FACATIONS

Since we don't have a penny to our name we have been planning some really fun facations. I let the kids pick a place they would like to visit and we created our own little getaway at home. We even have fake passports with stamps and everything. Paige was first and wanted to go to Hawaii. So we planned a luau for dinner, went on a nature walk that ended in getting wet in a waterfall, swimming with the fish in the ocean and so much more. It really was fun. Our next stops, Walt Disney World in Florida and Japan. I hope you all are having a great summer too.

SYLYBYE

Legacy

I've been thinking of my mommy a ton this past week. Mostly about how much I miss her but also trying to think of what kind of a legacy she left me. It's been three years since she passed away and I still have a hard time keeping myself together when I think of her. Her birthday is May 1st and She passed away on May 8th and we had her funeral on Mother's Day weekend so really it is like a whole week of memories for me. Oh, how I love her.


She was a pioneer woman to me. She joined the church( LDS ) in her teen years after losing her father at a young age. She married very young as well and set out to start a family like no other. I think it must have been a struggle to try and raise a family in the church when she wasn't raised in it herself. As any mother does, she made mistakes but now its seems all I can remember are the good things. Even though she had tough times she remained faithful. In fact her faith was simple but it endured. I remember asking her when I was really young if the church really was true and also asking what if it wasn't? She simply said that she believed it was true because it felt right and if someday she learned that it wasn't it simply wouldn't matter because at least she spent her time doing good. Her simple faith in Jesus Christ is what got her through the hard times, I am sure. She demonstrated her faith through countless prayers on behalf of her children and loved ones. She loved us kids tremendously and wanted good things for all of us.

My mom made everything fun and beautiful. This is her legacy. She was always trying to find a way to make things fun. She created traditions and memories for our family that left an enormous impact on many. My favorite memories are surprise birthday parties, lots and lots of road trips, Monster Dance( you'd just have to see it and be a pre teen girl to enjoy it), heart attacking neighbors, she would yell out "Make it Pretty Girls" at our Dance competitions. This is how we would know she was there supporting us and she was not embarrassed to to stand up in the audience and make hand signals in the air so that we could see where she was(we would make them back in the same order so that she would know that we saw her too), she would stay up late and make pancakes for my friends after church dances so that we could hang out and watch Saturday Night Live. Christmas Jammies of course, late nights playing all kinds of games(really really late nights), we just got a wii this year and the first time I played it I just kept telling myself "Mom would have loved this", She taught my kids the family secret handshake which is 3 squeezes of the hand that stand for I--Love--You, whenever I hold my kids hands they do this and I do it back, it can go on and on for a very long time, I can remember as a little girl my mom doing this with me at bedtime until I would fall asleep. She was very spontaneous and surprised us all the time, once she pulled my sister and I out of school unexpectedly and took us to Disneyland. Who does this? My Mom and now me. There are so many things that she did for us that now I am trying to recreate with my kids. As I grew up and had my kids she was always there for us. She stayed with us for several weeks to help out after I had my babies, she even potty trained a couple of them for me. We would go to Walmart for craft supplies at midnight in our PJ'S so that we could finish a project I will never forget that she would call and make me put the telephone up to my little babies ears so that she could talk to them. She would say that she didn't want them to forget her voice. My kids remember how everytime she came to visit she brought gifts. What they don't know is that this was a bribe of some sort for the little ones who might not remember her after being away and that was how she got them to warm back up to her. I could go on and on but the main point is that I am finding that I am more like her than I thought. Moms have a way of leaving a bit of themselves behind. All these memories and traditions are things that I am doing with my kids in my own way. I miss her terribly and find my self at times wishing I could give her a call when I need and Idea for a primary sharing time or talk. Primary was her thing for sure. She always went all out and had the best ideas for these kids. Sometimes there will be a name of a person or a place that only she would know and I'll wish that I could call her and ask. It can be so hard sometimes but I do know that she is with me in memories and that I could just look within and find her there because she left such an impression on me. Moms are amazing that way. I know mine is anyway.

You can't make a cute girl ugly?

Well, I got the hair done but once again I am disappointed. I guess maybe the problem is that I just don't think I am all that cute and so the idea that a hair cut can't make me ugly seems false. Don't get me wrong. I know I am beautiful on the inside and I don't consider myself ugly or pretty rather just me but I am very aware of the fact that a new hair cut isn't going to make me look like I did in my 20's. So even though a new hair cut feels great it would be even better if I had the same skin I did back then and of course that I was 50 lbs skinnier too. I guess I was expecting a miracle from a hair cut. On a different note. We had a great time in California but I will have to save all the details for another post. I have lots of fun pictures too but I've got lots to do today.

We spent one whole day in L.A. at the temple doing sealings. This is where we got married. It was so fun to go back there.

We also spent an entire day at San Clemente Beach. We had many dates here back in the day.
I really like this picture of Tanner and I but do you think it is possible to photoshop my fat arms and wrinkly neck.

We also got really lucky with leftover Disneyland Tickets from Jason and Jodi. We had so much fun but actually talked about how much we would love to have had the kids with us.
Disneyland without kids just isn't the same.