We just finished our first week of school.  The summer went by so fast and it was fun-- day camp, girls' camp, 4th of July in Idaho Falls, funnest cousin time, staying with grandparents, and roaring springs 3 times, one of those times with cousins. Everyone is happy so far and it looks like a great school year...5 days in.  It's Kamryn's last year of middle school.  She's in 8th grade and is trying out new things, one of which is being a T.A. for one of her favorite teachers from 6th grade. She had to pick between this and choir, and so far she thinks it was a great choice.  Halli is in 7th grade and when asked what the best part is so far, she replied, "not being the youngest grade at the school."  Halli made the volleyball team after 3 days of rigorous try outs.  She said it's so bad, worse than P90x, and she loves it.  I didn't question that, just smiled.  A fun thing about this year is that Kamryn and Halli have 7th period together--computers.  Zack is in 4th grade and is a guy of little answers, but says he likes his new teacher and is happy about some of his friends being in his class. Jaxon is enjoying hanging out and doesn't seem to be too bored with me yet, but there's time.  Happy New School Year to everyone!

Enough Said

My baby is 3. Enough said.

We have a TEENAGER among us!

So, as of yesterday, we have a teenager among us. Kamryn turned 13 yesterday! She has been waiting for this birthday for a while, to be able to say her age with it ending in "teen." We celebrated from 8:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. We just happened to notice this as we were having cake at 8:45 last night, way later than planned. Her birthday wishes have changed since she was little. For this day, she wanted to go shopping at the mall with me and out to lunch with Lance. First of all, I am not a fan of the mall (haven't been there in years), second it was a Saturday, and third, it's 2 weeks before Christmas. But she had been looking forward to this for a long time. So, we went. Kamryn wanted to know why it took so long to find a parking spot :) But it was fun to see how excited she was to go into any store she wanted. She took her babysitting money and was super smart with how she spent it. As we left the mall 2 1/2 hours later, all I had to do was look at the smile on my teenage daughter's face to know that it was well worth dealing with the crowds and chaos to take her shopping at the mall. Happy Birthday, Kamryn. You are a great teenager...so far. 2 days down... :)

HELLO!!!

OK,

So my mom has been bad about putting on new post things or whatever you call it. Now its my turn. This is Kamryn. I turned 12 in December. I am loving middle school. My teachers are AWESOME! If you didn't know, I have braces. At first I liked them but now I am so ready to get them off. That last thing that I posted was a long time ago so I wanted to tell you new stuff. I am in 6th grade and I am a beehive now. Young Womens is great. I am so excited to go to camp. It will be my first year. Tonight I have a choir concert. I love to sing and choir is much better than band. If you didn't know either that I am not in band anymore, I am not in band anymore. I wasn't having very much fun just after I had started. I became less fond of my instrument and the teacher started to seem a little mean. So I switched to choir. I think my choir teacher, Mr. Olsen, is one of the best teachers that I have had. So...........ya- that is pretty much all I have to tell you. Um, my

favorite color: purple

favorite animal: koala

favorite food: pasta

favorite movie: Ramona and Beezus or The Lighting Thief

favorite singer: Carrie Underwood

favorite song: Find Yourself in You

favorite subject: not science, writing duh

favorite hobby: scrapbooking

A Different Kind of School Year

So, school started two weeks ago, and I still can't believe it. Neither can Jaxon. Where did Kam, Halli, and Zack go? The only thing that takes away some sadness for Jaxon is the garbage truck on Monday mornings. The only thing that takes away my sadness is a morning nap with Jaxon, which is much needed after our morning school routine.
Kamryn started middle school!!! So crazy. So fun! She loves it--the locker, changing teachers and rooms for each class, making new friends, sitting anywhere and with anyone at lunch, trying an intrument (the cornet--a small trumpet), so many fun new things. I asked her if she misses middle school and she said no way! Her morning starts at 5:30 and her bus comes at 6:56. My first reaction was, WHAT TIME? I still feel that way. TOO EARLY. So once we get Kam on the bus, we start with Halli's and Zack's morning.
Halli loves 5th grade. After an extremely difficult year in 4th grade, Halli's first couple weeks of 5th have been great. She has an amazing teacher who visits each student's house in the first month of school. We had our visit already and that made Halli love her teacher even more. She is making some good friends and having fun--really what I mostly care about as a mom since I know all three kids are great students (they get their smarts from Lance). She is happy after school and tells me all the great things about her day.
Zack thinks 2nd grade rocks! He got to loop with his 1st grade teacher and he and I are both so happy to have her as a teacher again. He also has his best buddies from 1st in his class again. He is already racing along--his teacher sent me an emailing saying after testing Zack in reading, that he is now in a High Challenge Reading Program. He loves to read when he can sit still long enough. But as much as he loves school, he is always eager to come home and turn our house into Lego Star Wars with whatever he can find.
Poor Jax. Stuck with me. I just don't make car noises the way Zack does or chase him the way the girls do. But I am a great companion for watching the garbage truck!
Here's to a great beginning of a new school year! Bring on 2nd, 5th, and middle school! Oh, and diapers and sippy cups!

The end of Elementary School

Today Lance and I watched our children walk to the bus. They were so excited for school today--the last day--field day--water games day--I don't need a backpack day. We waved bye to them and told them to have a blast. Watching Kamryn walk away was a little sad and a little exciting. Today is her last day of elementary school. Yesterday was her 5th grade graduation. It was really great. She was so happy. She had a good year, with the exception of a life lesson, and had a good teacher. She is ready to move on. A couple months ago I thought I wasn't ready for her to move on, but that changed when we went to the middle school open house last month. It was an awesome experience for her and seeing her face light up at everything about middle school changed my sadness into excitement for her. So, this morning, yes I had a twinge of sadness watching my first baby walk to the elementary school bus for the last time. But...the fun is just about to begin for Kamryn!