Bedtime

Some nights bedtime is memorable for me. Tonight was one of those rare, but priceless nights. Dayton is not particularly liking 1st grade and I can't blame him. It's hard to go from a half day of school that includes lots of playing and a perfect kindergarten teacher to a full day of school with only 2 really short recesses and a more stern teacher. As I came into his room tonight he had scooted all the way to the wall on his bed and said, "Mom, I scooted for you." This was accompanied by a huge, unable to resist, Dayton smile. I, of course, laid down by him and had my own sad moment. I thought of how much I have missed having him around during the day, as well as the girls. But Dayton has been my little buddy the past few years as we have had lots of one on one time and I really do miss that. I'm so glad that Dayton scooted for me tonight.

Happy Birthday Dayton

Dayton turned "7" today. Wow time really does go by fast. We had stake conference today and when we told him his birthday was on the same day as stake conference he, very matter of fact, said, "Well what are we going to do about that?" This morning when he woke up he came into my bathroom and with a vey big smile said, "Do you know what today is?" Of course....We went to stake conference and came home and had corn on the cob, pork loin roast that we grilled (thanks to Uncle Matt for introducing us to this yummy meal) and brownies with ice cream. Dayton has seen old home movies from when I was a kid. While watching these he saw how my mom would hide our birthday presents and then the birthday kid got to go and find them before they were opened. Dayton really wanted to do that on his birthday, so we hid his presents and he ran around finding them while I gave him "clues."

We are so grateful to have Dayton in our family. I had quite the challenge getting him here but I can't imagine our lives without him. He has an infectious smile and and enthusiasm for life that is an asset to our family. We love you Dayton!! Happy Birthday!

Sleepover

The young women love to have sleep overs. I am not a fan. But we had our canoe trip cancelled due to lack of funding and we wanted to do something "fun" for the girls. SO we planned an overnighter at a girl scout camp about 40 minutes away. It was a blast. We stayed in cabins that had kitchens, bathrooms and cots...this is my kind of camping. We played games (missionary tag, red rover, and some bouncy pass the bunny game, I think), ate yummy food, had an uplifting spiritual walk, and laughed a LOT! I love being in young women's and I love the women I am able to serve with...they are the best. (thanks for the pictures Lyndee:-)

First Day of School....2008

What a morning...and my first day without kids for 6 hours. I am really not sure how I feel about this new arrangement yet. I missed my kids. They all had a great day. Alexa said the day "flew by." She catches the bus first at 7:37am and then Mackenzie and Dayton get on around 8:32am. It will be an adjustment getting 2 shifts of kids out the door but we'll manage. Dayton and Alexa will not ever be in the same school again and that made me a little sad but Dayton said today, "Mom, I still get to see her at home." The kids like their teachers and are enjoying making lots of new friends. Now I just need to adapt.

Mackenzie and Dayton had some pretty heavy backpacks for the first day. According to them, this was an easier way to keep them on their backs. They looked like little turtles.

Golf, anyone?

We signed our kids up for golf lessons for a couple of reasons: #1. It was something they could all do at the same time, which means I don't have to drive kids to 3 different places at 3 different times. #2. We wanted to see if any of them might be interested in pursuing golf as a hobby/sport. #3. Apparently, golf scholarships are the most underused or sought after scholarships for girls in college. Well, how did it go? Fantastic!! Everyone of the kids had a great time and can't wait for the next lesson. Alexa was told she is a natural. She could not have received a greater compliment. Dayton asked if he could come back tomorrow and the next day and the next. Mackenzie even had fun. Grandpa Dayton would be so proud. We are holding out hopes for a scholarship in a few years. Maybe for the cougars? We'll see.

Birthday Party...

Dayton's birthday is on the 17th of August but we had his party today because everybody is still out of school. He wanted to go to the Bounce Zone which is a super fun place full of massive blowup slides, obstacle courses, and sports arenas. He and his friends had a very fun time. Dayton requested a volcano cake this year and it turned out really neat. Dayton is very fun to make things for and to give things to because he gets SUPER excited. After his cake was done yesterday he was begging for his picture to be taken and he wanted everyone to see it.

Dayton family reunion

My brother, Jordan, convinced us to get a web camera so we could all talk to each other online and see each other. Well we had our first "conversation" two Sundays ago and I must say, it was a blast. All of my family was present in their own little boxes on mebeam. It was so fun to see everybody and although it was crazy...with everyone talking and commenting at the same time it sure did make my heart happy to be able to see and talk to everyone in my family. It was kind of like a reunion, only better because you could leave whenever you wanted just by clicking:-) After our 5 hour interaction I had a sore bumm but a very full heart. I must say I am a huge fan of the webcam...

Rocket Launching

For mutual this week the teachers planned an awesome activity...rocket launching. We were encouraged to decorate a "rocket." Alexa was super excited to help me construct our rocket and it was so fun to see it soar into the sky. I got a little wet too. Nathan had a meeting so the kids got to come to mutual with me, a rare treat and watch rockets...who could ask for anything more?
The eager anticipation waiting for me to pull the string...

This was the rocket after it had soared many times into the sky...

Weekend in Louisville

Okay I don't have any fantastic pictures to document this adventure in our lives but we had a great time so I need to at least write about it. We left for Louisville on Friday afternoon and spent a couple of hours at Six Flags riding the Blizzard River and getting completely soaked, the Thunder Run wooden roller coaster that completely freaked out my kids when we got into line. Alexa hates roller coasters but being the mean mom that I am she has to ride everything at least once. She survived, but barely. This coaster was super fast and I was really nervous after we went down the first hill because Mackenzie and Dayton were riding together just in front of Alexa and I and I thought they were screaming and crying. Come to find out that they thoroughly enjoyed the experience. According to Dayton, "That was AWESOME!!!!" Just before we got on the ride Nathan mouths to me that he is a little nervous to ride the coaster, so now we know where Alexa gets her nervousness. After the big coaster we ride a smaller coaster and everyone likes that one...then we leave the park and head to our hotel for some swimming in the pool and a temple trip for Daddy. After my temple trip the next morning we head back to Six Flags for a day of just WATER. We spent the day riding the Deluge, an awesome water roller coaster (A favorite for just about everyone in the family), the Mega Wedgie, the Tornado, 4 different tube slides, a body slide, the lazy river, and playing on the ultimate tree house water park. Wow....as we were leaving the park Alexa said, "This was a really good day." I couldn't have agreed with her more. It was a great day spending time together as a family and having a blast. Everybody got along all day long....