Kindergarten Lady!

You are one happy kindergartener! You have Mrs. DeMolet and Mrs. Threet as your teachers, and you adore them. You also have Ariel, the guinea pig, Noodle, the cockatoo, and Myrtle and Yertle, the turtles. And so many new friends!! There are 3 other kids from church in your class, which is really wonderful. You had to wait 2 extra days to start school because of the staggered Kindergarten entry that Pinehurst Elementary uses. It makes for a calmer first day, but waiting until Wednesday was miserable for you! You were raring to go! Though it has only been a month, you have learned so much already! Your reading is really taking off, and you are so responsible, doing your "homework" in afterschool before I pick you up. The biggest challenge is being SO tired. You only get about 20 to 30 minutes of rest at school, and Mrs. DeMolet says you almost always fall asleep. She lets you sleep longer than anyone else, but by 6:00 every night you become a different person. You howl and moan and stomp and give far too good of a "stink-eye" for a 5 year old. I dread the teenage years to be honest, you've got the angst down pat.
  We love you so much Lucy. You are so bright, sensitive, and kind (when well-rested :) ) You give the strongest hugs and have a beautiful voice. Mrs. DeMolet is so lucky to spend so much time with you at school!

KINDERGARTEN!!!!

Poor Lucy had to wait 3 extra days before she could don her backpack, grab her lunchbox, and enjoy circle time. Our school does a staggered entry for Kindergarten, so that the kids get a smaller group their first day of school. It is a great idea. . unless you get tapped for the 3rd wave. Lucy had to watch Isaac go to school Monday and Tuesday, so by Wednesday she was rarin' to go. Do you see any apprehension in this face??

Me neither.

 

She has a wonderful teacher, Mrs. DeMolet, and as she has explained to anyone willing to listen--a menagerie of class pets. There's Ariel, the guinea pig (with red hair). The turtles: Mytrle and Yurtle (nice Seuss nod), and Noodle, the bird. . I don't get that one. And her whole first week, she got to hold down the button on the water fountain and count to five for all her thirsty friends. She is reading and writing and learning. . . and completely exhausted by 6:00pm every night. My only wish would be for a longer naptime at school!!  

Sweet Isaac

Isaac, you are one sweet boy. You get frustrated with yourself so easily, wanting to be so good (at everything!) and you are sensitive and kind. The other day we saw a dog get hit by a car the other day and you were really upset by it. You said, "Well, at least he gets to go back to Heavenly Father. I bet Heavenly Father is happy to see him."

We love you so much Isaac. You are too hard on yourself! Today in church you cried because you made a mistake on a picture (that was actually better than anything I could do!) I hope you know how wonderful you are. 
You are also a hard worker! You've started a pine cone pickup service and have had a few customers so far! You designed the posters and knocked doors and have paid your tithing on everything you've earned. You are really careful with how you spend the money you've earned. Sometimes you can't make a decision at all, which leaves you feeling pretty frustrated. Your emotions are sometimes close to the surface. We love you!!

Future P.L.E

That's Professional Lego Engineer.

Boy, do you love Legos. This was just one of the multiple creations you built with these few legos that you brought with you on the plane. Here are some others:

There were others, but these were the ones you captured. You had a ball with the camera.

Your birthday party was all about legos too!

Dad made this amazing lego cake--Pretty impressive!!!

And you and your friends make pretty good legos too!

Alton.

Church (and Jake's Baptism) was in the darling little town, Alton. Check out their creative signery.

Emma's Messy Fun

Emma was getting dirty at every turn. . and having a wonderful time of it. She was so happy on this trip. Aunt Angi kept saying how lucky we were, and suggested that we change her name to "Sunny." I smiled and shared no stories to blemish the perfect image. But seriousy, this gal is a doll:

Making "soup" in the sandbox with cousin Josie

Singing time with Uncle Ryan. . she insisted on every Sound of Music song he could figure out. Pretty impressive. Ryan wasn't too shabby either.

Wild and Crazy Times

 Lucy proved quite a gymnast on the massive tree swing. She took a tumble in the brambles. . but kept on swingin'. Atta girl.

 We went on a wonderful hike to the canyons and besides Grandma and every mother there having mild heart attacks because some genius thought that sheer cliffs certainly wouldn't need, say, a toddler height guard rail or something. Sheesh. But, one of the coolest finds was this amazing tree, with branches for everyone and knobs and twigs to make climbing doable for almost everyone. Braden took a tumble, as did Lucy. . but we all survived. Our hearts rested much easier away from the edges.

Baby Adalee capturing our general sentiment as the week wore on.

General Love. . .

Mia snuggling with sweet Adalee

Lucy with her "Favorite uncle ever. . Uncle Braden" Look at those Air Force Biceps. Lucy wrote Braden the sweetest note (it was 2 pages of dot-to-dot letters. . a labor of love for both of us) It brought tears to Brady's eyes. Such a sweet girl.

The Boyz.

Nora and Me. . Do I look Baby Hungry? I was. I was also straining my neck muscles--good grief.

NICOLE!!!!!

It was so wonderful to catch up with Nicole. We hadn't seen each other in about 8 years and since we happened to be in the same state at the same time we made a reunion happen. I am so grateful she was willing to make the drive from Salt Lake to Cedar City for a visit. She is a walking miracle, a testimony of the power of fasting and prayer. Almst a year ago she was in a terrible accident and was in a coma for over a week. The last year has been miracle after miracle as she has recovered from traumatic brain injury. She is a bouyant spirit, and it really did me so much good to see her and hug her and hear her laugh. It was also special for her to see Isaac. During her time in the hospital, we prayed and fasted for her often. One Sunday Isaac brought me a picture he'd drawn in his primary class. It was a picture of him and Nicole and it said, "I can fast and pray for Nicole Cannon." I was so touched and I mailed it to Nicole. She pinned it to her wall and said it brought her such comfort and strength. It was a powerful moment when she talked to Isaac and shared her testimony that she was there because of his faith and prayers. I am so grateful that he got to see her and I believe it will strengthen his faith and confidence in God. It certainly did mine.

And I even got to see Jeff and Janet too!!!!!

Reynolds Boys=Fun With Violence

The boys gearing up for a mighty round of wrist rocket (a fancy tougher sounding word for a slingshot) paintball. Reese is certain he is the toughest because he didn't wuss out with long sleeves. Daman is mostly hoping his head doesn't explode, and Ryan tries out a new experimental body armour. . 

And Fun Was Had By All

Cousin Love

Isaac storytime with Emma and Baby Reese

Aunt Jess and Aunt Julie with Baby Adalee

Emma and Tigue sharing a good book

And meanwhile. . the rest of the family shares the Good Book of Mormon

These two peas in a pod in yet another secret hideout playing some wonderful fantasy game.

Nothing says Family Reunion Fun like a bath with some cousins! Emma, Lila, and Maisey livin' it up in the tub.

Carnival!!!!

We planned a great carnival for the kids, full of fun booths. . fishing, donut-on-a-string, "brownie"walk, and a ping pong ball toss. Daman and I ran the whip cream booth, where the kids (in varying levels of enthusiasm) dug for the dime hidden in the whipped cream. Their reward was a piece of mediocre chocolate cake. The other booths had much better prizes: alone time with Grandma, a board game with an aunt or uncle, or a nature walk. The kids had a fabulous time, and the adults weren't too bored either. :)

Welcome to Dead Horse Loop

 Not sure who named this street, but when we pulled on to it and saw a kid's ropes course, we knew it was the right place! There were a few surprises when we realized the owners would be living in the big house with us, but as we began to explore we found more and more ways to have fun!

Rook loves his helmet!



The Pre-Reunion Reunion

Before we went to Colorado for the reunion, we met up in Utah for a double baby blessing--MaShay and Jason's Nora and Cody and Jessica's Adalee. We stayed with Aunt Paula and Uncle Steve and basked in the lovely dry summer of Utah. Cool mornings and evenings and lovely sunny afternoons. It was incredible! The family fun time began!!

 Before we left North Carolina, we had our neighbor Katrina braid the girls' hair in hopes that we wouldn't have to brush it for a week. It last two days and thirty minutes in the sand volleyball court. But, it gave them some lovely manes when we gathered together and de-braided them!

 Paula can put on a serious spread!

 Sweet Lila 

Meeting Baby Nora for the first time!!!!