First Day of School

And so it has begun! The boys are back in school and loving it! Aaron has started his second year of Preschool and asks daily if it is time for school -thankfully 3 days a week the answer is yes. Ian is now in school all day. As he told me he now sees his teacher more than he sees me. He was very nervous about first grade and did not want to go. After a farewell party the morning of school (in the pouring rain) he was very excited!

It helps that he is in the same class with one of his best friends, Gunner. Unfortunately the first week of school it rained all day and night which meant the kids could not go outside for recess. Those poor teachers. Even without playing on the big playground he still has been loving school. He is eager to learn and everyday loves to tell me all the new things he has learned that day. 

Lately he has been learning new soccer moves at recess :) He also gets the opportunity to eat hot lunch at school. It took a little while to warm up to this idea but he loves chicken patty sandwich every Tuesday, and pizza on Fridays. Other than that he prefers that I make him a turkey sandwich and pack grapes, water bottle, and of course a little treat.

Ava is loving even more one-on-one time :) She has become quite the parrot with facial expression and communication. We are loving it! She has also loves the word "no." 

She has enjoyed playing with all of the boys toys without them telling her "No, no Miss Ava."

The first day and week of school was a success! He was all smiles when getting off the bus. And couldn't wait to return.

Ian has enjoyed coming home from school and working on homework. Aaron also pulls out a workbook and starts practicing his writing. If Ian doesn't have any homework he usually pulls out his first grade workbook and knocks out a couple pages as well. Ryder is not too sure about the boys being in school again. If I don't bring Ryder with me while walking Ian to the bus he watches us in the window and lets out a few whines. Sometimes Ryder manages to convince Tim to take him outside again. Within seconds Ryder is sitting down at the bus stop with me watching the kids all get on the bus and head to school. 

The first week of school Aaron gave himself a giant rug burn during story time. His poor teachers felt awful. I was not surprised and found it quite hilarious. It looks decent in the picture but after a couple days it completely scabbed over and looked pretty nasty. I would like to say that he has learned his lesson but he has recently we can't get him to stop giving himself random rug burns. We are just hoping it doesn't actually scar. 

With the start of school comes the beginning of soccer season! Ian and Aaron are loving soccer! Most of the kids on both of their teams have played before and you would never know our boys haven't. They are right there in the middle fighting for the ball.  

Aaron, also know as Ironman running after the ball.

Ian, number 3 in the middle waiting to attack. 

Besides soccer the boys have been loving all sports. Basketball has also become a recent favorite. They like to pretend we have a basketball hoop outside it is pretty amazing they never miss a shot. We are loving our new schedules and getting back into a routine. Soccer four nights a week is proving to be a little busy though. At least the boys are loving it!

End of Summer

This summer has nearly come to an end and it is hard to believe. We have definitely enjoyed playing in the water as much as possible. 

Whether the one of the many splash pads, friends house, Seven Peaks, or the little pond (we call it the beach) by our house you can never have enough water in the summer. 

While we have been playing Tim has been busy study for various tests (GRE, CCRN, etc) and getting in applications for MSNA programs throughout the US. It is been extremely busy and exhausting for everyone but the end result will be worth it!

Thankfully this little one knows how to brighten up everyones day. She simply radiates joy! And as you can see is into everything.

This summer we have enjoyed playing at the zoo,

park hopping,

and visiting the many many children's museums throughout Utah Valley. Hunter has even been able to come down and hang out with us a few times.

Shark Attack!

While we have been loving the outdoors Utah has also had an unusually high amount of rain. So we have also been enjoying playing indoors. Ava is a little gibber gabber -and is getting extremely good at speaking...and climbing.

I can't believe summer is already coming to an end. It feels like it just started. The time has definitely come to get back into a normal routine. I think Ava agrees with me the most!

Hinckley's Visit

The Hinkley's were in town for a family reunion and we were lucky enough to be able to see them for a couple days! They arrived July 24th which is Pioneer Day in Utah! So we enjoyed swimming at a friends house and then an awesome (also incredibly long) firework show from our deck that evening. 

That evening Miss Ava decided to show off and take her first steps at just over 13 months old. After a few consecutive steps she had a blast walking back and forth from Gracie, Lily, and I.

The next morning we woke up and headed to Bridal Veil Falls for a nice and easy hike. 

We all were having a blast and didn't mind getting a little wet...

and then we decided to keep hiking. Not the best decision but it definitely made for a great adventure. 

 In the picture above you can see the waterfall to the left of us and the trail continues going up the mountain to the right. The winds shifted and we were all dripping wet from the waterfall mist. Although "mist" is not what it felt like more like large pelts of very cold rain. At one point the trail was so steep we were crawling on our hands and knees. Thankfully we all decided it would be best to turn around.

We headed back down to the bottom where the kids all enjoyed splashing and playing in the water.

Ava caught up on her beauty rest while the other kids played.

Then we headed to JCW's. This has become our go to burger and shake place. Needless to say it did not disappoint. The kids shakes were huge and we all loved eating our fry sauce with a little bit of fries :)

 After lunch they headed back to meet up with more family. It was so good to see everyone and for the kids to be able to have fun and play with their cousins. We missed Aunt April and cousin Jake but hopefully we will be able to see them soon! On the way home we notice this sun rays bursting through the clouds and had to snap a shot! We sure do live in a beautiful place :) Thanks for visiting!

Grandma Kathy Gathering

It was pretty amazing but somehow we were all together in the same place celebrating the life of Grandma Kathy. Almost all of us...we were still missing a few. 

We had a small service for Grandma Kathy sharing various stories and memories. 

Since it is rare for us all to be together we had to take pictures! It was a difficult task as you can see ;)

They rented a beautiful house right near Millcreek Canyon so we could all stay together. Ava loved all of the attention. 

Remember that I said they rented an amazing house.... clearly no one wanted to leave! If they boys were not eating they were usually swimming. 

Andrew got some great shots of the boys...

We had such a great time! As you can see there was never a dull moment -beside the much needed cat naps :) It was wonderful to have the family all together celebrating the life of Grandma Kathy. 

Hough Concert!

Many many months ago we planned a girls night out to the Hough Concert -Move Live On Tour. We were all so excited that the day had finally arrived! Then in got postponed :( It ended up working out even better. Instead we all got to hang out together, let the kids play, and just have a great time. Speaking of kids play- they played hide-n-go-seek for hours and all got along so great! The babies played and the adults all sat around chatting. We even headed to Taggert's that night for dinner and possibly cleared out all of their sugar cookies. Sweet Kenna was kind and brave enough to sit with all of the kids. The kids thought it was awesome! We really should have just had them bring out a giant platter of chicken strips. I think that is what every kid ordered.

The next night we all met up again and headed to the concert! Thankfully my dad and grandpa were able to come down and watch the kids since we knew it would be a really late night.

We had our tickets all ready to go. But these boys decided last minute that they too wanted to come. Derek (who is their cousin) was nice enough to hook them up with some awesome VIP tickets on the forth row. Yes the rest of us were a little jealous :/ Marianne gave us all VIP passes so we could meet up after the show. Can you tell that they felt bad they were such poor planners ;)

We headed to our seats and discovered that our seats were just as great if not better! We had our own private box with plenty of dancing/leg room and nice soft chairs. Notice the difference between the two similar pictures? Photobomb :0

The concert was amazing! Such a great variety of songs, dancing, and singing. I hope they decide to do another tour -we will all be there! 

After the show we headed to the after party! We found that we were all deaf...mostly the left side that was facing the stage. After a little while our hearing came bak. When looking though these pictures I also discovered a few things. Clearly Derek and Julie take a lot of pictures. They always came out perfect in every photo -I couldn't hold still apparently I was too excited. Derek very rarely shows his teeth when he smiles.  I should not lean into pictures -my heavens stand up straight Ashley :) Also Tim and were talking and decided that selfies are the new autograph. Maybe people already know this but we don't get out much. It was such a great!

Novak's visit!

The boys were just heading to bed when there was a knock at the door. They instantly knew who it was! We hadn't expected Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Jim to make such good timing so the boys were beyond excited that they were still awake when they arrived! Aunt Suzanne spoiled them by reading a couple more books just before bed.

The next fews days we came and went with out slowing down. First stop Temple Square! We happened to time Temple Square perfectly and were lucky enough to sit in on a wonderful Organ performance in the old tabernacle. The kids loved filling the seats vibrate with the low notes, watching the lighting change colors, seeing the performer play not only with his hands but his feet, and dancing with Uncle Jim to the music.

After walking around Temple Square we headed over to the conference center. We had a wonderful tour guide who due to our hungry children was kind enough to give us a brief but still informative tour. We then headed over to Memorial Park near the Capital and enjoyed a quiet picnic. The boys were a little frustrated and kept saying, "This isn't a park, there's not even a slide." 

After lunch we headed to the Hogle Zoo. Member late nights are always our favorite! The new splash zone was definitely the boys highlight -we loved watching the boys get completely drenched. They stayed nice and cool the rest of the evening.

Train ride through the African Safari. 

The next morning we woke up and hiked to Battle Creek Falls! We discovered the water was freezing. Ava kept her legs tucked in tightly. Ryder ran over to the waterfall with all of us and then quickly decided to join Uncle Jim and Aunt Suzanne a little further from the waterfall. 

Later that afternoon we all loaded up and headed to Logan! We had a yummy dutch over dinner at my parents house. Dutch Oven is my favorite! Then very very early the next morning we headed with Tim to see him off on the Gran Fondo Century Bike Race/Ride. Good luck spotting him I am the only one that can. It's like we are meant to be ;) Cheesy I know! 

While Tim was out tackling various hill climbs....

We tackled an Angie's cinnamon roll!

We arrived back to my parents house just as the kids were waking up. Then headed up Providence canyon for a little four-wheeling. The canyon is beautiful and just right up from my parents house. The new road they put in makes it a very easy and enjoyable ride.

We returned just in time to head down to main street in Logan and see Tim finish. He came through the finish line so quickly that I think most of us actually missed him. Oops -lets not mention that to Tim. 105 miles and he was still feeling great!

After the race we enjoyed walking around very briefly downtown -it was hot! Really hot! The boys had a lot of fun on the trampolines and Aunt Suzanne showed how excellent she is at multitasking. Yes, all three kids surrounding her...they usually didn't let either of them get very far :)

Then we decided to drive home the long way through....Bear Lake! I "borrowed" this picture from a traveling gypsy website- I would reference it but I can't find it again :( I would have loved to take my own but Tim was sleeping and I was driving. It didn't not seem like a smart idea. But oh how I miss spending weeks out on the lake. Waking up early so you could be the first one skiing on the smooth (but slightly cold) water. I had forgotten how beautiful it is. We of course had to hit up La Beau's for the famous raspberry shakes.

One our last day with Uncle Jim and Aunt Suzanne we enjoyed a quick breakfast then headed up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls. Hopefully I can add some more pictures to here later...hint hint Uncle Jim :)

We then continued up the Canyon to Park City to see the Flying Aces show at the Olympic Park. Ok ok....I "borrowed" this picture too :( From the Utah Olympic Park homepage. But a tired wiggly baby does not make for a clear picture. The show was great! However the boys are determined that they are going to fly just like that when skiing this year. Remind me to choose our medical plan wisely....I am sure they are going to try.

Sitting watching the show. Can you tell Ava wasn't enjoying it? This girl hates the heat! I am guessing she will be a little skier just like the boys.

We then headed to the Park City Pizza Company where Tim pulled what we like to call a "Nan." Only out of love Nan! He somehow managed to order a very large pizza just for himself. I wonder if they're related ;)

In usual fashion we decided to head home the scenic route; the Alpine Loop in Timpanogos Canyon. This drive is so beautiful! We absolutely love driving through this canyon in the spring, summer, and fall. No I did not "borrow" this picture it is Tim's -so pretty!

We arrived home with a little time to spare before Uncle Jim and Aunt Suzanne had to catch a plan to Oregon. This allowed the kids time to show them just how lively they can be!

We had such a great time! It went by all too fast -the boys have already started planning what to do the next time they come and visit. Get ready to see every children's museum in Utah County :) Thanks so much for taking the time to come and visit, hopefully we will see each other again soon!