Care Bears

It seems that each of my girls have gone through a phase where they love Care Bears. Emmalyn is no exception. She's constantly carrying these two around and calls them her "babies". You'll also notice from the picture that they are both covered in wash cloths because every baby has to have a blankie. You may also notice in the picture that she has one sock on. She also has a new fetish with wearing socks that are too big for her.

The Zoo

Josh gave the girls a reading program with weekly rewards in order to motivate them to read during the summer. The final reward was a trip to the zoo.

The last time we went, the polar bear was our favorite attraction. This year, it was the elephants. We walked up just when they were putting on a show. They had workers coaching and motivating the elephants to show their ears, put up their feet, dance circles and much much more. It was fascinating to hear the facts too.

Favorite Shoes

It's starting young with this one. Emma already has a favorite pair of shoes--her red Crocs. At least she chose a comfortable pair of shoes. But it's awfully hard to get her out of the house with a different pair of shoes without her falling to pieces. And I probably wouldn't care too much except that they barely fit her anymore. She's going to have to give them up in a matter of weeks.

First Day of School

We now have a 1st grader and a 3rd grader. Kali and Sadie were so excited to return to school to see their friends and begin a new school year. They don't get to see their school friends all that often because they go to a charter school and live too far from them to have regular playdates. They were also excited because we've only heart great things about their teachers. I have a good feeling about this year because even after enduring the most boring day of school (full of rules and explanations), they both said they loved it. Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that Sadie just likes the fact that she gets to eat lunch at school.

Art

While in Provo we decided to stop by BYU's Art Museum. The girls and I loved this piece, a giant wedding dress made out of bubble wrap. They had it lit and it slowly rotated. It was pretty cool to see.

And of course we had to take a picture with the Y in the background. If it weren't for my ankle, we would have spent a lot more time wandering campus and reminiscing.

Baby Hudson

Brady and Jordan had their baby on Brett's birthday so we decided to take a trip down to Provo to see him. He's adorable and looks just like Jordan to me. It was fun to talk with Jordan and to hear their experience. It was also fun to see their new place. They are going to be such amazing parents. We are so happy for them.

Gymnastics

Kali just loved doing gymnastics and did such an amazing job for her first session. As a matter of fact, she was invited to move up to the next class which is an invitation only class. Her teacher said that it will be hard for her because she is so new to gymnastics but she feels Kali is ready because she's such a quick learner. I really debated what to do because it's so expensive and we were only planning on doing the one session. But after seeing how much Kali loved it and how good she was at it, I decided that if she wanted to do it in place of dance, I would pay for her to do every other session. I talked with her teacher and she said that would be okay but she probably wouldn't progress as fast. I figure it's worth a try for the year and Kali was all for it.

Crutches

Today is my last day on crutches and I am so ready to be done. It has been a long four weeks. Hopefully I can return to some of my normal tasks, although I'm sure I'll still be slow for a while. I have another week of the boot and then I can start weening myself from it. I can't wait!

Swim Lesson

Well, we had another successful session of swim. Even though I only put my girls in one session a year, Kali was able to pass her level and even dove off the diving board which wasn't a requirement (only jumping off feet first and swimming to the side). Swimming the full length of the pool was quite a challenge for her, but her swim teacher was the best she's ever had and helped her succeed.

Sadie wasn't able to pass her class, but she really enjoyed being in the water and wasn't afraid to try anything. She just needs a little more practice.

Prayer

I can't get enough of watching Emmalyn during family prayer. She is so good to kneel down, fold her arms and bow her head. Even though doesn't stay that way the entire prayer, she does better than Ashlyn and she even says amen after. It's so cute.