My Prima Ballerina

Today was not only A' first day of school, but the start of a new year of ballet classes.  Watching her is so much fun.  "A" tries so hard to make sure that her feet are positioned correctly, knees bent appropriately, shoulders back and relaxed, and arms gracefully placed.  On occasion she concentrates so hard that her Plié and Pirouette land her right on the dance floor!

First Day of School, 2011

Each year on the first day of school, tradition dictates that pictures are taken, and Miss K insists on being in them every time with J and A!  She misses the other two so badly when they go back to school.

 J has been waiting and waiting for school to start.  He LOVES it!  We are excited because he will be challenged a bit more list year than he was the last.  The elementary school that Jacob attends chooses the top ten students, and those students who are picked (based on cumulative scores in English, Math, Science, and overall testing, and teacher referral) are placed in a class with the grade above theirs.  Jacob is in third grade, but placed with a group of twenty fourth graders.  We are hoping that this will keep him from getting so bored at school, but at the same time teach him a little more humility!

 A is growing up so fast!  She is in second grade this year, and very excited because her best friend is in the same class!  She could hardly sleep last night, and was up at the crack of dawn to get ready and then sit around for and hour and a half (complete with back-pack, shoes, and water bottle) until school started.

 Miss K, flashing her happy smile.  She loves being included in things that the older kids do.

And, not to be outdone, little Miss E tried to escape while my attention was else where!  Too bad, I caught her running down the sidewalk!  Something in those eyes spells trouble!

Family Pictures 2011

Steve's family got together for some family pictures before his brother went home with his family to Illinois. I decided to snap some photos of my own family while we were at it.  Generally I only shoot photos of other people's families, because I am my own worst critic when it comes to my own. But, I gave it a shot. Plus, my kids NEVER listen to direction when it comes from Mom!!!  On a side note, I can't get this to stop underlining the words, and don't have time to retype it!

 E with Daddy!

 J!  What a stud!

 My sweet little A!

 Miss K, otherwise known as "Constance." (Inside Joke)

 Check out those baby blues!

 Sisters

 My beautiful little E!  She didn't want to cooperate, so this was her best shot!

 A and I

 Four little monkeys.

 Daddy's girls!

 E has a thing for eyes, and especially for poking them.

 This is the one picture that I didn't take.  We will have a better version of this picture eventually.  Steve's cousin was holding a tree limb back so that the photographer could take our family photos, but we don't have any of those yet, and his cousin took the picture one handed!

Mt. Rushmore 2

Our big destination on our trip to South Dakota was Mt. Rushmore.  It was on Grandpa Sagers bucket list!  The kids were amazed at the detail of the mountain.  We stayed for the program that starts at 8:45 every evening.  They showed an amazing film that Jacob loved about the history of the U.S. President's effects on the United States.  Then they called members of the armed forces onto the stage and lit up the mountain beautifully.  We are so glad we were able to see that.  As we drove away from Mt. Rushmore, you could still see it lit up, and that made for an amazing drive back to camp!

Mt. Rushmore 1

 The family!

 Anna and Matt

 Nothing like camping to make you look lovely!

 Uncle Richard and Colin

 Cousins

J in front of the mountain!

The Needles

The Black Hills

Wagon Train

We went to South Dakota with all of Steve's siblings and their families, and Steve's parents.  We went to so many fun places.  In order to keep track of one another, we used shoe polish and wrote on the back windows of all of the vehicles.  We must have looked pretty funny going down the interstate, one in back of the other.We had a great time, and can't wait for next summer.