Late Spring

It's September.  I gotta get a jump on this.

 The view from my parents driveway - I think this will probably always be one of my favorite things to look at.  Gosh i wish I'd had a razor scooter when I was a kid - this is the perfect driveway for them!

 Clara decided this spring that she really likes wearing glasses.  No prescription - just thinks they're cute and wears them a bunch.

 These two cute ducks took up residence in our trampoline hole/pond this spring.  They were pretty charming.

 Grady tried out playing in the dirt for an hour every week baseball this spring.  He was about the cutest kid in baseball pants and a hat I think I've ever seen.

 Then He went ahead and graduated from Pre-school.  He loved Miss Traci!  It was about this time he started talking about going to Kindergarten.  Nope - sorry bud, you've got one more year of pre-school. But he kept talking about it and asking about it. Then one night Brandon told me that he and Grady had even prayed about whether or not he should start school this year and they felt really good about it.  What?!! Do I get a say in this?  Grady has an August birthday and we had always just kind of planned on holding him back - but the more we thought about it the more we thought maybe we should send him and crazy enough - a spot opened up in the spanish immersion program the first of june.  So he went.  It took me about a month before I could think about it without getting teary eyed, but I really think we made a good choice.  he was ready.  I wasn't - kind of how most things feel lately.  It's just a whole year of his life I feel like I've lost!  One year earlier he will graduate - one year earlier he could leave on a mission.  man.  Being a mom is hard sometimes.

 Clara's last day as an Eagle Bay Kindergartner!  Like usual, she's running out the door with her "cimanon" toast, trying to catch up to the "scooter gang".

 "the Scooter Gang" aka the willoughby's and the johns rushing with a whole bunch of little kids trying to get to school on time. Me and B worked super hard on our yard this spring...always so much to do!  The other night amidst the chaos of getting dinner ready, brandon said to me "we're always busy.  always.  even when we don't have anywhere to go or anything in particular to do - we're just always busy."  Yep.  But our yard makes us and our kids pretty darn happy, so I think that busyness is definitely worth it.

 We cashed in some of B's Marriot points in june and went up to park city.  We stayed at the Mountainside resort - and it was AWESOME!  They had all these fun things for the kids to do - paint ceramics, decorate sugar cookies, finger painting, and on and on and our kids kept pretty darn busy while we relaxed at the pool a little.  It rocked.  My mom and dad kept Graham for us - he's not the best hotel guest yet.  We rode the alpine coaster and slide - played at the pool - ate good food - it was so fun.

 We went up to Heber one day and went swimming in the crater at the Homestead.  Little Leah even loved it (despite the face below).

 After Park City we went up to Cove to pick up Graham.  The first smores of the season were made.

 Grady and Clara talked Brandon into getting them these aviator glasses while I was preoccupied at the gap outlet.....they do look pretty darn cute in them though.

 We went on a hike with my Mom and Dad up high creek that day.  Such a beautiful summer day!

 Karen bought Grady and Graham these little pilot shirts and Clara quickly took over Grahams for her own.  They call them there "explorer shirts" and have had a lot of fun in them.  So many nights this summer have ended with the kids playing with the tee and bucket of baseballs that we borrowed from the Jeppsens.

 This summer my kids wanted to have a lemonade stand sooo bad.  Thing is - when you make lemonade the way I do - it's not super easy to just set up a stand and sell it for a quarter to whoever walks by!  After saying "probably not today" way too many times, they decided to get creative and had this whole sign almost made before I had even seen it.  Some kids sell lemonade.  Mine sell snakes.  and snake skins and snails and grasshoppers.  Best idea they've ever come up with.  Get all the snakes out of my yard and into someone else's!!!!  Big snakes cost $1.00 and little ones $50.  These are seriously the coolest kids I've ever met.  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!  They also gave out a piece of bubblegum, free with every purchase. thoughtful.

 And here's how most of those muddy summer days ended....with graham getting bugged in the tub.