First Days of School

 The first day of school was last week.  These three girls were very excited to go.  Back to School night was good for me to meet their teachers and get a feel for what this year is going to be like.  Rachel is starting 4th grade.  Katie is in 2nd grade.  Sarah begins Kindergarten.  I love that they can walk to school and they will be walking together. 

 The First Day of School is always exciting for the kids, and a bit of a fiasco for me.  At least that is how it has been for the last 3 years.  This year I called in the reserves, and it was the best thing for all of us.  Each child is supposed to have a "caring adult" to attend the first couple of hours of school, and I have always divided myself between them, while hauling along my other children.  I didn't think I could do it this year, with 3 in school and two to haul along and being pregnant.  So my mom and my sister Carla were able to come and attend.  Then I had a friend call and ask to take Bekah and Nathan while we were at the school.  It was the slickest first day, and I might have to beg them to help me again next year, it was wonderful.

 So, this is one of the little people who will be staying at home with me this year.  Bekah does her hair like this every time I forget to close the bathroom door.  Headbands.  She loves them.  She usually has all of the hair elastics on her arm also.

Then, here is my boy.  I don't really know why I chose this picture, but he will be my other buddy while we wait for the girls to get home.  Already we have noticed that his sisters kept him running around, and he kind of needs to get out a bit more.  I am excited to have more time with him in the afternoons while Sarah is at Kindergarten.  He is so fun, and is already asking for his own school time, like I did with Sarah the last couple of years. 

Here's to the school year of 2012-2013!  Here we go!

Summer Part 2

 I know I said in the Summer 1 blog that this Pioneer Workshop was a lot of work, and then I put a picture of us in our Hawaiian gear, but we also had a lot of fun.  At a place called Dry Creek, there is a sand river, and if you dig deep enough you can come get water.  So, we were in teams, and the first team to fill their cup of water, won.  This is my winning team!

 Well, while all of that was happening, our children had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma Z.  We have never left our children for a whole week, and I was nervous, but they did such a great job, I think we are going to Will our children to them if David and I die.  Happy thoughts?  Well, our kids were very happy when we picked them up.  Nathan did have to be run to the doctor for a popcorn kernel up his nose, but if things like that didn't happen, where would the excitement be?

 This is what the weather was like when we got back.  Rain, rain, rain.  We were so grateful.  It saved our lawn and garden. 

 I know this is probably silly for some people.  But it is important to me that we work with our kids, and that we remember working together.  There is a lot of value in work.  Rachel and Katie helped me clean all the windows in the house also, and to tell you the truth, I couldn't have done it without them.  I love working with my children. Its exhausting and I'm not a chipper person the whole time, but I do love seeing the kids clean up by themselves, start the dishes without being ask, and when things like making applesauce come around, that they are right there with me, working.

 Grandma Nana came for a visit also.  She is always so kind and loving when she comes.  We love having her over!

And this sums up the rest of our summer.  Random, creative and fun.  Katie has taken tons of pictures of what the days were like, and they were silly.  But, we need our fun, silly summers, and now, we're ready to start another year of school, and get back to business.

Summer - Part 1

 We have had a great summer.  The end of June, we went to Bear Lake for the annual Zollinger Reunion.  David warranted a picture for riding in a boat and kind of enjoying it.  The kids loved it.

 This is the reason I did not ride in a boat.  Here are the Pregos of the Zollinger clan.  Jenn actually just had her baby a couple days ago, I'm due in October, and Melanie is due in the next couple of weeks.  Its funner to be pregnant with company, we can complain to each other and it feels better somehow.

 Our family at the Bear Lake overlook.  I love this place.  We won't be going there next year, and I'll miss it.  We're going to try vacationing at a different spot, but we'll miss Bear Lake a lot.

 Bekah found her new love.  Corn on the cob.  She'll eat 3 cobs of corn and ask for more.  So cute.

 David's dad came for a visit.  We went to St. George to be with David's brother Michael's family.  Its always fun to get together, and since David's dad lives in Michigan, the visits are few and far between.  We're so grateful he could come!

 Cox Reunion.  We haven't been to a Cox reunion since we moved to Parowan.  We miss seeing Grandma Cox, she is a special part of our lives, and our family thinks she's great.  We got to see a lot of cousins, uncles and aunts, but this lady is the main reason we go.  We love you, Grandma!

 The next few pictures is a Pioneer Workshop we did with David's work.  It was a good experience for David and I.  We spent a week visiting church history sites along the Pioneer/Oregon Trail.  We took a lot of notes, a lot of pictures, and made a lot of friends.

David is at the top of Independence Rock.  We had to wake up at 5:00 each morning, and would rush from one site to the other trying to cover as much terrain as possible.  This was a good break in the middle of the trip to take some time and hike this rock.  Names are still visible and it was a good reminder of Jesus Christ as the Rock on which we should build.