First Day of School

Monday was Rachel's first day of school! I took her to school her first day, and handed her over to her teacher...being very clear that Rachel did not know how to get on the bus...she just looked me in the eyes and said, "Don't worry, we'll take very good care of her."

So, I hugged Rachel and said goodbye, and started tearing up that my little girl was going to school. Rachel just smiled and said, "Bye Mom!". She was ready.

I got home, and the rest of the afternoon, Katie and I sat outside and waited for the bus to drop her back off. Katie was so excited that Rachel got to ride a bus, and Rachel loved it. Today was the second day of school, and she rode the bus to and from school. I keep telling myself I'll get used to her being independent, not having her by me every second...but I miss her...and she is only away for a few hours each day! I know its part of life...I'll be okay...I'm just trying to get used to trusting other people with our most precious possessions.

Rachel loves it, that makes it easier, and she's making Katie crazy for school. Think it will continue for the next 15 years?

A Ward Family

There are certain things in a family that are essential. Mom, Dad, children....but there is also a sense of love and belonging in a family. A place where you can "bear one anothers burdens", make relationships with brothers and sisters, serve and make time for each other.

We had a wonderful ward family in Logan. I wanted to have pictures of all of those wonderful people who our family grew to love and depend on. These are a few. We will miss our ward like crazy. We were given many opportunities to serve, but also, I grew to love the sisters and depend on their love in return. David felt a great camaraderie with the brothers in the ward. David and I had many friends that moved in and out in the four years we lived there, and each one has changed us for the better. I love life. Heavenly Father has created such a wonderful plan for us to grow and develop. We will miss you BP2!

Good News in Twos

Cheesy title, I know, but it fits. We've had a fun month. First, the most exciting news is that we are going to have another baby! David and I are so excited. We have our first appointment next week to make sure everything is all right and to find out a due date. It'll be in March sometime. The picture of me and our girls is to show that I am exhausted most of time, but David is wonderful to do all he can when he gets home to relieve me. But, exhausted, sick, and happy...that is us.

The other news is that we are moving. David has a temporary position teaching Seminary at Weber High, so we are moving to my parent's house for a better commute, until we are permanently placed. Mom and Dad have fixed up the upstairs for us, so it'll be great. Rachel and Katie think we are the luckiest people in the world to be moving in with Grandpa and Grandma!

What we do...

Katie, Rachel, and Me Reading Books
Katie as Druzilla
Rachel as Anastasia

Many people ask me what I do at home with all my girls. I love being home with them, and although we fix dinners, clean the house...bla bla bla...we also have a lot of fun. We read a lot of books, swim, play at parks, and sometimes get creative. Today, we played dress up. Rachel's hair was really cute at first, and it looked okay when I got the camera out. They wanted to be Anastasia and Druzilla. So, I got out the Cinderella books and tried to duplicate their looks. These are just some pictures of our dress up day, and other pictures of our fun together at home.

The Garden

We have had so much fun doing a garden the last 5 years. I think we get better at it each time. This year, we let the girls do a lot of the planting. It looks like the carrots were planted too deep, and the watermelon was a little too handled. But, the rest came up pretty good. David's pride and joy has been the raspberries in the back. Rachel has been the picker, and Sarah has been the raspberry tyrant. She takes the berries, whatever color, and smashes them in her hand. She's so darn cute, so we let her. Rachel and Katie think the whole garden thing is fun, but they miss the carrots this year, we'll have to be more careful next time.

Sarah - 18 months

I thought I would write some quick things of my little 18 monther. Sarah is so fun. Her first word was DADDY, of course. But now she also says, Mommy, Katie, Rachel, Thank you, Please, Yes, No, Drink, Tad (baby Tad the frog), and Love you. She just started Nursery, thank heavens, but is having a hard time. You'd think with Rachel and Katie loving her all the time, she'd like some space where she could take over an area. It'll grow on her, I'm sure. I wish I could get all of Sarah's looks on film, because she's got quite the personality. Strong willed and knows that she can do anything here older sisters can...which usually gets her into trouble. I love her!

Balloons for Heaven

Funny story. We got a lot of helium balloons from the Carnival, and Rachel and Katie played with them all that day. I saw Rachel walk outside with a couple of them, and Katie followed. Then Katie comes running back in, and looks so excited and happy and says, "Mom, Rachel just gave a balloon to Heavenly Father and Jesus!". Then she ran back outside, and a couple minutes later she comes back crying. "Mom, Heavenly Father and Jesus need to give the balloons back!" I don't think we'll be giving any more balloons to the Heavens for a while.