First Day of School

the kids started school a couple weeks ago. after i did a celebratory dance in the driveway - i went in and spent the time with tanner doing something spectacularly exhilerating (like make a menu and grocery list for that week).

kaylee is in mrs. edelstein's third grade class and is already doing excellent work! she started ballet and will be starting girls scouts (brownies) this week.

emma is in mrs. modrow's first grade class. i can tell they are going to get along very well. emma is also starting girl scouts (daisies) and begging to get into swimming (you think she would have had enough after this summer) - so i think another year or two we'll try to find a swim team or club that doesn't have meets on sundays.

dallin started preschool and is loving it! they only meet 3 days a week and it's torture for him to get through the weekend. at least i know he'll be ready for kindergarten!

so it's just tanner and me...my baby!!!Y

Kaylee's Baptism

our little kaylee is baptized! i can't believe it, but she's turned into quite the responsible girl. we had a wonderful day. aaron's parents, my parents, my sister and my niece all came to visit from california and utah. we got to be baptized on her birthday (which was on a sunday) so that was pretty special. we are grateful to all our friends who came (christina stuetz even made it down from the cities) to support kaylee in her decision. we are so proud of her!Y

kaylee in her beautiful dress that jody and tara picked out in utah

kaylee and her daddy right before the service

Renegade Kids with Camera

i found these pics on my camera - usually i just find 20 or 30 pictures of the wall or the carpet or something else totally uninteresting - but these ones were cute. Y

dallin in all his glory...

here's emma workin' it...

cousin anjulee - born to pose

Camping with the Young Women

here's some pics of the yw overnighter we had in august. we went to minneopa and had lots of fun. didn't get very much certification done though...

here's the four girls at the mill - erica, lisa, laura, and marian

this is below the falls - marian, laura, erika, tara and lisa (sitting).

another one below the falls - lisa, erika, marion, laura

a shot from above the falls

...and another one...

Just checking in...

things have been pretty crazy lately - aaron went back to work last week (sob!) and classes start tomorrow. i'm just taking one class - family life & sex education (should be fun...). i was also registered for a marriage and family diversity class, but with the women's leadership program this year, girls on the run training, plus the kids stuff and just (just?) being a mom (and training for grandma's marathon on top of all that) i decided to drop it. things have just been creeping in - it seems like every year or two we have to re-evaluate and simplify so that it doesn't overload the fam.

the good news is that our families are coming in this week for kaylee's baptism (gasp!!). i can't believe she's 8 years old already! it seems like just yesterday that aaron and i were at byu in our cute little apartment at wyview, waiting for her to arrive. she was so little and petite and the days were so relaxed and full of fun with our friends - the pachecos, dances, conlins, penningtons, valentines...lots more names i can't remember. what did i do with all that free time!!!

anyway, i'm sure we'll take lots of pictures this week and next (school starts on the 4th - 10 days away - not that i'm counting...)Y

I Love My Hubby!!

today's been kind of a crazy day and i made a deal with aaron that if he mowed the lawn, i would put the kids to bed. well, i happened to look out the window and saw this...

( i couldn't back up far enough to get the whole thing in the picture)
man, i love him!! isn't he great!!! (sigh...)Y

Summer's almost over!!!

this summer is flying by and i can't believe the kids are going to start school in 3 weeks!! (not that i'm complaining...) we've been a crazy busy lately - the week after girls camp aaron went up to the boundary waters with the young men for a week. i was so jealous! he promised that we would go one of these days, just the two of us. he said it was breathtaking. maybe someday...

here are some pictures that he took - he said they had a blast.

we also have been spending a lot of time at the pool - which has been really nice during these hot and humid minnesota days. the kids love it - even tanner is trying to put his face in the water by himself!

isn't he so cute!! i can't stand it sometimes!!

dallin is so funny - he's been saying "watch mom!" and then he holds his breath, his cheeks all puffed out and then starts swimming...with the water up to his chin and his hands on the bottom of the 1 ft. pool. i have to try not to laugh!

i will have to say, emma is quite the little fish. she would swim 24/7 if she could.

not quite sure what kaylee's doing here - maybe trying not to look too old to be in the kiddie pool? she is growing up so fast. her baptism is about 2 weeks away and i am having a hard time feeling really old. of course she seems to have aged about 10 years this summer...

anyway, i'll write more later. i feel like i'm kinda getting better at this blogging thing.Y