Look what we woke up to this morning!! I know it's a little hard to tell, but that is really SNOW!! I know it's good for us, but I'm just not ready for winter to start when it's barely the first day of fall!! Let's hope this is not an indicator of the kind of winter we'll have this year.
Every summer and fall in Cache Valley, each smaller city has a clebration to remember and highlight its heritage. The celebrations range from trout and berry days, to sauerkraut days, to black and white days. Our town - River Heights - celebrates Apple Days because there is a big apple orchard on the east end that I'm sure is why River Heights exists.
One of the events of Apple Days is a SMALL parade through town - and I mean small! This year our primary invited all the kids to come ride their bikes in the parade. The kids felt so special to be part of the parade. But Emily wondered why we didn't bring any candy to throw to the people watching, and Josh kept saying that he wanted to ride on the sidewalk because he didn't want to get run over!
We got him mainly for spider control. Here in the west, we are so unlucky to be almost overrun by the lovely hobo spider. Our rock walls in the backyard seem to be a hobo haven, which makes me sooo nervous. I really don't want to deal with a child bitten by one of those things - it's pretty nasty. So, I was reading up on the spiders and discovered that cats will eat them. No one had to talk me into getting a cat after that. I was the one doing all the convincing and looking! Go get 'em Tiger!!
Emily said it was fun to go to school and she even made some new friends. She loved seeing all of her Primary friends on the playground. When it was time for bed she said, "Can I go back again tomorrow?" I'd like that in writing please!!
When I took her this morning - day 2 - she said "Why are you coming in with me? I thought you were just going to drop me off!" Makes ya' feel so good to know they need you!
Josh seemed to be a little lost without her. He kept saying, "When are we going to go get Emily?" He was so excited to go see her in her classroom at the end of the day. He got a big smile out of her when she saw him through the window in her classroom door!
Thanks for getting in touch with us, Amanda! How fun to catch up again. We hope all goes well with baby #3 and keeping up with Bryce, Nicole, and life in general. If anyone can do it, it's you!
Thanks for taking the day off for us, Mom! We had a great time and hope we can do it again some time soon!
Emily wanted to get in on the action too, so Uncle Eric buried her. She was a little worried when we told her to get out - she said she couldn't move. So we told her to wiggle her whole body like a fish does when it is on land. That brought a smile to her face, and she was able to free herself.
Emily finally lost her tooth on May 26th. She got so tired of it wiggling around that she had her dad just pop it out! Of course, it started bleeding, so she ran to the bathroom and we tried cleaning up the mess. As she was standing there, watching everything in the mirror, her eyes suddenly rolled back in her head, she started wobbling around, and she fell on the floor!! Our cute little princess had passed out! She looked around and said her head was spinning. I looked at her and she was as white as a ghost - her lips were as white as her teeth! Suffice it to say, I think we'll not let her see any more blood!
We had Joy School graduation last night. It was definitely the event to top all events! The kids have been participating in Joy School since January. We have been in a group with 3 other families in our stake. Josh was the youngest participant, and Emily, of course, was the smartest! For the graduation ceremony the kids sang their favorite Joy School songs, got diplomas and mortar boards, and walked to Pomp and Circumstance. It was so cute! I was in charge of making the mortar boards. I think they turned out really cute. I just used squares of foam posterboard (like you use for your science project display) that were already black. Then I glued on bowls that I had spray painted black and added a yarn tassel to top them off.
Emily thoroughly enjoyed herself. The event was held at her best friend's house - another Joy School participant. She had so much fun jumping on the tramp - in her dress even (not something we would normally let her do) - and playing with her real pom poms. Her hair really sucked up the static electricity! She sang her heart out on all the songs and walked gracefully across the stage as she received her diploma.
Josh, on the other hand, doesn't care much for these big social gatherings. Even though he had been around these people for the last 5 months, he appeared to have a little bit of stage fright. He stood on the stage looking at us all like we were a bunch of lunatics! All he could think and talk about was getting his "graduation hat and pom-pom (the tassel)." When it came time for him to receive his diploma, he froze and wouldn't move until I put my arm around him and walked across the stage with him. Pretty typical for Josh.
This is what happens when a five-year-old sneaks the camera out of the house when her mother is paying attention to the work that needs to get done and not her children! This first one is Josh being Josh.
This is a little late in coming, but I just couldn't resist posting these pictures. We had an Easter celebration at Grandma & Grandpa Larsen's house. Among the activities was coloring eggs. I think Josh & Emily got tired of trying to use the flimsy little dipper that comes with the kits. So they just used their hands. Emily did quite a nice job of sticking with the color theme of her outfit, don't you agree?!! She sort of looks like she's turning into the Hulk! I'm not sure what look Josh was going for, but it's definitely his personality to try some of everything! There was still a little bit of color on their hands for Church the next day, but fortunately not too obvious. Give 'em an inch and they take a mile!
The kids were totally fascinated as they watched him maneuver around in his little tractor. We did have to change the trench layout that we had worked so hard on that morning - measuring, spray painting lines, etc. In the end, everything worked out, and we got a whole bunch of deep roads, dirt piles, and more rocks to clear away. Home ownership is so rewarding!!
ys this quite often, I was a little speculative and said, "Ok, show me." Sure enough, she was right. I don't think I've ever seen her more excited! She went from window to window shouting, "I have a loose tooth! I have a loose tooth!" She even put up a sign in her window to announce the news to everyone driving by. It's been about a week, and the tooth is still hanging in there, but getting more wiggly every day. Maybe by the end of the week the tooth fary will have made her first visit to our house...
