First Grade 2012

Addie headed off to school this morning. It was her first day of first grade. I thought I would be excited to be one kid down for a full day, but I am not so much feeling that way right now. That is certainly a long time to be away from your mom! She is such a kind, sweet girl and I know she will do great with it. She was feeling pretty darn fabulous this morning and even got to switch out the studs out of her ears and put in her first pair of real earrings! I wish I had her confidence!

Milestones

Kendal has hit some pretty big milestones lately. She will be 2 1/2 years old in September, but I feel like she is too grown up for her little self!! I finally relented after she pushed and pushed to be potty trained. I had zero intentions of starting that fiasco until she was 3, but she would beg and beg to go potty 4-5 times a day. We bought all the princess panties, prizes, tinker bell potty, and pull-ups and dived right in. It didnt take her long to catch on and now for the first time in 6 years, this home is diaper-free! Such an odd feeling....but in a good way.
About a week ago we found an incredible deal on some used bunk beds for the girls room. Besides being potty trained, she moved to a big girl bed as well. She has been such a wild sleeper in her crib and not much has changed with her bed. She can usually be found passed out, on top of the covers, and laying the opposite direction.
She is such a sweet girl with an enormous attitude and an iron will. I repeat, ahem.... an IRON WILL. I love her so incredibly much and I am so excited for all the new things she is learning to do.

Addie's 6th Birthday!

For her birthday, Addie chose to invite her bff Ellie to a movie, lunch, and shopping. We went and saw Ice Age:Continental Drift, ate at the one and only, McDonalds, and did some school shopping. Later in the evening we celebrated with a birthday cake and presents. Its crazy how fast 6 years can fly by. Hope you had a happy day Addie Belle!

Mad Skills

 Thanks to Andy, we tried our hand at rock climbing and canoeing...a little out of the ordinary for us! She bought a deal on Groupon and so we drove to Provo and had a little excursion, kid-free. It really was fun and new, and the company was fabulous!

The Great Campout of 2012

We packed up (nearly our whole house, I think...) and headed for the hills. Literally. We headed up to Whitney Reservoir in the Uintah mountains with our good friends and braved it out in the elements for a few days. The DeMonds' and Gales' each had a trailer, which saved us a time or two from the crazy wind and rain, but for the most part we braved it in a tent. It was a blast and the kids were in absolute heaven. I am pretty sure there were some fabulous memories made this weekend. We went fishing, went on some Ranger rides, and sat around the campfire chatting.
     I do believe I went through an entire giant bag of wipes...which I suppose is the next best thing to a bath tub when you're in the wilderness. After the long Ranger ride, where all the kids sat in the back, we HAD to shower them from Tj and McCalls trailer. The dirt was in EVERY crevice possible on their faces. Each hair on their head was coated, teeth were layered, ears and noses were full, and it looked like they were wearing copious amounts of eyebrow color and eyeliner....thanks to the dust. Pretty darn funny sight if ya ask me!
     The only downer was our last night about 11pm, when Kendal started throwing up. It was a very long night for Mom, Dad, and Kendal...poor gal. Three giant pukes, endless outfits and blankets, a millions wipes, and an endless night later....she felt a million times better. She was back to her old self in the morning. We decided it was a combo of eating too much junk, drinking too much soda, and eating dirt and a cracker Sophie threw in the reservoir that sent her tummy over the edge.
     After we got home, before I even walked in the house, I headed straight to the laundry mat. 13 loads, 1 box of detergent, $30 bucks, and 3 hours later...we were dirty laundry free. I figured with that amount of laundry, it would have taken me nearly 3 days. Plus, I didnt want our house to smell like vomit from the 4 garbage bags full of yucky laundry.
     I do believe if we make this camping thing a habit, we are in DESPERATE need of a trailer while we have little kids!!