End of Summer

One of our very favorite outings in the summer is to go to This is the Place Heritage Park. I love it up there. We always go the week most kids go back to school, but the little ones haven't. It is so quite and nice. The kids love to do the laundry, search for gold in the river (forgot to post a picture of that), go for a ride on the train, see and pet the animals, go get a shave, and of course stop and get some ice cream! It is always such a fun day!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Disneyland & Newport Beach

This past Spring, Anton and I decided it would be fun to take our girls on a vacation - just the four of us. We decided upon Disneyland and the beach. It was the best trip I can remember!! I thought my heart would burst with happiness. Sounds cheesy, but the whole trip (with the exception of my dumb car breaking down) was perfect. The girls couldn't get enough of the beach, and Disneyland of course was so magical. We invited my parents to join us, so they flew down on a Monday and flew out on Wednesday. We had such a ball together. We laughed so hard playing games, and laughing about the girls! They joined us for one day in Disneyland, and the girls loved every minute of being there with them.
We were gone for 9 days, so we thought when the trip was going to end that we would be "so ready" to get home, but just the opposite. We were all a little melancholy that this trip we had been so excited for was over. We spent the last day at a little beach we found in Laguna Beach. It was amazing!! It was one of the  highlights of the trip for Anton (the other was when Brave took Claire by the hand and walked around with her). We stayed there all day long. The water was so warm, and clear that we could see fish, and even two little sharks. We went tide pooling, which the girls went insane over! And, we also saw hordes of star fish, and sea anemones...which were Lilly's favorite.
I will always remember this trip. I am sad it is over, but look so forward to many more trips with my little family! Life is certainly so sweet.
 

 

 

School!

School has begun, and off to a great start! Lilly started Kindergarten over at Oakwood, and so far she is really happy. She is a big time homebody, so getting her to go anywhere is always pulling teeth. She doesn't fight going to school though, which is a big relief because that was the only thing I was worried about. The only complaint from the first several days of school is that it was too hot! I don't blame her for complaining about that. She gets to see her cousin Annie every day, and she always tells me how fun it is to play with her at recess. They are such cute little girls! Lilly has always taken an interest in music...in fact, if you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up, she will tell you "A Rock Star"! So, at school I signed her up for the Owl Choral, which is the school choir. How cute is that?! So far so good!

Claire started preschool this year! She was SO excited to go. As soon as we got there, she marched right down the driveway and into the house - she didn't look back, hesitate or even say goodbye. She was so happy when I picked her up. She talked and talked and talked, and couldn't wait to show me her fishy she made. I think it helped that she knew her teachers, and had seen Lilly go there for the past two years. There is a 45 minute gap from when I drop Claire off, to when I drop Lilly off, so Lilly and I packed a lunch and took it to the park before I had to take her to school. It was fun to be with just Lilly - and I think it will be good to have a little bit of one on one time with her.

Cutest little girls. I can't believe how quickly time is flying by. I love my little squirts!!
 

 

 

 

Cousin Outings

One of my very favorite things about summer is the time we spend with cousins. My girls are in heaven, and it is so fun to spend time with my sisters and sisters in laws. This year we spent a lot of time at Willow Creek swimming, we went to Temple Square, Thanksgiving Point, The Salt Lake City cemetery (no pictures), and the V Chocolates factory, the Zoo, and This is the Place - all with cousins! We sure do love summer, and I am sad to see it go - but I am looking forward to the cooler weather, that's for sure!

 

 

 

 

Summer

Well, we are moved, and getting settled. Each day the home/neighborhood feels more and more like home. Once we got moved, we were able to get summer started...which means, Swim Lessons! It is a favorite thing of ours. The kids love it, and we get to spend summer days with cousins - the best!! Lilly took dive lessons, and she loved it. Hopefully she sticks with it. Claire loves the water, and always makes the "pirate face" when she comes out of the water. And, no one rocks a better sun tan than Claire! So funny. I am sad summer is almost over, it has gone WAY too fast.
 

 

 

 

 

Changes

I knew the day would come, but it is hard to believe that it is really here. We are moving. There are so many emotions associated with moving. Leaving dear neighbors, and even better friends is hard. Leaving the house you were a newlywed in, and brought your babies home to is hard. Leaving all the hard work you put into the house is hard. But, with that being said, this move is right for our family. We feel so at peace, and so excited about the new chapter in our lives. We know our girls will thrive in the new neighborhood, and house. The only way to describe this move is bitter sweet. I have met some of my very dearest and best life long friends here...some my age, some not. I will still see them...that's what happens when you are close friends. But, not being down the street from them will be a change. This has been a happy home for us. I was looking through pictures to see if I could find a "before", and it was so fun to see all the fun memories that have taken place in this tiny home. There have been SO many - too many to count! I will always love this home. Always, always.
 

Preschool Graduation

Lilly had her DARLING preschool graduation a few weeks ago. She was so excited for it, and really worked on memorizing her poem and remembering all the words to the songs. Her favorite song this year was Puff the Magic Dragon. So cute. She made us so proud! She has loved preschool, and was really sad to be done. She has really excelled this past year. She is excellent at math, and is really working on learning to read. She loved her friends in school, and loved loved loved her teachers. Luckily, she will still get to say hello to them when we drop Claire off for school next year. She is warming up to the idea of Kindergarten, but she is still really nervous. I can't believe that she is starting kindergarten!! I can't even tell you how much I love this Lilly bug of mine. She is so sweet, and so fun to be around. Just last night, Anton and I were talking about how darling she is...she is at the best age, probably one of our favorites. Now, if time would just stop, that would be great!