Back to School

So I'm finally getting around to posting back to school pictures now that school has been in session for a month and a half.  Above is a picture of Emily and her friends the week before school started.  It was picture day and they were checking out their lockers.  It's hard for me to remember that she is a FRESHMAN because 9th grade is still in middle school here.  In fact, I really didn't comprehend that fact until after she had been in school for a few weeks.  I remember my Freshman year fondly.  I had so much fun!  It is one of my favorite memories.  And because I remember my Freshman year, I'm both excited and scared for her all at the same time.

Aubrey and Addy had to start school a whole week before their older siblings.  They started in a BRAND SPANKIN NEW school this year.  So far this has been a good change.  We especially like that there are so many kids from our neighborhood going to the same school. 

Addy is in 2nd grade and Aubrey is in 6th!  Her last year of Elementary!

I think it's awesome when teachers give homework before school even starts!  Here is Addy on her first day with her scrapbook page she made.

While Aubrey and Addy were in school, Zac and Emily and I did some back to school shopping.

I had a fun week with just these two at home.  One day we went to the Salt Lake temple to do some work for our ancestors and to celebrate President Monson's Birthday.  When we got there we found out we actually missed him, and the rest of the First Presidency, by 20 minutes.  They had walked right through the Baptistery!

After we left the temple we had a delicious lunch at the Lion House.

One day after school we decided to squeeze in one more swim session before summer was over.

A week after Aubrey and Addy started school, Emily had her first day of 9th grade.  Zac didn't have to go that Monday.  I think it was orientation for the 10th grade or something.  That was a month ago, so how am I supposed to remember?  Anyway.  Emily started school Monday and Zac started 11th grade on Tuesday.  It is strange for me to think that if he had been born just 2 days earlier he would be a Senior this year.  This was the best picture I could get of him.

I still can't believe that we are already into our second month of school!  Life has not slowed down like I had hoped it would after a busy summer.  We have been crazy with 2 soccer games, 5 volleyball games and a million different practices every week!  But we are hanging in there an surviving it.  I do still have this crazy home school bug that won't leave me alone.  One of these days I might be posting a picture of our first day of school with us in our pajamas....

What the Heck is He Even Talking About???

This is the actual conversation I just had with this kid:

Zac: Mom, I'm going to need a new binder.
Me: Why?
Zac: Because my old one is all messed up.
Me: But what do you need a binder for?
Zac: (looking at me like I'm crazy)  For.  School.
Me: (looking at him like he's crazy) ZAC!  It's the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!  What in the heck are you even talking about????
Zac:  I'm just letting you know that I'm going to need a new binder when school starts.
Me:  O...K....I'll try to...get you one...before then....

Flashback/Flashforward Friday - Cousins

Flashback Christmas 1997

Tyler, Josh, Zac

 

 Flashback Christmas 2003

Tyler, Spencer, Zac, Josh, Austin

Flashback Christmas 2005

Asher, Zac, Tyler, Austin, Josh

 

 Flashback Christmas 2008

Tyler, Zac, Josh, Austin

 

Flashback Christmas 2010

Josh, Zac, Tyler, Austin

Flashback Spring Break 2013

Austin, Josh, Spencer, Tyler, Asher, Uncle David, Zac, Grandpa and Addy

 Flashforward New Years Day 2014

Austin, Spencer, Josh, Tyler, Zac, Asher

How much fun is it having all these boy cousins all around the same age?  More FUN than you would think is humanly possible!  It has been fun watching them together through the years.  I can't believe how much they changed just in the last two pictures that were taken only 9 months apart.

Girls Version Of Labor Day Weekend

So last night, Steve did a guest post about his Labor Day Weekend adventures.  He took Zac and his friend Emerson and Emily on an awesome ATV trip.  Aubrey and Addy and I made our own kind of fun that weekend at home.  We were invited to go on two different trips, but we turned them down for a low key weekend with just the three of us.  Steve invited us to go along on their excursion.  And my BFFs invited us to go with them and their families camping at Bear Lake.  I've always wanted to go on an ATV trip of the likes that they took.  But at that moment in time I just could not bring myself to want to go on another trip that would take so much effort to plan ahead of time (Steve decided they were going less than a week before they left).  We had just been on two back to back trips- Camping and Education Week, and in between those trips Emily had girls camp, and if you read Steve's post you will know I was in charge of packing for that as well.  Life had been crazy fun all summer long and we had just gone back to school the week before and I was so excited for life to calm down and get back to normal.  I really could not bring myself to want to go on that trip.  Or camping at Bear Lake.  I know if we would have gone we would have had a blast.  I would have been on the beach all weekend with my BFFs and the girls would have been on the beach all weekend with theirs.  But again, I just could not get excited about preparing for and packing for and going on another trip at that particular point in my life (this means I am getting old).  So these cute girls and I decided that we were going to have the most relaxing fun girl weekend possible.  We were not for one second going to do anything we didn't want to do.  All weekend long.  And by the end of the weekend, the house was living proof that the weekend did not disappoint (I didn't want to clean).  

Aubrey took care of my friend Allison's chickens and dog Mingus while they were away living it up at Bear Lake.  Aubrey was in heaven!  She is our animal lover.  All of our chickens have been eaten by animals other than ourselves and she has been missing them.  She loved taking care of the chickens and especially Mingus since her mother is so mean and won't let her have a dog.  Although I must say, spending the weekend with Mingus almost made me want to have a dog.  But only if we can have Mingus.  And I don't think that's going to happen, so I guess we are safe.  Anyway, here are some highlights from our weekend.

First, as soon as everyone left, we hopped in the van and hit up the Redbox.  The girls chose a couple movies and video games each.  Then we went shopping for food for the weekend.  We bought pretty much everything that looked good to us at the moment.  I don't have any pictures from that night but we just basically put ourselves into a movie/food coma.  The next day we slept in and then went to see Monsters University with my sister Lauren.  I'm super cheap so I never buy popcorn or drinks or anything at the movies.  But since this weekend we were not doing anything we didn't want to do, well, we didn't want to watch the movie without popcorn and drinks so we splurged.  After the movie we went to my moms house where she had her homemade chicken soup waiting for us.  They girls played on her electronics.

Then we went for frozen yogurt.

Sunday we went to church and came home and slept.  And since I was in such a giving mood that weekend, I let Aubrey bring Mingus home with us for a few hours.  This made both girls and Mingus very happy.

The next day, Aubrey's friend Grace came over and we all went out to lunch.

And that evening our adventurers came home.  It was Zac's Birthday.  He had requested fajitas and guacamole for dinner so we had fajitas and guacamole (that was the most food prep I had done all weekend so I hope he appreciated it!).  My mom and Lauren had dinner with us and my mom made Zac his favorite Pina Colada Cake.

Happy Birthday Zac

On Monday, September 2nd (Labor Day), my most FAVORITE and BESTEST son turned 16 years old! 16!  That wasn't supposed to happen so fast.  He was due to be born on the day that Princess Diana died. He didn't come that day.  He waited a whole week.  When Labor Day 1997 came around, I was for sure he would be born on such a fitting day.  But no.  He was showing his stubbornness even while in the womb. He had to wait until "Labor" Day had fully passed (by 30 minutes) before he sent me into 13 hours of labor (most of it without an epidural)(I was being stubborn too).

This is the kid that made me a mother.  He has been full of personality from the minute he came into the world.  He is one of the funniest people I know.  He is the best big brother, which is evident in the pictures in his video.   Happy Birthday to my favorite son!  

                                Click here to see all 5 million Birthday Videos

Fabulously Fun Family Weekend In Rexburg Idaho

Last weekend, our family went on the most amazing trip.  We went to Family Education Week at BYU Idaho.  We had the BEST time while we were there.  It was Thursday, August 1st - Saturday, August 3rd.  Steve and I were able to choose from Gospel centered classes to go to throughout the day and the kids were all separated into age groups and they had classes and devotionals and played fun games while the adults were in classes.  We seriously had the best time and we were all sad to leave when it was over.  Over the 3 days there were several Family Devotionals we went to together.  We all came away spiritually charged.  It was like EFY for the whole family!

The kids weren't so sure they were going to enjoy their time there, especially when I showed them their schedules.  But all four of the kids had a blast and made many new friends.  Zac even found a friend who was in his group at EFY last year.  And Addy, who usually won't leave my side,  didn't want to go each time I picked her up from her class.  I had to drag her out.

We loved being on the beautiful BYUI campus.  We made sure to take a campus tour in hopes of softening our U of  U loving children's hearts.  They have the most beautiful gardens there.  We were able to walk through them several times a day on our way to classes.  And we luncheoned in the gardens each day as well.  Below, Zac was standing behind this wall because he didn't want to be in the picture.  I told him to come out and get in the picture.  He would only come out half way.  He kept saying "I'm IN the picture!"

We had dinner one night at Big Jud's and had 2 of their monstrously good hamburgers.

Our enrollment in Education Week ($75 for our WHOLE family!) gave us access to all the campus facilities.  Most for free, the rest for a discounted price.  The first night we were there we went swimming.  The second night my family members refused to go to the dance no matter how hard I tried to persuade them.  So we went bowling instead.  It cost us a whopping $5 total.

More garden pictures.  The smell in the gardens was intoxicating.

We ate dinner one night at Millhollow.  My sister Kristy worked there when she was a college student.  A few days before we ate there, she posted a picture on facebook of her family in Texas eating Blue Bell Ice Cream and asked me if I was jealous.  So I couldn't resist posting this picture asking her if she was jealous.

Another activity we were able to do was the Ropes course on campus.  Again at a discounted price.  The cost of this activity for our whole family was $15!  We had a blast!  The kids loved climbing this huge structure and did it over and over again.

Emily

She made it to the top!

Zac                                                     Emily and Zac

Zac made it to the top!

Aubrey made it to the top!

Addy made it to the top...of the stairs.  But I thought that was pretty good since she didn't want to even try to climb in the first place.

At the bottom the guy who was helping us said she could swing since she didn't want to climb any higher.

I ALMOST made it to the top but this dumb rope ladder completely twisted around so I was on the wrong side and was leaning back away from the structure.  I kept trying to right it or pull myself up to the top but by that time I was totally out of upper body strength. 

Steve also almost made it to the top and probably could have but he was a little nervous because he had to keep instructing his belayer (who has self diagnosed ADD) and trying to instruct your belayer, who's hands your life is in, from 50 feet up in the air is a little stressful.  Oh yeah, Zac was on belay.

Zac and Em both decided to try going up the ladder swing, which is one of the hardest parts to go up.

Em made it to the top!

Here are some of the other ropes course challenges we did.

After our adventures on the Ropes Course, it was time to head for home.  We were all a little bit sad to say goodbye to our fabulously fun family weekend.  We loved every minute of it.  We didn't get home until almost 1AM on Sunday.  We got up and went to church that morning and I couldn't bring myself to take my wrist band off.  I was still in denial that it was over.  Everyone at church probably thought I was a total nerd.  I finally found the strength to remove it later that night. 

My favorite quote from the weekend comes from Steve: "An entire town full of people who don't wear shorts.  That's just weird."