Back to school 2016

Well, well, it is back to school time yet again.  Why do summers seem to fly by?  I admit that it is hard on me to send the kids off again and I actually dread the first day of school.  I'm sure we will be back in our groove soon and it will be nice to be back on a schedule, but my time with the kids is always a treat!

This year Brielle heads in to Kindergarten.  She is so excited and I have tried not to show her much of my sad side so she stays that way.  At times she will tell me that she will miss me too!  She has been my little buddy/helper for so long, when all the other kids have been off at school and Gavin is napping...it sure will not be the same without her home chatting with me.

She is so cute with those darling freckles.

My oh my, Payton is a handsome big 5th grader.  I can remember a lot of my 5th grade year, it was the year my mother was diagnosed with cancer and a trying time for my family.  How can my son already be that old? 

Pretty McKenzie is heading into 4th grade.  She is a sweetheart and always wants to be good.

Taylor looks great and ready for 2nd grade.  He is a social little guy and enjoys learning.  Taylor is loving having shoes that tie this year.

Gavin isn't going to know what hit him when all of his buddies go to school.  Time to play with mom! I don't know what I am going to do when he eventually heads off to school as well, at least that is a little ways off!

We feel so blessed to call these kids ours!

Walking into school on the first day...bittersweet.

Payton at his locker.

Kenzie is excited to have a locker this year as well.

Looking sharp!

Can you just see her excitement?  On the plus side...there are so many good friends for her in the Kindergarten class.  It has been one thing that has made it easier to send her off.  It will be great having her have a bunch of good friends/classmates to grow up with.

Lined up and ready to begin her first day.

Payton and Hunter on the first day.  Even Payton has a good group of friends and I am so thankful.

Handsome boys!

McKenzie is excited to have a male teacher and enjoys making friends as well.

Taylor may be small but he is confident and also has a lot of friends.

Gavin and I are looking forward to some quality time together.

Living Up the Rest of the Summer

Another school year is fast approaching and therefore we have been soaking up our time together and playing had.

The girls were being funny and switching faces on Mckay's phone.

Silly girls!

Taylor and Gavin were posing so well for a picture.  Cute little guys!

It has been a good summer going places with this crew.

One evening we busted out the rollerblades and the kids were having the time of their lives skating around, we even played on bikes.  It was a perfect summer evening!

The day before school started I took the kids to Pete's Dragon with some friends, they were all so excited.

Mr. Cool wearing Dad's shades.

I love his cheeky smile!

And this is pure cheese!

Here is a result of playing hard!

This kiddo has fallen asleep on the go so many times this summer.

Stake Conference With Elder Christofferson

Our Stake had the opportunity to have a special Stake Conference with Elder Christofferson.  What a privilege it was!  It hasn't been very long since Dick has been the new Stake President and it was neat to here some of their interactions over the weekend.

I thought it was priceless that when Elder Christofferson walked into the chapel he was touching people as he greeted them and made his way up to the front.  He had a smile that could light up the whole room.  It was a great experience hearing him speak and telling us about the Savior and also making sure to let us know how much President Monson also loves us.  Near the end of Elder Christofferson's talk, he said he would love to shake hands with all of us but due to time he just invited the children to come up and shake his hand.  I hope this is something my kids will always remember.  It was so special!

 

After the conference there was a small lunch with Elder Christofferson for members/family members of the Stake Presidency.

Here is a quick picture.

It was great to hear him speak again in a smaller setting.

Elder Christofferson is truly a man of God and was constantly testifying of Jesus Christ, it was so neat to be up close and personal.

A Hiking We Will Go

We are soaking up the last full week before the kids go back to school.  The cousins are still in town and so part of the fun we've been having has been hanging out with them.  Sarah invited us to hike to Priest Butte, it is something we haven't done before but we thought it'd be fun to go.

These kids love hiking and we prepared by wearing pants just in case we ran into any rattlesnakes (yikes).  It was a nice day and not overly hot, it felt wonderful.

Gavin wasn't too hard to pack around, perk of him being on the smaller end.

We saw a lot of these weird lizards.

Oh my are these two cute or what?!

The view at the top was so pretty.

Getting ready for a picture.

What a fun crew to hike with!

I think it was fun for the kids to be up high near the crosses we always pass by when we travel to Choteau.  Now they will remember the time we hiked up there when we drive by.

Riding in the backpack can be tiring I guess!  Ha Ha!  I can't even count how many times poor Gavin has fallen asleep on the go this summer.  Although I know he loves to go places sometimes he just has to crash and rest up a bit.

It was a perfect summer activity, thankfully we didn't see any snakes.  It is something we will definitely have to do again soon!  After the hike we went to Choteau and let the kids play at the playground before having to say goodbye (it is always hard to say goodbye to cousins, it never seems to get easier on them).

Some Tired Kids

All of our playing this summer has made for some tired kiddos!

They are so precious when they are fast asleep.  It seems like any frustrations of the day instantly disappear once I see them sleeping and so innocent.  The girls wanted to sleep in the top bunk together.

The boys tend to sleep together often.

They are so sweet and it is funny that they wiggle all over.

Oh those cheeks!

A Visit to Black Eagle Park

The kids enjoy checking out different parks.  We have never been to the Black Eagle Park before so we thought it would be fun to go there with the cousins who are still in town.

This picture describes their relationship.  Brielle is very good to Gavin and in return he enjoys being around her.  They are pretty close and get each other.  He loves to ride on the back of this trike with her as he holds on the the seat.  It is so cute and she is good to give him fast rides.  (This trike has been around since Payton was little...it has been worth it's weight in gold.)

At the park the kids loved playing on the big tires, there were a few minor bumps and bruises that came with the territory of trying to jump from tire to tire.

Payton, Kason, and Kenzie were having a great time.

Here is an action shot of Taylor jumping to another tire.

Asher and Taylor are good buddies.

Gavin is still eating some of the pizza from our picnic lunch.

He thought it was fun to hide in the tires.

Then there was this huge slide and Brielle would scream on the way down!

She was loving it!

Payton was so good to take Gavin down.

Here comes Grandma and Emry.

Kenzie flying down.

It was great fun!

Head first.

Taylor's shorts were slippery so he came down pretty fast.

I think watching the cousins do a train was my favorite part.

Sometimes they got a little separated.

Their faces show just how much fun they were having together.