First Day of Kindergarten and Preschool

On Wednesday it was Gray and Tag's turn (and kind of mom's turn since she earned a few hours of quiet!) to go to school. Tag is going to preschool at Alpine Elementary this year. The boundaries have changed for the special education program and he has to go so far. I was really nervous about it until I went to meet his teacher. She was like "I know you!". I felt kind of bad because I had no idea who she was. Turns out she was Harlee's talking time teacher when she was four. It was such a comforting connection and I know she is looking after our Tag. He is going four days a week. The bus comes and picks him up from our house at noon and brings him home at 4:30. Such a LONG day for such a little guy but we know that structure is the greatest blessing for him. Gray went next and is in kindergarten this year. He has Mrs. Parsons for a teacher and she seems so nice. When we went for his evaluation a few days before school started Gray smoked it!! He was reading whole sentences when all that she was desiring was for him to sound out a word. He is such a fun and bright boy. I just know that they are both going to have the best year!!

Dinosaur Museum for Two

After we dropped the kiddos off at school we decided to go to the dinosaur museum. It was kind of nice to have only two kids to watch after. I love watching Tag and Gray interact. Since Gray does not have Nash, he has no other option than to hang out with Tag. Tag just looks up to Gray so much. Whatever Gray would do Tag would copy. I am going to love this time that they have together this year and I just know it will be a blessing to both of them.

First "First Day of School"

Today is the first day of school for Luke, Harlee, and Nash. Luke is going into the sixth grade and he has Mrs. Rhode. He had her for fourth grade and loved her. He is excited for a great year especially since his friend Braydan Jacobsen is in his class! Harlee is going into the third grade and she has Mrs. Leder. She has several friends in her class this year including a boy that has a crush on her!! Nash is going into the first grade and has Mrs. Wirick. It will be the first year that he goes to school all day! So excited for all of them! I just know it is going to be an amazing year!

Lagoon surprise

I am not sure if I have mentioned it on the blog but I have been working as my friend Nickell's assistant and am employed by Security National Mortgage company. I have been working since the end of May and have decided to put nursing on hold as I pursue this new opportunity. Anyway, my company was celebrating their 50th birthday and paid for all of us to go to Lagoon. I was not sure if I wanted to go since the kids started school the next day. I finally decided to go and it was seriously the best decision. I told the kids the day before and they were so excited. The day before I told them Luke was saying how he could not wait until next summer when he would get to go to Lagoon and ride Cannibal their new ride. Well he did not have to wait and we got to end the summer riding on the BEST ride ever. Luke, Harlee and I went with Nickell and her kids Connor and Vanessa. We had the best time. It was not very crowded and we were able to go on all the rides that we wanted to. It was so much fun to spend time with Luke and Harlee. I love them so much and cherish these memories that we get to make together. What an awesome day!!

Blessings

Before the new school year the kids are lucky to receive blessings from their Heavenly Father through their amazing dad. I count Joey's willingness to honor his priesthood and in turn give our children special words and comfort straight from their loving Heavenly Father. I am always amazed at how different each blessing is. Even the language is special to each one of these blessings I get to learn from. Here is a little bit of what they were told in their back to school blessings. Luke Luke was told that he is blessed with a strong mind and ability to learn quickly. He was reminded to be a kind soul and a helping friend. He was promised that he would learn quickly and needed to help others to learn. He was told to use his strong mind in his future profession. Heavenly Father reminded Luke of how proud He is of him. Harlee Harlee was told that she was sent here in these latter days because she is such a special spirit. She was promised that Heavenly Father will help her throughout the teacher and her teacher would be blessed with the ability to teach her in a way that she will understand. She was told to seek those out who need a friend. At the end of her blessing Heavenly Father said that we are so blessed and her brothers are blessed by her kind heart. Nash Nash was told that he is blessed with a strong mind and intellect. This gift he has been given will take him far in life. He was instructed to use this gift to help others who do understand as easily. He was told that he is a very strong spirit and he needs to use this gift to choose the right. Gray Gray was told that he has been given the gift to have people drawn to him and people want to be around him. He needs to seek those who need a friend. He was told to continue to strengthen his relationship with Tag and to help him through his struggles as he looks to Gray as an example. Tag Tag was promised that he would have a great year full of much progress in his communication and behavior. He was told to know that he brings joy to his family, friends, and everyone around him. His teachers will be blessed that they will be inspired to teach him in a way that is most effective to him. He was promised again that this year would be one of much progress. I cannot express the comfort that comes as I listen to their blessings. I am their mom but they are all so much better than me. They teach me by their amazing spirits and examples. I love them more than I could ever express. So grateful to a loving Heavenly Father that shares His advice and blessings with my beautiful kiddos. So looking forward to an amazing year. *I took this picture on the first day of school. It is one of my favorites! I did have to tease Luke about his funny face!! Of course they all could not be looking perfectly at the camera!

Daryk's Home

On Friday August 14, Daryk returned from his mission to Kobe Japan. It was so great to see him. What a great missionary he is! He is setting such an amazing example to all of his younger cousins who completely look up to him. So proud of him and so grateful he has returned safely.

No match for the time out

We have been struggling with the lack of structure the summer brings. Our little Tag has kind of turned into a nightmare! We have called his therapist Gayleen back in for reinforcements. She gave me some advice to work on his behavior. I have been pretty consistent with his time outs. This time out was for screaming. I told him all he had to do was say sorry and he could get out of time out. He kept on saying "No say sorry!" After about 45 minutes of crying and refusing to apologize, he fell asleep. What a STUBBORN boy! He slept from 7pm straight through the night until 7:30 the next morning. Needless to say, he was in a much better mood the next day!

Super Fun Family Night

After our successful bowling trip in the SG we decided we needed to include Joey and Gray in on the fun! So we got a babysitter for Tag (thanks Aspen!) and we were on our way to a great night! We were going to go to Pizza Pie Cafe for dinner but it was super crowded. So we decided to take the kids to Wild Zucchini. It was a hit! The pizzas are huge but even our picky eater Gray almost ate his whole cheese pizza! After a delicious dinner we went to Jack and Jill's bowling. It was so much fun! I have to admit that the kids seem to have taken after their mom's bowling skills rather than their dad's! Joey is an amazing bowler and won by a landslide! We all had so much fun and cannot wait until Tag is old enough to come with us! Love my family!! Love our nights of fun!