First day of school

Yes, school has started and David is now a kindergartener. So far, he loves it! .. although, it did take a while for him to get used to the idea of going to school EVERY day. With the start of school also came the start of soccer (I'll have to picture later). He feels like such a big boy. I am happy to see him grow.

David with his sweet teacher, Mrs. Weller.

Huntington Library

We had the pleasure of having my mom and sister, Jessica, in town over Labor Day. Though it was a HOT day, we ventured to Huntington Library. You know those days that are extremely exhausting, yet fun and memorable? That's the kind of day we had.

The kids enjoyed the children's garden

Ruth and I next to this beautiful bust of grown-up Ruth.

The only thing that saved me, was our ice-cream break, compliments of Grandma M! Looks like James appreciated it too!

Why we love summer...

Well, just as I am settling in and REALLY enjoying the unstructured days of summertime, school is almost here. The good news is that David has late start Kindergarten, which means no early morning rush at our house. The bad news that our days will now be packed with school, soccer and piano (for David), and dance (for me). I guess that it is good to get back into a schedule... and I am excited for David to start so many new adventures.

Here are a few clips from summertime:

Nothing is cuter than a baby with a chocolate chip cookie. No nuts for this girl... she seems to have an allergy to peanut butter. :(

My kids have such wonderful creativity (they must get it from Joseph). David constructed these helmets out of Duplos:

Ever since we remodeled, our hummingbird family has disappeared and we've had no more baby hummingbirds. I feel really sad about it. We have, however, had a few encounters with baby lizards. They are so cute (as far as a lizard goes)!

Adventurous

Adventurous: the word to discover Ruthie.

Yesterday, I dropped the kids off at the gym's babysitting. When I returned, one of the babysitters said, "Ruth is sure adventurous". I had never thought of that before, but as I observed her today, I think that "adventurous" is the perfect description. This child seems to have no fear of anything: at the pool, she spends the entire time trying to put her face in the water; at the beach, she screams when the waves leave and laughs when they splash around her; she is on the constant prowl for the dog so that she can sit on him; she will be picked up by any stranger (in our ward) and hug them; and yesterday, I found her outside the gate in the front yard. To top it all off, no matter how many times she gets wacked by James, she still spends much of her time in pursuit of his beloved "monkey".

This is a new thing for me. Though the boys have oodles of energy, they have always been very cautious... James especially.

Look out world, here comes Ruth!

Siblings

I think that one of the best gifts you can give to a child is a sibling...

Lately, James and David have been inseparable. It has been so fun to listen to them as they play in their imaginary world. Sometimes they try to challenge my authority, and it is much tougher when it's two against one.

Usually when I say or do something they don't agree with, David says, "Mom, that's a NO NO....right James?" (turning to James for backup)

Then James chimes in, "yes, that's a no no, MOM!"

Nothing like getting chewed out by your children. Sometimes I find it funny, and other times someone ends up on timeout! :)

Truthfully, I don't mind being the bad guy sometimes as long as they are loving to each other, because deep down, I know that they love me too.

Happy Birthday David!

David is officially 6 years old! We celebrated by a trip to the lego store, hamburgers and lemonade (by request), and chocolate birthday cake! David is such a special boy. He is so helpful around the house and a friend to everyone... I mean, EVERYONE. I think that the first of any family is a brave spirit, so I am grateful that we have David to train us how to be parents. He is a true delight! We feel so blessed to have him in our family.

The two boys in the middle of David and James are some friends we had over for cake. I asked David who he wanted to have over for cake and he chose Joseph and Daniel. When they arrived, nonstop silliness commenced and it was LOUD! I am glad they had fun.

In case you didn't notice, David's birthday wish was legos. He built these all by himself (minus the few gliches that I had to help fix).

Happy Birthday Ruth!

We celebrated Ruth's 1st birthday on July 29th. I can't believe that she is already one year old. We are so delighted to have this little angel in our family. She is such a people person and will smile at or hug almost anyone. She especially loves Daddy, and he, of course, can't bear to hear her cry, so she's extra dramatic when he's around. Though she is quite feminine, she manages to hold her own with the boys.

Our day was quite average until about 6:00 when the party started. We had the usual crowd of grandparents and cousins show up. Ruthie was given plenty of kisses and had more than enough help with opening her presents. By 7:00 she was exhausted and relieved to see her bed.

Nothing beats a pink cupcake!

Hard to believe that she was once this tiny:

Grandma Larsen gave her this cute car. She loves it! If James dares to sit on it, she gets really angry. So far, she really loves her new baby dolls too! It is so nice to have a few traces of femininity around the house!