Back to School

My kids started school last week, so, of course, I had to document them leaving on their first day.

Tad started first grade.  His teacher is Ms. Ellsworth.  She is very beloved here in Taylor, and we feel lucky that one of our boys finally gets to be in her class.  (We have loved all of our first grade teachers, so that statement is not a slight to any of them in the least.)  Ms. E also teaches Thomas and Drake the piano, so my boys all love her! 

He likes first grade, but he thinks the days are too long.  I think the days are too long too.  I miss having my little buddy come home at 11:00.

Drake is in third grade.  His teacher is Mrs. Fuentes.  She looped up to third grade with her class.  Drake loved being in her class last year, and I know he will have another great year with her as his teacher.

Jack is in fifth grade.  His teacher is Mr. Whiting.  None of my boys have had him yet, but we hear all of his students enjoy being in his class, so we are sure that Jack will have a great year with him.

Thomas is in seventh grade and moved up to the Junior High.  So far, he is handling the adjustment pretty well.

Dallin is in eighth grade.  Yes, I have two in Junior High!  He is student body president this year, and had to MC the opening assembly.  He said it was fun. So far, he seems to be enjoying being back in school.

All of my boys!  I can't believe they are all in school all day now.  Time sure flies!  Have a great year boys!!

July

At the beginning of July we headed to St. George for a reunion with my family.  It was fun, but too short.  Unfortunately, I didn't take too many pictures, but here are a few.

We met Christy there a day early.  We spent the first evening going to dinner and playing in the pool. We spent part of the next day at the St. George Temple.  So pretty.  We also enjoyed their visitors center.  The rest of our family met us down there that night.

The next day we visited Brigham Young's home and then took an easy going (but HOT) hike. These are a couple of pictures from the hike.

Later that night we went to Tuacahn and saw Cinderella.

The cousins all had a great time hanging out together and swimming in the hotel pool.  It was nice to spend time with my family again.

Not long after we got back Jeremy and I celebrated our 15th anniversary.  He brought me flowers and we celebrated by going to dinner at a place that is a little nicer than our normal date night.  I wanted to take a trip together to celebrate 15 years, but we are pouring so much money into landscaping the backyard and finishing up some things in the house, that we didn't feel like we could afford to get away.

One of the things we are finishing up in the house is our mudroom.  It has been empty like this since we moved in - well, if I'm being honest, it was usually full of random stuff that drove me crazy, and my kids coats, backpacks, and shoes were all over the house.  Not what I had in mind.

Jeremy built these lockers and I am so happy with how they turned out.

Now my kids have an official place to keep their backpacks, jackets, coats, hats, and shoes.  I am crossing my fingers that it won't take too long to train them to always put them there.

These pictures aren't the greatest.  I will try to take better pictures of the entire mudroom, and explain a little better how we are using it in another post someday.

Jeremy also finished the built-ins next to our fireplace and they look so good.  I will take a picture and share that soon too.

In addition, we are putting a block wall along the back of our property.  It is going a little slowly, since we have been in our monsoon and it is a muddy mess back there.  I'm not complaining, Arizona has been so dry that we are sooooo grateful for the rain even if it does slow down work on my back wall.  It is supposed to dry out now though, so we should be able to make some progress on it soon. 

July was full of a lot of fun and a lot of work.  It was a good month.

Tad is Seven!

A few days after we returned from San Diego, Tad turned seven!  I decided not to post too heavily about my boys birthdays this year, but with Tad still being pretty young, I decided to document his with just a little more detail.

Tad loves stuffed animals, and Grandma T did not disappoint.  She always sends the best gifts!

This cute little cat was a special favorite.  In fact, Drake liked it so much he could not hold back the tears because he wanted one too.  Luckily, he called Grandma, and she said she had an extra one that she would give to him.  He was all smiles after that.

I realize that Tad is wearing different shirts in these pictures, and to be honest, I do not remember why.  I promise, they were all taken on the same day.

Tad also got this little tent that he and Drake have been having so much fun playing, and sleeping in this Summer.

Tad is such a sweet little boy and we love having him in our family!