Today was the big day for Charlie. He is lucky enough to start school a whole week before the big kids. We are doing Joy School this year for him. He is following in the foot steps of Noah and Presley. I'm excited to be a part of his first year of "school" and see how he behaves as a student. I love how much Joy School has acclimated my kids to a learning environment. They all so far have been able to make the transition into kindergarten so smoothly.We have a nice sized group of five so I won't even need to teach till the end of September. Charlie couldn't be more thrilled this morning.
I let Charlie pick out his own outfit. He chose his cub scout shirt. Classic.
He even has the same back pack Noah had way back in 2006!
I think charlie was being still because he thought I was taking a still photo instead of video.
is it me, or does every girl dream about taking a fun-filled road trip with her sister?
California here we come...
...with six kids in tow? only if you have a dvd player!!
we drove from utah to california to visit with friends and family. our first stop was valencia, just north of los angeles to visit our sister shelley and her awesome family.
anora with cousin, jordan, shelley and jesse's youngest daughter. they have matching hair!
here is hailey front row as we headed to the farmer's market.
we went to pick up some amazing artichokes (and a giant tray of strawberries that the kids gobbled up in minutes!)
Jesse grilled artichoke that were marinated in lemon butter and covered in parmesan cheese. holy cow! incredible!
We were so fortunate to also get to see our sister, Stacy as well. I LOVE that we all got together. It was an awesome experience.
Shelley decided to be sneaky and surprise us with a visit from our childhood friend, Simple! It was so great to see her and her cute little guy, Liam.
If you're in California, you must take a shot at skateboarding, right?
Noah and Joel, sled style:
Jordan was a cool chick to follow around!
We were loving Valencia. it was so pretty and family friendly.
not only that, but it is where Six Flags Magic Mountain is!
If you can tell by the screaming, the kids had a blast there:
Hailey and Jordan were so great helping with the little guys.
The kiddie rides were perfect for the kids. We had such a fabulous day!
Sweet endings.
Thank you Shelley and Jesse for sharing your life with us. We loved every minute of it!
A huge highlight to our time in Utah was when the kids got babysat with their cousins an Denise an I met up with Linda to see Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at the Twilight Concert Series in Salt Lake. They were fabulous performers. I couldn't believe we got to see such a great show for free.
Denise and I realized we had some crazy twin coincidences. We got together and find out we have the same sunglasses, sandals, lipsticks, and bangs.
They played all the hits and then some. Not a fan of his propaganda-- I came to hear your music not your opinion, dude. Their performance did not disappoint for sure.
We had FUN!
Did I mention we hit Cafe Rio before the show, then Sonic for drinks after. Then we headed to Linda's closet for a shopping spree of things she was getting rid of. You could spend all day in her closet!
I just LOVE this photo of Josh's dad and Charlie. Charlie's middle name is "Alan" after this guy.
My sister, Denise lives in Provo and we got to spend time in her adorable historic home.When did Provo get so artsy? It was really fun. Here is Noah with Joel, getting muddy in the garden.
Presley and Anora in the window seat. These two had so much in common.
We also got to spend a day at my alma matter, BYU. Josh's mom, TK is currently a student there so we waited for her to get out of class.
The "Y"
BYU students: past, present, and future(?)
We had a sleep over with Denise and her family before heading out to California for our road trip. D and I relived our childhood by putting sponge rollers in our girls' hair.
There is so much to tell about our 3+ week trip to Utah and California. I'll have to pace myself. I'm so excited to get to go through the photos after having to wait a week while we got a new hard drive installed on our computer.
To start out, the kids and I flew to Utah just in time to see a few sets of fireworks in the valley for Pioneer Day. Flying with three kids was pretty good. I think I was just real nervous at first, but the nerves were the worst part. Since we rode Southwest there was no assigned seating. Noah had to sit across the row from me, but he did awesome.
Our first adventure was in Cedar Hills Utah, where the kids got to reunite with some friendly faces:
They all played and played and then got to have movie nights with candy and popcorn till their hearts content!
Next we needed to celebrate their birthdays. We did it in one birthday bash this year. It was a family year.
My sister, Denise made the awesome cakes and cookies to match the invites.
We celebrated at Josh's aunt and uncle's house (Denise's in-laws). They have a community pool right out their back door. It is so perfect for family parties.
Lots of cute cousins!
Lots of silly faces
Lots of "picking up people who didn't want to be held."
PIZZA!! I sure miss that cheap and delish $5 Little Caesar's pizza!!
We filled bellies, then swam. After swimming we hit the pinata.
Love the cousins cheering each other on. That seemed to be the theme for the trip. Lots of love, support and cheering each other on. It was a very special experience.
Noah was determined to be the DESTROYER!
Grabbing the goods. "Everyone look at your cousin and make sure he or she has enough candy!" I loved that. Pinatas can be a blood bath if you don't even out the candy!!
Anora and Yuri. Best Friend cousins.
Linda stopped by to get splashed at the pool and give us some love life updates. Always super fun.
Presents!!
Aaron stopped in on his lunch break.
Happy Birthday guys!!
SO. MUCH. FUN!
Thanks everyone for making that such a wonderful, amazing birthday. You are loved dearly!
