The First Grade Heaven for Moms

Whew! School is back in session and we are all having a breather. With a new first grader, I now have two kids in school full time. Not only are we getting more individual space during school time, we moved into our newly completed basement this month as well! Audrey and Carson are both downstairs, our whole house is reorganized and the garage is finally cleaned out so Chad's car can go back in. We also re-painted the master bedroom, master bath and new "spare" room. It is like we have a whole new house. And, Kate isn't sleep deprived anymore from trying to keep up with Audrey's schedule. We are all a little more calm now. We don't have the cool flat screen TV and cozy couch set - but look at all the space in our new family room!

I have been "patiently" waiting to redo the kitchen - and I am so excited to finally have it done! With a little bit of money, tools borrowed from friends, tons of painting and lots of questions at Home Depot - we have a great before and after story for our kitchen. I am so pleased with how it turned out.

Okay - here is what the kids were up to:

Audrey's been playing soccer.

Carson is learning flag football.

Kate has started ballet (and learned to ride a bike without training wheels!)

It has been quite an athletic month.

Graham turned 7 months old at the end of September, and he has really taken to eating solids. He wants what we are having, and so I have started giving him waffles for breakfast every morning. He is a cute kid - lots of teeth and more on the way. He still loves attention and is starting to sit up for longer amounts of times.

Chad is training for a marathon - it is this weekend - so more details later.

Summer Goes Out with a Bang

Well, we definitely had a blast this summer. It is so fun to look back at the August pics and remember all of the fun summer days. Here are our highlights of August: Friends over, Crazy day trips, Iverson Campout, Audrey's birthday party, and the crazy rain storm.

Chad had his official 20 year reunion in June, but the festivities continue. We had a group of about 6 families over again in August, and it was fun to catch up. The men loved talking high school/BYU antics while the women talked of everything else.

We have also had the Porras family come stay with us a couple of days and a former mission companion and his family over for the evening. It has really been a summer of reconnecting.

Crazy day trips - you said it.
We went to Odgen to the Children's Treehouse Museum. This was awesome! We played most of the day. We would still be there, except Grandma promised Audrey something on our way home! We have loved bringing friends along on our adventures, and it has been fun to share the places with them. We also went to Price, UT to visit the Dinosaur Museum and check out the Cleveland Lloyd Quarry. The kids have been begging for 3 years to make the trip, and it was very interesting to see.

The Iverson Campout at Bear Lake - WOW! What a fun time with so many fun people. And, we were almost constantly doing a fun activity. There were four wheelers to ride, beaches to play at, marshmallow shooting, crafts, and a family triathlon. Good times, ya'll.

For the last two years, Audrey's birthday has been depressingly cold (September 3 shouldn't be cold!). Audrey decided that she wanted a summer birthday party, so we celebrated the last week before school starts. We planned a pool party and fun. Unfortunately, August 18th turned stormy, windy, rainy, lightning-y, and cold just as we were gathering for the party. With a quick change of plans, we partied at In-n-out Burger until the storm blew over and the pool reopened. Audrey was flexible and it all turned out okay. It is crazy that she is now 9 years old! Chad keeps worrying that half of her first 18 years are already over!

The Crazy Rain storm. This was crazy. We were out for a peaceful bike ride at the Jordan River Trail, as you can see on the right. We saw the black storm coming and started packing up. By the time I finished getting the bikes on, buckets were falling on me. Since our bike ride was shortened, we decided to drive around and watch the rain. I should have taken pictures, because this was a once-in-a lifetime rain. The streets turned into white water rivers roaring down the hill, the storm water collecting parks had fountains of water shooting out 10 feet high, lakes were formed in yards, streets, everywhere. I guess Draper broke the state record for the most rainfall in 10 minutes and then 15 minutes. I think the heavy rain continued for about 40 minutes followed by slightly less heavy rain. We had such a blast! The best part was playing in the Cranberry Hill Park "Lake" 10 hours later and seeing all the park wood chips 50 yards away from the playground, where they had floated during the worst of the storm. Cool!

Our cute Graham is now 6 months old! How has a full half year passed by already. We are so blessed to have him. He just got two teeth, and he is so social, he doesn't want the party to stop. He is having a harder time falling asleep and doesn't ever want to be put down. His smiles are so worth any effort he requires, though.

Having the Brightest July

We have been out doing so many things! I don't think we could have packed anything else in and stayed sane (but maybe we're not?).

Once again, here are the highlights of the month: The Fourth of July, Swimming lessons, Lagoon and Chad's birthday.

On July 4th, the kids ran in a 1K kids' race - then they rode their bikes in the neighborhood bike parade, then we joined with Brad's family at Mona Lake for a little swimming and boating. We helped the kids complete their first triathlon! Just kidding, but it is funny that we did all three events in one day!

July has been swimming lessons for the kids. I always see so much progress, it is fun to watch. Audrey's class was learning to do the strokes well enough to do laps in the pool. It was challenging, but she learned a lot. Carson class was learning more about the strokes. Whenever he could, he would do the back float, which he loves. Kate loves to jump in and then "swim". She motors around the pool, face in the water and "swims".

Lagoon was a great adventure, as always. We arrived as it opened and stayed until close - and then bounced back the next Saturday! The kids and Chad did all the big rides they could, Kate did every thing she could - and even rode them alone at times. I did the Rattlesnake Rapids, Wicked and Rocket for the first time this year. Favorites this year: Audrey - Wicked, Carson - Colossus, Kate - Tidal Wave and Dinosaur Drop, Graham - Train and Carousel. Fun, Fun, Fun!

July is Chad's birthday - and as Kate describes it - it was a "short party". He considers Lagoon his actual party. So was fun to celebrate Chad for an entire week.

We can't believe school will start soon, and we only have a few more weeks to finish off our kid requests. One thing new this summer is our Park Adventures. I have a list of parks we have never been to before, and we drive to them, play a little and search for new amazing parks. We have actually found a few treasures!

Here is our 5 month old! Can you believe how big he is getting? He has started rolling, sitting up (with his hands supporting him), and wanting to walk while you hold his hands. He still is a champion smiler and makes friends with everyone! He doesn't mind if I leave him with new people and is always so pleasant people comment on his cheery disposition. We love this little Graham!

By the way . . . . our basement is almost finished - we hope to move everyone in soon!

Full Speed Ahead - It's June!

Lots of fun things happen in June - and here are our favorites this June - Kate's birthday, Chad's 1/2 Ironman and Chad's 20 year High School Reunion (can you believe it!)

This is Kate, celebrating her fourth birthday! Her best friend Emily is in this pic with her - and she wanted a Jasmine cake. We have done so many princess parties over the years, but this one was the easiest. By Kate's request, the girls played tea party for most of the party. Chad and I watched and just enjoyed. Very cute and fun. She is very proud of being 4 now, and she desperately wants to be as old as her siblings. She is already counting down the days to kindergarten, though she still has a year of preschool left.

Chad did amazing on his triathlon. His 1.2 mile swim in open water was as good as he had hoped - which says a lot since last June he couldn't swim 2 laps without stopping. The bike ride was windy - so he was pretty tired by the run, but he finished and we were so proud of him. It was pretty cool to see all of the finishers and remember what a grueling event they just FINISHED! Chad, you are amazing!

Chad's High School Reunion was very great. It was fun to meet "Peanut's" classmates and interact with their wives. It was fun to see the close ties that seem to bind all Davis High School Graduates. This is Chad standing up to reenact his senior year of high school football - at the request of his friend and student body vice president, Gavin. Believe it or not, Chad was the center - and he is about to spike the ball to the quarterback in this pic. What a fun weekend.

Graham is 4 months old now! He is growing quickly and is still the sweetest baby you have ever met. A very common comment for those around Graham - "I have never heard him cry". And, though he does cry occasionally, he is very content most of the time. And his smiles - well, they are irresistible and freely given. What a cutie!

Making Memories in May

Well - this month has been great. Of course, really busy, but fun as well. Graham is now three months old - and is a very social member of our family. Every one loves being around him because of his easy smiles, giggles and baby babble. Graham LOVES being the center of attention - so it works very well. He remains very calm and peaceful most of the day - content to wait for us to get around to him. I want some of his inner peace and serenity! It is inspiring.

Carson has finished Kindergarten! What an exciting event for him and for me. I am looking forward to the longer first grade schedule, but, I am feeling some sadness about losing the one-on-one time we have had this year. He excels at school and has a thirst for learning new things. He still loves to give me big hugs and loves to play with my hair. He is such a good big brother to Graham. Go Carson!

Kate finished Three Year Old Preschool and feels even more grown up than ever. She still sings "I'm a Big Girl After All" whenever she swings and pumps herself. She loves her friends and her "chicken nugget" her stuffed rabbit. She is cute, but she refuses to let us call her cute. She has been my little friend as I did errands all year - and she is actually a pleasure to take with me. What a sweet heart!

Audrey - what a beautiful young lady! This is her dance recital night - and it was just beautiful. She is growing up - and doing lots of new things. She has just started doing tumbling at a gym - she really wants to do the skills other girls her age can do. Her soccer season was undefeated and I am not sure who is more proud of that, her or her coach dad. She loves school and has finally started reading more advanced books for fun - she is on book three of Harry Potter. Previously, she was too busy planning and creating to take the time to read, though she has always read well. My they grow up fast!

This year we visited Dinosaur National Monument for Memorial Day weekend and saw the dinosaur bones there. We were interested in seeing actual rocks and fossils from dinosaur times, and we loved hiking, camping and hanging out together. Camping with kids is such a fun thing - they love the campfires, s'mores, sleeping in tents and sleeping bags. The weather was actually pretty good - no rain! We had a great time - it has been a fun tradition to do a camping trip for Memorial Day weekend for 5 years now.

April has been very eventful - Spring Break and Easter, Soccer, Carson's Birthday and Graham's blessing. It has been very fun to capture these cute kids enjoying themselves!

Princess Audrey kissed a frog at the Aquarium during spring break. Unfortunately, no prince materialized.

Here are the girls in the dresses I made for them for Easter. It has become a yearly tradition, and it is a fun reason to be creative!

Easter morning - Kate is "opening" her Easter basket! You can't see it, but the ground is covered in snow. What a crazy time for a big snow storm. The Easter bunny left the egg hunt inside, thank goodness.

Happy Birthday, Carson!!! He is now 6 years old. Since he has taken off with reading chapter books, he has really enjoyed the Magic Tree House Series.

He had just finished reading all 43 books and 22 research guides, so naturally, he chose the Magic Tree House as his theme for his birthday party.

Here is his birthday cake and his "tree house" for the party. We had fun using "magic" to be transported to many different lands and do tasks at each one. This was a fun party to plan!

So, Graham just had his baby blessing by his dad on Sunday - and it was awesome. Grandma King made his blessing clothes, and then re-made them because I ruined them. But it all turned out well. It was a very neat day. We had a fun family dinner after church and we really appreciated the support of family.

Speaking of Graham and his milestones - he just turned 2 months old!!! We are surprised with how quickly he is growing. He is a little man now, and fun to play with and make smile.

Our Life with Graham

Our cute little boy is one month old now! It has been a wonderful month - and we have loved having him in our life. Audrey yells "Grahammy" whenever she sees him. Carson has played peek-a-boo and talks sweetly with him. And Kate, well her favorite thing to do is be compared to him - because it always goes like this - "let's see who is bigger, Kate or Graham? Look how big you are Kate! You are all grown up!" She LOVES being the BIG sister!

Here is Carson on St. Patricks' Day - I was going to take a picture of the girls in matching shirts, but Carson took center stage. This is his mischievous look, which he sports often when the girls are doing anything together - and not including him. He is going to love it when Graham is older.

We did an Easter egg hunt at our neighborhood park. The kids loved getting a kick start on Easter - and meeting the Easter Bunny was a fun extra. Soccer has started as well, so our Saturdays just got a lot busier!

Here is Audrey in her Spring Hat! She made this hat for her school Spring Program - and is has been very exciting to get ready for it. I am just being introduced to this tradition in our school - but it is pretty elaborate. The kids also made Easter Baskets and prepared a singing and dancing event. The girls started by being escorted by a boy, choreographed to music and their names were announced as they entered the room. "Audrey Iverson escorted by Henry Lawson". Audrey shone as she sang and danced. She really knows how to look excited and energetic. It was a pleasure to watch.

Well - today is the first day of spring break - and the kids built a snowman in all of the snow we are receiving. Spring weather is fickle. We are enjoying the weather humor.