First day of school 2012!

Outfits layed out on the carpet with care...

 25 minutes early so we could take the long walk to the bus stop

 off they go, marching two by two

Sewed this table cloth with elastic all around so that toddlers don't pull it off.

 

Our school year family mascot is an APPLE...Be Healthy, Be Smart, Be Kind. Amelia even said we should be like a stem of an apple and sit up straight during dinner.



If only every day could be as magical as the first day...everything is so prepared and kids are dying to go! Homework starts soon and routine is in full swing.

Sum Sum Summertime in St. George

The boys love all the attention that Bryn and Ashlin will give them

Bryn and Uncle Dave make a pool raft just a touch more exciting...

We got to sneak out on Saturday & drove down to Vegas to visit my brother Joe & Suzy's newest little one!

 Grandma Wirth with sweet baby Hugh...look at his perfect sleeping face

 here are the proud owners of new baby brother...Kate, Truman, & Grey

Connor turned 16 while we were there and he was so chatty and excited about it he could hardly contain himself...can't you tell?

Dave took five of my kids for a hike up Lava Mountain, let's just say the video footage was hilarious with all the crying and gnashing of teeth...Bryn ended up carrying most of them down while Dave recorded the whining.

 Even though Bryn may have been hot and miserable she is able to fake it with a smile but not all of us have this gift...(I believe Eliza gave Olympic gymnast McKayla a pointer on how to look when disappointed)

 movies and Slurpee's...oh yah.

 This statue depicts 'Come Unto Me' but Reid came up with his own phrase...'GO to him!'

 just to top off our little outing I somehow locked the keys in the car so thanks to AAA we didn't have to completely melt into the concrete.

 James came for the last 2 days b/c he just hates to miss out on a road trip...crazy, I know.

 this is Ashlin's hamster named squeakers & you can literally french braid his hair

Biggest Rainbow ever

sum sum summertime

Visitors from St. Louis just for me?!

Well maybe they did happen to have family reunions close by but we still had some overnight fun with Autumn and Samantha!

 can we just copy our girls with the same farewell pose? good, b/c we did

 We more than lucked out to have a family in our ward live right next door b/c they are too much fun to play with and their pond has been the center of their outdoor lives b/c they could catch and release frogs for hours at a time.

 plenty of laughter and plenty of secret sharing as well

 I also got to witness how fast Amelia can run from their yard to ours when she had to use the bathroom :)

 Then just a few days after Autumn came Lori and her four kids for the weekend...I put her right to work on teaching my 2 year old to read. I know...I really know how to show my guests a good time.

 It's a real talent for Thomas to jump with both hands in his pockets

 Monday was their last day so we had to go out with a bang by driving to Carson City for the best bowling and our favorite part was catching air for all the pictures...

Farewell friends and when I see you again I would appreciate it if you would both leave your tans at home. That's all.