Aeva's off to Kindergarten!

My baby is off to school. Wow, talk about a random bunch of feelings for mom.  The fact that she is SO excited and my knowing how much fun she will have made it doable.  

Here she goes.  No looking back.

How cute is this?

Her "All about Me" page.

Her first assignment is on her desk ready to go.  This is her looking at me like, "when are you going to leave?"  

My work is done.  Let menopause begin.

Achievement Days

Gracie gets to go to Achievement Days a couple of times each month. They do all sorts of fun crafts, etc. These are her latest creations...

Pencils with charms.  For some reason, she was drawn to the pretty cross charm.  Not the butterfly or the heart or the star charm...the cross.  Funny girl.  

They also made hamburger cupcakes.  They took yellow cupcakes and cut them in half to look like the buns.  They then stuck a chocolate brownie inside for the hamburger.  Different color frosting made the ketchup, mustard, etc.  Fun and tasty!  

Thanks to the wonderful leaders that made this all happen.  You made one little girl very happy!

Play Date

Gracie had a play date with one of her friends. Any ideas what they did?

A new game called, Dress Up Aeva.  Kept them entertained for hours.  Having a little sister is a good thing.

Sweet Dreams

Aeva must think this is used to keep her forehead warm while she sleeps.

Sweet Dreams, little one.

Family Reunion

We made it to the annual Ericksen Family Reunion. We found a long lost relative that seemed to attach to Maddie.  Check it out.

See any resemblance?  Can't get any cuter.

First Day of School

The girls have headed off to another year of school. The first day is always pretty exciting.

Ms. Gracie is ready to go.

Maddie too.

They ride their bikes as long as the weather is good.

Kindergarten started a week after regular school so this is what Aeva looked like on the first day of school.  

Lucky kid.  A little extra sleep is something I would pay good money for.

Moose

I love seeing Moose as I drive around.

Especially a mom and a baby.  Makes my day!

Strikers Cup 2012

Maddie's soccer team went to the Championship game for the 2012 Strikers Cup.  They did an awesome job and played hard.  I am one proud coach.

Maddie holding up the medals for the two players that weren't there.

This is an amazing bunch of girls.  I truly enjoy the time that I get to spend with them.  They make me proud on so many levels.  Thanks for letting me be a part of this incredible team!

Strong work, Dynamite!

Risky Behavior

I found this statement in a magazine at my house.

For some reason, it grabbed my attention.  I think many times instead of learning from our past risks and perhaps even near misses...we take courage to continue on the same dangerous path or pursue even riskier behavior.  

Lesson learned?

Spidashios

At the store the other day, Gracie, grabbed a bag of these.

She then asked if we could buy this bag of "spidashios".  I love kids.

Another day on the boat.

I'm sad to say that our boating day for this year will soon be over. I LOVE boating with my girls. What better way to spend a warm summer day?

Cutest things ever, right?

Just like little baby ducks.  

I have yet to see a frown.  

Thanks, Grandpa Ken for another great day!

Happy Birthday Song

Troy works with a guy named, Brent. The girls sent him a birthday song...

 

Grandpa's Sprinkler

My kids are lucky. They have a grandpa that can make all sorts of cool things. They typically end up being the recipients of his cool inventions. Here is the latest.

I think this was made to water any dry spots in my grass.  Instead, it turned into a sprinkler to run through (apparently in your clothes).  The next day grandpa told them that if they hooked it up to the shorter hose, the water would shoot twice as high.  I don't have any pictures but, rest assured, they tried it and they were NOT disappointed.  Thanks, Grandpa Ken for another great toy!!!

Wicked

Troy, Maddie, Gracie and I got a special treat. We got to go to "Wicked" in SLC.  The girls were SO excited.  I had no idea what Wicked was even about.  Now I am "in the know." 

I am always making the girls pose for pictures.  When they cover their face with their ticket, I make them pose again.

Then I get this.  Which is better?  Little Ms. Grace is a smarty pants.

Only fair that they would have us do the same, right?

A show well worth seeing!

Lonestar

Every year I make my family follow me to Snowbird for a medical conference. This year we found a restaurant that was highly recommended and gave it a try.  They have this old car out front with all of these funny stickers and a shark fin on the top.  

The food was just "ok" but we couldn't leave without getting a picture with the car.  My kids are great.

Introducing...the little Grandma Rett

 A few Sundays ago, Aeva stole some of Grandma Rett's accessories. She put them on and ta da! A itty bitty Grandma Rett was standing right before my eyes!

Baby Jonah's Blessing

My girls LOVE baby, Jonah. He was blessed recently and we were able to attend.

A great baby and a wonderful day.  Danny and Kati are some lucky parents.

Cousin Darby

Occasionally my niece, Darby, will wander over and invite the girls for a little sleepover. Often they sleep on the trampoline where the cats bug them all night long and the sprinklers and bright sunshine wake them up in the morning.

Memories that will be cherished for a very long time.  

Thanks, Darb.

The Proposal

Many of you may not know but...my mom is engaged.

This is Jim.  He popped the question and my mom said yes.  They look pretty happy if you ask me.

Jim proposed to my mom at a restaurant up in Eden where we live.  Maddie and Gracie weren't there when it happened so that next time we ate at the same restaurant (there are only 2 or 3 to choose from in Eden) we showed them the spot where it happened.  In fact, it looked much like this...

Jim on his knee, mom with her left hand extended and the rest of us standing there looking a lot like Gracie.  Congrats mom and Jim!  May you spend the rest of your senior years in heavenly bliss!  I love that my mom is now a senior citizen.  It gives me a lot of ammunition for old people jokes.

THE Bouncy House

We did something new (and slightly insane) this year. We combined 3 parties into a 24 hour period and rented a waterslide bouncy house to keep us from having to plan any "activities" for our parties.  Check it out.

Aeva was waterslided out by day 2.  She decided to play with bubbles instead.

We ended day 2 with a game of volleyball.  An awesome, wet, hilarious, and somewhat exhausting 24 hours.  I bet we do it again!