Preschool Fun

One of the many things Kendall tells me about preschool is that the singing and dancing is hard work - that she's tired from doing it.  At the end of her class, her teacher gets them moving and shaking with instruments and motions.  Here's my view through the window in the classroom door.  She's pretty serious about doing the motions.  No wonder she's tired!

Here's a little sneak peek:

Staying Cool At The Pool

In an attempt to get Kendall to nap today, I decided to take her swimming after I worked out (our gym has a great pool for kids).  It's been very hot and dry here lately so going swimming early in the day was the only option for me.  It was 99 degrees at 4:50 pm when I was taking Riley to karate!  Yikes!

Here's a little of what she spent the two hours doing:

And to answer the all important question, YES, she did take a nap today!  Score one for mom!

Little Girl, Big Day

She started school this morning,

And she seemed so very small.

As I walked there beside her

In the pre school hall.

And as she took her place beside

the others in the class,

I realized how all too soon

Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as

She first learned how to walk.

The words that we alone made out

When she began to talk.

This little girl so much absorbed

In learning how to write.

It seems as though she must have grown

To girlhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred but hastily

I brushed the tears away

Lest by some word or sign of mine

I mar her first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with her

And keep her by the hand

To lead her through the places

That she couldn’t understand.

And something closely kin to fear

Was mingled with my pride.

I knew she would no longer be

A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,

To work her problems out,

The privilege to grow and learn

What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl

With friends and work and play;

She’s not a baby anymore –

She’s in pre school today.

All ready to go

Showing off her princess backpack - it's been packed and ready for 2 days now!  She wanted to get it out before breakfast this morning!

So excited to get a picture with her very own sign - just like big brother!

This is her teacher, Miss Sue, who Kendall just adores (and so does Mom!)

There weren't any tears, from either of us which was a great thing!  Kendall loves her teacher and is so excited to be an official part of Grace!  Last night was the annual Back To School Picnic and I had to go early to help set up for PTL.  I took Kendall with me and Andy and Riley met us there later.  After we got there, I didn't see much of her except for a random high every now and then.  She has lots of little girlfriends at Grace and feels right at home there - and for that I'm so thankful!

On a side note, yesterday was her first day of Little Gym.  She's now in a class without me and she LOVED it.  She also loves her teacher there too.  I was expecting a little hesitation, but no, she was the first in the gym and first in line to try all the skills.  She listened and followed directions so well - now why doesn't this happen at home?  Oh well!  

She's growing up way too quickly for this mom, but I'm thankful that she's surrounded by such wonderful adults and friends to help guide her!  I really wish I could just freeze time.  This is always my favorite age.  They are old enough to start to understand things and become more independent, but they are young enough to still love to hug and snuggle.  These days are going by too quickly!

Oktoberfest in August?

Yes, Snowbird starts their Oktoberfest celebration this early!  This past weekend was their opening weekend.  I took the kids up there to ride the Alpine Slide while Andy was studying, but when we got there, the wait time for the slide was 60 minutes!  No way was I waiting in the hot Utah sun (and yes, even though it is cooler in the mts, it was still a very hot day for Snowbird!) with two kids by myself for that long.  So we settled on trying the bungy trampoline instead.  We had a wait, but not nearly as long as for the slide.

It was both kids first time on the bungy trampolines.  I fear it won't be their last after they got a taste of it.  Both kids had a blast.  Riley quickly learned how to do flips and Kendall even got to try one (with the help of a Snowbird staffer) before she got off!

Here are some pics of our fun day at the 'Bird:

Wish you could hear her squeals of delight!

He loved doing back flips!

Since it was Oktoberfest, I had to participate in the activities, right?  I mean, it was REALLY hot out and what tastes better on a hot day?  The downside of Oktoberfest is the cost per beer:  $6.50 for that little plastic cup of liquid refreshment!

 The kids enjoyed a snow cone and some ice cream while we were there too.

What would a trip to Oktoberfest be without a picture of my little Germans!  (Yes, both kids are very German from both sides)

Wildflowers!

A friend of mine told me that the wildflowers were still in full bloom up at Albion Basin at Alta.  We were there a few weeks ago and it must have been still too early for what we saw yesterday...WOW!  They were incredible.  I'm assuming it was all the snow we got over the winter (and late due to the fact that it took a long time for all that snow to melt).  But boy is it worth waiting for!  If you have some free time - head up to Cottonwood Canyon and check them out for yourself.  Both kids had a great time checking out all the colors.  You can also hit up Snowbird for some Oktoberfest activities on the way.  It's that time of year!

Yes, I know they are mostly (all but one) of our adorable daughter, but she was REQUESTING that I take her picture!  She's finally interested in posing for the camera!  (Only took 3 years!)  Riley was busy snapping pictures of the wildflowers with the camera on his DS player.  Maybe he'll be a budding photographer or a graphic designer someday?  He loves editing his photos on his DS...

Trying Something New

I have these crazy, out of control, gigantic tomato plants.  We haven't had any of our large tomatoes to harvest yet, but PLENTY of cherry and grape tomatoes at the moment.  I've made numerous batches of bruschetta with the grapes and now I'm attempting to make oven-dried tomatoes (I was too chicken to put them outside in the sun for fear the birds would help themselves to a snack!

I found the recipe here at Sweet Little Smoothies.  I hadn't even considered drying them to use on pizzas or in pastas until I saw it posted there.

Here they are in the oven at the start

All I did was slice them; place them on the cookie sheet; sprinkle them with olive oil, kosher salt and Italian seasoning; then bake for 3-4 hours at 225.  The house smells so good right now!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  I may have to attempt some homemade pesto to create a yummy pasta salad!  Thankfully I've got plenty of basil out in the garden too!

Early Morning Balloon Launch

There was a hot air balloon festival a few miles from our house.  Riley and I decided we wanted to rise with the sun to go check it out.  It was great to spend some one-on-one time with him with our two sleeping beauties caught up on their much needed zzz's!

Here are some of the pictures from that morning:

Lift Off!

Lots of balloons there!

Riley liked this one because it reminded him of Captain America!

Headed towards our house

Loved the colors of this one

I liked how this one had flags hanging off of it

This poor guy never got off the ground

Heading towards the Wasatch

This one is headed towards Little Cottonwood Canyon

Some of them landed back in the field where they took off from, while others landed in the lot across the street or in neighborhood cul-de-sacs.  Riley and I had a blast watching them.  Bonus for us was seeing our good friends from Grace while we were there!  I love to bump into people while we're out and about...makes this place feel more like "home" instead of a temporary address!