Birthday Surprise

Madi and I flew to Utah this past weekend (thanks Daddy!)for my mom's birthday, and by some huge miracle we were all able to keep it a total secret from the birthday girl! My "big" sister came to pick me up at the airport, and then we met the family for lunch. We got there first, so we were able to plan and carry out the perfect "surprise!" moment! Buffy was holding Madi in the doorway, ready to greet mom, and said "Look what I found!" It took about .05 seconds for mom to figure out it was Madi and start looking around for me. She cried and laughed, and then the rest of the weekend everytime she thought about it or anyone talked about it she got teary all over again! We had such a fun weekend, just hanging out together. My dad and sisters had planned a surprise party for Saturday afternoon with all her friends and loved ones, and it was my job to keep her entertained and get her to the party without blowing the secret. Then we hung out at my parents house with all the sisters, husbands, nieces and nephews - even my workaholic brother-in-law came (it was great to spend some time with you, Terry). On Sunday I was able to go to church with my parents before flying home, and my dad just happened to be speaking in sacrament meeting. I missed my kids and Brett, but it was so great to see everyone again. Here's a little slideshow with a few pictures. I realized that I didn't take very many, we were having too much fun! PS to see pictures of Kody's first school bus ride, click here.

Big Man on Campus

Well, the big day has finally arrived... Kody's first day of preschool! We've been waiting anxiously all summer for this blessed day, and now it has come and gone.His teachers, Marifran (pictured here) and Desiree, are great! I can tell this is going to be a fun class. I have to admit, part of me was looking forward to a few tears (from Kody, not me) and lots of hugs, but as soon as we got to the classroom he was gone in a flash.

You'll notice that some of the pictures are a bit blurry, because I couldn't get him to hold still long enough to focus.

Here is our conversation in the car on the way over:

"Mommy, are you going to talk a long time today?"
"Why, do you want me to just drop you off and leave?"
"Yeah."
"Don't you want me to stay for a little while?"
"Uh-uh.

I got a little choked up, and I might have been the only mom there with a camera but at least he's still too little to be too embarrassed by my overprotectivness!! (is that even a word?)

Mollie was sad that she couldn't stay and go to school too,but she cheered up when we came home and she got to ride her little red trike all afternoon and go for a walk with Mommy! (I only had to bribe her a little.)

Camp Photos

I was finally able to sit down and get the pictures organized from our camping trip. We had such a great time, I'm really glad we did it! The kids were such happy campers, and we had lots of adventures. We took a few short hikes to see some waterfalls, of course a few lighthouses and some fun at the beach! We even got to take in a little art, at this place called Lakenenland. It's this drive through sculpture forest, created by Tom Lakenen. Our last night up there, the skies opened up and we actually had a river going right under our tent! The water eventually started leaking through the roof of the tent, but Brett and I were able to keep the kids dry while we packed everything up in the early hours of the morning and they slept through the whole thing!