Swiss Days and Labor Day

Swiss Days and Labor day weekend were great! The kids enjoy walking around Swiss Days. Marshall talked James into running the 10k with us. Thanks go Grandma Dellene for watching the others so we could run the race together.
We each took 1st in our gender and age groups. Marshall amazes me that he can run so fast and long without any training. Here I am running five times a week and he still creamed me. It was fun though being there together at the start and finish. We aren't the type to all stick together during the race. James was the most impressive though. He runs a lot at soccer but he wasn't training per say. He ran the whole race and finished in 54:42!

 Since Marshall finished first there was no one to take a picture of him :) He ran it in 42:32. I finished in 45:42. Not my best but better than last year.

We went to the parade and it was very crowded. Not my favorite but the kids were happy.

 We cheered the loudest for my dad and the rest of the M&M Band.

Ali's PilloPlush sold like hot cakes at Swiss Days! If you don't have one then you need to get one. They are the cutest decorative pillow and open up to the softest minky blanket. There is even a foot pocket to keep your toes warm. We keep ours on the couch and it is the best for naps and movies. I had fun working in her booth with my mom, sisters, and nieces.

Sunday night we went for a walk. Sienna got tired so Taggart towed her trike back :)

Monday morning we went to the Wasatch Aquatic Center. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.

We ate lunch at my parent's and then went to Dairy Keen for a shake. It was very crowded but worth the wait.

We stopped at Ali's on the way home and the kids had fun playing "Rock Band." Not the same as the game on the Wii. This was an awesome dress up game and then lip sinking to songs on Alexa. We were very entertained.

Back to School 2018

It was nice to have a normal back to school night this year. Last year we were rushed because James had to get to a soccer game. The year before that we were in Japan. We loved meeting all the teachers and it helped get the kids excited to get back in school.

We moved to the early track this year which means waking up a lot earlier. Everyone got up great at 6:30 the first few days. Then by Thursday and Friday it got a lot harder. School starts at 8:00 instead of 9:15. They get home at 2:30 instead of 3:45. They love the early schedule when they are done and home for the day.
Kaden started 1st grade and his teacher is Mrs. Hanson.

Lynnlee started 3rd grade and her teacher is Mrs. Terry.

James started 5th grade and his teacher is Mrs. Burton.

Taggart and Sienna started preschool two weeks after at Ms. Penny's preschool.

Now I need to insert a picture of me doing a happy dance. Raising twins has been so hard but I feel like I've hit the pay off. When they aren't at preschool they play well together at home (mostly) and they have a built in buddy. While they are at preschool I can go to the temple-I love Wednesdays, help at the school, and all the other stuff that is easier without kids in tow. It's going to be a great year!

On the first day of school our tradition is to go get ice cream and talk about the day. It's the best way to get the kids talking. They aren't distracted. Their hands are busy and you can actually get a lot more details.

Future Missionary Camp

James and Gavin kicked off Future Missionary Camp with fishing with Marshall and Grandpa. 

They learned a lot at temple square.

So thankful he has this opportunity to spend time with his grandparents and Gavin!

Lynnlee's Book Club

Lynnlee had her book club again this summer with girls from our ward. We had a water themed book club when it was our turn. We based it off of My Weird School books.

One Hundred Dresses, Way Side School is Falling Down, Book of Friendship, American Girl, The Snail and the Whale were some of the other book club books.

End of Summer at Classic Skating

We ended summer with a day at Classic Fun Center in Sandy. I had not been there in years and I didn't realize how many fun things they had there. We planned on staying a few hours but ended up staying all day. We started with skating and arcade games. Then bounce houses and other inflatable slides. We finished outside at the water park.

It's fun that the minis are to the age where they can do most things that the big kids can do.

Dose of Positivity

I am doing more with the PTA this year.  I love it and I've made new friends. At the end of summer we put positive messages in all of the bathrooms.

James's 10th Birthday

James's friend birthday party was a blast! We got out the slip n slide, kitty pool, tons of water balloons. We also played some fun water games and did a pinata. It's a lot easier doing a friend birthday party when they are ten-years-old compared to five-years-old.

Pass the Water....very entertaining to watch when you aren't the one getting cold water dumped in your lap.

Thanks to Pinterest I found some fun party games. One hit was noodle hockey. They didn't want to stop playing. Another funny game was Frozen T-shirt. We had 11 frozen t-shirts and the first to get it on won a prize. It was hilarious watching them try and get it out of the bag. They kept slamming them down on the drive way. They all got so quiet and all you could hear was *thud* *thud* *thud.* Finally they figured out to put it in the water on the slip n slide to help it thaw.

Soccer ball cup cakes for my boy who could play soccer every day and then some.

On James's actual birthday we hid his presents. He already knew what he was getting so it made it more fun. He did get clues for each one but even then some were tricky. We all followed him through the house on his hunt.

This was my favorite hiding place.

And Marshall had a good hiding place too on top of the shelves.

James requested egg toast for breakfast. Usually the kids request donuts so it was nice to have a change.

Grandpa and Grandma Lowry came for birthday dinner.

We had beef roast, mashed potatoes and gravy....James's favorite. Yum! It was a fun day!
We celebrated August birthdays with my family at the Provo pool. Some how I managed to not get any pictures. I can't believe James is 10!