Another Preschooler!

I sent Owen off to preschool for the first time yesterday. It was a different experience than sending Ains off. Owen is a little more shy and cautious, but he was still soooo excited for preschool. Especially since he got to wear his super hero shirt. He is also so independent that I wasn't even allowed to walk him in and take a picture of him in his classroom on his first day. He informed me that he could do it himself. Although it made me smile as he was walking down the driveway into Mrs. B's house and he turned to ask if he had to knock or just walk in. He was a little hesitant, still wouldn't let me come with him, and then turned back and continued walking.

He had a great first day and I'm really excited for him to be in this school. He will go 2 days a week for 2 and 1/2 hours to a woman in our stake. She is only teaching preschool this year because her youngest is a preschooler this year. I think she'll be a great teacher. And she lives on a mini farm in the middle of the city. She has horses, chickens, and bunnies.

Owen was so excited that on his first day of school he got to feed a horse, get an egg from the chicken coop, and play on the monkey bars. He loved it!

My only concern was when I asked him if he made any friends or played with anyone he said he didn't because he didn't know who to play with. It made me nervous for him. But he will be in a playgroup with 3 other boys in his preschool so hopefully he will make friends he feels comfortable with soon.

Quote of the day.....and then some......

While excitedly telling me everything about her first day of school (the assembly, her teacher, PE, the naughty boy in PE, etc.) Ains described her new friend Hannah like this...

"She's very kind. And she's very polite."

I'm not sure this should have made me laugh like it did. But it caught me off guard and I suddenly felt like I was raising an 80 year old woman. But I'm still very glad Hannah is polite. Although I'm not sure what she did to make Ains think she was polite.

Ains also told us that her teacher, Mrs. Harris, was nice even when she was mad. I'm thinking it could have been a rough day for her teacher.

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And now for a little scenario I have to share. It was most likely a fluke, but a great story either way.

The other day Emmie came crawling around the corner and I could see she had something in her mouth. So I said, "Emmie, what's in your mouth?"

She then pulled her little treasure out of her mouth and showed me.

So then I took it a step farther and said, "Bring it to me!"

And sure enough, she crawled across the floor and put it in my hand!

Crazy I know. I still can't decide if it was a fluke or not. But John and I both just sat there in awe as it all happened. And then John was sure to point out to Owen and Ains that Emmie had just made herself the most obedient child in the family!

First Grader at Last

Ainsley started first grade today. And for some reason I'm more nervous for this year than last. That could be because she only knows 2 kids in her class this year, neither of them well at all. And I've also heard interesting things about her teacher. And it could be because she's been nervous about first grade. But this morning she woke up excited for school and to make new friends. And didn't she just look adorable this morning?!

A whole day at school suddenly seems like a really long time. I can't wait to go get her to hear about her day!
And to celebrate the beginning of a new school year Emmie took her first steps last night!

According to John she took 3 steps twice. And I missed it both times! She won't perform on demand, only when she tries to get to her walking toy. She's been close to walking for a while now. So I knew it was only a matter of time. And I'm thinking we have quite a while before she's considered a walker!

Girls Day Out

Years ago I remember a friend telling me about how she took her girls to get pedicures and go shopping before School started each year. And since I'm a huge copycat...I took Ains to get a manicure and go shopping today. Since I'm not made of money we went to the beauty college for our outing. All I have to say about that is, wow. There are some very interesting people in beauty school right now. I don't' think I've seen so many tattoo's and so much crazy face paint and make-up in, um, ever. I was worried Ains would say something about it. But she didn't. And although the girls that did our nails were a little interesting looking, and obviously students, they were nice and we had a good time!

After we were all pretty we went to lunch at Arby's, as per requested by Ainsley, and then went shopping. We both got some cute clothes, and I spent too much money, but it was a fun day out. And totally worth it! I can't wait to do it again next year!

And just because, here are some cute pics of Emmie. Could she be any more adorable? I think not!

Decisions, Decisions............

We will have an extra check coming to us this year that we thought we would do something fun with. Usually we use it for projects or just save it.

So the debate began.

Should we.....

A. Go on a cruise for our 10 year anniversary.
(We've always wanted to do this and cruises are so cheap right now. Perfect way to celebrate a 10 year right?)

OR

B. Take the kids on a quick 3 day trip to Disneyland and the beach.
(We'd make it a quick trip so that we could leave Emmie behind. Kind of rude I know, but a 1 year old sounds miserable at Disneyland and if we left her behind we could really have fun with Ains and Owen. They are both just at perfect ages for Disneyland.)


Luckily our decision making and debate has come to and end. Our decision has been made for us. By the reality that is our life.

So instead of a vacation this year we will be getting the following....

1. A fence. Because ours blew over last night. Again.

2. A bunk bed. Because Emmie is still such a terrible sleeper that she has to have her own room. So Ains has to temporarily move into Owen's room.

3. A water heater. Because we like warm water. And our children have become accustomed to warm water. And we're worried they would revolt if we took that away from them.

I'm not gonna lie. I'm bummed. I feel like the couple at the beginning of 'Up'. So feel free to cry a little for us like I always do for them.

Maybe one day we'll get to go on vacation. **sigh**

Meet the Maid

Slightly haggard huh? That could be because of the myriad of duties she performs.

But she's getting a little feisty.

Today the maid took away juice indefinitely because she was sick of mopping the floor.

Ya, she's kind of mean.

Maybe even a little scary.

Quote of the Day

Tonight after watching Jumanji for the first time Ains pointed out......

"See, that's why you don't just open every game you see."

And then she said.....

"This is one of the greatest movies of all time."

I guess I always knew Jumanji was good and taught great moral lessons, but not that good, and not such important moral lessons.