Quiet Time

6:52am: James is up and getting ready for his first day of second grade.

7:05 Elizabeth is up and getting ready for her first day of Kindergarten.

Too bad they had to wait until 8:45 to leave the house!

It was an exciting morning. Anna cannot wait until her turn comes.

After picking up Elizabeth from school, we hit a couple sales and met Daddy for lunch which proved to be all the kids could handle because all three crashed in the car.

Now the cookies are in the oven and I am enjoying a little quiet time as I anxiously wait to hear how our Jamers' first day went. Elizabeth is delighted to be in a class full of neighborhood friends!

clever

The same silly boy who drew this stick figure screaming behind Dad's truck tire

suggested at dinner that I should let the kids watch more T.V.

"Because if we watched more T.V. then we wouldn't play as much and make so many messes so we wouldn't have to clean up all the time."

The Hole in the Rock

Jump for joy!

Aunt Dorothy put together a wonderful family reunion

and we're so glad we were in town for it!

Yummy food,

lots of swimming

and playing with cousins.

We especially enjoyed hearing more about ancestors who braved the "hole in the rock" mission to southern Utah. Amazing courage and faith.

This prompted us borrowing the book on CD The Undaunted which Jim listened to on his drive to and from Vegas, and James and I got hooked on 1/2 way through with our drive back home. We highly recommend it!

i dare you to

Wanna try something fun interesting? Pretend, just for a few days, that your spouse is deploying at the end of the week. Notice what all of a sudden is important. Notice how you are able to over look the "little things" and notice how you cherish every moment with your family.
Don't worry. By Saturday you'll find out he's sticking around after all, and life will be back to normal, but play this mental game for a week. I dare ya.

One morning

we decide to take a quick walk to the park, by way of a neighborhood path.

Is it even possible to pass a canal without having a stick race?We met this praying mantis

and many doggies.

While it got plenty bright and warm, we hadn't even made it to the park yet!

Finally, as we headed home, nearly 2 hours later, we watched a mama duck swim with her babies.

Not a bad idea.