Last Days of Summer and 1st Day of School

We can't believe summer is gone and now the school year has begun. We are still trying to get adjusted to the new schedules but here are some last things we did for the summer and a few first day of school pictures.



Kamren had a dream the other night that we all flew back to California to visit his cousins. We hope his dream will come true. This was the last day we said goodbye to Colin before they headed to California.

We went to a cow farm where we learned how they made ice cream, butter and cheese. Ashleigh loved holding the kittens that were there at the farm. She is so tender with animals.

Andrew loved the animals at the little farm but the trucks were his favorite. He took them around everywhere he went.I found out that you needed 10-20 people to have a tour and I sent an email out and we had a great turnout. There are two families that came later that aren't in the picture. We had so much fun learning about how they made different things from milk. We had a great group of friends that came with us to learn.

Kamren was still in California when we went. We loved seeing the cows but not smelling them.

I've been making homemade bagels with the girls. They are so yummy!

Can we have one more picnic? The weather was so beautiful that we had a picnic in the front yard.
Connor just turned four months and tried some rice cereal. More came out than went in. It was fun to watch him.

We went to the zoo for the first time this summer. With our pass we got free carousel rides. Andrew loved the carousel so much at the zoo. We went on three times.

This is Connor's first time on the carousel. He loved it.

The girls really wanted to go the zoo while Kamren was in California. They loved having their friend come along.

Connor was loving his time at the beach.

The week before school started, the girls and I made a Fall craft. Very easy, very fun!

We all went to the beach one last time with our neighbors.

Kamren was so fun to watch. He was playing so well with Kamren. I will capture that moment forever.

Brynn wanted to run in the sprinklers and had a blast. Andrew joined in the fun!

Miss Ashleigh has struggled with ingrown toenails like I did when I was a little girl. After six surgeries in 8 months we decided to have the permanent nails removed on each big toe. She was amazing.

They are healing quite nicely. You can't even tell that the nails were removed on each side. I'm hoping this will end the pain for her with her toe nails.

We went to the temple one last time before the busy school year and schedules. We have a tradition to touch the temple everytime we go with the children. The kids got father's blessings the next day before school started.
This is Connor's first time to touch the temple.

The girls had a blast going through their 72 hour kits and updating the clothes and shoes. It was a great Sunday activity while dad was at church being Bishop.

Every Fall we try and update our 72 hour kits and we try to add something new. This year our mother and father in law bought us water bottles that filter the bad water. We have them outside on some shelves ready to grab if we need them. We also added a portable radio.

Brynn wanted to have a candle light dinner the night before school started. It was fun to have something different. The kids are trying my homemade hamburger buns. I'm having so much fun trying new things since the girls have egg and dairy allergies.

Whoa! Whoa! Connor can now roll over from his tummy to his back. He is so fun to watch. He just got his first tooth yesterday!

Every school year I get them a little something before the start school. Well, I did it once a few years ago and they haven't forgotten. This year it was camouflage underwear for Kamren and the girls got twin panties. So simple, and yet so fun for the kids. All they wanted was a wrapped gift. It made us all happy:) I love practical gifts.

We also have the tradition to measure everyone on a great big stick to see how much they have grown. Ashleigh already grew an inch from her baptism in June! She is going to be one tall girl.

Kevin was so nice to make the kids vegan donuts for their first day of school breakfast. We never have orange juice so this was a highlight too.

Kamren was so excited to wear his new shoes and new outfit on the first day of school.

He found his desk. His teacher was changed three times before school started. We are so excited that he loves his teacher.

This is the first time that Ashleigh has the same teacher that Kamren had.

Brynn is loving her bike ride to school and back. She is growing up quickly.

She loves her new young five teacher. She comes home so happy.

All the kids are ready to go to school.

Brynn meets at the Elementary School and then buses to another school for young fives. She misses out on some school but she loves the bus ride.

Our little twin girls.
The girls got two new outfits for school. I got these for 5 dollars each outfit.



What about me? Andrew wanted his first day of school picture too:) Andrew asks about Kamren, Ashleigh and Brynn all day. Whenever he sees a bus he says it's Brynn's bus. I love having him at home and being able to spend time with sweet Andrew. We had a date to our first storytime for him. He was so cute to watch.