Finally Caught Up

It was the 1st day of 1st grade for Eden and the 1st day of 3rd Grade for Gideon. Gideon is such a good big brother. He takes his responsibility of getting Eden to class very seriously. He is still young enough or good enough that holding his little sister's hand doesn't embarrass him. Eden still looks up to him, just as she has from the day she was born. Listening to Gideon ask Eden several times if she was excited for her 1st day and then after school, him asking her how things went. Siblings can be such a beautiful wonderful thing. They give each other something that I can not give to them. Sniff...I love these 2 ya whos. I miss having them around. School is a blessing and a curse. My younger kids seem to be without direction. They miss having the more experienced players telling them what to do, say, and think. I know pretty soon Larke and Rush will figure out that they like not always being told what to do and we will all adapt. For right now though we're still in transition.

Jones Family Fun

We did some really cool and fun things with Matt's family on our last trip for the summer. We went to Utah and enjoyed some family time playing at the pool, eating wonderful food, playing with cousins, going sailing, talking, and playing Dance Central and 5 Crowns. Some of the things we did outside the house were fun too.

We went to Temple Square and took the kids to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building to see the Joseph Smith movie. We also took the kids to see the Kristus. It really is an absolutely gorgeous work of art.

We went to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinosaur museum, where the kids enjoyed swimming away from sharks, pretending to throw spears at a mammoth skeleton, uncovering skeletons in the dig area, and just plain discovering.

We also went to the gardens at Thanksgiving point where I have never been. It was stunning. The most beautiful garden was the secret garden. I can't really describe it, so if you have the chance, go see it yourself. The whole thing was just wonderful. I enjoyed taking pictures of the kids being cute.


We fed the coy fish


The Secret Garden

Rolling down the hill-ah, to be a kid


We went to see the Up house. This house building company has built it to sell and it is on the route for parade of homes. This house is adorable. There are themed girl (princess) and boy (toy story) bedrooms and a theater in the basement. There is a nursery upstairs with the same mural from the movie. They had chairs built to match those from the movie, where they sit together. My favorite room was the kitchen. I love the old fashioned looking frig and the color scheme. Like I said adorable, all of it.

All in all we had a marvelous time and thank Mom and Dad for hosting us yet again and coming up with such fun things for us to do. We miss you all and truly look forward to our next visit.

Miscellaneous Summer Fun

How can you go wrong with a summer full of fun with a new trampoline (to us anyway, hooray for craigslist), slip n' slide, and swimming. Well I've discovered you really can't. These things make for perfect summer fun. I even hopped into a swimsuit myself to show the kids that they really could make it to the end of the slip n' slide. It has been a great summer and a full summer. I have really enjoyed spending some quality time with my kids and watching them enjoy quality time with each other.

Rush x 2

I love this boy! He has been such a delightful addition to our family. He has this cute little run that I know he will grow out of, but I hope it is not too soon.

He loves his siblings. He love to tackle and to be tackled by them. They all adore him and think it is so fun when he learns something new or says a new word. They do not always love sharing the trampoline with him, but they are learning.

He loved the 4th of July just before his birthday. He was so fun as he pointed out the colored lights in the sky.

He is still a good napper. Aren't kids just beautiful when they sleep.
This is one of my all time favorite shots of Rushmore. He loves girl toys, much to Matt's chagrin and when Pretty Pretty Princess is out he has a very hard time sharing with others. Pink was the first color he learned. I'm not too worried. I'm chalking it up to having 2 older sisters and something that he will grow out of soon enough. If you look below you can see he already enjoys dressing up as super heroes.

He loves posing for the camera and has a hard time letting me take pictures of the other kids.
Rush is a silly, happy, fun little 2 year old. He is talking up a storm. He knows lots of colors and loves saying them over and over. He loves pointing out all the parts of our faces. He loves his tongue. He loves puzzles and books. He does not like things on his body to be fixed, like re positioning a hat or shirt. That makes him mad. He loves food and will eat just about anything I put in front of him. Like with all of my kids there is great joy and sadness in watching him grow up. Everyday him needing me less and less, a relief and a disappointment. It is a wonderful and hard thing to be needed as a Mother. I love my Rushmore. He is such a source of happiness in our home.