Halloween class party

Since we are going off track, Josh had his class Halloween party today. After the Harry Potter stand we did this week, he decided to dress up as Harry Potter today. It's also his birthday so he took Gushers as a birthday treat today. Then after school a classmate was having her own birthday party. So Josh got to party on his birthday with very little inconvenience to me :)

First fied trip

Josh had his first field trip of elementary school. They went to the zoo. I was able to go with them and had 4 boys in my group. 3 of them were good listeners, and only 1 (not Josh) needed a little more reminding to not run off. And no one was lost. Success!

First day of Kindergarten!

Today was finally his turn to go to school!

He gets to ride the kindergarten bus to school.

He was pretty excited to be off today. I'm not sure I even caught up to him until the bus stop.

I asked him if he wanted me to follow him over to the school and watch him get off the bus. 

He said no.

I guess he's got this!

Deer Valley Concert

Kent's work offered the opportunity to go to the Deer Valley outdoor concert series. The concert was a Disney Medley. I made us all go. We brought a picnic and blankets and enjoyed the music under the sky.

Pioneer Day

Today we visited my grandmother in North Ogden. My mom and aunts and uncle were at the table writing the obituary while we visited with my grandma. My cousin Danielle and her husband were there while we were too. My grandma talked about how nice it must be for Grandpa to be reunited with the mother he never knew as well as all his siblings. She received some visiting neighbors too who came to pay their respects. She was serene and gracious and as always so sweet and comforting to us all.

Later that night we lit some sparklers and then watched in the front yard as some neighbors did their Wyoming fireworks.

Big boy

Josh was ready to sell his beloved green balance bike. He has been a champ at riding his bigger two wheeler pedal bike this summer, and now deems the balance bike as a baby bike.
He got to keep the money and is saving up for his own Minecraft account.

Sunday Storm

We loves summer storms! Josh enjoyed himself tonight jumping in muddy puddles in his boots and church shirt! He told me not to worry that his new shirt was dirty because I could just wash it.

Happy 4th!

We started the day with a round of Top Golf again. Right after that we went to Korth's for a BBQ. After chatting for a while we headed back home to rest up for the night. In the evening we took the kids to their first rodeo (McKinley's 2nd). They were entertained for the full 2 hours! After the rodeo we watched the big fireworks at the park.

Golfing

Thanks to Kent's company corporate card, we got to go try Top Golf with the family. Josh was not excited about going at all. He said it would be dumb and boring. But we all had a great time. They can't wait to go again!

Last day of school!

Today is finally our last day of school. Kind of. McKinley is doing a summer science class and PE class to free up her school schedule next year. She still has school.

But these guys are out of school! Wahoo!


Here are the first day vs. last day side-by-side pictures:

It was Sawyer's last day of Elementary school! I can't believe it!

After school we got a snow cone from Lani's to celebrate.

                          

Graduation day, again

This time graduation was for the Upstart program. He took an exit exam when we got there. Then they gave them a little cap to wear, a diploma and they got to march in to the front of the room and be applauded. He got a little snack and a pencil bag to celebrate.

                                         

                                         

Red Robin

Josh has been doing the Upstart program this year to get ready for kindergarten. It is a time commitment of 20 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Needless to say, by late spring he was dragging. So I promised him if he got all his medals (the reward system they use each month) then we would go to Red Robin together and he could get the meatballs. Well, today was that day! He got chocolate milk, meatballs and french fries. We chatted about whatever he wanted. He tried to win a ball from the game machines, but it was a bust. He did get a Red Robin balloon to take home though!

                                

Last day of swimming lessons

I signed up for the first session of swimming lessons this year. Luckily the weather cooperated and it has been hot every day! And now we are all done with lessons for the summer!

Josh was doing great with his front crawl today. On the last day they get to go down the slide!

End of soccer season

Today was the last day of soccer for McKinley, Sawyer and Joshua. I was at McKinley's game so I only got a picture of her last day and not the boys. Now we get our Saturdays back for a little while.

After soccer and then swim lessons for Josh, we went to Kent's new work party. They had food trucks and a little carnival for the kids. Josh approved.

Last day of Preschool...ever!

Josh had his preschool graduation today. I can't believe it. I am so happy that he sang all the little songs and did so well. He has grown by leaps and bounds this year, but he is definitely ready for some summer rest and relaxation!

I can't believe we're closing this chapter of our lives.

First day of school/last day of school

With his wonderful teachers Miss Marianne and Miss Heidi

day 7 Friday

Our last day in California. Our Go Card included a whale watching tour. We tried the Newport Landing tour. They had an earlier tour when we arrived to check in, so we were on the boat by 9:30. No whale sightings today. We saw some dolphins and sea lions. The captain gave us $7 return trip vouchers to come back again another time and try again for a better sighting day.

It was still fun seeing the common dolphins and being on a boat on the calm ocean. It was perfect weather and sea conditions.

After lunch the kids wanted to swim in the hotel pool. So we hung out there for a few hours. We got some ice cream at Hans Homemade Ice Cream shop in Santa Ana and then went to Corona Del Mar beach to watch the sunset on our last day. It was a pretty beach with rocks and tide pools, but it was high tide so we didn't see any tide pools while we were there.

on Saturday, day 8, we drove all the way home. We got to our house around 9:30 and ready for our beds! Now back to real life.

day 6 Thursday

Today we went to our 3rd amusement park of the week, Knott's Berry Farm. There were dozens of school buses with kids field trips here today. Otherwise it wouldn't have been crowded. Our longest wait was still only about 20 minutes. This park is a lot like Lagoon. There were plenty of older kid rides, and not too many that Josh wanted to go on. So he spent his time waiting for the big kids and eating cotton candy.

The park closes at 6 today, so we were going to leave early, around 4:30, but kids kept seeing "just one more" ride they wanted to try before we left. We did get out of there at 5:30 and headed over to Outback for dinner and a little birthday ice cream for the birthday girl.

day 5 Wednesday

Beach day! Yay! It was a little chilly for beach day, in the 60's to low 70's. But still a lovely day. We went to Huntington Beach this time. Near the pier. It has a lot of sandy open beaches so it doesn't feel too crowded and the enough shallow wading area for kids to enjoy. Long Beach, a few miles up the coast, has been sighting 15-25 white sharks close to the shore. We were afraid we wouldn't be able to get in the water at all. But there were plenty of people and surfers in the water so we were able to relax and enjoy here.

We ate dinner at Ruby's on the Pier, and stayed on the beach until sunset.