First Day of School 2015

I thought life would be calmer once school started. 

So far, that hasn't been the case.

This past week I had a root canal, our air conditioning broke, and Lucy had strep. 

It's been quite the long and expensive week. But as of today, we are all good, for which I am so thankful!!

The first day of school was both exciting and scary. For all of us. It's a new school with new teachers, and I was nervous for them.

Sami is in 2nd grade. 

 Janie is in 1st grade. 

 Not sure where this pose came from, but we'll take it. 

 Glad my girls like the camera.

 Trying to get a sibling shot.

 Walking to the school. Nerves were high. Lucy thought she was going to. 

 Their mascot is now the eagle. They are the Oak Hollow Eagles. So we took a picture with the creepy eagle man.

 I felt like I was kind of embarrassing Sami by hanging around. How did it come to this so quickly??! But she was a good about smiling for me. 

 At first Janie was very uncomfortable and nervous with the whole "new school" thing. 

 But once she found out our neighbor and a friend from her primary class were all in her school class, she was totally okay. 

 Lucy was sad it wasn't her first day too. Poor thing. It's hard to always be left out of the good stuff. 

 This was the smile I got from Sami as it was time to go in and I knew she would be okay. 

I sure do miss these girls all day, but I am so thankful that they love school. 

Ben's Wedding

On August first, my little brother, Ben, got remarried. 

The wedding and reception was in Denver, and I am very thankful that I was able to go. 

This is a picture of Ben, me, and my nephew, Davy, at the hotel, right before we headed over for the wedding. 

 My other little brother, Danny, with my mom. 

 The groomsmen. 

 Ben, watching his bride walk down the isle. I love his expression. 

 Ben and Kelli during the vows.

 Their family now. Ben, Kelli, and the kids: Julia, Sarah, and Nathan. 

 The whole wedding and reception was so beautiful. I loved their first dance together. Ben even took dancing lessons so he could do this with Kelli. Way to go, Ben!

  I will admit that I was balling when I watched my mom and Ben dance. 

 It was so good to see my brother so happy. 

 My dad was cracking us all up with his dance moves. 

 After a lovely wedding and reception, the happy couple rode away. 

It was a beautiful day and I was happy to be there for them.

Congrats, Ben and Kelli! ♥

Pioneer Day in Utah

Summer has been crazy busy for us. But we love our new house and are enjoying the neighborhood and all the good things Utah has to offer.

Right after we moved in, Jonathan's family came to visit us for Pioneer Day. 

I am just going to be honest  and admit that I really don't get why Pioneer Day is so big here. From what I've heard, only about 25-30% of Salt Lake County is active LDS. Now, I love and admire the pioneers, but I guess I don't understand why it's such a big holiday (even bigger than Independence Day) when so many people don't share our heritage. I guess that just makes me a weirdo and an "outsider." Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for another holiday (even though Jonathan had to work), and I am thankful for the pioneers. 

But back to the family.

We had a full, fun, house and we saw family that we hadn't seen since we left Arizona. 

Our neighborhood had a bike parade. The girls decorated their backs and we rode to the local park. 

At the park, we had breakfast with the neighbors and community. 

We also took the kids to Cabelas. We thought it was their fishing day, where they let the kids fish, but that was the following day. But we had fun just looking at all the fish and animal displays. 

Jonathan's oldest niece, Makenzie, is going on a mission in a few months. And we realized that this was maybe one of the few times that all the grandchildren would be together for a picture. I am so thankful for the pictures we took and the memories made. 

Then it was time for a sibling picture for all of Jonathan's side. We were only missing Gregg. I am going to see if I can photoshop him in sometime. :)

I am thankful for the time we got to spend together.