Kindergarten Begins!

Emily has waited a long time to go to school with the "kids." I think I have also waited just as long, but now the day is here I'm feeling quite lost without Emily at home all day. She chose the morning session and got up bright and early on her first day----and the days that have followed. She is ready before Megan and Tyler every morning.
Emily carefully packed all of her supplies in her backpack and didn't even want me to walk her into her classroom the first day. I told her I had to much to her dismay. She told me, "I am big and know where to go." I will say it pulled on my heartstrings. I wasn't crying like some of the other mothers, but didn't skip out of the school like I did with Megan and Tyler :).
She looks so grown-up and has already talked to all the girls in her class and made friends. She gets frustrated with kids that don't listen to the teacher and loves that she gets homework. I think we're off to a great start. I hope her enthusiasm stays with her throughout her school career. It's great to see that because Emily is so excited, Megan and Tyler have a new found interest in school also. I love that Megan, Tyler, and Emily already see the importance of school. What good kids they are! (Yes, I'm bragging, but what else is a blog for?)

Recital is Finally Here!

Emily has loved her ballet/dance class she took over the summer and the day of the recital finally came on August 22nd. She was so excited to show off her dance and especially to wear her costume.
She did a great job and didn't even seem nervous. Tyler and Megan even endured the recital well knowing that there was swimming at the adjoining pool after. I thought the best part was that it lasted about 1 hour. I have heard of recitals that go on for hours and we were pleasantly surprised.
Emily's favorite part was the medal she got at the end. She was so excited for that that when she heard they give trophies in the spring she was ready to sign up again for Fall. She loves her dancing. Megan of course is still trying unsuccessfully to talk Emily into tumbling. I'm just glad Emily has found something she loves.
Emily watching the remaining dances. She takes this whole ballet thing very serious. It will be fun to see her new Fall class begin.

School Days!

The first day of school is pretty exciting---mostly for the parents. I can't believe that Megan is now a 6th grader and Tyler is in 4th grade. I'm a little sad to think this is the only year that Megan, Tyler, and Emily will be in the same school. Megan moves on to the junior high next year and I'm not ready for that. We'll just have to enjoy this year even more. Megan decided on her own to return to Quest which was a big decision for her. Tyler was just happy he had another man for a teacher again.

Tyler is ready for the 4th grade.

Megan looks pretty stylish even in uniform. Kindergarten started 3 days later so Emily is still in bed enjoying her last days of freedom. Let the early mornings and early bed times begin---along with the homework and reading and projects and..... Maybe I wasn't ready for summer to be over.

More Vacation Fun!

We had never visited Jenny Lake in the Tetons so we decided to brave the rain and head out for an afternoon hike. The visitor's center was a highlight while we waited for the downpour to start. How can the weather be so cold in August? Tyler liked that the stuff in the museum could be touched.

Emily tried her best to look like a deer.

The rain stopped and we headed out to see Jenny Lake. We had 2 options---hike 2.5 miles each way or take a boat and only have .5 mile hike to a waterfall. Well, looking at the flipflops the kids wore and the weather, we opted for the boat.

The lake was beautiful and the boat ride was fun. We appreciated the ride even more when we found out the .5 mile hike was more like 3/4 mile. With kids, every little bit makes a difference.

The Teton area is amazing.

Somewhere in all those rocks are all the kids. Tyler and Megan thought they were mountain goats. We all had a great time hiking around and finding great waterfalls. After the hike we had a great lunch by Jackson Lake. While the dinner was being prepared, the kids went to play by the lake. Wendell pretended to be an animal and scared Tyler so much he ran up the hill without his shoes. I guess we know how to make our kids move---pretend to be a moose.

On the way home from Jackson we stopped by Lava Hot Springs for some swimming. It was above 75 so the kids felt like they were in a heat wave compared to Yellowstone and Jackson.

Lava has 2 new slides this year and Tyler and Megan loved them.

Emily loved pushing Faith around and jumping into the water. She did finally go on a slide when we were ready to go and wanted to keep going.

Wendell and Emily swimming in the in door pool.

Another new toy is this rock wall. Megan spent a lot of time climbing to the top and then falling into the water.

We survived another trip with the adults being outnumbered. Fun times and great memories.

Yellowstone!

We spent the day in Yellowstone while we were staying in Jackson. We just happened to choose the same day as Pres. Obama, but I think fortunately for us---and the crowds---we missed him. We thought that there was a bear near Old Faithful because of the traffic, but learned later that the Secret Service was just clearing out. We enjoyed the Old Faithful area without having to be searched and with 9 kids in tow that would have taken all day.

Megan and Emily are always up for posing for pictures. I think they waited until the very end of the eruption to get this picture.

This was "our" motorhome for the week. We traveled all through Yellowstone and Jackson with movies going and games being played. It really was easier to travel this way. We didn't have any fights about who had to ride where. All the cousins were just always together. And Wendell did a great job driving us all around---especially considering he had never driven a motorhome before we all loaded in.

We had a nice picnic near the Firehole river. Gracie and Megan played and played until Gracie fell in. Nothing like cold water on a cold day. We then had to rush to Canyon to find a store that sold sweatshirts. We were actually surprised that only 1 of the kids fell in.

I think my favorite part of Yellowstone is the Canyon area. The waterfalls and yellow canyons are pretty amazing to see. Emily wanted to have her picture taken with the water rushing behind her.

Tyler and Spencer spent most of the sight-seeing time looking for places and rocks to climb. Boys will be boys. The rocks were more impressive to them than the waterfalls.

Megan loves to give the cheesiest smiles. I'm posting this against her wishes in hopes she'll work on her cheesy smiles.

Our family photo in front of the falls.

The kids loved that a buffalo decided to stop right in front of us in the rode and wouldn't move. They got a good look at the bison----these were the only animals we saw in the entire park. Bad day for animals. They were probably too cold like us.

Yes, there was hail/snow while we walked around the stink pots. Tyler's feet were bright red from the cold. Who would have guessed it was August?

Emily is trying to look excited about the bubbling mud behind her, but the cold is getting the better of her. We were happy we had a warm motorhome to return to. We finished the day at Fishing Bridge and the gift shop. We just love Yellowstone.

Last Summer Fling!

To end our summer with a bang, we spent the weekend before school started at Jackson Hole with Mammy, Natalie, Heather, and all the cousins. At times we looked like a quite a sight---9 kids, 4 women, and 1 man (Wendell). To top it off we all rode around in Mammy's neighbor's motorhome. Yes, we got a lot of stares. We started the weekend with a tram ride at a ski resort just minutes from our condo. The views were beautiful of the Tetons and the city of Jackson. This picture took more work than it looks to get all of the kids to look at the camera a little.

This was taken at the top of the tram ride.

While at the top we found a small nature hike for the kids. I think it was only about half a mile, but was plenty when the majority of the hikers are under the age of 9.

The pictures don't really show how awesome the Tetons actually looked from our vantage point.

What's better than a field of wild flowers and mountains in the background. Emily would say that maybe next time she would like the sun in a different spot. She isn't crying, her eyes are just watering from the bright sun.

Megn also wanted the wildflower picture. She did a little better with the sun in her eyes.

Tyler and Spencer thought they were pretty cool being able to ride the ski lift by themselves. Only 2 were allowed per chair which made Tyler, Spencer, and Megan suddenly seem like adults.

After we all survived the hike and ride down the mountain we enjoyed a fun picnic at the base of the mountain. Isn't it amazing that a playground that can be boring at a park near our house is suddenly the best thing ever when it is somewhere else?

The kids loved walking through the shops and town at Jackson. Too bad we don't have $4,000 extra or we could have purchased this cool bear chair. We had to settle on pictures of it instead. I don't think Jackson really ever changes from when I was little. The stores may be different, but there are still plenty of souvenir shops to entice any age.

Tyler and Wendell loved this BigFoot that was in one of the souvenir shops. Tyler is trying to looked scared---I think he needs to work on that one.

What is a trip to Jackson without a picture in front of the antler arches in the park. We didn't have all the kids with us at this point and we still got strange looks.

We found a fun restaurant that has saddles to sit on around a soda fountain. Luckily the adults got to sit on real stools.

We also went to a play at the playhouse in Jackson. This is the car from "Grease."

Megan, Tyler, and Emily tried many poses around the antlers.

The gunfight in the street is also a must in Jackson. Megan was chosen to be a "townspeople" and didn't mind dancing and acting the part impromptu. Tyler and Spencer were also asked to help, but wild bison could not move them to go in front of people. The show is a little different than when we were little, but the kids loved watching the gunfight take place. The boys especially loved looking for the bullet shells after the fight.

The kids with the "villain" of the gunfight.

Tyler was still trying to look afraid. He did a little better in this picture. Unfortunately for us, this was the only bear we saw on our trip. Lots of fun in Jackson.