Sidney's First Day of First Grade

Sidney's Favorite Things About First Grade:

• her teacher
• books that her teacher has read
• reward plastic pennies that she can spend at the class store
• new friends like Jayme, Maddison, Chloe
• her own desk and locker
• school lunch
• recess every day
• challenges (like filling in missing words in a poem)

(Hard to believe my 'baby' is in first grade....gone all day! Sidney has been very excited and LOVES it. She was definitely prepared and will do great in 1st grade.)

Jamie's First Day of 4th Grade

Jamie's Favorite Things About 4th Grade:

• Mrs. Plowman, her teacher, the best ever
  
• her 48 pack of crayons
• 2 of her friends in class with her, both are named Lauren (one of which is member of the church)
  
• purple writing on the board which means more fun!
• accelerated reader book list
• being the biggest kid at the bus stop
• same P.E. and music teacher as last year
• making new friends
• a clean, organized desk to start the year with
• her own assignment binder
• hand motion games in music
  

• 
• 

(Hard to believe Jamie is in 4th grade....I remember 4th grade! She is growing up very quickly. She is still the most social of my 3 kids and has about 12 best friends. She is already excited about reading this year....so we are off to a great start!)

Riley's First Day of 6th Grade - Middle School!

Riley's Favorite Things About Middle School:

• his own locker
• changing classes
• new teachers
• new classes like Tech Ed and American Studies
• being in the WACA house
• 3 hot lunch choices every day
• a cool new planner and assignment notebook
• new friends
• new bus

(Hard to believe Riley is in 6th grade already! He has been very excited all week and has adapted very well. They have spent a lot of time learning how to organize, learning where everything is in the school and teaching them all the rules of Middle School. Seems to have been a very smooth transition at our house!)

My New Favorite Video

I love Country Music and especially love my favorite station K102. I have enjoyed listening to Brad Paisley's new song Waiting on a Women. When I was out running errands today, the DJ on K102 interviewed Brad about his video for this song and as soon as I got home I looked it up and watched it. Brent and I both loved the humor of the video and the simple sweet message it conveys. Enjoy:

Video for Waiting on a Woman

The Lewis Family

We finished off our visit to Kansas by spending two days with the Lewis Family at their home in Kansas City. We love being with them and the kids had a very fun time 'sleeping over' with them, playing, swimming, and always get along beautifully! I loved visiting and catching up with Debra. Brent loved playing golf with Casey. Thanks Debra, Casey, Conor and Brigham for having us and we can't wait to get together again!

Liberty Jail

On the way through Missouri we made an impromptu decision to stop at Liberty Jail. We enjoyed the hour break from riding in the cars and appreciated the reminder about the extreme hardships that the Prophet Joseph Smith endured. He was a man of great faith and a wonderful example for all of us.

The National Rocket Launch

Who knew that 3 days in the middle of the United States in a field in southern Kansas with temperatures around 100 degrees could be so FUN! Papa Jim has been waiting a long time to have his family join him for a National Rocket Launch. We all love that he shares his favorite hobby with us! We found the field just south of Argonia, Kansas and set up camp with 2 canopies, 3 coolers, 10 camp chairs and lots of blankets. Aunt Jill from Illinois joined us and was an expert rocket assistant! Debra, Conor and Brigham Lewis also made the drive down from Kansas City and we loved having them with us!

Papa Jim Hard at Work and
Proud of his Finished Products

Setting the Rockets up for the Countdown


Returning with a Rocket
Brent ran after and searched for many rockets,
the farthest was a mile away!

Hanah hitches a ride
Watching the Launch
The Grandkids and their Rockets

Riley (11) with Golfing Riley

Hardy Lee (9) with Hardy Lee V

Jamie (9) with Princess Jamie

Sidney (6) with Sunshine Sid

James (6) with Dragon Heart

Blake (5) with Spiderman Blake

Shawn (3) with Sponge Bob Shawn

Hanah (2) with Hello Hanah

Como Zoo with the Solbergs

It was the very last week of summer...but we fit in our traditional visit to the Como Zoo with the Solberg Family. We went on the afternoon of Jamie's birthday, so Angel and Anna (Jamie's best friend since 1st grade and her sister) came along with us. We love this tradition and can't wait for next summer!

Jamie's 9th Birthday - Round 2

To continue tradition and celebrate Jamie's birthday with family, we had a cake and a few presents with Papa Jim while we were all together in Kansas! Jamie loves having her birthday close to her namesake and loves her Papa!

Jamie's 9th Birthday

Jamie had an amazing 9th Birthday party with 10 of her Best Friends and 11 American Girl Dolls! We had an 'All American Girl' Fiesta with:

• a cul-de-sac kickball game
• a quick doll hair salon
• a pizza dinner complete with dishes for the dolls
• lots of great presents
• making bracelets for all the girls and the dolls
  
• triple chocolate cupcakes for the girls and mini-cupcakes for the dolls