First Grade

It's hard to imagine that summer has come to an end - and that my girl is starting 1st Grade!!  What happened to the time?  

We went to meet Rease's teacher Mrs. Spain yesterday and tour around the school and little bit.  Rease is super stoked to be going to school all day long.  So excited to eat lunch at school!  She's also excited that she doesn't have to take a nap anymore.  I've always told my kids that they can stop taking naps when they are in school all day long.  So Rease has been counting down the days this week - "mom, only 3 more days of naps!"  

This is Rease by her desk at school.  

And what first day of school doesn't start out this way?  I did this as a kid every year!  (I love the backpack underneath the shirt with the sleeves through the straps.  Very creative.  Another thing not really visible in the picture is her bracelet wrapped around one of the sleeves and necklace up at the neckline.  She has it all figured out!)

Rease has a morning routine since we've moved into the new house.  She gets up a little before 7:00 and waits outside on the porch for her dad to get home from the gym.  She's our early riser and is sitting waiting for him most mornings.  Today was no exception.  Dressed in all her stuff, she was waiting as Josh pulled into the driveway.

After a breakfast of French Toast (her choice) we packed up to take her to school.  Luckily we live so close to her school that she can walk.  The boys and I walked with her today but she will walk with the neighborhood kids the other days.  

Liev wanted to ride his scooter and actually did pretty good until about halfway back - then was tired and mom had to carry it for him.  

Rease looking all grown up in front of her school.  She is such a sweet girl and gave me a big hug and kiss before she ran off to play before the bell rang.  

She found her friend Izzy before class started and I grabbed this cute pic of the 2 of them.  

I love this sweet girl of mine.  I would be lying if I said I didn't shed some tears as the boys and I walked away from the school.  I'm going to miss this girl during the day but am so proud of her!  Have a great year in 1st Grade!

Messy Eater

Keen loves food as you can tell by his chubbiness.  But he also loves to make a mess while eating it.  A fair amount gets into his mouth, but there is a definite pathway of food all around him when he's done eating too.  

 And plenty of leftovers on this adorable face!

Best of Friends

Liev and Canyon have become the best of friends.  Everyday Liev asks when we are going to see "Tanyon."  They luckily get to see each other almost everyday and love playing together.  Hayley took these pictures of the two of them one day while playing at her house.  Don't they look so cute?  Like little old men sitting out on the porch.  

 Sitting on the same toy, in the same position.  These two are just too cute!

Lipstick and purple marker

I keep thinking that Liev will grow out of playing with the girls stuff and just want to play with his boy toys.  But every once in a while I still catch him doing the things he's seen the girls do everyday.  Purple marker is their favorite (and his by the way he colored all over himself!) And Liev has learned to carefully apply make-up just like they do.  Don't get me wrong, this guy is all boy.  Rocks, dirt, trucks, jumping, climbing and all.  But once in a while it's ok to be in touch with your sensitive side too, right?

Keen's car seat

So Keen has completely outgrown his car seat.  I know I need to get a new one for him, but just haven't had the chance yet.  I wanted to show how much this kid has grown in one year.  Same car seat - just one year later.  

I don't hardly remember him being this small.  Where did this little baby go?

1 year old Keen!

Baby Keen is no longer a baby!  As of August 13 he is 1 year old!  Keen shares a birthday with a bunch of people that we know, but most importantly with his Uncle Caleb.  We had a family dinner/party and celebrated both Keen and Caleb's birthdays.

Cupcakes for the guests...

 an airplane cake for Keen...

And a Brazilian cake for Uncle Caleb.  Aunt Hayley surprised him with his favorite dessert from Brazil called Mousse de Maracuja (Passion fruit mousse pie.)  It was a hit!

 The guests included Caleb, Hayley and Canyon (and of course their triplets still cooking in Hayley's tummy!); Travis, Trisha, Kate and Eli; Grammie and Papa Beutler;  Uncle Joe, Aunt Meghann, and their cute kids; Aunt Robin, Uncle Guy and their kids; Grammie Losee, Uncle Andy and Uncle Greg.  We had a houseful but had a great time together!

I got this little walker toy for Keen and it was a hit!

All the kids wanted to play with it and poor Keen didn't get much time with his new toy.

 So we quickly moved onto the cake.

 Keen dove right in and made a mess of himself and his cake.   But thoroughly enjoyed himself too!  

 A quick family pic before we cleaned Keen up.  You can tell the other kids have been into a fair amount of cupcakes themselves!

 A 1 year old birthday always ends with a bath in the kitchen sink. 

We love our birthday boy so much!  

My favorite things about Keen at age 1:

1) He is the squishiest, chubbiest, yummiest baby I've had so far.  He is at the top of the charts for his height and weight and I can't get enough of his fat rolls all over!  

2) Keen loves to be tickled and has the best laugh ever.  He giggles in anticipation for the tickles that he knows are coming then breaks into a full on laugh until it's over.  He is the best!

3) Keen is starting to give kisses on command and I can never get enough.  The open mouthed kiss is slobbery, but delicious!  

4) Just recently, Keen's hair has grown long enough that you can tell how curly it really is.  I don't know where that came from cause all the other kids have straight hair, but it is the most darling thing to see his curls tighten up even more as his hair gets longer.  

5) Keen is my baby and that makes him special.  I know that won't last forever, but for now he's my youngest and is my mama's boy.  I love this guy to pieces!

Keen's stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 32.01 inches - 96%

Weight: 25.51 lbs - 83%

Head: 19 inches - 93%

Tractors

One of Liev's favorite things to do is sit and watch the tractors that are working in our neighborhood.  I find him watching from his bedroom window, from our front office window and mostly just sitting on the porch watching as they work.  Wishing? Dreaming? Scheming?  Whatever it is, he sure looks cute just watching for now!  

Splash Park

There's a cute little splash park in Herriman that we've been to a few times this summer with neighbors.  This kids love it because they stay cool in the heat and mom loves it because I don't have to worry about the kids.  They just play and us moms can sit and chat. 

I have figured out this summer that Liev is not much of a water person.  Since he got his tubes in his ears we have tried to avoid swimming pools because he can't get his head under.  So now he's not really even used to being in the water.  He usually sticks by me and eats all his snacks while the girls play.  He has loved playing in the little pool we bought for our house, but the splash pad doesn't really do it for him.  Cute little thing!

Water in the basement

Canyon and Liev has this crazy ability to get into mischief, very quietly, when they are together.  This particular afternoon I was getting ready to leave for Bunco, Josh was almost home from work and I was quickly trying to get dinner on the table before I left.  I let the kids go downstairs and play and they were being good while I got a few things done.  I should have figured out that it was too quiet for playtime and that something was not right.  But it took Rhen coming upstairs and saying "Mom you should see how much water is in the basement" for me to think about it and realize that I was too late to avoid the disaster that Liev and Canyon were working on. 

They had gone outside the basement door, turned on the hose, dragged the hose inside and proceeded to make a swimming pool/splash pad in the basement.  Yikes!

I was of course flustered and angry because it was just the wrong time to have to deal with something like this.  Yelling and spanking happened which then turned into wailing from the kids (which also wasn't what I wanted to deal with at the moment.)  Soon after though, I realized that this is probably not the worst thing that's going to happen and at least the basement is just cement for now.  Within a day or two it all dried out.  But don't think I didn't start locking and deadbolting the door after that.  This disaster is being avoided next time!

Aerospace Museum

My friend Nat and I decided to take the kids to the aerospace museum up in Roy.  Josh and I have been there once when Rease was a baby, but haven't been back since.  We were excited to go and meet some friends for the day!  

The kids haven't seen each other for a while, but it didn't take long to get reacquainted and start playing together.

 And poor Keen is at that age where he is stuck in the stroller.  

 Liev especially loved all the big airplanes.

 And these kids thought the helicopter was super cool.  We saw tons of cool planes, jets and airplanes and I was glad we went back with all the kids.  We had a great day together.

As we were leaving, the kids all jumped in the photo booth to hide from us and "scare" us.  Once we found them though they continued playing in it and Nat and I had a chance to chat for a while.  This photo booth was so fun for them and since I didn't want to fork out the $5 that it cost to have their pictures really taken in it, I opted for a few shots from my own camera.

It was such a fun day to be with old friends and see new things!

Beutler Family

This year we went to the Beutler Family Reunion in Burley Idaho.  It was at Grandpa and Grandma's old farm.  We all brought tents to sleep in and there were lots of activities going on throughout the days.  We had such a fun time with the family.  So many of the cousins I haven't seen in years, so it was really fun to get reacquainted.  These are the only 2 pictures we have of the weekend.  The Alma Beutler family.  

Rhen's coloring

Rhen LOVES to color.  She can usually be found with crayons, pens or markers in her hand drawing a cute picture.  She is so sweet and giving with her artwork too.  Most of her drawings are for someone else - neighbors, family members, teachers, etc.  I have been the recipient of many pictures from Rhen and I love them all!  She has learned how to write her name really well and can also write a few words that she can sound out herself.  She is such a sweet girl.  Enjoy!

 Sometimes she writes letters down as if she's writing a note.  I'm not sure what any of these say usually.  One day she took one of these notes to Papa and he asked her what the note said.  She looked at him confused and said, "I don't know.  I can't read."  He said, "Well didn't you write this note?"  She answered, "Yes, but I can't read it."  Okay then.

Whatever it is, we love having these pictures and notes around our house to remind us of our sweet little Rhen!

At the Lake

We have been on the lake quite a bit this summer.  This kids love it even when they aren't on the boat.  This weekend we took a family in our ward with us to boat.  The younger kids and I stayed on the shore most of the day to give time on the boat to the older kids that were with us.  They love just playing and sitting in the water.

Liev being funny in his sisters goggles.

 Rhen in the water just enjoying it.

 And Keen just sits on the sand with the water splashing his feet and loves it!  

We love these fun days at the lake!

Wiggle Bikes

We bought these wiggle bikes at the beginning of the summer, not sure how much they would be used but thought they might be fun.  Turns out they are a hit with the kids!  We took them downstairs to the unfinished basement and the kids have made a sort of race track out of the area.  They spend hours down their riding bikes and it is super fun for them!   Keen usually doesn't ride but once in a while Rease holds him for a couple turns around the track.  What a fun toy!

Day at the Park

We had Canyon with us today so decided to take the gang to the park.  There is a fun park just up the way from us, so we walked/rode bikes there for the morning.  The kids had a blast playing together.  

 Back at the house for lunch on the deck.  

 And Keen can't seem to get enough milk - one in each hand just in case!