Again?

A year ago, Sydney's best friend Preslie moved away. I know I have mentioned it before :) A few months later, a new little girl moved into our ward and ended up going to her preschool and they really hit it off. Then they moved to Liberty Lake (a few blocks from Preslie).
A few months ago, this great family moved into our ward from Utah. They had a boy, Josh, in Carter's class, a girl, Grace, in Sydney's class and a little one, Will, in nursery with Derek. I loved their mom too! I was so excited.
Syd and Grace had so much fun this summer playing at each other's houses, at the park, the lake etc. They are so much alike it is crazy.

Perhaps I should have expected this, but they moved back to Utah this month. Poor Sydney. . .every time she makes a good friend out here, they leave us. We will miss the Abeggs but wish them the best in their new adventures!

Labor Day Chills and Thrills

Labor Day weekend was a chilly one! We were determined to not let the weather ruin our plans. We spent Saturday at Garth's Dad and Grandpa's property on the Pend Oreille River. The kids had fun "fishing" with John and Lori. We didn't have enough poles so Derek got to use this. . .

he hardly noticed the difference.

Sydney mostly just scooped up seaweed with her pole.

Olivia enjoyed her favorite spot. . .Grandpa Norm's lap.

Monday, our friends the Youngs came out to go boating. They were such troopers and braved the cold temperatures! Not only did they come, everyone in their family participated either tubing or skiing, or both! The kids were all thrilled to hop in the hot tub to warm up before we had a BBQ (the parents too!)
Garth made some amazing BBQ chicken that Braunson and Beaudry dubbed the best chicken they have ever had!

Although we will probably ski another time or two, there is something sad about Labor Day weekend knowing that skiing is coming to a close and school life is in full swing.

Back to School

The day before school started, Sydney and I got to go to school for a Kindergarten orientation. She was so excited at home to pick out a cute outfit, do her hair, etc. but as soon as we got there, the fun was over. She did not want to go in! I was actually really surprised because her teacher this year is Mrs. Hare, who Carter had last year. She knows her and knows how much fun Carter had.

Luckily, that quick visit took away her jitters and she was ready to go for the first day of school!

Carter was thrilled to start second grade. I think he is more excited about seeing his friends every day than he is about school, but what can you expect?

That first step into the bus is a big one. . .she looks so tiny practically doing the splits to get herself into the bus.

I must admit that I followed the bus to school. Carter was told to look out for his sister and help her. Right. He took off with his friends and she was the last one on the bus. The new principal (Carter's old soccer coach) noticed her hesitation and took her by the hand through the front door and she had an escort to her classroom.

Is She Walking Yet?

That's the million dollar question lately.

Has she taken her first step? Check.

Does she have great balance and choose to stand alone? Check.

Will she take a few steps at a time? Check (especially if there is food involved.)

Is walking her preferred mode of transportation? Not even close.

Visitors

We were so lucky this year to have my Hawks Grandparents come visit from Southern Utah. From my door to theirs is a 15+ hour trip and the more kids I have, the less brave I am about taking the trip. Last year they came for my brother's wedding and Olivia's birth so I was surprised and excited when they decided to come again. At first, Olivia preferred Grandpa Howdy (his name is really Russ). But she eventually warmed up to both of them. We had a great time boating at a couple of different lakes.

We played at the splash pad, went out do lunches and dinner, and tried to soak up the precious time we had together. One of the days, Carter and Sydney really wanted to show them the Corbin Art Center where they had art class and the beautiful park (the name escapes me) that is next door. They were adorable little tour guides.

When we got back to my Dad's house, this is what I came home to. I can barely get Derek to take naps alone in his room. How in the world did he manage this?

We are so grateful for wonderful family and had so much fun just kind of dropping everything else and spending time with the Hawks that we don't get to see nearly enough.

More Reunions

Eleven years ago, Garth met this lovely lady when she was a sister missionary here in Spokane. Her name is Amy Chariton now. She is married and has four adorable children, but she will always be "Sister Green" to us. She is a very special person to us and we were so blessed to spend a couple of hours with her at my parent's house this summer. The circumstances were not ideal. . . she was here because her father-in-law passed away during their family reunion in Coeur d' Alene. They stayed a few extra days to be here for the funeral and slipped away for an afternoon to see our family.

Haircuts

When my other kids got back-to-school haircuts, I had my sister trim Olivia's hair for the first time. She wasn't in dire need but I figured we'd get them all done at once.
Before:
During:

After:

I love the way Kim styled it, it almost looks like she has curly hair. She doesn't. Within an hour or so, it was back to straight. I'm still holding out hope that she will be my curly headed kid.

"Cheerleader Camp"

For months, a guy that works with Garth has been teasing him about his upcoming "vacation" to "cheerleader camp." Garth is such a trooper to take time off of work to drive the family down to Rexburg, Idaho so I could have some time to reminisce with some old cheerleading friends. The reunion started at Heise Hot Springs where we played in the pool then were treated to a mini-concert by the Pink Stilettos. They are the three youngest daughters of my old cheer coach. My kids acted like they were meeting celebrities. They were asking for autographs and were elated when Garth gave them the money to buy their CD!The next day, we took a very hot, very long tour of campus that was only fun for me. The kids were semi-interested in the beautiful gardens but really weren't excited about campus until we went to the food court for lunch. They were all discussing how they wanted to go to college there because of the good food. Ha.The best part of the tour for me was seeing this dance studio where I spent hours every day practicing and the gym where I cheered basketball and volleyball games. Sydney didn't get her heel stretch the first time so she took herself out of the stunt and spent much of her time like this. Is this not the cutest future cheerleader you've ever seen?
The gym "play time" portion was the worst for Garth. While we were all playing "ultimate cheerleader," Derek was begging Garth to be out on the court. Garth obliged and set him down only to notice something ooze between Derek's toes. Now Garth was really ticked. Who doesn't clean up a spilled milkshake? Unfortunately, as Garth touched the supposed milkshake, he realized it was Derek's poo. Somehow he pooped right past his diaper and onto the gym floor (and Garth's shoes). Needless to say, once he got him cleaned up, we didn't stick around much longer. That night, I attended the banquet solo. The whole reason I planned this reunion (did I mention that this was all my idea and my doing?) was this woman. Shelley Liljenquist was my cheer coach and surrogate mother while I was at Ricks. She is a truly amazing woman. Highly capable, inspiring, giving. . etc. This is me with Shelley and her daughter Natalie who was my closest friend at Ricks. The three of us spent so much time together and have such fun memories I couldn't begin to tell them all. Excuse the strange look on my face, I think I was about to pass out. My waist has aparently changed size in the last 10 years. What happens when you get a bunch of old cheerleaders together and let them have their old uniforms? They try them on and think they should stunt. However, it has been a long time since some of us have stunted and this is the best we came up with. Garth specifically told me before we left, "no stunting with those old, fat, white guys." I don't think a thigh stand counts!The best part of the trip for Garth was spending time with our friends the Landers. We came to the reunion a couple of days early and stayed with them for the duration. They are such good company and have amazing kids. We all had a blast together!