The Way I View - Playtime

Well, it appears my little blog circle has dwindled down to me.  :)  But I'm still going at it, and if someone posts, I'll add a link at the bottom later.  In the mean time, I'll give you a link to another blog circle doing the same theme.  They're pretty incredible, so be prepared to be amazed.  I'll link you in at Leah's blog.  I'm not sure where their blog circle officially starts, but hey, It's a circle, so you'll be able to see them all.  :)

Update: Candace, who just had an ADORABLE baby, posted her take on Playtime.  You can see it here.

Anyway, the theme this month is The Way I View - Playtime.  And really, with the move and Addison starting kindergarten, and soccer, and EVERYTHING.  I completely forgot.  Fortunately, playtime is something I regularly try to photograph, so I actually had a plethra of photos to choose from.  These are some from about a week before our move.  I was out packing the POD and Addison and Hannah had gotten ready for bed and were waiting for me to go in and read them a story.  They asked if they could play on the neighbor's swing set and I said sure (they had given us permission to use it any time.)  Addison absolutely LOVES these pictures.  She keeps asking me to show them to her again. I'm glad they bring her as much joy as me.  So here's a little view into a spontaneous before bed play time.

Soccer!

Yesterday, Addison had her first soccer game.  She still doesn't have her uniform, but she had a blast anyway.  Her team was great.  They won, and Addison even kicked a goal!  I don't have a lot of time, but I figured I'd post a few pictures from the game.  :)









And what the rest of us were doing.  (Sorry for the size, but I don't have time to change them for now, so you get bigger pictures).  :)

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, today was a big day.  Addison had her first day of kindergarten.  Last year was a big let down when I realized that Utah makes NO exceptions to their cutoff date of September 1st.  Addison was reading, adding, subtracting, and doing just about everything else I could ever imagine a kindergartner doing, but she had to wait another whole year.  Well, the wait was worth it.  She had a great first day and absolutely LOVES her teacher.

We got some pictures at our house before we left.

I think her going to kindergarten was a lot harder on Hannah than any of the rest of us.  When we finally left the classroom, Hannah started crying and saying, "Addison, Addison!" I cheered her up with a cookie when we got home, but she's sure going to miss having her big sister around all the time.

We got to school early and got some pictures there too.

Addison is SOOOO excited to have Miss Robinson.  Miss Robinson's the one who did Addison's assessment, and ever since then Addison had been asking if she was going to be her teacher.  I was so relieved when I found out she was in her class.  YAY!

Overall it went really well.  The only tears were Hannah's tears, although when the lady at the PTA table told me what the tissues were for I must admit, my eyes did start to sting a little. :)  My baby's going to Kindergarten!

Addison had another big first today.  It was her first soccer practice. We don't have a uniform yet, but when she gets it I'll get another picture!

Kindergarten and soccer!  My baby's growing up!

The Way I View - Summer Life

Well, really, the way I view summer life has been very different than the reality of summer life this year.  But the other day we took a break from packing boxes and spent some time out in the yard playing.

It was a much needed break, but it was also very bittersweet for me.  We will be moving in a few weeks, so we're coming down to our last few days of goofing off in our yard.  I know the move will be great for us, but we just love this home so much.  And considering how much we have to pack and clean, I realized, this may be the last time I get photos of the kids and Bart goofing off in this yard.  I loved it, but it also made me a bit sad.  Change may be for the best some times, but it's always hard.  :)

Anyway, these pictures are really how I view Summer Life...Bart off for the summer playing in the yard on warm summer evenings.  Even if it's not very representative of our summer this year, this is how I want to remember summers in this house.







Lilly was very nervous about the ball being thrown/kicked around.


Dad made sure she got in on the fun though.


Really I think she was just sad that I blocked off her playhouse.  (There are a TON of spiders in it and I decided it was no longer safe to play in until someone (cough cough...Bart) got in there and got rid of them). 

After I took that picture she literally tried to climb in the window.  I wish I had caught a picture of her feet hanging out of the window, but I was too busy keeping her from falling on her head.  Girl loves her playhouse!

After that she decided to sit on the porch and talk on the phone.  I'm pretty sure she was reporting all the shenanigans to grandma.

 







Bart started this game with the girls where they'd run away from him and he'd kick the ball at them...AS HARD AS HE COULD.  He sure knows how to stress this mama out.  And how to get these girls to giggle and laugh like none other.  (Out of focus, I know, but totally worth it.) :)



Yep, this is exactly how I want to remember summer life in this home.



Check back in a few days for a link to some other lovely posts about summer life.  :)

Fourth of July - The Final Episode

The big plan for the 4th was to go up to Stadium of Fire.  I was going to take the older girls, and Bart was going to stay home with the younger girls.  Kind of sad for him, but I think he was secretly looking forward to an evening of doing whatever he wanted.

Unfortunately for us all, the twins and I all got pink eye.  (TOTAL BUMMER!)  I was still thinking about going, but my eyes hurt so bad I finally decided to stay home and let Bart go with the older girls.

So instead of spending the night with the Beach Boys and Scotty McCreery, I got to spend the night playing with the twins and then blogging about it.  :)

After Bart left to meet the older girls (they were in Provo already with my family) the twins and I headed outside.

The twins were happy for quite a while just playing in the playhouse.

Lilly is seriously obsessed with the door bell.

That and kicking Maya out of the house.  I don't think Maya minded much though...

She preferred to eat the smarties she dropped on the ground.

She wasn't very happy when I realized what she was doing and took them away from her.  She recovered though.

These pictures aren't perfect, but dang! This mama sure loves them.

After the play house, the twins decided they wanted to pick some raspberries.

Whether they were ripe or not..

Most were ripe though, and they went to bed with tummies full of raspberries, and their 2nd independence day well documented.  :)

Not your traditional way to celebrate, but I found it rather enjoyable nonetheless.

P.S. If Bart remembered to take pictures of the girls at the Stadium of Fire, I'll post them too, so check back later.