Cruisers

Grandma M found a great Jeep for James' up coming birthday. The cousins were in town and they were breaking the Jeep in. It was so fun to watch the kids cruise around outside.
I love days like these when it seems like the day was made to be enjoyed.

Impromtu

I love things that just come together and that's what tonight was like. I was outside on the front porch hanging with my kids and so was Aymee. So we decided to join our forces and hang out since both of our husbands have late nights. It was so fun. We got Subway and let the kids eat a great picnic outside and play.
It was so chill and the kids had a great time.
I loved it!

Home School

Something that has been in my heart and mind for a few years has become a reality. Since having Sam I have pondered and prayed about his, and any future kids, education. After literally years of prayer and reflection I have decided to home school my kids.
I started this year with Sam and James with pre-k. I wanted to make sure that I had everything set up and organized and a routine set in stone for next year when kindergarten begins.
I love teaching. I have known since a very young age that I wanted to be a teacher. I have been blessed with so many amazing teaching opportunities in my life. When doing a career study in high school (when I was in Spain) I was able to help teach a 1st grade class and then a 7th grade English class for a week. That sealed the deal.
At BYU I was able to work in so many schools. My last year there I decided to make my elementary education degree in an urban emphasis and worked in North Salt Lake. From there I was able to go to Samoa for a summer and teach 2nd grade where I was able to help train the teachers there who are not able to get off the island for training.
After a mission to Spain I was able to come back to Utah and teach 3 years in Rose Park (North Salt Lake). I taught 1 year of bilingual and 2 of dual immersion (Spanish). I loved every minute and am so grateful for all that I learned. I had an amazing mentor who taught me so much and I am so grateful that I had the "all in" attitude and saved everything I did.
I have loved getting ready to teach my own children. I take education very seriously and I am very dedicated to my kids. I have found that as I have been planning, and now doing, this with my kids that I am spending so much more quality time with them and I feel that our relationships are growing deeper.
This week was our first day and the boys loved it. They loved going down stairs to school. We learned so much and I was so proud that when they were asked by their Dad what they learned, they were able to repeat and recount everything. Even when we had some people over, James wanted to show them his school and what he had learned.
I am so excited for all that we will experience together. I know that it won't be easy, and that there will be some difficult times, but I can think of NOTHING better than having the opportunity, the time, the skills, the resources, and the desire to teach my own children. There is NOTHING I would rather be doing!

Our Secret Hideout

...that's what the boys call their bunk room at Bear Lake. It's awesome. They set up all their toys in there, grab their snacks, and set up their show. The last thing they do is close the door to keep destructo-Chloe out. They think they are in heaven to have their own little oasis just for them. Little do they know that we really go up there for us! :)
We had an amazing Labor Day weekend. It was a last minute plan and we are so grateful that we have the ability to do that. With Seth now in his MBA program we have found that we are learning to use our time a lot more wisely and we really enjoy our free time much more now.
We relaxed, slept, ate great, enjoyed some shakes, played outside in the perfect weather, chased the geese, seagulls and deer, built castles, swam, read, watched movies, played games (even invented a new one, "grass tag"), had picnics, and played at the park. I even had time to have a little photo shoot with the boys that turned out pretty well.
The water is finally back up to our beach and it makes it so much more enjoyable. Now one is in front of our view now and it is beautiful and peaceful even if there are a lot of people there.
I love my family!!!

Our Day with the Birds

We got some passes to the Tracey Aviary and decided we needed to use them before they expired (today!). I am so glad we did. The reason we waited and kept debating about it was because we went there two years ago and I thought it was pretty ghetto, but WOW! have they done a lot to improve it. It was so nice.
The kids had a blast looking at all the birds. The trees were beautiful, big, and shady, which helped make our visit pleasant.
We even stayed for the bird show and it was great. Sam was a little disappointed that they never chose him to help, but he soon got over it and enjoyed watching and the tricks the birds did and hearing all the fun facts about them.
By far, their favorite thing was "Owl Forest". It was so cute and fun. We had to go the library and get an owl book to learn more they were so sucked in.
I am so glad we went and actually can't wait until we can go back, since I know there is more we didn't even get to see.