Cruise

Life on the ship was a dream.  Fancy dinners every night, swimming, relaxing in the sun and kids club! The girls loved kids club so much they wanted to spend a lot of time there.  Jer and I would look at each other and smirk while we said, "If you insist!  But we'll miss you!"  It was so nice to have time to ourselves while the kids were busy being entertained with crafts, activities and fun.  They made lots of fun friends while on the ship.

Santa (Monica that is)

Santa Monica pier is one of my favorite places to go.  So on our way to our cruise we stopped in for a day.  It was so relaxing to lay on the beach and walk around the pier.  Neeley and Kayla thought they were in heaven.  Time away from little sisters and a beach.  What more could one ask for??

Family Pics

I won a family picture session with my good friend Heather Mickey at a service auction.  I was so excited when we got our pictures back.  She did an awesome job!  You can see more of her work at: Heather Mickey Photography.

Heavenly Glory

We had driven past it while it was being built so we couldn't wait to go back and see the Brigham City Temple when it was complete.  The day was cold and windy but that didn't stop our fun.  Neeley, Kayla and Lilah soaked up every beauty in the temple but Kate wasn't so fond of the experience.  She didn't like the itchy booties we had to wear and she spent the entire tour crying, "Get me out of here.  Get me out of this place!" Everyone who heard her, which were many, looked on with a sympathetic smirk.  She endured the booties and decided she liked the whole adventure when we got to the cookies at the end.  Despite the bratty two year old, it was a good experience for the girls to learn more about the promised blessings of the temple.

Third First Day

Third first day brought much less drama than the first two.  Lilah was excited to go to school and since it was her second year at Miss Vicki's she already knew the ropes.  Even Kate was used to the idea of all of her sisters being gone.  Lilah was lucky to share her first day with Larsen her buddy.  

Second First Day

Trying to get Neeley excited for school now was a challenge.  She has always wanted to go to the Arts Academy and to see her sister go without her was a disappointment.  She tried her hardest to put on a happy face for Kayla but it was hard to keep the tears at bay. When it was finally time for her first day a week following Kayla's she was feeling a little better about things.  After her first day she came home excited for the new challenge of third grade but still had hope she would get in to the academy too.  In the middle of day two for Neeley I got the call that she too had gotten into the arts academy.  I couldn't wait for her to get out of school so I went and got her out early so we could go over to her new school and meet her teacher before her first day there.  This is when disappointment turned to fear. Fear of a new school, new friends, new teacher and new uniforms.  She looked at me and said, "Now I know why Kayla was so nervous!"  Luckily, she too got an excellent teacher.  She and Kayla looked so cute tripping off to school in their new uniforms.  And they both came home with glowing reports.  Making friends took a little more time for Neeley but now she is loving the social life as well as the new rigor of academics.