Firsts, Lasts, and New Beginnings

This summer was a busy one for our family. It was filled with exciting firsts, some tearful lasts, and a new beginning for our family in our new house. Here are some highlights.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: I took the kids to Utah for the month of June. The thought of spending summer in HOT Arizona overwhelmed me. So I thought that if we went to Utah, it would be cooler. We would get a chance to see our family. I felt we outstayed our welcome. We also missed daddy a lot. But we did have a lot of fun times & made great memories. It was so great to spend time with the kids' cousins, Mike's sister, Grandmas, my sister, and lots of good friends.

The KAYSVILLE Parade:

How is it we've never been to this parade? It was amazing. I couldn't believe all the loot we came home with. My kids' hats weren't even big enough to hold it all. We went with my sister and her husband, Nick.

After the parade, we hit TACO TIME. Everyone gets most excited about the TACO TIME float. They threw out millions of balls. We came home with at least 20. Well, their business plan worked. It was packed after the parade. I actually love TACO TIME, wish there was one here.

2. It's a GIRL for Nick and Erica.

I was so excited because Erica invited me to her ultrasound when they found out the sex of the baby. It was even on my birthday!! I couldn't have picked a better way to spend the day. I felt so loved to be invited to this. Their baby girl is so cute. I can't wait to meet her. I'm going to fly out next month to visit them.

My mom and I threw Erica a baby shower. It was so much fun to see everyone. My sister looks so cute. She was hardly showing when I got to Utah and had the cutest little belly (very little) by the time I left.

All three of these ladies were pregnant and due around the same time. My cousin, JoDee on the right actually had her baby girl, Hailee about 2 weeks ago. That means Erica is getting close!

3. Daven learned to ride his bike!!!

My mom has a big park right behind her house with a giant trail. We kept going out to practice. One of the days, Daven told me to just let go. So I did. I was amazed at how far he went. He just took off and didn't fall for a long time. He had so much fun going around and around the track. Way to go, Daven.

And some Lasts:

1. Daven had his last day of first grade.

This was his teacher Ms. Vogt. She was one of those true angels. I can't describe how sweet and loving she was. Daven had a great year. We will miss Ms. Vogt and we will miss his old school!! He had 2 great years there. We are so lucky he had the chance to go there & have 2 wonderful teachers.
2. Logan had his last day of Preschool with Miss Heidi.

I loved her preschool, too. Logan learned so much and I really felt like it prepared him for Kindergarten. I loved that it was a small group of kids. He learned so much. Thanks Miss Heidi! And there were so many cute boys for him to hang out with. He's always been surrounded by a neighborhood of girls, so this was really fun.

3. We said good-bye to our old house...

And moved into our new one. Grandma and Papa were so sweet and came to help us move. I cannot even tell you how hard they worked. Sun up to sun down. We were so grateful for their help. They did so much!!!
4. We hosted our last playgroup at our swimming pool.

Sniffle, sniffle. I miss this so much. We have so many great memories in this pool..... with both family and friends. I miss the squeals I used to hear from the backyard. Maybe someday again :(

We are now getting settled into our new house. I will have to post some pictures soon. I still miss our old house, though. I had to get it all cleaned out for our renters. When it was empty I walked around from room to room and just cried. I kept picturing the kids in the tub, in the pool, in their rooms and it made me sad to say good-bye. It was our home for the last 8 years..the house we became a family in. I still love and miss it sometimes!