And the best first...The First Day of School

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR

On the other side of the door
I can be a different me,
As smart and as brave and as funny or strong
As a person could want to be.
There’s nothing too hard for me to do,
There’s no place I can’t explore
Because everything can happen
On the other side of the door.

On the other side of the door
I don’t have to go alone.
If you come, too, we can sail tall ships
And fly where the wind has flown.
And wherever we go, it is almost sure
We’ll find what we’re looking for

Because everything can happen
On the other side of the door.

A brand new beginning for a new year where anything is possible.
Kalin starts High school as a sophmore. He was very excited and a little nervous. Mom was very nervous!! Colton is in 8th grade at the Junior High. Morgan and Mason are in 3rd grade. They are excited about their new teachers.

Yes . . . school is in session
With old friends and new.
The halls have been painted
A robin's egg blue.
The playground, the bullies,
And daily homework
The boy who pulls pig tails
Well. . . He's such a jerk.
My mother's elated
Not one ounce of worry,
She scoots me, and hugs me,
Geeze, "What is the hurry?"
My mother, oh yes, she's a jubilant sight.
"I'll see you at three."
I am going to write.
"But what about breakfast?"
And where is my lunch?
I can't wear pajama's
Least that is my hunch,
My mother, oh yes, she's a jubilant sight.
She's roused me for school
In the middle of night.

Kira's First Birthday

For Kira's first birthday, we decided to keep it small with all of Kira's favorite people. So we invited Johnsons and Gwilliams. Everyone helped out. Morgan organized the games. We got bouncy balls out of ice. Mason stuffed the pinata. Kalin hung the pinata in the tree. And Colton made the cake.






Kira loved her birthday cake. As long as she didn't have to touch it.





Everyone else loved Kira's cake. Especially Uncle Chad.

A Summer of Firsts

First Learner's Permit




First time meeting Baby Addie









First wheelchair-constructed by Kalin









First Shave









First vacuum ride









First Visit to the Idaho Potato Museum









First Shopping Trip where Kira is the Groceries









First Dive









We have had a great summer with lots of fun happenings.

Stadium of Fire

Thanks to our favorite new cousin-in-law, we got to go to BYU's Stadium of Fire. We got dinner, shirts and seats on the football field.

This year the tickets were very hard to come by because Miley Cyrus performed.


Morgan was in Heaven which made it exciting for Emily...

And Chad!!!
Because we missed the fireworks show in KC, we tried to feel a part of it by being so close to these fireworks, we felt the ashes fall on us.

We're going to the ZOO!!!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. You can come too, too, too. We're going to the ZOO!!
Hogle Zoo is not much to brag about in the way of zoos. But I love it for little kids. You can see all the important animals, (like lions and tigers and bears, oh my), without searching through natural habitats or walking for miles. Aunt Katie and Weston came up to watch Cole and Emily while Becky and Chad were gone. We took the kids to the zoo.










Kalin's friend Phil came with us. They spent their time scouting for girls. They had Morgan trained to give girls their phone numbers. She would go up to a cute girl and smile sweetly and tell the girl that her brother asked her to give them this paper. The paper had their names and numbers on.





Hogle Zoo has a big elephant exhibit. You can learn all sorts of things about elephants. But the best part is the elephant that sneezes.



I can remember when Kalin was so much smaller than the gorilla. How did I get a son so old?? And how can I possibly be his mother?? I know I am not that old!!!

We need to teach Kira to "never smile at a crocodile!!"

Learning to Walk

I love watching the first attempts as babies learn to walk. This video is now very outdated because Kira has been walking for 3 months. I love to watch the hesitation turn to excitement as she discovers how to put one foot in front of the other and keep her balance. We are very glad she has learned to walk, but not so glad she has learned how to run. By walking, the knees of her clothes look so much cleaner. She also does not see the sunflower shells on the ground as easily. There is so much more to see now. She has discovered that walking makes it easier for her to go visit all her friends. Kira certainly thinks the entire world is her friend. She gets very confused when people she tries to talk to do not know her. She especially thinks every teenager should immediately stop everything to talk to her.

Splish Splash

Splish, Splash we were taking a bath.
Weston is teaching Kira how much fun the bathtub can be.