First Grade

The rest of the summer was great. We went swimming at the aquatic center and both of the kids LOVED the water slide! I guess a trip to Seven Peaks is in our future! We made cookies for the neighbors, had lots of play dates with friends, and soaked it all up as much as we could. We also spent some time at Mammy and Grandpa Bott's house, which we are now referring to as "The Transformers and Barbies Library" since the kids each "check out" a Transformer (for Marcus) and Barbie (for Layla) every time they go and return the one from last time. The toys were Mitch and Katie's when they were little. Funny, huh?

Baking cookies on a Sunday.

Waiting for dad to finish working.

Visiting the Planetarium with our friends.

 

Marcus and his BFF, Mason. These two kill me with their cuteness.

And Marcus and his other BFF, Layla. Most days. ;)

Goofballs.

We also did swim lessons. Layla passed two levels this round. She's a fish, I tell ya. Marcus didn't hate being in the water this year, so that is a vast improvement over last year. I think he actually really enjoyed it this time. Success! He did make me laugh every time he would yell across the pool to me, "Hi Mom! I swimming! Wook at me, Mom! I know how to swim!" Oh, and Layla's class was right next to Marcus's in the pool and their teachers had to constantly chide the two of them for talking to each other and trying to hug each other over the ropes. I'm glad they love each other so much.

Last day of swim lessons.

 

 

Frozen yogurt the day before school started.

Finally got a raspberry on our plant!

I planted our garden this year. We had a good round of peas on the trellises, plenty of

butternut squash, cucumbers (many eaten by potato bugs!), carrots, and green onions.

Playing school.

At the same time, Mitch was out of town SO much and it made us sad. Thank heavens it came to an end and we are all together again. I think I spoiled the kids too much trying to make up for Mitch being gone and they now both beg for toys every time we go to the store ...

Then, Layla started first grade! I can't even believe it. It makes me so sad to have her gone for so long. It really feels like forever. Marcus misses her too.

My mom sent the kids a package of

back to school clothes and "smarty pants."

They loved it!

But, Layla likes school. For the most part. She has her moments when she really doesn't want to go.
On the first day of school she asked me if I could ground her so she could stay in her room and not go to school. What?! While she might complain in the morning, she is happy when she gets home. She said she remembers a lot of her Chinese from last year, and she seems to really enjoy learning a new language. It throws me for a loop to see her writing Chinese characters though!

Riding her bike to school on the first day and today.

She has two new teachers this year. The English teacher did not impress me at first (terrible communication with the parents, etc) but it has already gotten better so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be a good year with her. I LOVE her Chinese teacher. She interned in Layla's Chinese class last year, so I know her a little bit and from what I know I am impressed. I think she will be a great Chinese teacher.

Layla is not allowed to speak English in her Chinese class. She cried the first two days because it is hard to speak only Chinese, but I am not one to let my kids stop when things get hard, so she will continue. I know deep down she really likes it, I think the beginning of each year will just be an adjustment.

I am so proud of her and the wonderful person she is becoming. I am thankful every day that I get to be her mom, and that I can be home with her before and after school each day. I know I am blessed to be able to do that!

Marcus is starting preschool next week, and I also feel very blessed that I am in a position to be able to do a joy school with several other moms in our area. This sort of thing is exactly why I did not  pursue a career in editing after I earned my degree. I wanted to be available full-time for my kids and I am so happy with what I am doing now (and clearly I have not retained my editing/writing skills over the years, as evidenced by this blog, ha!) . I am excited to participate in Marcus's preschool and I'm grateful that we have other moms who are responsible, fun, and who I know will help make this preschool year the best for our kids. Marcus is excited to start and has started asking daily if it's preschool time yet. I think he'll really enjoy it!

Here's to a new school year!

Cape Cod

It still seems like a dream to think that we actually went to Cape Cod. I'm still so happy we were able to go! We met up with our friends, The Burts, who live in Massachusetts and vacation on the Cape every summer. It was great to spend a week with their family and our kids had so much fun together! And we lucked out because they showed us all the best the Cape has to offer. It is very much a quaint, picturesque town that I would love to return to someday! Since we've been home, Layla has informed me that when she grows up she will be moving to Massachusetts so that she can visit "the pretty beaches" whenever she wants, and that I shouldn't worry about her or miss her because she will be with Ryleigh. :)

The things that are most memorable in my mind are: the night we spent on the Atlantic side when it was extremely foggy and the humidity made us look like we had just stepped out of the shower, watching how much Layla LOVED swimming in the ocean, seeing whales off Race Point Beach in the evening, loving how quickly our kids all became friends and how sweet baby Reese loved us immediately, seeing seals (every night!) on the Atlantic side from only 20 feet or so away, chatting with Sue every day in person instead of over the phone!, watching the tide change each day, running on the beach in the mornings, touring the light house, knowing my kids were utterly exhausted at the end of each day because they had so much fun, and spending an entire week with my husband without him having to work!

I could ramble on, but I will let the pictures do the talking. Oh, if it seems like I have more pics of Marcus than Layla ... I do. That girl is a fish and was rarely out of the water! I took pics when I could, but Layla loves to swim so I let her swim!

We stopped in Plymouth on the way to and from the Cape.

Layla and Ryleigh are two peas in a pod!

Marcus and Eli may have been trouble together ... but they did have fun!

They could have stayed there, throwing rocks, forever.

That one time Marcus fell in the Atlantic Ocean fully

clothed and had to go shirtless the rest of the night ...

Found a turtle in the backyard of the

house we rented, no big deal.

Free art lesson in the park.

Found a horseshoe crab on the bay side.

Sue is a wonderful friend!

So fun to spend time with her in our matching hats.

We visited a sweet car museum and garden/park.

Checked out Provincetown.

At good pizza there and tried to avoid Layla's

questions about all the men on "dates" with each other ...

(See the rainbow flag in the pic)

We toured this beautiful lighthouse.

This may have been my favorite part of the trip!

The kids were so good on the long plane rides and car ride!

We saw (but couldn't go inside) the oldest wooden jail in the country.

I love traveling and experiencing new places. There is so much to learn from other places and other people. I am so glad that I got to experience a new place with my favorite people! Now we need the Burts to come visit Utah again! Maybe we can trade off years. :)