Aunt Gaylene got married this summer. The kids all love their Aunt and we were happy that we could attend the special occasion. We had a bit of a scare with our little Dallin that day. After the pictures were all taken everybody was leaving. Jeff and I were chatting with James and Christie. All of the sudden we realized that Dallin was not with us. We started looking around the temple grounds for him. After a few minutes, we started to worry, because he was no where to be found. Gaylene and Brent had left in his truck, but as they were leaving they noticed Dallin walking alone down the sidewalk. They came and helped us look. Gaylene, watched the three girls (in her wedding dress) while I helped look. We had five adults looking all around the temple, in the visitor center, on sidewalks/roads, everywhere....finally we found him - hiding in the car. I had looked their first, but a quick glance showed he was not there, I even called his name, but didn't look in the back where he was hiding. We were happy to have found him, and told him the importance of staying by us, and answering when we call his name. He thought he just pulled the best joke on us!
Here is all of Gaylenes side of the family. They got married in the Idaho Falls Temple, the same temple we got married in 11 years ago. It brought back good memories of that day. Congrats Bent & Gaylene!
I love this picture and the symbolism of it. The temple in the background, their hands connected, with Gaylenes ring showing - the symbol of eternal love that is never ending.
It was a wonderful weekend with family. We were able to attend their wedding and Jeffs extended family reunion at the same time. Unfortantly, our camera broke and I have no pictures of our own. If you know me well, you know I love pictures, so this made me quite sad. But, with or without pictures we had a great time. At the Reunion we had a big blow up waterslide. That was such a hit with the kids - they played on that slide for hours, and never tired of it. We also had a yummy BBQ lunch, and fun visiting with family.
We got to stay at Jeffs Sisters house for a few days. Jeff took Dallin camping with Kelly and Christian, they had a good time. We enjoyed hanging out at Christies house and were able to celebrate Brea's 4th Birthday there as well. Brea is a happy four year old, full of life and loving being a girl. She changes her outfit about 3-4 times/day, likes to wear jewelry, makeup, fingernail polish, and lots of bows in her very short hair! She has a great imagination and plays well by herself or with others. She likes to have friends to play with, and wants to have them over everyday.
Here are some of Brea's favorites:
Color: "I have a lot...white, red, and pink, and blue, and those are all the colors I can think of"
Food: "Mac & Cheese, Ramen Noodles, Spaghetti"
Movie: "Caillo, Curious George, Princess & the Frog, Strawberry Shortcake, Dora, Barney"
Book: "I have like 100 favorite books...Curious George, The Potty Book, Nate the Great, Martha, The Bear One"
Play: "Princesses, play with kitchens, thats the only thing I can think of that I like"
Friends: "Emma, Kayla, Reyna, Johnny, Wyatt, Drew, Tyla, those are all the friends I can think of".
Brea is now in preschool and loves it. She also started dance this year. She has been watching Jackie go for almost all her life, and has wanted to go in her own dance class so bad. She is always putting on dance clothes and prancing around the house. We love our Brea and her happy personality in our home.
Here is our clan on the first day of school this year. Jackie is now in 2nd grade, Dallin in 1st, and Brea in Preschool. The other kid is Dallins friend Drew, he is a neighbor that rode with us on the first day. They all looked so sharp and happy for school.
It was nice that Brea could start the same day as everyone else, because she was very excited to finally be able to go to school. She has Mrs. Beth (who happens to be our Bishops wife) and she is an amazing preschool teacher. It was nice to have someone Brea already knew, but I think Brea would of been fine even if she didn't know her. She walked right in, no hesitancy, no tears, no clinging. She is a big girl now and very proud of the fact. She was ready to go at 7:30 when the other kids left with Jeff, it was a long hour wait until she got to go. She has a great time at preschool and is starting to make friends already.
Dallin is now an all day 1st grader - That was a hard adjustment for Mom and Dallin. He is a great kid and loves to learn, as long as he is interested in it. If he isn't, he doesn't want anything to do with it. He has beautiful cursive handwriting and works hard to make sure his work is done neatly and correctly (which means it usually takes longer, but looks great). He was excited to be able to take lunch this year, and have some extra special treats in there.
Our big 2nd grader Jackie, or Jaclyn as she goes by in school. Jackie is a really good student and always stays on task and follows directions. She enjoyed her summer vacation but was ready for school to start. She says her favorite subject is Math and she does amazing at it. She is also a very good reader. We are all looking forward to the new school year and new schedule. It is good to have a routine down now and to know what to expect each day. We have been able to read the scriptures every morning while the kids eat breakfast. It is a great time, because we have the kids attention while they are quiet. We have been able to have some good discussions at breakfast and look forward to continuing throughout the school year. I miss my kids during the day and wonder about them a lot. I am glad they go to a wonderful school and are taught well.
Here is a picture from the top, the steps were pretty narrow up here, but they were a lot wider in the middle, that was the part that killed me. I can do the little steps no problem, bu those big ones did me in. You can't see the view to well, with the fog, but it was still beautiful.
