First Day of School

I am always a little sad to send the kids back to school, but I get over it in about 2 weeks (is that terrible?).  As usual Carson was nervous about going back to school, but he didn't shed any tears when I said good bye, so I am going to declare it a successful first day.  He seems to like his teacher Mrs. Clemens and was excited to see his school friends.  This was Lincoln's first year of school and he did awesome!  He complained that he was nervous, but he really wasn't he was just repeating stuff that he heard Carson say.  He was all smiles when I dropped him off, and he immediately started talking with kids around him and making friends.  He is a really easy going kid.  I was the only one who shed a tear or two after dropping him off.  Lily started her first day of preschool a week after the boys, and although she was nervous to go (and I was nervous that she wouldn't go) she did great.  I was proud of her new situations are hard for her.  It helped a lot that her preschool teacher had all the kids come for an ice cream social before preschool started.  I can't believe I have two kids in school and one in preschool!  They are growing up so fast.

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

This last summer we did a lot of staycationing.  One of the local activities that was a big hit with the kids was the fair.  The kids loved walking around and looking at things, especially the animals.  We are too cheap to pay for very many rides, but we do let the kids choose one ride each to go on.  The boys choose some kind of big boat ride, and Lily wanted to ride a pony (she always asks to do the pony ride).  Also this year all of the kids participated in the tractor pull.  Despite our cheering hard for our kids none of them won their divisionof the tractor pull, but I think they enjoyed themselves.  The fair was a great little family excursion.

summer snapshots

A highlight of every summer is of course family time at the pool.  I am so grateful that we live in a neighborhood with a pool.  The kids love the pool.  And this summer with a new baby, and unpacking into the new house it was so nice to have an outdoor activity close by that all the kids enjoy.  Also almost every summer we go up to the Black Canyon Reservoir for swimming and fun in the sand.

July 4th

This year for the first time in probably 7 years we stayed home for the 4th of July.  I know this is beginning to get repetitive, but we moved and had a baby within a two week period. I just didn't feel like I could do a 4th of July trip this year.  That being said we had a fun time at home.  We went to the neighborhood party.  All the neighborhood kids decorated their bikes and they had a little neighborhood parade.  After the kiddie parade we had hot dogs in the park and then the kids were off to different activities.  Lily stayed close to Nate and I.  She had a fun time doing the three-legged-race with Nate.  Carson joined the potato sack race.  Lincoln went straight for the water slide and even though he didn't have his swim suit on just stripped down for the occasion.  After the afternoon festivities we did some small fireworks in the backyard and then went downtown for the big fireworks (which were actually kind of pathetic) but our kids were still pretty impressed.  It was a good holiday.

Berry Picking

So my kids don't love berry picking, but it is turning into a bit of a tradition.  Nate and I feel good about it because it gets the kids out doing work that they don't usually do at home. I am pretty sure that the boys thought at one point that they were going to die, but I say pushing your kids a little bit is good for them. And I assure you they were no where close to death.  Oh, and also I LOVE Berries!  I have never met a berry I didn't like.  So although the kids complained about how hot it was, and how long it took to pick the berries, the complaining stopped once they got to enjoy some of the homemade ice cream that their labor made possible.  Yep, I think the berry picking tradition is here to stay.

Swimming lessons 2013

We started swimming lessons 2 weeks after moving into the new house, so getting to swimming lessons I pretty much considered a huge accomplishment.  Grant was such a gem during swimming lessons he would just sit and chill happily in his car seat maybe take a nap if he was feeling like it.  The boys started lessons without any problems, Lily on the other hand was a different story.  It was a battle of wills to get her to do swimming lessons.  The first session of swimming lessons I tried all sorts of bribery to get her into the pool and not scream and throw a fit.  It did not work.  I could not get her into the pool without her being a huge disruption to everyone in the class.  So I decided to not push it and just let her watch her brothers swim the first session and see if she would do the second session.  It worked like a charm she watched her brothers, realized that swimming lessons weren't that scary, and ended up loving swimming lessons.  In fact the swimming lessons catapulted her to full on fish status. She ended up loving the water this year and would swim all over the pool.  Unfortunately, she got a little too brave and had to be rescued a couple times because she wasn't wary enough of the deeper water.  One time I had to jump in and save her fully clothed!  Carson continues to be a good swimmer and got pretty good at diving this summer.  Lincoln also made huge improvements after I took away his floaties.  The kid doesn't throw very many fits, but he gave me a piece of his mind when I took away the floaties.  However, his swimming and his confidence greatly improved once he realized he didn't need the floaties any more. My kids are all developing into great little swimmers.

Baptism and Baby Blessing

Since we knew we were going to have 2 big events this summer we decided to combine them and make it easier for more people to attend. So we combined Carson's baptism and Grant's baby blessing as one big Snow family extravaganza.   Carson was so cute at the baptism, he seemed very serious and subdued.  I think that he comprehended in his 8 year old way the special occasion his baptism was.  A member of our bishopric surprised me and asked me to say a few words before Carson's confirmation.  I basically just talked about how Carson has always been a good kid who is concerned about following the rules.  Carson is such a rule follower that he sometimes asks me if I am obeying the speed limit. And how I know that he will continue to try and keep the commandments and follow a good path.  I of course cried on this occasion, which surprisingly made Lily cry.  We asked her why she cried and she said, "because mama was crying and I love her."  The girl can be so sweet when she wants to be.  Nate gave Grant a lovely blessing and then we all came to our house for dinner and visiting  It was a great day, and it made me so grateful for all the blessings in my life.  A son who wants to follow the Savior a new little person in my home a family that helps me grow and develop everyday, and a loving and supportive extended family
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