3 Fish and a New Toilet

At the end of October the kids school had their yearly carnival. The kids had a blast. Especially because we came away being owners of 3 lovely goldfish. The kids were so excited- they have always wanted a pet- and I am against getting a dog or any type of animal until we are through with residency and settled- and let's face it- even then it's not guaranteed! 

They named their fishes

Lucky (Samantha)

Shaggy (Collin)

Scooby(Owen)

As Samantha was dancing around out of excitement- she said "New fish and a new toilet!- We are so lucky!" 

Mike had just recently replaced an old toilet with a new, much better toilet. I'm grateful for a little girl who appreciates even the smallest of things! I hope that she is always that way.

Sadly (and not at all surprising) they died just 4 days :(

School!!

The kids first day of school was Aug. 16th-- and they were SO ready and SO excited! Samantha is in 2nd grade and her teacher's name is Mrs. Irvin.

From the moment we dropped off Samantha that morning the minutes ticked by WAY TOO SLOW for Collin. He goes to afternoon Kindergarten- and he could hardly wait for his time. He gets to ride the bus to school and then I pick up both of them after. Collin's teacher is Mrs. Huelsmann.

Owen had a rough time the first few days. He would cry as the bus pulled away. But I think he now enjoys his one on one time with me.

First Day after school treat!

Summer Utah Trip

The kids and I were lucky enough to have a 3 week trip to Utah over the summer. One of my best friends from St. Louis (Syleisa) and her three kids joined us the drive out (Mike had to work). 6 kids under the age of 7 and 2 LONG days of driving made for an interesting but fun experience, and it was worth it to be able to be with family.

We had a curve ball thrown at us while we were there. I was pregnant- roughly 10 1/2 weeks and ended up miscarrying a week or so after we got there. It was a HUGE disappointment, like any miscarriage but thankfully I had family support and some terrific friends who stopped by to show their love. It really was a blessing to be in Utah when it happened, Mike is in a busy time of residency, so it was so nice to have my kids entertained and be able to go through it as easily as possible. And in the end were able to make the most of the trip and still made some great memories.

These pictures aren't in chronological order, it was too much of a pain to get them on here organized. But these are the highlights of our trip.

We visited my dad's grave and had a chance to share and talk about favorite memories.....

My mom organized a FUN Scavenger hunt with treats and prizes galore......

goofy girls///

We had dinner in the mountains and the kids got filthy and had a blast......

Went to the West Jordan 4th of July parade (a HUGE bust)

Grandpa Hales took us all to Leatherby's--- a family favorite

4th of July fun and fireworks

We went to Planet Pizza(?)

All the girls (including the littles) had pedicures

Rode TRAX downtown to City Creek (SWEET face)

Papa squirting the kids (they LOVED it)

 We were also able to spend fun time with Grandpa and Grandma Taylor but I continually forgot my camera (all the above pics were given to me from Bree).