Miss-matched

Curly started taking the big kid bus to school - which is really scary for me (I cried the first day). She looks so tiny next to those 3rd graders, 6th graders, and 8th graders. But, we have a posse of neighborhood girls around her age and that little army with the 11 year old sister of her friend as commander fights the bus battle together :) Having a bus is very convenient, getting to the bus stop is a challenge - especially with Lou in tow. This was her ensemble the other morning as I tried to hurry her out the door to catch the bus at 7:30: Several layers of pajamas, different colored socks, and a mismatched pair shoes. It made me laugh.


This weekend we completed one of our baby arrival preparations - bunking the beds. The playroom is becoming the nursey, so to make room for toys and floor space to play with them, the beds are bunked. Curly is cozied up in the reading nook we are creating in front of the window.

August = back to school, our anniversary, and a campout

Sweet moment - I woke up from my nap last Sunday to discover Curly washing dishes.

Well, that fateful day has finally come... my firstborn has officially entered the public school system. Curly started Kindergarten this week. She was very excited for this new adventure and it did not disappoint. She loves her teacher, recess, and riding the bus home... hopefully she will like learning too :) To initiate this great beginning we held a "Back to School Banquet" or "fancy dinner" as Lou and Curly named it, complete with candlelight and a new school outfit fashion show. The dinner was a hit and I think it is a tradition that we will continue.

Ready for Kindergarten

Curly with her teacher and student teacher. We lucked out to be in a great classroom!

This week also marked our eighth year of marriage. As with every year, we can't believe how fast the time has flown. It marked the first full year that we are not students and have an official job. That is something to celebrate!And finally, no summer would be complete without a camping trip. Our ward provided the opportunity and we jumped at the chance to be with friends and escape the heat. We drove 90 minutes northwest to the Prescott area and enjoyed a pleasant evening and morning at Granite Basin. Fortunately, Fisher gave into my pleas to bring the air mattress (I used the pregnant woman ploy) and we all slept relatively well.

Lou with two buddies.

And we are back!

Curly, Lou and I returned from our three week visit to Idaho and Utah. What did we do for three weeks you ask? Well...

We went to Artic Circle (a lot)

We hung out with nice Aunts (a first day of kindergarten necklace from Ba)

We rowed on Daybreak Lake with cousins

and aunts

We floated the river with Grandpa and Grandma

We went to a fair

We slept (some of us, like me, a lot)

We fed the ducks at the nature park

I went to a Brighton Girls Camp staff reunion (many of my sisters, cousins, and aunts worked there also - so it doubled as a family reunion)

We went to the aquarium with Oma

We got to see Aunt K-Rae when she came home from DC

We had our yearly photo shoot

We rode the carousel

and a whole lot more... K-Rae was volunteered (by my mom) to make the long drive home with us (and she more than graciously agreed). We were very happy to have her visit and sad when she left. We had enough fun to last until Christmas! but as Curly put it, "It's fun to be home, mom!" I agree, it is nice to be home.

A few weeks ago we gathered for our bi-annual Lake Family Reunion. We met at the Lovell LLL ranch. The event was well planned with 100% attendance and we had a lot of fun. There was a nice balance of planned activities and free time for game playing, visiting, and golfing. Here are just a few of the activities we enjoyed -

We all tie-dyed our own t-shirts, messy but fun

Oma spent lots of time with her grandchildren

The kids played in "the fort" which is an old grain shed converted into a western style fort. They formed a "Cousins Club"

We had relay races and classic group games like the three-legged race and the human knot.

Grandpa Lake came up for a day. His great-grandchildren surprised him with handfuls of wild flowers they gathered on an outing into the forest.

One activity was a trip around the world. Each of the men prepared a little presentation about the country where they served their mission. Steve served in Honduras and demonstrated the birthday tradition of cracking an egg on the head after singing to the birthday child. My nephew T was a good sport!

Other brothers/father-in-law served in Russia, Germany, California, and Mexico.

Fisher served in Finland and taught the kids the art of the Finnish sauna. They skipped the sauna part and went straight for the ice cold lake experience (a bathtub filled with ice). Lou was so cold she started crying.

At each country, the girls got a stamp on their "passports"

We hooked up the little trailer behind the ATV and took a ride once or twice a day... usually in the evening when the kids were starting to get a little whiney/crazy.

Fisher waiting to spray the unsuspecting victims coming down the water slide. He looked so cute and mischievous waiting there.

Wahoo! and Brr!

Jumping on the tramp to warm up after the water slide... not many trampolines have such a great view!

During the reunion everyone "earned" G.O. (Grandpa and Oma) Bucks for helping, being kind, being cute, etc... Grandpa and Oma were the distributors of these currency. The last night of the reunion there was an auction with some pretty serious prizes. Grandpa was the auctioneer.

There were plenty of cute nieces to pass around.

We spend an afternoon at Jefferson Lake and then had a hot dog roast at Great Grandpa Lake's house.

Oma brought the biggest marshmallows I have ever seen. YUM!

Thanks to our planners C & S and Ba & Ry for planning such a great reunion!!!

Lou's Birthday

Our sweet Lou has turned three - energetic, silly, smiley, giggly, teasing, noisy, sweet, chattering, funny, and intense three! She has amazing amounts of personality and is always making us laugh. To celebrate her birthday, she woke up to a birthday display which included a birthday card with sticker's from Oma. Curly graciously offered that Lou could wear her pajamas and her princess panties since it was her birthday.

We spent the morning swimming with our friends, the Wrights and ate Lou's choice (mac n' cheese) lunch with them also. Lou got to go out for dinner with just mom and dad. She requested "Old McDonald's." Our outing could have been an ad for Mastercard and McDonald's. Happy Meal - $3.50; Two Big Macs - $5.00; Seeing your three year old constantly alight with joy and excitement - Priceless.

Lou asked for a "Sleeping Beauty" cake for her birthday. Obviously mom mixed up her Disney princesses (shame on me) and she ended up with a Belle cake. She didn't seem to mind.

Much of the day was spend anticipating and preparing for our trip to Utah and Idaho. Lou excitedly discussed all the grandmas, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins that we would soon see. That was probably her best birthday present. It was a happy day! Sad that birthdays only come once a year. But fortunate that we had so much to look forward to.

The day after Lou's birthday we got up early and headed for Utah. The trip was relatively calm - thanks to new birthday gifts to entertain the girls. Our first stop was Grandpa and Grandma W's house where we got to see my cousin Elsie - who happened to be visiting from DC and also happens to be due the same day that I am - November 4th. We of course had to take a baby belly shot. She is having a boy and we are having a surprise.

We also got to have dinner and visit with my grandparents and B and J Lake. Grandpa and Grandma have the most beautiful garden and we spent an hour outside picking raspberries, eating them and visiting - oh yum!