Following in her sister's footsteps...

What is it with little girls and boots? Whatever it is, it is definitely in my girls' jeans!! The top picture is of Paige when she was 2, the bottom is of Emma at 3 and 1/2. I just thought the comparison was too cute!

First Day of Preschool

Here is Emma on her first day of preschool. She has wanted to go to school forever! When I would drop off Paige last year, she wanted to just keep on going in the door with her! She she is so excited that it is finally her turn to go to school. Miss Nancy is wonderful and she has told me that she never wants another teacher! I look forward to all that she will learn this year and love to hear about her day at school!

Emma and mom

Okay, so what do you do with only one kid at home? Whatever that kid wants!! Well, at least the first day. After that, you're on your own...just kidding! So, first Emma put together a 70-piece puzzle on her own. She is so good at puzzles! Then she wanted "Aurora" hair, so I did my best imitation. This child will sit to get curls put in her hair. She is not like Paige in this way. Paige would opt for a ponytail everyday! Then we painted. It was a day full of whatever Emma wanted. I think she didn't really know what to do with herself with both of the kids gone. She has since acclimated a little more and will play by herself and then come and find me when she's bored. My life would be so boring without her!

First Day of School

Wow, it is already the first day of school! Zachary is off to 2nd grade and Paige is starting kindergarten. After meeting her teacher, Paige felt a lot better about going to school every day. I think she is just a worry wart like her mother! Zachary is a great student who would do well in any classroom, but I have heard great things about his teacher. We really got good teachers this year, so we are so glad.

So, I felt a little bit bad that I had no tears for my first daughter going off to school. She has been ready for some time, and is almost 6, so it was time. She is the child who always needs activities to keep her busy and requires lots of projects! Anyway, after being home for a while I did get nostalgic that we will never have that time back and she will always be in school from this day forward! And it was so quiet!! Almost like the Twilight Zone. She is really happy in school and I definitely have enough to keep me busy, so all is well!

Our Summer

We had a very fun summer that started right off with swimming lessons for Emma. Of course, nobody else can be Judy, but I think she did ok. She probably needed two sessions, and she won't let me tell her anything, so who knows when she will actually be swimming like she should! We mostly just hung around and played with friends, but we did actually have a "staycation" at the Arizona Grande. It was really fun, but I think the kids liked dinner at Chick-fil-A just as much as the weekend! They were having some sort of customer appreciation and had a pony outside, face painting, games, bubbles, cotton candy, popcorn, a balloon maker and more! I think we stayed for an hour and a half! It was so much fun for them. The weekend was filled with the water park and food. What could be better! Well, pictures of the fun would have been nice, but I never took one. Oh well, maybe next time.

4th of July was fun also. We went to Cherie's for dinner and swimming and then came back to our house for Schnepf Farm's fireworks. J-Toys supplied the light-up toys and we were ready to go! We also had the three youngest Hilderbrand's over for a weekend of fun! Don't listen when Jen says her baby is a brat, because he was an angel at my house! And notice where Brooklyn and Kennedy ended up sleeping. Can this be comfortable? My kids loved having them and Brooklyn and I even had some time to teach her to crochet. It made me look forward to Paige getting a little older and being able to do some of those things with her.

We filled in the spaces with swimming almost every day. Mostly we just swam at my sister's community pool (because it is nicer than our's), but we also headed over to our new favorite public pool...Mesquite Groves. It was so much fun and only .50 for kids to get in. We went every week. But, alas, all good things must come to an end. And, boy was I ready! But we made a lot of good memories over the summer and I think our kids had a blast!

Team Jaydie Block Party

Jaydie on the beach

Taylor, what did you eat??

Jaxson flying an airplane

Braydin on the water slide

Trey on the water slide

Here are a bunch of pictures from the block party 2009. I put Brent in charge and he did a great job at getting a ton of pictures. The above pictures are pictures of Jaydie's siblings. For those of you who do not know, my niece Jaydie died of a brain tumor in 2005. In keeping her memory alive, her wonderful parents, Jeff and Cami, started a foundation in her name. Jaydie was very much a giving person with a tender heart. She had started to notice that some kids were going without things while they recieved their treatment. This is where Team Jaydie began. She donated things like blankets, DVD players, CD players, and toys to the kids in the hospital. Since she has passed, The Jaydie Lynn King Foundation has continued to do just that...and more. They also donate money to Phoenix Children's Hospital and the Make A Wish Foundation. Their annual Block Party is one way that they raise money to do those things.

And, what a party!! They have bounce houses, slides, basketball hoops, a make-you-puke apple spinner ride, bracelet making, sand bucket painting and decorating, games with prizes galore and all the food that you could want to eat. Oh, and did I mention the reptile exhibit?? Always a big hit with the kids! We had so much fun, as always, and it's so nice to be a part of something that is helping other people. Thanks, King family for the great Block party!! We had a blast!