Austin's First Day of First Grade!!!

Austin started First Grade this week and it has been so fun! He sits next to one of his little friends from Kindergarten and he already has little girls flirting with him and trying to catch his eye. Josh and I both laughed so hard when we witnessed it first hand at drop off :).... mostly because he is such a shy kid and didn't know what to do with the attention so he just walked away and didn't say anything back to them hehehe!

We woke up early and went to breakfast at Krispy Kreme Donuts per Austin's request. Then we walked him to the playground and helped him find his teacher and his line. This year was so different from last year, and for that I am grateful! There were no tears, only happy smiles :). Austin is getting so big, too fast, and it kills me. He is still the most handsome boy I've ever seen in my life and has that sweet, witty charm that I love. He grew so much over the summer and is at least a couple inches taller! Must have been all that fresh air and sunshine! :) His teacher's name is Mrs. Westra and she is new to the school this year so we weren't sure what to expect, but so far he loves her! His sister is loving having one-on-one time while he is away, but they both love to play together at night like they never missed a beat! When he grows up, he still wants to be a scientist, but the type of science varies depending on the day. I love his love for science and at night when I tuck him into bed, I spend at least 30 minutes answering all of his questions about the body, the universe, and how things work. It makes me so proud to see his inquisitive mind at work :). We are still struggling with his obstinate hatred of homework (ugh, the bane of my existence) and I still don't know how to get it through his head that he is just beginning on this long journey of papers and worksheets! However, I remember giving my own mom a hard time when I was his age, so hopefully this is something he will grow out of ;). Good luck this year, Buddy! Mom and Dad are so proud of you and we love you so much! Your Dad even took the day off work to be there on your first day of school because he wanted to make sure you knew how much he loves you! Your support system is incredible. Don't ever forget that :).

First day of First Grade!

Walking my sweet boy to his teacher on his first day of school! So exciting!! :)

Dad is so proud of you Buddy. You two have been two peas in a pod since the day you were born.

After we dropped Austin off at the school, Evie wanted to play baseball at the park for her special day alone with Mom and Dad! These moments are very rare, and oh so special :).

Summer Lovin'

This picture sums up Summer 2019! Wildness, sunshine, and swimsuits!

This is going to be one giant update of our whole summer because we spent every waking moment enjoying our time in the sun and I had very little down time for writing stuff down. It was the perfect summer (minus the morning sickness..... or all day sickness as it should be called) and I would live it all again in a heartbeat! Enjoy the collage!! It's not in any particular order as was our summer :)

We got to celebrate Briana's birthday out in Logandale and had a blast with them and our baby cousin!

Park play dates with the cutest kiddos ever!

Family sleep overs downstairs after our movie night! Austin always has his racoon close by with his own little pillow and blanket :). It's the little things like this that melt my heart.

We started a family tradition this summer of Pizza Fridays! We make homemade pizzas and watch a movie together while we eat it! Since the kids kept fighting over who got to pick the movie, we now play a round of UNO before we start and the winner gets to pick the flick!

We've spent countless hours in the sun at Wet 'n Wild! Our favorite summer hangout!

Goofballs :)

We've taken early morning walks before the heat sets in.

Exploring at the park while Mom walks her laps. I've been trying so hard to have a healthy pregnancy despite the nausea!

Finding herbs and flowers and grinding them up with stones to make potions.

We didn't get many tomatoes this year because we had such a cold spring, but we enjoyed the ones we got!

The kids loved to go outside each morning and check on our plants and tomatoes :)

I had some car troubles this summer (my air conditioner went out and Josh crashed the side of the car into the garage) so when I wasn't car-less, we were hanging out at Kneaders waiting for the mechanic to call me and tell me the car is ready for pick up!

Early morning park days and splash pad fun became a quick tradition!

As did early morning cuddles out on the porch.

We made banana bread on the hot afternoons when we couldn't be outside

And immediately after we woke up we hit up the pool!

The watermelon tasted fantastic this year! It makes the perfect poolside snack!

We also hit up the farmers markets and scored all sorts of yummy treats!

The Public Library is also a fan favorite around here!

Every morning, during the days when I couldn't exercise without puking, I made a tradition of sitting outside and listening to conference talks. If you can't work your body, you might as well work your mind and soul!

Splash pad fun!

We had all sorts of visitors come by this year to swim with us at our pool! This was Aunt Amanda and her new baby, Luke! She and my Uncle Brian aren't married anymore but it was nice to catch up!

My Autistic cousin, Josh, loved the water!

Evie has been doing so great at swim lessons! She's a natural!

With Briana living out in Logandale now, we've spent lots of time out there loving on our little squishy cousin!

Playing with left over sparklers from the 4th of July

We also made Jam this summer with 4 generations of women! It was so awesome!

Austin got his birthday present early this year from Great Grandma Wiegel and he wasn't complaining ;)

Evie is obsessed with her baby cousin, or "Grace-ly" as she calls her :)

We've gone to the movies a couple times this summer with Dad!

We've also flown kites

And every once in a while I found the energy to exercise!

Baby Gracie came to visit us!

This was such a fun day!

Grandpa Nathan took the kids for the weekend and gave Mom and Dad a much needed break! We actually got to go on a date!

And the next morning we woke up and went out to breakfast!

And followed it up with a walk around the farmers market! It was perfection!

Morning yoga with my girl :)

Cuddles with Austin while we watched Evie's swim lessons

Each morning, the kids would come outside and join me on the porch while I listened to conference talks. I'm sure going to miss these lazy summer days!

Baking cookies!

Mmmm.... sooo yummy!

Early morning cuddles with my favorite girl :)

More Wet 'n Wild days!

You can't go wrong with a full day of swimming and eating yummy food in the shade!

Monsoon season!!! The kids love the rain!

We purposely packed our last week of summer with all of our favorite things because we are going to miss this so much!

Our favorite pool pals!

Josh has been working a later shift lately, which gives me a couple hours each morning to go for a 4 mile walk and listen to podcasts or conference talks while the sun comes up. My body has been waking me up at the crack of dawn for no reason, so I figured I might as well make it worth it!

Our last family Wet 'n Wild day before school starts!

Evie loves coming with me to my baby doctor appointments and then pretending later that she's the doctor :).

Side walk chalk is always a winner!

We love to stop by our local cafe right next to the pool for some snacks before we spend the day swimming :). I love this picture so much! We are going to miss Austin while he 's in school!

The kids got invited to their little friend's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese!

One last library day....

And amongst all of this fun, my belly has been growing! I finally reached a point in this pregnancy where I only feel sick from the afternoon to bed time and not 24/7. I'll take anything I can get at this point! It hasn't been easy keeping up with this baby's older siblings while feeling like death! But, sickness or not, I am so incredibly grateful to be pregnant again and to be enjoying every minute of this precious time :).

As you can see, our summer was jam packed with fun! It left very little room for anything else (aka, cleaning ;)) and for that I am so grateful! Now onto school starting and a whole different kind of adventure!