The many sleeping positions of Chloe

Chloe is going through a funny stage right now.  She is in a bed and likes to come out.  Last weekend we put her to bed and went out to finish watching a movie.  I went to go check on the kids and this is what I found...  Chloe asleep by the front door on the cold, hard tile.  

The next day we decided to not give her a nap so that she would go to bed easier and around 5pm she came into my room where I was watching TV and she climbed up on me and fell asleep.  It really doesn't get much better than that!

Claire's First Day of Preschool

      

Claire was so excited to go to Preschool.  Her exact words were, "I'm so excited to go to Preschool" which she said over and over all day yesterday.  She kept asking when we were going to eat lunch because I told her that we were going after lunch.  The cutest thing was that Chloe thought she was going too and got her backpack and even wanted her picture taken with Claire's teacher, Mrs. McIntyre.  In two years you will be able to Chloe!  Claire had so much fun yesterday and is looking forward to going back today.  Claire and Cade are so different in that Claire counts the days until she goes to school and Cade counts how many days until the weekend.  

Cade's First Day of School

   

                    

For the past few days I have been so nervous about Cade starting 1st grade.  I think it's because he will be gone all day and he was so sheltered in his previous classes and now he will be on the big playground!  I think everyone worries about how their child will be treated and hopefully people will be nice to my little boy with the green ears.  I actually slept really well last night, when I said goodbye to Casey this morning he told me "Good luck" and I had to think for a second why he was telling me that.  

We walked to school with a bunch of kids from our neighborhood to the chaotic playground.  Cade did really well and because he did, I did.  His class only has 12 kids in it!  That probably won't last for long but I am so excited for him.  There are a couple of kids in his class from last year and one from church so he should be ok.  I think I am now more worried about tomorrow because I hope he will want to go back.  

I just got back from picking Cade up and I asked him if he had a good time and he said, "That was a LONG time."  Whenever I ask him about school it's always about how long it is.  He even said, "I don't want it to be that long again."  Too bad, Cade, there's a lot of school left!  I asked him who he played with and he said "everyone".  He didn't come home crying so that's a great sign right?  My little boy is not so little anymore...

The Cannon Reunion

        
Finally... Our last trip of the summer without Casey, I've gotten tired of not having him along.  Not just for the fact that I have to do it without him, but I feel sad that he is missing out on memories.  Hopefully next summer won't be as hectic for him and he'll be able to make a few trips with us because we missed him!  

So this time we were headed to the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico.  Luckily Betsy was able to meet me in Flagstaff and she drove the rest of the way with me.  So it was only a 3 1/2 hour drive by myself, very doable.  It is so beautiful there and well worth the long drive to get out of the heat and be able to let the kids play.  Casey's Aunt Dee Dee has a ranch there with four wheelers, horses and plenty of wide open space to run free, but contained enough that we didn't have to worry about where they were every second.  

I about had a heart attack and a flashback to last year.  There was a little quad that didn't go too fast that they let Cade drive.  He did fine the first time he got on and wasn't on it too long.  Later he got on again and was a little more confidant than I would have liked.  I saw him spin around a pole which first got me nervous.  Claire needed something in our room so I hurried and grabbed it for her because I wanted to watch Cade.  When I went to look for him, all I saw was Dee Dee waving her arms telling me to come and no Cade and no quad.  FREAK OUT TIME!  As I sprinted out there a million things were going through my head.  I was hoping that the worst would be a broken arm, I could handle that.  By the time I got there Cade was back on the road, not crying, just a little stunned and not hurt at all.  Dee Dee was down watching him and saw the whole thing.  He was watching something on the road he was trying to avoid and instead of looking back up to see where he was going he kept looking at the ground and went off the road.  

We had a great time and hopefully next time Casey will come with us!

Girl's Camp

  
I probably haven't mentioned that I am now in Young Women's and I had the opportunity to go up to camp Friday and Saturday.  It was fun getting to know the girls.  They have a zip line and leaders and YCL's were allowed to do  "Upsie Downsie's".  I decided to give it a try!  After I did it, I left quite an impression, especially since it was my first time.  Casey came not long after to help cook and he couldn't be out done so he did it too.  It was fun!  

Feeling older...

Last night we were taking girls home from a service project and our Young Women's President asked me when I graduated high school and I said, 1994.  Then a Laurel said, "Oh!  I was 3 when you graduated!"  That's gotta make you feel good, right?  WRONG!

WICKED Fun!

       

I'm so far behind in my blogging but I have to post about a great weekend that I had.  My great friend Michelle and I were complaining one day about our husbands being gone so much that we decided it was time for US to go away.  So we planned a trip to Southern California!  The only qualification we had for where we stayed was somewhere close to the beach, which we never went to, and to see Wicked  We saw Wicked the first night, Michelle hadn't seen it before and I'm always up to see it again!  The rest of the time was filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping.  It was such an odd experience to be out with a friend and not feel like I had to rush through the stores in order to get back to my kids.  

It was a much needed getaway so thank you to Casey, Betsy and Ben for making it possible!