Fall Fun!

Fall is here.  The leaves are changing colors, the mornings are cooler, and the kids have already had their first sickness of the season.  This past fall break Matthew and Kinlee ended up with a nasty stomach flu.  So instead of doing all the fun things I had planned we were stuck inside disinfecting and trying to get the kids feeling better.

The Wednesday before Fall break Kinlee had her Kindergarten Park day.  They had a great time and Mrs. Penry is so much fun!  They played and played, had lunch, played some more, and had a leaf war.  You could tell all the kids really enjoyed themselves and Matthew had a great time too!  Kinlee was also in the the local newspaper!  Our superintendent posed as Christopher Columbus for her class to learn about Columbus day and Kinlee was chosen to be in the picture with him.

That night grandma Debbie had her annual witches (and monsters) party.  The kids love it so much and have really enjoyed this fun tradition.  She made them soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, magic punch, and purple cupcakes.  They played games, did a few crafts, made a magic potion, and then went on a scavenger hunt to find the wicked witch.  Matthew and Kinlee were mesmerized and loved every minute of it.  The girls and Landon had a great time too, they've just done it for several years now so they weren't quite as excited.  Connor got to dress up as the scary witch this year and was so excited to jump out and scare the kids, he looked pretty scary too, he had been hunting and had shot an elk so between the mask, crazy hair, and gross clothes he made quite an impression.  

Connor's last picture of the football season

Kadee's Blog

I think I should rename this blog Kadee's blog, since all my posts have been about her lately.  She has just been doing so well and has been my little super star!  First off, she switched gymnastics groups and absolutely loves her new instructor, she loved her old instructor, but stopped progressing with her so I decided it was time for a change.  She also began a hip hop dance class, it's only a 1/2 hour once a week, but she loves it and can't get enough.  Last week she was chosen to be in the PEAK (gifted and talented) program at our elementary school.  She was the only one in her class who was chosen!  At the end of last year they all took a test and apparently she did really well and was chosen to be a part of this elite group.  They will start meeting weekly and will get to do different activities with her PEAK adviser and the other students who they have chosen to be in the program.  Another fun thing is she received an award at school yesterday.  Each teacher picks 2 students who they feel goes above and beyond in the classroom.  Kadence was chosen from her class and received a certificate and a goody bag.  I sure am proud of her and all her accomplishments!

Connor just finished out football season and has been hunting with his dad.  Rory got a bull elk tag for some private property up Indian Canyon, so they hunted and scouted for elk all weekend.  Connor has been making tons of progress in Boy Scouts and attended his first Court of Honor last week.  He received his first badge for completing the requirements to enter boy scouts.  He has been attending pow wows to earn merit badges and should have his tenderfoot by the end of the month.  He has worked so hard on his sports, scout stuff, and at school.  He also studies daily for the constitution bee and spelling bee.

Kinlee is loving Kindergarten.  She comes home singing songs, doing sign language, and practices teaching "her own class."  She has started reading and I get to volunteer in her class on Fridays.  This last Friday they were learning all about Johnny Appleseed.  They made adorable pot handle hats and I got to give them apples and worms (the apple peelings).  It's been really fun going into her classroom and I love getting to know all her little friends and classmates.

Matthew, Matthew, Matthew, where do I begin?  This kid certainly keeps me on my toes.  He has been going through the "terrible three's" and is a rough and tough boy all the way.  He loves playing barefoot outside and visiting the neighbors across the street without telling me.  He loves preschool and is starting to talk even better.  His speech teacher has helped him tremendously as well as his preschool teachers and the kids in his class.  He loves to have stories read to him and his all time favorite thing is playing on dad's phone.  He is cute as a button and has a smile that melts my heart.  He loves grandma Debbie's house and shopping at me-mart (Wal Mart). 

Way to go Kadee!

Kadence got the first Kudos Club award from the school yesterday for being an example to her peers and for working hard in school.  I'm super proud of her and had to share the award from Facebook before I couldn't find it.





"Wellington Elementary: KUDOS CLUB 09/15/16.
These students have demonstrated a positive effort academically or with their behavior over the past few weeks. We expect to see lots of AWESOME WARRIORS being recognized weekly in the KUDOS CLUB. FYI- This will be a recognition on Wednesdays. Not every class or every grade will have someone in the Kudos Club each week. So keep checking back."

This past weekend my mom took my girls and I to St. George to see Lorla and to watch Beauty and the Beast at the Tuacahn.  Jessica and her daughter, Liz met us at Lorla's for a delicious Beauty and the Beast themed dinner.   After dinner we headed to the Tuacahn for the show.  It was a really great show and the girls loved it.  After the show we stayed and met some of the cast members, so by the time we got home it was almost midnight, we were exhausted.  The next day Lorla made us pancakes and we spent all day in her pool, I literally had to drag the girls out when it got dark.  It was so nice visiting with Lorla and Jessica and I'm so glad Kadee and Liz have become such good friends.  It was a great weekend that went by way too fast!
 
 
















Today Kadee had her tin can cookout.  She made French Toast and eggs and was in a group with Breanna and Kashley.  Her food turned out delicious and I'm glad I got to be there with her.

Preschool!

FINALLY all the kids are in school!  Matthew started preschool on Tuesday and was so excited until he got there and realized he's the only boy in the class.  Today was a fight to get him to stay, he wants a friend that's a boy!  When it was time to pick him up he was ready to go to grandma's house.  I hope he finds a friend soon!

This past Labor Day Weekend we went with Derk and Debbie, Kyle and Candee and kids, and Valyssa camping up Ferron Reservoir.  The kids had a great time.  Kyle has a little fishing boat so they were able to take it out on the reservoir and catch several fish to fry.  The kids rode four wheelers, played in a stream, played cards and football, built a fort out of trees, and of course spent lots of time fishing on the boat.  They were so sad to come home (Kadee kept saying, "I wish we could stay longer or start the weekend over.") and it was a harsh realization that summer is over and Fall will be here before we know it.  

Kindergarbage

My little miss Kinlee started "Kindergarbage" (as she likes to call it) yesterday.  She had herself so worried in the morning she was throwing up, but once she got there she was very excited.  Her favorite part was the treasure hunt around the school; they went to the lunchroom, library, gym, and office to look for their lost treasure, luckily they found it in the principals office and each of them got a book to take home.  They also each got a treasure chest and were able to make pirate hats to wear throughout the day.  Today Kinlee got to take snack and also cupcakes for her birthday.  She got to sit in the special birthday seat and the class sang to her.  I had lunch with her and she was still a little anxious, but was happy for lunch.  I think once she gets adjusted she will love going to school, I'm a little surprised it's been so hard for her, she had preschool there and was always up there with me doing PTA and attendance stuff, I guess the adjustment of all day school has just been a little overwhelming. 

Kinlee & Mrs. Penry

Football

This weekend Connor had his first tackle football game, he is on the Eagles team and they played the Dolphins. It was a good learning experience, the other team dominated the field, but our team learned about working together, playing defense and not giving up. Although we lost, Connor had a great time and can't wait to play again next week.

We also started cleaning out grandma Archie's house. It was hard and there was so much to go through, but there was lots of family there so we were able to reminisce and hear a lot of different memories we've all had with grandma. Each of the kids were able to pick something to remind them of grandma. Connor picked some rocks she got from her trip to Jerusalem, one was from where David slated Goliath and the other was from the Red Sea, and he got 2 Utah Jazz pendants. Kadee picked a hanky, a white board, and a brooch, Kinlee was out of control, lol. She picked grandmas came, a porcelain doll, a necklace, a hanky, a stuffed animal and would have taken more if I would have let her. The only thing Matthew took was an old wind up dog you that used to be Derk's. It's so hard to realize she's really gone, but her spirit was strong and I can't wait for the day when I see her again. 

First Day of School!

Summer went out with a bang!  Friday I took the kids to the Castle Day pool.  We met Nana and their cousins and had pizza and played for hours.  Saturday we went up north to the mall, Sam's Club, a quick visit with grandma and grandpa Curtis and ended with the Bee's game.  The younger kids loved riding the train and rolling down the grassy hills and Connor loved watching the game.  It was super hero night so we all got capes to wear for the game.  Sunday we listened to Lance speak in church, he did a really good job!  Then that afternoon we went to grandma Rhea's for dinner, lots of family was there and the kids had a blast playing with cousins.

Yesterday Connor started his first day of 5th grade (and last first day of elementary school) and Kadee started her first day of 4th grade.  Kinlee had Kindergarten testing and we will find out at the end of this week who her teacher is.  They both loved their first day, but Kadee is very nervous for math, she said her math teacher kept giving her the stink eye.  They are rotating to different teachers this year and they both signed up for Musical Theater and Musical Majors so they are going to be doing lots of singing this year on top of all their other extra activities.  Connor was super excited to do the announcements, because he is Student Council President he will get to do them a lot and was pumped to be the one to do them on the first day of school.  I'm super excited for this school year but also very sad, the days are long but the years are short, it all seems to be flying by.  I hope I am raising them well and I hope they stay close to me when they are adults.  Kinlee can't wait to start Kindergarten and asks me every day if she has school yet.  Wow, it's crazy that 2 days a week all the kids will be in school (Matthew only goes Tuesday's and Thursday's).  Wish my babies would stop growing so fast!

First day of school!

Not her first day but she had to have a picture

Student Council President doing the morning announcements