Kindergarten

I knew that I didn't have to worry about Emma's first day of school. If anyone could handle it - SHE could. She is always so ready for things and so mature about things. I laughed at stories of Mom's saying that they were going to be bawling their eyes out on the first day of school. Not me. I had nothing to worry about and would not be one of those silly crying mothers. Or so I thought! For some reason as I saw the bus driving away with my little baby girl inside, my eyes just teared up and I couldn't control it. Was it pride or worry or both, I don't know. But I know that I love my daughter with all my heart.

She is at Bascomb Elementary school in Mrs. Scherholz's class. The teacher seems wonderful. She even called us after school to make sure our "sweet little girl" did not have any problems or questions on her first day. She is riding the bus to and from school. On the way home she was so busy making friends on the bus that the driver had to walk back and let her know it was her stop! She had a fantastic first day and has made a friend in our new neighbor - Ashton. He is also in Kindergarten but not in her class. He gets a ride home from his mom but on the first day he waited for Emma to come home so he could give her a flower. Such a little gentleman!

She was so excited about school and ready to go back. You can see her excitement (and exhaustion) from her first day on the YouTube videos Ben took.

Emma's First Day

Emma's First Day returning from school

Summer

We have done a lot of neat things over the summer but unfortunately I don't have too many pictures. One of the cool things that we did was go to Medieval Times. I actually won the tickets on the radio for Father's Day! Medieval Times is a giant castle that you go to where they serve you a wonderful feast and you have a spectacular show with Knights and jousting. Of course it was perfect for Emma - our own personal princess. And of course, Matthew enjoyed the food! The best part was that the Black and White knight we were rooting for won the battle and saved the Prince so that he could be with the Princess and live Happily Ever After.

Ben and the kids have spent a lot of time in the water this summer. We have been able to enjoy my Aunt Yoli's wonderful pool where Emma has been doing much better at swimming around in her floaties and can even jump in the shallow end without anyone catching her. Matthew is a little fish and is so comfortable floating around in the pool too. They definitely take after Ben who I think could live in the water and be very happy.

One day we were all able to join the Johansons, John, Elisa and Jacob and Grandma/Grandad Jett at White Water. It was really a new experience to have little ones at such a big water park. I think we may wait another year or two before we go again so that they can really enjoy how fun the park truly is.

Other fun things we did included having my niece Angelina spend two days and nights with us, watching Toy Story 3 at the movie theatre, and going to a Braves game at Turner Field. We were even lucky enough to spend some quality time with Sarah, Scott, Georgia and Jackson while they were in town for a quick visit.

One NOT so fun thing we had to do this summer was say goodbye to Ben's parents. They decided to move to Utah and although we are heartbroken that they are no longer so close by we are excited to get to go visit them in Utah. In fact we will be going there in September for Dan's wedding. We also are big fans of SKYPE so we will be able to see them often on our computer!

We have only one week left of summer. So hard to believe how fast it passed by. Right now Ben has band camp with Woodland HS and the kids have been going to my mom's house. Starting in August............SCHOOL!!!!

Cub Camp 2010

Flag Ceremony

Cubmaster Minute

Birdhouses

Badminton

The past few years I have had the pleasure to serve as the Cub Scout Committee Chair for the wonderful young boys in our ward. It has definitely been a learning experience since I have no experience with Cubs whatsoever. Matthew is much too young to be a Cub Scout and my brother was never a Scout either. All my knowledge comes from what I've learned thru Ben who was an amazing Scout as a child and an even more amazing Scout Leader as an adult now.

The District offers a Cub Camp every summer for all the boys in the area. Although it is a great opportunity it is also very expensive. This year our Pack decided to join a couple other Pack's and have our own affordable (and fun!) Cub Camp. It took place over three days - Thursday and Friday night and then Saturday all day. Each pack was responsible for a few activities each day. It turned out extremely well and I think everyone had a great time.

The first day the boys created shirts using nature items. I made a dragon shirt using certain leaves and a pine cone for the fire. They also made bottle rocket launchers and played flag football. I missed the second day of camp but the boys had fun going on a nature trail and doing a lot of outdoor activities. The third day was jam packed with activities. I only stayed for the first part of the day but I still had a blast. I was proud of our boys who ran the opening flag ceremony with great poise. I was in charge of the "Cub Master Minute" where I briefly spoke to the boys about taking care of the Earth while using an apple as a visual aid. Then the boys broke off into groups - first aid and woodwork. I am not sure how I got put in the woodworking group since I can't remember ever using a hammer in my life. I struggled at first helping the boys who seemed to know the same or less than I did about making birdhouses. But by the second set of boys, I was practically a professional! I also for some reason volunteered to teach badminton to the boys and NO I did not know the first thing about the game until Cub Camp. We ended up having a wonderful time and I sincerely think that all the boys enjoyed learning the rules and playing. Overall, I think my first Cub Camp went pretty well. I can't wait for Matthew to be old enough to do all these fun things!

Photo Shoot

Emma, 5 - Matthew, 3

May 2010

I finally made an appointment to get the kids pictures taken at the Target Portrait Studio. I hope to one day get their pictures taken by a real independent photographer. There are some extremely good ones in our Ward. But for now the ones at Target are quick and inexpensive and they do a decent job. So here are most of them. You can see more pictre on my Facebook page.

School Days

Emma is in her last week at her Pre School. She had such a good year there. There was a tiny rough start with her not eating her food at lunch and the one biting incident but overall it was a big success! She loved her teachers and made a lot of friends. She learned a ton of things and had great experiences. I researched a bunch of Pre Schools in the area and I think the one I registered her in was a good choice. Right now we are experiencing end of the year festivities: Muffins with Mom, Doughnuts with Dad, and a family picnic tomorrow. Next year she will be going to Bascomb Elementary. Emma can't wait!

Matthew graduated from the Babies Can't Wait program on his birthday. He was evaluated and it was decided that he could enter in the county Speech Therapy program. He started at Little River Elementary on his birthday to attend his class once a week. I was very nervous about it since it was going to be the first time he was entering into a school environment without one of us around. Matthew is very attached to us and I was imagining him crying the entire time. But he loved his teachers and was so excited about going to school. It was amazing how great he progressed in the couple months he was there. Since the time he began talking he called himself "Mamur", but a few days after his first class he said his name almost perfectly right out of the blue. I teared up like a fool!! How funny the major moments in our lives when we have children.

We will be talking to someone over the summer to get him enrolled in the Speech class at Bascomb where his big sister will be.