School FINALLY Started!!!

School started so LATE for Emma this year!! I don't know why but I do know that she is very glad to be back. She is in the morning class now and has a great teacher. Four of the kids from our ward are in the same class so it's been great for her to have friends there and for me to have someone to car pool with. It's also been great for me to be able to have some one on one time with Jaxson while Isaac is down for a nap and Emma is away at school. I've really enjoyed it. Now I just need to make sure to spend one on one time with Emma. I tell ya, life gets more complicated and chaotic and busy the older they get. Here are a few photos of her first day at school.

I don't know why but she felt that she had to have this bear with her on her first day, even though it stayed in her cubby the whole time.

This is Emma's friend Eliza. We were excited to find out they were in the same class. Aren't they cute!!!

In front of her cubby.

Jumping around in circle time to start out the day.

Our First Camping Adventure

We have been saying for YEARS that we are going to go camping and we never have. UNTIL NOW!!! We finally got to go with our good friends Mike and Kami Bahnmiller over Labor Day weekend. It was so much FUN!! We went to the Hell's Gate campground that is right by Lewiston. Thanks guys for setting it up for us!!
We were in charge of dinner so we decided to do dutch oven. I didn't realize how LONG it takes to cook something dutch oven so we didn't have dinner until really late. Thanks for not killing us Mike and Kami!!! Even with the vegetables a little under-cooked the dinner turned out pretty good and the s'mores the Bahnmillers provided were fabulous. It was SO MUCH FUN hanging out around the fire and playing games. I was really surprised how well my kids slept. I wish I did. Oh well, what's camping without crappy sleep. The kids had a BLAST and we enjoyed spending the time with such good friends. I only wish they would be here to camp with us next year. Here are some pictures of our trip.

Emma was so excited for her first camping trip.

Kami setting up chairs.

These next two photos MAKE ME LAUGH. Emma packed her own special back pack with all of her girly things she would need for camping and while she was out running around playing Jaxson got into her stuff. The next picture shows his reaction to being caught. Isaac wanted to be the one to hold the roasting stick. He thought it was so COOL.
Jaxson thoroughly enjoyed the s'mores. I couldn't keep this kid clean at all this weekend.

All of us around the campfire. Luckily Jaxson didn't fall in. I was stressed the whole time he was around it. That kid is so BUSY!!!

Mike cooked a really YUMMY breakfast the next morning. The kids enjoyed watching him.
Jaxson, excited about breakfast and of course dirty.
Jaxson tried to get the zipper on the tent open and it wouldn't work. So what does a two year old do when something doesn't work? You guessed it. They fall on the ground and throw a tantrum.
Mike got ambitious and climbed a tree. His kids wanted to see what it was like. Here's little Emma checking out the view.
The boys saw Mike and they wanted to climb too. Unfortunately, they're a little too short.
Isaac tried his first licorice rope and he LOVED it!!

The kids wanted to go swim but they had barely gotten wet when we saw a dead fish. GROSS!!!That ended the adventure right there but it didn't stop Jaxson from getting dirty. AGAIN.

Fun At the Park: After we had packed everything up we went on a picnic to a really fun park in Lewiston. The kids really enjoyed playing on the toys. Jaxson especially liked the train.

He is holding up his arm and saying "toot, toot" in this picture.
Aside from being to young for this climbing wall, Emma didn't have very good shoes for it. She didn't get very high but she had fun trying.

THANKS Mike and Kami, for making it such a wonderful weekend!! We're sure going to miss you. Mike got accepted to BYU so they are moving in December. We love you guys!!

Garden Fun

This is my first time EVER doing a garden of my own. Though it didn't turn out exactly as good as I wanted it to I'm still excited about what has grown. We've been OVERRUN by zucchini, and yellow squash and cucumbers for the last month or two and the corn, peppers, pumpkins, tomatoes, green onions and carrots are almost ready to be picked as well. It definitely has been a learning experience. For example, I don't think I will grow cucumbers next year. It seems like every cucumber I try is nasty and bitter and then when I tell Josh it's his turn to try them he gets all of the good ones. NOT FAIR!!! Here are some photos. Just don't look to closely because I'm sure that your gardens are ten times better.

I think I'm most excited about our pumpkins. Only two have made it but it has been so fun to watch them get bigger and think about the fun jack-o-lantern they'll make.

Our Trip Home

We had a really great trip to Idaho Falls about two weeks ago. Along with most of my family (Greg and Hayley were sadly missed) we were also able to see Josh's brother Jon from Minnesota and his sister from Burley plus their families along with his little brother Danny and his wife Ashley. Although it was a little chaotic with so many kids running around it was so great to see so many people that we love but don't get to see very often. These are some photos of visiting Josh's parents. We were also able to visit the Titanic museum and spend time playing with cousins on Josh's side but unfortunately I lost my camera so I didn't get any pictures taken. We had a lot of fun though. Their is also a slide show following this post of my family reunion. Thanks everyone for making it a great reunion. We love you.

I so appreciate the time that Josh's Dad took with my children. The first night that we visited them the kids were outside playing and Dave scooted his seat right in front of Isaac's swing and talked to him and pushed him and he blew bubbles for the kids. I'm so grateful that they have grandparents that do little things like that to show their love. Thanks Dave.

The kids really enjoyed the swings and slide at Grandma and Grandpa Hill's house.

Silly Daddy, that's Emma's chair!!!