Adam's Big Day!

Today came. He loved it. I cried.

He was surprised to find his favorite breakfast waiting for him this morning. Homemade cinnamon rolls and sausage ("the not spicy kind"). He gobbled it up and got ready for school so fast I could hardly keep up with him.

Our boy all grown up and ready for school!

Tessa had to wear her backpack to drop him off this morning. She really wanted to stay at school with him. She even shoved her backpack in a cubby and tried finding her name on a seat like Adam did.

At his new school~Riverview Elementary

He found his cubby and his seat and was ready to learn!

Before we left, Tessa ran back to Adam and gave him a hug and a kiss. Mrs. Hales saw it and almost let Tessa stay because she thought it was so cute.

Thankfully it was cleaning and laundry day, so I had things to keep me busy for 2 hours and 40 minutes. I only cried for an hour after dropping him off. My Mom told me to call her when I felt composed enough to talk. I finally called her at noon-after I had Adam back.

He loved his first day and was SO excited that he got to have recess! He told me on the way home that he can't wait until tomorrow!

If Tomorrow Never Comes.....

If tomorrow never comes, I would be happy. Tomorrow is the first day of Kindergarten for our Adam. Where does the time go?! I have been dreading this day for 5 years. I can only imagine what a mission is going to do to me. He is so excited though, and that makes it a little bit easier. I swear this picture was taken only a couple of months ago! They grow up so fast!

Mommy and Adam (May 2007)

Last Thursday, Adam went to his new school and met his teacher. He will be in Mrs. Hales class and she will be wonderful! Adam did some testing and she was impressed with how well he did and how much he already knew. She said he was the first student she had who knew how to write his first and last name!

Tonight was our big "Back to School Party". Since it is Adam's big day, he got to choose the menu. We had some of his favorites, taco's and Shirley Temple's.

Tess was just happy to have soda!

He ate 3 tacos! We have a growing boy on our hands!

After dinner we went over some instructions that Mrs. Hales sent home for the students and parents to read. Then we gave the kids their new school year presents. Adam got a new backpack and both kids got new school supplies.

Tessa got a princess backpack for her birthday from Ma and Pa. She is really disappointed that she doesn't get to go to Kindergarten with Adam.

He is ready to go!

Daddy helped him sharpen some new pencils.

I told Tessa to look at the camera. She had to look through one of the holes on her bucket.

I have had this cake on file for years waiting for this momentous occasion! The kids thought it was fun to eat a pencil for dessert!

Adam had an assignment to complete before the first day of school. We had to make a collage of things that make him a super kid! He included building legos, playing baseball, playing dinosaurs (he knows the names of almost every dinosaur...most of which I still can't pronounce), and racing cars!

After a father's blessing, pajama's, brushing teeth, and family scriptures, Mommy read a book called "The Night Before Kindergarten". He loved it!

Eric laughed at me tonight when I refused to pray for family prayers because I knew I would cry. I will have plenty of tears this week I am sure. Doing this while pregnant isn't helping!

Our lives are about to change forever.

Kindergarten, here he comes!!!

Blessings!

Today I feel so blessed! Blessed to have the technology we have and blessed to have another little spirit joining our family! I was so nervous about this ultra-sound. Luckily, everything looks perfect! Everything with the baby is developing beautifully and things are looking right on track with my due date. My placenta is positioned right above my belly button. Thankfully this means no placenta previa with this little one! I am in great shape for a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) and we will go forward with those plans!

I have had such strong impressions for a couple of years now that we had a little girl (a little Gwen to be exact) that needed to come to our family. Part of my frustration with not being able to get pregnant for so long was due to these strong impressions. However, I have learned that patience and faith in the Lord's timing is a must in my life and everything works out just as it should.

I am happy to report that baby Gwen is on her way and looks beautiful! Adam and Tessa are excited to have another sister! We feel so blessed and are so thankful for the 3 beautiful kids that we get to call our own!

Bear Lake Trip

This past weekend we spent up at Bear Lake with the Nielson clan. We had so much fun spending time with family and going to the lake! We missed the family that couldn't make it though! The kids had so much fun and are already planning our next trip!

During our drive, we stopped in beautiful Logan to see the temple.

We rented a cabin for all of us to stay in. That worked out so well! This was the view of the lake from the cabin.

Tessa loved playing at the cabin! She was a handful most of the weekend, but she kept us laughing.

Tessa and Zeke could have dug in the sand all day, everyday if we had let them!

Eric and Adam in front of the water.

Mamma was smart and brought some air mattresses that the kids used as rafts. They were a hit!

Tessa loves to wrestle! Uncle Jake was kind enough to wrestle with her.

The kids had an awesome dance party and then we played the candy bar game.

Showing off their candy!

Early Saturday morning we had a crazy storm blow through! This is a picture I took of the storm and the sunrise over the lake.

Another fun day at the beach! Mamma, Uncle Matt, Tess, and Roxy.

I buried Adam and he loved it!

The cousins had lots of fun playing together!

I loved the boat rides! They were relaxing for me and they put my kids right to sleep almost every time they got on.

Adam and Zeke were showing each other how big they could open their mouths.

Ellie, Adam, and Eric on the tube.

Tessa, Eric, and Roxy

Tessa is our water baby! She would have lived in that boat if we had let her!

I even got to go with the kids on 2 boat rides. It was fun to ride with them and see how much they loved being on the boat. They loved when Uncle Jake played the Pirate song!

Our last big activity of the weekend was going to get famous Bear Lake raspberry shakes! We finally had to head back to the cabin after each of the kids had had their turn crying over something. Most of them were injuries. However, Tessa's tears were over brownies in her ice cream. What crazy kid doesn't like brownies in her ice cream?! That would be our Tessa for you! Luckily, Mamma saved the day and shared her plain chocolate shake with Tessa. All the other kids had accidents of some sort that ended in tears. It isn't a good family vacation until all the kids are crying, right?

Thanks everyone for such a fun weekend!