And She's Off

I've always prided myself in being a mom that has instilled independence in Kaiyah. I'm not one that lingers around and has her hold on to me for as long as she can. Whether it was her first day in nursery or preschool, or with a sitter, I knew from the start that I wanted her to feel comfortable in new situations without mommy always being by her side. But today was different; she started Kindergarten. And for once I wanted her to say, "Please mommy stay with me, don't go!" But that never came. Instead, while waiting in line to go inside her classroom she says, "This is taking too long, are the parents leaving yet?" Then worse, when I came to pick her up after school she said she wanted to take the bus home. Am I not cool? Is she really ready to enter the world without me? I remember very clearly the first day of Kindergarten for myself. I was clinging to my mom's arm not wanting her to go. I was a nervous reck! Not Kaiyah. She was ready. She waited "reverently" in line with her arms folded like they teach her in primary. I peeked in the last 20 minutes of class (without her seeing me) and she was the first to obey the teacher when told to put their name tags away and grab their backpacks. She encouraged the other kids to do the same, some to their dismay ;). Their was some sad news. She said 2 kids made fun of her for biting her nails!! How dare they ;(. I new my bad habit would come back to haunt me someday. After all she learned it from me. But all in all it was a successful first day of school. She said it was long and sometimes boring but that she made new friends and loved recess! That's my girl...school is boring but recess and friends are the best!! I love you Kaiyah!

Kaiyah jumping at the playground before school starts

Smiley herself in the classroom ready to go!

Her school has a gorgeous view of the Bay

Fairyland

We finally went to Fairyland for the first time this week. It was OK, a one time visit if you ask me. Here are a few pictures of us. Jeremy and Kaiyah ran through the maze while Laney and I rode the train. Kaiyah was too afraid to ride the little trolley...go figure!


The Queen and her Princesses

Summer Fun

One week from tomorrow Kaiyah will be starting Kindergarten...Yikes! That means summer is coming to an end and I wanted to make sure I captured some of the fun things we did.

Utah & Idaho Trip
Tennis with Kaiyah
Sleepovers at Grandma's
Kaiyah learning how to swim
Lots of Dress up
Beach
Kaiyah learning how to ride a bike
Exploratorium in SF
Zoo

I think I'm Sleep Walking aka Not Awake!

This was our first night backpacking at Wade Lake. We got to witness a meteor shower which was so awesome. I saw a huge fireball looking meteor shoot through the sky, plus several shooting stars.

I got home this afternoon from Girl's Camp. Which also means I haven't slept all week. I was the 4th yr. leader and had the same girls that I had last year. I LOVE these girls. Each our very unique which cause for an interesting mix. I think they view me more as a peer than a leader, which I love.
This year we went backpacking for about 11 rigorous miles. At one point we climbed 800 feet in less than 3/4 of a mile. The scenery was incredible and it makes me so grateful for all the beauty the Lord as provided for us.
Girl's Camp would never be complete without some pranking (tee peeing cabins, bear disguising), DRAMA, great food (thanks Susan Parkinson), sleepless nights, rule breaking, crying and laughing. I learned some new lingo like boostie, a minute, and bobo. No, the obvious definition is not the correct one. Also, now that I'm home I have to stop talking like I live in the ghetto and remember to be grammatically correct again.
Anyway, I'm exhausted, even though I took a 2 hour nap late this afternoon. It was worth it though. These are the memories that I treasure. Thanks miss 4th yr. thangs for a wonderful week!

Here 6 of us began making a "sandwich." This is us after we came tumbling down!

According to Terran, Mariella (pictured above) was my favorite. This girl invaded my personal space more than I will describe and told Jeremy to watch out! She is hilarious!

Corrine and I were the leaders of the pack in hiking. This is us looking over the terrain we had covered and the lake we had just slept at.


My sleeping beauties. I never went to bed before midnight at camp and was up every day by 6:30. Thus, the reason I feel like I'm "sleep walking" right now.

6 years and going strong

Today is mine and Jeremy's 6th wedding anniversary, though it feels like it has been forever.
Jeremy and I met at a Halloween dance in Provo, UT. I did my usually chase, pursuit, and snag, except usually once I snagged the guy I'd cut him loose. But as you all know Jeremy was different. He was someone I didn't want to live my life without. To think he could have surpassed all my expectations was unthinkable since my expectations were high to begin with. Time and time again Jeremy has put me and my desires above all else. Sometimes it has proven not to have been the best thing for him or our family. Yet he still loves me and forgives me.

Together we are growing. Together we are happy. Together we raise our children. Together we succeed. Together we cry. Together we conquer. If the day ever comes where I would be asked to endure this earth without him, I may not grow, succeed, be happy, or raise our children well but I do promise to cry and conquer so I can be with him again! (Is that too morbid?!?!) I married Jeremy in the temple where we can be together for all eternity. Thank goodness! Thank goodness for the gospel we belong too and the strength it gives us in our lives together. (Can you tell I just got home from church?!?!)

I LOVE YOU JEREMY!!! Happy 6 years to us!

Did anyone see the opening ceremony for the Olympics last night?!?! All I have to say is AMAZING!

Why is that?

Yesterday Jeremy and I went windsurfing. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep I found myself feeling like I was floating along in the water going up and over the waves and then back and forth all over again. I remember when I was growing up in Florida, I would go swimming in the ocean (that's the kind of ocean you can actually swim in, unlike California) or after a boat ride, and I would feel the same way later in the day. You know what I'm talking about right? Why is that? I mean it's not like we were in the water for a significant amount of time. And it was a whole 8 hours later that I tired to fall asleep! Needless to say, it took me awhile to go to sleep last night! The mind is a crazy thing...

Utah/Idaho trip

Now that I am finished reading my book I have some time to post. The girls and I had a blast visiting with family. The picture of Laney above sums it up. I mostly relaxed while the girls ran around with their cousins. I told Jeremy that it was a great vacation because I hardly saw Kaiyah. She was either in the hot tub (which wasn't actually hot) for the majority of the days when we were at my sisters house. Laney was being adored by my nephew. He did whatever it was Laney wanted, whether it was push her around the backyard in the stroller or play with the dogs. Laney had no problem with my sisters’ dogs. Kaiyah on the other hand was much more apprehensive. I reread the Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse books in anticipation for Breaking Dawn. I laid out in the back yard while the kids played in the water. We went to the lake one day. We did a little shopping. I took my niece to get her haircut and styled, plucked her eye brows, did her makeup and then her mom took her to get her ears pierced. All that was a lot of fun. It reminded me of when I was 11 and "becoming a women" and transitioning from the little girl to young women stage. Here are a few pictures that capture the good times and memories we had. Mainly it was great to just sit back, relax and chat away with my sister Allison while in Idaho and with my sister-in-law Carrie while I was in Utah. Thanks ladies for making the 2 weeks fly by!!

We've been reunited!

After mine and the girls 2 week vacation and 3 long grueling days of bar exam taking for Jeremy, we are all finally back together again! We got back the same day Jeremy took the last part of his exam. Being apart for that long was almost unbearable. We quickly took advantage of our new "Daddy time" and the very next day we headed into San Francisco. We walked around the Palace of Fine Arts and played at the beach. Laney loved flying the kite with me and digging a deep hole with Daddy. Ahhh, it's good to be home!

I've Been Busy