ABCs of Summer!

 At the beginning of the summer I decided it would be fun to do an activity for every letter of the alphabet.  We sat down and brainstormed what we could do and came up with a list.  Baylor was SO EXCITED.  We didn't go in order and some days were definitely more elaborate than others.  I didn't put an explanation of each day, because the post would have been forever long, but you can imagine all the fun we had!  There were a lot more pictures each day as well, that I made into a book for the kids.  Now they have their very own ABC book :)  It was really fun on the days that we didn't have anything to do, for B to pick a letter and do that activity.  So let the fun begin...

A is for Aquarium

B is for Bees Baseball game at the Ball park

C is for Caterpillar demo days with Papa Bill

D is for Dinosaur Day

E is for Eating and Enjoying watermelon on the porch

F is for Fireworks and Fun on the Fourth of July

 G is for discovery Gateway

H is for building a Hut

I is for going to Leatherby's for Ice cream

J is for making a Jellyfish with Grandma JuJu

K is for Kicking the soccer ball in the backyard

L is for Lagoon

M is for Making Muffins with Mom, 

then watching a Mickey Movie

N is for Neverland Night

O is for painting an Octopus and watching Octonauts

P is for Pirate day

Q is for painting with Q-tips

R is for Rainbow picnic

S is for Sleepovers, Sprinklers, and the South Pole

 We made the "south pole"  A LOT this summer!  

T is for Taking a Tour of Temple Square

U is for Ute Stampede

V is for Visiting Dad at work

 W is for Water table

(probably one of the BEST purchases I've ever made!!!)

X is for eXperiments

(yes, he wanted the lava to be green :)

Y is for Yellowstone

Z is for Zoo (LOTS of times)

 We seriously had the best Summer!  I cherished and enjoyed every last minute of it.  And now that we're done, Baylor has been sad and asking if we can do it again...

Looks like we need to come up with another list...

maybe the ABCs of Fall :)  We'll see how ambitious I am.

Baylor's Big Day

We reached a big milestone at our house today...

Baylor started PRESCHOOL!!!

I have debated all summer whether or not to put him in, where to go, etc.  Yesterday about 5 p.m. I finally decided to call my sister's neighbor, which is only a few blocks from us, to see if she had any openings.  She just happened to have an opening in the 3-year-old class!  Then she told me that the open houses had been held the 2 days before and that school started TOMORROW.  WhAt?!  So as quickly as I had decided to sign him up, he was starting.  Russ and I took him to pick out a backpack and we told him all about preschool.  He seemed really excited but I wasn't sure what to expect when it came time to actually go.  

The last few months he's really come out of his "social shell."  He's always talked our ears off, but he's really started chatting with others.  It's fun to hear him starting shooting the breeze with people.  He's a pretty funny kid.  He used to cry to go into his class at church, but the last few months he is happy to go and knows that we always come back to pick him up.  Thankfully all of that helped us out today!

When we woke up this morning, we had "preschool pancakes"!  

And yes, sometimes we wear random easter hats during breakfast :)

 Then we got ready, backpack and all, for his 9:30 class.

 I drove him over, not knowing how he was going to react when we actually got there.  We got out of the car and all he wanted to know was where Miss Shannon was.  She came out and he was SO EXCITED!  He grabbed her hand and was ready to go.  I was so happy that he was thrilled to be there, not scared or nervous, just comfortable.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  

When I picked him up his teacher said "he wasn't nervous at all!  He did so well and was happy to talk to everyone!"

He ran over (wearing his new paper binoculars) and just started telling me all about his day.  I LOVED IT.  On his first day they shared a paper bag with 5 things about them, sang the wheels on the bus, had a snack of animal crackers and juice, played with his new friends, and there's something called scat the cat with the color purple, but I'm not sure what he's talking about :)  His favorite part of the day was singing the wheels on the bus, which he has continued singing all day.  

I am so happy that he had a great day, that he loved it, and is excited to go back.  I look forward to hearing all about his school adventures.  I hope he always has a love of learning.  Great job today my sweet Baylor, we are so proud of you.

The 78th annual...

UTE STAMPEDE!!!

You all well know that the second weekend in July is a favorite tradition in our family.  We (or at least I ) love going to Nephi for the Ute Stampede!  I love seeing a lot of my family and friends.  

One of the highlights this year was staying with my grandparents in the home my Dad was raised in.  Baylor really got to know my Grandma Zoma this year and just adored her.  He was constantly asking her to play with him, he even got her downstairs playing ping pong!  It made me so happy to sit back and listen to them.  I'm so grateful for such an amazing Grandma, and even more that Baylor and Alexis are getting the chance to know and love her too.  My Grandpa is awesome too, but nobody beats Grandma :)

B got to play with all the toys I used to play with on the notorious red shag carpet.  My friends and I may or may not have rode this blue hoppity horse down the stairs when I was in 8th grade... sssshhh.

Thursday morning we kicked off the stampede with the baby contest!  Sweet little Alexis got 2nd place!  I thought she looked so adorable.

Here she is modeling her crown ;)

 

That evening we watched the horse parade.  Baylor loved waving at everyone and clapping for them.

Lex was happy to be there too... and please check out her kickin' classic boots!!!

Friday quickly came and we headed out for the Mammoth parade, our favorite.  

Baylor was SO EXCITED.  Here he is jamming out to the marching band :)

 But as quick as it started, the weather got crazy!  The wind started bLoWiNg like crazy and then the rain started POURING!  No one ever remembers it down pouring during the parade like that.  We ran to our cars and watched as a few floats attempted finishing the parade.

 Russ got down there after work and we went down to the carnival.  Baylor isn't the biggest ride enthusiast, but he told us he wanted to try ONE ride.  And he did exactly that.  He rode the car, and he was done.  Lucky for Russ, someone HAD to use the rest of his tickets...

 Russ got to release his inner wild child and ride some rides with our nephew Braxton and my cousin Brady.

 Saturday the boys had a breakfast with my grandparents and the girls went to the craft fair.  

We also got to sit around and hang out with family.

Here's Alexis and my Dad.

 She started army crawling that weekend

 And the girls had our annual luncheon with my grandma.  This year's theme was dolls and cupcakes.  

That night we had tickets to the rodeo.  Baylor opted to go to my aunt Molly's house to play instead of come with us.

We were having so much fun, but before it was even half over- that darn rain started again.  It was seriously tsunami rain.  We tried waiting it out, but after about five minutes of being DRENCHED, we had enough.  We had to run all the way to the car in slamming rain, soaking wet, and sweet little Alexis  was just a trooper.  It was a pretty big bummer to have the parade and rodeo rained out, but I guess our state needed the rain more than we needed entertainment.  

Sunday we had a family reunion in Levan, the city my Grandma was raised in.  (It's about 10 minutes south of Nephi.)

We attempted to take a Painter family picture.  My dad comes from a family of 10 kids, so it's no easy task.  Everyone was asked to wear navy and khaki... and sadly  I don't have a group picture.

Just some good old fashioned family fun.

Me and my sisters with our fabulous Grandma Z!