LegoLand

The second day in California we went to LegoLand.  This was my favorite with my kids.  It was so much fun.  They are at such a fun age and love legos and to our surprise there were tons of rides to do.  Keagan was at the minimum for almost every ride and Easton could do most of them also, so it was a blast.

 right in front of the gate

 We started with a little boat ride around the park and saw some fun displays.

 Buddy and Easton on the boat ride.

 Mt. Rushmore

 Statue of Liberty

 Keagan with Sally from Bob the Builder

 Easton with Bob

 My dad took them on this big slide ride.  It was so funny, at the bottom of the ride Keagan's hat flew off and her face was priceless. I wish I had been able to get it on camera.

 The kids with a real Lego man.  He was walking around and we happened to catch him before the line by him got long.

 They had a whole Star Wars section.  My nerdy kids knew who every character was and loved it.

 There was a knight and princess section.  Guess where Keagan wanted to be?  She was so excited to meet the princess.

 We went and made princess wands with Keagan and Saylem and got to meet another princess!  

 One of the knight rides.

 Don't know why knight Easton is shooting me....

I could have stayed there all day with my kids.  It was so much fun and they loved it.  They are roller-coaster kids, which was a surprise to me because they are usually so cautious.  One ride we did was a fast one with a big hill and I was sitting next to Keagan and she was screaming, "I don't want to ever do this one again!"  Then right when it was over she says, "Let's do it again!"  My kind of girl.

There was a pirate section at the park and we stopped to watch a little show.  They were looking for volunteers from the audience to teach how to be a pirate.  Keagan shot her hand up so fast and they called on her.  That ticked off Easton!  HE wanted to learn how to be a pirate!  But, he was a good sport.

Vegas and SeaWorld

At the end of July we took a family vacation with my side of the family down to San Diego/Oceanside.  It was so much fun and the weather was beautiful.  It was a LONG drive, but we stopped in Vegas and spent the night and did the rest the second day.

 chilling in Vegas after a long car ride and a swim in the pool.

 The first full day we were in San Diego we went to SeaWorld.  It was awesome and the kids had so much fun.  We went to see a few shows, and they had a Sesame Street section that had a few rides that the kids went on.  It was tons of fun.

 The two pictures above are from the Cirque de la Mer show. 

 Keagan at the seal show.

 Easton wanted to try and get wet, so he wanted to sit up front.  He didn't get splashed though.

 At the end of the day---the dolphin show.  This show was the best one we saw and Keagan loved the princess that was in it.

 Keagan and Saylem

 Easton and Keagan with the prince and princess from the show.

Keagan and Saylem with the prince and princess.

Easton's first day of school

Easton had his first day of school -- 1st grade.  He is in the Portuguese Immersion class.  He is super excited and we are excited for him too.  (I am a little nervous, but mostly excited)

We dropped him off at class and his teacher started talking to him in Portuguese and indicated that he should take his backpack off and put it in the cubby.  I panicked.  I started thinking, "What are we doing?  Why are we putting him in the Portuguese class?  We don't know Portuguese!  He is too little, he can't be gone from me for all day!"  Lots of crazy, panicky thoughts traveling through my brain.  He finds his name on his desk and we leave.  The principal is standing outside the door and says to us, "We will all learn together." (this is the 1st year for the Immersion program in Easton's school)

Keagan and I head off to Costco and I start crying in the car.  More panicky thoughts: "What if he can't open his Capri-sun for lunch?  What if this program isn't good for him?  What if he doesn't know it is okay that he doesn't know all the answers?  What if he doesn't have someone to sit by at lunch?"  I don't know why, but the lunch thing has been hard for me.  I like to know if he is eating his lunch and with him being gone from me during lunch, I can't watch over him and make sure he is eating.

Now that I am home and calmed down a bit, I know this program will be good for him.  I know that he is at a great age to learn a new language and I think he will do very well.  I do get nervous for him, but I think that it is my insecurities about myself coming out.  He can be like me in a lot of ways, and that makes me nervous.    I hope he will love this experience and that it will be good for all of us.

Easton and his idol

At the beginning of June my dad's stake down at BYU was having a fireside and the speakers were going to be Noah Hartsock from the BYU basketball team and his wife.  My dad told Easton about it and Noah is Easton's favorite basketball player, so we had to go.  Since my dad is the Stake President, Easton even got mentioned in the introduction of Noah and his wife.  My dad mentioned how my sister, who is pregnant, when she found out she was having a boy asked Easton what she should name the baby.  She jokingly said, "What about Jimmer?"  Easton said, "No!  Not Jimmer.  What about Noah Hartsock?"  (He always refers to him as Noah Hartsock, not just Noah or just Hartsock, but Noah Hartsock.)  Noah loved the story and even pointed to Easton in the congregation when he got up.  Easton was in heaven.

 He thought it was so funny how Noah had to bend down to take a picture with him.

 Getting his autograph.  Easton wants to frame it and put it next to the picture above.

hiking the Y

At the beginning of June Parker decided he wanted to take the kids on a hike to the Y on the mountain.  It was kind of spontaneous, so I decided to opt out and stayed and cleaned the house and relaxed.  I was a little nervous and before they left kept telling them they needed to stay right by daddy and he needed to keep an eye on them.  But, they did really good and he said they didn't complain at all.

 So, as I had transferred the pictures to my computer, I noticed this one below.  Kind of made me nervous looking at Keagan, she looks like she is sliding down the Y, but then I had to remind myself that they did make it, they made it home, and they had fun.  

 Easton fell down and scrapped his knee, but didn't even cry or whine, just kept going.

 When they got home, we had lunch and I had set up the kiddie pool for them because I knew they would be hot.  The loved relaxing in it, even Parker.  

 enjoyed some good Popsicles in the shade too.

goodbye, good friends

Before Jake's family left, we had to get some neighborhood kid pictures.

 Keagan and James.  

Keagan was so cute with James and would hold hands with him and find toys for him to play with.

 Keagan, James, Jake, Easton

 Keagan, James, Ellie, Jake, Easton

Keagan had a HUGE case on Ellie.  She loved her and whenever she saw Corene (the mommy) out walking with Ellie, Keagan would run over and try to make Ellie smile.  She almost always did, which made Keagan so happy.

 Sam (another little neighborhood boy), Jake, Keagan, James, Easton

funny faces!

three musketeers

Easton and Keagan's best friend is Jake, a little boy who lives two houses down.  Sadly, his family moved to Australia at the end of May.  I don't think Keagan understood because after they left, the next day she asked if Jake could come play.  Easton, however, cried for about an hour when they drove away.  It broke my heart.

 I think this picture sums up all their personalities.

Keagan, diva; Easton, cool guy; Jake, goofball

 We are sad that their family is moving, but are hopeful that in two years they can come back to the same house and the kids can pick up where they left off.  

last day of kindergarten

Easton loved kindergarten and was sad when it was over....it meant not seeing his friends everyday.

 Aaron and Easton

These two boys were always together after class and were always trying to plan when they could play together.

 Easton and Mrs. Sarkady

She was such a good way for us to start public school.  Easton learned so much in her class and we will miss her.

 Lance and Easton

Mack, Kampton, Easton, Lance, Aaron

Cute, cute boys

Keagan's preschool graduation

 At the end of May Keagan had her pre-school graduation.  She still has another year of pre-school (the joys of fall birthday), but she was still so excited for her graduation.

 our cute family

 Keagan with her teacher, Mrs. Stephanie

Keagan with Grandma

Keagan, we love you and are so proud of you and all that you have learned this year!  Keep your love of learning and you will do amazing things!