Yin and Yang

As usual, there were some very strong feelings about the start of school in August. Kassie and Mitchell would have been happy to never set foot in a school again. On the opposite side of the coin were the little girls: Alexis was anxious to see her friends again and Anna was over-the-top excited to start preschool. For some unexplainable reason, I didn't get any good pictures of the first day of BCPS (not that any of them really cared) but here are some of the highlights from the first week of preschool--which didn't start until mid-September. She loves her two mornings each week with Mrs. Montanya and Mrs. Chase. I think Kate is the only little girl that she plays with still but the year is young so I'm hoping she will spread her wings and get to know some of the other kids as well. (Although we definitely LOVE Kate.)

Pool Fools

The kids spent a few weeks in swimming lessons over the summer. They would have loved to spend the entire summer in the pool but being the mean mom that I am, that didn't work out for them so they had to settle for an hour every morning for two weeks and occasional afternoon.

I'm pretty sure that I don't have the next Michael Phelps but they all learned quite a bit and had a lot of fun so it was all worth being at the pool in Westminster by 8:45am every day.

Fun with cousins

June was just packed with fun! As soon as we returned from NY and the accompanying reception in PA, Katie and Mark arrived in PA for a visit with the UT cousins. We got to see them a few times and had a great picnic with the whole family at Pinchot Park near Nana and Pappy's house.The kids pitched rocks into the lake; Jason, Matt and Mark took each of the kids out in the canoe; and the ladies did their best to keep the kids from plunging into the lake on their own. Unfortunately, Nana was bound to her wheelchair while her leg was recouping from surgery but I think we all had a good time all the same.

Love and Marriage...and Grouches

Steven and Mickie were married in the Palmyra Temple in June. Welcome to the family Mickie! It's late, I know. But I love you just the same. Here are some shots I took on their wedding day. The day was beautiful and everyone was so happy for them and to be part of their day...





Well...not everyone was thrilled about the plans for the day...



Some time into the pictures, it became quite clear...the pictures would be much less stressful if the little kids (grouches) were "out of the picture" so Matt and I took our little three and Maggie elsewhere. They enjoyed the playground immensely! (My new challenge became preventing them from trashing the adorable clothes that Aunt Mickie had given them.)

Niagra Falls

On the way to Palmyra this summer for Steven and Mickie's wedding, we took a slight detour and spent some time at Niagra Falls. We left our house around 4:00am and the only extended break was for a picnic lunch at a rest stop in NY.
I thought this would be a frightening experience for the younger girls and wasn't sure that the older kids would really appreciate the greatness of the falls but I was wrong on both accounts. At one point, I had Alexis and Anna begging me to ride the Maid of the Mist. In the words of Junie B. Jones, "I've always wanted to ride that thing!" so we braced ourselves and paid the admission for the whole family. I am so glad that we did because they all loved it! Anna begged to ride it again but I wasn't willing to make that investment--once is enough for one summer.

Yeah...I know I'm old...

...As was lovingly pointed out to me by my friend Krysta on the day that Kassie took the stand in sacrament meeting to receive her certificate of completion for Primary. In July, my little girl turned twelve. As usual over the summer, she placed several calls to girlfriends but nobody was available to hang out with her on her birthday so we did our own thing: an on-line shopping spree at the Limited Too and her favorite dinner with cake and ice cream for dessert.
Kassie's preferences have definitely begun to mature over the past two years. Last year for her birthday I gave her two choices of a birthday gift. I can't remember the first choice but she opted to receive three tickets to High School Musical On Ice...in November. This year, we again gave her choices and her decision was...race registration for a Mother/Daughter team in the Inaugural Expedition Everest Challenge at the Animal Kingdom in late-September. Immediate gratification is not in her vocabulary obviously. Here are a few of the shots taken by the photographers on course at our race. We finished the entire 5K, obstacle course and scavenger hunt in 1:16:50. We also scored a really cool medal and a glow-in-the-dark shirt! Way to go Kassie! I hope the birthday gift was worth the wait! I love you!