A new high schooler and middle schooler

Madison started high school today. I have been very nervous for this day. I know that she will do a great job and have a great time but high school is a whole new world. She is already involved with the basketball and volleyball team so she has already started making friends.

Madison told me when she got home that she was a little nervous to start because she had never been in the school before. The school is being renovated so they did not have a freshman orientation before this morning. She spent the first half of the day in freshman orientation and that helped ease her nerves. She ended up having a great day and will be going back tomorrow.

Allison started middle school today. Again I don't know if I am ready for Allison to be in middle school. I know that Madison has already done it but Allison is different from Madison. I know she will do great but I am still nervous.

She ended up having a great day. She figured her locker out and I was nervous about that. She doesn't think that they give her enough time between classes. She is running around a little more then most 6th graders because she is in 7th grade math but I am sure that she will handle it fine.

Both girls are going to have a great adventure this year. I am excited of what this year is going to bring.

Ashley's Annual Pictures

Working the fair

Meridian high school basketball team offered an opportunity for the girls to earn money to help pay some of the expenses of playing. I wasn't sure what the work at the fair would be so I signed up to go with Madison. We ended up working in a food booth. We were in two different booths. I like that the booster club offers things likes this for the girls to do so they can help offset the cost for the parents. I think it is also good for Madison to take ownership of playing. She was nervous to go but ended up thinking that it wasn't' that bad. The people that we worked with were super nice so I hope we get to do it again.

It was fun doing this with Madison.

Changes

Today was a day of changes. We started off by taking Allison to the eye doctor for a contact fitting. She has been asking for contacts for over a year. She is very excited to be rid of glasses.

It is going to take a little while to get used to her without glasses.

Next we headed to the orthodontist and Madison got her braces taken off.

She has been so excited for this appointment since we scheduled it. This day could not come soon enough for her. Her teeth look so good. Her smile is beautiful. She has been grinning from ear to ear all day.

One girl down two more to go. Allison goes in next month to see if she is ready for braces. She has lost a lot of teeth lately so I think we will have another one braces before we know it.

Grandpa's 65th Birthday

Today we were in Twin to celebrate Grandpa's 65th birthday. Aunt Karen and Aunt Jill were there with their kids. The girls were so excited to be with their cousins, it has been a long time. We had a party for grandpa at the park.

After the picnic in the park we went back to the house for cake and ice cream.

We had a great time celebrating Grandpa's birthday. We were happy to be there with all the family on his special day.

17th Anniversary

Today Kevin and I celebrated 17 years of marriage. I was up bright and early this morning so I could get Madison to volleyball tryouts at the high school. I came home and found this on my bed.

It was a great surprise. I am so lucky to have found Kevin.

FHE

Tonight we met the Bartlett family at Sonic for Family Home Evening. The girls love hanging out with their family so they thought it might be fun to do something together. Sonic has half price shakes after eight so we thought this would be the perfect thing to do.

The kids all get along so well. I love how they all play together and no one gets left out. We had a great time. We should do it again sometime.

Mommy Daddy Date with Ashley

Madison and Allison were both busy so we decided to take Ashley to the movies. She has been excited for Smurfs 2 coming out so we thought this was the perfect time to take her.

Ashley loves one on one time. She had a great time. I am glad she likes spending time with us. I hope it lasts especially when she is only the one home.

First day of second grade

Ashley started 2nd grade today. She woke up bright and early this morning. She was very excited. Mrs. Lemmon is her teacher. We have heard great things about her. When we tell people who she has people just gush over her. I am so excited for this year for her. Ashley is also excited because her best friend Kinnlie is in her class. She is on cloud nine.

I am excited for a great year for Ashley. I just can't believe that school has started already.

We made it home

We made it home.

We ask the girls if they liked driving or flying better. They still prefer flying over driving but I think we had a successful first road trip. We are glad to be home and we are glad to have Macie back. Everyone missed her while we were gone.

Vacation was nice but it is nice to be home. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

So sad to head home

Today we left to head home. None of us were ready to get back to our day to day lives. Before we left the girls talked us into one last trip to the beach. Kevin looked around on the internet and found a beach that you could see sea lions at. He thought the girls might like seeing some wildlife.

After watching the sea lions for a bit we let the girls explore the beach one last time before we left town.

We had a hard time pulling the girls away from the beach so we got a later start then we wanted too. The girls were exhausted from our trip. It didn't take long before they were all asleep.

We arrived in Vegas late but the girls thought it was fun to see the strip all lit up. We drove down it on our way to our hotel. there was a few times we had to have the girls shut there eyes. I don't really get the appeal of the place.

It was a long day driving so once we had dinner we went to bed.

Legoland

Today we spent our day at Legoland. This was probably the day that I looked forward to the most. I loved playing with lego's when I was younger and was excited to see all that they had in the park. Right inside the gate we found this fun dinosaur.

The girls had fun with the rides.

They weren't the most exciting but the girls still had fun with them anyways.

Allison and Ashley had fun learning to drive. It was a cute course. Ashley thought it was great to drive a car all by herself.

Probably coolest thing that there was a place for kids to play while they waited in line.

Our wait in line was quiet and enjoyable while they entertained themselves.

Probably my favorite part of the day was the Lego Town which is a miniature version of some big city's and then also a miniature version of each episode of Star Wars.

We had a great day at Legoland. I am so glad that we made this part of our vacation. Kevin even enjoyed himself even with the tragic loss of his phone. Madison and I had a tiny bit of an accident and Kevin's phone was the tragedy. He took it quite well and it didn't put a damper on our day.

I love seeing everyone having so much fun and happy.

After Legoland we went found a Mexican restaurant and finished our day with a lovely dinner. The girls loved the place. They had a creamy white jalapeno sauce that they could not get enough of.

They think we should get a Garcia's in Meridian so that we can go more often. I don't know when they will stop talking about it.