Let's Go Fly a Kite

This afternoon was windy.  It was totally unexpected by that's probably why our impromptu kite flying afternoon was so successful.  We pulled out an Elmo kite, our pirate ship, and Jeremy's powerful airfoil kite. 

McKenzie happily flew Elmo, who had a hard time staying up in the strong wind, but she thought it was super cool anyway.  She would also run to her sister's rescue when Cambrie' pirate ship bit the dust.  Watching her put that huge kite back up in the air was so funny, especially because she would actually get it flying again. 

The wing was gusting so hard that Cambrie had a hard time keeping the pirate ship under control but thoroughly enjoyed it since she felt like she had the coolest kite. 

Jeremy and I took turns zipping the air foil through the sky and tried not to get blown away.  We came home wind blown and full of smiles.

First week...check

Cambrie has completed her first week of school, and it's funny the change that has happened already.  After four days or so, she asked me if she had to go to school every day.  I told her yes, for the next 17 years and she couldn't stop until she was an adult!  She gasped, "Really?!  That's a long time!"  I laughed and told her yes it was.  Luckily she told me that she liked school, so it was okay.  She surprisingly doesn't talk much about what happens during the school day so I've had to piece together their routine from spilled tid-bits here and there.  I know that their behavior chart are mustangs that play in the yard but if they get in trouble they are moved to the corral and then the barn if they are really not obeying.  Cambrie has proudly told me that she has never had to move her mustang to the corral and the teacher doesn't yell at her.  She also told me that she gets to sit in the wiggle seat-and this is actually a good thing.  Her teacher, Mrs. Jackson, has a red stool with little bumps on the set and if a student is being really good they are rewarded by sitting on the wiggle seat....because they can actually wiggle on the wiggle seat.  Cambrie demonstrated how she wiggles and it just made me laugh.  She has also had her first visit to the nurse's office.  On Monday during gym she and a girl named Julia collided and Cambrie ended up with a pink bump and an ice pack on her cheek for the rest of the day.  I have been surprised at the little things school has changed.  She actually cares if her clothes match.  She actually lets me brush her hair.  She doesn't complain when I ask her to brush her teeth in the morning.  And today when we went to pick up new socks for her she ended up with some neon ankle socks just like my YW.  She modeled them for me today and was psyched to wear them with her sneakers.  It's funny to me the little things that make her seem more grown up, like neon socks. 

She also brought home her first story.  I needed her to read it to me the first time because I couldn't quite follow her thoughts, but now I totally get it and I'm proud of her.  So for posterity I'm posting her first story here so we can compare it to later stories.  I can't wait to see what she can do. 

"My fairies, I love you."
 

 

"I see a unicorn." 

(I had to include this one she brought home today because it is really funny if mis-read.)

The Eiffel Tower

Cambrie really enjoys playing Contrux with her dad.  On Sunday they built the Eiffel Tower and played under it until bedtime.  The next morning the tower was leaning and Cambrie was trying to fix it with McKenzie's help (McKenzie was also holding a bowl of pretzels with one hand).  This was their conversation:

Cambrie: "Don't let go Kenzie.  I need to fix it."
McKenzie:  "I not letting go."
Cambrie:  "Don't let go Kenzie."
Kenzie:  "I not letting go Sister!"
Cambrie:  "Don't let go Kenzie."
Kenzie: "I tan't!  I have one arm, no have three!"

Love it!

1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Cambrie's first day of kindergarten! 

Last night before she went to bed we read a poem given to her by her teacher: 

The night before school is exciting and fun.
There are always so many things to be done.
Your clothes are ready, your backpack is too.
Your classroom is full of fun things you will do.
Lots of questions go through your mind,
all types of thoughts of every kind.
But sometimes we all get the jitters down deep,
And that makes it hard to fall fast asleep.
So I've made this magic confetti for you,
Full of promises for the whole year through.
On Monday night when you lay down your head,
Just sprinkle some under your pillow in bed.
the confetti will help you sleep through the night
and wake up in the morning fresh and bright.
I'll sprinkle the confetti under my pillow, too
Because I am so super excited to see you!

So after reading the poem we went straight upstairs and sprinkled the magic confetti under her pillow.  She was thrilled.  She thought it was truly magical and went to bed with a smile on her face.  This morning she woke up so full of energy.  She was bouncing around the house singing, "I get to go to Kindergarten today!  I get to go to Kindergarten today!"  She wanted breakfast as soon as possible so that she could get dressed quickly, then eat lunch right afterwards so she could go to school.  Nothing was happening fast enough for her.  I made her favorite breakfast of french toast with syrup, peaches and hot chocolate.  Then we went upstairs to choose what new school clothes she would be wearing today.  We tried on three or four different outfits before we were both satisfied. 

 When it came time to take some pictures before she left, McKenzie came and stood by her sister.  We had been so worried about making Cambrie look nice that McKenzie had been left to her own devices...she was a mess, but that's all right. 

She kept giving Cambrie hugs asking if she could go to her kindergarten class too.  She is not going to like being left behind each day.  She loves her sister so much. 

Finally it was time to walk up to school.  Jeremy had the morning off so the four of us went to wish Cambrie good luck.  Cambrie gets to ride her scooter and bike to school and thinks it is the coolest thing ever.

We were asked to wait by the doors for her teacher and as we were waiting Cambrie's friends started arriving.  There are five girls from the ward in her class, plus a set of triplets from our old ward.  I don't think I ever had that many kids from my ward in my class, and I grew up in Utah! 

These are the little sisters of Cambrie's little crew.  Each one of them wanted to stay at school too, here they are checking it out.

After nearly ten...whole...minutes of waiting, her teacher, Mrs. Jackson appeared.  The kids were so thrilled.  When they were asked to line up so they could go inside, Cambrie was second in line.  We followed them in so we could see their classroom (since we missed Back to School night), and waited for Cambrie to get settled before we left.  She found her cubby, found her desk, pulled out her homework folder and was happily sitting there waiting for school to start.  I think she's going to love it.  Now that we're back home and it's just McKenzie and I now, I feel like I forget what to do with only one kid.  There is going to be a learning curve for those of us who stay at home too.  I can't wait to pick Cambrie up after school and her everything she has to tell me. 

But before the day really got started I went on a run and I found myself thinking about Cambrie going to school and how I feel about that.  I realized that going to kindergarten is the start of her being gone...every day...and it's just going to get more and more like that as the years go on.  I suddenly started worrying about her making friends, being nice to other kids, feeling accepted, feeling accomplished, not getting embarrassed, understanding what the teacher is teaching, and hoping that school is a good experience for her.  There are so many things that I can't control while she's at school.  I can't protect her.  She is so sensitive to her feelings and the others around her, which can be a good and bad thing.  However, she is really great at making friends.  She has a great self-esteem and thinks she is a smarty-pants.  She's a good listener and rule follower.  And she's such a sweetheart.  I really hope she continues to be as excited about school as she has been so far.

Snowbird Snippets

After all of our adventures in South Jordan we packed our bags and met my family up at Snowbird.  My family has owned a condo up there for years and it is such a wonderful mountain retreat.  The first day was rather chaotic with a yoga class and dutch oven cooking class for the ladies, followed by a "Wicked" performance in Salt Lake that night.  Even though the girls were busy, it was the fun kind of girls-time busy and we had a blast.  The next day was spent more locally at the resort.  During the summer they have some activities including a zip line, alpine slide, trampoline bounce, rock climbing wall, ropes course, and a bouncy castle.  We bought 24 hour wristbands and got busy having fun.  Here is proof of our smiles:

When we first arrived we took the girls on a tour of their new home for the week.  They were very excited to find the pool.  We went swimming just hours later. 

They were also very excited to find that I didn't care if they jumped on the beds.  Because what is a vacation without a little craziness?

Cambrie's favorite activity was the air jumper.  She was bounced around way up high and loved it.  She loved it even more when she learned she could do flips on it. 

McKenzie's favorite ride was the Alpine slide.  She loved the chair lifts to the top, and while I was a little nervous about her wiggles while on the chair she did remarkably well.

We are on the far slide zooming down.  That girl kept wanting to go faster and faster, and over and over.  What fun!

Faye enjoyed a little licorice action while watching her cousins play.  We all ended up with pink splotches all over our clothes from her little lips and hands.

The girls bouncing down the bounce castle slide.  We could see the bounce castle from our room and whenever McKenzie walked out onto the balcony she would well, "Bouncy Castle!"  Which sounds a lot like "helicopter."  I know, weird.  She was very concerned each night they deflated it because she thought it blew away. 

Cambrie was brave enough to suit up for the high ropes course.

She was incredibly brave considering this is the first time she's ever done something like this.  She never actually got stuck.  There were a couple of challenges where she couldn't reach the supporting rope and I helped her across, but for the most part she did so well.

She was so stinkin' proud of herself!

McKenzie loved the trampolines because I could flip her around.

Hannah, Cambrie and Ryan being held hostage as they wait for their sleds for the Alpine slide.

Towards the end of the day we caught the tram up to the summit and ate a picnic lunch. 

After some family pictures we hiked down to the top of the Peruvian lift.  A couple of years ago Snowbird constructed a tunnel taking skiers to the other side of the mountain so they could access Mineral Basin.  I have never seen it so we walked through.  The girls thought the cave was pretty neat.  When I asked them to pose for a quick picture, which they requested, this is what I got.  Goofy girls!

Cambrie had collected a bouquet of wildflowers up top.  She informed me that they didn't smell like anything.  Too bad.

We rode the chair lift down to the base.  Once again I was worried about my wiggly girls on such a long chair lift ride, but they rode with Grandma and Grandpa so I had no control.  McKenzie later informed me that she didn't wiggle, but her sister was very wiggly.  Tisk, tisk.  I rode with Alan, Hannah, and Faye.  Faye stayed strapped into her backpack and loved the ride.  It was a sigh of relief from all parents when we got off the chair lift with all children accounted for. 

For some down time back at the room Hannah brought up cupcakes and frosting for the girls to decorate.  They were so cute with their frosting bags.  Surprisingly they only each ate one cupcake when they were done.  I think they didn't want to ruin their creations.

The girls also did an excellent job of entertaining each other in the room.  They loved playing with their little cousin and Baby Faye followed them everywhere.  It was a lot of fun watching the girls play together.

On Saturday we took a quick hike up to a waterfall.  Cambrie insisted on posing for a picture before she got dusty.  That's fine with me :)

Once up at the top the girls took off their shoes and played in the water for awhile. 

We relaxed in the shade, scrambled up the rock, investigated a bright yellow caterpillar, and hung Cambrie upside down.  Why not right? 

We finished off our vacation by relaxing in the hot tub on the balcony and Cambrie thought that was the coolest thing ever..even if it took some getting used to since it was so warm.

Too soon it was time to say good-bye to the beautiful mountain, welcoming Snowbird, and our family.  But we are excited to be back home enjoying the memories of this week and an half.

Blackridge Reservoir & a Dog Walk Gone Wrong

Day four of South Jordan adventures took an unexpected twist.  We didn't have a set plan of what we wanted to do and threw around a couple of ideas with Leesa's neighbor.  Well Jamie, the daughter of the neighbor, had mentioned that she had wanted to take her boys up to Blackridge Reservoir in Herriman before school became too crazy.  We looked it up, saw that it involved sand and water, and immediately packed our bags.  My girls love the beach.  There aren't that many to choose from in Colorado so this was a nice little surprise. 

They found some pre-dug holes near our towel and immediately started trekking buckets of water up the beach to fill them in. 

Luckily there were two holes: one for Cambrie, and one for McKenzie. 

Cambrie thought it was a perfect little bath and McKenzie thought it was fun throwing sand into her pool.  It didn't last as a pool for very long. 

What day at the beach is complete without burying someone in the sand.  I was surprised that my overly-sensitive-to-anything-touching-their-skin-including-clothing-and-tags girls were okay with this.  We buried Cambrie first. 

Then to get her out we decided to grow her like a flower.  What a beautiful flower. 

Once sister was out, McKenzie jumped right into the hole for her turn.  We then grew another beautiful flower. 

 We came home covered in sand, not too sun kissed and settled into jammies for a night of relaxation.  At least that was what my plan was.  While I was working on the computer the girls were out in the front yard playing.  Cambrie was riding her scooter around the circle and McKenzie was walking Kita.  I looked out the window one more time to check on them and realized I couldn't see them any more.  About that same time Shauna from next door came running into the house calling out, "Come quick!  Someone is walking up the street with McKenzie!"  I ran out the door and sure enough some kind stranger was walking up the street with McKenzie and Nakita in tow.  Apparently Kita had taken McKenzie on a walk and had walked her out to 114th.  That is now a very busy four lane road and there's no way Kenzie should be out there.  One of Leesa's friends had been driving by and recognized Kita, but not the little girl with her.  She hopped out and asked McKenzie if she wanted a ride back to her Nana's house.  Thankfully McKenzie would not get in the car and screamed when the lady suggested it.  I'm glad some lessons stick.  So the lady walked her up the street.  I was so glad that she was okay and enough of the neighborhood recognized Leesa's dog.  On our way back up to the house we happened to pass by a different neighbor who was making cotton candy for the kids.  My girls happily each grabbed their own and started eating the sugary goodness.  Looking at this picture you have no idea of the chaos that happened just before it was taken. 

Living Planet Aquarium

Day three of our adventures in South Jordan was a day spent at the Living Planet Aquarium.  (Day two was church, no pictures there :)  As you scroll through these pictures, just realize that the lighting in an aquarium is not conducive to great pictures.  Every one of them is blurred...sorry! 

This isn't a shark that is eating us but rather the jaws of a dinosaur fish (wish I could remember the name).  Our mouths don't open up quite as large as his...we definitely would have been dinner. 

In the amazon section we found a huge frog!  Wouldn't it have been great to play leap frog with this guy? 

The jelly fish, or rather moon jellies, were my favorite exhibit.  If it didn't hurt, I would love to go swimming in a school of jellies.  Wouldn't that feel cool?  They look like they're made of nothing. 

The girls found a canoe in the rain forest.  Luckily no natives came to claim it. 

Another highlight of our trip were the penguins.  Have you ever seen a penguin zip through the water?  They are so fast!  I was lucky to get anything in focus in this picture.  We would've stayed watching them a really long time if our stomachs hadn't been calling for lunch and our time to feed the stingrays wasn't approaching. 

We had to feed the stingrays and sharks with little prongs that held pieces of squid.  Cambrie thought it was all too slimy for her and had me hold the food most of the time.  Unfortunately the sting rays were a new batch and didn't want to eat.  Oh well, we still had a good time.  We left smelling a little fishy but had completed our mission of finding Nemo so all was well.