1st Day of Kindergarten!

Today was an exciting day. It was Julia's 1st day of kindergarten. She came in and woke me up at 7 am and asked she if could start getting ready for school. I told her that we didn't need to get ready until after lunch. I guess she was excited because she never gets up that early.

I decided to let her go to afternoon kindergarten because she normally doesn't even get up in the morning until 8, 8:30am and so I didn't want to have to rush around trying to get her ready and to school on time. She does better if she gets up and has some time to get up and going. Another year of a later start and that's ok with me. That way once she is in school I can give Christian his nap and have some time to get things done around the house.

She has Mrs. Rigby and she is super nice. We went to a family open house where we got to go see her classroom and were able to meet her teacher. She got to see where her little cubby/coat closet is and where she will sit each day. She walked right up to her teacher and answered all her questions. After we took a little tour of the school we went home and Julia said she was excited and couldn't wait to go to school and she said that her teacher was beautiful. It was so sweet. I told Julia that I loved my kindergarten teacher and she was always my favorite one that I can remember having. A few days later we had to go in for Julia's evaluation. I was there filling out paper work while she was being tested. I know the test is suppose to be hard just so they can determine what level each kid is at. She was asked her alphabet and the sounds they make. She had to write her name and sound out and blend some words. She was asked if she knew the sight words she would be learning and had most of those down except a few. She was asked to count and do some adding and subtracting. And then the last thing she had to do was write down a sentence the teacher said to her. I was thinking, geez really? But she did pretty darn good. The teacher asked her what letters she heard in each word and she had to write them down. I asked Julia after the test if that seemed kinda hard and she told me no it was pretty easy. Well, I guess it was hard from my standpoint. I didn't even learn to read or write until like the end of 1st grade and into 2nd grade. Pre-school really helped her and so I think Julia is really ready for school!

Ready to go with her back pack

Well, we ate some lunch and got ready for school. She was having a hard time deciding what she wanted to wear to school but we finally figured something out that she was happy with. I can tell we will need to lay our clothes out the night before. Well, my mom and sister came out to see her off too and stayed with Christian so I could get some pictures. Even daddy drove from work to come see her off on her 1st day. I know that meant a lot to have him come.

Because we live so close to school we have to walk instead of riding the bus. I know Julia was excited to ride the bus but I don't think she will miss out. Eventually she will ride the bus to Jr high and high school. It a 1/2 mile for us to walk her to school. It doesnt' seem that far away but it is. Last week we even practiced walking to school to see how long it would take us to get there. We practiced lining up for class and where Julia would meet me after school. And for me walking to and from school twice a day that's 2 miles for me round trip. I guess I'll get my exercise in. I just hope it cools off soon because today was HOT! Julia said to me as we walked to school that her legs were hurting her and I told her that if we walk this path everyday our bodies will get stronger and they won't be so tired all the time. We just have to get use to walking.

Walking to school

We got to the main cross-walk and met the crossing guard, Rick, who will help us cross the street everyday and he told us the rules so we won't get hurt. Then we walked over to the sign of her school so we could get a picture. Then we went to line up for her class. When Julia saw everyone she got a little nervous. She said she didn't want me to leave and I told her that I wouldn't until she got into her classroom. Her class has 27 kids in it and so that's more than double what her pre-school class was. I know she will do great and she is ready for kindergarten. 

Her new school.



Waiting to go into class!

Her big day! 1st day of kindergarten!

I met Julia after school and she talked to me the whole way home about her day. The first thing she said was that she got to play outside 2 times and she saw a friend from church on the playground but didn't talk to her. She got to sit on the carpet on a purple dot and listen to her teacher read 2 stories to her. They visited the music room and sang a song. I asked if she met anybody at her table but she couldn't remember. She told she forgot to turn in her picture she was suppose to bring the 1st day of school. I told her it was ok and we would just turn it in tomorrow. She was happy and excited which made me happy for her. She told me it was the best day and that's always good to hear! I'm grateful her first day went off without a hitch and that she did a great job. I'm so proud of you Julia! What a big girl!

When we got home we had our 1st day of school cookies. When I asked her what were her favorite cookies she wanted me to make and she told me the chocolate oatmeal kind. So I made her no-bakes this year. She told me they were soooo delicious!

Yummy cookies!



Corn on the cob

I don't know what it is about corn on the cob but my kids love to eat it.  And for some reason when they are first learning to eat it they always try and eat the ends of it. Every time I make it Christian keeps saying 'corn, corn' over and over again until its placed in front of him. I'm glad I've found something they both like to eat! It's one of my favorite summer meals, corn on the cob and watermelon, yummy!

Yummy! Corn and watermelon!

Eating the ends

Finally got it after showing him how to eat it!

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A craft project finished......

A while back I posted a craft project I was doing. And I finally finished it and put it up on my dining room wall. Its called a gallery wall, kind of a collage of things that you like/love all in one place. I wanted something new to put up in my new house and saw this idea on someone elses blog and really liked it. I think mine turned out just as great.

This is what the inspiration came from.......

And here is how mine turned out.........

I still need to add a picture to the frame and some ribbon on the key but for the most part its done!

Happy 5th Birthday!

I can't believe Julia turns 5 today! She will be starting a new chapter in her life and I can't wait to see how she will grow and change. Exciting times!

 About a week ago, she kept asking me how many days until her birthday and then the count down began. When she woke up everyday she would tell everybody how many more days it was until her birthday. So yes, she is very excited to celebrate her birthday and turn 5. We also told her we were going to go to Lagoon on her birthday and she was so excited about it. Every time she saw a commercial she would say, "I'm going there on my birthday."

Helping me make her favorite noodles

 Because she was going be gone having fun all day on her birthday we still wanted to have a little party. She picked out her favorite curly noodles for dinner along with Rhodes rolls. Her theme this year was tricky. She kept going back and forth from horses to rainbows but finally picked something. She has been watching a lot of Kung Fu Panda lately and LOVES tigress. Julia loves to pretend she is a tiger and runs around the house on all fours pretending to be tigress. I have even caught her talking to her pretend tiger pet while playing. So we decided on a tiger birthday party. They don't sell Tigress separate from the Kung Fu Panda stuff so we just decided to do tiger colors for the decorations. Let's just say it's putting us all in the Halloween spirit. Anyway, Sunday night we had the family come over for cupcakes and presents. It was so fun and the cupcakes were a hit. I just didn't want to do a big huge cake this year and cupcakes were simple and easy. I did make the tiger toppers so we could get more of the tiger theme incorporated into the party. Its not easy to find 'tiger' items at the stores so we had to be creative.

Her tiger party decorations

Happy Birthday!

Making a wish and blowing out her candle

She had this surprised/happy face in a lot of
the pictures we took. She loved everything she opened!

Her unicorn stompeez slippers!

Her princess barbies

Enjoying the cupcakes

A happy 5 year old

One last surprise gift!

The pink camera she wanted!

The next morning we headed off to Lagoon. Everybody was excited to go. We met up with gma and gpa Cromwell for breakfast before the big day. And Julia got to open up her presents they brought for her.

 Julia was able to go on a lot of rides and she was super happy. She even got to go on some of the bigger roller coaster rides. After a few though she did say she felt sick to her stomach. So we slowed down a bit. She even got to go on some rides with little brother Christian. I was surprised he did so well. Going with Julia helped him out and made him feel more comfortable. He loved the rides that had a steering wheel.

To say the least it was hot and humid. So we ventured over the Rattlesnake Rapids and decided to get wet. We only had 4 of us in the raft so we could maneuver out of the way of most of the water if we didn't want to get soaked. Going through the last waterfall we all got wet but Julia took the biggest hit and got soaked! We ate lunch out in the sun to try and get dry.

Soaked to the bone

 After lunch we walked around Pioneer Village so we could get Christian to try and fall asleep and thankfully he did. While he was asleep we got some ice cream for dessert. It was really yummy and hit the spot!

All tuckered out

Enjoying some yummy ice cream

 Julia was so excited to see some actual tigers at Lagoon. Her birthday theme being tigers and all, she was happy to get a picture with a real one. We also got to see a bunch more tigers as we rode the train. They had both orange and a few white tigers. I think Christians favorite ride of the day was the train. Every time he heard the whistle blow he would say 'choo-choo' and put his arm up in the air like he was blowing the whistle. He loved to see all the animals as we rode by.

Picture with the tiger. Its hard to see but he's there.

Riding the choo-choo

I think Layne and I both agreed that our least favorite ride was the sky chairs. We both had Christian with us which made us a little nervous anyway. But the worst part was when they had to stop the ride twice and we just sat and sat there. I was starting to get a little panicky. And Christian was getting antsy. So needless to say we did not ride that one back to where we started. We walked back. We went on a few more rides with Julia. Layne actually took Julia on some go-carts and when she got off she told me she had fallen asleep on the ride. Layne said she was pretty nestled in and just took a snooze. Well, Julia wanted to go play in the water again and gma and gpa took the kids to the water pad while Layne and I hit a ride. When we got there to see the kids they were having a blast. Christian was soaked and just running all over the place. It was his chance to cool off and stretch his legs a little bit. Next we had to say goodbye to gma and gpa. We were said to see them go but so happy they could come and celebrate the day with us. Julia wanted to hit the bummer cars for her next ride. It was funny to watch her. She did her very best to avoid getting hit. She just drove around the whole ride in a big circle and missed mostly everybody!

It was such a fun day and the kids did great. We are so glad we got to have gma and gpa Cromwell come with us and I know it meant a lot to Julia to have them there. 

Riding the sky chairs

Christian getting soaked

Bummer cars

A little bit about Julia and what she likes and dislikes at the moment!

*Favorite color is still pink and purple.
*Favorite foods are curly noodles and pretzels with cheese.
*She loves fruit and apples are her favorite.
*She loves root beer and water. Doesn't like milk or juice so much anymore.
*She loves having her own room in our new house.
*Right now she is into watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Team UmiZoomi, and even Curious George(that's because Christian loves that show.) She still loves to watch signing time and teaching Christian new signs.
*Some of her favorite movies are Mary Poppins, Kung Fu Panda, Annie, and whatever Princess movie she has been watching lately. As of right now its Little Mermaid.
*She still loves to dress up and watch Princess movies.
*Her favorite places to go are Disneyland, gma/gpa Cromwell's house and her cousins house
*She is a great big sister and really does a good job with Christian. I love that she can make him laugh so easily.
*She is brave. She loves to make new friends and is not to shy at talking to new kids and getting to know them.
*She is so stinking smart.(what mom doesn't think there kid is smart?) She has done so good at her reading this summer and continues to amaze me at how much she knows already.
*She LOVES going to both her grandma/grandpa's house to visit and play.
*Her favorite things to do are dance, color/paint, swim, playing with cousins. We love to turn on the radio in the kitchen and just dance and sing to the music.
*Julia is silly and funny. She has some pretty funny faces she makes and is always wanting me to watch her do silly little dance moves she makes up. She is always keeping us laughing.
*She is sensitive. She doesn't like to be laughed at. We have to remind her that sometimes we are laughing because of something you did or said that was funny, we aren't laughing at you. She also doesn't like to be embarrassed in front of others and usually will hide her face and run away or start to cry.
*She is dramatic. I really hope this mellows about before she is a teenager. I just remind myself that she is a girl and she is trying to deal with all her new emotions.
*Julia has the best smile. I love to take her picture. She will always pose and smile when you ask her to.
*She is a perfectionist, just like her mom! She has to have everything perfect. She has to read her books perfectly, or do her school work perfectly the 1st time. She has to have her room or her toys a certain way and gets very upset if you tell her its ok if its not perfect. She will say "It's not ok, it's not perfect." Layne and I do have to remind her that we all make mistakes. Even mom and dad still make mistakes and that we just need to keep trying.
*She loves to swim and be in the water. She loved being able to go to Bear Lake this year and loves to take swimming lessons
*She still doesn't like to have her hair done. It's usually a big chore and a daily morning fight when we have to just brush her hair.

*She likes to wrestle with her dad and grandpa Cromwell. She loves to tease and pretend to be fighting with them. She loves to rough house with Christian too, that is until he grabs onto her hair.

*She is becoming more interested in sports. She loves to watch sports with us and usually asks Layne which team he is cheering for. We hope we can get her involved in something she really likes soon.Layne said she has the perfect personality to play sports because she is a perfectionist and she doesn't like to lose!

*Some of Julia's favorite phrases: seriously, what the, oh my gosh, But I'll never get to or I'll never have one...., no-no Christian.

Julia's next big adventure is starting Kindergarten at the end of the month. She told me she wants to make new friends and learn how to count to 100. She is excited to find out who her teacher will be and where her classroom is. We will get to find out on Friday and she can hardly stand waiting.

Julia we are so glad you are a part of our family.

We love you! Happy 5th Birthday!

Some new clothes grandma Cromwell got for her.
She looks so cute in them!

 

Beautiful girl, beautiful blue eyes, beautiful smile!

A few craft projects......

Well, I have been looking for ways to decorate my new house and have come across some really great blogs that have fun, easy and inexpensive craft ideas. So I saw this really cool project and thought I have things I can use for it and even make for it. What is it? I will post the final project when its all done but here is a sneak peek at a few things that I made for the project. Here are the before and after pictures.


Round wood plaque and a rod iron bird cluster.



I little bit of paper, paint and screws and
here is the final project. Total price $4.00



C is for Cromwell.



Added some paper and bling for $2.25

Little bird nest, wood frame, paper and paint

The nest cost me the most on this one but
total cost was around $5.25

I got all of this stuff from Hobby Lobby and most of the stuff I bought was 50% off, I was so excited! Its always fun to go in with a plan of what you want to do/make because it makes the bargains and buying so fun. I can't wait to show you the final project!

Picture of the Week!

What a crazy, silly girl!

Two for Tuesday's

Well, I,  along with everyone else in Utah decided to go to Thanksgiving Point for what they call 2 for Tuesdays. Everybody gets in for just two dollars. So we decided to get out of the house and before it got to hot.We went to the gardens and walked around to see all the pretty flowers. Its always gorgeous when you go there. They do such a wonderful job with all the different flowers. Being there reminded me of the day I got married. It was filled with tulips and was just as beautiful! The kids loved to walk along the paths and point out the bird houses and all the different colors of flowers they had. I think their favorite part was getting up close to the waterfall. After a little snack we took off and went to gma's to play in her pool to cool off. It was a fun day out but can I say just a tad to hot!

Such a cutie pie!

Love that smile!

Taking a break in the shade!

Seeing the waterfalls up close.



She wanted a picture of the waterfall in the background.