1st Grade.............

Julia was nervous but excited for the first day of school. Back to school night was great. We took a little trip around the school, playground, and her new classroom. She picked out her own cubby and she found her very own desk. She was excited to see all the supplies and books in her desk. Then she went to meet her teacher, Mrs. Coombs. She was really nice and was excited to meet Julia.

With a good nights rest and a good breakfast we were ready for the day. Julia was excited to go. She got her lunch box for her birthday and we packed a lunch the night before. She was all set to go. We hopped in the car and off we went. I walked Julia up to the playground. She didn't want me to go and couldn't remember where she was suppose to line up but we found a friend and she was able to stay and play since I had to get off to work.

 

Julia was happy to be done with her first day. She came out of the school almost in tears. She said she had missed me and that is was a really long day. I said it would be ok and only get better. We went home to have some snacks.

1st grade is definitely an adjustment. Every morning she is practically in tears and says she doesn't want to go to school because she will miss me and that school is soooo long. It has been a fight for the first 2 weeks to get her to go. She wouldn't let me leave the playground without finding a friend first and she doesn't want to get into the car to even get a ride with friends to school. She tells me that she cried in class and at lunch. Then I got a call from Julia's teacher after the first week of school, asking if there was anything we could do to help Julia? I didn't really know what to say because this was all new to me. She loved pre-school and kindergarten. So we talked for a little while and discussed some solutions. I haven't heard back from the teacher so that's a good sign.

UPDATE: This week has been better. I just told her once you get to school everything will be fine. You'll find friends to eat with and play with and then if you start to cry just say a little prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help you not to cry and to be brave. It has been working. She did call me one day before lunch because she just missed me so much. I even told her today (Friday) that today was the last day and they don't have to go back until Tues. because of Labor Day......she was excited about that!

I know it will get better the more she goes. She will make new friends and have fun in her class. It just takes time. I know because I was the same way. Every day I saw the school come into view I would start to cry.......BUT once I got to school it was fine and I know Julia will be fine too!

Happy 6th Birthday..........

Julia LOVES her birthday's. She always has a count down and will look at the calendar to see how many days are left. She was so excited this year to turn 6! I wasn't....she is getting to big! Usually she has a theme picked out months in advance for her birthday but this year she kept changing her mind. So I told her we needed to decide and it was a toss up between a Minnie Mouse party or a BYU party......and her choice was BYU. Not your typically birthday party theme but we went with it and it was so fun. Right up the Cromwell family alley, if you know what I mean. Layne and gma Mott were so excited for Julia's theme, I think they both said it was the best one yet :)
      

I had to work a few hours in the morning but I got everything the night before. She got up and was able to see the decorations and cake before I left for work. She LOVED it! Once I was done with work she decided that she wanted to go see the movie, Turbo. So we invited whoever wanted to come and gma Mott, Kristy and her kids came too. It was a fun, cute movie.

We got back home and she wanted pizza for her birthday dinner. So we made pizza and waited for the party to begin. Most everyone showed up in BYU attire and we also had the "little ute" who refused to wear blue that night :) Everyone had a great time. It was fun to watch her open each gift. She kept trying to guess what each one was. She loved everything she got and was super excited for cake and ice cream. And for me, this was probably the easiest cake to make. Nice and simple, love it when that happens. A big THANKS to everyone for making her day so special!

 

I wasn't sure what to get Julia for her birthday this year so I asked and this is her response: "I want a clock with a bell on it that rings and Disney money, and after that I don't care what I get."

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Julia is up to at 6 years old:

*She weighs 42 pounds and is 43" tall

*Her favorite colors are pink, purple, and blue

*She likes to eat at the Pizza Pie Café and get noodles with red sauce

*She loves red velvet and oreo pop tarts

*Favorite fruit is watermelon

*She loves nuts(pistachios especially) and rootbeer

*Favorite thing to do in school is gym and recess

*Her favorite teams are BYU and Michigan

*Julia LOVES playing with her friends.

*She is excited because she finally has a loose tooth :)

*She is really good at reading.

*She is a tomboy and loves playing t-ball and soccer. Her first game she scored a goal!

*She can certainly be a girly-girl and dress up and do her hair and nails when she wants to

*Julia loves to swim and be outside.

*She loves to sing along to Taylor Switft

*Julia is so good at the Wii Dance games...she gets her moves from her dad!

*She still loves to wrestle with dad and especially gpa Cromwell

*You can always hear her quoting movies or TV shows

*She still needs to have a night light and her light bright on at night for bed

*She is becoming more and more independent

*Julia is great at helping out around the house with chores if she has a check list she can mark off

*She is very competitive, she loves to play sports and games

*Favorite things to watch on TV are Phineas and Ferb, Woody Wood Pecker and anything Disney

*Her favorite places to go are Disneyland and (both) grandma's houses :)

 

Happy 6th Birthday Julia. We are so happy to have you as a part of our family! You are such a great big sister to Christian and a big help to mom and dad. You are so smart, important, funny, silly, caring, strong and brave! WE LOVE YOU!

 

 

Bear Lake and Rodeo Weekend.....

Well, shortly after the 4th we headed back up to Preston for our annual Rodeo Weekend. Layne wasn't able to join us at Bear Lake because he had to work. He was going to drive up Friday to come for the Rodeo but the car broke down and he couldn't make it. So I was going it solo but I survived. I came home totally exhausted but it was worth the trip.

We started off by going to Bear Lake on Friday. It was a gorgeous day! The beach was packed but we found a little spot to set up camp for the day. Its a trip to get everything down to the beach but so worth it. Julia was so excited to come to Bear Lake again. She talked about it the whole way up to Preston. Just before we got to the lake she was saying over and over again....."This is going to be so fun, I love Bear Lake. It's going to be the best day ever!" My kids love the water and they had a blast. It was fun to have the cousins there to play with too. I decided to brave the sand and water and brought my camera. I'm glad I did! I think I was able to capture the fun we had!

                    The kayaks are always a big hit. Julia did pretty good at doing it all by herself.

                     

                                           Everybody loves to get a ride in Grandpa's boat.

                     

                              Our newest addition to the Cromwell Clan. Little Miss Chloe.

                                

Having a blast at Bear Lake

We stayed a long time at the lake and the drive home was quiet. Christian passed out before we even got onto the main road. Soon after Julia fell asleep. It was a peaceful drive back to grandma and grandpa's.

Saturday Andy, Whitney and the kids showed up. We had a great lunch before Andy and Whitney left. Julia was so happy to see and play with Hailey again. Got a group shot of all the grand kids, everyone is getting so big.

 

                                                 He loved grabbing all the Tootsie Rolls.

Later we headed to downtown for the big parade. Candy was tossed, picked up and also consumed. Christian had all he could handle after 20 mins and so he was off doing what he does best.....running off so mom has to chase after him. After the parade we headed back to grandma's to say goodbye and then home we went. We skipped the carnival this year. Without Layne there was no way I was doing that by myself. Besides they hit the carnival when it came to Eagle Mountain and got their fill of rides :) It was a fun weekend catching up, eating, and having fun. Thanks to gma and gpa Cromwell for always planning a great time when we come.

Pictures of the Week...........

 

                                     

                       STRIKE A POSE............

                                         

                   In your new summer pj's!

I hope they call me on a mission......

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, they finally got the envelope in the mail. So today they had all the family either on the phone, computer or gathered around while they read us their call. Malta, Italy, in the Rome mission. HOW EXCITING! We are so happy for grandma and grandpa Cromwell. You will be such wonderful, fantastic and strong missionaries! We love you. Thank you for setting such a wonderful example for all of us.

Before we got the phone call, for fun, Layne had us guess a foreign and state side place we thought they would be called to and here was what we all picked. Who ever came closest in miles won a prize.

Layne:      Netherlands.........California
Julia:        Japan....................Michigan
Christian: Germany..............Georgia
Karrie:      New Zealand........Florida

Christian was clearly the winner!!

Our gut picks to where we thought they would really go......

Layne............Florida
Karrie............Italy
Julia..............New York
Christian.......Sweden (we had to interpret quite a bit what he was trying saying)

Medicine....

Christian opened my bedroom door and quickly ran out when he saw me......I knew that wasn't a good thing. I found him with Desitin all over his face. This is our conversation:

Me: "What are you doing?"
C:    " Medicine."
Me: " Where does that go?"
C:    " It goes on my bum. Medicine goes on my bum."
Me:  "Let's go show dad."
Dad: "Well done."
C:     "It's medicine....... I put medicine for my cheeks."

Uh, wrong cheeks pal!!

4th of July.....

We normally just stay home and catch a Bee's baseball game but this year we headed up to Preston for the 4th. It was great because everybody was in town and we were able to spend time with everybody. It doesn't happen often enough so it was fun to catch up and see everyone!

We got up and went to the Lewiston 4th of July parade. It started off breezy and cool but right before parade time it got hot. We got a great seat and the kids were ready. Shouting for candy to be thrown to them is always the best part. Christian just stands and waves, we clap, we shout, hoot and holler. 

 All the cute girly girls!

 Trying to stay cool

                                   

In the afternoon, the kids to a dip in the pool to cool off and Christian took a much needed nap!





 Later in the evening, the girls surprised us with a little 4th of July program. The 3 girls did a little song and dance number. Julia loved this and said her favorite part was when Ella and Hailey picked her up. Then the boys also joined in to help in a little parade and then we all said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Star Spangled Banner. A group then headed back to Lewiston for the fireworks. Julia was again excited to go and be with Ella and Hailey. She said she had so much fun. Layne and I were to tired to wrestle with Christian for the night so we stayed home. But it was a great day spent with family!