Merry Christmas!!

Jamison's Firsts

FIRST time at his own back-to-school night where he meet his new Kindergarten teacher. He had so much fun looking around the room for his name, putting his school supplies where they needed to go and talking to his teacher. He is very excited to finally be going to school.

FIRST time cutting his own hair. The day after back-to-school and the day before the first day of school, while I was getting some much needed end of summer cleaning done, Jamison did this number:

Oh the tears. First from my very excited reaction, then from seeing in the mirror what he had really done and lastly late that night when I had to shave his little head because of the really close cut he had done. Sometimes in life the consequences of our actions are really hard. In this case that is very true. He went to bed crying, saying that he didn't like himself, he was afraid that people would laugh at him, etc. It was ripping my heart out! I only pray that this lesson learned goes much deeper than just hair.

I am grateful that he has a very nice round shaped head- he looks pretty different, but still cute as ever! Also his FIRST buzz cut!

FIRST day of school! Jamison has been waiting for this day for over 2 years. I remember Spencer leaving for school in the first grade and Jamison having his backpack on ready to go too. It was really bright morning yesterday and he is now a big Kindergartner at Legacy Elementary!!

FIRST time walking into school.

FIRST time being in a classroom. We didn't do any kind of pre-school with Jamison. For him we just did an amazing playgroup last year. It was just what he needed. However he is very excited to be at school and is ready to learn new things.

FIRST day riding the bus. His first day of school I took him, but on the second day he wanted to ride the bus. He asked if we could get to the bus stop early (the park) so he could play before school. Jamison and Everett were in heaven having dad push them on the swings. Then the bus came and he quickly got his backpack on and jumped on. He is growing up so fast!!!

Happy little boy!!!

Whooo!!

Spencer is off at school for the first day of 3rd grade. I can hardly believe he is old enough to be in 3rd grade! He was very excited for this morning- he could hardly sleep last night and was up at 6:15am this morning. Getting ready for school was a breeze!

Sitting at his desk.

His teacher this year Mrs. McClurg. We are SO thrilled to have her. She is new to the school this year, but has lots of experience in literacy. Exactly the area that Spencer needs a little extra help. She is also excited for the new year and it really shows.

Getting to business! :)

New Toy!

Jamey is all about fun! He is most certainly a big boy!! When he saw on craig's list the chance to buy a go kart for the kids, he jumped on it. We took the kids to the church parking lot, where there was lots of room for them to drive around. They had so much fun. It was hard to get them to leave, but after a few hours we needed to be done. Running out of gas helped too. Spencer really was fearless, trying his hardest to get the go kart to its max speed of 25 MPH. Jamison on the other hand (who we thought was our "race car driver") was much more reserved. It will take him some more time driving to really warm up to speed. We hope to get out several more times before the summer is over.

Girls Weekend- Arizona

When I heard that my cousin was getting married, I started talking to my sister about trying to get away with just Jamey for the weekend. However she had other plans. Ashley talked to Jamey about just the two of us going- making it a girls weekend. So for my birthday present she bought my plane ticket- we were set to go. The plans started. We really planned to attend the temple sealing, sit by the pool, relax, get pedicures and shop. Well that's exactly what we did!

Here are some pictures of the weekend- my beautiful cousin and her new husband!

Nikki and Spencer- outside the Mesa Arizona Temple

I totally surprised my sister with a FUN ride for the three days. It was my job to get the car rental and her job to find us a resort. I had originally reserved a Mercedes, but they ended up not having it when we arrived. They gave us a BWM instead- hey it was fun too!! Better than a Ford Focus which I kept telling Ashley that we were getting.

Hanging by one of the EIGHT pools at our hotel/ resort.

Our last day in Arizona we headed to Scottsdale Fashion Square to shop. This mall was the biggest and fanciest I have ever been to. They had stores there that I have only heard about. For fun we had to walk into some of them- Barneys New York, Jimmy Choo, Cartier and more. We found H & M there, so I had to take a picture and send it to my friend Kris, who is dying for Colorado to open theirs.

It really was a wonderful three days. I am so grateful for such a wonderful sister who surprised me with the ticket and told me she wanted to take a sisters trip. Loved getting away and the company was fabulous!!!

Butterflies and Ladybugs

A gift we got Jamison for his 5th birthday was a Live Butterfly Garden and Ladybug Land. We had to wait until it warmed up to get our caterpillars and larva sent to us. Finally the last part of June they arrived in the mail. Daily we would watch the progress. The caterpillars going into their chrysalis and the larva changing into a beautiful ladybug. Then the time came for us to release the butterflies and ladybug. Jamison's excitement as Jamey would let each butterfly go was completely priceless!!

As we released the ladybugs, the kids let them crawl up their arms before putting them into the grass. Spencer really enjoyed this part, Jamison wasn't so sure.

Track

Spencer decided that he wanted to run track this summer. He is doing fairly well. His struggle is which he has learned (the hard way) is that he is not a long distance runner, but he really isn't super fast at short distance either. Much like his mother! I am so proud that he is sticking with it and trys his best every meet. He goes to practice every Tuesday and Thursday. Then we have spent two Saturdays with three more to go at his meets. The first meet in Aurora on June 11th, he ran the 100m, 200m and the 800m. These pictures are of the 800m. He started off with a bang, but didn't pace himself very well. He ended up walking some it. (The 800m is twice around the track- or 1/2 mile) By the very end he was wiped and finished in the back of pack. It took a lot of pushing for him to do his final event that day, because he was so tired. When I talked to him later that night and asked what he thought about his first meet- he quickly replied with "I am NEVER running that 800 again."

Get ready, set...

GO!!

The finish line- finally!

Then running the 200m.

I love his face- giving it all he has.

This is his race in Thorton on June 25th. I finally talked him into doing the 50m relay with five other team mates. They did pretty well, finishing in 3rd place.

His last event- the 100m.

Working

If there was one thing Jamey was excited about when we had our first son- it was that someday he would mow the lawn. I am pretty sure that it is one task Jamey does not enjoy doing. Lucky for him, right now Spencer is really enjoying it. Maybe it's because he is getting paid, who knows, but either way we'll take it. I loved watching the smile on Spencer's face as he would make a pass on the lawn- he felt so accomplished with his work. I can hardly believe that his is old enough to take on this task. What a big step!!