5Th and 3rd.Yes, you read that right. It is not a typo. My BABIES are in 5Th and 3rd grade this year! Where has the time gone? How did they grow so fast? Why is Alex so BIG? How did this happen? Okay, enough obvious questions, let's talk about them!
They were both super excited to go back to school (ME too). Sieauna is especially excited because 1) she got the only male teacher in the school; 2) he's allergic to tree nuts too!; 3) they are the only class that gets to use laptops; 4) her teacher plays the guitar for them in the morning. Alex, well, (seeing as he will probably never read this) totally has a crush on Miss Crocker. I'm referring to the kind of crush where his eyes kinda glaze over and he answers her questions with "Uh huh." It's soooo cute. I picked them up from school yesterday and Alex said "I love Miss Crocker! She is so funny, and she giggles, and she loves recess and she has four sisters and MOM SHE WENT TO BRIGHTON TOO!" But I think Sieauna's response wraps it up best: "Mom, it was the best day EVER!"
I LOVE my nieces and nephews. One of the best things about being an Aunt is getting to spend time with those cuties. On this particular evening, the two youngest of the clan were especially loving and adorable and I couldn't resist taking some pics.
This summer both the kids learned to jump off the diving boards at the pool. Alex kicked it up a notch and decided he has no fear of heights! He proceeded to jump off the high dive, the first platform and finally the second platform at Cottonwood Heights all in the same afternoon! The kid is CRAZY! 
Mom turned 60 this weekend and what a week/weekend it has been! We started off the "surprises" with a visit from Nanny and Poppa. They flew in all the way from New York to be here for their daughter's big day. I picked them up from the airport with a little surprise for them....all their great-grand kids there to welcome them to Utah (including the two babies they hadn't met yet!) We took them home to mom's house for lunch. Sieauna played a couple of tunes on the cello and it was wonderful to just sit and chat and catch up before mom got home from work. 
Mom was totally surprised to come home and find her parents waiting there for her. She was a little confused and emotional and it was wonderful to see her so happy! Later that night, we all gathered together again at mom's to talk and have dinner with the surprise guests whom we've missed so much!
Up to the cabin they went for surprise number two: Dad had a hot tub installed at the cabin! Mom was so excited! Saturday was the big party and 34 of her friends and family came up to the cabin to celebrate with her. Her long-time friends, Day and Rich flew in from Phoenix and her "other sister" Judy came in from Colorado. Along with all the family and other great friends, it was a party to remember. Her talented and adorable grand daughters preformed a dance for her (sooooo cute!) and she even got a rendition of the Phineas and Ferb "I Love you Mom" from me (haha-not impressive trust me!)
A fun week and weekend for sure. We love you mom. Hope your birthday was all you imagined. You are beautiful and definitely DO NOT look 60!!!!!
We love Pineview Reservoir. Really REALLY love it so much. This year was perfect in every way. From the super soft sandy beaches and "just right" cool water, to the nights by the campfire, to celebrating my awesome sis-in-law's birthday (she is the Thelma to my Louise), Pineview is always one of our favorite camp spots EVER. We had such a fun time and we all complained when it was time to pack up. We were there for four days and spent two full glorious days right on the beach. We brought our food for the day down with us and stayed until dusk. One of those days we had a jet ski and even though the water was a little rough, it was still a total blast. My kids could not get enough of the water! They were like fish all day everyday, especially Sieauna. They are looking like little golden sun kissed beach babies! They good part about this is that they slept like rocks after playing so hardcore all day long. Alex met a little friend, Dakota, who is the same age as him. The were inseparable and played together all day long for three days. Their family even took Alex boating with them for a bit! They were so cute together. When it was time to say goodbye, we exchanged phone numbers and Dakota said "I wish I had a brother and I wish it was you". It was so sweet. 
One night Justin and Ken took the kids fishing and Sieauna caught her first fish! It was soooooo cool. She caught a very small large mouth bass. She was consumed in pure joy and was so proud. We were so thrilled for her. It really sparked a desire to "do it again!" 
Justin toted the Big Green Egg and cooked up "do it yourself" pizzas. Total hit (even if it was a little time consuming). He rocks the Egg and we really should just build a cart on the trailer to tow it permanently :). 
I miss the sound of the waves. I miss the sound of the boats and miss the warm sand between my toes. I wish we could go back NOW but alas, there is that thing called "reality" that we must return to. Ahhhh well, it was magnificent while it lasted.
