Brigham City Temple pt.2

We had the chance of going to the Brigham City Temple Open House with my family- Sean and Ella were able to make it this time- it was really special to be in the Temple with my little family! One of the highlights for the kiddos was getting to ride the bus up to the Temple- they loved it! It was the last day of the open house so it was SUPER busy- the line was so long!! By the time we got in they kids loved it, but were ready to be done once they saw the fountain outside. A cool little side note- the 1st Counselor in our Bishopric is an artist- an awesome artist. He works for the church and him and another artist did all the artwork/murals in the Baptistry. It was cool to look at one of the murals and see Gracie's little friend Branson in the picture. I didn't notice it, but our Bishop and his daughter were also models for the mural. What a neat experience!

Sometimes (and by sometimes I mean everytime) I wonder why we try to get a cousin picture!

LOTOJA and Yellowstone

My Brother Brian participated in his 9th LOTOJA this year!!! I can't imagine riding my bike from Logan to Jackson! We look forward to this every year and love to go and cheer him on. The gals were especially excited. We left on Saturday morning and went to different spots and waited for him to come by and cheer for him. Gracie had made him a cute little sign and was so excited to hold it up. This year there was a smaller crowd of family to support him- my dad and Sher were his support and me and the gals, my mom, and Sean even joined us this year. Brian always says every year is his worst year, but I am so proud of him that he has done it 9 times! We decided to stay an extra day and come home on Monday, so on Sunday we drove into Yellowstone. We love Yellowstone and Gracie really wanted to see Old Faithful so we did that.

This is Brian and his really good friend Landon, my mom could not get over the fact that they were riding up the canyon carrying on a conversation!

The night before, we had cheered our hearts out for the Aggies on their win over Utah- so the gals still had their tattoos on their faces.

I never am ceased to amazed over the Tetons and how majestic they are!

The gals were excited to have a picture with Tetons and buffalo in it.

These gals sure adore their grandparents and we are so blessed to have them!

As with the Tetons, Old Faithful never fails to disappoint!

Gracie Starts Preschool

Gracie started her 2nd year of preschool at Rainbow Preschool. She sure misses Little Star Preschool and Teacher Paskett, but she is starting to love Teacher Holly and is beyond excited to get to go with her best buddy, Garrett. I can't stand that she is getting so big- I sure do love this little gal!!

Brooklyn's First Day of School

Someone please make time slow down!! My Brooklyn started 3rd Grade this year!! I can't believe it. I still remember my 3rd grade year- I loved learning cursive and times tables. Brooklyn was so excited for 3rd Grade and getting to have our good friend Karen Luthi for her teacher, then we decided to move. I never have cried when she started school, she was always ready and so excited! I think I more than made up for the years of not crying this year. As we were walking into back to school night, she was ringing her hands and breathing hard saying, "I am so scared mom, I am so nervous." It took every ounce of self-control I had not to start sobbing. We walked into back-to-school night and did not know a soul!! I felt lost in the school- I can't imagine how she was feeling. The next morning, I walked her into to school and into her class- she was so nervous and scared- I told her good-bye and got out of the school as fast as I could, got to the car, and sobbed. I can't even describe the guilt I feel doing this to her. She has a GREAT teacher that we are so thankful for and has made some friends. This week has been a super hard week for her and she has shed many tears missing her friends and her old school! She is going to Summit Elementary in Smithfield- this school is very different and much more diverse (financially as well as culturally). I know she will have a good year once she gets used to it!