See you soon, Marley.

This weekend we went up to Snowflake for the graveside services of Marley Ray, Michael (Kevin's cousin) & Clarice's 6-month old boy who passed away last week. He had a rare genetic disease (immune system) that affects the body's ability to fight diseases. He was in the hospital for a few weeks before he passed on. Although this event is a very difficult and sad experience, it was amazing to see the strength and testimony of Michael and Clarice and their two beautiful daughters. As I looked at these photos last night, I was reminded of what these two said as they let a balloon go for their little brother: "Have a fun time in heaven, Marley!"

Dinner by Collin

Collin made us pizza for dinner. I laid out the English muffins on the baking sheet, and he did the rest. He was so fun to watch! When I told him thanks for making dinner, he said, "Wait until after you eat it." Everyone thanked him after dinner, and he was very happy to hear all the "thank you's". He was so proud to make us dinner all by himself.

First Day of Preschool

Our Montessori preschool is back! Today was the first day of preschool (in our new and improved schoolroom!). Collin and his cousin Jace were my two students - they were very good and did really well. We started at 9:30 and went 'til noon. Since it was the first day, we went over our classroom rules (i.e. choosing work, carrying a rug, taking care of materials, etc.), phonograms (yep, all 71!), letters "m" & "s", did a name collage, and even sat thru 2 chapters of "My Father's Dragon". They enjoyed singing the Popcorn song (Jace asked to sing it twice). You should have seen these two dance and "pop!" to this Laurie Berkner favorite. It was a fun day for me and the kids - Collin's only complaint was that he only got to pick one thing from the shelf (of course he worked on it for a long time). Thanks Maddie for napping thru school, and thanks Jace for coming!

Jasmine

Photos of my niece Jazzy. She didn't want photos taken, but her dress was so cute. These were stolen shots.

9 Months Old

Milestones this last month:

- says "mama" (to get my attention or when she wants to nurse)

- says "baba" more than other words (hi, a-da)

- stands up in crib, walks around furniture

- waves bye-bye

- claps her hands

- feeds herself finger foods, will take a few ounces of formula
- sleeps in crib all night (goes to bed around 7:30 or 8 p.m.)

- has a pretty good napping schedule. naps between 9:30 and 12 noon. p.m. daily; (perfect for my home preschool schedule)

- loves her blankie (still)

- Collin can make her laugh a lot.

First Day of Piano

Today was Allie's first day of piano lessons. We hope it will be as exciting as it should be, and that she will have fun learning this new skill and some patience along the way (inevitable with piano!). She attends class at Miss Cindy's, who is in our ward and lives just two blocks from our house (very convenient!).

3rd Grade

Allie's first day at Chaparral Elementary went pretty well (we chose to send her here because it is only a mile from our house). It is a new school so it looks very nice, and very big, at least compared to Rock Canyon. So it was a little overwhelming, even for me. There are four big buildings and three big playgrounds where the kids line up in the morning before class (there are 1000). School starts at 8 and ends right after 3.

Allie was a little nervous and scared (who wouldn't be?). I walked her to her classroom and met her teacher, explained we were new in the state. She was pretty nice and new to the school also (I'm not sure if that's all entirely good). I left the school thinking that we are definitely NOT in UT anymore -- big school, no crisp Fall air, and although there is a good number of LDS students, they are not the majority. Although I didn't cry, I started missing her when I left the parking lot. I will miss all the Hannah Montana karaoke days (yes, all day!).

Allie came home and told us she had fun! She likes her new school and made friends by asking if they were Mormon. One of the girls, Arianna said, "No, I'm Italian!" Some said, "What's that?!" She did make two friends -- Arianna and Lexie. She found two LDS boys in her class (not in our ward) - she didn't care to know their names, she said she saw their CTR rings and rubber bracelets that read "I am a Child of God". She also got to write an essay about what she would do if she had $1 million. She wrote "first, I will pay tithing to my bishop". She had to explain what tithing was to her friend. Definitely lots of missionary opportunities at school. It will be a great year!

Packing Day

Today is packing day. The movers are here packing up our whole house. The house is starting to feel odd with all the stuff getting boxed up. Collin made a comment to me as he walked thru the kitchen this morning -- he said "Mom, this doesn't feel like home." I guess he will start to feel like he's home again when we get all unpacked in AZ. I am running like crazy getting everything organized and telling the movers what to pack and what to not pack. At least I'm not packing the stuff myself though. I figured I better post for one last time before they come downstairs and start boxing up the computer. We will have no computer and no TV before the end of the day.

Tomorrow will be when everything will be loaded on to the big van. I will post photos next week or when I get to a computer next.

Sunday

We paid the Ruppers a visit today. The kids had fun using the giant tire swing.

Moving

It's official -- Kevin's days of commuting are finally coming to an end. (Kevin works as in-house counsel to a construction company in AZ and has been flying back and forth EVERY week since last summer.) We will be moving to Gilbert in about two weeks. We are going to be renting our house here in Utah to my siblings, so we can still come back every once in a while to visit (July 4th, etc). Although we are sad to leave, we are excited to start AZ life (don't ask when it's still 110 degrees there) and having Kevin home every night. Another plus is that we will have Kevin's family around. We are also so glad to be moving into our new home that is located a mile north of the new Gilbert AZ temple. We are hoping they will break ground soon enough so we can see the temple from start to finish. Wouldn't that be exciting! I will post more photos when we get settled in our new place. Any ideas for the yard?

Our new school room is the room at the top of the stairs.

Next to my dedicated school room, the kitchen is my favorite. I will of course post pictures of our new school room when I get all my materials out. I think that will be the kids' most favorite room!