Kindergarten and 2nd grade

Camden and Makenna also had a day of firsts.

Camden's 1st day of Kindergarten:

Camden started at a brand-new school in all-day Kindergarten. I just have to say, he is a really cool little kindergartener. I could tell after the very first day that he was going to love kinder, and that this was just going to be his "thing." Because he has been reading since he was 2, and is a math freak (I know I might be bragging, but this IS my blog!) I was a little worried about putting him in all-day. I was afraid of him being completely bored, (because he could really be in Makenna's 2nd grade class and still have very few challenges.) But I strategically placed him with a teacher (Mrs. Fox) that does a ton of singing, and very hands-on learning, so I knew he would be engaged.

And he is loving it!!! He made a new friend right off the bat (Drew) and has a little group formed that plays tag at recess. He looks so cute getting in line in class, and like I said, he is just a really cool little guy!

Makenna's 1st day of 2nd grade:

Makenna started 2nd grade, and stayed at the same school (which is also the school I teach at!). She has Miss Simmons this year (who will be getting married in the Spring) and has been excited to see all her friends from last year. Unfortunatly, as she discovered the first day, none of these friends are in her class this year. :( But she still sees them on the playground and is making new friends in her class.

Makenna is liking school (maybe not loving yet, but at least liking) and is doing fantastic in math (a big focus at my school this year). The 2nd grade has this big contest for math facts and timed tests (remember those???). They are striving to reach a goal of "Math Master." Along the way, you have to pass off different milestones. Makenna is the only one in her class that has passed each milestone so far, and her classrmates are so cute because they keep telling me that they think, "Makenna will be a math master." If they reach this status, they get a t-shirt and everything. :) Go Makenna!

I am so happy to have them at my school! I can drop in and say Hi at lunch, and I just feel like I get to see them more. Here they are in my classroom waiting for the 2nd day of school to start. :) I look forward to a great year!

Delaney's First Day of Preschool

This is our 5th year at the same preschool. Makenna went 2 years there, Camden went 2 years there, and now Delaney begins her trek for 2 years there. I have to say, each "first day of school" has been hard for me.
It was hard to see Makenna go because she was our first little baby to go off to school. It was hard to see Camden go because he was so shy and I was so nervous about whether he would like it. And yet again, it was hard for Delaney to go because I had this sinking feeling of "This is it!" All of our children go to school now. Delaney is our baby, and with this, each "first" for her, is a "last" for Christian and I.

She was so ready though. She has been waiting to wear this dress ALL summer. It is actually the same dress Makenna wore for her first day of Kindergarten! Delaney wanted to wear this dress to school, and this was just the motivation she needed to get excited about preschool.

Of course the morning of school starting, Delaney discovers that her brand-new black mary janes that I bought her LAST WEEK are too small and hurt her toes. I scrambled it together and made her flip-flops THAT MORNING. Luckily I had matching ribbon!

Here is our sweet little preschooler. I just love this precious girl!

Bounce with Makenna

On her actual birthday, she had cheer class. Here is the group!!

This year Makenna decided to have her birthday party at The Bounz House. This was almost jeapardized by her cut on her head, but we waited an extra week and the doctor cleared her! With my birthday being the same time of the year, I know that many people are out-of-town at our birthday times, so there were quite a few not able to make the party. Some of her closest friends were able to come though, and her 3 of her cousins!

The kids had a great time bouncing,and i provided the fun socks!

Here are Julia, Makenna, Bailey and Jen.

Waiting to go in...

Silly Morgan!

The ball floated in the air, and then you hit it!

Of course the kids loved the slides!

Great picture of Jen!

Brock and Delaney always have fun together. (that's Bailey's brother)

The cake she picked out.

Present time.

The whole group.

She had a great party, thanks to everyone who came!

Happy 7th Birthday Makenna!

Happy 7th birthday to our super sweet, always energetic, and super sassy Makenna. You are such a creative and imaginative little girl who always can find a way to make the simple things fun. We love how affectionate you are and relish in our "cuddle time" with you. Dancing is still your passion and we could watch you make up your own dances every day! You are such a great role model for your little brother and sister and you have such special games you play with each. We are so lucky to have such a beautiful and sweet little girl like you!

A Bump on the Head

Makenna made one wrong move and is continuing to pay for that! We were at the gym, and Makenna was finished with her classes and was supposed to be hanging out in the back until I finished my class (like she does so easily ALL the time!) Well, her friend Bailey stayed that day and wanted to play out on the mats with Makenna. They were sent to the back and were being goofy, running there. Makenna managed to trip over a mat and face planted her head onto a door frame.

I was busy coaching and Makenna comes running over to me, blood running down her face. She wasn't crying, but she knew something wasn't right. I could see immediately that she was going to need stitiches. Someone later described it as it looking there was a bullet hole in her head, and it really did look that way.

I took her to the ER and requested a plastic surgeon to stitch it up. Makenna was such a trooper. At the hospital, the only time she cried was when she realized she would for sure need stitches. She remembered getting them above her eyebrow when she was 3 and it was NOT a great experience.

Well, the stitches themselves weren't that bad because of the medicine that numbed it and the medicine that made her loopy (which she did NOT take too well, she was hysterical and screaming that her throat was on fire...not a fun time to be the "tough" mommy)

Anyway, the surgeon found that the cut went right through a tendon and straight to the bone, so he stitched it up in 3 layers. It took about 20 stitches.

It still looks pretty rough at 1 month past, but with a regimine we hope to diminish that scar over the next year.

She still is such a beauty!

No Way!

I know, there's no way I FINALLY have an updated blog, right? Between losing my camera and moving, I had no motivation or time to update my blog this summer. Although the majority of our summer was spent packing up our house, we did manage to have SOME fun!

Our summer started with Makenna's last competition of the year. She closed off the season with a great finish! Out of 45 dancers, her solo got 7th (and there was some TOUGH competition!) her group dances did fabulous too!

Most of our soloists! ( top row - Hailey, Madilyn, Taylor, Savanna, bottom row - Madelyn, Makenna, Bailey, Emma, Natilei)

Of course there was some time with the cousins. (Remember I had no camera?!)
And there were sleepovers... And lest we forget the time with the wii!!! Their favorite game this summer was, Super Mario Brothers. That was until we got Super Mario Galaxy!!

And there were dance clinics. Let's see, the girls went to Pinkalicious, Wags and Whiskers, Popstar and Girly Girls.

And of course there was dance class. Camden actually got to participate in this too! A new class started this year, a boys hiphop/tumble. He loved it!!! Of course I have no pictures, but I can tell you that he really got into it and wanted to continue it this fall. I am actually teaching the tumbling portion and then he gets to do a little boys hiphop. So fun!!

Here is a random picture of Laney before dance class. She, of course, loves it!)

Christian and I went to Colorado at the end of June to attend my cousin's wedding. Cliff and Emily had a gorgeous wedding!
While we were there, 15 of us went white water rafting . What a rush!! The water was 36 degrees and our feet were frozen, but it was worth it! We spent Fourth of July at our house, which would be our last holiday there. We watched the fireworks outside Camden's window, sitting on chairs up above the patio. Delaney was pretty freaked about being on the roof, I wonder if she has a fear of heights?

We went to Makenna's choreographer baby shower. Just days later little Juliana was born!

Then, of course, there was the accident of the summer. I will do a follow-up post on this soon!

And then we moved. And we moved, and we moved, and we moved, and we moved. It was only 2 days before school started that we were finally out of the house that we have spent the last 4 years in. (This is also when I finally found the camera behind the freezer.) We loved living in that house, and in many ways it was a dream house for our family, but we are happy with our decision to move closer to the "city." For now, we are living with my parents and are so appreciative of their hospitality!

And that, my friends, is our summer! I really want to keep it up again!