This face

Sometimes I take my kids by the cheeks and just stare at their faces. (They know the drill, so they let me do it.) They grow so fast and I feel like I have to soak in every freckle, dimple, and smile. It may sound crazy, but I have already seen how fast they change. So tonight instead of just staring at Josh's cute face and foe-hawk (that he was so excited to wear to school), I took some close up shots. He even posed a little for me.

Josh is a wonderful boy and fantastic brother. He brings our family so much joy. He loves learning and is enjoying all the fun that comes with Kindergarten. He is very thoughtful and cares about his family. He wakes up every morning full of life and excited about the day ahead. I am thankful for this cute face that brings happiness to our family everyday.

Camp Nauvoo

In August we were able to attend a ward camp-out at Camp Nauvoo with our Mills family.
The boys started off the night with multiple games of Yahtzee. Grandma Jean is so patient and played quite a few games with Josh.

We were able to spend time with our family and our old ward family. It was nice to catch up with some friends.

Here's the Mills' encampment. The tents in order from left to right, ours, Peter and Janell, Teri and Grandma, Jeff and Dorene.

Matt-man modeled Grandma's cot for the night. Yep, she brought her recliner. She had a great night's sleep, for camping.

Parker helped Jason ring the bell for the kid's activities.

Parker and Mitchell were comparing their Spiderman swimsuits.

And of course there was a lollipop hike...

and some face painting or in Josh's case, arm painting.

Cameron and Josh participated in the balloon relay.

The balloon "toss" (or fight) at the end of camp is a tradition.

Last, Josh's favorite part, catching a ride on the raft with his dad.

Camp Nauvoo is such a beautiful place. My husband did his Eagle Project here. He planted trees and built some benches. Josh thought it was so neat that his dad did that. He even complimented Dave on it. I thought that just made his project all worth it, his own son was able to come and admire his hardwork. We love spending time with any and all of our family. It was a nice end to our summer full of fun!

These boys

I've been trying to start some weekend traditions with our family. So, I've told the boys they can sleep in their sleeping bag on Friday nights and watch a movie. They love it, except tonight is Sunday... they just wanted to snuggle up in their bags, but ended up drifting right off to sleep.

These two men are peas in a pod. They greet each other with a hug just about anytime they've been apart for a long period of time. When we pick Josh up from school, Parker is waiting to wrap his arms around Josh's waist.

I hope they'll always love each other like they do now.

Labor Weekend

We started out of our weekend with a date to the Squeeze Inn.

Check out my burger and I ate the whole thing!
Not all the cheese though, but it was tasty.

Friday night we all went to bed by 9:30 pm so we could get up early to go to the lake.

The boys were so excited to go on the boat.

We were impressed by some of the skills that our friends had on the water. Jeremy can wake skate and he wears regular shoes to do it, with no bindings. Pretty awesome. Then another guy in our group had some good height on his jumps!

The boys loved being on the boat. They both got in the lake and swam a little.

Then the big boys got on the tube. Dave, James, and Jeremy were laughing like teenagers out there. It was fun to see. Dennis gave them a run for their money.

I had so much fun wake boarding. It's been a long time, but I was glad to get the chance to get out on the water.

First day of school x 2

Our boys were excited to start school!
Josh modeled his new outfit and shoes for the first day of Kindergarten.

We had an orientation the day before and he was feeling ready. He liked his classroom, playground, and teacher.

The whole family was able to drop Josh off on his first day.

Right before it was time for the parents to go, Josh started to get a little nervous. With some words of encouragement (and maybe a reminder of the McDonald's lunch afterward) he had a smile on his face. He waved goodbye and officially commenced his school career.

To celebrate, after school we went to McDonald's for some lunch.
The man at the counter let Josh have his choice of the Happy Meal toys.
That might have been the highlight of his day.

While Parker didn't start on the same day, he still had to model and wear his backpack to the elementary school.

They insisted on a few poses too...

and there was some dancing involved.

Then finally, it was Parker's turn for his first day. He was excited!
(and had misplaced his glasses)

We got to preschool and waited for dad to meet us. Parker was so excited I could barely keep him in the car.

I asked Parker if I could get a picture of him before he headed in.
He ran right up to the door, posed and then knew right where to go. He's been waiting a long time to go to preschool like his big brother Josh.

The night before preschool Josh gave Parker all the tips on the best toys, some of the rules, and his favorites. It was really cute to hear the two of them talk. Parker listened to him too, then gave him a report when he got home from school.

I love these boys. They bring so much joy to us!