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7th: We got back from our Texas trip in time to catch the last few weeks of summer before school started.
13th: Paul and I joined Stewart, Lorraine, Merrilee and Steve in an 18 mile run down Big Cottonwood canyon in preparation for our Marathon in a month. This was the longest I'd ever run and I loved the downhill nature of the course. I felt really good after running and it gave me a lot of confidence going into the marathon.
We swam a few more times, went the the museum, fun things with cousins and visitors. We also said goodbye to our favorite babysitter Lauren Hunt who is headed to college. Lauren has been babysitting for us since Nolan was a baby and she has been such an answer to prayers. The kids love her and she will be missed!
14th: We spent the day in Ogden for Sarah Callister's wedding to Blake. We attended a luncheon, the sealing and their reception. In between the sealing and reception we took the kids to the "Treehouse Museum" and it was so much fun! The cutest kids museum and the perfect way to pass the time during a busy wedding day! Their reception was at the Callister's and it was absolutely gorgeous!
15th: We went for a RZR ride up the canyon to the secluded Forest Lake and had a picnic. We soon found that the lake was completely full of salamanders! The kids had brought their net and bug catcher and buckets in hopes of finding something and with dad's help we caught 61 salamanders in our bucket! The kids loved scooping up their slimy bodies. That night we went to the Andrus' in Midway and got to hang out with Jeff and Melissa and their family!
That night Maddie and Caitlin got to have a sleepover and Caitlin was in heaven. The girls were absolutely adorable all snuggled up in Caitlin's bed and they actually slept really well! They had so much fun and even wore matching dresses to church the next day.
17th: We had a "meet the teacher" day in preparation for school and both kids' teachers seem great. Then we went to the Gottfredson cabin for the day.
19th first day of school: the kids were really excited for their first day. The night before we had our "Back to School Brinner and Blessings" We had breakfast for dinner and then Paul gave Caitlin and Nolan each a special blessing to start the school year and then we did a fashion show of our new school clothes and picked out outfits. Caitlin came down the next morning at 8 AM dressed and ready to go. School doesn't start til 12:00. Nolan woke up in the best mood. So we spent the morning getting ready and eating good breakfasts and then we stopped by Dad's work beforehand to show off our outfits and then stopped by the grocery store for treats and then it was finally time! the kids reacted exactly how I thought they would:
Caitlin got a little nervous in the car before walking in about being there and said she was sad to be away from me. I reminded her that she's done this before and she knows what school is like and knows how to do it and I'll be back in just a little while. We reapplied her lipstick and she felt good to go. We took Nolan to his class and she helped him find his name and we saw our cousins on the way over to her class. She walked in and her teacher remembered her name and complimented her necklace and dress (perfect for this words of affirmation gal) She got her name tag on and then turned to me like I was dismissed. I got a hug and then I left. She seemed a little unsure but putting on her brave face. Afterward she was all smiles. She said she had a great time and they did lots of fun things. She said her teacher was nice and she liked her class. She'll be great!
Nolan was SO excited to go to school and couldn't wait to get out of the car when we pulled up. He unbuckled and opened the door and said "let's go!" I asked who wanted to get dropped off at their class first and he said "me!" He walked ahead of us to the door and walked right in and to his class. He slipped inside and waited patiently as his teacher was helping a few other boys. Then Caitlin helped him pick his name tag and his teacher helped him put it on. Then he turned and said "Bye mom!" I made him give me a hug then he said "Bye mom love you!" And ran to go play with the toys. Afterward he gave me a detailed report of what he could remember that they did. He said they looked at a flag but only his teacher could hold it (i'm assuming the pledge of allegiance) and they sat in a circle. I asked "did you sing songs?" and he said "no. I didn't sing. Norah sang." "oh so everyone else was singing but you didn't want to sing?" "Nah I didn't wanna sing." I asked if he played with the other kids and was nice and he said, "yah i was nice. The green shirt boy wasn't sharing" "did you yell at him or were you still nice." "I didn't yell. I just told him 'you need to share' he's gotta work on that!" He has his little friend Norah in the class and his teacher is really nice and happy. I asked him if he wants to go back again and he said "YES!"
22nd: We spent with weekend between the Gottfredson cabin and bear lake with friends and had a lot of fun playing in the water, rive, catching animals and spending time together.
25th: The kids had their first soccer game! Caitlin, Nolan, Cason and Corinne are all on the same team and Paul is the coach! The kids love having him coach and they had a lot of fun their first game. Paul hyped up scoring a lot and Caitlin was SO determined to get a goal. She scored one and she was SO SO happy. She threw her fists in the air and turned around and ran into Paul's arms on the field yelling, "I did it!!" As Paul was holding her I could see her face and I saw that she was literally crying tears of joy!! It was hilarious and adorable.
*Another unfortunately: Paul was supposed to go on a caribou hunt in Alaska this month, had been planning it for a year now and the guide called about a week before and told them the animals aren't moving and they should cancel their hunt. He was very disappointed after all his excitement, planning and preparation.
