first day of school + looking back

Today these three little buddies along with Jared and I walked down the street to their first day of school. Trevor had already ran out the door to catch his bus to middle school before I got a picture of him, Seth starts pre-school next week and Andrea goes to school in a different school district and was with her mom this morning. But these three just skipped down the street as happy as can be. I can't wait to hear how their days went when they get home! Jared has been making them some cookies for an after school snack...lucky kids (and lucky me)!

Syd and T both started going to preschool when they were 2 since we lived right next door to a Spanish Immersion pre-school at the time. These are the pictures from their first days from age 2 to present. It's so fun to see how they have grown!

I am glad to have some more structure after having a crazy schedule this summer. I have planned out a daily schedule for myself to try and help me maximize my time during the day while the kiddos are at school. It feels good to have a plan even though it will probably need lots of tweaks. And now for the homework...

Fishing and Food

I admit that when Jared's fishing buddy said we were getting up at 3a.m. I was not a fan! I consider 3a.m. a late bedtime, not an early wakeup time! They decided they didn't want to scare me off completely from fishing so they kindly bumped the alarm time to 3:45a.m. Once we were on the water the sunrise was so lovely it did make me wish I was a morning person. 

I don't feel like I can say I really caught this fish after seeing all the effort and planning that went into getting it...the right fishing spot, the right time, the right bait, the right hook, the right net to get it in the boat etc (none of which I had anything to do with)... But Jared and our fishing friends were very nice and let me reel it in, which in the fishing world apparently means that I officially caught it. This is a steelhead and I had never eaten a steelhead until the night before. It's kind of like salmon, but less fishy. Delicious!

The water on the Columbia was calm until the big boats passed by and sent waves rippling through their wakes.

We had gone to Washington to tie up some loose ends from the move and had decided to make it into a fun trip so we went fishing and we also went to a farm and picked lots of blueberries and a few other things including peaches. Now our freezer is stocked with blueberries.

In our house it seems like Jared is always cooking up something delicious. All the kids love to watch Cupcake Wars so one day Jared decided we would do "Cookie Wars". We had three teams and I got the best job of all because I was the judge!

Jared is a master bread maker. One of the things I don't have a picture of is his rendition of the brown bread they have at The Cheesecake Factory. It was amazing! And these cinnamon pull aparts were divine!

 Homemade pizza, donuts and bread...

Watching the cookies bake. So sweet. 

I am starting to feel my clothes get a little tighter so it's time for me to find some activities to off-set all this delicious food! What I really need is some tennis buddies. 

I am so lucky that Jared loves to cook! I love it!

Our 1st Summer

It has been an interesting summer...sometimes it's just Jared and I, sometimes we have 6 kids, sometimes we have 4 kids, and sometimes we have 2 kids. So many different combinations and dynamics. I started off the summer all gung-ho with grand schemes of all the kids dutifully working on their summer goals and doing chores before any electronics were turned on, but alas, that didn't last very long. I'll consider it a win that all the kids just made summer goals. Maybe we can actually work on them next summer, ha ha. I decided that it was quite a big undertaking just to unpack and organize and adjust to our new blended family and get to know new people and get to know the area. So, I have tried to proceed through the remainder of the summer with my expectations in a more realistic place, which has been better for everyone I think. 

All things considered, getting married, me moving to Idaho, Jared moving to Idaho, a broken arm, and a baptism, I think we've still managed to do some fun things here and there mixed in with the kids playing too many video games and watching too much tv. Sydney and Talmage have also had their own additional adventures with their dad and step mom in Utah...they went on an RV trip, they went to two family reunions, and to Lagoon, just to name a few highlights. Here's a few things we have been up to as well...

The Discovery Center of Idaho provided several hours of entertainment for all 6 kids not to mention for Jared and I. Definitely a good place to visit if you are ever in Boise.

Blowing bubbles in the giant bubble maker and eating the ice cream they made while we watched were my favorite attractions. Well actually, watching the kids do those things was actually my favorite part...the looks on their faces were priceless, especially Seth's...he was just filled with wonder and excitement and it was so fun to see.

The Bed of Nails!

We also checked out 2 local beaches...Eagle Island and Lucky Point. A few weeks ago there was a big outbreak of a virus at Eagle Island and everyone who was there that day got sick (luckily we weren't there that day), so I think we'll just stick to Lucky Point and the pool from now on. These pics below are from Lucky Point.

The day after Sydney and Talmage arrived in Boise they were riding their bikes all over the neighborhood. Towards the end of the day I was in the driveway and Sydney was about 5 feet away from me and she was stopping her bike and her bike wheel just caught the edge of the driveway funny and she went down hard. She screamed and I knew right away that it wasn't just a scrape. After a trip to the Insta Care and some x-rays we found out that she had broken her humerus, but luckily it wasn't on her growth plate. After a week in a splint and 3 weeks in a cast Sydney is back in the pool and it appears that her arm has healed.

She chose a blue cast to go with her favorite movie, Frozen. Before she went back to Utah we blinged out her cast with Modge Podge and glitter.

These were taken right before I took them to the airport.

The ward we are in here has a phenomenal scouting program for the 11 year olds which I'm told is quite unusual since the main scouting program doesn't start until age 12. Trevor went on his first campout without his dad and had a great time and has done lots of other fun activities as well.

And sometimes, I think doing simple things at home make the very best memories of all...

Sydney's Baptism

Sydney got baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on July 5th. Sam and Kacie's family came up, my parents came, Barry and Bridgette flew in from Denver, and Becki and Tyler came for the pre-baptism luncheon. It was fun to have some guests come see us in Boise and see where we live. The kids just had so much fun playing together.

 All the kids being entertained by the Wii before the baptism. This was a rare moment with everyone sitting down. It seems like most of the weekend they were in constant motion running around the house playing hide and seek.

 Sydney with Nana (her paternal grandma)

 Sydney's doctor gave her permission to take off her splint (she had broken her arm while riding her bike) just for the baptism.

 My dad practicing with Sydney before the baptism. (Thanks for the cute hair-do Kacie!)

 Leah, Sydney's step sister, giving her a sweet spontaneous hug.

 My dad baptized Sydney.

 And her Grandpa Walters confirmed her. It was really special that both of her grandpa's could participate in such a significant way on her special day. Barry gave Sydney such a beautiful blessing.

Sydney and Leah. So sweet.

It was a great day!

I had taken some baptism pictures of Sydney back in Provo when the blossoms were out and if you want to see them they are on my old blog here: http://babywalters.blogspot.com/2014/04/sydney-in-orchard.html

Sydney and Talmage just returned yesterday from being in Utah with their dad for almost an entire month. It's the longest I have ever gone without them and I'm so glad they are back. Tomorrow they have swimming lessons and are going to "Superhero Camp" for a few hours and today we had some friends over for dinner and we also went over to a neighbors home for a little get together so they are getting right back into the swing of things.

Hope you had a great Sunday!