Idaho!

Our summer wouldn't have been complete without a trip up to Grandma & Grandpa's house in Idaho.

The girls LOVE the tire swing

You get candy at a parade?! Score!

At the Eastern Idaho State Fair

(my cousin hooked the girls up with some ice cream)

I love this picture of Elise with her great (and he truly is) Grandpa

a shark tank in Idaho?! we're not safe anywhere!!! :)

Elise saw the rides and said "Yea! Disneyland! Me love Disneyland!"

gotta love the carousel

and a roller coaster for Isis

Awesome storm - downpour, hail, thunder, lightening

for a family that doesn't get weather... we loved it

sunsets from Grandpa's front porch are some of the best 

After the storm we had "Save the worms!"

I love my Grandpa so much! His life has not been easy but he didn't let that grow him into a grouchy old man. He is kind, soft-spoken, strong, and quietly goes about doing good. He is wonderful.

We also got to make a stop on our way up and again back down, to see our good friends the Gianis. Such buddies...most of the time ;)

Guess Who Just Rolled Over?!

This 4 month old cutie!! 

We love you Aubrey!!!

KINDERGARTEN!!!

Is it possible my baby girl is old enough to be in school??! How did we arrive here so quickly? Well, even if we weren't ready for Isis to start school, she certainly was. Can you tell? :) 

 Elise was excited for Isis.    

Showing off her fancy 1st day of school (very) sparkly shirt in the sunshine. 

 Almost time to start...

 Friends from church also in her Kindergarten class.

 Going into class!!

 Finished 1st day!

 What better way to celebrate than at the splash park?

 And then I went to town with 1st day of Kindergarten pictures. I love this girl!!!

 Tired of Mommy taking 1st day of school pictures.... :)

Some of our Favorite Children's Books

I had a good friend ask for children's books we like. (She's already getting ready for Christmas! Go her!) In our house, that's quite a request. So I thought I'd post most of the books we read regularly. :) Enjoy!

King Bidgood's in the Bathtub
Ten Little Fish
Alphabet Rescue
Heckedy Peg
Strega Nona
Brown Bear Brown Bear
The Rainbow Fish
Me and My Mom
In a People House
The Tooth Book
Dr. Suess's Sleepbook
Sneeches and other stories
One Fish, Two Fish
Cat in the Hat
Green Eggs and Ham
Dr. Suess's ABC
Fox in Socks
Mr. Brown Can Moo
Olivia
Olivia and the Missing Toy
Diary of a Worm
Diary of a Fly
Wolf! Wolf!
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Actual Size
Fancy Nancy
Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy
Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly
10 Minutes to Bedtime
Goodnigh Moon
The Spooky Old Tree
The Bear Detectives
The Missing Dinosaur Bone
Go, Dog, Go
Are You My Mother?
How I Became a Pirate
Pancakes for Supper (the original story is not politcally correct but is called Little Black Sambo)
The Early Bird
Tikki Tikki Tembo
The Funny Little Woman
Where the Wild Things Are
The Relatives Came
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
If You Give a Pig a Pancake
If You Take a Mouse to School
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Love You Forever
The Spider and the Fly
Manana Iguana
The 3 Snow Bears
The Mitten
Hedgie's Surprise
Click Clack Moo
Miss Nelson is Missing
Blueberries for Sal
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Just a Mess
I Was So Mad
Put Me in the Zoo
New Tricks I Can Do
Five Little Ladybugs (I think the original has 10 ladybugs)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Sheep in a Jeep
Never Talk to Strangers
Poetry: Where the Sidewalk Ends, Casey at the Bat, My Dog May Be a Genius
 A Treasurey of Childrens Literature (compilation of fairytales)
Once Upon a Time (compilation of fairytales)
Nursery Rhyme books
*As a side note, I think every child should be familar with the following (because there are many stories based on similar themes or storylines):
The Little Red Hen
The Gingerbread Man
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
The Three Little Pigs
Cinderella
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Ugly Duckling
Tortise and the Hare
Little Red Riding Hood

What are some children's books your family loves?

Aubrey's Blessing

First Fairy Visit!

 Just after Aubrey was born, Isis got not one but TWO loose teeth! Both front bottom teeth began to wiggle. On July 1st, after much wiggling and bending and twisting, Isis pulled out her first tooth. She got a note from the Tooth Fairy telling her that she (the tooth fairy) was going to put her tooth in a baby shark. :) As you can see she was a little freaked out during the process...

but was excited enough to take her self-portrait. :)

 The second tooth fell out 3 days later. Here's that first gap smile. :)