Carnival Fun!

Every year, a large catholic church in town puts on a huge carnival for one weekend in their parking lot. I took the girls two years ago but we didn't go last year. This year, the girls really wanted to go so we headed over there after Daddy got home from church.  

First stop was the petting zoo. The girls loved holding little chicks. Kyle wanted to hold one until he he felt its sharp little feet. He then wanted nothing to do with it. Makena held a bunny but the poor thing was shaking so badly. Kyle loved the miniature pony and spent most of his time petting it. 

The kids rode a lot of rides. They loved all of them and we loved watching them have so much fun. Their first ride was of course the motorcycles. 

I think she's ready for a real one!

I loved that they had plenty of rides that Kyle was tall enough to go on. 

I read on the website that they had pony rides. Makena was so excited but when we got there we found out there were no pony rides. She was sad but was probably just as happy to ride the merry-go-round. She loves horses -- even the hard plastic kind!

 

It was getting hot and we ran out of ride tickets so we went to play some games in the tent. The games were made for little ones and every player won a prize. The people working the booths were super sweet to the kids and didn't mind when Kyle stood closer than he was supposed to or when the girls didn't quite toss the beanbag in the right spot. The kids were so excited to win prizes. 

We look forward to the carnival again next year!

First Grade Assignment

Karis' first homework assignment was to bring a few "artifacts" about herself. One of the things she had to bring was something special or unique about her family. She just read the word "special" in the assignment and thought she had to bring something that was special to her. Not knowing that, I didn't understand why she kept asking me to take pictures of Fluffy for her. I thought she wanted a picture of Fluffy because Makena had a picture of her and Bunny that she was using for her assignment. 

We soon cleared up what she was supposed to bring, but I still took pictures of her and Fluffy. I then found a picture of her and Fluffy when she just turned two years old. What a difference four years has made! She has grown up into a beautiful little girl and Fluffy remains her favorite (and surpassingly in tact!). 

First Kindergarten Assignment

Makena got her first kindergarten assignment. She was so excited to work on it. She wanted to make one last year when Karis made hers. 

Her assignment was to make a small poster about herself to put in the class book. She will share her page with her class so that they can get to know her. 

We talked about what she wanted on her page. We used photos and images from the Internet. I helped her with the layout and then she glued everything on. 

She had so much fun!

And she loved her page! 

Of course, Kyle wanted to take a photo with his picture too...

Kyle's First Day of Preschool

The girls have been in school for two weeks and I definitely enjoyed my fun, low-key little buddy all to myself.  But the last couple days, I have to admit, I was a little excited for Kyle to start school. My list of "things to do when the kids go to school" was getting long and I was eager to get them done (projects around the house, stores where I want to shop alone, etc). 

I couldn't tell if Kyle was excited to go to school. Summer was a long time for a little three year old and preschool as a two year old was only a distant, fuzzy memory. He goes to school at our church so half the time I don't think he even knows if he's going to church or school!

When I was getting him ready for his First Day of School picture, he started to get sad and said he didn't want to go. In the sweetest little voice, he asked, "Mommy, are you going to stay with me?" I almost started to cry! I knew he would enjoy school but I could feel his uncertainty and nervousness. He loved the cars on his picture I made, so he cheered right up and happily let me take a picture of him...of course, with cars in hand. Perfect.

He wanted to walk to school (just like sisters), but I convinced him we best take the car.

When we arrived at school, he wanted to see Daddy first. When he saw Daddy and all the other kids arriving, there was nothing but excitement. 

He wanted to carry his own backpack (something he never did last year) and told me he'd show me where his class was. He walked right in and got busy playing at one of the tables. He had a great first day!

The next day he was the line leader and he had an even better day! His teachers are super sweet. One of his teachers taught both of our girls as well. We are excited for how much he's going to grow and learn this year. Such a big boy!

First Day of School

The girls were enjoying summer and it wasn't until Teacher Assignment day that they started to get excited for school. We were excited to find out that Makena got the same teacher that Karis had. When Makena found out, she hugged my leg and kept saying, "Yay, Ms. Carlton." Karis didn't know any of the first grade teachers so she didn't have a preference, but she wanted to be in the same class with her best friend. She was assigned to Ms. Taylor's class with her best friend! We couldn't be happier. 

We bought new dresses with matching nail polish. Nana bought them cute rings and Mommy and Daddy gave them a necklace to hold on to if they got sad or nervous at school. 

Makena was super excited -- "Mommy, can I go to school now? Please, mommy!" "Is the first day of school tomorrow?" "How many more days?"

Karis, on the other hand, was nervous and she kept saying she didn't want to go to school. She said she wished Makena was older so she could be like Makena and get a teacher she already knew. She wasn't sure about her teacher, especially since she loved her Kindergarten teacher so much. After we painted her nails and gave her the necklace, she started to get excited, but her stomach was still filled with butterflies.   

The girls woke up on Monday morning excited and ready to go. I didn't even get any complaints while taking pictures!

Daddy has a "I only carry Kindergarten backpacks to school"-rule so Karis carried her own backpack. She looked like such a big girl!

Makena was so excited to walk to school with sissy. 

A quick picture before heading inside.

We dropped off Makena first so Karis could give a quick hug to Ms. Carlton. The girls are right across the hall from each other. 

Saying good-bye to Makena was much easier than saying good-bye to Karis. Makena was excited and we knew she would be in great hands with her teacher. 

Then we took Karis to her classroom. 

After she put her stuff in the cubby, we said our good-byes.

They both had a great first day. Makena met a new friend, Kylie and ate lunch with her. I see God's humor in that Karis met a friend named Makena and Makena met a friend named Kylie! 

Even though Karis liked her teacher and had a great day, she still felt nervous that night. It looks as if it's going to take a few more days to completely get rid of the nerves and adjust to all the changes and new things about first grade. 

On the second day, Makena said she cried a little in the library while watching Veggie Tales because she missed mommy and daddy.  =(

At The Salon

I have cut the girls' hair since they were little. Well, Karis didn't really have any hair to cut until she was about three years old. At any rate, they have never had their hair professionally cut. Thankfully, their hair is curly so the untrained eye can't see my lack of skills in cutting hair (so I think!). 

With school starting, I thought it would be a good excuse to get them a professional hair  cut. Here is a before photo of the girls.  

 

We went to see my hairdresser. Karis was up first since Makena wasn't sure what was going to happen. Karis came with me one time to get my hair cut, so she knew what to expect 

This is how much hair Karis got cut off. 

Then it was Makena's turn

She got a lot more cut off her ends. She still had a shorter spot that she had cut herself, but now her hair is all one length!

The girls love their new haircuts and they look super cute!

Before and After

 

On another note... this is what the girls really want to do every time I pull out my camera!

Wrapping Up Our Summer

Summer went by fast! We had a great summer doing a little bit of everything. The first part of the summer was busy with playdates, activities and traveling. The second half was more relaxed and we spent a lot of time at home (playing well together!). The kids have grown so much closer to each other. Here are some pictures we took this month. 

Enjoying a birthday party with swimming, dinner and snow cones

We went to a couple birthday parties for Makena's friends. 

Daddy met us for lunch at Chik-fil-a

Lazy mornings on the couch watching TV

The girls mainly played with their Legos but every once in awhile they broke away and played with other things

Silliness at home

This is the way Kyle kept me from turning the TV off one day. He put the remote really high up so I couldn't reach it

A train ride at the mall

Back to school shopping

Dinner out -- pho and then slushies right after for dessert. Yum!

Taking care of little brother

There was no sleeping in this summer for this little guy. He typically woke up around 6:45 am every morning. The only other one awake at that hour is the dog. 

We swam several times at Miss Lindsay's house. We got to hang out with her the day before she left for school 

 We created a new craft area in the back hall for the kids

Karis is always hoping for mail. You could probably guess that on most days she is sad because Daddy gets all the mail. I told her to make a mailbox and then she and Makena could make mail for each other. She loved the idea so I helped them make their mailboxes. They spent the rest of the day (and the next couple of days) writing love letters to each other. It was super sweet! Kyle wanted in on the action too, so we made a mailbox for him and he received a few pieces of mail too!

Here are just a few cards Karis received from Makena

Here are a few cards Makena received from Karis

We got a swingset for our backyard! Most days were too hot to play outside but the kids were able to squeeze in some time in the early mornings.

We are looking forward to a little cooler temps. We are all a little happy and a little sad that school is starting next week!