Gavin Started Kindergarten!

As crazy as it sounds, Gavin started Kindergarten this week!! I can't believe he is already in school!! He has been so excited to go to school and has been asking throughout Summer when he would start.

So he was lucky and got his name picked in the lottery for a charter school that is super close to us. Also, our neighbor across the street got picked too, we found out she and Gavin are in the same Kindergarten class!! He is doing full day Kindergarten which is 8:30am to 3:30pm but the first 3 days he got out at noon so they could do assessments.

We have our first day pictures and Avery wanted her picture taken too. We had to keep her from getting in front of the sign for a picture!

Gavin got to pick his seat and our neighbor decided to sit at the same table with him, so he was excited about that.

He was pretty funny when we picked him up from his first day. He was disappointed they didn't do any science experiments and the only art they did was coloring. Ha! We will see how he does with the full days coming up!

Other things we have been up to this Summer...as you know we had Covid go through our house. Carlton got it on one of his work trips then Avery wouldn't stay away from Daddy, so she caught it. Then she wouldn't stay away from me, so I got it and Gavin got it. The kids were over it in a couple days. Carlton had a cough that lingered a couple weeks and I had sinus congestion that lingered a couple weeks. But we are recovered and still wearing our masks!

We have also been doing some yoga...

Playing in the rain and playing on various playgrounds...

The day before Gavin started school, we visited a giant store in SLC area called Scheel's. It's 2 stories and they have a ferris wheel inside! 

Avery loved the Ferris wheel! Gavin wasn't so sure at first but decided he liked it right before our ride was over.

Now Avery is enjoying some one on one time with Mommy while Gavin is at school! I thought she would have a hard time adjusting but so far she seems fine. We will see when he is gone all day instead of half day.

Rough July

So the kids and I were solo for a bit this month because Carlton had to work in Palm Springs Tuesday through Friday for 2 weeks in a row. They did enjoy using their new pool and we got a new cover for it as well so we don't have to take the canopy down every time we use it (we can't leave it up because the winds here are too strong).

This is actually supposed to be a carport but it works really well for our pool!

The kids have continued to enjoy their new beds - I got a couple pictures of Avery reading books in her bed one day.

In other news, Avery earned her certificate for reading 1,000 books before Kindergarten. Gavin earned his some time last year...or the year before.

Another reason this is a rough month is because Carlton caught Covid on his last trip to Palm Springs but didn't have any symptoms until 3 days after he got back. We were really good about him being quarantined in the guest room and using a mask anytime he was around us....However our young children do not really understand the whole "germ" thing and Avery just really wanted Daddy cuddles. 

So 4 days after Daddy tested positive, Avery woke up with a fever. We took her to urgent care on Saturday and her fever was 104. She had just had her first dose of the vaccine a couple weeks prior, so at least she has one dose! After sleeping most of the day yesterday, she seem better today. She's still taking medicine to keep her fever down and Daddy feels better but still has some symptoms and tested positive this morning. So we are all trying to be careful with cleaning, hand  washing, mask wearing, etc. Hoping that Gavin and I stay Covid free!! He and I are both fully vaccinated...but so was Carlton, so we will see.

To end on a cute note, here is a video I took of Avery singing to herself. She does this quite often and it's fun to listen to her made up songs.

New Additions

No we didn't get any pets but the kids are super excited about two new additions to our home! The first one we received over the July 4th weekend!

We got a pool!! The kids are loving it - especially in the summer heat! We have been using it about every other day since we got it up.

The other new additions are:

BEDS! The kids finally got bed frames for their beds! They were very excited about putting books in their new headboards and filling the drawers under the beds with toys. We do have bed rails up on both beds now - just didn't get pictures with those on.

Carlton has been traveling for work and has been in Palm Springs during the week. So last week the kids and I made personal pizzas one night for dinner. Gavin was too messy in his pizza making, so I did not get a picture but here's Avery! 

Daddy came home for the weekend and the kids were so happy to have him back. They spent lots of time playing with Daddy. Here is a short video of Avery with her Daddy.

That is all we have for now!! Enjoying a quiet Summer and preparing for Gavin to start Kindergarten in the Fall!!

Grand Tetons - last couple of days

 After our lunch with the fox (in previous post), we took the kids back to the Visitor's Center so they could get sworn in as Junior Rangers for the Grand Tetons.

From there we drove to the Moulton homestead area on Mormon Row. There were 33 farms in the area at one time and now 6 remain. The T. A. farm is famous for being one of the most photographed spots in Grand Tetons.

The next day we got up early, drove to our destination before the kids were up, and ate breakfast in the parking lot again. This time we were able to get on a boat to go across Jenny Lake and do a 1 mile hike to Hidden Falls. Without the boat ride to get across the lake, the hike would have been 4 miles and we weren't sure the kids would be able to do another long one. Plus it's a very popular area, so we wanted to get there as early as possible.

Here is a video of the falls.

And here is a video in slow motion!

Our last stop in Grand Tetons was near Jackson Lake where we had lunch and then tried skipping rocks in the water.

On our way back to Utah we stopped at Shumway Farms which is known for their homemade ice cream. So we got cones for the kids and took a couple pints home! The kids enjoyed the playground area and seeing the animals.

Here is video of them playing on the swing.

That's all for this trip!! Hope you enjoyed the pics and videos!!