Ballet

Sarah started Ballet last week, and surprise surprise, she loves it. This little diva would wear her leotard the entire week if I let her. She was a little shy at the beginning of class but had warmed up by the end and practices at home. She is attending with three friends from our neighborhood. Thanks to the lovely ladies, Grammy and Aunt Ashley, for her sweet ballet attire they got her for her birthday back in July. Here she is on her first day.





Trying to master first position and keep her toes apart, heels together. Go Sarah!

Micah's Birthday

Micah turned 5 on August 24th. We had a swimming party; can you say mayhem? Thanks to Ben, Brett, and Haylee for your help keeping track of the munchkins.
The lazy river. Micah's head is right behind Kaden's, whoops.
Cousin Ben terrifying Braden and Landon.


You know who belongs in that space, Chasey! We miss you guys!
Some things I want to remember about Micah at this age: He has such a sweet tooth. He is famous for his, "I didn't eat it" face, even as his cheeks bulge. He is generous to a fault, especially with his sisters. He loves the high diving board at the pool.
Poor Micah has to have his tonsils out next month. I've been noticing his snoring the past six months or so, and his pediatrician referred us to an ENT who, while generally conservative, did recommend he have them removed.
Micah is loving kindergarten. He is thoughtful of kids who are left out. He loves all things remote control, and loves to ride his bike. I've had several parents come and tell me the funny, insightful things he has said in his church Primary class (among them, that he loves water because it's the healthiest drink and he gets really constipated). :)
Micah is pretty great at helping me around the house. He is also my ultimate cuddler; I can always count on him for a snuggle. He is a Star Wars fanatic lately, loves meatloaf, and I'm sure I'll remember more details I want to record about him later. So long for now!

Catch Up

Beware the long summer catch-up blog post. The past six months have flown by since Luke's birth, so here's a quick synopsis of our summer, in no particular order.
We celebrated Ben's birthday August 3rd--we had tasty chicken pesto sandwiches for dinner but boring brownies and ice cream for dessert, sorry Ben. He had several "helpers" with his candles.

Sarah celebrated her birthday July 30th. I took the kids to the Thanksgiving Pt farm to ride ponies and Ash came down from Logan for a family dinner.


Triple piggy-back rides in the backyard from cousin Ben.

A visit to Ashley in Logan. There's a great park with a shallow stream that the kids love.

Ash celebrated his birthday July 20th. We have an unspoken tradition of going to Market Street Grill for seafood on our birthdays. So we did that and then went to DI to scavenge some sweet finds. Ben had a dance party at home with the kids.
Fun times at Frog Pond.
Rog came to visit for a week. He put up with the kids using him as a jungle gym the entire time.
Visiting Ash and Kev in Logan.

We went camping up American Fork canyon in June. It was beautiful and good to get away for some quality time together. The night was freezing though, down in the 50s!! Bad planning on my part, I was a little too optimistic. Luke spent the night in my sleeping bag and we eventually ended up in the van in the morning. Still, it was so much fun. I didn't have to do a bit of cooking the entire time: Ash made delicious tin foil dinners with peach cobbler. Breakfast was potatoes, eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Hmmm, I think I'll move the camping stove into our real kitchen...



Yes, those are sweatpants on Luke's head.

Fun times with friends at Riverton Days. I must be getting old, because just looking at those roller coasters makes me sick now.

Eliza finished her first grade year in the ALPS program. She had a great teacher and only 15 kids in the class, so they all became really close. Here they are at the school's "outdoor classroom" (this grove of trees with tables throughout and fun little trails).We took Luke on his first hike to Cascade Falls, above Sundance in Provo Canyon. It's about four miles, and the kids held up really well. It's such a gorgeous spot.

Lots of sleepy mornings like this. Does it get any better?
Eliza and Tiffany at my nephew's wedding breakfast (Ben's brother, Timmy).
In May, Ash and Micah went on their first Father-Son campout. They had a great time, despite some strong wind and rain. I think Ash was hoping to sleep the next day due to the rough weather during their campout, but Sarah had been throwing up during the night at home, so we were both useless parents that next day. But Micah has great memories of his time with his Dad.

California

In May we took a trip to visit the family in CA. Since it's our 10 year anniversary this year, Ash, Luke and I took an overnighter in Yosemite, where we went on our honeymoon. It is so gorgeous there, we had a great quick trip. The waterfalls were magnificent from all the rain. A black bear ran across the road in front of our van, we saw deer and hundreds of overbearing, domesticated chipmunks. Grammy, Grandpa, and the aunts and uncles were kind enough to hang out with Sarah, Micah and Eliza so we could go.




The rest of the trip consisted of plenty of snuggling...

smores around a fire...

Uncle Tyler sabotaging us with plenty of candy for the kids...

...hitting the water park with Aunt Lynnsey...

and Kyle teaching Sarah baseball and various naughty tricks.



The highlight of the trip for us was Luke's baby blessing at Ashley's home. My sweet friend Lynette took these cute 3 month photos of him. Thanks for the great times, Buchanan fam. We love you.

Really?

Did my little Micah really just start kindergarten? Wow. He is really excited, especially to know a couple kids in the class already and to have the same wonderful teacher Eliza did. His pre-assessment with Mrs. Tipton went great and I know he's going to love it, although I will miss my Micah for that half of the day. He got a little quiet when we first arrived, but after the orientation activities, he told me goodbye with a smile and got down to work. Go Micah!

This face reminds me so much of his Grandpa Rex. I can't believe how old he looks. He picked out that dinosaur shirt for his first day.

Ben

I have an angel. His name is Ben. Ben is my nephew (long story, I'm not that old). Ben was here in June for his brother's wedding (my other nephew). He thought he'd like to give Salt Lake a try. He stayed a few weeks, and because we are so cool, he wants to stay for the school year. Woohoo!
Ben plays with my kids while I make dinner. He does a mean triple-piggy back ride. He asks to be excused from the table. He tells me dinner was delicious. He asks if Ash and I want to go on a date and he'll watch the kids (I feel like I won the lottery when he says this). Ben has dance parties with the kids when he babysits. He must be one of the 3 Nephites, I tell him this every day. Ben's presence makes me feel safe while my sweet husband sleeps in Logan every weeknight for the next 1.5 years for his job. Ben is extra patient, even when crazy Micah pees on his exercise equipment (sorry Micah, but you did). Ben just shrugged. Ben goes camping with us, hiking with us, and to Baskin Robbins with us. He is smart and witty and handsome. Young ladies, your countdown until Ben turns 16: 366 days. (See Jamie? I posted.) :) To my neighbors: he would love to make some cash mowing your lawn or walking your dog.

Crying Strawberry

Ash was in the kitchen this afternoon when Micah came in the house screaming, "Eliza's bleeding! Eliza's bleeding!" He quickly came to the back door and looked toward the swing set, to see Eliza sitting up on the landing, red streaming down her leg and her face in her hands, sobbing. He tore out there and when he reached her, he found mashed up, chunky strawberries covering her shin. Ashley decided it was a good time to teach them about the Aesop Fable, "The Boy who Cried Wolf." Eliza wants you to know she fell over laughing.