Fall is Coming

We drove the Alpine Loop this morning in the Uintah National Forest so we could see the beautiful fall colors. They are especially vivid this year! We stopped about halfway through so the boys could take a short hike and collect some leaves of their own. I love the changing of seasons, and fall is one of my favorites.

Dads & Donuts

Today is Ian's first official Dads & Donuts at Draper Elementary. He is so excited. I think Kim is too since he gets to take both boys. For those of you not familiar with Dads & Donuts, the PTA provides donuts (Krispy Kremes) and milk, and all the students bring their Dads and read together for 45 minutes before school starts. Our school has it once a month. It is such a great way to promote literacy!

First Day of Kindergarten

Ian started kindergarten today at Draper Elementary. Despite the thunderstorm, he was so excited to start school. His teacher is Miss Ipson, the same teacher Connor had last year. He also sits next to Marissa Brunt who is also in his Primary class. It will be nice to see familiar faces today.

First Day of First Grade

Connor started first grade this morning. He is in the dual Chinese immersion program at Draper Elementary. He will spend the morning learning the language, math and science in Chinese with Mrs. Smith. His afternoon will be spent with Mrs. Snow learning language arts in English. He loves learning and he loves school.

Back to School

Connor and Ian both had met their teachers today at Draper Elementary and had their assessments. Connor officially starts first grade tomorrow and he is in the dual immersion Chinese class. Mrs. Smith will teach Chinese in the morning, and Mrs. Snow will teach English in the afternoon. Ian starts kindergarten on Aug. 30. His teacher is Miss Ipson, the same teacher Connor had last year. They are both so excited to start school!

Our Favorite Things

Here are some of our family's favorite things, in no particular order:

1. Making cookies

2. Playing Monopoly

3. In-N-Out Burgers

4. Visiting Grandma

5. Soccer games

6. Making up stories in the car

7. Family Home Evening

8. Ian's magic shows

9. Chocolate brownies

10. Ice cream

11. Saving money

12. Webkins

13. Wipeout

14. Toy Story 1, 2, 3

15. Redbox

16. Homemade pizza

17. Wheel of Fortune

18. Rain

19. Cell phones

20. Reading before bed

21. Baths

22. Clean, crisp sheets

23. Watching old family movies

24. Zermatt Resort

25. Mini golf

26. Ipods

27. Chips of any kind

28. Charleston Chews

29. Kathy and Nicole (former nannies)

30. A quiet, clean house

Kindness Continues

Our neighbors and friends continue to do so many kind things for our family. A young woman in our ward, Alex Saxton, brought these darling cupcakes over a few weeks ago. The boys loved them -- of course they love anything that has an Oreo cookie on top. Alex is so thoughtful and probably had no idea how much I love sunflowers. I was so impressed she wanted to do this since she is busy trying to get ready to leave for college. Thanks Alex!