Lil Missy... Fashion Diva

So tonight I asked Krystian to get ready for bed and get some clothes picked out for school tomorrow...

I got a good laugh when I walked into my room to find her outfit neatly "displayed" on my bed!
Not only did she pick out something that relatively matches, but I LOVE the added touch of the belt looped around the shirt. That's SO Krystian!

~10 points for matching and a perfect 10 for display technique~

Hiking, Hiking and more... yep you guessed it Hiking!

Now that fall is just around the corner, the girls and I have been heading out into the moutains for some fun filled hiking... it has been so nice to just get out of the valley!

Krystian and I went hiking with one of my good friends up to Twin Lakes, just above Brighton ski resort. The hike was a short 1 mile hike... straight up the mountain! I wish I were kidding, but no, straight up is an accurate description! Krystian was practically running up the trail the entire time... she kept telling me to go faster! Little did she know, I was about to pass out at any moment! :)

The girls and I also went up to Silver Lake with my brother Jason and his family. My sister-in-law and I had decided to take family pictures while we were up there. Apparently we were the only ones that thought this was a good idea! We were the only ones taking it seriously anyway! Taking pictures of the kids should have been farely simple, but then I remembered that my brother was with us and taking things serisouly isn't well, his style sometimes! The kids spent more time laughing at him than smiling for the camera! You gotta love him though... he really is one funny guy... oh, and a huge goofball!

Lots and lots of pictures...

Let The Fun Begin...

Wow... a lot has happened in just the past few days! The girls went back to school on Monday. I'm not gonna lie... I'm excited, but a bit sad too. This was the first summer, since I can remember, when I have been able to be home with my family all day. I LOVED it! We had a great time! I am especially glad because I got to spend precious time with my girls... when they all went back to school this week I realized that life is passing by way too fast and they are growing up even faster!

Kayla is starting the 8th grade... she literally grew up over night! She is so incredibly beautiful with her long dark hair, green eyes and no-nonsense attitude... I swear if the boys don't stop calling I just might lock her up somewhere! ;)
She's trying out for the soccer team and the school play/musical this year. She is taking dance and cheer and after 4 years of playing the violin, has decided to move on to playing the cello! She is so incredibly outgoing! Kayla also is a morning person... she gets herself out of bed every morning at 5:30.. and NO, I'm not kidding! Not too many teenagers would ever think of doing that, especially on their own!
Kayla is quite the entrepreneur too... for a year now she has been kind of running her own babysitting business and doing really well. She pretty much pays for what she wants all on her own... I've tried to buy things for her, but she INSISTS on paying for things herself! I am so incredibly proud of her... and so lucky to have such a great kid!

Cammy is starting the 5th grade this year... she's going back to school looking like a completely different girl. After 10 years she finally gave up the "all one length hair" and let me give her some "long swoopy bangs" as she calls them. She also got glasses over the summer which made her look older instantly!
She's beginning the flute this year and is already planning her art project for the reflections contest. Cam is an AMAZING artist! She is really into Anime Profiles and all sorts of Japanese cartooning... I won't be surprised if she becomes a very successful cartoonist someday.
Cammy is my mellow child... she's completely happy drawing or reading a book or conquering Monkey Ball on her DS... She is such a sweet girl!

Krystian just started 1st grade... I am SO sad!!! I've been home alone for 3 days now and while I've been busy, it just isn't the same at home without her! She is one sassy little girl! Apparently all of the girls in her class fought over sitting at the desk next to her!
Krystian is taking dance and of course wants to be a cheerleader someday. I really don't know how I ended up with all of these girlie~girls! She lives in her pjs... it is a tun of work to convince her to actually wear clothes to school... and the first thing she does when she gets home... yep, you guessed it! She changes right back into her pjs! Her goal in life right now is to grow up and "be a mom just like my mom"... she melts my heart every times she says that! :)

As for me... well, after a five month search for a job I FINALLY got one! Funny thing is that it wasn't what I expected... meaning I wasn't really looking for it! I had been applying to design firms all over the valley and with the market being so bad, no one has any work to do and therefore isn't hiring! I had been going back and forth about returning to school and getting my teaching degree when an actual teaching job fell right into my lap! I'll be working at an elementary school in Murray... I'll be working mostly with children in the lower grades as a reading specialists, and also tutoring in math in the upper grades. Honestly I couldn't have asked for a better job! Obviously I'll be working school hours, so I'll be able to be home when my girls are home! I really feel so blessed and so lucky! I start on the 8th of September... I meet with the teachers, then start planning my curriculum for the year. If anyone would have told me a month ago that I would be doing this... I would have told them that they were crazy!!! I can't tell you how excited I am though... after such a long job search and feeling so defeated... I really feel like this is where I'm suppose to be!

Sometimes things happen exactly as they should!

This is what life is all about!

Today seemed like just another Sunday, but I am going to bed truly grateful for the good things I have in life.
A couple of priesthood holders in our ward came over this evening to give the girls each a priesthood blessing to begin the school year with. This has been something that I have done for my girls since they started school... I've always "recruited" a few of my friends to come over and do this for my girls... but with everything being so crazy the past few weeks I kind of let it slip thru the cracks this year... so imagine my surprise when 2 good friends of mine showed up on my doorstep this evening.
It was such a wonderful surprise and I was so happy that even though I hadn't made the time to ask, these two friends took it upon themselves to act. They said they "just had a feeling."
I am SO grateful!
All 3 of the girls were so excited! There is just something so sweet about watching your children light up when it's their turn. Krystian was especially fun to watch... she's 6 years old and all over the place at times, but the moment it was her turn... she hopped up onto the chair with a huge smile on her face and sat so still, arms folded, eyes closed and that huge smile... well, it never left her face... it was quite endearing!
I am one lucky mom!