My Seven Year Old!

This was taken on his birthday. I swear the older he gets the less he wants to smile for the camera. He'd rather make faces! Emmet was super excited to turn seven. All his birthday wishes came true!

Emery is Five!

I am in complete denial that my youngest is five!

I adore her to pieces.

We celebrated with family and had a fun "princess party". Her friends came in their favorite "princess dress".

Flowers

I had an unexpected surprise yesterday. There was a knock at my door, and a cute women handed me this beautiful arrangement of roses. I don't know who they are from, but THANK YOU!

Life has taken so many unexpected twists and turns for me. I never imagined I would be going back to school, but yesterday was my first day of class. I am working towards a masters in speech pathology.I sat in class yesterday just beaming because I was loving it! It's difficult to explain, but my heart just sings when I'm in school! It will be a challenge juggling all my different hats, but the challenge excites me!

First Day of School

I can't believe it, school started today! My kids were so excited they were up at 5:30 and by 7:25 too excited to stay home. So we walked very slowly to school.

Sweet, Emery so excited to finally be part of the group. I thought she might have a hard time this morning, but she was full of confidence. She played on the playground and wanted to be the first one in line to walk into her classroom. I even had an update from a friend that she saw Emery at lunch and Emery was happy, playing with new friends.

Emmet starting first grade and more excited than he'll admit. He has the same teacher and class as last year! So, I know it will be a great year.

Both were very proud of their backpacks!!

It's so crazy that I have the entire day to myself. I thought I would cry more than I did, but I planned a busy day for me. Thank goodness though I start school next week!

Summer Fun

In May I remember crying to my mom how I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the summer, and know here I am with school starting in three days!! It turned out to be a wonderful summer. I love the sounds of summer. I love listening to Emery and her friends playing house or hearing the heard of boys (8 to be exact) playing a nerf war upstairs! I love, love that we can finally have friends over without any altercations! All the while I was sitting at my kitchen table studying for the GRE! I was amazed at how well I could retain new information even with the chaos that ensued. I did take the test last week and I'm happy to say I don't have to take it again, I got the score I wanted. Little miracles do happen. When you've been out of school for over 10 years, it's hard to get in the habit of studying.

Here are my favorite pics from this summer!

My mom and I took the kids to California for four days.

It would have been my 11th anniversary and California was Sam's favorite place. So we got out of AZ to enjoy some cooler weather.

We also took the kids to Lego Land and had a great time. The crowds were doable and the park only stayed open until 6pm!

In July we headed to Park City, Utah for a Hawkins family reunion.

It was beautiful and we had a wonderful time!!

Emery wore this vest almost everyday. She was never seen without accessories!

Emmet loved swimming with his cousins. They were constantly having chicken fights.

One evening we all wore matching shirts and enjoyed a great picnic. Emery loved the inflatable bowling.

Emmet loves his cousins.

Emmet also loved the giant bathtub in our hotel room. He taught himself to "bubble bend".

Another night we had relay races. Emmet was hilarious.

Emery loved playing with her baby cousin Emma.

Summer is winding down and a new chapter for our family begins Monday. Emery begins all-day kindergarten and I will no longer have her at home! Tears have already been shed, Monday could be rough.

It was the first swim meet of the season and to my relief Emmet took first place! He told me on our way to the meet that he really wanted a blue ribbon. As a mom you really hope their desires come true, but I was doubtful. What a fun surprise to see him so happy!!