First Day of School

There were so many unknowns leading up to the start of this school year ... like how long they would even stay open for example. If there was one thing we knew for sure, it was that our kids would thrive being in school. Like Liam, Lyla's fall birthday made her the youngest one in her class but we signed her up anyway for her first year of preschool. She goes 2 days a week to a little in-home school near where we live. I've never seen someone more excited for their first day of school!! She begged for the last day of summer while hauling around her princess backpack filled with her very own school supplies. That morning, she held my hand and acted shy when we first walked inside but then transferred hands to her teacher's she never looked back. She's such a big girl! She adores her teacher, "Miss Melissa", and all 5 of her new friends in her class. She wishes she could go every day. So far she has learned all of her colors and that "Ya Ya" starts with an "L". haha

I surprisingly enough didn't shed a single tear as I drove away but I did experience a bit of an identity crisis the first couple weeks as I navigated what to do with my time without someone clinging to my feet all day. I'm now so thankful for those few hours a week to myself.  

Liam started a week later (on Lyla's 3rd birthday to be exact). Our first child in public school ... where does the time go?! His first day of Kindergarten looked a lot different than any of us imagined. Instead of pulling away on that beloved school bus he so anxiously waited to ride, he was logged in to his class on an iPad at a desk in our living room. There were SO many technical difficulties that first week, it was overwhelming for everyone. Thankfully we made it through together and the very next week he got to go to school on the bus full time (half days, 5 days a week)! 

Liam LOVES computer class, library, and recess! He is soaring in reading above grade level and can count to 100! Most of all, he is making new friends and learning life lessons that he'd have a hard time learning anywhere else. I'm proud of him and miss him while he is away. 

The running and jumping into my arms hugs I get when they come home to me are the BEST part about my week!! I'm so grateful our kids love school!

Goodbye Summer

At the end of August Liam was overly ready to wear long sleeves again despite the heat and everyone was ready to start school. haha We spent our last days saying goodbye to summer much like we spent the rest of it, in our yard. There is often endless fighting between these two but the bonding moments between them where they follow each other everywhere the other ones goes make my heart so happy I gave them each other ...

That baby doll was mine when I was a little girl. I gave it to her on her first birthday and it has been her favorite dolly ever since. Lyla always finds a way to bring her along on our rides around the neighborhood. This cute girl tucked it in her shirt as a built in baby carrier ... 

This hard working man finishing up the cement project with a brick retaining wall to keep the sprinkler water from sinking the cement ... 

The cone flowers and daisy seeds we planted never did come up but the zinnia's sure had their moment!

Our first meal at a restaurant since Covid began spreading. It felt like heaven to just get out and the kids were in love with drinking from a special cup with a straw. haha That cutie haircut and hand dimples!!

My phone is filled with thousands of selfies like this one and it may the fact that I'm her mom, but I think it is the most adorable surprise ever to find!

Just Like That

 "Hey Ma, look ... no hands!"

And just like that, Liam learned how to ride his bike. One Saturday morning he told us he was ready so we took off the training wheels and by the end of the day, he was racing around the neighborhood all by himself. So proud of this brave boy!! 

I loves these two pictures from that day so much, no matter how blurry they may be. The first one shows his pure joy. It's as if he was given a pair of wings to fly ... he fell in love with his bike that day. The second one shows how nonchalant and confident he felt so quickly. 

Now I need a bike so I can keep up!!

Lyla's First Haircut

 I put off Lyla's first haircut as long as I could. The back is filled with the sweetest blonde curls and since she came from a mom and dad with the straightest hair, I was sure that when I finally had them cut they would be gone forever. The back of her hair grew and grew but the front remained mostly the same length (baby mullet) so I knew it was time to even it out. She constantly sweeps the front out of her eyes so I also thought bangs would be a good idea. 

I walked into the salon holding her hand. She was beaming from ear to ear from the excitement of a "big girl haircut". She was her usual self whenever she is experiencing something for the first time ... quiet, reserved, and uninterested. I barely got this sweet smile as she climbed up in the chair and was covered up by a safari cape. 

Her face went from a shy smile to concerned ...

Then to completely uninterested ... haha!

She held so very still and was so brave. Here is the before and after ... she could not have been more excited for those m&m's and to be able to take one home to brother.

How adorable is she?!! I mean!!! Her first haircut could not have fit her spunky personality more perfectly! She was so proud of it for days after and told everyone she saw that she got a "big girl haircut". 

Trying so hard to act grumpy ... haha!

She is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Oh I love you Lyla girl and your big girl haircut! <3

The best part about it ... she still has her curls!!!

Girl's Weekend 2020

 Despite Covid, we made our annual girl's weekend happen again this year and it was just what we all needed. We stayed local and rented a room at the Grove Hotel in downtown Boise. It was filled with late night girl talk where we tried to solve all the problems of the world (haha!), dinner at a restaurant (Fork!) where we only had to worry about eating our own hot plate of food, the best junk food in-between, pedicures and shopping at the Village, a long walk around the greenbelt, and so much laughter. Thankfully this time there weren't any random run-ins with complete strangers in the deserted mountains or almost falling off a waterfall cliff! Good for my sanity's sake. haha 

We even had a fifth wheel tag along and he was the cutest, happiest, most quiet baby I've ever seen! We all took turns snuggling him and getting our baby fix, that sweet little Jamie.

The hotel's hot tub is located just enough floors up that you have a beautiful view overlooking downtown Boise. There was even a terrace up there that was covered in string lights. We picked up Chick-fil-A for dinner one night and ate it up there. 

Our last morning together we we walked to breakfast and took pictures in Freak Alley.

On our greenbelt walk we passed the Boise zoo and saw Melman peeking over the fence. ;)

It was so much fun!! I love these girls; they mean so much to me. I am grateful for their friendship. The best part about it is that no matter how much time goes by between seeing each other, we pick up right where we left off. 

Meanwhile back at home Nic was holding down the fort perfectly. Liam earned his first reading challenge reward and got the lego he had been working so hard for! His face says it all. They ate pizza for every meal and had the best time bonding together!

Then I came home to this and my heart melted ...

It feels good to be missed sometimes and boy did I miss them! 

Time Flies

Well, it's time to dust this thing off right as we start this new year. ;) It seems silly to go back 5 months to recap it all, but knowing how truly happy it makes me to have my tiny corner of the world documented chronologically in one place, it's worth it. That leaves us with August ... a month I'm missing right about now as I stare at the frozen world outside of my January window. 

After the great yard transformation of 2020, we capped it off with a giant cement patio extending the full side length of our house! Jared poured it for us and could not have done a more perfect job. We LOVE it! It completely transformed the space over there. It's so much more functional for hauling garbage cans to the street and walking without shoes on from the front yard to the back patio. It even came with dreams of a shed, playhouse, or maybe even a hot tub over there in the future. The best part about having a family member do the job is how he offered to let us personalize it. We all pressed our handprints into the concrete before it dried and now no matter what happens, we'll always have a piece of us that stays with this house we've made our home.

Speaking of homes ... we weren't looking but the housing market boomed and the interest rates dropped so the idea of selling our home for a little more square footage/the dream opportunity to build a home caught our interest. We walked through several new construction models, spoke with a lot of builders' sale offices, and eventually came to the conclusion that the timing just wasn't right. The kids had a blast acting like the tour guides and posing for pictures. ;)

Right before school started, Liam did a fitness camp with a local gym at a neighborhood park. They learned yoga, had water fights, played on the playground, ran a 5k, and all around just had the best time! 

Summer Adventures in July

 

And just like that, summer came to a close. I'll be honest and say that I tried really hard to get into summer this year but with Covid, I just wasn't really feeling it. Between having to postpone our season passes to the waterpark and not having my kids enrolled in swimming lessons, I was missing the fun filled summer routine. After our annual trip to Bear Lake, I got home ready for fall and school to begin and it was only 4th of July weekend. Yikes! haha But then as I've looked back on the pictures I took during the month of July, I can see moments of that summer magic and how I soaked it in when I embraced this summer for what it was. My first saving grace, the river. A place we didn't have to wear masks with water for my kids to play in and an endless supply of rocks and sticks to collect. 

My beach babe! She LOVED Sita's paddle board. My mom had a friend visit for a week and we took her down for some fun at the river one morning. 

Liam found a random piece of fishing line and constructed himself a fishing pole with a stick. It was adorable watching him persevere all day trying to catch a minnow. 

My mom in her happy place ...

One of my favorite things about summer, Lyla's bleach blonde hair!

The river has the perfect hiking trails through the woods next to it. We spent a lot of weekend days exploring them. Lyla would make it as far as her little legs would carry her and then beg for a shoulder ride.

We also spent a lot of time at a neighborhood playground. One day, Lyla brought along her "sheepy" to swing with her and we made up a song together to sing as they rode on the swing together. 

We celebrated our twin nephews turning one! For me, it felt like the fastest year ever. I'm sure for their mom, not so much. haha They have gotten so big though and it was fun seeing them take some of their first steps around their birthday! 

It made me so nostalgic seeing Liam's first birthday banner at a Where the Wild Things Are birthday party again. 

This cutie and her many entertaining facial expressions!

It has been a big blessing for our family having Nic work from home. Liam misses building legos with Nic while he is in his office but one day he made his dad out of legos, found a box in the recycling, wrapped it up all by himself with leftover Batman wrapping paper and electrical tape, and wrote a tag on the top to give the present to him at lunch time. Is that not the cutest thing ever?!

Having dinner with "Aunt Janel" and trying on Sita's shoes!

Summer days spent with some of my favorite people!