First Day of School

We got back from our trip on Saturday, and school started the next Tuesday. Here are the kids on their first days of school.

Benjamin is excited to start second grade with his teacher, Mrs. Hanna!

Emily is going to Kindergarten with Mrs. Matteson.

She just hopped on the bus, and went off to her first day of school!

Joshua still isn't so sure about preschool with Ms. Stockholm. He loves it in the afternoon, though, when he comes home! It is so strange to have my baby leave me for a few hours! He has things that happen to him that I don't see! What a crazy world this is! Doesn't he look handsome with his little backpack on, though?

Our adventures out West

0In August, we headed west, to Denver, Colorado for Uncle Kevin's wedding to "Princess Tess." We started out with a mini family reunion, however, with ALL of Dave's siblings.


Kristin and Kevin picked us up at the airport. The kids all had to pull their own suitcases. It was so cute to watch them, all lined up like little ducklings.


We met in Colorado, I'm not exactly sure where, but it was definitely remote, and certainly secluded. We didn't run into a lot of other people! We camped, of course (no hotels out there). It was a great few days. The kids ran around, and the adults visited (some of them ran around, too!) The nights were chilly, as were the days. Here are Emily and Josh with some of their cousins, playing in the snow.

Emily and her cousin Anna played all day long. They just love each other!

Taylor, working hard to chop wood for our fire.

Mark, cooking a delicious meal over the fire.

The adults, relaxing around the fire, and talking.

Emily snuggling up with Grandpa, for warmth!

Roasting marshmallows

David, enjoying a s'more.

Here is Joshua with his cousin, Willy.

The area we camped in is rich in railroad history. I was impressed with the rough terrain they were able to get trains into, just to get the silver and gold out! A pretty lucrative time for some. The railway is no longer around, but there are a few tracks left. Joshua was excited to get out there and run his Thomas train on the rails.

Emily and I walked the rails. It was a beautiful area!

Here is Benjamin with his cousins, Taylor, Dallin, and Ryan. They had so much fun playing together!
And, finally, the highlight of our trip: Kevin and Tess's wedding in the Denver Temple. It was a beautiful wedding, and they are going to be such a happy couple!
Emily and Joshua were fascinated with Tess, "the princess." They are still asking about her. They may never call her Aunt Tess, just the princess. Oh well, there are worse nicknames! Emily went through the line at the reception at least 5 times, maybe more. Tess and her parents were very patient with her, especially when she started bringing them bits of food that they had to tactfully dispose of! Here she is, admiring Princess Tess.
Finally, here are my kids with Grandma and Grandpa Hoopes. This is actually in Salt Lake, a week or so after the wedding.


After a fun week in Colorado with the Hoopes', we drove across the mountains to Utah to see my family. Sarah and John were there with their kids, as well. We had a great couple of weeks together.

All of the great-grandchildren love Olde Mor. Probably because she reads to them and sings songs in Norwegian.

Dave and John took Benjamin backpacking up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I believe they camped at Lake Blanche, but I could be wrong. Here are some pictures of their fun 2 days.

Starting the hike (note Ben's backpack, with his sleeping pad strapped to the back! How cute!):

The top of the peak, on day 2:
Benjamin in a little bit of a tricky spot:

Dave, John, and my dad also hiked Mt Nebo, the highest peak on the Wasatch Front.

I had more modest ambitions this trip, and made it up to Cecret Lake, one of my favorite hikes in Little Cottonwood Canyon. I like it because of the wildflowers, and now, because it is a good hike for my kids. Although, Ben did complain that it was way too easy for him! Here are Mormor, Morfar, Ben, Emily, Joshua, and Matthew at the lake.

Emily and Mormor were great hikers! (Of course, Emily did it in a dress!)

My dad let the kids use his tools, and Emily and Matthew spent hours in the garage, sawing up old boards.

We also hiked up to the hotpots out of Spanish Fork, but I didn't take any pictures of it, unfortunately. We had such a fun trip to Utah/Colorado! We really miss the west, but were happy to come back "home" to Ohio!

Summer 2008

Summer went by so quickly this year! We had a great time travelling, seeing family, and even staying at home. Here are a few of the highlight of our summer.

Shortly after school ended, my parents came out to Ohio for Joseph's graduation from Ohio State. Sarah and John came with their 2 kids, as well. It was so fun to have them all here! Here are Joseph and Kathryn. Doesn't Dr. Osmond look dashing in his doctoral robes?

After graduation, we got down to the real fun, and headed north to Cedar Point amusement park, and Great Wolf Lodge water park. It was a great trip. The kids thought it was the greatest place on earth (they've never been to Disneyland), and were perfectly happy to stay in Snoopyland the whole day. The grown ups took turns watching them run from ride to ride, but we all got some big roller coaster time in.

Mom and Sarah at Cedar Point.

My kids with their grandparents at Ohio State University.

In July, Chick-Fil-A hosted cow appreciation day. Our whole family (including Dave. who took this picture) dressed up like Holsteins to get a free meal. The whole meal! It was great. Our whole restaurant was filled with cow look a likes. My sister did it in DC, and they were lonely cows. The kids thought it was as fun as Halloween.


Wright-Patterson AFB sponsored a "tattoo" for the 4th of July this year. There was music, a fireworks show, and an air show. My favorite plane was the B2 Spirit, Ben really loved the F22 Raptor. Here we all are at the show.

Benjamin played softball in June and July. He really liked playing, and we liked cheering him on.

Benjamin and Emily took swimming lessons in July with their friends Nathan and Liliana. They really learned a lot. I am impressed with their swimming ability.

The Dorwood Optimist Club sponsors "Kindergarten Safety Village" each summer. Emily spent a week there this year, and learned all about fire, water, and school bus safety. Here she is posing at her graduation with the fire dog. She loved her class!

Benjamin has decided that he wants to be a fighter pilot when he grows up. Here he is trying out the cockpit of an F16. He looks pretty good in it, I think!
Whenever it was Ben's turn to pick the activity this summer, he picked either the Air Force museum (filled with planes), or the Wright Brothers Memorial (with a flight simulator).

One of my favorite places we visited in Dayton was the Cox Arboretum. There was a butterfly house, and more gardens than you can imagine. It was absolutely beautiful! Joshua is pointing out one of the butterflies.

We also visited the Wegerzyn garden with another family. They have a great children's garden with plenty of water for the kids to play in. The kids were able to water the plants (see Emily below), as well as taste and feel them. It was a really fun place!

Next on our summer agenda comes 2 birthdays in a row! First Emily turned 5 on July 30th.
Here she is with her cake.

Not surprisingly, Emily wanted a "pink" birthday party. We ate pink food, drank pink juice, and made pink crafts. It was a great time. The girls even made their own ice cream!

The guests all came in their pretty party dresses. They looked darling, I must say!


The next day, July 31st, Joshua turned 3. He's still my baby, though! Here he is with his "Thomas" birthday cake. We went swimming for his birthday, which all the kids love.

He opened his presents after we went to the kid's favorite restaurant for dinner: Abuelos. Joshua got just what he wanted: trains and more trains. Perfect!