Post School Wrap Up

Kai said his 1st day was "great". He and Evan posed for a photo for me on the way out.



Kai was excited about art class, lunch, and the kid in class that only speaks Spanish. We just about melted in the time it took to go to and from the car to claim him. Rori's little cheeks were bright red in the 1st 2 minutes- she gets that from me.

I'm grateful that we found a parking spot, there were no behavior meltdowns from the girls, and Kai was smiling. 1 day down.........so far so good.

1st Day of School 2011

Kai was super excited for school today. Last night he kept reminding us that he needed to go to bed early- no problem with us. Not so exciting for me is the fact that school starts at 7:30am. This is quite the switch from 8:50am last year- especially when you add in Zuri to the mix also. Thus, we were lucky to get this one obligatory photo before running out the door.

It was fun to see Kai so confident about Kindergarten. He knows the drill and likes school so other than making some new friends he doesn't seem that nervous about it all. It is nice that one of the boys from his t-ball team, Evan, is in his class. Evan just had his 6th birthday too like Kai, is also left handed, and also did a 1/2 day kindergarten program last year. Plus Kai's middle name is Evan. Both of the boys think all of this is pretty awesome. We did a play date with them this Summer. Once Evan showed up this morning Kai was really good to go. Kai and Evan were the first kids to walk through the door after they lined up at the bell- no fear here and ready to lead the charge.

At this point getting to take a lunch box and eat at school is pretty fun. We hope he is having a good day. It will be fun to hear how it all went when we go to pick him up.

3 Months Old

Zuri turned 3 months old today. She is such a cute little one. Most of the time she is pretty good natured- especially if she is being held or watching her siblings doing something. She continues to hate the car seat and be a little fussy around dinner time though. Zuri is very smiley and has even laughed a few times now. I think she will just get happier as time goes on and she is able to sit up and have more control of her body. We've found her flipped over in her bed a few times so I think it won't be long until she is rolling all over the place. I can't seem to kiss those cute cheeks enough.

Miss Rori

Our sweet Rori girl is now the big 3. I'm a big fan of the 3 year old age so I'm pretty excited about it. Here are 3 fun facts about Rori at 3 years old:

1. Rori loves to do all things athletic. She loves swimming, jumping off of things, and dancing. She is one tough and brave girl.

2. Rori's favorite toys are her Little Family dollhouse and accessories, the Magformers, and anything Scooby Doo. She will go up in her room all by herself and play with the dollhouse for long amounts of time. I love to listen to her playing pretend having the dolls talk to each other. She continues to be a whiz at building with the Magformers- this toy has seriously provided endless hours of entertainment for the whole family. It has been the summer of Scooby for our family. Scooby movies on the IPhone or DVD player have gotten us through many of things this summer.

3. Rori seems to be getting even sweeter and cuter every day. She loves to cuddle and is especially excited to welcome home her Daddy every night. If she sees anyone being upset she is the first to try to comfort them. She constantly makes us laugh with how clever and funny she is.

We love our Rori girl very much. We anticipate this being a big year for her and are looking forward to seeing her grow and develop.

Rori's Stats at 3 Years Old:

Height: 40 inches; 97%
Weight: 33 pounds; 70% (hard to believe that % since she is such a skinny mini in person, but I guess that is super skinny for how tall she is)

Mr. Kai

It is hard to believe that Kai is 6 years old. He is growing up so quick- too quick. Here are 6 fun facts about Kai at 6 years old:

1. Kai still loves to swim and can spend hours in the water without a thought about it. He also loves to ride his bike and scooter and do anything outside.

2. Kai loves stories and books. We can motivate him to do many things with the reward of reading him a few chapters out of a big kids chapter book at night- right now he really likes the Magic Tree House books that grandma Whitney is loaning him from her 2nd grade class. Getting to play games on the computer is also a big draw.

3. Kai can be a BIG talker. We've had some conversations recently about how grandparents and parents like stories with all the details but other people are ok with shorter versions.

4. Kai has a huge imagination and can often be found directing some play scene or coming up with a plan to build or make something. I'm sure that the fact that he loves Phineas and Ferb may have some influence on this. Recently there seem to be some battle scenes thrown in the mix- crazy to see the boy in him coming out that way as we've been able to avoid much of that up to this point.

5. Kai is really great with his sisters. He likes to hold Zuri and is very close buddies with Rori.

6. Kai is sweet and loving and kind. Other kids seem to gravitate to him and I think that is why.

Kai is excited for all day kindergarten this year. I will miss him while he is gone but he will do great.

Kai's Stats at 6 Years Old:

Height: 49 inches; 95%
Weight: 47 pounds; 60%

Birthdays, Boating & Best Cousins

We finished up our UT trip with one last big adventure of summer. We headed down to Lake Powell to spend a few days with Lance's whole small family. We had a great time being with everyone and enjoying lots of time in the water and on the boat. Kai and Rori loved celebrating their 3rd and 6th birthdays with all their cousins. Zuri did really well which was especially great since with the heat, sun, and being trapped in a small space it could have been tough- most would say we were crazy to even try such an adventure. She's already had quite the life at 2 1/2 months old.

We had a great time and want to say thank you to everyone who made it all possible. I had been worried about keeping Kai and Rori busy this summer with a new baby. I think I can confidentaly say that they had a wonderful fun filled summer.



















































*Lance and Dave planned in advance to order their Molcajete.

Cousins 2011

We got in a little cousins photo shoot right before leaving Salt Lake. The truck was Lance's grandpa's and is now owned by Lance's parents. Isn't it so fun? I loved the color and was excited when the others seemed to buy in to using it. Lance's Mom and my 2 sister in laws were in charge of kid wrangling while I snapped the photos. My SIL Kimberley found the outfits - one of her talents that I do not posess. With so many little ones the group shots are pretty tough but they still turned out fun. I think the individuals and smaller groups are my favorites though. So maybe someday I will actually try to learn what I'm doing with the camera and figure out how to do some editing as these are totally not touched up. It sure is fun to have this group all together.




Jake- 8 Years Old:


Kennedy- 6 Years Old:


Emme- 6 Years Old:


Kai- 6 Years Old:


Jack- 4 Years Old:


Kate- 3 Years Old:


Rori- 3 Years Old:


Ella- 2 Years Old:


Zuri- 2 1/2 Months Old:


Here are the sibling groups. Would you have put them in these groups from the group shot? Yes, we are very talented at all having 2 girls and 1 boy and each having a 6 year old.