Wordless Wednesday

First Day of School!

My 3 cute kids were super excited for the first day of school! They were all a little nervous about starting a new year and two of them starting new schools. But they all came home with smiles on their faces and told me all about all the fun things they did in school that day. I'm really lucky to have kids who enjoy school and learning. I'm also lucky to have such a good big brother for Savannah. Logan really looks after his little sister. Now that he is a BIG 2nd grader, he knows the drill. He walks her to her class every morning before heading to his class. He gives her high 5's in the halls when he sees her at school, and opens the big school door for her in the mornings. What a gentleman! (Hope it lasts . . . )

I think the only one having a hard time with all the kids back in school is Me! I'm not loving all the running around to lessons and practices we are doing, and I'm missing the kids. I know . . . What the ??! The house just seems super quiet now with all of them in school. I also really miss having my little buddy, Savannah, around during the day. I can't believe my baby is old enough to be in Kindergarten ALL day long! I think I might be having a harder time with this than she is though. Every day Savannah comes home so excited about what they did that day. She will then run up to her room and set all her dolls out to teach them what she has learned. She's like a little sponge just soaking up all the knowledge. She is so ready to be in school. I will just have to get used to them being gone all day. And I guess it won't be that quiet at home for too much longer. When the baby comes I think I might be missing these peaceful, quiet days . . .



OK and then there's my beautiful 6th grader in middle school. When did I get old enough to have a daughter in jr. high??! I've been really worried about Makayla starting middle school with all the trials and awkwardness middle school can bring, but all this worry has been for naught. Makayla LOVES it! She has lots of friends in all of her classes, got her locker open first try, and thinks having more classes and things to do during the day is a lot of fun. I'm really impressed with her middle school as they have an excellent program and teachers, and they have everything very well organized. The 6th graders have their own wing of the school, their own locker hall and lunch, and their own courtyard where they meet in the mornings. Makayla says she rarely has to deal with the scary 8th graders, so that's a bonus. The only hard thing so far is A LOT of homework! That is the biggest jump I've noticed from 5th grade. At least she's learning lots of good things, right?

And there's the big 2nd grader with a smile to match!

Savannah LOVES Mrs. N! She thinks the sun rises and sets with her. She was super excited to get Mrs. N because she was Logan's teacher too, and she really is amazing!

Circle Time. And time for mommy to go. It was really hard to pull myself out the door and not wonder how Savannah was going to do at school. Big surprise: she was awesome!

. . . and they survived and loved every minute of it!

Fun With Cousins!

Such Divas!

And Fun With Grandma!

We had such a great time this summer! Every day we just played. Some of our most fun days were spent riding the Alpine Slide and going to the zoo. After playing so much, it's been hard getting back to reality on schedules and early bedtimes. It will be nice to have cooler weather and all the fun fall brings. I guess we'll just have to get used to the routine again.

Heading up the mountain on the tram . . .

. . . and getting ready to brave the Alpine Slide.

Fun at Hogle Zoo

King of the Mountain!

While we were in Utah, we hiked Timp Cave with Dad and Sharon. I must say that the kids did awesome and were little troopers all the way up the mountain. We only made a few pit stops along the way, and I think they were tougher than preggo me up the last few steep inclines.



On the way up . . . only a few faces were pulled while enduring the hike. It was a beautiful climb, though! I thoroughly enjoyed being in the mountains--one thing I miss living in Texas.

A look at inside the cave. It was chilly inside, only 45 degrees, which felt AWESOME to me. I've been HOT all summer. A nice break from the sweltering heat.

We made it!

The best part of the hike was Savannah got to be Grandpa's buddy. She loves her Grandpa Doug!

Check out that view! On the way back down, we stopped at one of the sheerest drop-offs for a photo-op. Good thing there was a rock wall there. Whew!

Family Cabin Trip to Idaho

Since it's pouring rain this morning, I thought I would catch up on my blog. The kids are back in school and loving it, but I'm missing the lazy days of summer . . .

One of my favorite places to escape to in the summer is my Uncle's cabin in Idaho, overlooking Palisades Reservoir. We had so much fun with my family boating, hiking, rafting the Snake river, hitting the shops in Jackson, and gazing at the stars off the deck after the kids were finally down for the night.

The party barge! When we weren't on the boat, we had a blast playing in the water and catching some rays on the floating dock Mike and Brandon rigged up.

Brynn and Kayla were all smiles until the boat took off . . . then there were a few screams.

Logan thought the tube was "totally awesome, dude!"

Kayla actually attempted wake boarding with a little help from Uncle Brandon. Way to go Makayla! And Brandon was pretty awesome himself surfing on the outside of the wake board.

Mike scored some sweet moves boarding as well.

He said his favorite part of boating was being Capn'! All we need now is our own boat. One day . . .

I wasn't too bad at driving the boat myself, I may add! The picture of Mike boarding above was taken by Logan while I navigated the boat.

The kids favorites: Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Lisa!

We also braved the Snake River this year rafting the rapids sans kids. Thanks Mom for entertaining the crew while we got to play all day on the river.

A Night in Jackson Hole . . .

The kids loved the old west shoot out on Main Street. They thought it was pretty cool to get their picture with Pocahontas after the show.

After yummy pizza and calzones for dinner, we hit the shops in Jackson. Grandma had fun exploring the stores with her two little shopping buddies, two of the girliest girls I know. : )

And no Warnick Vacation would be complete without a family photo shoot . . .

Jeanette and Brandon, Ryder, Brynn and Brooks.

Andrea, Chase, and Emmy

James and Lisa

And all the gang!