Another school year begins...

I can't believe these two are in FOURTH and FIRST grade.  What happened to my babies?!  This year is a big year for several reasons.  Austin starts a new school, and Carson too, when he gets in (he's on a wait list).  The school is a STEM school (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), and we decided to switch mostly because Austin wasn't feeling challenged at his old school.  Plus, he thrives in an environment where he can utilize his love for science and math.  Crossing fingers he is happy with his new school and loves it!

 

 

The second reason this is a big year is because Carson goes to school all day now.  I have long dreaded this day and boy, was I a mess!!  It's a huge milestone to have all your kids in school all day!  Many moms look forward to this day and I'm hoping I will feel that way eventually, but for now, I'm mourning having my youngest in school all day and not to myself anymore.  Plus, kids seem to grow up so much when they go to school all day. :(

 

 

So, I've been thinking, now what?! Do I go back to work?  What do I do with myself now that I have all this time while the kids are in school?  First things first though, it's not like I'm going to be BORED and have NOTHING to do.  There's always things to do--clean the house, workout, grocery shop, pay bills, run errands, volunteer in the class, help friends, attend to my church responsibilities, the list goes on. Oh, and then there's always the non-profit responsibilities too.  So, it's not like I don't have plenty to do.  I guess I just feel like now is the time to be productive in the world again, help out with finances, and well, reinvent myself.

 

 

 

I wanted to give Carson a kiss before sending him off into the "big leagues".  He told me, "Mom, make it fast before anyone sees.  Oh, and wipe off your lip gloss!" Are we seriously at this phase in life already?!  I'm in trouble...

Roger's 70th Birthday

On our last weekend before school started, we went to Logan for a surprise birthday party for Grandpa Mac who turned 70!  It was a quick trip, but so fun to see most of the family and celebrate Grandpa's birthday with a BBQ at the park.  The best part was watching a slideshow that Salli put together of pictures of him throughout his life.  We had some great laughs and even shed some tears on that one!  What a special man he is! We are sure lucky to have him in our life.

 

 

The cousins playing a little corn hole.

 

 

All of Eric's brothers with their Dad.  What a treat!

 

We wore fake glasses because Roger is OLD! ;)

 

Can't ever have a serious picture, can we?! Not with McKenna around at least!

 

The ladies with Rog. Pulling McKenna's famous "face".  Lovely!

 

Love this picture of Grandpa with his grandkids (Salli's kids were the only ones missing).

 

 

That's a lot of candles! Hurry, get the fire extinguisher! ;)

 

This girl leaves on a mission in two weeks to Peru!  She will be an amazing missionary.

 

The McEvoys girls minus Salli and Erin. :(

I love this picture not only because it's beautiful with the sun rays, but earlier that day we had torrential rain, so the fact that the sun peaked out for this occasion was a miracle.  I also love this picture of Grandpa with some of his grandsons playing horseshoe.  What a wonderful legacy he has made!

Last of the Bucket List

 

 

 

We returned home from CA with only one week left before school started!  We decided to check out the Eagle Bike Park.  It was a HOT day, but the boys rode around the park on the dirt trails for hours.  We also had to get our last snow cone fix in too!  We aren't ready for summer to end!

CA Trip Part 2

The second week in CA was equally as fun, but what made it even better was Dad got to come too! We spent a day at the beach (always my favorite), went to the movies (again), hiked around Rock City, toured a retired aircraft carrier, went to an A's game, visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and went boating.  We are so blessed to be able to do all these fun things with Grandma and Grandpa and spend a couple weeks with them every summer.  The boys always look forward to it and have such good memories going there every year.

 

 I taught the boys how to boogie board.  Minus how cold the ocean is in Northern California, I sure love boogie boarding!

The boys scoured the beach for every piece of seaweed they could find to build a sand castle with seaweed as the walls or barriers.

 

Austin loved skimming the sand on the shore into the waves.

 

 

These boys are made for the beach like their mom.  They could play for hours and never get sick of it!

 

We hiked around Rock City one day with some friends.  There are tons of caves and rocks to climb on and look out over.  I'm glad they liked it as much as I did as a kid!

 

 

 These boys are WILD. And definitely ALL boy.

 



 

 

The view from the largest rock we could find to climb up onto!

 

I wish this friend lived closer!  Coming from a mom with all boys too, she just gets it!

 

Showing off their muscles. ;)

 

I swam EARLY in the morning with my dad a few times while I was visiting.  That's how dedicated I am.  Like father, like daughter, I guess?!

 

The USS Hornet.  We couldn't believe how HUGE it is.

 

 

Riding missiles. ;)

 

Reunited with our Dad again!

 

 

We went to an A's game one night.  But they wore the wrong hats! ;) 

 

 

 

That's more like it. ;)

 

We went boating one day on Grandpa's boat.  Tubing is always fun!

 

Trying to catch some air.  Weak sauce! ;)

 

We took the twin boys (neighbors with my parents) boating with us (among other activities too), hence the extra kids. ;)

 

 

I love summer!

 

We decided to celebrate our 14th anniversary a week early while in CA at one of my new favorite restaurants, Blue Agave.  So good!

 

We saw plenty of sharks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Definitely a favorite of the boys.  Especially the hammerhead sharks.

 

Such a beautiful day in Monterey!

 

Mesmerized. What's not to love?!

 

 

 

The jellyfish are so peaceful and serene to watch.  I could watch them for hours.

 

Yes, that's a giant sun fish! Weirdest looking fish ever.

 

We took the boys to this car dealership that sells old cars mostly.  We knew that would be a hit with Carson. This was his favorite, an old Mustang.

Austin preferred the newer model Mustang. ;)