Loren is 6!

Loren woke up to balloons and streamers on her door the morning of her 6th birthday.  It was a school day, but we started off the morning early and let her open her presents.  I was still half asleep so the pictures are blurry.

One of her favorite gifts was this Rapunzel dress.  She wanted it so bad so that she could wear it on our upcoming Disney Cruise.  Grandma Ols got her the Rapunzel hair and the shoes to match.

Loren asked for lip glosses and yummy bath & body stuff.  She got both, along with a cute little cosmetic bag to keep it in.

She was dressed and ready quickly for school.  She was excited to celebrate her birthday at school with special treats (I cannot even remember what I made).  Grant was home from school sick that day, so he joined me and Morgan as we went to bring Loren her birthday lunch at school.  She had requested Carl's Jr and that is just what she got.

After school, the kids had taekwondo.  It's always exciting to go to taekwondo on your birthday because you get to be a black belt for the day.

We went to dinner and then mommy had to go to Open House at the kids school.  Daddy went home with the kids and when I returned home, we had the special dessert that Loren had requested...chocolate pudding pie.

It was a super busy birthday, but Loren was really looking forward to her special birthday celebration with her friends which would happen that Saturday.

6 Glorious Years with this Little Girl

 

I regret that I did not start a blog much sooner in our lives.  In an effort to capture some of those memories that I do not have documented, I thought it would be fun to post some of my favorite pictures of Loren from the past 6 years!  It is hard believe (I know I always say that), that Loren is SIX!  She has grown up so much.  She is definitely a girly-girl with a strong spirit about her.  She reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger.  Happy Birthday to my sweet girl.  It is so fun to look back at these pictures and remember you at each age!

 

 

 

 

 

Preschool Sneak Peak

On August 30th, Morgan had her preschool "sneak peak."  She was so excited.  Grant and Loren had been in school and Morgan was anxious to start as well.  On this day, all the preschool kids and their families came to Mrs. Wright's house.  The kids got to play while the parents met and mingled.  It turned out to be a pretty small group since several kids were out of town.  Morgan had so much fun, but could hardly wait til the following week to go back to start.

Poor Mrs. Wright was on crutches because she had torn all the ligaments on the top of her foot while vacationing in Hawaii.  She had to hobble around on crutches for the first 6 weeks of school.

Soccer Pictures

Soccer pictures are always an adventure. It's hot, crowded and usually disorganized.  This year was no different.  Coach Kevin entertained the girls while Chris figured out where we were supposed to be. It seemed to take forever, but we took our pictures and got out of there.  I was happy I was able to get a decent team photo so I don't have to buy the overpriced pictures from the league! 

Loren was so excited that Daniella has a later birthday as well and would be able to play U6 again too.  They are good buddies and had so much fun last year, so it was fun to have Daniella back on the team.

First Day of School

There are so many emotions that accompany the first day of school.  The kids are anxious and nervous, but also excited.   Mommy's emotions are much the same as the kids.  It's a new year, new teachers and a new start.  I love to make the first day of school a big deal.  I make a sign to hang in the kitchen with balloons, etc and we always get the kids a few fun treats to celebrate the new school year.  This year, the kids got water bottles, snack bowls, ice packs for their lunch bags and some new books.  They also had a container of mini Oreos for their after school snack.  They were so excited to come downstairs and find their treat. 

I also like to make sure the kids know I am thinking about them during the day, so I put a special treat in their lunch bag.  This year, it was a little note on a pack of Smarties.  They thought it was pretty funny!

And we can't forget about our teachers, so we always bring them a special treat on the first day too.   This year, we made chocolate chip cookies and put them in a bag with a note on it that said, "Grant/Loren is going to be a SMART cookie because he/she has YOU for a teacher!"  The kids had fun bringing these to their teachers.

I always take the kids out in the backyard and make them pose for a ridiculous amount of pictures, hahaha!  Grant was so excited to wear this Shaun White t-shirt and hat, along with his new "Converse-like" tennis shoes.  I think we might have a little skater-boy on our hands!

Loren decided to wear a cute skort and shirt.  I love that they were so excited to pick out their clothes and lay them out the night before.  I remember very well doing the same thing as a child. 

I think someone was being squeezed a little hard and that is why she looks like she is in pain in the picture.  Nevertheless, I love these pictures and the fact that they were willing to pose together!

Morgan was feeling  a little left out in all the picture taking and decided she needed to be in some of them!  Love her!

Showing off the new backpacks.  Both kiddos got new ones this year.  I really hope these last a little longer than last years ones. 

Loren was super excited to find some friends as she found her class on the blacktop.  Myelle and Kate are both in her class again this year.  It is always so nice to have familiar friends and faces when starting a new school year.  These are sweet little girls and Loren loves them.

It is always hard to say goodbye on that first day.   I waited until the kids headed to their classrooms following behind their teachers.  Sniff sniff!

We were able to go to each kids' classrooms for just a few minutes.  I love taking them to their classrooms, helping them find their new desks/cubbies, etc. 

Grant quickly found his seat and Mrs. Valtatie had some fun work for them to do at their desk.  We took some silly pictures and then we said our goodbyes.

I got to Loren's class just as Mrs. Cassidy was introducing herself.  She spoke for a few minutes and then pretty much gave us the boot.  I had to go with Loren to give the cookies to Mrs. Cassidy.  She was very nervous and shy.  Mrs. Cassidy assured her that she didn't bite! hahaha!

 

 

There were no tears or anything from the kids.  I may have shed a tear on the way home.  It was so weird that I was now going to have two kids in school all day long. It was going to be just me and Morgan now.  Morgan and I went home and she just wanted to snuggle.  We did just that for quite some time.  Then I asked her, "Okay Morgan, it's just you and Mommy, what should we do?"  To which she responded, "Laundry...I just love to do laundry!"  I LOVE this girl.  I knew, from that moment on, that we were going to be okay.  While I knew I would miss Grand and Loren, I knew that her and I were going to enjoy this time together and she was going to be my buddy in all things...even laundry!