Ava's First Day of School

Today Ava started daycare which she calls her school. It is only two half days a week and she seemed to like it. The most exciting thing for me was that after three long years I got almost all of her hair into rubber bands to make pig tails. YAY!!! They were out when I picked her up though. So, I started my microbiology class today and had my first lab. Thanks to 3 awesome ladies in my ward, the kids got rides everywhere and it all worked out. Phew! I wasn't expecting to have lab on the first day so I had to think fast. Thanks everyone who helped me out!

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I love that Staples commercial where the dad is skipping behind the shopping cart as that Christmas song is playing while the kids are scowling behind him.

If you want to watch the commercial click Here

That is how I feel this morning though. Although summer is fun, I have been looking forward to a schedule. The kids have had a kind of boring summer. Derek working, me in summer school plus the hot weather made for a lot of boring days where they would just get on each other's nerves. It will be nice to be back into a routine with bedtimes!!

Jerrod was pretty nervous for the past few days as he anticipated middle school. He has been talking about it for the last year but now that it was upon him the butterflies hit. Allison and Emma both woke up with a few butterflies themselves. We went and met their teachers on Friday and they seem very nice so I know that they will all have a great day.

Pets

Every person who has a favorite pet knows how much joy they can bring into your life. They become part of the family. For all you skeptics, I know what you're thinking. They are so much work, just like having another kid etc....... I was like that too until we got our dog and realized how much fun a "good" pet can be. A couple of weeks ago, I changed our girls room from twin beds back into bunk beds to give them more room to play. Tonight, I was tucking in the kids and left to come downstairs when our Dog Ginger started to bark and whine so I went back upstairs to see what was wrong. Ginger was sad that she couldn't get up to Emma to give her kisses goodnight. Awwww. Every night Ginger does her rounds and goes and checks on the kids and gives them kisses. She is such a good dog.

My poor parents had their cat of 9 years killed yesterday in front of their house by two dogs. They are so sad. You don't realize how much a part of your life your pets become until they are gone.

Ava's First Haircut

I just realized I forgot to post about Ava's new haircut. My good friend Kiley evened up the back a little for us. We are still waiting for that thick, lush hair everyone says that she will eventually have.

It's a princess party!

We had a few little girls over yesterday for Ava's birthday. She had lots of fun with them. We played pin cinderella in the castle window, painted nails, opened presents and had cake and ice cream. She has been telling us for months that she wanted a princess party with pink balloons, presents, cake and so we did our best to fulfill her wishes!

Ava is 3

Three years ago today we added Ava to the family. We were all so excited for her to come. We scheduled my c-section around the MCAT (medical college admission test). I remember the doctors talking about that while they were delivering her. She was such a cute baby. We always got stopped when we were out with her in fact one time a man came up to me and looked at me funny. I asked him if something was wrong and he said no, he just came to see if I was holding a doll or a baby. I thought that was funny. She brings so much happiness and joy to our house. We love you Ava!!

I'm Done!!

Yay, I finished all of my summer school today so I have a three week break before fall starts. It was a long 12 weeks of class almost everyday but you can't beat getting a year's worth of anatomy done in that amount of time. I was just about to celebrate when I got a call from Derek saying that he took the van in for an oil change and they wouldn't do it because there was oil in the radiator. Not good. So we took the van in and found out that we had a blown head gasket in the engine and it will be good as new for the mere price of $2,000. It's always something. I hope this trend doesn't continue. We have put so much money into that thing this year! Derek starts his 2nd year of medical school tomorrow so here we go again!

Camping at Mt. Charleston

The kids have been begging to camp all summer and there has always been other stuff going on but since this was Derek's last free weekend for a while we decided it was now or never. We headed up to Mt. Charleston Friday morning. It's neat how just a short distance out of the desert you can drive up to a place with pine trees. We found a great little campsite and set up camp, had a yummy steak dinner, roasted marshmallows for smores and then we watched a movie in the tent. Emma even lost a tooth! The next morning we had breakfast, took a nap, had lunch, packed up and came home. It was nice to have nothing to do for a day. We had a great time. But now that we are home, reality has sunk back in so I need to get working on writing a paper and studying for a final.

The kids eating their "Tahoe Sandwiches" which got their name because we used to take them to Lake Tahoe all of the time.

The boys setting up the tent

We couldn't keep Ava's shoes on. It's a miracle her feet are intact.

Since it was Ginger's 2nd birthday we let her have a steak bone

Since I took a ton of pictures and couldn't decide which ones to put in, I made a web album if you want to see them all click here

Cheesecake and Carousels

On Wednesday it was National Cheesecake Day and the Cheesecake Factory was running a special for $1.50 a slice if you ate it in the restaurant. I thought it would be fun to take the family seeing how the kids never get their own slice and at this price we could swing it. When we got to the restaurant it was about 8:30 in the evening and there was an hour wait but it was nice outside so we were fine to wait it out. I walked the kids over to a carousel they have in the shopping center thinking it might be cheap or maybe even free but unfortunately it was $2.00 per ride. I had no money on me so the kids just had to watch. I walked them back to the restaurant just as my brother arrived to join us. After a few minutes Ava grabbed his hand and told him to come here. She led him by the hand straight back to the carousel! Being the good uncle he is he bought her a ride. She is not dumb, that is for sure! Even though we had to wait another hour in the restaurant after that the cheesecake was delicious and cheap. Emma picked the winner though. Her chocolate, raspberry truffle was awesome.