Happy Birthday Chris!

Claire

She has been having fun at school making best friends and learning with her teacher and classmates. Since we haven't gotten her on a bus route yet, I've been picking her up from school and asking how it went every day so I get to hear about it as it is fresh and fun. She doesn't like talking about what she learned, but she tells me about the new friends she makes. We had a fun trip this weekend that she got excited about and spent a fun day with her great-aunt! They went and saw a movie, played at a park in the mall, ate at Chick-fil-A, and said she had a super fun day. I think she now knows the difference between a fun day and 'the best day ever' because she specifically remembers her birthday as the best. She was a lot of help on Tuesday when we were planning a birthday dinner for Daddy! She made sure I decorated and gave him the best plate and I had them drawing pictures for him so they could give them to him. It was pretty cute!

Shay

Her days with me are always full of her whispering while she plays a game, I just don't understand why she has to try to hide. She will ask for food all day if I don't limit it to specific times for meals and snacks so I'm working on keeping that schedule. I have observed her between all the things that I have to do all her games which seems to involve setting up her toys exactly so for her game before she starts playing. I think she is whispering commentary as she puts them where they are supposed to go, but that's just a theory. She told us she liked this weekend too because of going to a movie, and apparently is the reason they left the movie early because she couldn't sit still. She's a little wiggle worm, unless she's tired and falls asleep of course...they should have gone to the park to wear her out before the movie!

Chris

The reason the girls were hanging out with their great-aunts all day is because Chris and I went for a double date to Lagoon to ride the big kid rides! I told him this was his birthday gift so I wasn't going to do anything special on his birthday but I lied. He is a thrill lover and had a great time with the exciting rides plus I drove all the way to BWW for his favorite food for his birthday dinner. We had to go to Lagoon now so that I didn't miss my chance with this season and it was sooooooo worth it! There were some good rides I remember and then some that I don't remember being as bad as they were this time around. The jerky ones that bring you pain are no longer worth it to be, but the new ones were great and I would do them over and over if I could! They still didn't have their newest ride open even though there are billboards saying it is open this year...we will see...hopefully during frightmares which is the last planned time we are going to try to go. I hope his birthday was special enough and now he can't call me old like he does every 2 weeks when I'm a "year" older haha.

School Begins!

 Claire

In the wake of her birthday, this week was exciting for several reasons, she met her teacher on Monday night and then started school on Wednesday. While we were at the meet and greet on Monday she saw a boy there that she decided she loved and the progression has been very funny to me because I like sharing it with Chris who doesn't know how to process it. First thing she said was, "mom, I think I'm in love with someone," and then pointed him out so I told her to go meet him and she said she was too shy. She lost her chance that night but came home and drew a picture of her marrying him and was excited to go to school to see him. On Tuesday we went to go buy her new shoes using her birthday money from grandparents and saw a build-a-bear in the mall that I remembered does the whole birthday bear thing so Claire got a bear and one outfit and Shay got to pick an outfit for the bear we had at home. Then Claire went to school on Wednesday and found out the boys name and said she had a lot of fun. She eats all of her lunch which is so different from last year, so I'll be packing more from now on!

Shay

She had fun up until Claire started going to school and now she's been a little more noticeably whiny about weird specific things. She plays really well by herself and helped me paint Claire's birthday doll house that Chris and his dad made last weekend. I almost finished it in one day but ran out of the right color paint So Claire was able to be excited about wanting to help finish it the next day. I let them draw with sharpie some decorations after I put their names on it and it seemed to make her happy about it, but now she keeps wanting to make furniture. Shay plays in one side of house because Claire is a great sister! We've also gone to the library, the park, and the store while Claire is at school to keep her excited, and to stop her from asking to go all the way to DI or the Wolf Lodge! She has a habit to ask for things that are too far away.

Happy Birthday!

 Claire

6 years old!!! My little baby is now 6 years old...and it isn't fair that she is getting so big and wanting to grow up. She was explaining to Chris and me that when she grows up we will be grandparents and she will get to have babies. I'm not ready for her to think that far ahead! She will start 1st grade this coming week and already wants to have a family and make me old. But it could be because this weekend was so focused on her growing up because it was her birthday and she enjoyed feeling special. Her mermaid party was the most successful party I've ever planned despite all the other ones I've worked hard on. We had it over in Pocatello so family and friends from the area all were able to come, maybe when we have been in Star long enough we will have enough friends to have a party here. There was pizza, cupcakes, and presents under a pavilion right outside the pool we went swimming at. There was too much wind to light the candles so she blew out the lighter instead and then the cupcakes that I worked so hard on were enjoyed. I made sure she found out who gave her each present before she opened it and said thank you too!

Shay

I worked my best to help Shay this weekend to feel special and not get mad that Claire gets all the attention. She got a present to open at the party with a backpack she had been asking for forever and made sure Claire shared with her everything she could. Luckily, they shared so much now that Claire was really kind and shared a lot of her new toys and her mermaid makeup when we were getting ready for church. She had fun with cousins and swimming and only got mad after church when the primary gave Claire some candy for her birthday and she was jealous. I think two days of special treatment for Claire was too much, but they shared that too, and is now looking forward to her own birthday! It was nice that we were visitors at church and they recognized Claire, but we made it safely home and the girls are introducing their new toys to their old toys.

Mommy

Yes, I had a birthday this past week too...its easier to not focus on getting older when I get to talk about my daughter but I had a good birthday as well. My celebration was with my cousins and family last weekend and didn't need anything too special on an actual day except the girls making me pictures and singing Happy Birthday and picking good meals. I started with my favorite breakfast of French Toast, had a craving lunch of soup, and finished off with some yummy shrimp for dinner with ice cream for dessert. I got some impossible puzzles from a trolly brother that I worked on all day, and now I get to do the ones from my mom that I actually like! Chris convinced me to take a bubble bath while he took care of the girls getting ready for bed then gave me a massage so I think the day was really special. I also had a 5K run Saturday morning that I personally think went really well, so it was also a great week.

Chris

Soon enough we will be celebrating Daddy and I have some fun plans to make him feel extra loved! No one spoil it and warn him though because I always have to be the one to out-surprise him during birthday month. He has been working hard and got some praise from the bosses upstairs for how well he did last month on his first month as clinic director. I'm majorly proud of him and I know our lives have been very blessed by our decision to take this job and move to this area. We were being sentimental on my birthday and talking about how wonderful our lives have turned out because of each other. I'm so grateful to have him in my life for the past 8 years and I'm very excited for the future.

Welcome August!

Claire

We got Claire signed up for her new school and she will meet her new teacher in a week before school starts. One more week of summer and then she will start school! I've never heard her express this before but when we were going to turn in the paperwork she said she was scared because she's never been to this school before. She is way too friendly to be scared of school. Maybe she will just miss the long days playing at home and going to the park, but hopefully, 1st grade is fun and she will find good friends. She found a rolly polly bug when we were celebrating with family last night and wanted to bring it home but I convinced her that we couldn't take it away from its family. She had been holding it for a pretty long time and I didn't want her to kill it either because apparently, she doesn't want to kill bugs! If it was a spider I bet she would have been fine with it...

Shay

On Tuesday we spent a long time out of the house going to DI, going to Chick-fil-A, to the library, then back to Chick-fil-A to get my credit card back, and then to the grocery store! I was exhausted by the end of the day but the girls just wanted daddy to come home so they could show off their new stuff. They paid for their own toy with their own money at DI and then I got them a few new dresses so they dressed up and arrayed their items in front of the door that he comes in. It was pretty cute that they were that excited about it because we don't buy new things too often. We do go to the park a lot though and Shay is usually the one who asks and picks the parks we go to. She knows them as the one we eat at, the one we bike to, and the water one. I know which ones they are but if she tried to get anyone else to go to one I'm sure they would be confused.

Visit

We went to my Aunt and Uncle Cox's house for a BBQ and birthday celebration last night. I have a cousin who was born on the same day as me and she is moving closer so was able to come to visit her parents, and now that my family lives in the area too they invited us. It was wonderful because there were kids the girl's age and I got to catch up with my cousins I hadn't seen in a long time! We also had yummy food and played in the backyard with some sprinklers and pools before having dessert. My antisocial husband was trying to leave as early as possible but I had a good 4 hours of family time and he survived without too much awkwardness. Now I get to see my twin cousin again next week when we celebrate Claire's birthday because she is moving closer to my in-laws and will be working at the same hospital and maybe even the same part of the hospital as my mother-in-law.