off on the bus.

**warning** picture overload (proud mama)

well, the kitchen is now clean and i'm sitting at the computer thinking about this sweet boy that i just sent off on the bus. it was a LOT harder than i thought it was going to be. i've been so excited for him the last few weeks, then going to his meet-the-teacher last monday started me really thinking that this is really going to happen. this is my reality, my little boy is going to kindergarten!

last night i had a bit of a meltdown. to make me feel better, i finally went and laid next to connor in bed. we talked for a little while about how excited he was for school. he told me how excited he is to go. he's excited to ride the bus. he's excited to see what the inside of the bus looks like. he's excited to go out for recess. he's excited to play in the field for recess (at preschool, they only played on the playground). he's excited to learn a lot. he's excited to make new friends. we talked about being nice to everyone and listening to his teacher. after we talked for a while, i watched him fall asleep. i love lying in bed and talking with that little/big boy. he is my bud. what a sweetheart he is. he has the most tender heart. it's hard to think that every morning he'll be in school, but oh, how i'm so excited for him! he'll do so well.

you'll have to humor me with how many pictures i took and posted. i was pretty emotional and thought every picture had to be shown!

connor was super excited that he was first in line at the bus stop. it does help that the bus stop is on our driveway...i know, we are lucky! i don't think i have ever seen him so excited!! he looked so small and yet so big as he got on the bus. ben was so precious with him, he talked to him the whole time at the bus stop and then sat with him on the bus. thank you ben for sitting with connor and being such a great cousin!!!

just think...next week and it will just be me and elsie for 2 mornings a week. it's hard to believe. mabel is just as excited as connor was. she even had to put some of her new school clothes on! she has to wait until the 8th for her first day of preschool! it can't come fast enough for her!

elsie was precious and sat on the step clapping for connor and mabel! please excuse the naked body...brooke was a little disturbed seeing her sans clothes.

first one in line. don't you remember that?!? it was a big deal to be first!

connor had asked cory to stay and watch him get on the bus. i thought it was pretty precious! the kids thought it was so fun to have daddy for a couple extra minutes in the morning.

he was so excited he didn't even care how many pictures i was taking!

first one on the bus.

seriously, i've never seen him so excited!

and just a few hours later...he's home!

his favorite thing about today...going out for recess.

martin's cove.

we sure got our camping fix this month!

last weekend we drove to martin's cove with cory's family. we camped at missionary village. we drove in on thursday and put our tents up in 35 mph winds! you know you are in wyoming with winds like that! it was pretty comical. then on friday we drove over to martin's cove, dressed in pioneer clothes and pulled handcarts for the day.

it was an incredible experience, full of gratitude for our ancestors and the handcart pioneers. we just had a glimpse of what it would be like...minus the lack of food, warm clothing, pulling a heavy handcart, freezing temperatures, and crossing the sweetwater river with ice chunks in it. it was very humbling experience.

then on saturday before we headed home we drove to independence rock and found 2 of our ancestor's names carved into the rock.

the whole clan before we started the trek.

connor was a trooper and walked almost the entire way.

there was a point when we were walking around the cove, that connor got really tired and was pleading for us to stop. it broke my heart to think of the pioneer mothers who had nothing to give their pleading children. i'm sure many of the children were hungry, tired, cold and in many cases, sick.

it was tough to see this little one sit in the handcart.

when we first got to the cove, mabel was complaining her stomach was hurting. she laid down and fell asleep during the orientation and video. then when we picked up our handcarts, she immediately laid down in one. not 5 minutes later, she threw up all over! poor girl, it was so sad. she seemed to feel a little better after that, but made the whole trek lying down in the handcart. it was yet again, another reminder of how hard it would be to be a pioneer mother!

just about to cross the river. i thought it was interesting, we learned from the missionaries that the pioneers didn't usually get in, cross and get out of the river in a direct path. a lot of the times they would have to enter at one spot of the river and then walk down or up for a bit to find the easiest spot to get out. they crossed this river when it was freezing cold outside with chunks of ice floating in it.

j w crosby

(heidi's ancestor, i'll have to ask my mom how many great-gpa's he is)

p g sessions (cory's 3rd great grandfather)

spirit lake.

a few weeks ago, we spent a weekend up in the uintahs at spirit lake. i have many fond memories of lots of summers spent there camping and fishing. it was so fun to be able to take the kids there and share a place i loved growing up! we went with the whole packer clan minus spence who had to work. thanks to granna and grandpa packer for a fun time and yummy food! and, thankfully, everyone caught a fish!

the kids l-o-v-e-d spending time with cousins! we fished, ate, roasted dogs and s'mores, hiked, fished some more, explored, sailed boats, went rafting and kayaking, laughed a lot and loved spending time together.

thanks to all for such a fun time!

elsie after the hiking up to jessen lake.

half marathon-ing.

last saturday my friend and i completed our first half-marathon!! we ran the timpanogos half. the course was beautiful. we started at 6am up american fork canyon at tibblefork reservoir, then ran down the canyon and then along a paved pathway and streets, passing the timpanogos temple at the very end. my official time was 2:15.

i enjoyed it so much. i learned a lot about myself during the process of training and then on race day. it was a great experience and surprisingly it actually makes me want to do another one! it only took me 30 years to do the first one, we'll see how long it takes to do another!

cory and the kids were huge supporters of me throughout the last few months. they came down and waited for me to cross the finish-line. connor and mabel started to run the last little bit with me, until mabel lost a flip-flop and went into hysterics. so i picked her up and we jogged across the finish-line with connor holding my hand. it was pretty special!

another birthday.

we celebrated cory's birthday outside this year. the kids and i wrote secret messages {reasons why we love our daddy}, folded them up, put them in the balloons and blew up the balloons. then we tied them in the trees and wal-lah! instant party. we celebrated by having homemade pizzas on the bbq. then we had fruit pizzas for the bday cake. it was a fun night.

we love our birthday daddy!

connor about to pop the balloons with the secret messages.

the loot.

connor and mabel love to help blow out the candles.

showing off some of the loot.

surprisingly, one morning cory came home from golfing and said that he'd found a hat that he liked and fit well. but he couldn't decide which one, black or white. so later that day, off we went to get him a hat for his bday. well, we decided to get him both colors! it's not everyday that he'll actually ask for something!! those of you who know him well, know he's definitely not an easy one to shop for. but that's one of the reasons why we love him!

happy birthday cory. we love you.