What Carolina Said Today

After day two of kindergarten, this is what Carolina said to me: (I quickly wrote it down word for word so I could get it right) "Mom, I'm starting to love this boy because he said I'm kinda beautiful."

Here we go...

First Days of School

I really want to be caught up on my blog...but Ashley gave me some good advice today, so I am going to blog about what is going on now, and go back later and finish the summer. I really want my sisters and mamas to see the kids back to school pictures, so here we go!

I was really sad when I found out that Miss Cathie's Academy was filled (I didn't register in January like I should have) so I finally signed Gracie up for a preschool by my house. It was conveniently located and still had openings. So long story short, she had her back to school with Mommy, then her official first day (where she made a friend named Hope and the boys in her class kept stepping on her toes), and was just getting ready for her second day when Cathie called me. She had a sudden opening and wanted to offer it to me, as all my other kids have gone there and we are good friends. At first I didn't know what to do, but quickly decided to un-enroll her in the preschool she was in and to go with Miss Cathie, who would be starting the next day! I was a little worried that Grace would be confused or upset, but she took it all in stride. She was very excited to have another "first day of preschool". I feel great about it.

So here is Grace riding the "train" at the other school.

Here she is with her new backpack, I love how this shows how short she is.

Grace was so excited to FINALLY start school, like her big sister Carolina.

Gracie with the boys, they were so proud of her!

So the boys had mixed feelings about getting back to school. Ty has a man teacher this year, and when we went to back to school night, he got nervous. But it is going great so far!

Jack has Mrs. Lepore, who Ty had last year. He was a little worried about how Ty represented the "Emig" name, which made me laugh.

Tyson wanted me to take a picture of his nikes to show his grandmas. I found a great deal, and made him pitch in some of his own money, because he wanted them so bad.

Ready to go.

Grace's second first day of preschool, with the aforementioned Miss Cathie. Carolina took her in and helped her find her chair with her name on it.

I signed the girls up for a little dance class once a week with their cousin Eliza. We went and bought them ballet shoes last Saturday. They were really excited to get home and start dancing. I LOVE THESE PICTURES!

Please click on this picture for the priceless expressions on their faces! I told them to point their toes.

Each week in their dance class they explore a different fairytale. The first class was Cinderella, and the teacher brought out costumes and wands for them all. I was smiling so big. I have been doing boy stuff for 10 years, and this was my first "girl-mom" moment. I was so happy the girls could be in this class together and with their cousin too. (I tried to get pics with all three cousins for you mom!)

So today FINALLY FINALLY Carolina Jones had her first day of kindergarten. I don't know why they start them a full WEEK after the other students, but it was hard for her. Every day she would ask, "Is today my first day?" We had her outfit planned and laid out for a couple of days...even Gigi started before her. Here she is:

The classic backpack shot!

I love this girl. She is so brave.

Here we are at the school, she was immediately talking with friends from church, so my last 2 pictures are just the back of her. I called out her name as she was going in the door, and she looked back and gave me her big quirky smile and quick wave....no hugs or tears here.

I was in shock this morning. finally, they were all in school and I only had Fi. I went and got Ash and made her walk around the mall with me, even though I didn't want to shop really...I just wanted to be out! So fun. I love school. (Carolina had a great first day, by the way. She loved her teacher, and everything about kindergarten!)

Updates, June and into July

In June Joey went to Boston with his good buddy Scott. They took in some baseball at the "green monstah" and visited the basketball hall of fame, and ate alot of really yummy food (which he delights in showing me pictures of.) So he got back on Father's day, and the kids were excited to see him. (Joey, I am so happy that my kids get to have such a wonderful dad. Keep up the good work!)

We went to Lake Powell for girls camp this year (June 23-26). It was exhausting and fun, and hot, and tons of work, and did I mention exhausting? Joey took off work to watch my kids...which was awesome...none of the guilt of having your best friends and family doing you a huge favor and watching all your kids for you! I got a text the second morning I was gone that Jack had fallen and had to get 9 staples in his head! Then on Friday and Saturday I was on the phone ALOT with my sister Sam, who was at the hospital to give birth to Josi. It was very exciting. The six hour car-ride home from camp with lots of rowdy beehives watching a barbie movie?...not so much.

The day after I got home from camp, Tif Christensen came in to town with her 5 boys for a visit. This was a really busy and fun time for us. We had such a blast! The boys love each other so much. Cannon came later in the week.

The boys found a frog in the yard and refused to pick it up. I even offered 50 cents to whoever would do it. What a bunch of city kids!


Finally, Jack's love of money won out....he looks calm in the picture, but he sure wasn't! Carolina and Grace each earned 10 cents for touching it!

A Wendy's pic-nic in the theatre...good times!

Tif and I took the kids swimming, which resulted in another trip to instacare...Carolina fell in the bathroom ( she later told me she was on the counter trying to get soap on her hands and fell off) and had to get stitches...caution, gross pictures to follow!

I took Jack with me. He got his staples out and Carolina got her stitches in!

I love how beautiful Carolina looks in this picture. She love to wear this hat when she is outside.

Next up, my visit to see my mom and Samantha in California, the Emig family reunion, and other equally exciting summer happenings. I know you all can barely wait.

Goo Girl thinks she's a rock star

My mom bought this outfit for Carolina Jones when she was little, and now it is Grace's turn to use it. She walks into church in this get-up, acting like she owns the place. It is pretty funny as she insists on the sunglasses too. Grace is very popular with the adults in our ward. She is the loudest singer in the primary, and she struts around the church-house in the most confident of ways. Cute is her currency, and she knows how to wrap everyone around her little finger. People think she is so amazing and smart, really she is just extremely short...which makes her seem really advanced for her age. She is quite a ham. I love this girl!

What We Did Today

So, this is a break from trying to catch up on my whole summer. I present: "What We Did Today". This is a blog post that actually tells about my current life, today...not last month, not even last week! I feel like all I am ever doing is playing catch up.

The Girls were in a little "ballet" today. My friend Amy's daughter Aubrey (age 11), puts on a ballet every summer. She gets all the little girls in the ward and has practices and then puts on the performance at the church. It was so cute. It was "Hannah and Gretle". Here are some pictures of my girls and little clips. This is the kind of thing only grandmas really like, so the rest of you can skip this post. This dance is the "bird dance". Carolina is the tall one, and Gigi is the shorty.

It was fun to put make-up on the girls and do their hair. Ash came to help me. I didn't take pictures of them in their costumes...wahhh. but I took some others. Enjoy Grandmas:

Grace smudged her mascara right away...still cute.
Sisters.

Here, trying to do a "ballet pose".

In the dressing room, waiting for showtime.

After we got home and I realized I didn't take very many pictures:

Fi grabbed the tutu, then got really mad about it!

So my next post will go back to my usual...catching up with my summer.

Randomness

So, I never put baseball pictures of Tyson, and he sure hasn't let me forget about it. Here are some pictures of him. He did really well this year and progressed alot. He really improved and gained confidence in hitting, and fielding too.



This is what I call Ty's goofy picture face....he loves to do this every time I take a picture. In fact I have a hard time finding a picture where he is NOT doing this!


There, that's better...isn't he handsome?

He is number 27.

Ty gets really mad when he gets a strike, and we are really working on sportsmanship.

Okay, some pictures of Fiona...she is growing so fast.

More randomness....when Grace wakes up in the morning, her hair is CRAZY. It is like a poofy cloud around her head. The other day she woke up from a nap on the couch, and I just had to capture the look for my blog...enjoy. Also, she is not posing. This is her, "I'm annoyed at you" look, which makes me nervous for her teenage years!

Gracie recently told me she wanted her hair to be "as long as a giraffe's neck." So I have stopped giving her her signature "gigi bob".....we'll see how it goes.