First day of preschool

Well, I knew this day would come, and while it's wonderful and exciting, it also was a day that gave my heart pangs. My Mackenzie started preschool. And she loves it. Absolutely loves it. I knew she would and I'm so glad, but as I watched her meet her teacher, find her cubby, be introduced to new friends and begin playing dollhouse without a care that I was even there, I felt a few tears well up in my eyes. I am so glad she had a great day, but it's the mom in me that sees how she's growing up so fast that felt a little emotional that first morning. She's talked about preschool everyday since and wishes she could go every day. She's was even bummed it was the weekend and she'd have to wait four days to go back. She told me she met some new friends, listened to her teacher, practiced letters and sounds and learned how to spell "can." Their first project was making a couple of books to read. I love seeing how her face lights up when she tells me about her day. I can't believe how I have been so incredibly blessed with this little girl. She is such a delight. And while I'm sure I'll have many more teary moments as I watch her go from childhood through the stages of growing up, I am going to enjoy all the memories she's making. I realize each day is such a beautiful journey, a blessing that we can not take for granted and must live it to its fullest potential. I'm so glad I have both my girls to remind me of that and to keep me "living in the moment." 

Even though it probably didn't get past 60 degrees on Monday, the girls still enjoyed one last time on the beach when the sun came out. MJ was cooking, preparing a pork tenderloin with a spicy rub. She pretended she had her own cooking show and narrated the whole thing for me. After her nap, Emma came down to the beach to pack her pockets with whatever she could find! 

Fun in the Sun

Saturday was a the perfect day for playing on the beach, in the water and building sandcastles. Emma liked riding the whale on the beach, but later she hopped on in the water while I helped her keep her balance and pulled her through the water. MJ rode the whale too. She kept jumping through the water and going under the dock shouting, "I set the world record!" (I think she was thinking of all the world records set at the Olympics.) Josh helped the girls build a sandcastle after lunch. They thought that was pretty cool. 

Labor Day weekend

Last Friday, we headed up to McCall to stay at the cabin for the weekend. As soon as we arrived, the girls headed down to the beach. Emma just walked right out in the water like it was no big deal; thus, the wet clothes in the pictures. We got out the sand toys and they had a great time cooking up a storm before dinner. Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent practically the whole day outside. It rained that evening and Sunday and Monday were rather cold (50 degrees compared to 80 degrees on Saturday). Jared and Stephanie met us up there so we still had plenty of fun, playing cards, watching movies and football, and walking through the shops in town. It was a fun, relaxing and much needed weekend away. 

Hi heifers!

A couple weeks ago Josh moved the bred heifers to the pasture next to our house. Emma is fascinated with and I think the feeling is mutual. They have wandered up to the fence several times to see what's going on. Or maybe it's the green grass that appeals to them. Anyway, the other night I looked out to see Emma standing by the playhouse talking to all of them. She probably stood there about 10 minutes. Josh went out to see what she thought. 

Birthday party

On Wednesday, the girls and I went to Boise for Isabella's (Carla's niece) birthday party. They had ponies there for the kids to ride. Emma rode all by herself and wasn't scared at all. For those of you who know how she is around animals, you can understand why this is a big deal. As a side note, later in the evening, a big dog came in the yard and came right up to her. She kind of backed away, but never squealed and got scared like she normally does. She even went up to pet it. I guess we're getting better around animals. 

more fair photos

The girls loved tagging along with Michelle around the barn. Mich also took MJ on three rides at the carnival, so she was very excited about that. Before we left for the fair she said she just couldn't wait to go on the merry-go-round again. That is her favorite. She also rode the Kangaroo and Dumbo rides. Glad she was satisfied with her three rides. She also enjoyed watching Josh from ringside and playing in the dirt.