Family Milestones

Well, these last few weeks have produced some great family memories. Looking back on them, they were milestones in their own unique way. We experienced:

-The first time Cole and Kate got into a paint mess together. I can't believe I left the paint out for half an hour while I went upstairs to make lunch. I knew they were into something when it got much too quiet, so I went down to investigate and found them looking like this.

Kate's mess was limited to her mouth - she tried to eat it. She did manage to paint on the desktop though. Thank goodness for washable and non-toxic!

Cole had much more fun painting his face and hands. "I'm batman mom!" ?

- Tyler received his Wood Badge award for scouting - it was really a big deal. He went to a course for 6 full days, then had lots of requirements to fill after that and 4 service-type projects to organize and carry out. He was the first one of his group to earn his! He worked really hard and I was so proud of him.

I got to put on his new neckerchief at our Court of Honor. Look how proud he is! :)

- Cole had his first day of preschool! And it went super smoothly. He had been excited leading up to it, but also hesitant at times when he would talk about me leaving him there. But day of, he was awake and dressed when I walked in his room :) He was just beaming through our morning routines, and talked nonstop about how big he is now that he's in preschool. We walked him over to school and he just made himself right at home in his classroom. I was talking to his teachers after getting him settled working on a puzzle, and he turns around and waves "bye mom and dad!", like Okay you can go now :) So we left. He has loved it ever since and has a great class and teachers.

Opening the door for me on the first day

Bye mom and dad!

-Tyler fixed a beam on our porch. Our porch just started tilting this summer, and although we could still use it, it was looking a little unstable. Tyler dug down under the main beam that holds it up and discovered the wood at the bottom of it was rotting and causing everything to "fall". So he replaced it, poured some new concrete and now it's better than new. Have I ever mentioned how great it is to have such a handy husband? I love it!

Cole and Kate got to put their handprints in the base

- We made letters with our bodies! After watching an inspiring Sesame Street, we thought it would be fun to see what letters we could make with our bodies when we laid down. Turns out, not that many when you only have 2 people. But it was fun.

Making the letter L with his body. Kate just copycatting, as usual :)

- Kate wore a dress that was my mothers. I've been waiting for her to grow into this dress! My mom wore it when she was 1, and now Kate has too! It is so beautiful, with this flowy lace on top and puffy, silky blue material. I thought it was so special that she could wear something that was worn 50 years ago by her grandmother.

Laughing at daddy

Kate looking adorable in mom's dress

Dancing to music - aka twirling in a circle with hands in the air

Cole didn't have anything significant to wear but still looks awesome!

- Our family did a 6 mile hike. Or I should say, Tyler and I did a 6 mile hike with a child on our backs. This was one of those "glad we did it now, but never do again" things :) We absolutely love hiking, just maybe not for that long while carrying them. It was Labor Day and we had some friends going (up Big Cottonwood, to Lake Blanche) so we thought we would tag along. We knew what we were getting into, but of course were thinking we can always turn back if the kids get tired or if it's just too long. But it was great! We hiked up to 3 beautiful lakes and enjoyed perfect fall-ish weather and sights along the way. The views were incredible. I'm sure partly due to the very steep trails...this was no casual stroll. Poor Tyler carried 60 lbs worth of Cole and gear on his back, so he definitely felt it the most. But they both loved every minute of it and we were glad we went.

Taking a breather after a steep slope - notice Cole napping.

Finally to the top! Kate enjoying a snack break and stretch.

Lake Blanche

Us at the top! We did it!

Love my girl! I decided carrying her on my back and being able to take her on and off is much more fun than that time I carried her in front for 9 months.

So glad we did this together

This is me at the very bottom, 6 miles and 6 hours later. Pointing at the "severe rises in elevation" sentence on the map.

Lots of big days for us! Now we're trying to enjoy the weather before it turns for good, soaking up these last beautiful days.