Swim Lessons

I think Ashton's favorite class of the year (besides school) is swim.  My friend Amber is awesome at teaching swim and Ashton just adores her.  He made such a huge improvement in the two weeks that he worked with her.  Not only is he swimming, but he started learning free style stroke and he learned how to dive.  I was so proud of him.  Its also a huge relief when you know your child can swim.  Pool time is much more relaxing.  Ashton has loved swimming and has been his favorite summer pass time.  I attached a few videos of Ashton swimming.  He does such a good job :)  Way to go Ashton!

Ashton after the first week of lessons in June

Ashton after week two of lessons, end of July

Last Day of School

Now you may think that this post is out of order, but it's not.  Ashton's teacher had their graduation the week before school got out.  That way they could just play and have fun the last couple days of school.  And boy did his teachers go all out.  They played games and had a water day.  Its funny, I think Kaylynn enjoyed going to school as much as Ashton did.  She wanted to stay with him and see what all the kids would be doing each day.  Kaylynn even made friends with Ashton's teacher Ms. Kim and would give her great big hugs everyday!  It was so cute.  It was a wonderful year and we are all looking forward to school starting again.  Just a few more fun pictures from his class last year.

*Just a fun clip of the kids playing musical chairs

Ashton's Graduation

Well another year of preschool has come and went and can you believe we have 1 more!  Ashton is in a wonderful preschool at Bunker Elementary School.  His teachers Ms. Kim and Ms. Emily are fantastic and it has been such a wonderful experience.  Ashton LOVES school and the summer has been really hard on him.  For the graduation, they sang all the songs they had been learning throughout the year about days of the week, months, rhymes, and friends.  Then they brought up each child and handed them a book full of their art work that shows their progress for the year.  It is truly amazing to see how much they grow in one year.  Even though Ashton is totally ready for Kindergarten and was convinced he was going to start this year, he has one more year of preschool.  I know he will be excited to see his teachers again and to make new friends with his new class.  He will also be riding the bus home from school and he is super excited for that!  Mommy is nervous, but I know it will work out great.  We love our little Ashton and are so proud of him!  Such a smart and sweet boy.  After Ashton's graduation we left immediately for California to kick off our summer.  Kaylynn fell asleep in the car, as usual, but I had to take a picture because she was snuggling with Ashton's teddy bear.  She is always stealing this bear from him.  For some reason it is the favorite in the house.  Grandma Vicky picked a winner :).  Nonetheless, I just thought she looked cute.

Professional Pictures

Well I believe that I have the cutest kids in the world! I like to get pictures of the kids once a year on their birthday, but since my kids birthdays are exactly 6 months apart, they get their pictures done every six months now. If I'm getting one dressed up, I might as well get them both dressed up. These pictures were Kaylynns first birthday. She was so stinking cute! Ashton always poses perfectly, my kids have got it down. Unless you have been to our house lately, you probably haven't seen these. Taking professional pictures can be stressful, but it makes it easy when your kids act like pros. I'm thinking I need to learn how to do these pictures myself, since I'm the one getting them to smile in the first place :). I am thankful for such beautiful and photogenic children.


Enjoy!

Happy 1st Birthday Kaylynn!

Well I can't believe my baby girl turned 1! Where has the time gone. Kaylynn's birthday was so much fun because she was so excited about everything. We got up and had one of her favorite breakfasts which is waffles. Although every food is her favorite, so we just picked a fun one. We were also lucky enough to have Grandma Vicky in town to celebrate with us.

Kaylynn's first present was from Grandma (my mom) which was a baby doll. She instantly hugged it and put in her stroller (from Auntie Trina) and started pushing her around. It was so cute!

It was a fun day of decorating and baking. Since Grandma Vicky was here, the kids just wanted to play with her. That was great for me so I could get everything else done. Krystle and Luke joined us for Dinner and presents. This process took a really long time because Kaylynn would actually play with each toy. She wasn't as crazy about the clothes, but I'm sure that will change soon enough. To her, it was just fun to pull something out of a bag. She would daintily pull off the wrapping paper and would be so excited to see what was in side. Of all the presents she got, I think the kids had the most fun with a cardboard box! If your a parent, you know this almost always seems to be the case with young children :). You can buy the most expensive toys and they are in love with a 45 cent box! We were so happy to have Grandma Vicky with us, especially since it was Papa Mohlers birthday too! Happy Birthday Dad, sorry we missed it and snagged Mom! And we are so thankful for all the wonderful presents everyone sent! Thank you for being a part of her special day, near or far :)!


I don't know where the time has gone and can't believe it has been one year. Kaylynn has grown and changed so much. She is beautiful, loving, happy, and blessing in our lives. For the update on how she is growing, see the previous post about Kaylynn :).

 

*There is an adorable video of her trying her first cupcake. It was to long to upload, but ask and we would love to share. SO CUTE!

Happy Birthday to Me!

This year I celebrated my 29th birthday. How do I feel about this dreaded number? It actually doesn't bother me at all. I'm not worried about turning 30 because I realize that it isn't that old! It's funny that we spend the first part of our lives wishing we were older and the majority of our lives wishing we were younger instead of enjoying and embracing the age that we are. For now, age is only a number and I am loving whatever age I am. I love my life and my family and I look forward to our next adventure.

This year, I had a two part celebration. The first was a family party on Sunday night. This was especially neat because my cousin Steven was in town and we don't get to see him very often. We had my favorite food and favorite cake and my favorite people (I missed all my family who was to far to come :)). What is not to love! I will also always remember this day because this is the day they announced that we had finally got Bin Laden.

The next day was my actual birthday. The kids and I played in the morning and Aaron came home fairly early from work to celebrate with me. He got me lots of little kitchen gadgets that I had been saying I wanted and some great gift cards. We went to my favorite restaurant, Islands, and made for a great end to my birthday. It was a mellow day and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

One of the presents my mom got me was this caddy to hold all my party utensils for eating, the sign I made with Krystle on one of our craft nights. I love it!



Kaylynn being her adorable self!



I was actually holding the camera for this picture, can you say she already knows how to pose.



Just another cute photo



Jaclyn and Krystle got creative with my candles. I think they may have used more than 29 candles, lets count and see :)



Aaron and I on my actual birthday.



Beautiful flowers, he surprised me with.



At our Favorite Restaurant.