First Days

School started last week for Maisie, and today for Dany. Teag and I are usually terrible about remembering to take their pictures beforehand, but we actually did it this time!

3rd Grade, here I come!

Big Kindergartner

If Rory can ever get herself fully potty-trained at some point, then she'll have a first day of preschool. And it will also mean that a small miracle has taken place :). After our rough summer I think our kids will benefit greatly from the structure and routine school provides. And honestly, these kids really love to learn, and are good students. Here's to a fabulous 2012-13 school year!

Ensign Peak

The girls and I did the Ensign Peak trail a few days ago. Our plan this summer was to do a lot of hiking together, so Mom and Finny could rest quietly at home. Sadly, the days slipped quickly away, and school starts on Wed.

The hike went very well- not too long, though the grade was a bit steep for little legs. I ended up carrying Rory on my shoulders for most of the way. It was a hazy due to forest fire smoke, but we loved the view from the top!

Happy 3rd Birthday Rory!

Today is Rory's 3rd Birthday, and we had a great time celebrating with her today. After she ate her requested breakfast of Cookie Crisp cereal, we packed up all the kids and headed to Kangaroo Zoo for some bounce house fun.

She seemed rather uncertain at first, and Teag and I worried we'd made a bad choice in bringing her there, but as you can see by her grin, it didn't take long to get into the fun. Maisie and Dany made some friends while we were there as well. Isn't it funny how kids can meet a random stranger and become best buds in a matter of minutes?

After they wore themselves out, we grabbed some fries and chicken "nuggins" for Rory's birthday lunch, and gave her a nap to help her recuperate. Once she was awake, it was time for the best part of the day: presents.

Rory was gratifyingly excited about everything she got, and played with all of her presents for the rest of the afternoon, with some help from her sisters.

Grandma and Grandpa Rogers came over in the evening to help celebrate with some cake and ice cream. I absolutely love Rory's face in this picture.

How great to be three! Happy Birthday beautiful girl, we love you!

Finn's Big Day

We blessed Finn on July 29th, exactly eight weeks after he was born. In the past, we've always had Teag's mom make gowns for our girls, as it was something she was very talented at, and we liked that she would incorporate pieces from both families into the design. Obviously with Finn being a boy we knew we needed to take a different route, but both Teag and I didn't want to just go buy something for him to wear; we liked that sort of "heirloom" aspect.

My mom, who is an avid crocheter, had the idea of looking for some clothing patterns for boys that might make for a suitable blessing outfit. What she found was this:

It's so ridiculously adorable, I had to say yes. A tiny, hand-crocheted polo? Where's the tiny tennis racket? So my mom ordered the pattern and whipped it out in no time, after making some adjustments to better fit a baby body. Here it is on Finn:

He looked like such a stud for his special day, and we were very pleased with the end result. I swear this kid is so chubby, he doesn't even look like he has a neck. We love chubby babies!

Teag gave a very nice blessing, and then we all met at our house outside for a little brunch. We were excited to have so much of our family there, even a few who might regularly not have been able to attend, like Uncle Trevor.

Even Katie and Steve came, with all three triplets, to nine a.m. church; quite the impressive feat!

Thank you so much to everyone who made it, we greatly appreciate you making the effort on ours and little Finn's behalf!