Learning New Tricks

Elsa LOVES playing ball.  She laughs the entire time, not to mention she's pretty darn good at kicking the ball.



She also has found a way to get up to the playhouse.  She has since mastered the ladder, but I'm still too afraid to let her do that without supervision.  She doesn't always respect my fears though.



Elsa is also learning the ways of the Jedi.  Or the Jawa.  Either way, it's too cute to not post.

Rowan has started piano lessons this fall.  The girls like going in and listening to him while he practices.  I think this is one of the first songs he learned.


Another one of my fun finds at a yard sale was this baseball pitcher.  Rowan has been using it to help him get ready for next season and he's actually gotten pretty good at catching the ball from it.

Nadia is learning to love girly things.  I've been secretly thankful not to be inundated with Barbies, Disney Princess things, and pink, pink, pink, but it seems her genes have gotten the better of her.  Thankfully she's not too obsessed and I'm trying to show her that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors.  She'll always be my princess anyways.

We went to  our cousin Payton and Viktoria's birthday party last month and enjoyed learning to rock climb.

 That's my Elsa.  I'm not sure why she was pitching a fit, but maybe she wanted to go rock climbing too.

We also were able to go to Isabelle's birthday party, but Steve didn't take any pictures.  It's been so nice for our kids to be able to go to cousin birthday parties!

The Other Kid's School

I should update on how Steve is doing at his new job.  Needless to say, he loves it and is really happy at BYU.  We went to his office for a FHE the other month and he showed us around.

Sometimes I look at pictures and movies of Rowan and wonder where I got such a ham for a child.  Then I look at pictures of Steve and figure it out.  We brought this rocking recliner we had for his office on our red wagon.  We got a few strange looks hauling a big chair on a wagon, but it worked great.  There's no way I was going to try and carry it all the way, not to mention Steve's office is on the 10th floor.

And there's the ham.

I have to say this is quite the upgrade from Steve's previous view looking out onto a major road.

This is one of Steve's two other lab spaces.  Currently he is using this one to house his eye tracker.  It's on the 11th floor of the SWKT.  Eventually they plan to give him a combined lab space once they are done with some renovations they are working on.

It's also got a pretty sweet view.

As soon as we didn't have a massive chair in the wagon, Elsa took back her territory.

Steve's other lab space over in the JFSB. 

The kids were unimpressed with the lack of scootering space.

They did better out on campus.

We went to the Cougareat Creamery afterwards for a quick treat.  How I have missed those brownies!

Steve couldn't be happier with his new job and I'm so excited for him and for what's ahead.  It's been a great experience thus far.

Back to School

We have been very blessed to have our kids in schools they love this year.  Nadia has started at BYU preschool and I really can't say enough good things about.  Her teacher, Miss Dorie, constantly impresses me and the progress that Nadia has shown is astronomical.  She is talking to everyone and shows no signs of selective mutism at all!!  I cry almost every time I get an update on her.  It didn't start that way, but the teachers have been fantastic with her and really helped her along.  The moment I mentioned that Nadia struggles with selective mutism, Miss Dorie said "Oh, we've dealt with that before."  It was such a relief in comparison to her previous school where I was giving them materials and ideas as to what we should do.  I was concerned with the move that she would regress a bit, but she has just leaped over any expectations I might have hoped for.  My jaw drops every time she answers a question from a stranger.  Words cannot express how happy I am that my sweet little girl is letting her light shine away.

Nadia's building is right next to Steve's work, so he can take her in the morning and should there be any problems, he can be right there in no time.

Part of the classroom has this 2nd story playhouse.

They have this awesome bike track that circles the playground.  Nadia has improved a great deal with her biking skills because of this.

Elsa was quite interested with the concept as well.  But ultimately the hanging pots won her over.  I feel sorry for the professors who have offices near this section of campus.  It's got to get loud!

Nadia's actual first day of preschool picture.  The previous pictures are just from the orientation and meet and greet.

First day of second grade for my other little lovely.  Grandma Luke gave them treat baskets to celebrate.

 Someone else also seems to favor the color red.  I think he wore this shirt last year for the first day of school too.

Sidewalks!  Mountains!  I can't say it enough!  We were walking/scootering to and from school for the first month or so, until Rowan started hitching a ride with his friend Austin.  I miss that walk in the morning with him sometimes.

Elsa probably misses it too, although it's getting too chilly in the morning.  Maybe we'll start up again in the spring.

He came home from the first day and said it was AWESOME.  Then he proceeded to tell me how he already has 2 new best friends Alex and Austin, whom he still is besties with today.  I'm grateful that he transitions easily and has a gift for making friends.

I love my kids!!!  I'm so grateful for the progress they are making and for good teachers and schools who help them along the way.

Where in the House is Elsa Luke?

There are times when I can't find Elsa in the house, which is a little anxiety inducing considering she has no qualms about opening the front door and wandering out if it isn't locked.  More often than not, I'll find her here in Nadia's room.  It's her favorite place in the house.

Bridal Veil Falls

Labor Day Weekend, we had the same good idea as most folks in Provo and headed up the canyon to go exploring.  We took the kids to Bridal Veil Falls and enjoyed cooling off in the mountain streams.  When the kids saw the falls, they decided to go up for a closer look.  Elsa wisely stayed with me, though I'm sure she would have rather go up with Steve.  It was such a nice outing and I'm so grateful to live a stone's throw away from this beautiful place.

Our New Wheels

This purchase has been a long time coming!  I was worried that we wouldn't find a decent van with what we were looking for in Utah since there seems to be higher demand here.  It was kind of stressful as the good deals were sold hours after they posted.  We didn't want to go through a dealership, so we stayed the course and thankfully after watching KSL everyday, we were able to score a good deal on a solid van.  Shortly after bringing it home, I found this sweet little note on it.

The kids love the space, as do I.

 It will never look this good again.

We have already had a lot of fun cramming as many kids as we can in it.  I'm looking forward to many road trips to come.