Today was the official first day of school for Emma and Ian. It was a big one because they were both starting a new school. The opening was delayed a little bit because of construction, and I was a bit worried that they still wouldn’t be ready, but they made it. The school still looks like a big construction zone, but the classrooms are done and look nice.

Ian started first grade with Mrs. Johnson and Emma started third grade with Ms. Taylor.

Emma was the first one up. She was all dressed and ready when I got up. She couldn’t wait to wear her new dress! Ian was a little later and I had to wake him to start getting ready. We took a few quick photos at home and then we were off to school.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they both have a great day!

Last fall I spent a couple days at a really fun photography workshop with Ali Hohn. She came back to Utah for a few more workshops and asked me to help out.

This morning I went to lend her my equipment and brought Emma along to model for the people in the workshop. She was such a great little model. I took a few photos of her too, and thought I’d share them here. She did so well they begged me to bring her back tonight for the sunset shoot.

Stay tuned for a few more later!

Emma made her first communion last week. Here are a few quick photos. She was in heaven! She LOVED her dress.

This was the scene at our house at 4:55am this morning.

Emma and Ian got up at the crack of dawn and made me breakfast for Mother’s Day. They had first gotten up at midnight, but Scott chased them back to bed. They got up again around 4:00am and started my breakfast of cereal, waffles, and cinnamon toast.

They came in to wake me up about 4:45am. I was so tired I didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t realize at first what they had done, but as soon as I did I knew I had to get up!

They were so cute. Emma had made me all kinds of cards and crafts. Ian was so proud of himself for making my waffle all by himself.

I sat with them and ate my breakfast while I read all of my cards. They made me feel so special. It was so sweet that they went to so much trouble to make my Mother’s Day breakfast.

Ian recently learned how to blow bubbles with his gum. We were loving the weather outside today in North Carolina, so I decided to have some fun with the kids and the camera. Here are some photos of our fun afternoon.

Emma turned 8 this week! Where did those 8 years go? I can remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. That moment I first laid eyes on her is etched in my mind like a snapshot. I can still picture that little scrunched up face and swollen eyes.

Emma had a week long birthday celebration. First she had her birthday celebration at school. The we had a family party at the bowling alley. Our “little” party turned into about 20 people. We had a fun time bowling, eating pizza, and just hanging out. The party that Emma couldn’t wait for was her Build-a-Bear party with her school friends. She invited a few of her closest friends and they all went and picked our a bear and had a little celebration. It really turned out to be fun! Then she got to go out with Grandma Dava and Grandpa Russ for her special “grandparents birthday dinner”. She was thrilled to be the center of attention all week long.

This last year Emma has really started to look so much more grown up. She has gotten so much taller. She has lost all of her baby teeth in the front and her 2 front teeth are almost all grown in. It has changed her little face and made her look so much older. I really need to do a photo shoot with her soon to capture her cute little smile right now!

Emma’s interests have stayed pretty consistent over the past year. She still loves art–I think she always will. Most mornings she still gets up and heads straight to her art table to work on a new project. She is in second grade this year and she loves her teacher, Ms. Hendrickson. She is a fantastic reader. I am always amazed when I hear her read out loud. She truly reads better than most adults. She reads with such emotion. The best part is that she really enjoys it. She has turned into a really good skier this year, too. She is in the Learn to Race program at Park City Mountain Resort. I have been amazed at how good of a racer she is. She isn’t afraid to go fast. She says she wants to win a platinum medal by the end of the year! She still loves to dance. She danced in her dance school’s production of the Nutcracker this year. She is hoping to do it again next year.

I am so proud of the sweet person that Emma is growing up to be. She constantly amazes me and I am so lucky to have her in my life.

Happy 8th birthday, Emma!

Thanks to Martin Luther King, Jr. Scott and I were able to get married. At least, according to Emma.

She has been learning about Martin Luther King, Jr in honor of his recent birthday. Everyday she comes home from school with more stories about him. Earlier in the week she named all the kids in her class that wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for Martin Luther King, Jr.

Then, this weekend we were having lunch at my parents house. She started talking about him again. She talked about how people of different races were not allowed to be married before. She looked at Scott and I and said “It is a good thing for you that Martin Luther King, Jr. did what he did. Because if he didn’t you wouldn’t be able to be married.” We both looked at her confused and asked “Why?” She looked at Scott and whispered “Because you are black.”

We tried not to laugh, because she is really sensitive about that lately, but I have no idea where she got the idea that Scott is African American! Maybe because he is tan???

So, in honor of Emma, I want to say Thank you to Dr. King for allowing Scott and I to get married

Emma and Ian have been really into snorkeling on this years trip to Maui. They have had snorkel and mask sets for a few years. Last year Emma started playing around with them in the pool, but breathing through the snorkel was still really a challenge for her.

This year, though, she really started to get it. She practiced a whole day in the pool and then we decided to let her try out her new skills in the ocean.

My mom and I took her to Napili beach to do a little snorkeling for real. I went in with her and was surprised at how well she did. We swam out to a shallow reef and she really enjoyed seeing all the fish. She got a little nervous when the water got deeper, but she still really enjoyed it.

A few days later Bryan and Mary planned a snorkeling trip on a boat to Molokini. I didn’t think it would be a good trip for Ian and Nora, but I thought that Emma would really like it. Scott decided to take her and have a special daddy and daughter date.

I wish I could have been there, but I was happy to hear they had a great time. They rented an underwater camera and they took a bunch of fun photos.

Here is Emma going down the slide on the boat to start snorkeling.

They had quite and eventful day. They saw all kinds of fish, a sea turtle and lots of whales!

I am so glad that they had a fun time and so thankful that I have a wonderful husband who is so involved in our kids lives!

Emma has been taking dance since she was three years old. I was so not into dance when I was a little girl, so I was hesitant to even sign her up. But she really wanted to do it, so I signed her up.

She REALLY loves it. It suits her perfectly. She loves everything about it. She loves the costumes, practicing and she loves performing.

This year they asked her to be in the Nutcracker performance that that dance school puts on every December. She was absolutely thrilled! She worked so hard. She went to dance 3 hours a week every week from September to December. The last week she spent about 10 hours at the studio practicing. I expected to hear her complain and say she didn’t want to go, but she was happy to go to every practice. She was counting down the days until the actual performance.

The day of the show she woke up jumping out of her skin. She was SO EXCITED. She kept asking all day when it was going to be time to leave. Finally it was time.

We took her and dropped her off. I went back and helped her get her costume on. She was one of the first girls there!

It was a thrill to see her dance. She was a snow angel. She only danced in one dance and she had a relatively small part, but she was thrilled just the same. She concentrated so hard and she did every part perfectly.

When she came out after the show, she was just glowing. She was thrilled with herself. I was so proud of how hard she worked and I was glad that she felt good about herself. She is already talking about next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here is what Emma is thankful for:

“My mom that cares for me. My dad that tickles me, and my cat that plays with me.” How cute is that?