First Day of School!

The first day was Tuesday, August 23rd. What a cutie.  She was so excited and didn't even complain when we had to wake her up early.  Jorg got up with us and gave us each a "back to school" blessing.  It was very special.  I tried not to shed tears over our girl's cuteness.  I did not succeed.

Here's a picture from the Kids Village website:  the center of the "village".

And here is Rebecca in my little room where I teach the 2-3 year olds.

Rebecca and I are going to school together!!  On Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I wasn't able to get a picture of her with her teacher yet, since I have been doing my share of running of like a chicken with my head cut off!  But hopefully things will slow down in the coming weeks for me to accomplish taking a picture of my sweet girl with her very first preschool teacher!  We like it!

**It was an intense adventure at Kids Village...TOO intense.  I quit after just 2 weeks, and stuck around 1 more week for them to find a replacement.  Rebecca loved her class and teacher, but my class was just unmanageable.   Too many kids, too small of a space, and too few toys, and they were too young (2 yrs. old).  I was going insane!  Also, I REALLY missed Rebecca.  Since I worked morning and afternoon (Tues and Thurs), and all day was too much for her to handle, I had my mom pick her up for the afternoon.  My mom did not mind.  And Rebecca was happy.  I just...didn't like it.  I want to spend every second with her that I can.  She may be our only child (If you're reading this, pray for us ;) I so badly want siblings for her).  And she is growing up so fast! We are doing a neighborhood Joy School now, and it works perfect for us.

Children's Museum

with Mimi, Mel, Mar, Addie, and Westen!  What a great time we had!
sidenote:  Rebecca is into picking out her own clothes and accessories these days.  She chose everything she is wearing in theses pictures.  And it all matched!

Happy Trails

We watched the sun set and it was breath-taking! Rebecca did very well on the hike, even though she had missed her nap that day. We were all impressed. And when she got tired, Omi was there to carry her up the mountain on her back.

Here we are on the actual 'Y'

and we ate ice cream at the Creamery afterwards. Fun, fun night!

Some History: This large block letter "Y" is the insignia for Brigham Young University. First placed in 1906, it is made of concrete and measures 380 feet high and 130 feet wide. The original plan was to put "BYU" on the mountainside, but when placing the "Y" took longer than expected, plans to place the B and U were scrapped.A hike to the Y begins at the trailhead at N 40° 14.690, W 111° 37.630. The trail follows a series of switchbacks as it winds its way up the side of the mountain.

Sewing with Omi

Grandpa Jim went on a fishing trip, so Omi got to come and spend several days with us this week! She brought up her sewing machine to hem some of Jorg's pants. Rebecca climbed right up on her lap and did a little sewing too :)

The Great Outdoors

Jorg made sure we packed up the car and headed up the canyon for our ward campout this year. It was fun to roast marshmallows, make crafts, and see Rebecca running around with her little friends & enjoying nature.

As I recounted my camping sleep history to Jorg, he suggested I might sleep better if I went home. He didn't have to suggest that twice! I did come back to eat breakfast and drive my family home the next morning. Apparently Jorg and Rebecca had a pretty deep tent discussion that night about life and death and heaven. I was sad to have missed that but I'm glad they got to bond.

These are the two cutest people I've ever seen!
What a fun daddy she has and
What a sweet girl we have!

36 years young

We spent a perfect day with Jim and Birgit at Lagoon! We had a our own food there for a yummy picnic & birthday cake. The weather was not too hot. The lines were not too long. The Wicked was not too scary. Okay, I lied about that last one. It was really scary! But we all had a great time, especially Rebecca, who had been dreaming of this day for about seven previous "sleeps".

And before we even pulled out of the parking lot:

our sweet tired girl.
Happy Birthday, Jorg! We love you to pieces!

Our old and dear Friends

Aaron Abbot came to visit from Idaho (Jorg's mission) in May. What a great guy!

Chris, Kim and Caleb Viveros came from California to stay with us for a few nights in July! It was so cute to have little "Baby Face" toddling all over the place. Heidi, Abby, and their kids met us at my parents house to hang out with the Viveros for a while. It was fun to see everyone.

And a couple of weeks ago I met up with some of my dear friends from High School. We stayed at the Olive Garden laughing, crying, and sharing experiences for over three hours.

Jorg and I are both blessed with great friends in our lives!

Coffee the fish

I just got this uploaded but it's from July 3rd, out on the lake in Grandpa's boat!

Just Playin'

On Pioneer Day we swam at my parent's neighborhood pool. Kim got these shots of Rebecca jumping, jumping, jumping off the diving board! And here is her blog post with a movie clip. It all started when we were swimming a few weeks ago and she watched some teenagers doing tricks off the diving board. We were trying to leave and it was hard to peel her away, since here eyes were glued to the kids jumping off the board. She even watched them through the chain link fence as we walked away. She had it in her head that she wanted to jump off that board! I told her she first needed to learn to jump off the side of the pool without holding my hands, which she had never done before.
So on this day, she got brave (probably since Jorg was there) and just went for it! She not only jumped off the side of the pool, but she spent a good half hour jumping off the diving board. She would not stop for any breaks, and would not accept help from anyone while she climbed out of the pool each time. Pretty brave, I say!

Also, here is a picture of her playing with the toys she picked out at the neighbors yard sale. Care Bears! I would've picked them too! She was so excited...
Oh, to be a kid again...We Like It!

Rebecca + Robbie

We had a play date last week with Rebecca's little friend from nursery. Rebecca is "head over heels" for Robby! He was a good sport.

Farm Country

Summer Fun

a family walk in the rain

playing with friends:

Stella and Rebecca

Maggie put pudding on her sandwich bread when we weren't looking...so cute...

Swimming in the Yard

Family Photos

Photo Booth Fun

Some of Jorg's business associates use Macs. Jorg never has. But now he is doing some IT work at Trivani. So it was important that he bring home a MacBook so he could get familiarized with it. Horray!
Rebecca begs to do Photo Booth so now we have a new incentive for her to do...anything we want! I guessing her toys will be put away a little neater and her teeth will be cleaner and her bed will be made every morning...

...at least for a little while...
We Like It!

Independence Day Weekend

in pictures...

And a quote to live by: “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Go Deutschland!

shirts from Birgit