really?

My little boy is now a full day kindergartner.

My thoughts?: Scared, worried, excited, nervous, happy, lonely.
Trey's thoughts?: Great (that's the word I get everyday when I ask him how his day went)

On the 1st day Trey looked shocked when I picked him up and didn't want to talk about his day. Thank heavens for our neighbors and Trey and Toby's best buddies the Campbells - after letting them play together after school, Trey finally started to warm up and tell us all the great things about his school. He seems to love his teacher and the school. He is a big fan of playing outside, going to the science lab and anytime he get's to go upstairs at school. He is eager to buy chocolate milk for lunch but I am trying to keep things simple this first week. Unfortunately he also seems to be falling asleep during rest time which means he has been staying up until 10 the last few nights! Grrr especially since lights are out for them at 8:15 - that makes for a long time of complaining that he can't fall asleep.

Toby misses Trey the most and is so excited to pick him up each day. We seem to be falling into a routine after school of unwinding/playing for an hour and a half and then working on homework while I cook dinner - it's funny because Toby is all about doing this with Trey. Yesterday we were working on penmanship with Trey and Toby was right there with him trying to write letters. I wonder how long this will last?

Ode to Boise

Boise Idaho, oh how I love you. It really is a great place to live and to visit for that matter and that's exactly what we did this summer.

Here's a peak at what our summer consisted of:

Lot's and Lot's of fun with our cousins. When I say LOTS I really mean it - I think the 4 older cousins may have separated from each other for a total of 4 hours one day (I was there for 5 weeks), and that was a traumatic experience for them - especially Trey who seems to think the sun rises and falls around his older cousin D. In fact just yesterday I asked Toby who was in charge and he told me D was. Nice.

Trey cried on and off the entire two leg flight home and then part of the next day. It breaks my heart. He told me he wants to move to Boise and have all the Longnecker cousins move there too so he never has to say goodbye to any of his family!

So like I said, we never really separate when I go to Boise - I am all about a slumber party every night - not just for the kids but for me and my sisters, tammy and my mom as well. So this is what we look like when we go places:
Here we are shopping on our way back down the elevator from taking a nursing break - that's right - can you imagine this group in a restroom. Word to the wise - stay away from the Boise Dillards restrooms while I am in town because there is a good chance me, my mom, tammy and my sisters will want to go shopping and that means we ALL go ....
We also like to go to a few of my favorite restaurants when we visit, the kids are just so darn good when we eat out - can't you tell?

It seems like we are always planning a party or an adventure when I go home and my partners in crime are always my mom, Tammy and my other sisters . We planned a kickin shower for my sister Natalie who will be getting married this month to this guy
We are so excited to have Ben be a part of our family. And since we LOVE planning a party having her wedding to work on was fantastic! Did I mention we are going back to Boise in just a week? I told you I love it and I love these two and can't wait so see them get married.

So thanks to great parents, siblings and family members who make Boise such a wonderful place. I love seeing my cousins and being close to them every time I visit out west and that is what makes traveling with my kids for such a long time so worth it. I want them to be close to all their Grandparents and cousins just like I am with mine. I want them to feel proud to be a part of the Longnecker/Hawkins/Glover/Smith families and have great memories with each of those families. So here is to the showers, parties, swim lessons, sleepovers, movies, eating, and shopping fun we had each day. I think I accomplished my goal!

Our trip to Utah

We arrived in Boise on the 4th of July at 8:30 in the evening. Grandma and Papa / Tammy had a cake ready for us and fireworks ready to go... all to celebrate our arrival - I mean the birth of our country.

We had a great night - anyone have pictures? I need them.

The next morning we hopped in the car to head to Utah - here are some of our adventures...


We had a blast with our cousins - Ella Hazel's blessing day was beautiful. Fireworks, swimming and shopping were also great and the kids just loved being together. Thanks Scott and Heather for a great time. Look forward to some cute posts on ideas for decorating JK's room I got from Heather - she is so creative!

Then we were off to stay with some of our best friends from Chicago who now live in Utah.



Erin, I miss you just writing about you. We had so much fun with you guys and loved being with your family. How is it that we all stayed up until 2am and could have kept going? We really needed like three more days just to go shopping together like old times. Chicago's got nothing on SLC! Thanks for a great time.

Then on to the Y (BYU) where life is beautiful all the time - really it is. We loved being back on campus - why did I want to put a back pack on and walk around all by myself (sorry family) and pretend that I was a student again just for a day (or 2 or 3). Don't get me wrong, I love my life now - but that time of my life really was magical - how could it not have been I lived in this house

Doesn't it just lure small children into it with it's cuteness? Really though, the gals and I that lived here (see previous post) loved it so much that we nicknamed ourselves the Log Cabin Girls and made ourselves t-shirts that said so. We still refer to ourselves as the Log Cabin Girls.

Then Lars and I took the boys to see some of the beauty around the Y campus

Bridal Veil Falls proved to be one of the boys' favorites.

Last but not least we were able to visit my sweet aunt, cousin and her daughter.
Tegan we are still praying for you everyday. How is it that this sweet girl could be going through so much right now as well as my aunt and cousin and yet I left them feeling so full of sunshine and happiness. Ang and Aunt Jacque, I know you guys are constantly saying how much you are learning from Tegan, but I want you to know that the rest of us are also learning from you. You really are amazing in the truest sense of that word - I love you thank you for letting me visit!

Fasten Your Seat Belts...

Because I've got some updating to do. Some people "summer" at the Hamptons - we summer in Boise. So I have now returned home from our summer of fun and it is time to do some updating.

The first of our trips across the country was for this lady:



Julia Karen, a friend and I flew to Arizona to celebrate with Amanda at her wedding. It was wonderful, beautiful and overall a magical weekend. Can you tell that I spent most of the weekend laughing?
I am still anxious to find more pictures - ones that include Katie Allred and all of us with the beautiful bride. Thank you to all the log cabin girls for being you - Joy is the word I will always use to describe the feeling I have when we are together!

Also a shout out to Brett and Jeremy - thanks for being JK's pseudo daddy Brett! And Jeremy, you have opened the world of texting to me (Lars has shut that world down until we get a new cell phone plan but still my eyes are open and the next wedding we attend I will be right with all the fellas playin with my phone!)