Reid and Emily

What did we do for the three weeks that Grace "tracked off" of school? (that's me trying to use year-round school lingo...)

We spent every single day of her break visiting grandparents. It was a loooooong vacation, but it was great. (and sadly, although my camera was out constantly at Reid's parents..I only busted it out twice at mine... I hate when i do that.)

In Wyoming:

We built sand castles....

Check out that sandbox that Reid's dad built!!

We fed the horsies...

We rode the horsies

I know that props should go to my girls for being brave enough to do this...but could I get a little pat on the back, too? That horse could have eaten Eliza!

We swam. We swung (swinged?swang?). We played

We jumped on the neighbors trampoline.

And we bribed the girls into posing and being happy for a few minutes...in hopes of getting one awesome picture. Eliza's still not quite ready for full-fledged bribing, so she was the hardest one to work with. But they still turned out pretty cute (although i wish i could go back and take out abby's not-so-little flower...)

Reid's family is awesome. Hanging out with them is always a good time. We loved every relaxing, sun-soaking, camp-fire cooking moment with them!

Heading to Provo was hard. It was the first time going there knowing I wouldn't see my mom. I don't know how, but I miss my mom more now than ever. I guess it's getting easier in some ways, too, but not in the 'missing' department. I miss her lots, and it sucked pulling up to the house and knowing she was not there. I found myself talking to her several times while I was there. She is everywhere in that house. Which is wonderful and hard.

So we kept busy. We spent just about every free second at cabinet shops, granite yards, flooring showrooms or Lowes. My parents' kitchen has needed a little updating for 3 decades now, and my dad finally decided to do it! I was more than happy to swindle deals and find the best price on everything for him :) The remodel won't take place for a few more weeks, so there are no before-after pictures yet. But we did remove all the (25 year old!) wallpaper in the dining area.

the top picture is the "before" and the others are "during." My dad's still working on
some of the glue left on the wall, so no "after" picture yet.

I had two wonderful friend "reunions". I love getting together with my life-long bff's (and i'm pretty sure we all secretly believe that we invented that term). We had so much fun, i couldn't stop smiling for days. I know i've said this before, but I really have some amazing friends. And sadly i don't have the picture that Grace took of all of us--it's on one of their cameras (hint hint, to whichever of you has that photo!). Grace captured us from our chins down. It's awesome.

Both my niece and Reid's sister started their freshmen year at BYU. It was awesome being in Provo while they were there, and getting settled in. But going to their dorms and meeting all their roomies made me feel ooooold. Not that 32 is old. cause it's not. But I just kept thinking that surely I was sooooo much older than they are when I was a freshman. And thinking like that--well, that makes me feel old! I'm so happy for them, though. They're both loving college life already. And i love that they can (and have!) head over to my Dad's for quick visits anytime.

Eliza turned TWO while we were in UT. She is changing so much, even I am seeing it--and constantly shocked by it. She has turned into this sweet, adorable, funny, clever and chatty little girl. I am loving this phase she's at! I think I was too overwhelmed and tired to enjoy Grace or Abby at this age. So i'm just soaking in every sweet thing Eliza says and does--cause it turns out that 2 year olds are actually REALLY fun when they don't have a baby sister stressing mom out all day :)

She still gets a little shy when she's around new people. Or when a group of people start singing Happy Birthday to her. Like in this photo. She was happy at the first of the song until she realized we were all singing to her...then she put on her shy face.

We didn't do a party or anything, but I don't think she noticed. My dad picked some plums from his tree and made the best homemade ice cream I've ever had! She had 3 servings. I'm pretty sure that's better than anything i could have bought for her. She LOVES fruit, and she LOVES ice cream. She must be related to me and Reid!

We drove back home on Labor Day. Which left us with one day to unpack, etc, before Grace "tracked on" and Abby started preschool!

Abby on her first day of 2 mornings/week preschool

One day at home was MORE than enough. My girls have been fighting so much lately, and we've all been having frequent battles with one of them in particular. So, i welcomed the start of school with open arms. Abby's in the mornings, Grace is in the afternoon. And keeping them apart as much as possible seems to be key to keeping the peace in our home. Nothing makes me happier than when they get along. Nothing drives me crazier than when they fight.

Eliza's in a little "joy school" with a few friends. It started today, at my house. There were seven 2 year olds here for two hours. It was actually not as bad as I'd anticipated, especially 'cause i don't have to do it again until the end of October :)

We're staying put for a while now. Three+ weeks away from home is a long time. It was awesome to be with family. And it's good to be back

And now we're off to parent-teacher conferences--our very first one!!