School Part 2

Tuesday, September 6 Porter started preschool. He is doing a neighborhood preschool that has a total of six kids. It rotates houses and teachers. He knew he was going to preschool but all that meant to him was he got to carry a Bobby Jack backpack. When it was time to go and I dropped him off he was all smiles. It lasts one hour and when I went back to pick him up he was still smiling. When I asked what he did he told me about horses and blocks. I knew the theme for the day was "All About Me," so I asked his teacher later what they learned about. She laughed and said the blocks and animals were only for the last 5 minutes of class. Oh well. But he did have fun showing me the giant tracing of him. He was so excited about it. "This is Porter!"
Yesterday we did some of his games from his preschool folder and he loved it! I think this is going to be great for him.
Yesterday, September 7, Ainsley started Kindergarten. Oh boy was I nervous for her. All day the day before she kept asking me questions. "What if I forget where my hook for my backpack is?" "What if I forget where my desk is?" "What if I don't get on the right bus?" "What if the other kids stare at me while I look for my hook?" She was a ball of nerves and that didn't help me.

But the morning arrived. We took great care with her outfit and her hair. While I was doing her hair I told her she needed to put her shoes on next. She asked which shoes she should wear. I told her whatever ones she wanted. She said she wanted to wear her new school sneakers but they didn't match because they are blue. "I wish they were gray or yellow." I told her it was okay if her shoes didn't match. "Are you sure?" She was finally convinced it would be okay. When she was ready to go we went outside to take pictures. She was so excited to show off her Justin Bieber backpack.

Finally it was time to go to the bus stop. I asked if she wanted me to walk her there and she said, "It's okay, I will go with Brinnley." So Chant, Porter, and I gave the girls hugs and watched from the corner as she walked across the street and to the corner for the bus stop. She looked so tiny standing there with all the big kids. When the bus rounded the corner I started to cry. She is just so little! Watching the poor thing climb those big steps!
When the bus was out of sight Porter and I went inside and settled in for a few hours of just the two of us. It was weird, but nice. We played games and read books.
Finally it was time to go to the bus stop to pick her up. When the bus pulled up she was all smiles walking down the stairs. The highlight of the day was the piece of cake she got with a note that read "My first day of Kindergarten was a piece of cake." She told me all about the two new friends she made, one of them named Ashlyn. She showed me the handprint she had made with ink on her hand. She talked about seeing the computer room. She described the playground. And then she said, "I can't wait for school tomorrow!" And I breathed a sigh of relief. She's going to be just fine! And so will I.

Party Time

The evening of Monday the 18th Jen, Gran, Oma, and Opa came to celebrate Ainsley's birthday. It was a very low key affair after being gone a week and a half. We had dinner then cake and ice cream.
Ainsley's candle actually stayed lit long enough for us to sing happy birthday and for her to blow out the candle.
Opa and Oma gave her a gift card to Wal-Mart. She was so excited to go school clothes/shoes shopping!
Jen gave Ainsley a girls day out. Ainsley has been looking forward to this since Brinnley's birthday back in January. The big day isn't happening until Friday and she cannot wait! She feels like such a big girl now!
The cake came with a few rings and other things and Brinnley was pretty excited she got one.
Gran and Aunt Linda gave her the cutest little bag filled with markers and crayons. She has been creating masterpieces every day since.
Porter is wearing the fairy wings that were in the cake.
For some reason, this birthday has made Ainsley feel so grown-up. I don't know if it's because she is going to school or what, but she keeps saying things like "since I'm five now" and "did you do this when you were five?" So funny! Love you my little lady! Happy birthday!

Happy Birthdays

July 15-17 was my family reunion at Cherry Hill. Every year my parents and all of the siblings get together for a weekend of fun in the water, also known as Whitmore Water Wars. Normally we go to West Yellowstone. This year we went water park style.

Ainsley's birthday was July 17th and my nephew, Logan, had his birthday July 21st. We did a joint party for them. Logan is such a sweet boy! Can't believe he is a teenager now!
The kids all helped put the candles on. (Lily, Brinnley, Porter, and Luke.)
(Logan, Ainsley, and Dalton.)
Because of the wind, I was only able to get one candle lit for each of them. They were lucky they got that!
After the cake we did presents. Ainsley girl was spoiled! She got a Barbie mermaid from Grandma and Grandpa.
Brinnley got her Squeenkies, themed ones from Beauty and the Beast. So fun!
She also got a Tangled doll and hair bows. When she saw the bows she got a big smile and said they would be perfect for church. And she made sure I put one in her hair yesterday. She also got Never Say Never, the Justin Bieber movie. We watched it on the way home from camping and she kept saying, "I can't believe Kasey and Tracy got me Justin Bieber!" She was so excited about everything and I think having her birthday with all the cousins at a water park was pretty amazing for her.

I love my sweet little girl so much! I still cannot get used to the fact that she will be starting Kindergarten this year and won't just be home with me all day. She is such a spunky, smart, expressive little girl. She brings me joy and I love her! Happy birthday baby!

Jeanie Beanie

My Ainsley Jean is getting so big! She will be 5 in July! I cannot even believe it. April 8th I took her to Kindergarten orientation. She got a new Silver Crest Knights T-Shirt. There were 5 stations set up with different games and she loved it. She is so smart and knew exactly what to do. She was so excited to have a shirt like Brinnley. We put it on at school so she could wear it home. I am so excited for her to start school. She is ready to have her own friends and do her own things. But I am almost more nervous about her starting than I was with Brinnley. She is a little more reserved and she is such a tiny little thing. But she will do great and she is ready!

I am so proud of my girl. I have seen so much growth in her lately. She loves her big words, and "actually" is still one of her favorites. She has taken quite a liking to playing with Polly Pockets and her Calico Critters. And she's been playing with her babies more. I love listening to her play. She has such an active imagination. It reminds me of when I was little playing with my dolls and Barbies. She loves to color and draw and play with playdough. She loves reading books. That is our time to sit and enjoy quiet time.

But one of the biggest changes I have seen in her has been her behavior. She used to get instantly frustrated when she didn't get what she wanted or something didn't work right. Her reaction was to scream and throw a fit. Occasionally that still happens, but it is a lot less frequently. She has gotten so much more even tempered. Her biggest frustration in life right now is a little brother that likes to torment her and kick her toys over. But she is learning that instead of yelling at him, go get Mom or Dad to "Take care of it."

She is still a master debater, well practiced in proving and defending her point. Often I am left speechless or laughing. Where does she come up with this stuff? She pays attention to details. The other day we were in the car and she said to me, "Mom, did you know there was this plane that had a crack in it and they had to emergency land and all the people had to get on another plane but that plane had a crack in it too. But luckily nobody died." I asked her where she heard that. "Watching the news with Daddy." She loves to watch the news. Often when I come down the stairs in the morning she is sitting on the couch holding the remote. When she sees me she smiles and says with a giggle, "I'm just watching the news."

She loves music and learns lyrics amazingly fast! Her favorite songs right now are Justin Bieber's Baby and the music from the Camp Rock soundtrack. She has every word down for Baby. It is the funnest thing to hear her sing. We have dance parties in the living room and we always sing in the car. She is such a fun little girl.

She is still my little monkey girl. Each night her bed is piled high with monkey friends of all kinds. She is my girly-girl. She loves to dress in "fancy" clothes and she likes bright colors, patterns and designs. She cares about things like the right shoes. She has been talking about a new bedspread because hers is a dark purple and she wants a brighter one. Her favorite color is still blue with pink as the close second.

She always amazes me with her knowledge. We were in the car yesterday and we were talking about how the mannequins in the store windows at the mall were wearing tank tops and short skirts. We talked about that and if it was okay. Brinnley said that we should always wear a t-shirt with a tank top. Ainsley said, "yeah, because we need to be modest." And yesterday as well she asked when we were going to have the missionaries over for dinner. I told her I didn't know who the missionaries in our area are and if we had missionaries in our ward. She looked at me with a shocked face and said, "Of course we have missionaries or we wouldn't have anyone to teach the people what is right and about Jesus." She pays more attention than I think.



I just love this tender little girl! My life would not be the same without her. She has taught me so much and continues to amaze me every day. I love you Ainsley Jean!





(Here she is with her bear in his bed made out of a melted record.)








(Wearing the mask she made with Auntie J.)














(All ready for church. This sweater and these boots are her favorites.)

Our Little Dancer

Ainsley started dance last Wednesday. She was so excited about it! She and I had a special Mommy/daughter date to go buy her leotard and tights. When we got home she wore them for two hours. She had been looking forward to it for a week. When the big day finally came she got a little nervous, but I reminded her she knows the teacher and a few of the other girls in her class. Once we got to Miss Tracey's and she saw Emmaline and Aubrey, she felt a lot better. We got the tour of the basement where she will be having dance class and then the mommies went back upstairs. She stayed right on her red piece of tape and she did great. She was all sorts of excited about her gummy bears at the end of class. I am so proud of her and so excited for her. She has never really had her own thing that's just been for her. I think this will build her confidence and maybe she might even find an activity she loves.
Before heading off to dance for her first class.

Ainsley and Aubrey
Grace and Molly

Birthday Girl

Ainsley Girl's birthday was July 17th. For her special day she wanted a swimming party. We went swimming at the Ashton City Pool. We were pleasantly surprised when we showed up at the pool to see all the older cousins were there. And the kids were in hog heaven. Brinnley was able to go down the slide and jump off the diving board because the boys were there to catch her. And Porter had fun jumping off the steps and the boys caught him. Ainsley warmed up to the water and she had so much fun. It was a wonderful time!
When we got home we had cake and opened presents. She wanted a pool cake. I made it of Sand Creek. It was brown for the beach and greenish blue for the water. I made a little campfire and the blue balls were beach balls. It didn't turn out quite right, but she loved it!

She got Polly Pockets and lots of dolls and a sleeping bag and beach pails. She loved everything! It was a fabulous day!

Birthday Success!

Ainsley had a lot of little helpers blow out her candle with her.

And she got her first Zhu Zhu pet today. So fun! We got home at 1:45 and it is now 3:16. I haven't seen them. They have been in their room playing Zhu Zhu pet, flying pegesus, and they have many pieces of paper that are decorated with stamps (they have been coming out to show me their creations).

Thanks Aubrey!
Hugging Alex.
This is one happy little lady! Thanks everyone for making her birthday a special one!

Party Time!

My good friend Jena said we could have the party at her place. I was thankful because we would have been cramped at my place. It worked out great! Thanks Guy and Jena!

Guest List:
Lily and Lincoln Fish
Aubrey and Eva Lenahan
Ella and Will Quinney
Izzy and Alex Secor


First on the agenda: Lunch
Second: Pinata
Third: Cupcakes and ice cream
Last: Presents

Lunch was nice. We got the kids their PB&J's and then moms and dads took their pizza into the dining room and enjoyed some chat time.

Then the pinata. It was HOT outside, so we just had Chant stand on the stairs and hold the pinata over the banister. It was the string kind, so they each took a turn pulling one string and then the second time around they all grabbed one and pulled at the same time.

The kids waited so patiently for their turn. I was impressed. (Pic above: Eva, Aubrey, Ella, Lily Anisley, Brinn is cut off, and Izzy)
Everyone scrambled to get the candy when the pinata came down.
Enjoying the goods!

A Weekend of Firsts

This past weekend Brinnley had her first soccer game. She was so excited! This little lady prays every night that she will do well at soccer practice and at her games. Well, her prayers were answered. She scored her first goal! (It was a joint effort.) It was pretty awesome! She wanted to tell everyone the second the game ended. She is loving soccer and I am so glad we had her do it.

(Warming up before the game)


Brinnley, Alex, Ellie, Evan, and Carson














Ellie and Brinnley













Another first happened Sunday. Ainsley gave her first talk in Primary. She was so excited! I was worried she would be shy, but she stepped right up to the podium and spoke loud and clear. She even pushed Chant's hands out of the way so she could put her hands on either side of the podium. She spoke about Joseph Smith. She did great! I am so proud of my girls!












In other news, this is my view from my front porch. Isn't it lovely! I just love spring in Missouri! Gorgeous!