No, this is not another post about birds.

This is a model eagles' nest at Hogle Zoo that my babies all fit into perfectly.

We didn't go to the zoo alone. We went with friends we don't see enough: Anisa and her boys B, J and T and Jacinda and F & S. 

 It's not easy to keep eight kids together, but major attractions like a gorilla statue seem to help.

 Ella and I were very fond of the misters located throughout the zoo.

Ella was thrilled to find one that dripped.

Hey Anisa!

For Dane and Brenner, it was like no time had passed. It was also like they had no parents with them. They were the leaders of the day. No child hesitated to follow them around to where ever they might go.

 Hey Bryce!

Of course I'm ending with a bird! Not my fault, since this zoo helper was right at the exit waiting for us.This is a Swainson's Hawk. It was cool to get so close.

I am so impressed with the changes that the zoo is making. I love the new Rocky Shores (arctic) exhibit. That polar bear is a ham! (Did I mention that a portion of this exhibit is inside and air conditioned?!) It was a great visit. So glad we got to do this and sad that our visit had to end so quickly.

Today was the first day of school for Dane and Ella...

This is my brain on the first day of school.

Ha!

 We got off on the right foot this morning. Dane rises early and he got all his chores done, backpack packed,   dressed, all of it. He's awesome!

Ella worked out all of her nervousness somehow and went to school with the attitude of a champion and she looked adorable, too.

After meeting with Bryce's teacher, we waited for the kids to return to us.

Dane's eye was on the prize. Not a hug from Mommy, but grabbing his much loved little brother.

I hope Ella always runs to me. She won't, I know, but she's got a good (excuse the pun) track record.

Reports of new teachers all seem favorable...
Tomorrow: Bryce's first day of school!

I'm from Spanish Fork, formerly a small town.
In some ways, they're still behind the times. There's no Wal-mart, no decent grocery store besides Macey's, no Target...
Anyway, they've got this great splash pad at a place we used to call North Park. I went there with Mandy in June, but FINALLY got my photos onto my computer.

Ella and Z think about getting wet...

After Z had his fill of flirting with water, we went to the nearby (well-shaded) playground.

Sisters are the best!

Years ago, my mother bought this vanity for Ella. It sat for awhile in the garage and I finally got 'round to painting it. 

Then as the drawers were unusable without drawer pulls, it just sat in Ella's room for more than a year collecting stuff on the top of it. With (a very little) money promised to the project, I finally could see what I wanted to do with it. 

I bought fabric at Hobby Lobby and used Mod Podge to adhere it to the surface of the drawer. Because I used duck cloth, I was still able to retain a fabric feel, while guaranteeing that the fabric would stay. I used a medium application of Mod Podge and then used a Popsicle stick to smooth it all down. It was my best experience with Mod Podge yet!
I had pre-drilled holes for the drawer pulls and just opened up the fabric where the screws needed to be and attached them.
 These cute porcelain drawer pulls are from Hobby Lobby.

These are from Lowe's

I also had an old brass stool with ugly black vinyl on it. What to do...

Then I saw this look in a Martha Stewart magazine. Knitted stool covers!

No, I don't know how to knit, but I had a knitting loom and thought it might work.

Ella and I stripped all of it off the black vinyl, finding another vinyl that, judging from the odd pink shade, must have been over fifty years old. She cleaned the metal frame while I continued to un-upholster the seat down to the wood.

I bought some chunky alpaca yarn and used the loom to knit a long soft rectangle. I covered the wooden circle with foam, covered it with muslin and finished it off with the soft knitted cover. I spray-painted the brass with an matte espresso brown.

  

Ella is absolutely my brave girl when it comes to tooth pulling, though around here, it's more like tooth flicking.
She's been nursing a fairly loose front tooth since December and last night it was finally ready to be flicked.

 She loves the "weirdness" of having her tooth gone and was happy to get a "golden dollar" coin under her pillow this morning.

Here are Ella's brothers.

Bryce pretending to be asleep so he wouldn't have to go to school today.

And here's Dane, my handsome TEN YEAR OLD.

So, this happened rather quickly...

Ella mentioned to me one night that her eyes saw things really blurry. I figured it was because she was trying to read by the light of the sun...at 9 PM.

I admit I also dismissed it a bit because of my recently acquiring glasses myself, thinking she might actually want to be like Mommy.

I told her to look at the board at school tomorrow and see if it was blurry and we'd talk about it then and please go back to bed now.

When she got into the car after school the next day, she told me immediately that the board was blurry. Okay. So, I made an appointment for her.

That was Monday.

The more I watched her during the exam, the more it confirmed that she was probably going to be getting glasses. No one wants their child to get glasses, but I hoped she'd be okay with it, especially because she'd already expressed a desire not to have them.

Well, the doctor sent us out to pick out frames while waiting for her eyes to dilate with a second round of drops and the fun really began for her. She became really enthusiastic about choosing her glasses, which was a comfort to me.

She was especially happy when we got the call yesterday to pick them up (earlier than expected) and to see they came with such an adorable case.

Now we're reminding each other to wear our glasses. :)

Bryce was so excited to start school for the first time!

 I can't believe how big he looks.

Ella gets to line up pretty close by him before walking into the school so she watches out for him.

Off goes my little Phineas, off for his big first day!

Backing up a bit, here is Ella and her best friend. Such a cute photo. They're in different classes this year, but still get to play together a lot.

On another school note, we had some water damage from all that wonderful rain and I thought it best to wait on school for one more semester. I'm disappointed, but sometimes money has a better place to go. So, I know I have plenty to keep me busy and I'll look forward to Spring 2012. :)

We begin with Dane. Very excited to be going into 4th grade. After two days of attending, he keeps talking about all the "opportunities" that come with 4th grade. It'll be interesting to see what he takes advantage of this year.

On the same day (July 26th), Bryce got to attend the Kindergarten open house. He loved doing work at all the stations there and meeting his teacher. He couldn't stop beaming and pretty much danced back to the car.I officially enrolled at SLCC, starting small with a required math class, online. One small step for me, heading to the education I've been putting off for so long. No one will be surprised that I'm going for an English degree and I'm really excited about this. The best part is seeing how proud Dane and Ella are of me. They keep mentioning it to other people. Perhaps it's just that it's a novelty to have Mommy go to school at the same time as them, but either way, they think it's cool.This whole school thing seems to be a theme around here as Cam continues to teach at the Univ of Phoenix. He seems to really enjoy it. Its something that probably neither of us could have foreseen as something in his future, but it's been a pleasant surprise.

Today was Ella's first day of school (we met briefly with her teacher yesterday), her first day of first grade. I was so sad after B and I dropped her off. It was quick as we had to rush home to catch a delivery. It didn't bother her that it was quick. She got in line by her cousin (another school surprise) and went right in. My she's grown up! She is so much more confident in who she is. She loves all the girly-girls she hangs out with at school.After the delivery of our kitchen cabinets, Bryce and I rushed back to the school to meet Dane's teacher.

Later, while everyone was at school, after he lamented that he didn't get to go, Bryce used his "squirt-gun syringe" (obtained after this accident) to make designs in water on the deck. He LOVED it!We also worked on his handwriting. I've let him get into so bad habits with his letter forming (though it seems to be a theme with all my children). He had his moments of frustration and elation.

Here comes Ella! Fresh off of her first day. Mommy is much relieved to see her happy face and to hear she had a very wonderful day.We have an assessment Bryce's teacher in the morning. Nothing like jumping right back into things.

I got to go with Ella on her final Kindergarten field trip to Wheeler Farm. We sat by her best buddy on the way. Ellie the Elephant had to come too, of course.

The geese were friendly and the kids had a wonderful time running around. This was a brave thing for Ella.Her favorite part was this huge tree that turned itself into a playground. The children swarmed over it like bees in a hive.

It turned out to be a really great Mommy and Ella week. She got sick Tuesday afternoon and she just let me cuddle and coddle her. Before I knew it, that night and the following day, she was so chatty to me and wanted my attention and I felt so loved and needed by her. It was such a great thing. I don't exactly know how, but our relationship shifted into a good place. Yay!