Cookie Making Time

As the fall weather approaches the smell of cookies is a charished childhood memory that I love that I can share with Lyla. I am no where near the baker my mom is but we still had fun and much like her mother my daughter's favorite part is licking the spoon.

Another Trip to the Zoo

With the weather as nice as it is Lyla and I have been taking in every moment we can. Saturday morning we took another trip to the zoo (helps that we are members and it is free). We always try to be the first there and this day wasn't any different. We were able to see almost half of the zoo with out a single person there. It was great. Hopefully we have a few more days like these before winter hits.

Zoo Trip...Just us girls

Saturday Lyla and I woke up early and went to the zoo. It is definitely the best way to go as we pretty much have the place to ourselves. We went to all the exhibits and had a blast just the two of us. Lyla even went on the carousel which was a first for her (and going to be a must from now on...could barely get her off). Perfect start to our weekend.

First Day of School - Ready or Not?

Yesterday was Lyla's first day of school. As you can imagine we all have been so excited and anxious with anticipation for this day to come. Lyla has literally been talking about it for months. Needless to say it was a bit of an overwhelming morning. Being the first day for all it was a very chaotic but Lyla kept close to her new teacher Ms. Glenn and made it to class with no problem which I am sure is no surprise to anyone. However what was a surprise was when I came to pick her up as soon as she saw me she burst into tears and came running into my arms. That was the most heart breaking moment of my life. I know for most children that might not be that abnormal but for Lyla she hasn't once behaved like that even when we left her for a week at my parents house while we were in Mexico. She has always been so independant. In fact it is usually the opposite, she is usually crying because she doesn't want to leave because she is having so much fun. It is a little rattling to say the least which has me questioning is she ready or not. Needless to say I spent most of yesterday in tears going over everything. The..."What if I made a mistake"..."What if this isn't the right time yet"..."What if this isn't the right place for her"...These thoughts go on and on. I know how excited she has been and how hard we worked this summer to get her ready but it is a big school. There are 25 children in her class. Maybe this is just to much too quickly. She is only 3 and as you can see from the line of children she is by far the youngest. What to do?

UPDATE: I just realized I have never posted anything after this to let everyone know that that first day really was the only bad day and every day since has been wonderful...It took mom a bit of time to get past the memory of the first day but everyday since Lyla has been happy, excited and loving every minute of it. Her teacher Ms. Glenn is absolutely fabulous and we feel so blessed to have it going so well. Lyla is learning so much and ever day I can see her grow. It has been a great experience so far. 

NW Championships 2012

So this weekend was the NW Championships at Mint Lake put on by the Emerald Valley Ski Club. It is by far my favorite tournament of the year as well as our last of the season. This weekend was no different. We had great weather, everyone skied good and of course we had a TON of fun. I literally took over 500 photos so these are just a few. If you want to see them all they have been posted on facebook. Click here to see. Great end to the season. Couldn't have asked for a better Labor Day.

Paddle Boarding at Rainier

This pic was earlier this summer but given to me this weekend and of course a must share.It is off a phone so it isn't the best quality but I love it. It is of all the cousins with Danny on the paddle board. They were all have a blast as you can see. Such a fun day.