First Day of Third Grade!

I can't believe Savanna is in third grade! She was so excited the night before, that she couldn't fall asleep, and was awake before I was the first day of school. She walked up to our new elementary school (that is literally five houses up the street) with her good buddy Max. Her teacher is from Sugar City (right next to Rexburg) so we already love her. She seems like she is going to be an amazing teacher! One down, one to go. Berkley will start Kindergarten on Wednesday, and is counting down the days!

Rexburg

We try to go to Rexburg more than once every summer, but this summer it only happened once! Jenny and Lilly were up from D.C. and we were so excited to get to spend time with them. We did a picnic and ice cream with Great-Gran , planted a garden with Grandpa, played with the goats, had hot dog roasts, had a cabin sleep-over in the forest, played with cousins and just chilled!

Rocco: Gotta Love Him!

Saying Rocco is a good sport is a gross understatement. The dog takes so much mauling. Yesterday I watched as Maddox put his Buzz Lightyear spinner up to Rocco's face, and turned it on so it hit Rocco over and over again. Rocco would flinch every time the spinner hit him in the face, but never ran away. He loves any attention he can get. Here are some Rocco pics I have:Rocco as a Backpack

Savanna makes tutus and sews outfits for him. He endures it.

When cousin Lilly calls, she wants to talk to her favorite cousin, Rocco.

He will stay in any position you put him in.

He has his own pack-n-play, for when we vacation, and Maddox thinks it's the party place. (Notice the Rocco Pottery Barn stocking behind him...thanks Sarah!)

WE LOVE OUR DOG!!!

Annie

My new goal is to blog every other day, so I can someday slurp it all into a book for a journal. So here goes:

I feel like I don't give my oldest the credit she deserves. When we are at the grocery store, Savanna is close by, with the list in hand, while her two younger brothers are running around yelling, tearing stuff off the shelves and throwing stuff into the cart. She will even run across the entire Smiths Marketplace, and carry Maddox back to me kicking and screaming, when I am ready to abandon the cart, and call it a day. Whenever I hear either of the boys cry, and she is at home, I find her holding and loving them, and making sure they are OK. Even her school teachers thank me for her, because she is so kind at school to the kids who don't have friends. I love that she is the justice police, and will stick up for anyone who is being treated wrongly. I love that she will do anything to help out in the house when I am feeling overwhelmed. I love that I can often find her in her room, singing Michael Jackon's Thriller album at the top of her lungs, and that she is an appreciator of all things musical. I love how she always has something nice to say about people, even when they are mean to her. She will always give second chances, and forgives easily. I love that she loves animals, and even wants to protect insects from harm. I love that she loves to nurture kids younger than her, and tries to make them feel special. I love, I love, I love... She is AMAZING and I feel lucky every day that I get to be her mom, and learn from her. I love my little Annie!

MILESTONE!

Our family just hit a major milestone and it feels GOOD! We took the kids to the mall, and on the way home, there was no yelling or swearing by neither Mike nor me. It is the first time EVER, we have had an enjoyable day at the mall with all three kids! Highlights: new iphone for me and a shirt and flip flops, iphone accessories and some new clothes for Mike (he is seriously worse than me), earrings and high heels for Sav, flip flops for Berk, and a "man bag" for Maddox (he loves purses). Of course, all these pics were taken on my new iphone, and I can't stop!!! (Don't mind the text issues on this post. I couldn't for-the-life-of-me fix the problems.)

Trying on sunglasses while waiting for Daddy to get done trying on clothes.

Savanna BEGGED Mike for these high heels, and everyone that knows Mike, knows that he is uber conservative when it comes to his little girl. She will be five years old for the rest of her life in his eyes. But a lot of begging, batting of eyes, puppy dog faces, and explaining that she is eight years old now, talked him into it (although after she tried to wear them out of the store paired with her "WAY to short shorts", Mike gasped and kindly (or not so kindly) told her to keep them in the bag, and not take them out until Sunday. Here's her proud victory picture right outside the store.

Berkley=spent

Afterwards, Mike Sonnenberg treated us all to Toy Story 3 on the imax and 3D. One word: THE BEST (wait, that's two words)!

January to June -Highlights In No Particular Order

Berkley's second round of Tee Ball - LOVING it!!!

Preschool Graduation

Savanna turned eight and got baptized! We had a big family lunch afterwards.

Grandpa's goats had babies! Savanna would bring their bottles to them saying, "It's OK, momma's here."

The circus with friends.

Strawberry Days in Pleasant Grove with friends.

Medieval Times in Anaheim with cousins- where Savanna was crowned by the jousting prince, "Queen of Love and Beauty." (huge highlight for her)

DisneyLand - for six days (some of which was spent in the E.R. with a very sick little Maddox).

Berkley turned five and celebrated with a movie party with tons of neighbor friends.

Daddy Daughter Disco - Mike rocked his 'stache!

Nutcracker

I know it has been forever since I have posted, but I will try to post a ton in the next few weeks to catch up. One of the most exciting events during the Christmas season, is that Savanna was in the Utah Regional Ballet's Nutcracker. She was a cookie, and enjoyed every second of it.

Savanna and the other cookie's backstage.

Her teacher, Jonie, was the Sugar Plum Fairy, and is the cutest teacher ever.