Back to the Schedule

 Well, we were home from vacations and back in school. Wow, even though the summer season in Phoenix goes so long, summer break for the kids feels so short. Two and a half months flies by. I miss them so much when they go back to school. Good think I still have my little side kick around for one more year.

Four years old is such a fun age. I really think it has been my favorite age for all of my kids. They are so sweet and loving. They are better at being able to be reasoned with. And they say the funniest things. We started up our little preschool group again and here is Holland's All About Me page. My favorite is her drawing of herself.

I am so lucky to have a good group of supportive moms with kids with similar ages in our ward. We went to a fun splash pad one day. Holland loves outings like this, and it gives me a good excuse to get out and chat with friends.

Of course we love our time at home as well. Holland is still happy to just sit and look at books regularly. It's the best. She also spends way too much time looking at my phone, but not because of kid things (movies or games) she just likes to look at Instagram with me. In fact I have seen her every once in a while playing Instagram in the mirror. She talks to herself and describes what's on her mind, like she sees people do on my feed. *face palm* Let's just say I not particularly proud of this habit, but I am also trying to not beat myself up for it either. She also likes taking pictures and selfies with my phone.

It's not all screen time though. There is lots of pretend play, games, puzzles, and helping me around the house. I love it.

This year in preschool we are using a curriculum that my friend bought that is based off church stuff. It is cute, but I don't stick to it exclusively. I just pick and choose what sounds fun and easy.

 I love my buddy at home!

I love my other girls too! So much. I wish I had more time with them during the school year. We try to limit how many extracurriculars they are doing, but it still feels so busy. We did take one evening in August to go swimming and enjoy that hot hot weather. I had to take a pic because of all that pretty light. I also love how empty the pool is in the evening. It is the best.

We definitely love swimming in Phoenix!

One thing I started with Holland is doing a writer's workshop every once in a while. Her stories are so funny, and it is good handwriting practice. I'll have to take some pics of the finished product sometime. This story started out, "Daddy made a wrong choice at work." It was pretty delightful. ;) 

I can't believe that Eliza is in 5th grade. She is so smart and responsible and works so hard. I am so proud of her. I wish she could stay this age forever. I feel that about all of my kids really. We are in such a good phase of life right now. I am trying to make an effort to come to her last elementary school things, like the Patriot's Day assembly on Sept 11. I can't believe how fast her elementary school time as has flown.

We did a little preschool field trip to go see the police museum in downtown Phoenix. It was pretty fun, but would probably be cooler if you had a little kiddo that loved police stuff.

We have fun just at home too! Creativity with food and hats backwards. Pretty exciting. :)

Cute girls on picture day. The school pictures are kind of expensive, so I have a tradition of taking their picture before school that day so we get our own school pic. The school ones turned out pretty cute though this year.

And I am still a big dork, so I have to take a picture of fun number times. 9:19 pm on 9/19/19. :)