Feline Friends

 We got a new kitty last month - our second - and I realized that we never shared about our other one. Our first kitty, Pretty Kitty, died almost 2 years ago now.  The next June, on my birthday, Spencer surprised me by taking us to the Humane Society to pick out a new one.

 

We picked this beautiful tabby, Tippy.  She was 2 years old at the time and quite skinny, though you wouldn't know it now.  She's been an incredible, patient cat for our kiddos and we've loved having her in our family for the past year plus.

 

 In August, we decided to get another one, this time a kitten.  Good timing on our part, as the West Valley Animal Shelter was having a Feline Adoption Event and all cats were only $5! We picked out this little cutie, a 5 month old black short hair, who we named Luna.  We named her that in honor of her black fur with the white spot and also as a reference to Harry Potter. She's playful and fun.

 

 When we first brought her home, neither of the cats were too happy about the other.  There was lots of hissing, posturing, growling, and chasing.  We put Luna in a closed room whenever we weren't home, or were asleep for the first couple of days and hoped for the best.

 

It took about a week before they would tolerate each other and then another week before they were friends.  Now they sit together, play together, and groom each other. Though really, it's Tippy grooming Luna.  I love these pictures.  Tippy is totally mothering Luna. :)

Lucy the Preschooler

Is this not the cutest preschooler you've ever seen?

 

We printed out this cute first day sign and took some photos before heading off for her first day of preschool last Thursday, Sept. 6th. 

 

She was super excited and more than ready to give me all sorts of fun poses!

 

 

When we got there, she didn't want to take photos by the fun "Back to School" sign.  No, she preferred this little tree.  Whatever you'd like Miss Lucy! :)

 

Sammy wasn't terribly interested though in the pictures.  At this point Lucy was still really excited about preschool. See her backpack? It was mine when I was little.  Fun, huh? :)

 

As we got closer to the actual door though, she got a bit nervous.

 

We went inside, signed her in, hung up her backpack, and found her cubbie, which had a fun name tag inside.  That cheered her up for another picture.

"Oh, wait Mom! I need to pose!" hehe! She was great up until the point where I had to leave, then the tears and the clinging started.  The teachers were great though and helped her calm down.  She cried for 5-10 minutes but later said she had a lot of fun.  We had the second day yesterday and there were no tears at all.  I'm so glad.  My whole reason for putting her in preschool is for the social aspect.  Lucy is shy and a bit anxious. My goal is for her to learn to make friends, to learn to be in school, and to learn to take direction from other adults.  So far, so good!

Lucy Age 4 1/4

This little beauty is another quarter year older. She has learned the "art" of posing too!

Lucy is really into princesses, coloring, and dress ups.

She loves playing with her friends, especially the neighbor girls.

Her favorite movie of the moment is Tangled and she loves to sing and dance to its music.

She's also been dealing with a lot of fears - big ones too like dying and fires.  And she's had nightmares lately.  We're working on it but hopefully it's just a stage.

This is what Sammy was doing during the whole photo shoot! :)

And I just had to show off one of her "poses." She sure cracks me up!

Tracy Aviary

 This spring I bought us all Pass of All Passes.  It's a card that gets you into Seven Peaks Water Park (where we went at least 5 times, all of which I forgot my camera!), Bees Games (also forgot the camera!), bowling, Tracy Aviary, and a bunch of other stuff.  So, during the last week of summer, we decided to go check out the aviary.

They've done a lot there since we last visited.  There's a new visitor's center, a new exhibit with owls, more boardwalks, and some interactive art.  At this one, you spun the wheel and there were wings that flapped up above.

Handsome boys :)

This bird came right up to Lucy.  Pretty cool!

Love my little family!

We have a similar photo of Lucy at age 2 I think of her doing this.

We're being flamingos.

"Wow, Dad! Check out that bird!"

The kids had a great time checking out the birdies! :)

Remembering Summer

 During our summer vacation, we...

 

Ate lots of Popsicles!

 

 Rode our bikes a bunch (clothing optional :)

 

 Organized, and organized again and again, the garage.

 

 Went to Discovery Gateway.

 

 Watched the bike races from our back deck (bonus points for wearing your own bike gear)

 

 Rode bikes at Grandpa & Nana Mac's house,

 

 Played with their choo-choos (thanks Trace!),

 

 And played in the water there.

 

 Spent a hot afternoon at a cousin's birthday party (they had fun, I promise!)

 

 Went on a family date,

 

 To Chili's and...

 

 bowling!

 

 The kids had a great time,

 

 And so did we.

 

 Love these two photos!

 

 Sammy wants to be just like his big sister. :)

 

 Rode more bikes,
 

 Went to a Bees game (forgot the camera but Spencer got this awesome shot of Sammy with our phone!),
 

colored lots of pictures,

 

 And did a fun art/science activity.

 

 Found this one on Pinterest. It's colored vinegar dropped on baking soda for fizzy painting.

 

And attended the annual BYU kickoff party at a friend's house.  Spencer won this hat which promptly became Sammy's.  Summer was sure fun!