Water Week

 A couple of weeks ago, we had a week of water fun! On Tuesday, we were invited to go to the splash pad with Krystin and her boys and Keaven also came with the little boy she watches (her girls were in dance camp). The kids all had a blast running around, but were careful not to get the water in their faces.

 Then, on Thursday, we were invited (along with John and Krystin) to go swimming at Christopher and Keaven's apartment. We got the kids some floaties and...

 William had a bast! Who would have thought?? I haven't taken my children swimming in a while, so it was a true shock to see that William was being so brave and loving being in the water and jumping in the pool.

But, Lily...

 couldn't get enough security from floatation devices.

 She hated being in the water by herself. She was okay as long as she was holding some one's hand. We are determined to help her so she doesn't develop the fear of water that I have.

Surprising, right?

Kindergartener!

The time has come! William has his first day of school today!

We met his teacher, Mrs. Saunders, last night and found out that he is in the "Lady Bug Room" so he can remember where he belongs. He was a little nervous at the school and a little bit after.

But, Matthew gave him (and Lily) a father's blessing, which was wonderful, and William was so excited after that. We picked out what clothes he would wear (he has a uniform, so it wasn't too difficult) and made his lunch last night before bed.

This morning, we got up, got dressed, had breakfast, and were out the door by 7:15! William remembered where his class was, his teacher's name, where his locker was and desk was. They all had play-doh on their tables, so he started to play. No tears at our good bye, which is a blessing! But, it makes it a little easier knowing it's only a half day. I'll pick him up soon. Now, come Tuesday on his first full day, who knows if I can keep my cool!

He looks so grown up!

Mrs. Saunders, take care of this sweet boy for me!

What I've Been Reading

I am in the process of reading The First 2000 Years by Cleon Skousen. IT IS SO GOOD! If you ever get the chance or time, pick it up. It is about the first 2000 years of the earth and has taught me A LOT. It's one of those things where it's giving me answers to questions I never knew I had. It is great!



School Days

So, I have been putting this blog post off. This is the "William is going to kindergarten" blog post. I figured that maybe if I finally just did it, rip it off like a band-aid, then it won't be so bad on Thursday when he actually goes to school.

FOUR DAYS! I guess, technically, it's more like THREE DAYS now.

School is an exciting thing and I've been trying to be so upbeat about William going to school. To his face. In other places I'm bawling like a baby. If he only knew.

When did he get so big? So old? He's to the point where he will remember things. I remember my first day of school. He will remember his. This is why I need to put up a brave front. If I had known that first day of Kindergarten that my mom was still in the hallway having a hard time leaving, I would have had a harder time being there without her.

It's not so much that William is my baby, because he's not. He is my little boy, my bud, my helper, my right hand man. I'm excited for him to progress. But, where it hits me the hardest is the fact that he is moving on and I'm not going to be there to watch it. This little one of mine is going off into the world without my hand to hold at all times, and that is scary. I feel like I have run out of time too quickly and only hope that I have taught him what he needs

.

Now, maybe I sound a little too ridiculous. I do realize that William is not leaving me for good. I will still have him and I'll still be teaching him. I'm still "momma." But, when school starts for a little person, life is never the same.

This is a part of motherhood, right? We have to give up what our selfish desires are for the benefit of our children's progression.

William is ready to move on. He is such a people person, I know he will have no problem making friends.

I love this little boy and I am excited for him to be his own. To grow into his own and be confident in who he is and what he has to offer the world, which is a lot.

And I will be cheering for him from the sidelines!

(and picking him up in the car riders lane)

The Comforter

My niece Raven is being baptized on Saturday! Hooray! This is an exciting event and we are so sad that we aren't able to be there. But, my mom and dad have traveled to Utah and were willing to take with them the gift that I made for Raven.

I have been stewing over what to make for this awesome girl for a little while and I came across an idea online. A blanket. I know that it sounds a little odd, but it came with the description that the Holy Ghost (which she will also be receiving) is just like a blanket. He is a comforter to the soul. I absolutely loved that.

So, I took off to the fabric store, got the stuff I needed and got to work. I embroidered her initial in pink for a special touch - it's her "signature" color. And just played it by ear and did things to the blanket as I went. It was a lot of fun. I got sick the day before I needed to get it finished, so the total finish of it is a little lacking, but I am over all pleased with it. I hope that she will like it.

We've Been Ambushed

One of the best things about not living in an apartment anymore is the fact that my kids can play in the backyard! They have loved being outside (when it's not too excrutiatingly hot) and playing and exploring. And they love that Grandma and Grandpa have swings.

 Unfortunately, William was not so happy because he didn't have anyone to push him at the time.

But, since we have been here, Lily has been asking about the well and what is in there. So, Grandpa came and opened the well, tied a bucket to a rope and we drew some water out of it, which was SO cold!

 The kids loved it! They thought that it was so cool.

And, if you thought that was cool...

We were able to see my Dad play in his super cool band at a Fourth of July party.

 The band's name is:

 And they all look like this:

It was such a fun evening and we loved seeing and hearing Dad! I recorded some of the songs on my camera, but they didn't turn out. Boo. They were pretty awesome and we're hoping this will be an annual thing. Even though it would be cool if we got to see them all play before then too..

In the Month of June

Well, looking at our blog, it wouldn't seem that things have been going on in the Townsend House. But, that's not true. June was one of the busiest months I have had in a LONG time. So, here's a June in a Nut Shell Review. Going all the way back to the first of June. Along with Matthew's Birthday (Woohoo!) William and Lily had their Preschool Graduation (Woohoo!). We had been doing a neighborhood preschool this past year and we got certificates to show that William and Lily passed with flying colors! They learned to count to 20, learned all of the alphabet and a small word that begins with each letter. We had so much fun doing this preschool and making new friends.

However, this graduation wasn't the only one we attended the first week of June.

Brittany graduated this year from Murray High School and I was able to see her do so. We are so incredibly proud of this girl. She'll be going to BYU-Idaho starting in January and then on to turn this world upside down with her mad teaching skills.

And then, the day right after that... we moved from this wonderful place:To this wonderful place: We moved across the country to my neck of the woods. I miss Utah and the amazing family and friends we have there so much, but we are so excited to be in Tennessee and some more of our family and friends. Oh, and for Matthew to have an incredible job!
THEN.. On the move out to Tennessee, the kids cleaned my car. Lily was more happy about it than William.
And minutes later, a pretty huge SUV backed into the front fender of my little Versa. Sad. But, we are in the process of getting it fixed and finding that little blessings come out of everything.

THEN.. we got Lily's haircut. Our baby girl transformed from these two pictures (which she obviously was not happy taking)..To this silly -va- Lily girl. And it was just in time to take pictures for Matthew's Father's Day present that I made! Matthew stayed behind in Utah to get things settled for a couple of weeks while the kids and I drove with my mom to Tennessee. I was able to get this project finished for him and he loves it. I'm so happy with the end product.

There are so many more things that happened in the month of June. Some things I don't have pictures for. Some things I'm not so sure I'm ready to blog about yet. But, June was a month full of new things for me. And experiences I will never forget. Good and bad.

July has me getting back to normal and I'll put some more things that we've been up to soon.