Monday, August 29, 2011

Back-to-School 2011

Summer is nearing an end and the girls have started school! Mady won't start Kindergarten for another week but Sariah has been ready and eager for school to start for weeks!


Last year, Sariah took the District ALPS test to see if she would be accepted into the accelerated learning program. Before we moved from CA, she was in an advanced program as well so it was definitely something that she wanted to do. She was so excited when we received the acceptance letter about 2 months after she completed the testing. In the acceptance letter they also informed us that she would have to attend one of the two ALPS schools in the district. She was a bit apprehensive about having to change schools but after finding that one of her classmates would be changing to the same school AND attending the same ALPS class as her ...she was thrilled!

We attended the ALPS orientation a few weeks before and had the opportunity to go to her classroom and meet with her teacher. She told us about all the ALPS programs that were available and gave the kids a heads up on what the curriculum would include and how it differed from a regular 5th grade class. After the orientation Sariah could not stop talking about all the programs she wanted to participate in and how excited she was.
Sariah woke up bright and early for her first day of school. We made breakfast for her that morning and made sure we got to school early enough so she could find her class. I can't believe that she's already a 5th grader! She's still a head taller than most (if not all) the kids in her class and she doesn't mind one bit! We're so proud of everything that Sariah has accomplished and for all the hard work she does in school. We are so lucky to have such a bright, happy and enthusiastic girl for a daughter. Ü

Friday, August 12, 2011

How Do I Love Thee...

Fred and I celebrated another blissful anniversary this year. :) From the time we celebrated our first anniversary, Fred and I have always spent our anniversaries with our girls. Of course we do love our alone time but having any celebration in our family just seems to be more fun when our kids are involved. :) It's been a tradition every year that we take a trip down to San Diego as a family for a few days and go to Sea World. We have a blast every time we go but now that we're in Utah we haven't had the chance to make the same usual plans. I guess it's time to come up with another tradition that would suffice. Anyhow, we went pretty simple with our celebration this year and can you believe it was actually just the two of us? We went out to dinner and watched a movie and in all honesty...it's my most favorite kind of date. :) We enjoyed each others company, laughed, talked, shared food and held hands. It was perfect. Having someone who infinitely loves you & treats you like a queen in every way is a blessing beyond words. I, for one, am truly blessed. I love you Fred.