1st, 5th and 7th graders

Today the girls went back to school. I thought summer was too short but they were super excited (and a little nervous) to get back into school. After having a nice quiet day with all my kids in school, I realize that summer was not too short! I sure got a lot done today - I even got to blog!

Hannah is now officially in Jr. High and wears mascara! No more sleeping in... here she is ready to go at 6:45 am. 7th grade is shaping up to be busy since she is on the Color Guard team, choir, plans to join drama club, student leadership and is even thinking about volleyball! Whew, I'm tired already.

No buses to the middle school which is quite a drive (a good 15 minutes, I need to clock the miles) so, luckily, we have a carpool set up. It so great to have wonderful neighbors with great kids to help share the load. Mom will only need to pick up these beautiful girls every other week.

In the car and ready to go! Dad is so embarrassing getting in the car to take a picture...

Sophie and Eliza, my 1st and 5th graders, are ready for school!

Sophie gets to have the same teacher she had in Kindergarten, Mrs. Flores. We love Mrs. Flores and so we have no doubt it's going to be a wonderful year for Sophie.


Here's a picture of Sophie with her friend Jackie. Those two are best friends because they "never run out of things to play." They never tire of playing princess and dress up. Sophie is so happy to have Jackie in her class this year.


This year Eliza did her back to school shopping at Forever 21. Actually, not just any Forever 21, the HUGE 3 story one. She's lookin' like a grown up 5th grader. My little fashionista!


Eliza has Mrs. Domensino and the best part is ALL of her friends are in her class! Look at all the cute girls...I hope Mrs. Domensino is ready!



note:

I'm so far behind in my blogging but figure that I need to start somewhere. So I will start at today and try to add a few updates on what we've been doing this year when I get a chance.

Girls Camp

This was Hannah's first year at girls camp. She had such a great experience and I am so proud of the young women she is becoming! She didn't even mind that her mother had to tag along! Some of the highlights of camp were singing camp songs, great food (yep, really!), friends, rock climbing, archery, the testimony meeting and so much more!

Here are a few pictures of her at camp.






I was the camp photographer. It was a huge job for an inexperienced photographer like me and I didn't get much sleep. I'm must admit, I was VERY glad to get home and sleep in my own bed! However, it was a blessing to share the camp experience with the young women. So much time and effort was put into camp by amazing women who made camp not only fun but a testimony building experience for these young women. I have a ton gratitude for the stake leaders who did such a wonderful job on on camp this year.

Raging Waters Birthday Party!

This summer we got passes to Raging Waters

and it worked out to be the perfect place to celebrate summer birthdays.

Hannah and Eliza each invited a couple friends and had their birthday there.

The girls in the picture below (left to right) are:

Kristin, Sydney, Eliza, Hannah, Melia, Lauren (behind Melia),

Emiko and Hannah.

After a fun filled day at Raging Waters,

we went home for pizza, cake and presents.

Hannah is 12!

Eliza is 10!

Oh, and the Moran's had summer passes too so they got to join our party.

What a great group of kids -

we love having such great friends to celebrate with!

Happy Birthday girls!

Hannah's 6th Grade Promotion

Hannah is now an Elementry School Graduate!

We were so proud when she was chosen to recite her poem at graduation. Here she is giving her poem.

...and here is the poem she wrote and recited:

When I Grow Up…

Where do you see yourself in the years to come?

Where will you be?

Who will you become?

Do you dream to be a …

Doctor, Teacher, the President?

Or maybe an,

Actor, Singer, Engineer?

What do you want to be?

Maybe a…

Scientist, an Astronaut, Policeman too.

What ever you want to be…

Maybe you can succeed.

But…

Where does it all start?

Don’t guess!

Let me tell you.

Here in Elementary school with you!

Teachers,

And Friends,

And everyone around…

We are grateful for you!

To let us have dreams,

To help us succeed.

Sophie is 6!

Sophie is our princess so naturally she had to have a princess make over party.

Big sisters Hannah, Eliza and a few of their friends helped with the make overs.

Hannah and Eliza even made the cake. It's got a princess crown, and jewelry on it.

Aren't they beautiful!

After the make overs the girls settled down with pillows and blankets to watch a barbie movie. Then cousins Abby, Lindsay and Nora got to stay for a sleep over.

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Happy New Year!

2009 is quickly becoming a memory as we race into the new year 2010! Here is a short update on the Lindsay family in 2009...



Bill:

• Survived layoffs and still has a job for which we are VERY grateful
  
• Loves photography but drives so much for work that he doesn't have the time for it. If you are ever interested you can see some of his pictures on flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/solostandfound/
  
• Wishes he could get out on his bike more often
• Loves his garage
  

Kathryn:

• Can't believe all her kids are in school and wonders why she doesn't have all the free time she thought she would have.
• Works with the YW at church and loves it.
• Plans on eating less and running more in 2010.
• Took over Bill's office and is making it into her sewing room.
  

Hannah:

• 11 years old and in 6th grade.
  
• On student leadership at school and has LOTs of friends.
• Gets along great with everybody (except when she torments her little sisters!)
• Surprised her parents by cleaning the whole house while they were out Christmas shopping! She is shaping into an EXCELLENT babysitter.
  

Eliza:

• 9 years old and in 4th grade.
• Started an acting class with her sister Hannah
• Thinks she should be allowed to wear make up
• When her Achievement Day class went ice skating last month she made her mother proud by skating with one of the girls who was having a hard time. She was patient and kind when the other girls couldn't be bothered to slow down and skate with the friend.
  

Sophia:

• 5 years old and in Kindergarten
  
• According to her teacher, she is the most popular girl in her class
• Scared her mom when she said, "All the boys in my class are hot!" Mom asked her what that means and Sophie said, "It means you want to date them!" Then Sophie got very upset when her mother told her that she is not allowed to date until she turns 16!
• Lives to play barbies, dress up and be with her friends
  

Our Garage

A few of you may know about Bill and his garage. He loves his garage. Since moving into this house 5 years ago he has been working on his dream and now *drum roll* he has finally achieved it! Here are a few pictures of his many hours of hard work - organizing, cleaning, painting etc. I wish I had a before picture because if I did you would ask, "where did all the stuff go?" Well, the stuff went to the trash, D.I., Ebay, filled two sheds in side yard and the attic.

The best part of the garage is... add a disco ball, fog machine, music and it is also a disco. (disclaimer: much cooler in dark but I couldn't video in the dark. Eliza was grumpy because she wanted it dark with the lights on the disco ball. You'll have to use your imagination to get the full effect or better yet, come over and see it for yourself!
Oh, and the little boy in the video is my nephew, Matthew.)