Olivia's family celebration for her 3rd birthday

Olivia turned three on a Wednesday this year.  This happened to be the Wednesday before we left for Sun River.  Since she was three she was allowed to start dance class on her birthday which was really fun!  We also brought cookies to school to celebrate and she got to wear her cute birthday outfit.  I picked her up and brought her home and let her open one birthday bag which had My Little Pony blind bags and Littlest Pet Shop blind bags in there (her recent favorites!).  Then Sean and Brandon came home and we made dinner.  Following the Larson family tradition, I let Olivia pick whatever she wanted to have for her birthday dinner and she choose Spaghetti and I got yummy strawberry shortcake cupcakes for dessert.  We all sang Happy Birthday to Olivia and she blew out the candles.  Then she was excited to open up all of her presents.  She got a pool for her Barbies and a pool Barbie and a pool Chelsea doll.  She also got two My Little Pony sets (Pinkie Pie set with little cake shop) and a Fluttershy set.  Brandon gave her a little Elsa and Anna set that she could play with like the movies she loves to watch on U-Tube Kids.  Her big present was a pink princess bike that we covered with a blanket.  We are going to build it once we get to Sun River in 3 days.  Olivia had a great birthday and I can't believe my little girl is three now!

All ready for dance class at school today 

Doing dance class at school and jumping right in

Little ballerina

Birthday montage I did on Facebook for my girl-each picture is taken on her birthday=

Opening up her blind bags

So much fun opening up presents

Spaghetti time-we lost the shirt to not destroy it

Birthday girl getting sung to

Getting ready to blow out the candles

Blowing on them!

She couldn't get them out the first time so tried again 

2nd time is the charm with these lungs 

Opening up presents

My Little Pony stuff-her fav!

Visiting Corvallis in early September before school starts

I decided to take off the Thursday and Friday after Labor day (the week prior to Brandon starting kindergarten and me having to have toe surgery) to take the kids to my parents' house in Corvallis.  Sean was going to Eugene that weekend to watch a Ducks game with his sister and parents.  On Thursday, I spent the morning cleaning up and doing laundry and then we went to the Fall consignment sale.  That was another added thing that I had to do this Fall was to purge and get all the clothes and toys ready for the consignment sale.  I do the consignment sale through Baby Bottom Dollar (have been doing it for the past 5 years) and its twice a year, in the fall and the spring.  It's a big pain because I have to get all the stuff organized, cleaned, and tagged with pricing and hung on hangers and then I have to go and drop it off.  I get 65% of the proceeds and would get more if I volunteered but did not have time with work and impending toe surgery.  I feel so much better once I drop of all the items like I have purged the house (which is a great feeling).  Anyways, this was the first time I took the kids with me to the consignment sale (usually they are at school) since we had the day off.  They behaved really well although they wanted to get into some of the toys and I had to watch them.  It was also nice having them there since they could let me know what they liked and did not like and I found some toys for Christmas that I put away for them.  After the consignment sale, I mowed the lawn and finished up laundry and watered all my plants which is a big ordeal and then we left for Corvallis!

The first full day in Corvallis we played in the morning with the beloved Polly Pockets.  We packed a picnic lunch and drove over to Peavy Aborteum to do a favorite childhood hike to Turtle Lake.  Olivia was a little cranky and tired when we started but then pulled out of it once she got some lunch and chocolate!  She can get quite "hangry" if she does not have enough food in her stomach.  We made it to the lake and had a picnic lunch on the log and then hung out by the lake.  The kids luckily did not fall in but did have a lot of fun wading and sticking their feet in the water.  We did have poor Brandon fall off the logs twice but luckily he rebounded and was fine.  We spent the evening playing at the house and the kids were worn out and went to bed early which was nice.

Building a Lego set with Baba

Pumpkin on the hike to Turtle lake

The kids enjoying the hike

Eating lunch on the log

Olivia on the boat ramp

With Baba

Enjoying time sticking their feet in the lake 

View of the lake

Love this one with Pumpkin

Happy spot!

On top of the log (before he fell)

The next day we went to the park and played.  Afterwards we had frozen yogurt (yum!) and headed back to the house.  My dad wanted to take the kids to the movie (it would be Olivia's first!), the "Secret Life of the Pets" and the kids loved it!  They had so much fun and my Dad said that Olivia did great and watched the entire movie.  After the movie the kids came back and we hung out at the house and had a "Castle battle" which the kids loved with the Playmobil castle.  After the kids went to bed I got to watch the Ducks game and we got to finish up a cute movie with my parents.  The next day we went out to breakfast the New Morning Bakery and then went to Avery Park which is one of the kids all time favorite parks in Corvallis.  Brandon still enjoys playing on the train and made a friend.  Olivia liked playing on the dinosaur rock bones and swinging.  We then had to pack up and get home as Brandon's first day of kindergarten was the next day and my toe surgery was three days later.  It was a fun last summer get away.

Still loving the train at Avery Park the day before kindergarten started

On the newly painted Dino Bones

Love Avery Park in the early fall

Brandon starts kindergarten and Olivia starts Jr. Kindergarten!

Olivia started Junior Kindergarten the Tuesday after Labor day this year.  She was so excited to finally be in Jr. K as she calls it with her best friends Lauren and Kennedy who got to go over two months earlier than her.  Her Jr. K teacher is Miss. Jill and she has a teacher assistant named Miss. April that she really seems to like.  She was also reunited with her good friend Gino.  I am very pleased with Olivia's core group of friends in her class and their parents are all so nice!

First Day of Junior Kindergarten and wearing pencil leggings!

Big girl on her first day of Jr. K!

So ready and excited to join her friends at Jr. K!

Brandon found out who his kindergarten teacher was the week before Labor day.  We found out he got Mrs. Borrelli who we heard really good things about.  Brandon also started soccer practice the week before Labor Day as well and has practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  His coach is super nice and his son Cruz and a little girl named Kai happens to be in Brandon's class at school.  This is great because Brandon already had friends going into Kindergarten.  He had a lot of fun at the ice cream social and we signed up for a time slot for the kindergarten connect where he gets to meet with his teacher one-on-one and get a tour of the classroom and school the week before school starts for him.  The kindergarteners all started 4 days later than the rest of the school.  I took Brandon to meet with his teacher who seems very nice and to tour the school and his classroom.  They also took a small test of Brandon to see where he was at prior to school starting.  I was amazed at how big and new the school was! We dropped off our school supplies then too.

Brandon said goodbye to his preschool Horizon on the Wednesday after Labor Day.  They were awesome with him and we were so happy we made the choice to switch him last year.  We really liked his teacher Miss Tiffany so much who was firm but sweet and who had a special spot for Brandon.  He learned so much and is so prepared for kindergarten now.

It was a sunny fairly warm 80 degree first day of school.  We all got up and ready for school and Sean took Brandon in his car and Olivia and I followed in our car.  We got lots of pictures.  I got a really cute sign for the kids on Etsy that I can fill out each year.  Brandon's sign said: I am 5.5 years old, My teacher is Mrs. Borrelli, I am 49" tall, when I grow up I want to be a motorcycle rider.  He picked out his first day of school outfit and Sean spiked his hair and he looked adorable.  We got to school and Brandon did a craft project and then his teacher read the book "The Kissing Hand" which was about a little racooon who had to go to school and leave his parents and was sad about it.  The book was really sweet.  Afterwards, Brandon outlined his hand and colored it in and put his kissing heart on his hand.  Then it was time for goodbyes.  Brandon did great and did not cry or look distressed at all.  He was super ready for kindergarten!  I checked on him at after school care in the middle of the day and he was doing great then too.  It was a great transition.

First day of Kindergarten

I'm all ready to go to school now mom!

Doing a craft at school

All ready to learn!

Tracing his hand with Daddy's help!

Coloring in his hand

His cute project and poem

All smiles when it was time to say goodbye

After we dropped Brandon off at school, I took Olivia to Jr. K for her first full week of school and got some pictures of her too outside the school.  Olivia's sign said: She is 38" tall, her teacher is Miss Jill, when she grows up she wants to be a nurse.  A successful and fun first day of school has been completed and the first of many!

Sweet girl ready to start her first full week at Jr. K! 

Outside of her school