Cammy's FIRST Day of Preschool

Ummm...ok, so when did my baby girl get old enough to go to Preschool?!  Yes, this happened and yes there were tears from both Cammy and myself.  It's an emotional day and such a huge milestone in her life.  She is beginning the journey of education and it all starts with Preschool!!!

Starting the "first day of school" photo tradition!

And keeping track of what she wants to be every year

Apparently I unintentionally dressed us alike today

She will always be daddy's little girl!

Cammy's first day of Preschool was Oct. 7th.  She is going to Kids at the Creek at Gold Creek Church.  They have an Early 3s class, which was perfect for her!  It is for kids with birthdays right after the cutoff date of Sept. 1st.  And because she was right before the cutoff date they let her in (especially since we mentioned that the transition from being away from me would be quite difficult). Her teachers' names are Mrs. Dickison and Mrs. Shell and she has one little friend, Daison, from Stroller Strides that she knows in her class.

Her first day was just how I expected it to go...she was excited before we left home, then once there Cammy cried saying she didn't want us to leave, I cried because I didn't want to leave her and then Jason made us just walk out and we hoped we didn't get a phone call to come pick her up because she was inconsolable.

First day success...they were able to distract her as we were leaving, crying didn't last long and she ended up having a really fun 2 hours at Preschool.  She was so excited to see us at pick up that she looked like she was about to cry.  We were so proud of her!!!  Cammy has definitely come a long way in her short 3 years!!!

Moving up the Ladder for Swim Lessons!!

The time had FINALLY come that Cammy was old enough to move onto the next level of swim class at the Lynnwood Parks and Rec!  After doing parent/child swim lessons non-stop since Cammy was 10 months old, it was like a breath of fresh air for both of us to be able and sit back and just watch!! You can only sing the same swimming songs so many times in 2.5 years before you get burnt out. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoyed getting to swim with Cammy once a week.  It was usually Cammy and Jason's bonding time, which she loved.

Knowing how hesitant Cammy is with new situations, we knew the first class was going to be interesting.  Sure enough, she cried, didn't want to get in the pool and just overall seemed nervous.  It probably didn't help that it was a sub teacher for her class the first day she was there (we missed the very first class due to vacation).  After a little negotiating (aka: bribing her with frozen yogurt after class) she got in the pool and ended up having an ok swim lesson.

Getting ready for swim lessons

Practicing floating on her back

Star floats

Learning "Tickle, T, Push" for swimming on their backs

***What a difference a week makes!  Cammy's regular teacher was back and she LOVED her!  Cammy would smile after doing anything always looking back to us to make sure we saw.  Her teacher even got her to put her face in the water, which is something that she wouldn't do for us the whole 2.5 years we swam with her!!!  Cammy now looks forward to swim lessons and is excited to see teacher Bree!

Celebrating 30 Years

This was a big year for our annual Lake Tahoe vacation!  This was the 30th year of my parents being a timeshare owner at Edgelake Beach Club on North Shore Lake Tahoe.  Crazy to think that I started going here when I was a little over one year old!!  We followed up our Disneyland vacation with a nice relaxing week (Sept. 6-13), which was exactly what we needed after 3 non-stop days of Disney fun!  Sadly, the lake was lower than we ever remember, but for the kids it seemed to be just perfect for playing.

A look down the beach

30 years called for a big celebration, so we had lots of visitors come and go throughout the week. Our first visitor was one of my close college friends, Alli and her son Rylan.  It's impossible for us to come to CA for a trip and not make time to see them!  We enjoyed watching the kids play on the beach for most of the day.  We tried the pool, but unfortunately the pool heater was broken all week, so the water was a little too cold to swim in.

The older kids headed out to fill up their buckets

Cammy loved playing in the sand this year!

Me, Cammy, Alli and Rylan before they left

Cammy and Rylan

(they may live far apart but they love to hang out together)

Another special visitor was my uncle Scott and aunt Catalina and their family.  They came all the way from Florida and got to spend a few days (definitely not enough) with us!  They have two adorable girls, Samantha and Alana (who oddly enough I had never met until on this trip) who Cammy absolutely adored hanging out with!!!  The girls had a blast together and it was sad to see them all have to leave.

Catalina, Samantha, Alana and Scott

Edgelake girls...Samantha and Cammy

Walking the beach with Samantha and Cammy

Does it get much cuter than this?!

The cousins big and small

One of our day guests was a visit from my grandparents.  Times are rare that we get to spend with them and that they get to see their two great granddaughters these days, so we always love any time we get to spend together!  It was a very special treat for them to come up for the day.

A little beach walk with the group

Another one of our day guests was my dad's cousin, Linda and her husband John.  They happened to come up on my sister-in-law, Amber's, birthday, so we were able to celebrate with them by going out to dinner.  We had fun taking some pictures on the beach after dinner as well.

The birthday dinner crew after dinner

Trying to get a picture of my parents with their grandkids is a bit crazy!

Our little family

The girls were playing nicely on the beach...

Then they started to do this...

Which turned into Tatum riding Cammy

Which then led to Cammy laying on top of Tatum

Our week long visitor was my cousin Jenna, who flew all the way from New York just to come hang out with us in Tahoe!!!  She flew into Reno and her parents picked her up there and brought her over to us.  So it was an added bonus to be able to see my aunt Nancy and uncle Brad as well!!  The girls loved having Jenna around all week and we enjoyed having the extra help when it came to entertaining the kids :)  

Such a good "auntie/cousin/nanny"

Happy hour by the pool

And of course a trip to Tahoe is not complete unless we did a little boating/wakeboarding, played with some big water toys, dipped in the pool and went mini golfing!!!

Just like the old days...

Early morning boating

Family time on the boat

Sisters

Poor little sleeping squishy face!

Jason paddle boarding

Taking Cammy on a little kayak ride

Gramps cruising around with Hailey in the cold pool

Apparently this girl doesn't mind cold water

The usual mini golf picture

The baby mommas watching everyone else mini golf

These girls make up their own rules :)

We spent our last night in Tahoe visiting with Jason's family in Incline Village.  His aunt owns a house up there so it was the perfect place for everyone to come together for dinner.  One night with this family is never enough!!!

Family is so important to us and it just makes me smile to have everyone together in one place!!  The cousins really enjoyed being together, although the older girls started to bicker like siblings do by the end of the week.  And I just enjoyed living my own real life "Parenthood" show (if you haven't seen this show you are seriously missing out!!).

The siblings and kiddos hanging out together

Hailey (9 months) and Bryce (7.5 months)

Cammy (3 years), Tatum (2.5 years)

Whole group photo

The cousins...Tatum, Bryce, Hailey and Cammy

The grandparents and their grandkids

One more attempt at an all group picture

Thanks for 30 years of memories Edgelake and for keeping the tradition alive for our kids to experience!!!