Kindergarten

Maria started Kindergarten on August 23rd. She is in Mrs. King's afternoon class. It was a child/parent day and Maria was not happy about it. She thought the whole idea of going to school meant not being with mom, I had to agree with her. She goes in on Wednesday for testing and then it officially starts next Monday. She is very excited and I hope that she can have a great year.

Classic first day of school photo.

Maria finding Mrs. King's classroom and the star with her name on it.

Maria sitting in her desk for the first time. She is so excited that she gets to sit at a individual desk and not at one large table.

The kids got to go outside and play while the parents received some information. I caught this as I came outside to get Maria.

Have a great day here at Lagoon

Maria and I got season passes to Lagoon. It's about ten minutes away from our house so we thought it would be a fun thing to have. We have been twice with family and then once by ourselves. Maria thinks it's much more fun with cousins than with her mom.

Maria on her favorite ride the Dragonfly with Kate.

Maria on the Ladybug Bop. She's smiling, but didn't want to go on it again EVER.

Trips to Lyman

We have made a few trips to Lyman the past month for one reason or another. We have enjoyed spending time with family and Maria has loved seeing and playing with her cousins. We went to the Anderson family reunion the weekend of July 24th and had a nice time. We stayed in a borrowed camper and although it was better than a tent I still only lasted one night in it and then retreated to the house. All of CJ's siblings were there and it was nice to spend time with all of them. A few weeks later we went to Lyman again, and me and the girls stayed at my parents house and CJ went on a little pack trip with Ben Buckner and some people from work. We had a good weekend and CJ had one good night in the Unitas, and then had some horse trouble the next night. He now knows that he can walk from Dollar Lake down to the trail head at midnight, but would prefer not to if given a choice.

Maria playing at Granny's with Ashton

Maria and Carly cuddling at Grandma Eyre's when they woke up one morning.

We sat outside one evening at my parents house and a moose came and just stood and looked at us. Maria thought is was the coolest thing ever.

Maria is 5!

We celebrated Maria's fifth birthday all weekend (July 30th to August 1st). Jared, Carla, Kate and Hannah came on Friday night for a sleep over and then spent Saturday with us. Maria got a trampoline for her birthday and Jared got to help CJ set it up while he was here. They started at about 10:00 at night and it took a little longer than they would have liked. All I will say is sometimes it's a good idea to read directions. They got it put together and Maria was very excited and has enjoyed having it to play on. On Saturday we went to the Air Force Museum, got lunch at the Burger Bar, played at the splash pad, and walked around Smith and Edwards before Jared and Carla left. Then on Sunday, August 1st we had cake and ice cream and sang to Maria. I think she had a pretty good weekend. We love her and have enjoyed the past five years with her.

First Weeks in Utah

Well we are here in Utah going on three weeks now and still don't have any of our shipments, that includes our car. We are grateful for family that have been letting us take advantage of them and letting us use their things. We are staying in my mom and dad's second home in Ogden and have used their car for a week and a half and then took Clark and Mary's car for a week and a half. We are getting very anxious to have our own things. We have found a home and can't wait to move into it. It is a very nice home with a big yard. We are excited to finally have a little more space. The lady that we are renting from has been so nice and I think we got very lucky to have found a house that we like and a landlord that is going to be quite enjoyable to work with.

We have done more with family in the past three weeks than we have in the past five years probably. Maria gets up in the morning and asks, "Which cousins do I get to see today?" She is having a great time, but I have been really bad at taking pictures. Some of the highlights have been two trips to Willow Park in Logan (one time with Brad, Brian, and families and one time with Carla and family), a trip to Hogle Zoo with Cheryl and boys, swimming with Grandma, Stephanie and family, Laurel's bridal shower and reception, Courtney's missionary welcome home lunch, a birthday lunch and shopping trip with my mom, Stephanie, and Taylor, and various day visitors where we have just sat and talked. It has been very nice, and we hope that everyone will be able to come and visit us in our own home very soon.

Maria and Bracken enjoying the base pool.

Taylor and Carly enjoying the shade at the base pool

Maria, Caitlyn, and Bracken at the splash pad on base.

Maria, Hunter, and Ashton at Hogle Zoo.

Spain

We left Turkey and made a stop in Spain before going to Utah. It was the most relaxing vacation ever. CJ found a house to rent about 45 minutes south of Barcelona. It was in the small village of Saifores. We had a great time. We went to the beach, swam in the pool, went to the nearby village of Valls and watch them make human pyramids, went to Barcelona to see the sights there, went to the coast city of Tarragona to shop, and just relaxed before the long flight back to the USA. We were sad to leave our vacation home, but it felt good to be back in the good old USA. Since being back we have seen a lot of family, found a house, CJ has started his job, and we are waiting for our stuff to get here. Here's to a good year in Utah.

Maria in front of the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Tarragona.

Family photo in a park that we went to. We hiked around for awhile. It had a man made lake and a castle that you could hike around.

Park with the lake and castle in the background.

CJ and Maria enjoying the Golden Coast.

Maria sitting on the 700 year old steps in the front room of the house we rented.
The view from the upstairs window of the house down to the garden.

Eating on the patio at the house. We fixed and ate most of our meals here. It was so beautiful and peaceful.

Everyone but Carly enjoying the pool at the house we rented.

One of the human pyramids at Valls. An old tradition we were told.

Some of the Gaudi architecture in Barcelona. It was very fun and interesting.

The Sagrada Familia Temple in Barcelona. It was started by Gaudi and is still not finished. They estimate that it will take another 20 years to finish.

A main square in Barcelona.

Goodbye Turkey

We said goodbye to Adana Turkey on June 1st and then goodbye to Turkey all together on the 4th of June. We went out to eat with the Pharmacy crew the night before we left Adana and had a great time. It was good food and we will miss the people at the Pharmacy. We then went to Istanbul and spent a few days. We have never been and couldn't leave Turkey without going. It was pretty amazing. We stayed at a nice place right by all of the sights and walked everywhere. We went to Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, and the Spice Bazaar. All of the places were very unique and very interesting to see. Maria did great and did a lot of walking. She was a little sad to leave Adana and Turkey in general. We have all loved living in Turkey and being able to do the things that we have done. We will miss you Turkey, and hope that we can return sometime.

Thuduras, Mark, Tameka, Lale, CJ, Timeyah, Maria, Myself and Carly.

Maria in front of one of the buildings at the Topkapi Palace. It was a huge place and had some very interesting artifacts. A few of my favorites Moses staff, Muhammad's beard clippings, and a 52 carat diamond.

CJ and Maria in front of one of the many shops at the Spice Bazar. It smelled wonderful.

One of the many rows of shops in the Grand Bazaar

Inside the very impressive Hagia Sofia- Maria showing just one of mer many poses she has developed

The Anderson girls in front of the Hagia Sofia- Carly is hiding under the baby carrier