Back to School Dinner & OR department Partay!

So the Sunday before Zina started Kindergarten we had a back to (or just starting) school dinner.  We introduced this year's family theme and Mark gave the kids Father's blessings.  We were originally going to just give Zina a blessing and then I didn't want Wilson to feel left out and then after Wilson's blessing was over Sam climbed up on the chair and looked up at his dad expectantly.  It was super cute!  So all three kids got Father's blessings!

Our family theme this year is from

 Elder D. Todd Christofferson's General Conference Address: 

"May we feast continuously on the words of Christ that will tell us all things we should do."

I am loving our new kindergarten schedule.  Mark, Zina and I get up every morning at 6:30 for family scriptures and prayers.  It is super sweet to help Zina read through her verse and amazing how much better she is getting even after one week.  I believe so much in helping our children become familiar with the language of the scriptures.  We still read the illustrated version at night with all the kids and Wilson is invited to our 6:30am readings but so far him and Sam prefer to sleep at that time. :)  

Aunty Liz came to our back to school dinner and Zina made little name cards for each place. 

We had mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade dinner rolls, veggies, corn, and a roast chicken with of course the family tradition of green & black olives, grandma viv's relish and pickled beets.  For dessert we had mini cheesecakes with blueberry sauce.

Mark did his first anesthesia rotation here in Utah at Mountain View Hospital in Payson.  Dr. Fitzgerald was the head anesthesiologist and a couple of weeks ago he had a party for the OR department out at his house.    His pool house is bigger than most peoples houses and the kids couldn't get enough of the water slide.  The water was super warm which was good because it was cold and stormy out but that made it even more fun.

Mark really liked working at Mountain View.  The people were super friendly and since it is a smaller hospital there is a great camaraderie between everyone.  I'm not sure how many people they threw in the water but this poor guy was fully dressed!   Needless to say everyone had a good time whether they wanted to or not!

And this is a random picture.  It was super late and Sam & Wilson would NOT go to sleep.  Mark started putting Liz's ikea desk together and the boys were all the sudden in happy heaven.  Real tools, papa, and a job to do?  It doesn't get any better!