Crazy Hair Day

Lorin's morning routine: Gets herself up way too early and has herself dressed, fed, hair fixed, lunch made, and piano practiced (which is when I wake up) 1/2 hour before she heads off on her bike to school. On crazy hair day I helped her so we also had time for some homework.


Second grade at Wellington Elementary has been a lot of fun for Lorin. They really keep her on her toes. It has been great to see her enjoy learning and getting all responsible. She helps me a ton at home. I'm afraid I've made her grow up too fast--a mother's got to worry about something, right?

Sunday Talk

Lorin was asked Saturday evening to give a Primary talk on Sunday. I mentioned that the more she practiced it, the more comfortable she'd be in delivering. She took that to heart and practiced about 30 times before church. I couldn't have been more proud as Lorin stood up in front of about 150 primary kids and teachers and delivered a completely memorized 2 minute talk complete with exciting voice inflection and personal application on how to "Love God with your Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength." Then Izzy got called up to be spotlighted (where Lorin was sitting at the stand) and Lorin gave her a sweet smooch on her way back to her seat. Later that night Lorin prayed that we'd serve God with the above-mentioned actions. What a good girly.

Just a cute shot of the two women who rule the roost :) ha ha!

Poor Lorin :(

A little horsin' around with Dad lead to a split eyebrow and an Insta-Care run for her and mom. Thanks to liquid stitches (aka glue) Lorin didn't have to face her worst nightmare (at least that's what she made it sound like all the way there) and get stitches. Out of all the sobbing comments on our drive, I think my favorite was "I should never have made that choice to steal Ryan's blankie..." which was what lead to Izzy and Dad attacking in honor of the helpless princess who's Cinderella dress was just too hard to handle on the run. Of course this was about the 20th time Lorin had delivered said offense--no mention of regretting the 19 before. Poor Lorin :(

Lorin lovin' Texas! (and 2nd Grade)

Staying cool in Texas is hard to do. We spend a lot of time swimming (and of course Lorin is a complete fish), but we also find other ways to stay cool like washing the car and running in the rain:Starting school is never scary for Lorin even in a brand new town and a school with 900 kids. She has an amazing attitude and just gets excited. She got "the nicest teacher in the whole school," Mrs. Kinney and has loved the first 2 days. Our first day was crazy with all those kids who each had 2 doting parents and a sibling or two.
What a cute 2nd grader!

Summer in Idaho and Utah

Our summer was bitter sweet as Lorin's Grandpa Kofoed passed away amongst so much fun with family in the west. I want so badly for Lorin to remember the 7 years she had with my dad, my hero. She will miss him.

Lorin had quite the amazing summer--3 months to bask in the fun of cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents in Idaho and Utah. Her spunk and fearlessness provide for some memorable moments:
The girls at Bear Lake!
Grandpa held on for dear life when it was Lorin's turn :)
"Say it aint so" from Rock Band was what she sang (yelled) as she bounced up and down.
Abbie, Jocelyn and Izzy made for fun horse-riding companions
Lyndsay, Tyler, and Jaquelyn played with Lor on the tramp for endless summer hours.
Extreme fun Costley style!

Bye Bye Bryant Elementary

Today was a big day for Lorin as she said goodbye to 1st grade, her amazing teacher Mr. Brines, and her friends. We showed up and partied with the class for about an hour. They all hugged her one by one and shared memories about her. I dare say, next to his own son, Lorin was Mr. Brine's favorite student as he's ready to betroth the two :) She shed some tears on the way home (and so did I). She will miss the awesome school experience she has had in Ann Arbor!


This is where Riley, McKensie (two of her best friends) and a couple boys in her classed danced to a song they made up at recess with the chant "stirin' up the cake...stirin' up the milkshake" over and over. It was hilarious and had a lot of impressive hip action involved!

Kalahari Waterpark and Easter

We continue to try and party as much as possible with Ann Arbor friends before we move and while Izzy is feeling well. We spent Thursday night in a 3-room suite at an indoor waterpark in Ohio with the Maynors and the Ingmires. We had such a fun time! Lorin, as usual, didn't slow down once. She even went with me (even though she probably didn't quite meet the hight requirements) on the toilet-bowl ride with 6-foot drop at the end!

Always posing :)

We celebrated Ryan's 2nd birthday and Willa's first while we were there.

The girls have loved the Easter festivities!

What a cutie!

Friday Night / Saturday Morning the Easter Bunny came and hid our shoes (a long-time Kofoed tradition) and each girl's treasure hunt notes and dropped off some candy.
(The candy has put them into a trance apparently.)

Disney World: Wishes Do Come True

We had an amazing trip to Disney World this last week. Thanks to everybody who helped us get excited about and ready for the trip--UM Stars, Disney bucks, Disney toys, Make-a-wish, Give Kids the World and the amusement parks. Lorin's energy level found just the right match for it.

Warning: Slew of pictures to follow.

Monday
We knew that we were in for a fantastic vacation when the limo showed up to pick us up in the morning and take us to the airport.



We spent the rest of the day at the Give Kids the World Village (GKTW) that was a mini Magic Kingdom where we stayed for the whole week.




(They had free ice cream at GKTW, and the shop was open from 7 AM to 9 PM. You can guess how many trips we made there.)

Tuesday
Tuesday we took the Magic Kingdom down to china town. They gave us a permanent fast pass to use on all of the attractions which was incredible, but it also made for a day of little breaks as we went from ride to ride to ride.




(Lorin watching the "Believe and your dreams will come true" parade.)

(A pretty freaky little roller coaster)

(We had a sweet Florida rain storm hit us as we were heading to our car for the night--Yes, I was excited)

Wednesday
We spent another fun filled day at Disney World, specifically Animal Kingdom in the morning and then Magic Kingdom in the afternoon when the girls had their dinner with the Princesses.




Thursday
Thursday morning we spent some quality time with Mickie and Minnie and then headed to Sea World to hang with the dolphins and friends. Lorin was not at all afraid to feed the sting rays and the dolphins. That night GKTW had a Christmas parade during which Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up.


(Dang I look good in this one. The girls were wearing me out.)

(Lorin got to be an angel that handed out candy in the parade.)

Friday
We decided to take a day trip to the East Coast and let the girls get their first taste of the ocean and a little sunburn. That night the girls had a Princess party at GKTW.




Saturday
Our plane didn't leave until 7 PM so naturally we decided to spend some more quality time at Disney World after one last ride on the GKTW carousel. We rode on this carousel literally 5 times a day, every day of the week. I got close to puking a few times. At the Animal Kingdom, Lorin and Izzy got to be in a Lion King Festival show.




An Amazing Trip
After 24 carousel rides, 10 rounds of Buzz Lightyear's Coaster, 2 rides on It's a Small World, 1 ride on every spin in a circle and go up and down attraction, an African safari, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shamu, sting-rays, dolphins, a trip to the beach, 3 days at Disney World and one day at Sea-World our little Izzy's wish was fulfilled and our family has more strength to keep fighting.

Thanks again to everyone who made the trip a reality.