Fall Field Trip

Kody had his first kindergarten field trip on Friday, and Mollie and I were lucky enough to be there with him! Where else do you go on a field trip in October besides a pumpkin patch? This was at the high school (yes, as it turns out they are pretty big into farming around here), and the high school students took the kids around to a few different stations:First, of course, was the hayride...

then lots of animals to pet and smell...

craft projects involving real sheep hair...

storytime, where they learned all about pumpkins...

planting pumpkin seeds (do you think anything will grow?)...

and last but not least, they got to bring home their own baby pumpkins!

Character

They say scars give you "character". Now both my girls have some great character.

Mollie got her character in May while visiting Grandma & Grandpa D,and poor Madi just got hers yesterday at Grandpa & Grandpa B's.

Can you see the blood highlights in her hair? Poor kids, they were both troopers. I wasn't able to be with Mollie when she had her accident, so while I was in the E.R. with Madi I just couldn't help but think of what my poor mom went through comforting Mollie all the while trying to stay strong herself. I broke down a little, but tried to remain calm for Madi. If it wasn't for my awesome mother in law, I'm pretty sure I would have just fallen apart. Thanks Moms!

Help me win!

One of the blogs I follow is having a giveaway of her newest dress pattern and I must have it! Go here, and you can see the cuteness. Wish me luck!

Pretty Little Schoolgirl

Mollie has started preschool now, and she loves it! We are just doing a little group with some of the kids in church and they meet once a week for about an hour and a half. Perfect! They are working on letters and numbers, and they do a cute show and tell each week. Mollie loves having her own little school to go to.first day of school - the gratuitous front door shot

journal writing

what a little supermodel!

Kindergarten (I only cried a little)

We survived the first week of Kindergarten!

Kody was a little nervous on the first day, but has overcome his fears and absolutely loves his new school!

He has a great teacher, Mrs. R, who has been teaching Kinder for quite a while and just loves these little ones. She is so sweet! Day one was this past Monday, and it was just an hour to help the children get familiarized with the teacher and class. Parents stayed, so you can imagine it was a little crazy.We only live about a half mile from the school, so we have been walking him to and from school.Here he is with the school mascot.This picture is for Grandma B, otherwise known as the Frog Grandma!

Yesterday when I got to the school to pick him up I noticed this red stuff all over his shorts. Mrs. R assured me it wasn't blood, just frosting from the birthday cupcakes that his classmate brought. Seriously folks, who brings cupcakes with RED frosting to a kindergarten class?!? Apparently, Kody had some fun with the red frosting and covered himself from head to toe. In the picture, I had already started to douse the stains with my trusty stain remover (thanks Chel, it works like a dream!) when I decided to take a picture for posterity. So no, that's not blood and pee on his shorts! And would you believe, it all came out!

Yosemite National Park

On Saturday morning we headed out bright and early for Yosemite National Park. Yay!

It was so beautiful, I'm always amazed at the wonders that our Heavenly Father created for us.The kids were all little troopers too, which made the trip even more special! The park was very crowded, but we managed to find our way to a few secluded areas. We had so much fun "hiking" around and getting dirty,and the favorite activity of the day was throwing big rocks into the river.

So many people thought Madi was a boy that I've decided to fight her to fix her hair anytime we go out. Any suggestions?

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Or something like that! Okay, I have a hard time coming up with new and interesting titles. Miss Mollie got a haircut this weekend! I've been thinking about it for a while now, and finally bit the bullet. I was getting a trim anyway, so Mollie tagged along and got a new big girl haircut.She was so brave and good, I'm sure she was a little nervous.

Now she wants it even shorter, like her friend Maggie, but I have my limits. One step at a time!

Isn't she so cute?? Thanks Amy, we love our hair!

Summer Recap

I know, I've been silent all summer. I'm sorry, I don't really have any excuses. So what have we been up to? A little of this, and a little of that. We are in Central California trying to find ways to beat this heat while looking for employment. What's that you say? You thought we had a job? That's right, we did. Unfortunately, the guy Brett was supposed to work with gave us the old "it's not you, it's me" spiel and said he's not ready to commit. So it was back to the pavement. We do have a couple things we're working on, but I don't want to speak too soon. I'll let you know as soon as Brett signs on the dotted line. In the mean time, we have been so lucky to have more time to spend with Brett's parents. It has been fun to catch up with them since they got home from the mission. Kody is instructing them in the finer art of Mario Kart, Mollie is teaching them all about how to be a little girl and Madi is giving them plenty of exercise. We made a quick trip to Utah and spent the 4th of July with my family. The kids had a great time with all their cousins and I loved spending quality time with my sisters. We even got to visit with some friends who happened to be there too! I've put together a slide show so you can see a little of what we've been up to, and I'm working on a few ideas to keep my blog going on a more regular basis. Until then, grab some popcorn and enjoy the show!

The Other Grad

Kody had his preschool "gradutaion" on the same night as Brett, so we were lucky that some good friends who have a daughter in the same class took him along with them. Thanks "G" family! Here are some pictures they took that night for us.

Kody has really enjoyed preschool this year, and he has learned so much! He can write his first and last names, and he is starting to read a little. What a little smarty pants! Thanks Marifran and Desiree, you have been great teachers, we will really miss you.

Dr. Papa Bear DDS, MS

It's over! Brett is finally done with school and we are so proud of him. We had his graduation last Thursday night,

and all 4 of our parents were able to be with us.He and his classmates have been such a tight-knit group, everyone was commenting on how special this year was. I do wish I had been able to spend more time with the class over these past three years, but that's hard to do when you have 3 kids. It will be fun to stay in touch though, and see what life brings to each of these 7 families!

We are now traveling across the country, visiting some of our church historical sites along the way. I feel like a pioneer! Where are we going, you ask? We are headed (if all works out) to Monterey, CA where Brett is going to join a practice as an associate and work up to a partner/buy out situation. They haven't gotten the contract settled yet, so we will most likely stay with his parents in Madera for a week or two until the papers are signed. If it takes longer, we may move on to Utah and stay with my parents for a while as well. Who would have thought, at 30-something, with 3 kids, that I would be moving back in with parents again! Oh well, hopefully it will be a quick transistion and we can be in our own (rented) home by the time Kody starts kindergarten.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again, but when I do it will be full of information and pictures. Wish us luck, I hope we survive this trek!

We'll Pick You Up?

Here's my rant for the day. We are in the Seattle area today, looking at a few practices (and visiting our good friends who just moved) and needed a rental car. I made a reservation with Enterprise because they say in their advertising that they will pick you up. I called this morning to have them come get us and they said "I'm sorry, you are out of our area and won't be able to pick you up." Maybe I should add that we are staying a mere 5 miles away from that particular Enterprise location. And they wouldn't pick us up. He suggested I call another location, which I did, and they didn't have any cars available. Brett calls next and argues for about a half hour with the original location and gets them to call around and find a car for us at a closer location. They call back 15 minutes later and say they weren't able to find anything closer and they will, in fact, pick us up. I couldn't believe it! We decided they need to change their slogan to "Enterprise: we'll pick you up, but only if you are within walking distance."

Giveaway

Okay, I'm not giving anything away. Unless you want my couches! But go here for a great flatiron giveaway (but really don't because I want it)! Happy Saturday!

Easter, Potty Fun, an Anniversary and a Birthday!

Whew, we've been busy! Not to mention Brett getting ready to take his boards and still looking for a job. So, where do I start? How about Easter! Auntie B came to spend the holiday with us, and she went with Brett and the kids to a spring scrimmage game at the Big House.

Here are the kids on Easter morning in their new fancy clothesYes, Mollie has finally decided to start using the potty (I'll spare you all the gory details)

Our little darlings at the community Easter egg hunt

Here's the birthday girl with her cake (another Auntie B original)

she's just too dainty to really dive in, but she did enjoy her very own cupcake

and then went around scrounging for everyone's leftovers

love that toothless grin! (she does have 2 tiny teeth on the bottom, though)

On top of all this, Brett and I celebrated 9 adventurous years of marriage! I love him more each year, and am so grateful for all that he puts up with! I can't wait to see what is in store for us in the years to come. We'll keep you posted as our plans come together for graduation and beyond.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday today! I think I might actually turn 30 (ahem) this year, I could feel like a 30-year-old. Do I look it? Wait, don't answer that! So far the day started out pretty good. Madi woke up very early, but so far nobody has thrown up. In my book, that makes for a great day! We've had the stomach flu around here the past week or so, and I just knew I'd get it for my special day. So far so good. Maybe my prayers have been answered!

How do you like the fabulous birthday banner I made?! I'd like to say I came up with the idea all on my own, but there was a group of us who did it (and we copied a group before us who copied a group before them) all together. Pretty cute though, right?Kody made me the sweetest birthday card this morning, I just had to show you. I love that he is learning how to spell (Daddy helped him a bit) and write. The picture is some people getting a stream of water on them, and they are trying to get away. Or something like that. You should see all the Jedi knights that he's been drawing lately. If I can get my act together, I might scan some in and show you!

Anyway, I just wanted to publicly wish myself a happy birthday. Feel free to do the same in the comment section below! I mean, after all you only turn 30 once, right? *snicker*

Not a Baby

My baby is not such a baby anymore. What a fun little girl she's turning out to be!

Where is the Love People?

Okay, I think I am going to take this personal since nobody is wanting to sign up for a handmade gift from me! Come on, it will be fun. So far I only have 2, and I have lots of fun ideas for the gifts I will make. Keep in mind, it's quite possible that I won't even check up on you to see that you do the same thing on your blog, so don't stress about it. So, what do you say, do I have any takers?

I'm a Winner! (or, What Goes Around Comes Around)

My friend Amy did this contest (?) on her blog, and I was one of the lucky 5! I know I probably shouldn't start a new project (much less 5) this close to our move, but it will be fun. I've seen a few of these and have always missed it by one or two so I was super happy when Amy told me I was number 3! Here are the rules, copied straight from her blog:

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make for you!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a song. It may be a self portrait or maybe even some creation I haven't yet dreamed up. I may draw. I may bake you something and mail it to you. It may not be big or impressive. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! But lets be honest here. This is me and I will likely do something amazing. =) So come on, sign up!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to post this same information on their blog and leave a comment telling me they did will win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Let's keep the chain of love going around!!

I know, you can hardly contain your excitement. So, let's see those comments! I will work really hard to find the right gift, just for you!


PS I have quite a bit of catching up to do, with lots of pictures and videos. For example, our trip to a giant indoor waterpark, Madi climbing and WALKING, Kody writing and trying to read, Mollie being a great help at home. I'll try to update you soon.