My First 1st Grader

That's right folks, we are the proud parents of a 1st grader!

Of course we had to take the obligatory front door shot, ready for school!
(in my best Chandler voice) Could that backpack be any bigger??The desk shot.

He was super excited for first grade, and I know he will do great! He has several kindergarten friends in his class, as well as some friends from church. His teacher, Mrs. W seems nice too. I don't know why, but I was nervous for him this morning, and when I told him so he said "Mom, you're weak." That's right I am, but I held it together and only misted up a tiny bit!!

For Posterity's Sake

I am really starting to question whether we should be teaching our children to be totally honest. For example, here are a few conversations I've had with Mollie recently:

I have been working with the kids to be more polite, so when they demand something from me I make them stop and say "Darling Mother, you are so beautiful and the best mom in the world. May I please have..." As you will see, this has now backfired on me.

Mollie: "Mother, beautiful darling - well, I mean you aren't really beautiful today. But I really like your shirt! - Can I please have a drink of juice?"

Me: *gasp* "Just don't say it if you don't mean it."

a few weeks later

Mollie: "Mom, I think you are getting old."
Me: "Oh, what makes you say that?"
Mollie: "You have all these lines by your eyes."

a few weeks later

Mollie: (after I sang her a made-up song she requested) "Mom, I'm going to wish on the star that your voice will get better."
Me: "You don't like my voice?"
Mollie: "Well, I mean your voice is okay but it's just a little bit wrong."

There was another encounter last night, but I just can't talk about it yet. Maybe in a year or so. I think you get the idea though.

So Far Behind

I'll never catch up to where I need to be, but I am going to try. Today I just want to post some pictures of our fabulous visit with my sisters and some of their kids! We had so much fun, and there are a million pictures but I'll try to keep it simple.

"All for one!"Swimming at the pool

TJ & Kody at the Lego club meeting - you can't tell from this picture, but they really did have a blast!

Just a little casual rock climbing on a sunny day

This is Mollie in Newport saying "Mommy, thank you so much for bringing me here!"

Take me to your leader

Love these cousins!

3 braids

There's my mountain man!

Sydnie, TJ, Kassi, Mollie and Kody & Flat Grandma in the back

Ali & Syd by the waterfall, aren't they so cute!

Playing tag on the beach with daddy, always a great time!

"oops, I lost my pants!"

Oh, just a little sand surfing

My big sis Jul and her beautiful daughter Kassi, don't they look like sisters?!

Thanks for coming girls (and TJ), we had such a great time and now we miss you all like crazy! Y'all come back now!

My Guy

I love this kid! I'm a little slow on this post, but I just couldn't let it pass by. Kody turned 6 at the end of May, and I really wanted to tell you a little about him. Kody is such a sweet boy, and I'm so glad he still loves to snuggle with me and give me loves.

For his birthday, Grandma & Grandpa D gave him some money to spend in the Lego store. I wish you could have seen his face when he walked in the doors! He just stood there, dazed, almost as though he didn't know what to look at first.He spends hours playing with his Legos, building these elaborate sets. He follows me around the house, explaining what he's making and what each part can do. At the end-of kindergarten celebration, the teacher announced each child and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Most of the kids were doctor, teacher, race car driver, fire fighter, etc. Not Kody! He wants to be a Lego game creator when he grows up and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what he does!He also loves superheroes, so for his birthday we had to have a Batman birthday party. We had a fun obstacle course that Brett put together, and the kids had such a good time!After the obstacle course, the boys went on a treasure hunt to find their capes that the Riddler had hidden away! The capes were all Batman on one side and Superman on the other, except Kody's was Batman/Robin to make his a little special.Kody also loves goofing around and being silly. He's really good at making his sisters laugh (and scream at times). Don't you just love those eyes of his? I swear you could get lost in them!I'm so glad this little man came to live with us 6 years ago, he was worth the wait!

Pardon Me

I'm trying super hard to figure out how to make a photo collage from Kody's birthday, but it is proving to be quite difficult. In the mean time, please enjoy this picture from Kody's first visit with a real life Storm Trooper. Thanks for your patience!

Are Ya Feelin' Lucky?

Okay folks, I apologize for not posting our winners yesterday. I don't really have any excuses other than life got busy and I just plain forgot. I had a messy situation (no details, but Madi likes to take her diaper off now) to deal with, and then there was errands, school and t-ball.

I guess you didn't really need to hear any of that, so here we go: First, I counted all the votes. These are the 2 winners:Next my 2 helpers and I made a list of all the people who chose our winning shirts.Time to pick a winner for the "Survivor" shirt...

Sorry Kody, not your mom! Grandma B is the winner (this was completely random)

Now for the "Perfect" shirt...

Can you read that? It's Elder P from the Fresno California Mission. Way to go Elder!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped us decide which shirts to use! For the winners, we will get your shirts sent out as soon as they are printed. I had such a good time with this contest, I may just have to do it again!

Contest & Giveaway

Hey You Guys (in my best Electric Company yell), we need your help! Brett has been working on several t-shirt designs for his practice. He'll hand them out to his new patients and if they wear them on days they have appointments they get extra tokens that can be turned in for prizes. The only problem is, we now have so many designs we can't decide which one to go with! We may end up doing 2 or 3 different styles, but we need your help to choose. I'm posting the designs here, and you can leave a comment with your vote for which one you like the best. We will take the top 2 and have them printed up, and 2 lucky voters will win a shirt! We'll choose the winners at random from those who voted for the most popular. are you confused yet? I am a little, but that's not new! SO just vote and you could win a BB original design t-shirt. I'll put a number above each picture for your convenience. Here they are:
#1#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

Now go out there and vote! Contest will end on Monday, May 17th!

Couldn't Be Better!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and it was really a great day. I got to sleep in as long as I wanted (until Kody woke me up with cards he made) in my big comfy bed.Brett made a delicious breakfast. The kids all made pictures and cards for me.

Mollie wrote "Mother I love you" all by herself!

Kody's card says "I love my mom because she gives me good birthday." Can you tell what's on his mind?

We went to church, were I got even more cards and some chocolate! As I was coming out of my classes, the kids were right there to surround me with tokens of love they had put together in primary.

When we came home, I got to relax while Brett made a delicious dinner of Asian chicken salad with homemade wontons and my favorite asparagus.

After dinner, I called my mom and wished her a happy Mother's day, we called Brett's mom to do the same, and then he went back in to the kitchen and made dutch oven peach cobbler while I just relaxed and snuggled/wrestled with my babies. I feel so lucky to be the mom of these beautiful children, and the wife of such a loving husband. My life couldn't be better!

Ten and Two

Before it gets too far past these events, I want to post some pictures. On April 22 Brett and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. The very next day was Madi's 2nd birthday! Auntie B came all the way from Maryland to be here for the birthday celebration, and I took the opportunity to sneak Brett away for a surprise trip to the coast! We had such a great time, and the kids loved having Auntie B with them. I'm pretty sure they didn't even miss us! Here are a few pictures of all the fun.

The cake. Made by Auntie B, devoured by all!Presents!

Bridge

Yaquina Head lighthouse, we walked up all 111 steps to the top!