Church Day!

There was no way Brynn was going to wash out her new hair-do, so we had to give her a bath without washing her hair for church. We recycled the look the best we could. She's now trying to figure out how she can get away with not washing it tonight too! Since tomorrow is a holiday, she may be granted that wish! Aaron refused to be in a picture with the girls, but he did stop long enough for me to get a little shot of him.

Our introduction into a whole new world...

...that is the world of "Libby Lu!" I had no clue what "Libby Lu" was until this past week. I have seen it in the mall and always thought it was an accessory store like "Claire's" or something of the like. When Brynn was invited by one of her school friends to a birthday party at "Libby Lu," I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder what will they do at an accessory store?" I looked online and did a little research to find out what this was all about, and while taking Brynn to school one day, Joseph asked the birthday girl's mom for more details about this "Libby Lu." Well...today we will document our experience at "Libby Lu." I don't even know what to call what they do.....a spa for kids? a makeover? a dress-up session? I don't know, but Brynn thought it was wonderful. Watch out! I didn't plan on taking the camera, but as I walked out the door Joseph handed me the camera and said, "From what I've heard, I think you'll be needing this!"

Brynn and M getting ready to get all dolled up. They had to choose a hairstyle and an accessory for their hair. Brynn chose some cute sparkly clips. The hairstyle she chose was called, "Dazzling." Oh my, she was dazzling!
The process involved lots of sparkle, a little make-up and of course the new hair do! A, the birthday girl, broke her arm the day before the party! She is a spunky little gal and was still a great sport.
Brynn was as pleased as can be about her new hair-do. I tried to look closely to watch what they did so that I could attempt to re-create, but I don't think there will be any re-creating of this do, I'm a little challenged in the area of hair and make-up.
She is rather dazzling isn't she? But more importantly, Brynn is very sweet and kind. She was overwhelmed by the treatment and by all of the fun "goodies" she was able to bring home with her.

Brynn walked down the runway full of pizzazz!



Brynn and the birthday girl!

Brynn was in heaven! She kept saying over and over. "Mom, we HAVE to bring Abby back here! She would LOVE it!" Yes, they would both be in heaven. From the sparkly chairs they sit on, to the shiny heart shaped mirrors they look into, what little girl wouldn't be? Our Brynn definitely thought it was a treat! It was fun for me too!

After, we went to "The Cheesecake Factory" where Brynn was served the largest serving of Strawberry Shortcake I think I've ever seen. After she enjoyed all she could handle, soon-to-be baby-brother and I polished off the rest. It was fun getting to know some of the other moms that Joseph and I see when we take and pick Brynn up from school. We haven't spent much time getting to know, other than that, so this was a good chance. They were all very nice, and of course they all think we're so crazy to be having 4 kids in 7 years. It's perfectly normal to me!

Everyone oohed and ahhed at these cute girls when we walked in. I think they all had a great time looking fancy- shmancy at such a nice restaurantWhen Brynn arrived home, we were happy to see that along with her dazzling new look, she hadn't lost her dazzling sweetness. She opened up her bag of fun and started to split the goods with her sister. She gave Abby a mini-makeover and dolled her up, while telling her all about the wonderful things that went on at "Libby Lu." More than a few times I heard her say to Abby, "Abby, I can't wait to take you there! You will LOVE it!"

After the party, Brynn and I ran a few errands together. It was fun to walk hand in hand and have some one on one time with her. I can't believe my firstborn is almost 7 years old. Time passes too quickly!

Brynn's Hawk Award

Mrs. Ziser (Brynn's teacher) and Brynn

Tafoya Elementary held their first Hawk Awards Assembly last Friday. Brynn received a lifeskill award for "Trustworthiness." Her teacher wrote that she has been "a great example of following directions, being a good example and treating others nicely." We went as a family to see her receive her award. It happened to be on "Hawaiian Day" so it was fun to see all of the fun hawaiian outfits on all of the kids. Congratulations Brynn! We are very proud of you!

The New "Do"

Abby's been wishing, and hoping and begging for short hair for a long time. Some of her reasons... she doesn't like getting her hair combed, she likes her hair when it's done, but doesn't like getting it done, and she absolutely despises the feeling of wet hair on her back. Her hair is too thick for me to dry it every night, not to mention the fact that she lacks patience with the hair dryer. So we have to comb out the snarls and pull it into a french twist each night.

Today after taking Brynn to school, we headed out to accomplish some last minute school preparations and ended with a haircut! She is thrilled! Because Abby's hair is so long, we decided to go short enough for her to donate to "Locks of Love." They cut about 10 inches off. She loves her new "do." Tonight after bath, she was so excited to get her hair combed and couldn't believe there were no snarls to comb and no french twist to do. I could tell she felt FREEDOM! Not to mention how simple it was for me! With the arrival of our new little guy in a couple of months, we need all the simplifying we can get around here! Her hair grows so fast that we'll have snarls and a wet back before we know it, but we'll enjoy the simplicity while we have it! I have to admit, though, I had to take a big deep breath and let her tell the hairdresser just how short she wanted it. It was hard on me, but I'm happy to see her so happy with her decision.

Before.....

Here she is modeling the new outfit she picked out all by herself for the first day of school. She is such a little negotiator. She wanted to get all the accessories to match....necklace, bracelets, sweater, hair clips, umbrella, rain boots, socks, shoes, backpack, and even the watch. With the watch request I said, "You already have a watch." She came right back at me with, "Well Daddy has two watches." Oh, we love our little Abby!

After.....
(The next day) This morning when we called Grandma to look at Abby's new haircut, Grandma asked Abby if she was happy with her new haircut. Abby replied, "Yes, because I gave it away for love." It was so funny. When Brynn woke up she said, "Mom hurry, you have to put Abby's haircut on the blog so we can show it to Grandma!" (I beat her to it this time.) Brynn is really good at reminding us to keep all the events of their lives posted, especially for Grandma. We are so grateful for technology.

Celebration Time!

Since our anniversary fell on a school night this year, we decided to celebrate with the kids on Tuesday and together this weekend. We always find any excuse in the book to celebrate anything for longer than one day! :)

The kids were so funny on Tuesday. Brynn wrote in her journal at school that it was her mom and dad's anniversary and about all of our plans as a family. When she came home I told her she needed to get started on her homework. She told me she would as soon as she finished her project. She made heart crowns for all of the kids to wear during our party! I love to see how she gets an idea and then to see how resourceful she becomes by finding things around the house to get that idea rolling.

The kids and I went to pick up take-out and dessert from the Nugget Market in Davis. The kids, of course, picked the cupcakes with about a foot of frosting, and I picked out some carrot cake and creme brulee for Joseph and me. After I picked out the large piece of cake, Abby looked up and said while nodding her head very confidently, "Mom, I wreally think you're going to need some help with that one!" I then asked her, "You think you could help out a little?" "Sure do!" She said. (That's her new answer for nearly everything.)

When we got home, I asked Abby to pick up while Brynn was working on her homework. She told me, "Mom, I told you I would pick up as sthoon as I am done with the decor-wations!" She then proceeded to decorate everyone's chair with something from the house that was their's. Everyone's chair was covered in personal items, ties, purses, my flannel pj's (nice choice Abby!) toy cars.....I wondered how any of us would sit down, but it all seemed to work.

Before we put them to bed, we watched our wedding video. Abby sat between us holding both of our hands and when she got excited, she would start to giggle, lean over and give us a great big squeeze and then a nice smooch! She's so funny!

Brynn said very inquisitively, "So mom, you got married on August 26, and then was it just 2 months and then you had me in October?"

"NOOOOOOO!" Joseph and I both chimed in together. "It was a little over two years later that you came into the family." Then Joseph said, "Mom's and Dad's need a little time together first before the kids come. (and then with a wink) It would be really hard to find a wedding dress for a belly with a baby in it."

Someday she'll understand, but I hope we made it clear enough, that's all we need is her telling people that we were married and then two months later, she joined us.

This family thing is work, but it's a fun and rewarding work.

Happy 9th Anniversary!

The last 9 years have brought greater happiness than I ever could have dreamed. The happiness I have felt has not been soley based upon any accomplishment or achievement, nor has it been found because our journey has been perfect and smooth. It's been found in the simple and happy day to day moments, the working together, the supporting, sustaining and lifting of one another, it has been found through the vistas and valleys we have experienced and those yet to come. Thanks for making life so much fun and for always finding a reason to smile! I'm glad we're in this together!

Yoga Classes

I mentioned before that Brynn's teacher Mrs. Ziser has been teaching the kids yoga and they practice everyday for a few minutes before lunch. Brynn LOVES it! She comes home telling us and teaching us about all of the new poses she is learning. Today while I was making dinner, she called everyone together for a yoga class. She had even made a sign that read, Brynn's Yoga Class enny kid enny age. A few minutes into the session she said in a soft and soothing voice, "Now everyone imagine you are wherever you want to be...now say that place out loud."

Aaron mumbled inaudible words over and over while he followed Brynn. Abby shouted "... an airplane, Disneyland...." While Brynn said softly "There are roses all around...now everyone just relax....breathe in and out and think about the beautiful place you have imagined."

Pretty cute stuff.

911 What is your emergency?

Last night was quite a night! After the kids had been bathed and were pretty much ready for bed, we were all doing a final pick-up of the house. I was in Brynn and Abby's room hanging up clothes and Joseph and Brynn were in the room with me picking up a few things. Abby and Aaron were in the other room "supposedly" picking up toys as well. I was harping on everyone to get busy because they needed to get in bed.

While I was doing my harping, Abby came in with eyes the size of silver dollars and in a quiet wimpering voice said, "Mom and Dad, I'm wreally, wreally sorrwy, but I did something wreally bad!"

Joseph and I asked in unison, 'What did you do Abby?"

"I dialed 911 on the wreal phone! But I put the phone down when they answered so that they wouldn't come to our house."

"What did they say to you when they answered."

"What is your emergency?"

I sent Joseph to call them back to tell them everything was fine and explained to Abby that you never call 911 unless it is an emergency, for example if your Mom or Dad are really hurt or you can't wake them up and they need some help. We talked through a couple of emergencies and she again replied. "It's okay Mom, they won't come because I put the phone down when the lady answered." I explained to her that they can trace where we live according to our phone number and that's when the wimpering and anxiety level skyrocketed!

Meanwhile, Joseph walked around the house in an attempt to find the phone. Aaron was squealing in a high pitched voice around the house, Abby was crying and moaning, Brynn was laughing, and I was trying to be stern, while holding back laughter. Joseph finally found the cordless phone Abby used to call, sitting face down on Aaron's bed. He picked it up and noticed it was on, "Hello?" Of course the dispatcher was still there. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, my 4 year old daughter just dialed 911 and then came running to us to tell us what she had done."

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yes, everything's just fine, we're just getting the kids ready for bed." Then came a shrill from Aaron and a sob from Abby, "What was that sound." the dispatcher asked.

"It's just my two-year-old playing."

"Are you sure, is there another adult there I can speak with." Apparently he wasn't convincing enough.

I was in the girl's bedroom continuing my lecture on when to call 911 and trying to convince Abby that the police were not going to be coming to our house. She, of course, was crying and hyperventialting, and moaning because she was convinced that they were going to come and they were going to be really mad at her. Joseph walked in with the phone and handed it to me. I said, "Hello?"

"Hi Ma'am, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Yes, we were just getting the kids ready for bed and my 4 year old dialed 911." I was holding back a nervous laugh.

"Are you sure everything is okay?"

"Yes, everything is just fine, it was just a mistake, I'm really sorry!"

"Okay, the police have already been dispatched, but I'll see if I can call them back."

That was the end of the call. We spent the next 20 minutes trying to convince Abby that the police weren't going to come. She was certain that they were. At this point we were all in the family room getting ready for family prayer so we could put everyone in bed, and becoming inpatient with all of her fears. I stated over and over in very clear terms, "Abby, I told the 911 dispatch that everything was fine and she said she would call and tell the police they didn't need to come." Over and over again she said, "It's just not very far to get to our house, so I'm afraid, they'll get here before she gets a hold of them!"

After trying to convince her for what seemed like the millionth time, I said with more volume, "Abby stop it now! They aren't coming and even if they were, it would be to make sure everything was okay at our house!" I was speaking loud enough that I didn't hear the doorbell ring, I just saw Joseph's head flop back like "Oh, great!" He then turned to me lauging, and said, "Did you hear that, the doorbell just rang, they've sent the police!" He went to get the door. I chased Abby who had high-tailed it out of there!

Abby went into a tailspin screaming and crying. She tried to lock herself in the master bathroom to hide from the officer. I hollered for Brynn to get Abby some shorts since she was only wearing a big t-shirt that barely covered her under-rooskies.

Joseph answered the door and invited the female officer in and explained to her that everything was fine. I pulled shorts on Abby as fast as I could and carried her into the kitchen with her head buried on my shoulder. I told her to look at the officer and tell her sorry. Abby refused to make eye contact and kept wimpering! She was not helping the situation one bit! I could tell the officer was observing the scene and looking to make sure that everyone looked unharmed. Luckily our house was clean, if this had happened 3 hours earlier, she would have seen the room in total disarray with blankets and couch cusions all over the floor in an effort to make a "boat". She would have really wondered what was up!

I couldn't stop laughing, but said to Abby, "The officer is here to make sure everything is okay, because sometimes children call 911 when something is wrong and their parent's try to pretend that nothing is wrong when something really is. She just wants to make sure you are safe."

Joseph asked the officer to tell the girls an occasion when you would need to call 911. She replied, "If something really scary happens to Mom or Dad, you call 911 and let someone know." Joseph had all the kids shake the officer's hand... and after much coaxing, even Abby reached out her hand without making eye contact.

The officer walked toward the door and said, "You have a beautiful home, sorry for the inconvenience."

After she left Abby was still a little concerned and confused as to why the officer needed to make sure things were okay even though we told them over the phone that things were fine. (We must not have been too convincing to the 911 dispatcher). Here's how the rest of our explanation went, "Abby some mom's and dad's fight. They yell really loud at each other and sometimes they hit each other. Do we yell at each other?" She shook her head....no. "Do Daddy and I hit each other?" She again shook her head....no. "Some mom's and dad's yell really loud at each other and hit each other and hurt one another so the children get scared and call 911 and then then sometimes the mom. or the dad are afraid of getting into trouble so they call and tell the police that everything is fine when it really isn't. Does that make sense? The police just wanted to come tonight to make sure that nothing bad had happened to our family. They are here to help us and take care of us." Abby seemed to find that answer appeasing, once her mood lightened a little she said "I'm just glad it was a gull (girl), police, a boy would have been wreally, wreally bad!" Then after prayer and cheer she said, "Okay, I want to see what everyone's face looked like when the doorbell rang!" We all showed our faces and agreed that her reenactment definitely stole the show!

Oh what a night! After thinking about it, we figured this delightful toy we own, should share atleast some of the blame.

Thoughts from the last two weeks....

There's not much of a connection to all of these thoughts, just a little bit of what's goin' on!

We really feel like we lucked out with Brynn's teacher this year. The school doesn't allow teacher requests (unless you feel like your child has special needs), but I feel like she was placed perfectly for her personality. Brynn adores her and Joseph and I feel very comfortable about sending her to school everyday. In fact, on Back to School Night, the first grade team presented together and after it was all over and we were walking home, Joseph whispered to me, "Okay, out of all the teachers she could have been placed with, I'm glad she's with Mrs. Ziser, she has a much softer look than the rest of the teachers and I just think it's going to be the right fit for Brynn." I smiled because we were both thinking the exact same thing. Mrs. Ziser is very classy and someone who looks to be a great role model for Brynn.

On the first day of school when I picked her up I asked her how things went and what she thought of her teacher. "Mom, she's soooo nice and she's soooo pretty, and she plays the cello!"

Everyday before lunch Mrs. Ziser leads them in a few minutes of yoga. Brynn loves it! She comes home everyday teaching us new yoga positions along with their names. She may have a future as a yoga instructor. ;) She's pretty good if you ask me!

Speaking of lunch, I was surprised at how much school lunch costs now. $2.50 a pop here. When I taught school, I think it was still $1.35, and I don't consider my teaching days that ancient. Some of the other moms in the ward told me that most of the kids who eat school lunch are on the free and reduced plans, and most of the others bring their lunch from home. We've been packing a lunch everyday, but one day, Brynn decided she wanted to try school lunch. Joseph went and paid for one month, just so she had money in her account in case she wanted to try it a few times. I asked her how things went and she said, "It was pretty good, but they served chocolate milk and that made my stomach really sick...I wanted some water from my home lunch really bad!" She had been looking forward to the chocolate milk, but I guess her system didn't find it quite agreeable. Maybe it's the heat! Milk never tastes good to me when I'm hot and thirsty. :) We'll be packing a home lunch from now on until she decides to try it again. Hopefully we'll be able to get through the months worth of lunches we've pre-paid for, or get a refund. She also said, "Mom, we had these little brown things that looked like chicken nuggets, but they were smaller, and the guy on Napoleon Dynamite eats them." "Oh your mean tater tots." I said. "Yeah, that's what it is, because he said, give me some of your tots!" Funny! Times have changed, nearly everyone at my elementary school ate school lunch.

Brynn always runs to us for a hug when we pick her up from school. It thrills me to see her looking so happy.....she looks really hot and somewhat tired, but happy! She always has a few points to tell me about the day, "Okay I have 4 (whatever the number happens to be) things I want to tell you..." On one particular day last week, when she came to give me a hug, point number one was, "Mom, Mrs. Ziser's husband came today and we sang with him and his guitar! It was so fun! We sang the Itsy-Bitsy Spider and Old McDonald and some other songs."

Brynn has such an obedient little spirit....it's almost funny. She wants so bad to do what she's supposed to do. Sometimes, while telling me about her events of the day she will say, "Okay Mom, one bad thing happened today. My table didn't get as many points as the Trapezoid table. Mario was talking and so we didn't earn points and it made me so frustrated! I did get 5 decision dollars today though!" We've had a few nice talks about encouraging others in a postive way and trying to motivate them to stay on task and obey the rules. I wish I could be a little fly on the wall and watch these little ones as they try to figure out all of these things. It really makes me smile. I hope the rest of the school year goes as smoothly for her as these first couple of weeks.

Brynn and Abby are counting down the days until ballet starts....less than one week for Brynn and eight days for Abby. They are both wondering what the "play" (ballet performance) will be this year. I don't know if they'll have Abby's class participate this year....it's usually a big production and they like to wait until the children are in kindergarten, but her class will have their own smaller performance...hopefully that will do.

Abby starts pre-school after Labor Day. She's very excited! We've met a few times with her friends from school over the summer and she always enjoys their friendship so much. It's good for her to have social experiences without Brynn. Sometimes they rely too much upon one another. They are very social as a pair, but sometimes get a little timid on their own. It's always good when they have opportunities to be friendly and socialize by themselves.

It's been great for me to see the kids play together lately. Aaron and Abby have had lots of practice the last couple of weeks while Brynn has been at school. It's fun to see Abby present an idea of play to Aaron and to have him get excited about it. He's slowly, but surely becoming a better talker. I have to remind myself not to compare him to Abby who was telling us what was what when she was 18 months old. I recall how surprised people were at how well she could talk, but when you're in the middle of it, sometimes you don't notice. When I expressed concern to our pediatrician about Aaron after his last exam, she smiled and said, "He's completely normal. You can't compare your children to one another, there's a broad spectrum of normal."

Joseph met Paul Frandsen just south of Monterey for a bike ride along the coast last weekend. He really enjoyed himself and came home very happy. I'm glad he has such a healthy outlet for his energy and a hobby he really enjoys. I am determined to "let" him record their journey (along with the other rides that he wants documented) I can post pictures, but I can't say much about the journey, hopefully he'll take care of those soon! He wants to, and he feels that keeping a journal is important, but also admits, he's been a bit lousy with it. He says that he enjoys "living" life, more than "writing" about it. That's understandable. The other day I told him that I really wanted life written in his perspective. He has such a bright perspective on life, I would feel so sad if something happened to him and our children didn't have his perspective on things. Even if nothing happens, I think our posterity would be missing out without his view on things. I love reading his journals from his mission and his journal from specific times in our marriage and family life when he has done better at keeping up with things. I always leave wanting more.
(hint, hint!)

I'm enjoying the structure that comes with school being in session. I thrive on structure. I hope to have our schedule down in the next couple of months, before our little guy gets here.

I realized today that I am approaching 30 weeks! I have only had 1 doctor appointment, 1 Nurse Practioner appointment, and 1 Nurse Midwife appointment (and 2 ultrasounds). It seems I've had to cancel a few times for trips out of town and just getting in later than normal due to the busy-ness of life. It's gone by so fast! We still haven't decided on a name. Joseph says about once a day, "We really need to get this name thing figured out!" I agree. I know it will come. In the past couple weeks he has brought up the name Michael quite a few times. The first time he brought it up was right after Michael Phelps won his first gold and we were at the swimming pool as a family. Coincidence? I think not! He must just really have a fascination with naming this baby after an athlete. Michael is a very nice name, but it isn't in the running for me, I don't want to use any names that end with the letter L. (Because it's the same letter our last name begins with...Lee can be a difficult last name to work with). So we're still on the name hunt.

We had a interesting 911 call tonight that I'll write about soon.....oh goodness, there is always something crazy going on in this house!

Abby won't take "You're only 4..." for an answer

Lately, Abby has been having a hard time being the second one to do everything. To start out, she doesn't think it's fair that she had to be born second . We try to let her be first where possible, but some things you have no control over. Sometimes we have to say, "Don't worry, you're only 4, you'll get to do that too when you're 6. " One of the issues we've dealt with this summer has been the fact that Brynn has become so comfortable in the water. While Brynn jumps off the diving board literally 20 times in a row, Abby has had fun cheering her on, but has also been known to mope about saying, "I wish I could go off the diving board, but I'm only 4." It's taken some explaining, but we've finally helped her discover that diving boards aren't t just for older kids, 4 year olds can do them too! We've believed she could do it, it's just been a matter of her building up enough confidence to take the plunge!

The past few times when we've been at the pool as a family, I've taken the girls to the deep end and made them swim across over and over again. Brynn does it all on her own, but I stay right in front of Abby without touching her, just cheering her on, and letting her know I am there if she needs me. When she made it all the way across the deep end (about 25 meters), she realized that she could make it half way from the diving board to the side, so when they opened the diving board, she decided she was ready to jump....and jump she did... about 8 times before it was time to go home! It was very exciting!

One funny thing that happened last night.....I was treading water in the middle of the deep waiting for Abby to swim to me. Before she took off she told me not to move. I told her I wouldn't move, I would stay put. Obviously I had to move my body, just not my position in the pool. She put her head under and started swimming and then turned around in the water and went back to the wall. She came up and lifted up her goggles and said, "I told you NOT to move mom, when I look under water and I see your legs going around and around I KNOW that you are moving!" I laughed and showed her what would happen if I didn't move my legs around in the deep....I WOULD SINK! I'm not sure she totally understood the concept, but when I told her I could stay in the same place while still moving my legs, she went ahead and swam to me, I held her for a a few seconds in the middle for a breather and then sent her on her way.

I love to see my children gain self-confidence, it doesn't matter how much confidence I have in them, if they don't have it in themselves, their progress is halted, and it can be frustrating as a parent. The reward of seeing them do something you believed they could do, and now they KNOW they can do is priceless!

Olympic Inspiration

We've all been staying up WAY past our bedtime lately, but the Summer Olympics happen only once every 4 years, so we're enjoying just about every minute of them.

The kids and I have gone swimming nearly every day this summer, and we have designated Tuesday and Thursday nights as family swim night (which means somedays were two-a-day swim days). This past week we've had to DVR some Olympic events to preserve that family swim night.

Abby is clearly proud about her new accomplishment of this week. Jumping off the diving board! When she first did it a few days ago, I was overcome with excitement and said, "Abby, I am so proud of you!" She replied back in between shivers, 'I'm stho pwroud of mysthelf too!"
Aaron cheers from the sidelines shouting in his cute two year old voice that sometimes only I can understand, "Go Abby! Go Bin!" and claps as long and loud as he can.
Last night, Joseph decided to take part in the action, this is not a FLOP, he did pike at the end. The girls were amazed and thought he was definitely Olympic material.

Brynn's First Day of First Grade!

Brynn started her first day of school on August 6, 2008. On Friday, August 1 at 5:00 p.m., they posted the class lists for the 2008-2009 school year. We had a full day of swimming that day and everyone fell asleep that afternoon, so as soon as Joseph arrived home from work at 6:00 we headed over to see who her teacher would be and which kindergarten friends would be in her class. We went through all 8 first grade lists and I didn't see Brynn's name on any of them. I went through the list again and at last found it, somehow I completely missed it the first time. She was placed in a class with two of her best friends from kindergarten and a few other friends from other classes.

There are only two LDS kids in the first grade of 160+ students at Brynn's school, Brynn and a little boy from our ward. I was thrilled to see his name on the list of Brynn's class! What are the chances? With only 2 out of160+ students, we felt lucky! His mom is one of my friends and Abby has a weekly playdate with his younger twin sisters. We left very happy with the results of the posting.

Joseph pointed out that, not only is she no longer the only Mormon in her class, she is no longer the only caucasian as well. It's funny, that was such a major concern for us last year, but this year, we weren't really worried about it.

The night before school started Joseph gave the girls both a father's blessing and we put everyone to bed. I had tried hard all week to not get too sentimental with Brynn, even though I was REALLY sad to have school starting again. We've had a fun summer and I've loved being surrounded by ALL of my children ALL day everyday. I wish I could give them a vitamin with all the knowledge they need and keep them home to play and have fun all day. Anyway, I slipped a couple of times during the week and told Brynn that I was going to miss her when she went back to school. That night before school started, after we had put them to bed, Abby quietly came into me and said, "Mom, when you tell Brynn you are going to miss her when she starts school, I've noticed that your eyes get wet.....well Brynn is in her bed crying because she is sad that she has to be gone from you all day." Oh great, I thought! I went and crawled into bed with Brynn and held her as she cried and tried to lighten things up a bit. This is how our conversation went.

Me: Brynn what's wrong?

Brynn: (in between sobs) I'm just so sad that I have to be gone from you all day.

Me: Well, you'll be gone for 6 hours and then you get to be home for 18 hours. Which is longer 6 or 18?

Brynn: 18, but 6 is still a really long time.

Me: It does seem long, doesn't it....but don't you get sick of me sometimes?!

Brynn: (with a little giggle now) Yes!

Me: Well just think, you'll get to go to school and learn new things and play with your friends and then when the time comes I'll come and wait outside your classroom with Aaron and Abby and I'll give you a big hug and we'll be so excited to see each other again! You'll get to have lots of fun with friends and your new teacher while we're at home cleaning and doing other chores and errands, that doesn't sound very fun does it?

Abby, listening, interjects at this point: Ah! Man! Why do we have to clean, I hate doing work! That's not fair!

(I realize I've created more of a problem so I change the subject.)

Me: Brynn, you can cry whenever you feel like it and you can come talk to me about what you're feeling. When I was in first grade I cried about everything! I cried because I had to sit by a boy at lunch!

Brynn: (giggling) You did?

Me: Yes! I had to sit by my 4th grade brother at lunch everyday for the first few weeks of school because I cried so much about sitting next to that boy in my class! But then things got better and I was okay! It's okay to feel nervous and you can cry whenever you want....and whenever you are at school and you start to miss me, take the palm of your hand that I've kissed and hold it up to your cheek for a minute and think, "My Mom loves me!"

Brynn: Okay....

The entire time this conversation was going on, Aaron was at the bottom of the bunk bed screaming and crying hysterically for my attention. So once the mood was lightened and I could tell she was okay I headed down the ladder to rescue him. As much as it hurts to have her feel like she wants to be with me so much, I am grateful to feel needed. Someday, she'll probably walk into the classroom without looking back or flat out tell me that she doesn't need me there....I think both will be marked as tender and bittersweet moments of motherhood.
We all piled in the car and took her to school as a family. 8:15 seemed early for us all after the lazy days of summer!

Brynn is in room E-4 with Mrs. Ziser, a new teacher to Tafoya Elementary. Brynn adores her! For the first few days, she came home saying, "My teacher is sooooo nice and she's really pretty!" She does seem very nice and with it. I think it's a great match for our Brynn, exactly what she needs. Brynn is full of spunk and fun, but is also very tender and has a very serious side. We're pleased with the way things have turned out.


Brynn was thrilled to see that her good friend from kindergarten was in her class with her!When I picked Brynn up, she was all smiles, but mentioned she was very HOT from having 3 recesses! That was a part of first grade she didn't expect! :) She told me that whenever she started to think that she was missing me, she put her hand to her cheek and thought, "Mom loves me."

We headed home to enjoy the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that Abby and I had made to pass the time while Brynn was away. (She misses Brynn more than anyone!) I asked every question I could think of and tried to pick her brain of every little detail. Minutes later, Grandma Rowene called for a FULL report of her first day. Brynn told her all of the exciting details and it was fun for me to hear it all again! We're looking forward to another great year of school!

The High Dive!

Check out our cute little Brynn on the high dive. She was so fun to watch. She went over and over and over again. She was the littlest one there and the big boys kept trying to sneak in front of her. I told her she needed to move her way to the front and not to let anyone cut in line. She nodded her head and took care of it.

Our Little Swimmers!

The pool has been among our favorite spots this summer. It's been great to see everyone's progress in the water!

Decisions, Decisions!

When Joseph and I found out we were expecting our first little girl, one of the things we discussed was when to allow her to get her ears pierced. We decided then that we would wait until she had an interest and until she was prepared and willing to accept the pain involved. The topic came up a couple of times when we lived in Spokane, but when we told her that a needle was involved, she quickly declined.

When Brynn started kindergarten this past year the topic came up again. Good ol' peer pressure. She noticed that many of the little girls in her class had pierced ears. Again we talked to her about the needle and I pinched her ear to give her an idea of what it "might" feel like. She again shuddered and told us she was not ready. (This is the little girl who fainted right before her kindergarten exam while her brother was getting his immunizations. The anticipation of her own shots was just too much! It turned into a 4 hour ordeal because the doctor wanted to monitor her after the fainting spell.)

Fast forward to April of this year, we were in Utah visiting with Brent and Lindi and she noticed little Lydia had her ears pierced. She was amazed that someone less than one year old could handle the pain of having pierced ears. We again gave her the pinch test and she said, "I don't think I'm quite ready yet."

Then in the middle of July, she approached us again telling us "I've been thinking that I'm ready to get my ears pierced." I didn't want her to get them done, so I said, "Talk to Dad when he gets home from work." She did and kept talking about it for weeks. We set the date for July 1st and wrote it on the calendar. That day came and we had other things going on and didn't make it out. She was disappointed and asked us everyday for a couple of weeks when we were going to be able to do it. The following week, we happened to be shopping and passed a Claire's, so I said "Hey Brynn, do you want to go get your ears pierced tonight?" She looked at me hesitantly, and said, "Ya!" We walked into the store and for about 30 minutes she said over and over, "I'm just so nervous!" I told her that we could wait...she didn't need to do it tonight if she didn't want to. (I secretly didn't want her to do it...I don't want my baby growing up!) She asked over and over, "Should I?" To which I replied, "It's your decision." She would then reply, "I'm afraid it's going to hurt?" The clerk tried to tell her it wouldn't hurt. I told her it would hurt for a few seconds and then the pain would go away. This went on for 30 minutes. We had a talk from dad, we walked out of the store, we had a call from Grandma Rowene who told her she only had to do it if she wanted to, and then we walked back in to do the whole routine over again. I really wanted her to make the decision herself. She clearly wanted me to make the decision for her (we are so much alike). She finally decided all on her own that she indeed, DID want to do it.

When Joseph could see we were starting to move forward with the process, he came into the store. (He had been sitting in the van with Aaron). He didn't want to miss this momentous event in her life (as he put it). The "piercer" marked the spot, Joseph made her change it a few times....he didn't think it was centered quite perfectly. He finally asked if he could mark the spot. :) Brynn squoze the "hugging bear" as tightly as she could and the piercing began! After it was all over she turned pale white and had to go to the restroom because her tummy didn't feel so good. I think the clerk was really worried, but I told her this was pretty normal for Brynn.

Abby told us she wanted to get her ears pierced too....I was a little puzzled since she emphatically declined every time we did the pinch test. I asked her why she wanted to get them pierced. She replied with her puppy dog face, "I want to squeezthe the teddy bear and get a sthucker like Brwynn." We all started to laugh and when we told her she could get a sucker and hug the bear without getting her ears pierced, she was very relieved.

Brynn chose her birthstone, the pink tourmaline (looks like a pink diamond) for her first pair of earings. They are very feminine and cute!

Nut Tree Family Park~August 2008

We took the kids to the Nut Tree Family Park in Vacaville and out to dinner for our last Saturday Family Fun Day of the summer. Of course, there will be more Satruday Family Fun Days, but we're always looking for an excuse to celebrate. It was our first time there and the kids loved it. It was very clean and perfect for their age levels.

Brynn loved the thrill of the roller coaster. She went over and over again. I tried it one time, but felt like the baby probably wouldn't appreciate all the jerking around, so dad went over and over and over again with her while Abby, Aaron and I went on some of the more mellow rides. It was a warm afternoon, but lots of fun.