The Thankful Post

Since Christmas is only 8 days away, according to Brooklynn's calculations, I thought it was about time for me to write a little about our Thanksgiving Celebrations. We have been so very blessed this year and I would hate to miss an opportunity to express my Gratitude to my amazing friends and family for your love and support. I am thankful and amazed each and everyday for the very many blessings the Lord gives us!

We spent a great week in the OC for Thanksgiving. It all came together rather late, but lucky for us our wonderful and beautiful and favorite (don't tell the others) 14 year old niece had a soccer tournament down there and so we thought it a perfect opportunity to see them. It was wonderful to see Mike and Steph, Mac, DJ Jamez, Nannie, and Haven. WE are most grateful to Nana Janet for offering up her home for us to crash in.

We frolicked at the beach, ate out, saw movies and just enjoyed being together. We were also able to spend some time with Ryan and Nic and crew. Thanksgiving dinner was at their house with their wonderful friends Dave and Heather. It really was a great night finished off with the traditional trip to Fashion Island to see the 150 ft Christmas Tree. Just in case you are wondering about how cutting down this giant tree affected the environment, it was taken from an approved area and this tree was specifically chosen knowing that it would not impact the forest it was taken from in the least. Phew for that one, I was super worried about it.

Sadly because of the pouring rain the first couple of days we were there and the extreme prissiness of the people in charge of the soccer fields in Irvine, Mac's tournament was postponed and we were not able to see any of her games. However, the word on the street is that she played great (We had no doubts).

We are so happy that we were able to spend the week with those we love. We miss our families so much and spending Thanksgiving with those we love made it perfect!

It was supposed to be the Christmas Card!

First, I would like to say that no I have not quit blogging. I think this is a record for the length of time in between posts, but I just haven't felt like sitting down to do this and besides it is almost Christmas people and I am just plain busy. I have lots to say about Thanksgiving and my Amazing Girls trip but that too will have to wait. I have to just post this picture.

I was hoping it would be our Christmas Card picture and then when I put it on the computer this is what I found!

Seriously people how often do you get a beautiful candid shot like this. I look hot (haha) my kids are all looking at the camera and looking perfectly adorable, Steve looks great and then of course HIS EYES ARE CLOSED! This is a regular thing for Steve, but seriously did it have to be on this picture? Oh well. Plan B turned out alright, but you won't get to see my bright smiling face or Steve's on our Christmas card this year, but it may include some of the following images.

Sean's Wee Wedding to Katelyn!

Last weekend I got away. Yes that is right, I escaped mommyhood for a few days to enjoy some time with My Sister's, my brother's, my parents, my cousins and whole bunch of other fantastic people. It was amazing, fun, refreshing and just plain wonderful. While of course I missed my little monkey's and my wonderful hubby, it was great to spend time with all my favorite people that I rarely get to see.

Now you may ask what glorious event allowed me to go - Well, Sean FINALLY got married. HaHa. Yeah for Sean! He married Katelyn who is adorable and wonderful and PERFECT for him.

While it may have taken him some extra time to find her, she was worth the wait and I'm sure Sean would agree!

So as for a run down of the weekend. I left on Thursday, met Julie in SLC and flew into Calgary. Marilee was already there and we stayed up until 3 am giggling and being silly sisters. The next morning we were lazy, helped mom a little in the kitchen, visited with Aunty Marilyn and some long lost cousins and then headed down to Cardston for the wedding. Once there we met Katelyn, hung out with the rest of the clan and just had fun. I have to say it was fun to see Sean so in love.

The wedding was so nice on Saturday morning. The luncheon was great and the reception awesome. The food at the reception was awesome too! (of course I had to throw that in) Santa even came to the reception and I have a picture to prove it.

All in all it was a great weekend. As usual I didn't take enough pictures. I am especially sad that I missed taking one of Reecey in her adorable flower girl dress. All the little girls looked so cute. You will notice all the men in Kilts as well. This is because our family hails from Scotland and if I do say so myself, all the men looked quite fantastic. All us girls wore sashes or skirts from our family tartans. It was a fast but incredible weekend!

A Tribute to my Bestest Friends!

Both of my beautiful wonderful sisters celebrate their birthday's in October. Marilee's was a few weeks ago and Julie's is tomorrow. As a tribute to them both I am going to give 11 reason why I love them!

Marilee
1. She always let me hang out with her friends in High School
2. She is always on the go and is great at planning great things to do with her kids
3. She is determined
4. She is beautiful
5. She is always willing to share what she has
6. She goes above and beyond in all her church callings (check out her posts on Youth Conference)
7. She loves to serve others and help out her friends
8. She is my big sister and has always been there to celebrate the good and support me through the bad
9. She is the most amazing Mom and has tons of good advice
10. She is smart, sexy, and sassy, even though I convinced her once that spaghetti grows on trees! HaHa
11. She is one of my best friends

Love you tons Mar, you are the best big sister a girl could ever ask for.
Julie
1. She is always there when I need her
2. She has a smile that could light up a room
3. She is an amazing mom and gives me good advice when I need help with mine own kids
4. She is funny and loves to have fun
5. She is great at listening
6. She is a loyal friend
7. She makes the BEST sugar cookies, like seriously people the best
8. She remembers everything, I admire that because I don't have a very good memory
9. She is tall and beautiful, I mention tall because I always wished I were taller!
10. She is compasionate and empathic and always happy to help out those who need her
11. She is one of my best friends in all the world!

I love you JuJu, HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY tomorrow! I wish I were there to throw you a big huge surprise party. You are the best!

Update

I feel like the weeks are flying by, but I really don't have much to blog about. I have been busy, keeping up with all the usual, like laundry, running the kids back and forth to school, cleaning, I had my first Scentsy Party, and of course this week is Halloween. The kids are all excited about their costumes and if I do say so myself they are pretty adorable in them. We had the ward 'Harvest' party last week and I have some pretty cute pictures to post, but I will wait until tomorrow.

I had a parent teacher conference yesterday with Brookies teacher Mrs. Sagouspe, she is wonderful (Ty had her as well). She said Brooklynn is doing very well so far. She is already starting to read, in fact, the other day she came in and said, 'Mom, I wish I could read all the books on the bookshelf.' She is loving learning and everyweek when she brings home her homework, she sits down and finishes it all at once. Mrs. Sagouspe told me that she is so helpful at school and quite the mother. I of course said, "I know, she thinks she is the mother." Even though her mothering is not so cute at home sometimes, apparantly she has been quite helpful with some of the other kids at school. One little boy in particular has had a hard time holding his pencil correctly, she helps him get it right. I am so proud of her and love her cute little face!

I meet wth Tyler's teacher tomorrow....... should be interesting and fun to see how he is doing. He loves reading and has really taken to drawing. On Fridays at school they have a chance to go watch a movie or go to another classroom and do art, he has been choosing art. I think it is great, so I think this week will head to the library and find him some How To Draw books.

As for Josh, let's see. He is the worst sleeper, okay well not the worst, but my worst. He wakes up at 6 am or earlier everyday and I just wish he would so that I could sleep until 7. Really people is that too much to ask? He is no longer napping most days and you would think that would mean bedtime would come earlier or maybe he would just fall asleep early, keep thinking it because it just doesn't happen. Not only is sleep an issue, but he is just naughty or just doing very naughty things. Here is my latest list: 1) Coloring on the walls, table, furniture, whatever . 2) Playing in the toilet and getting into my box of tampons. 3) filling up the lid to the toothpast and throwing it at the mirror. 4) climbing on everything and pushing chairs all around so that he can climb. Even though we are having this terribly naughty time, he is still so adorable. He is imagining and playing and singing. He loves singing in the car and is starting to sing along to some Jonas Brother's and Maroon 5 songs. The other night he and Steve were hanging out and having a conversation and Steve told him, "Daddy has to go on a Paplane (airplane)" Josh looked at him and in a very sad soft voice replied, "Oh, darnet!" It was super cute.

I think that is all. Having a Happy Halloween Everyone!

Finally, A Few Football Pictures

Ty's Flag Football ended a couple of weeks ago and I am finally getting around to downloading them. He had so much fun playing with his good friend Trevor. It was fun for us to watch him. He loved it!

Amy Tagged Me!

I was Tagged ...

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago are:
1. Living at Aunt Lori's and sharing the basement with Kendall (sorry Kendall)
2. I had been dating Steve again for about 5 months
3. I had just graduated from BYU
4. Driving almost every weekend to Idaho to see Steve
5. Working at my first job out of College - NOVATIONS

5 things on my to do list for today are:
1. Workout
2. Hit Target for a few things
3. Pay Bills - I hate that one
4. Do the Laundry - not really my favorite either
5. Try to get Josh to take a nap

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Ice Cream
2. Wheat Thins
3. Cheese
4. Toast, but really only in Canada, it is just better there
5. Fruit, lately Mangos

5 things I would do if I were a Millionaire:
1. Buy a big beautiful house that we all fit in where Steve's desk was not in my bedroom!
2. Have Bob or Jillian from the biggest loser be my personal trainer
3. Travel all over the world, except not to China
4. Live near my family
5. Pay someone else to clean my house

5 places I have lived are:
1. Lehi, UT
2. Orem, UT
3. Provo, UT
4. Rexburg, ID
5. Fresno, CA

5 jobs I have had are:
1. MOMMY
2. Client Coordinator
3. BYU Media Servies guru, You know the person that plays the National Anthem over the loud speakers twice a day on campus - that was me.
4. Custodian at Helaman Halls
5. Worked at my Dad's dental office doing what ever they needed

5 people I tag:
1. Julie
2. Marilee
3. Kacey
.4. Jen B
5. Kendra

Rules: Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog

Busy!

Since I am up and can't seem to tuck myself into bed tonight, I thought I would take this quiet moment to update my blog. I'm not sure why, but I have had little time to do this. It seems like I have been running around like a crazy person - doing what you ask. I'm not sure. Soccer, Football, Activity Days, Church, Proposition 8 stuff, working in the kids classes, watching my friends kids, working out (at least making an atempt at it), Scentsy, battling fleas (don't ask) and the list goes on. It seems there is always something which I don't mind, but I wouldn't mind a couple of quieter days durning the week. Here's to hoping!

As forthe kids. Things have been great! School is going well and so are sports. Tyler has his last flag football game this week. He has had great fun playing and I'm sure will be sad to be done. It has been hard to take pictures because he plays when it is dark under lights and my flash just isn't that great. Maybe this week I can snap a few.

Brooklynn is turning into quite the soccer girl! She has had two games and we have learned a number of thing about her. #1 - she is quite the competitor #2 - she is pretty fast and is one of the fastest on her team. Who would have guessed this one considering the fact that she has been known to be a little clumsy in the past. #3 - she loves playing #4 - she is starting to get it. #5 - She is adorable - ok we already knew this one, but just wanted to mention it #6 - she enjoys having her own thing. Her first game was so fun and she did great. She scored a goal and was close a couple of other times. When she scored she was so excited she jumped up and down with her arms up and then did a little dance and wiggled her hips. It was so cute! Game two was great as well, although her energy was slightly down because of a cold. She still came out scoring two goals and had fun doing it. We are trying to get her to understand that she is fast and the point is to be faster than everyone.

As for Tater, I'm not really sure what to tell you. He is always saying funny stuff and I wish I could remember it all. Lately I've heard a bunch of 'Pitty Pease' I'm not sure where he got this one, but boy it is cute. He still loves Nacho Libre and begs me to let him watch it daily. He talks up a storm and is really into playing with his friends. Today it was Carter he wanted to play with and I heard many 'pitty pease mommy' The other day in the car he told me, 'Me miss mine Jakey!' The boy is just to cute. I have also been hearing, most often whispered in my ear, "I yuv you ayot" ( I love you alot). What a boy! And I can't forget this one, Steve was getting the boys ready for church on Sunday. Ty was in the shower and Steve was combing Josh's hair.

Steve asked, "Who is your buddy, is daddy your buddy?"

Josh replied, "No TyTy mine Buddy."

Steve, "Well tell your buddy to get out of the shower!"

Josh, "Get out the showah, Big Slim!"

Once in awhile Steve calls Tyler Big Slim, but not often enough that Josh should pick up on it.

Well, I guess that is all. Things just are moving so fast and I am grateful for my cute kids and the joy they bring both Steve and I. I really LOVE THEM AYOT!

Tyler's Baptism

Wow, what a busy weekend we had. It was such a wonderful time and we are so proud of Tyler. I think I'll do a little timeline and then post some of the pictures!

Friday: Mom and Dad Empey, Kari, Jason, Jake, Maggie and Eli arrive. Tyler did not know Eli or Kari and crew were coming. When it was time to go get Tyler, Eli and Kari came with us. As we were sitting there and we were a few minutes early, I notice some kids walking down the hall and realize it is Tyler's class. I did not want him to see Kari and Eli. So we hid. He walked by and then when we thought the coast was clear he left his classroom again. This time Kari and Eli sat with their backs to the door and I stood there waiting. I said hi and he starred at the back of Kari and Eli and then went in and finished up whatever he was doing until the bell rang. When he came out and saw Eli his face absolutely lit up. I mean shear and utter delight people, it was so cute. Eli was bursting with excitement too. Tyler ran over to us and gave him a huge bear hug, it was so cute. He gave Kari and hug and then the two of them walked to the car in complete heaven to be with each other. The surprises only got better and later on Nana and Grandad arrived. Nana told Ty that she had something in the car for him and could he help her out. He went out side and saw Auntie Julie standing there, but I don't think it quite registered what was going on. Then he looked at Jackson, Annie and Marin and then he screamed, 'Jack' and jumped into Jack's arms. It was so cute and I think it made his world complete to have even more cousins there. For whatever reason he and Jack are kindred souls and have been since Ty was born, so this was super exciting to have him here. We had a great evening talking and catching up and hanging out with not only one of my sister's, but my Kari too! Yeah, it was so awesome to have them all here. I am so grateful to Kari and J and Mom and Dad Empey for making that brutal long drive and also to Julie for her trek, and Nana and Grandad for helping everyone from my side get here. It made the weekend perfect.

Saturday: The Baptism was at 10 in the morning and it was wonderful. There were 3 kids from the Stake that were baptized and it was a nice program. Grandma Empey gave the talk on Baptism and it was just perfect, she even had some audience participation. Tyler was so happy and I was so very proud of him. I felt so blessed to not only have so much of my wonderful family there with us, but so many of our friends came as well. I really have been blessed with amazing friends here and I wouldn't trade any of you for the world!

The afternoon was spent watching football, eating (of course) and then taking the kids swimming. It was lovely. That night was more of the same and then all the cousins slept over and were up until midnight being silly!

Sunday: We had to say goodbye to everyone except for Nana and Grandad. It was sad, but happy. The weekend went much too fast and I always wish I had more time to spend with everyone.

I am so grateful to be the mom of such an incredible kid and I am so proud of him. I just hope that I haven't messed him up too much and I can continue to teach him all that he needs to know! Love you a bunch TyTy.

Sweet Surprises!

What is it about a surprise that is just soooo joyous. I know some people can't stand them, but I love them and I love them even more when the surprise isn't just for you, but for one of your children. Today, on this beautiful glorious day, my only complaint is that it is still much too hot here, I have three stories of surprises!

1. This morning as I was lying in bed thinking, "Do I really have to get up?" I heard some noise is the kitchen, some dishes, the fridge opening and closing. I didn't hear any loud bangs or crashes, so I decided to ignore it and stay in bed. A few minutes later I hear, 'Mom, we made you a surprise!' Down the hallway came all three of my kids, with breakfast tray in hand a glass of milk and some very tasty toaster waffles for me for breakfast! How sweet it was! How can that not start your day off right. Even better, no mess left behind in the kitchen!
2. Tyler is getting baptized tomorrow! He is so excited, but has been sad because none of his cousins were coming. Haha, we totally pulled one on him. We have known for awhile that Kari and Jason are coming, but he doesn't know and now to make it even more spectacular his cousin ELI hitched a ride with them all too!!!! Yeah, I am so excited to see his face when he sees Eli when he gets out of school. I know the thought has not even crossed his mind that Eli could possibly be coming, so this will be awesome. Although, I bet he plays it all cool when he sees him!
3. Finally, my suspicions were confirmed yesterday, when I found out that Julie and Jackson would be coming and bringing along Annie with them. Also, to throw in a surprise for Brookie, Marin will come up with them from LA and of course Nana and Granddad too. How great is this people. Tyler and has been terribly sad that Jackson wasn't coming and even this very morning asked me again why he couldn't make it. Boy will he ever be blown away.

Yeah, I can't stand all this excitement, it is just too much. My poor little heart is just going to burst out of my chest. Couple all this with the great events of tomorrow and my heart is just full. In fact I am almost get choked up already!

I just want to say thanks to all our family, for making this great already and no one is even here yet. For the long, all night drive, for secret and late planning and for just loving us enough to make it all happen! We love you all too!!!

Going Private - I must follow the crowd!

Alright, so I am going to jump on this bandwagon. If whatever my sister's watched on Oprah is disturbing enough for them to go private, I am totally in. I did not see the Oprah, nor do I usually watch Oprah (she bugs), but if it was enough to creep them out, the saftey of my little cuties is important enough to go private.

So, if you want in email me people sempey860@comcast.net or just leave it in your comment, I have comment moderation and I will just delete your email after I write it down. If you have friends or family who want to have access send me their email as well and a note as to who they are!

Thanks one and all.

The Birthday Celebrations!

I am sure this is just one of many posts about the birthday, but it was so fun! Tyler's party started early when Dad picked him up from school early and took him to lunch and to hang out all afternoon. I was against taking him out of school, but daddy insisted and it really made Tyler's day. Once he got home the party continued when we had his favorite dinner, spaghetti and meatballs. It was yummy! I tortured Ty and made him wait and wait all the day long to open his presents and after dinner I thought he would burst, but we had to clean up the kitchen and get the house tidy before presents could be opened. I thought he was going to burst, but the time finally came and I think he liked his gifts. We also had a beautiful birthday cake, made by the mom (that's me), I neglected buying a cake mix, so I decided to make my own cake. I had never, ever made one from scratch and it was sooo very fun! I must admit it was super yummy too and the homemade frosting was to die for. At least I think so.

Mr. Crazy Eyes - the funny thing about this is this is the most un-crazy of all the pics I took! HaHa

His Mound O' Cake, Daddy gave him a very big piece


Earlier in the day Brookie and Daddy tried to teach Josh how to sing Happy Birthday! Steve didn't really think he was paying much attention, but apparently he was. As I was making dinner, he was playing in the family room and singing. Nothing unusual because Josh loves singing. When I started listening I heard, 'Appy Birthday to you TyTy' over and over and over. It was so cute and funny! Lucky for me I got him on video with an added bonus surprise for us all. I hope you all like it! Tater always can get us laughing!






The day was great and I love my boy! In Brooklynn's words, 'Happy Birthday Day to Tyler!'

Happy 8th Birthday Tyler!

I can't believe this day is already here. It has come way too fast and I don't think I am ready to have a big 8 year old. Whether I am ready or not, today is the big day and in honor of my Boy #1 I am going to have to give you a top ten (I am totally taking Julie's idea) list of the reason's why I love my Tyler. I will throw in a few of my favorite pictures of him too.

1. Tyler has the best laugh! No seriously, if you get him laughing really hard it is infectious and you can't stop laughing because he is laughing. It is a laugh that comes all the way up from his toes.


2. He is smart! He asks me some of the best questions that I would never have even thought of.


3. He is a wonderful big brother. He is adored by both Brookie and Josh and is so helpful. He will totally get Josh showered and dressed without help if I need him to - it s so awesome


4. He has the best eyes, I love his big blue eyes.


5. He was and still is my best snuggler. He was such a snuggly baby and he still needs to come and climb in my lap for at least one good snuggle a day


6. He is super creative and is becoming quite a little artist. His favorite things to draw lately are Star Wars or Indiana Jones guys


7. He is my number one helper. I can ask him to help me with just about anything and he will jump right in and give me a hand.


8. He is so kind to everyone. I know I wrote this before, but he is always aware if someone is being left out and will try to include them.


9. He loves his cousins. I love this about him because he really doesn't like that he lives far away from his bestest buddies. Rarely a day goes by when he doesn't ask when we can go to Jack's house or Eli's house or when will we see Spencer again.


10. Finally, I love Tyler because he is mine. He is my oldest and will forever be one of my babies. Since he was small I have often asked him, 'Why am I the luckiest Mommy?' he always answers back (maybe with some coaching at first) 'because Heavenly Father sent me to you!' Nothing is truer than that. My life is better because he was sent to me!

I hope your birthday is wonderful, I love you!

Oh What A BEAUTIFUL Morning!

Alright, so there is just something about Fall that I love. I'm not sure if it is my favorite season or maybe it has just been since I've lived here and it is so welcome after the HOT summer's. We have continued to be in the 100's or close to it for the last few weeks and I am just dying for some cooler temps. So today when I left my house to take Ty to school, I almost did a happy dance in my driveway because it was coolish. I mean that great fall morning feel with just a slight crisp in the air and the great fresh smell that goes with it. Oh, it was heaven and it just set my morning off right!!!

Then to make it all the better I logged into my scentsy website and someone had placed an order! Yippy, my first order - that totally made my day. And it made me super happy that I put a link right on my blog because that is how she found me! Yeah!

Now to make the day even more fun, I get to head over to the kids school and help in Brooklynn's class. I think this is super fun because kindergarten kids are adorable. It should be great!

Mommy Stuff

You know how some weeks are just a little off and you aren't really sure why. That has been my week. I may even say that I win the Crankiest Mommy of the week award. I think it all started on Saturday when I talked to my wonderful Sister-In-Law Kari. She was at Steve's parents with half the family and that just made me sad. I just wish I could see more of everyone. I feel like I am missing out on all the kids growing up and they are missing my kids growing up too! I haven't quite been able to shake it this week. I guess in my perfect world I would live next door or down the street from my sister's. As I am sure that is not likely to happen anytime soon (darn) I will just deal and get on with life.

On a brighter note, I am proud to announce that Joshua is a BIG BOY and diapers are no longer on my Target list! Yippy. On a sad note, my Tater isn't a baby anymore :(. After the experience I had potty training the other two, I was nervous and skeptical of how this would go, but for whatever reason Josh just got it and this Mommy is so happy and completely grateful about the whole thing! Go JOSH!

Josh also has a new favorite movie and begs Steve or me to watch it all day long. 'Nacho Libre' He calls it 'Acho' and thinks it is super funny. He even does movie quotes and will say to us, "Yook Ayive" (Look Alive). It is pretty funny. He also was talking about the Buzz ride at Disneyland the other day and when asked if he liked it he responded, 'No, it fweak me out' Where does he get all this stuff. With all that cute stuff comes the I am 2 stuff as well. He is so sassy and stubborn and really pushes me to my limits. Now mind you some of it is my fault, I will totally own that I am not as consistent with the discipline as I could be, but boy the 'yeave me ayone' and 'no talk a me' stuff is getting old. I guess it all goes with the territory and I need to enjoy it because he is growing way too fast!

Brooklynn is loving school and so cute. I just love her and I wish I had her spunk! I'm excited to see how her year at school continues. Stayed tuned for some soccer updates as it gets into full swing here in the next few weeks.

Tyler turns 8 next week! Yikes - how do I have an eight year old. I miss my cute little baby TyTy, but I am so proud of the great kid he is. He is so helpful and getting so grow'd up. Also stay tuned for his flag football and birthday posts!

Even though I was (notice the past tense) a cranky mommy for a few days, I sure do feel blessed to have three beautiful, loving, healthy, fun, cute and totally amazing kids. Let's face it at the end of the day when you hear the 'I love you's' you realize that even though it seemed like it, things really aren't all that bad and tomorrow starts another fresh day! Yeah for being a MOM.

Check It Out!

I am now a Esentials Consultant for Scentsy. Check out our stuff on my website www.scentsy.com/hle

I am super excited about this new gig. If anyone is interested in hosting a home party or a catalog party let me know!

A Few Observations

As our first week of school and potty training draws to a close I have noticed a few things about my life that I would like to point out.

1. My house doesn't seem so small when all the kids aren't home.
2. My house is a lot more quiet when all the kids aren't home.
3. Running errands with only Josh is fun and almost even enjoyable, it gives me time to have some very commical conversations with him.
4. It seems like school goes on forever some days
5. I am excited when my kids come home
6. I love to hear about their days, well really it is just Brooklynn's day because Tyler 'forgets' what he did all day for 7 HOURS - Go figure.
7. It is so much easier to keep things clean
8. Potty Training is going quite well, he is starting to get it. Well at least the #1 part, we are trying to bribe him with a toy for the#2
9. I haven't found potty training as frustrating so far with Josh. He is resistant but compliant all at the same time. We'll see how it continues.
10. Potty Training is the one thing as a mother that I GREATLY DISLIKE
11. I do love having a schedule, now I just need to put my workouts back into it.
12. Reading Scriptures in the morning before we go out the door is so much better than jamming it in at night when we are all ready for the kids to be in bed.
13. And LASTLY, Brooks playing soccer was perfectly cute last night and she loved it and she did really well for her first practice and for never having played before! Yeah Brookie!

Bring it on! A Schedule, School, Potty Training and Back to the Gym

Today was a big day at our house, we officially have a schedule to stick too. Thanks to the first day of school, mommy no longer gets to sleep until 8:00. I guess I will just have to deal and besides it is well worth it and the kids were more than ready and very excited to start another year of school. Here is the run down.

It all began with Tyler - wait no stop that is not true, but we'll start with him anyway. School started at 8:25 and this morning. We were invited by one of his friends to walk. This is a pretty good walk as the school is about a mile from our house. Brooklynn was not happy about the walking, but really had no choice but to come along. Although a little nervous yesterday, Tyler was ready to go and worried (as usual) about being late (he gets that from me). We arrived right on time and he headed off into Mrs. Merlo's class. I really don't know what to expect because I am not familiar with any of the 2nd grade teachers, but he came home happy and excited! I actually, for the first time, felt a little sad and almost got choked up this morning. Each year gets harder and harder for me to send him off - I guess maybe it is because I know school get more and more challenging. The only sad thing about this year is that none of the friends Tyler was hoping to have in his class are in his class, but he has already made friends with some 'new' kids and I know he will have a great year. He is such a nice and smart and amazing almost 8 year old!

This is the 'I don't want to walk picture' it was super funny. As you can see, she wasn't ready for school yet!

Brooklynn is where the day really started AT 4 AM, she was wide awake and it took her a good hour to fall asleep only to really wake up at 6:45. What is with that girl? Anyway, although we had a rough start to the morning, she was super excited to head off to Kindergarden. I was very impressed with how few times she asked this morning if it was time to go yet, she was most patient. Once we got to the school, I parked the car and she said, "Okay mom I'll see you later!" What? She didn't even care to have me come in, of course I informed her we were a few minutes early and she would have to wait and that I would be taking her to her classroom. We were pleased to find out that a little girl from her pre-school class is in her class. It was so fun to watch her comfort her little friend who was very nervous and teary. She put her arm around her and was just the little mother she is always wanting to be! I am so excited for her and can't wait to see how things go! Her class this year is very large around 30 kids, it should be exciting!





As for the Potty Training - we are going for it - I think! No actually today went pretty well. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I kept my cool - most amazing really and Josh did great. We'll see if it lasts! He was a good boy today and didn't really mind not having anyone around to play with. Let's just hope the potty training goes quickly and painlessly! Just as a side note in the car today Josh looked up at me and said, 'Duper Duper' Translation - Super Duper. He has been watching some Barney lately. It was super funny and he also thought he was quite clever and cute.

I threw this in because it is one of his new favorite things. Besides it's funny.

And of course, with a schedule it means it is time for me to get back in the gym on a regular basis. I have totally been slacking this summer and am feeling the results of that. I am back at it for reals people!



That is it for us people! Enjoy!