On the Way to Her BFF's

As I was driving Brianna and her best buddy to his house last week, I overheard them talking in the back:

B: I love your house!  It's like a castle!  Seriously, with all those bricks going up, up, up!
Q: I know, but it's not a castle, it's like a temple.
B: Ya, totally.
Q: Because castles always have that water around them, so that if someone's trying to get in, they just fall right in the water.
B: Ya, castles have the water that goes all around the outside.  So the guys go "la, la, la, AAaaaah!"
Q: Ya, that's what I just said.
B: Ya, and I would 'spect that they have sharks.
Q: Ya, sharks.
B: Or dolphins.
Q: No, not dolphins.  Dolphins don't eat people. Sharks do....  Or killer whales.
B: If I had a castle, I'd have dolphins in my water.

Brianna -- our little authoress

Brianna M  Turtle in a nest

Can you see the turtle in the nest

Tutle why are you always in the nest

Little turtle what did you do



Snuggle time for turtle

She met him at Hobby Lobby.  It was a whirlwind romance
which ended when we saw the pricetag.

Our little Pilgrim

Dang!  She's a good little skier!

A very common occurrance in our home: Brianna shows up
dressed in some humorous fashion and asks me to take a picture!

Lockdown

When I picked up Brianna after Kindergarten the other day she said,
"We had a lockdown today."
"You had a lockdown today?"
"Yes, we had to go into the dark closet and stay very quiet.  I was shivering I was so scared.  Then I said a prayer, and Jesus telled me that it was just a drill."

Wow.

I'm very glad it was just a drill.

I'm very sad that "lockdown drills" are necessary.

I'm very glad that my daughter knew to pray.

I'm very glad that she received a comforting answer.

Hug your children a little closer today. 

I will.

First Day of School

Brianna was SO excited for her first day of kindergarten that she couldn't go to sleep last night.  She finally came down stairs two hours AFTER her bed time.  I held her and we chatted a little bit, mostly in whispers.  I told her that if she didn't go to sleep, Kindergarten could never come.  I kissed her and sent her on her way up the stairs.  She returned almost immediately and handed me a folded up note, which she explained in excited whispers was very important.  She then proceeded to tell me what the note said:

I will repent ... tomorrow.

Let's Play Catch ... Up

So, seriously, where did summer go?  My kids go back to school in a week and a half.  They are excited (or is that me?)  So, what did we do in the summer time?

Let me sum up:
Brianna had a birthday, turning 5 years old!!  She is growing up so much! 
Things I admire about Brianna:
* She is able to speak up, no matter the situation, in order to get help/information, get a random kid on the playground in trouble with his/her parent, voice needs/wants/likes/dislikes.  This is a skill that I admire greatly, because it is incredibly difficult for me to do, even as an adult.
* She is fun.  She just attacks life with a fun, playful, and intense attitude!  Sometimes I think I've forgotten how to be fun; I'm pretty sure that's part of why God sent Brianna to me -- to help me remember. :)
* She has a kind heart, and quickly forgives.
* She has a smile that lights up a room, and a laugh that makes the sun shine!

Brianna starts kindergarten this year, and is SO excited!  I took her school clothes shopping the other day, and she was so cute about it all.  She had very definite opinions about the clothes, but fell in love with nearly EVERY shirt that she saw.  I had to limit her choices for her.  During the limiting process, she explained to me multiple times that her teacher would be SO disappointed if she didn't get this or that item. She felt so important and happy as we shopped that she literally was skipping down the corridors at the mall. 

O.k., so this is sort of a mish-mash of catch-up. 

Ben started the summer with a week at his Grandpa and Grammie's, which he LOVED!  (He has since expressed that he wishes THEY were his mom and dad). 
He and Brianna then had a week of soccer camp, with a week of golf camp following for Ben.  Ben decided on his birthday this year that he wanted to take up the great game of golf.  He really enjoyed the lessons, but hasn't had much of a chance to practice his skills yet.
Throughout the whole summer, my kids have been blessed to be able to have swim lessons at a friend's pool, with a girl in our ward teaching them.  They have both made a lot of progress this summer, and while Michael Phelps they are not, they can both pretty safely enjoy a pool now.

Things I admire about Ben:
* He is really growing up.  He is no longer a young child, and yet, he's not a teenager.  He is sort of caught in the in-between stage (I suppose that this is what people call the 'TWEEN' stage, but I don't like that word.).  Sometimes he is so grown-up, and his conversation and his humor just delight me.  But there is still enough of a child inside that needs time to play and imagine and explore. 
* He enjoys yard work.  (That doesn't mean that he does a lot of it, but he does enjoy it.)  I think he gets a lot of satisfaction out of trimming a shrub, and being able to see the immediate results of his work. 
* His gospel understanding still continues to amaze me.  He really understands far beyond his years.

This summer we also were able to attend my family's GrandKid's Birthday Bash where we all gathered at a Barn/Lodge-ish facility and camped and waterskied and jetskied in celebration of all of the Grandkid's birthday's on my side!  It was a wonderful time for all who were able to come!

We had one of my brothers and his family come for a visit, and we ran them ragged with a Brazilian feast and jetskiing!  It was so fun to have them here!

We attended our neice's baptism and visited with James' side of the family which was super fun and special.  Brianna and two of her girl cousins (and two other girls) sang at the baptism and did a beautiful job!

James ran a half-marathon that he had been training for all year and did 2 minutes better than his goal-time, which was a lofty goal!!  I am SO proud of him!  He did that yesterday, and is pretty darn sore today.  After his race, we came back, grabbed our jetskis and met our good friends at the lake for a fun time!  We played until the sun went down!

Coming up this week is some girl-time for my mom, sisters, sisters-in-law, and me!  Can't wait!  Then, the next week, James and I will escape to celebrate our anniversary in Bryce Canyon, at my best friend from High School's parent's bed and breakfast!

In the midst of all of this, we unexpectedly found out we were pregnant!  What?!  Who knew that that particular marital activity between James and I could actually produce a pregnancy??  Crazy, eh?  Well, as it turns out, it was not a viable pregnancy (meaning no baby actually formed) and I ended up having a d&c in mid-July.  It was sad and difficult, and we still have pangs of sadness at the loss sneak up on us, but overall we have recovered well and are moving forward, ever grateful for the two beautiful children God has blessed us with.

Whew!  No wonder I'm tired.

My Kids Love Me, ... I Think

Ben: Mom, you know how "hot" means really pretty?
Me: Yes
Ben: Well, you're warm.

*******

Loudly, in the middle of Target:
Brianna: I'm going to be a better parent than you!!!  I'm going to let MY kids do WHATEVER THEY WANT!!
Me:  Oh, good.  Then you won't have ANY problems.

*******

Stake Conference

While we were priviledged to have Elder Kikuchi as our visiting authority, this is what I heard:

Is it over yet?
How much longer?
Is it almost done?
I'm hungry.
I need to go to the bathroom.
When will it be done?
I'm thirsty.
I need to go to the bathroom again.
Can I have more snacks?
Can we just go home?

Pretty much the same thing I hear whenever Brianna and I head ANYWHERE in the car together. Gosh I love that little girl!!!!!! Truly, I do!

Random...

Questions
*If a "smart phone" is SO smart, why didn't it call me when I put it in the washing machine?
*Why don't below freezing temperatures kill weeds, instead of crops?

News
*The birthday party was a success! ... I think.
*I placed my VERY CLEAN phone in a bowl of uncooked rice for about three days, paid my tithing, and it works again!!

Pictures with explanations/stories
James is training for a half-marathon. He signed up to run a 5k the morning of Ben's birthday. I, ever so smartly, thought, "hey, the kids and I could walk the 5k, rather than just sit around waiting to cheer James on as he crosses the finish line. And it would be something healthy we could do as a family!" Great thinking, right?
Well, in my defense, it could have been a great family activity. Unfortunately, it had rained a bunch, and was still raining. As we left the house, we thought, "o.k., rain. That's no big deal. We can walk in rain." However, when we arrived we found that the 5k track was unpaved. It went around some planted fields, and the mud was like clay. It was truly SO HEAVY. And slippery.
Well, I realized that I had to make a choice, knowing that how ever I chose to handle this situation, it would teach my kids a lesson (whether positive or negative). So, I acknowledged that it was muddy and gross, but that we could do it. The mud didn't change the distance, and we knew we could do the distance. Ok, so technically the mud didn't change the distance, but walking with 10lb weights on each foot did change the dynamic. So, while James did run the 5k, and actually came in 3rd in his division, the kids and I finished approximately a 3k, and were very proud of ourselves for doing that. As we walked to the car, the mud finally won and actually sucked Ben's shoe right off of his foot! He was very upset, and complained that it was the "worst birthday of his entire life". We tried to help him to understand that, while it had been pretty miserable, it was only an hour out of his life, and besides, his day could only get better from there!
At the end of the day, Brianna asked Ben if his birthday had been terrible, and he said that it had been great, except for one hour. :)
Here is Ben, at the abandoned soccer field, with one of his "treasures" that he found in the garbage can.
Here is the rickety old swingset that our backdoor neighbors gave us when we moved in. It was so rickety, and Brianna swings so hard and high, that I was always worried that the joints would finally come apart, and the big bar would fall on her sweet head. (The whole thing would swing from side to side as she swung back and forth.) So, I listed it on CraigsList for free to whomever would come and haul it away. I called it a "vintage metal swingset". You would never believe how many calls I had for that baby. I even disclosed that it was very rickety. It was gone within 48 hours!
And, last but not least, I sent the kids upstairs to change their clothes the other day. When they came back down, they had indeed changed their clothes. Ben changed into Brianna's clothes, and Brianna changed into Ben's clothes. It's hard living with a house full of comedians! :)

Brianna's 3am Prayer

After beginning, "please keep me safe from monsters, and bad guys, and ... um, ... pirates. And, um, .... Mom, what udder bad fings are in this world?"
I told her I thought she'd pretty much covered it. She wasn't satisfied, so I helped her pray for safety from anything that would scare or hurt her. She also asked for angels to watch over her. Afterward, she said she knew there were bad guys, because one of them had killed a policeman. This she picked up from a 30 second news sound byte on the radio a week or so ago.
Then, she was satisfied that there were angels in her room, watching over her, and she was able to go back to sleep.

Some random videos for your enjoyment.

Gymnastics Song

First of all, when I arrived to pick Brianna up from pre-school today, she was busy shooting baskets outside. Her teacher informed me that "She's Jimmer today."

(Jimmer Fredette)

So, on the way home, Brianna says to me, "Do you want to hear a song?"

"Sure!"

"It's a gymnastics song. It goes like this:
I want to be good at gymnastics!
I have to work very hard,
Like Jimmer.
I want to be good at soccer
oh Yeah!"

Her daddy will be so proud!