What a month!

I can't believe it's already been a whole month since little Rachel was born! And what a month it's been, too! I noticed the other day that the memory card on my camera was full. That seriously never happens. As I started scrolling through the pictures, I was amazed at how much we've done this past month! I'll post a few pictures to recap the past month, and then I'll just put the rest (well, my favs anyway) in a slideshow if you'd like to see more of what we've done.

We brought little Rachel home on the 1st of June. She wasn't too keen on her new carseat. (And still isn't, come to think of it.) That week was full of firsts--first ride home, first (sleepless) night home, first bath, first time to meet Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins!

Brooke had her Birthday on Friday the 5th. Her special 8th Birthday! (I still can't believe she's 8 already!) It was pretty low-key, unfortunately. I would have loved to have a grand party, but under the circumstances, it just didn't happen this year. But she got presents and a special cake, and she was happy, and very sweet about it.

I wavered back and forth, but finally decided we'd go ahead and do Brooke's Baptism on Saturday, June 6th. She was so excited, and I hated to have her wait. Looking back, I'm still not sure it was the best thing, but I'm still glad we did it. What an amazing experience to see your child making such important, righteous decisions! It was a very sweet moment. I remember one of my Mom's favorite scriptures is "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." I see now why it's such a wonderful thing to see your children making wise choices! I'm so blessed!

We also decided to bless Rachel that weekend as well, since family came all that way, it made more sense. But we opted to do it at the Stake Center just after Brooke's Confirmation. It was nice having it in a more private setting. Although, I'm still sad I didn't get the full chance to "show her off" to my ward friends. Selfish reason, though, I know. I have to say, both girls looked so beautiful all dressed in white!

We had a big family "party" at our house after the Baptism. I have a wonderful Mother and Mother-in-law who took over and put it all together for me since I was busy with a new baby. I'm so grateful for them and all my family that helped that day. It's always fun to be with family.

The next week was a bit quiter. My sister, Mary, was here visiting from CO so my kids spent a lot of time at Grammy's playing with cousins, which gave me a chance to rest a lot. Then Grandma Marjorie came down from Montana. Vince ran a 5k race in our city early on Saturday morning. Then the kids had their final soccer games and got their medals. Then it was off to recitals! Whew! Another crazy-filled, tiring day.

Grandma Marjorie stayed that next week to help me out. As it turned out, her helping out mostly came in the form of painting! We've been trying to scramble to finish our basement for months now, getting ready for Baby's arrival. And I was silly enough to schedule the carpet to be installed that Thursday. So we spent the next week doing all the painting for the basement! There were a few moments we all wondered if we'd reach our deadline, but we did! But only with lots of help from family! Couldn't have done it without them. And now it looks WONDERFUL!

Grandma left on Friday morning, and decided to take Brooke and Evan back to Montana for the week. I have to say, the house was SO quiet! It gave me the chance to organize the kids' room, and move their stuff downstairs to their new rooms in the new basement. It was a nice week being able to spend with just Vince and Rachel, but I was so ready for them to come home again.

Our last big adventure was last Saturday. Vince and I decided to do a fun 5k on an easy course. And I even got my Dad to do it with me! (Remember, he was in the hospital just 5 months ago recovering from open heart surgery! What an accomplishment!) Speedy Vince ran out and back in 20 minutes. I ran/walked with my Daddy and was able to cross the finish line with him in under 40. Not my best time, but one of the best 5ks I've ever done! Vince got 3rd place for the men 18-55, and my Dad got 1st place in his age division! Way to go, Dad! So proud of you!

So there's out month in a very loooong nutshell. Now I need another month to recover! Guess the only thing left for us to do is to take a very looooong nap!

Nice New Toothless Grin

Brooke lost her 3rd tooth yesterday morning. This was the first of her top front teeth. She had it wiggled so much that we could see the top of her tooth on BOTH SIDES (front and back). I finally just looked at her and said, "Brooke, for Heaven's Sake, just pull it out!" One good yank and it skittered across the bathroom vanity. I think we should decorate a special pumpkin this year that has the same goofy grin. And I'll admit, I love watching her gab because I love to catch a glimpse of her cute smile. I told her she now has 2 months to wiggle the other one free so she can "With you all a Merry Chrithmath."

My Baby is in Kindergarten!!

It seems odd to be the mother of TWO elementary school children. It feels even more odd to not have ANY preschoolers/babies at home in the mornings. But after two days, I've concluded that this might just be a good thing! Some alone time in the morning is nice. I certainly wouldn't want it for very long, though.

Evan was not at ALL worried about going back to school. Or at least if he was nervous, he didn't show it. I woke the kids up early on Monday so we could be sure we had enough time to get ready. I started our Children's Miracle Music CD, and let the "wake up" music start playing. I then gently stroked Evan's arms and legs to get him to wake up. Nothing. He was still dreaming. So in my sweetest voice I said, "Good Morning!" Evan rubbed his little eyes vigorously. I told him to just let himself wake up, that he didn't have to get up till this song was over and it was time to make his bed, but he sat right up and said, "No! I'm awake! I'm awake!" He was very excited to start Kindergarten this morning! And he didn't want to be late and miss it!

Here he is, all ready to head to the bus:


How did they get so big??

I LOVE that the bus stop is at the park right across the street. There are lots of kids at that stop. Here they are waiting for the bus:
And waiting with Evan's best friend (whom he's decided he will marry some day):

Getting on the bus:

After I put Evan on the bus, I drove down to the school to make sure he got to the right place! The kids played for a minute, and the bell rang, and they all lined up. (Do I sense just a hint of nervousness in this face?)
Then they waved goodbye: And walked through the door. (Mrs Bryson is the blonde with a blue shirt. We LOVE her!)
I then took the long walk to the car all alone. There were several parents walking that direction, and the school principle walked the other way. He must've seen our sad faces, because he called out, "It's okay, Parents! Don't be sad. We will love them!" He's such a good man. He knew just what we were feeling. I got in the car, and just cried a little bit! I remember when Brooke went to Kindergarten that first day, Evan and I BOTH cried the whole way home! I'm actually excited to have a few hours alone during the day. I think the one problem with a milestone like this one, is this really is the day I realize that my children DO grow up. :( As much as I wish I could bottle up their cute little baby selves, and save them to peek at on a hard day, I know it is inevitable. I do miss my babies, I just have to learn how to cherish the NEW milestones and focus on those. They won't be babies forever. But they will always be MY babies!

First Day of 2nd Grade

Man, oh, man, does time fly by, or what?? Here it is, middle of August already, and Summer Break is over and School has begun! Today was Brooke's first day of 2nd Grade. I still can't get over the fact that I have a 2nd Grader! Woo. Every year she likes me to put her hair in sponge curlers the night before. I remember doing that when I was her age. I ALWAYS wanted curly, curly hair. Alas, mine has been straight as straight for as long as I can remember. Brooke, on the other hand, had gorgeous curls until she was about 3 or 4 when she got her first haircut. And we cut the curls all off. *Sigh* Maybe they'll come back as she gets older. But at least for now her hair holds the curl really well. Much better than mine. I remember spending an hour curling it and within a half hour it was a little wavy at best. But when I put curlers in Brookie's hair, she looks just like Shirley Temple! I love it! She's been boing, boing, boinging around all day.

I'm so glad my kids love learning and love school. Well, Brooke does. Evan will find out next Monday when the Kindergarteners start. But from how excited he is now waiting around for it to start, I'm pretty sure he'll be a great student too!

And, as a side note, I just had to show you how lovely their room got. I didn't take before pictures (thank Heavens!) but you can see how wonderfully sparkling clean the kids room was while they were playing with Grandma and Grandpa Hogge. It took me 3 days (several hours each day) to fully organize, de-junk, and shine up their room. But it was worth it!

And organized bins in the closet. Ahhh. It feels good.
And the pictures are to remind me (and my two messy monkeys) of the room's potential. I just wish it could stay like this forever. No...I take that back. I'm sure in 20 years when there's no one around to make the messes, I'll be wishing they were messy again.

My car turns 100000!

I have to preface this by saying, lest you think I've gone and lost my ever-lovin' mind, that I have distinct memories of doing this as a child. I know my dear husband thinks I'm a little silly for making this into such a big deal, but I have fond memories of piling into our old vehicle (now, was it the van or the station wagon, that I can't remember) with my piano teacher's children, and Mom driving around the parking lot until the odometer turned on our car. Now back in the good old days, you know, before we went digital, it was much easier to anticipate. The numbers were dial numbers that slowly turned until it flipped over to the next number. It's much less cool these days, and if you blink, you miss it, but alas, I thought it a big milestone for our poor old Toyota. So I savored the moment on my little camera so you could all enjoy it right along with me. That is, unless you, like Vince, think I'm just insane! :0)

Yay! 100,000 miles!