First Day of School

Christian started 1st grade and Brandt started kindergarten on August 25. It was a day that I have been anticipating. I was fine with Christian going back to school, he loved kindergarten he met lots of new friends and learned a lot . I remember being worried that Christian academically wasn't ready, but we had already keep him back a year and he was the tallest kid. Well to state the obvious, everything turned out okay and he was ready to be gone all day. Brandt on the other hand is my baby, well he was my baby for such a long time, and he plays the part very well. Brandt still take naps off and on. Last year he would come home from preschool and sleep and that was only 9:00 to 1:00 3 days a week. So of course my mind is thinking "how is he going to make it all day five days a week from 8:10 to when the bus drops them off at 4:10?" What will he do when he gets tired or if he just needs his quiet time or if he just needs his mommy, after all Brandt is a mommas boy. Plus I think he looks so small, well compared to christian who is tall. Anyways I wasn't ready to send Brandt off which is weird, you hear all this mom talk about how hard it is to send the 1st child off to school. Well I was OK with my first but not my second, I guess it's because Brandt always needed me more then Christian did. Christian is a very independent type of person compared to Brandt's personality. Plus I wasn't really happy about Brandt's teacher, he got the only one I didn't want. Well need less to say it was a hard Day.

Christian looking like a big boy for 1st grade(it's the only picture we took, don't you love his excitement?)

Brandt all ready for his Big Day as a Kindergartner.

Here are some observations from the days leading up to the first day of school.

We had "meet the teacher" on Friday and Brandt was happy and liking it plus he gets his new school shirt which he has been waiting for.



Brandt was worried Sunday night that he might not like his first day of kindergarten. Christian being the supportive big brother says, "Brandt, if you feel like crying, you can have your teacher call my teacher and I will come down and be with you. Will that make you feel better?" And of course Brandt said yes.



The morning of school he was so happy to wear his new shoes and outfit. He got to use his new lunchbox and backpack that he picked out, which you can pull it like a suitcase. He also said he was scared and that his tummy hurt so he wouldn't eat anything. I felt so sad to see how nervous he was, but he sure did look cute.



On the third day Brandt got a new teacher because we had to many kids in kindergarten which turned out to be a good thing. Since Brandt had commented about his teacher was she kinda mean and she yelled at us on the first day. We now have Mrs. Gresh and we are liking her. She called me that night of their first day of their new class to see if Brandt was OK. Brandt went up to her about with about 2 hours left of school and let her know that he needed to go home now, he was tired and wanted to go home to sleep. She said that she then decide to have rest time and a few students including Brandt fell a sleep.S o Brandt is loving rest time because he falls a sleep everyday for about 20min then she wakes them up to keep learning. He also seems to be meeting new friends and got a birthday invite from a kid in his new class.



Christian also had "meet your teacher" Friday night and has a couple kids from kindergarten class that are in his 1st grade class. Most exciting thing is that his best friend Kyan is in his class this year. Turns out they even sit right by each other, We both told them they better be good or they won't be sitting by each other for long. Christian was so happy to start school because he thought he new everything and he already had friends. Plus he wanted to wear his new clothes and shoes. He also got a new Star Wars back pack, and we all know how Christian loves Star Wars. So when he got home I asked him how the first day was he said that 1st grade was "easy cheesy". The second day wasn't quite so easy the thought 1st grade was hard he had to write all day long with no center time. He to is also meeting new friends and has a new little girl in his class chasing him around at recces. How cute!



Jared and I drove the kids to school and walked them to their class the first day and I picked them up. Jared gave both of the boys a blessing that morning. I think it helped because Brandt seemed to be feeling a little better before we left. I am so happy to know we have our Father in Heaven watching over us. Well they both made it through their first week of school and is happy to have a three day weekend. Christian actually remembered that from last year because he told Brandt that was the cool thing about the first week you go 5 days and get 3 days off but only the first week.

Christian in his class (kinda blurry)
Brandt in his class
Brandt getting off the bus on his second day. He couldn't wait to ride the bus

Family Vacation

What a week. We spent some time down in Galveston, TX on the beach for four days, soaking up the sun and relaxing in the warm Gulf Breeze. We went with some friends Brad and Amy and their kids. We had a lot of fun while we were there, we had been to Galveston a few times before, but they were all short day trips to the beach. This time we rented a condo that was right on the beach! (Well across the street from the beach) Still, we had a very nice view out our second story balcony. We all had a lot of fun, we went to Moody Gardens, and went through the rain forest pyramid, the kids thought that was neat. We saw all sorts of exotic animals and plant life, and the nice thing about it, it had Air Conditioning! We ate dinner one night at the Rainforest Cafe, If you have one nearby, I would highly suggest going, it's a lot of fun, and the food is very good. It's decorated inside to be like a rain forest, and it even rains every so often, (You don't get wet, but there are sounds of thunder and lightning and rainfall that make if feel like it rains) They have life size robotic animals, like elephants and gorillas that react when it rains. They also have a little river raft adventure that the whole family can go on, you float on rafts through the jungle, the boys enjoyed that one. And did I mention the food was good? The Coconut Shrimp was delicious. We spent our last day at the Beach, and Jared got a little sun burnt, well let's just say he looked like a tomato by the time we left. I warned him about the sunscreen. One of the funnest activities that we did while we were there was rent a bike car, and ride it up and down the sea wall. The kids had a blast, they all said that was the thing that they liked the most. Jared and I agreed it was pretty fun too, we rode almost 6 miles on that thing. I loved looking at the kids faces as we rode along the sidewalks.

Riding up and down Seawall Blvd

Christian and Parker at the rain forest PyramidParker, Jared and Jen outside the Rainforest Cafe

The outside of the Rainforest Cafe has a large Volcano that erupts every so often, you can sure feel the heat.

This was also Parker's first trip to the beach, he loves the water, but was a little hesitant when he stepped out into the water and once he got that salty taste from the water he didnt like it. But by the time we left he was like a little fish and loved the waves splashing on him and playing in the surf. All in all we had a great time, the boys enjoyed it and Jared and I had a really good time. This will be our last vacation for the year until we leave for Disney World on November 9th.

THE BIG ONE (1)

I can't believe my baby is one today, we celebrated his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese with his two brothers, cousins, grandma and friends, he loved it! He got to have pizza, pasta and cake, he went on the rides and he laughed and smiled and walked around everywhere. He loved the music and the big Chuck E. Cheese on stage. We would walk over to Chuck E. and stand and watch him dance and sing, it was so cute. His best friend, Macy, who is 6 mo. older then him, but is smaller then him. They play together and see each other all the time. Her older two brothers are the same age as Parker's older brothers so we do get together a lot. Parker really enjoyed his fun day, and the presents that he got from everybody.

I do believe that Parker's favorite part of the whole day was getting to eat the birthday cake with no limitations. I sat the cake in front of him and he dug in with smiles and giggles. He couldn't get enough of the frosting. I have given all three of my boys there own cake when they turned one, Its been fun to see how each one reacts to their cake.

Singing Happy Birthday to Parker

Parker has made a lot of changes since the first day we brought him home from the hospital. Some of Parker's recent milestones are:

1. Playing Peek-a-Boo, he loves to put clothes, blankets or anything else on his head and take them off and laugh.

2. Throwing anything and everything in the garbage. He threw away the boys Leap Frog alphabet refrigerator magnet. I didn't realize it until Tuesday night, and the garbage man came that Tuesday morning, so we ain't getting that back.

3. Walking every where.

4. He has finally got rid of his ear infection that lasted almost 2 months. He had to go and get tubes put in his ears and get his adenoids taken out last week. I was so sad that he had have surgery at a young age. I know it could have be a lot worse.

5. Climbing up and down the stairs.

6. Playing with his toys. He will collects small toys and put them back and forth into containers.

7. He learned how to play catch, he likes to throw the ball back and forth a couple of times then he will get up with it and wants you to chase him. I do love the play time with him.

8. This one is not fun, he's not sleeping at night anymore, he wakes up and wants to be with mom and dad in our bed. When he had his ear infection, he did not feel the best and always wanted to be with mom or dad, now that's it cleared up he still feels the need. Can you say Exhaustion?
9. He hate's wearing shoes, grandma bought him his first pair of walking shoes and he HATES them. We bought him a pair of sandels as well and he pulls them off each time. He prefers to walk around barefoot.

The Magnificent Seven

Christian turned 7 on July 31st, and he had his birthday at the roller rink. The kids had a lot of fun skating, and I can't believe I have a 7 year-old. We are so proud of you, Christian, and all the accomplishment you've made so far in life. Mom and Dad love you very much.

The Birthday Boy, Olivia and GarrettOur Birthday BoyThe birthday Bash, Christian and all his friends at the roller rink

Wall-E cake

Opening the presents from Grandma Faurschou and Aunt Kellie (Jen threatened me with my life if I took a photo of her since this was really early in the morning, the package came after the kids had gone to bed so, first thing in the morning they had to open it.) So I had to decapitate her.

Splashtown

We bought season passes this year to Splashtown, which is only a few minutes from our house. The boys have really loved having this as a regular activity throughout the summer.Here's Christian going on "The Toilet" (I'm not sure what the real name of it is, but that's what all the kids call it.) It shoots you out in to this big bowl that you swirl around until you drop out the middle, 8 FT into the pool below. I tried it, and all I can say is, I'm getting too old for this stuff.L-R Tyson, Christian, Brandt and McKenna.
The boys with their cousins from Utah.

Christian after coming off the tube run

Brandt coming off the tube run

Parker enjoying the sun.