Britton was devistated when he realized it

wasn't his birthday we were celebrating.

So, why is he blowing out the candles,

opening gifts,

and licking his plate clean?

Because Grandpa's a really great sport.

Happy 60-something Birthday Grandpa!!

Crunch

After almost 15 years of blissful marriage,

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and 57 total months of pregnancy,

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Brent was asked to embark on his

first ever "late night craving" run

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For ICE

deliciously crunchy,

perfect,

ICE!!

The past-Revisited

When Dallin was in Kindergarten I helped out once a week in the classroom. One day while happily cutting and stapling I glanced up at a chart the teacher had made. They were doing a unit on healthy habits and germ busting, etc. On one side of the chart was a column saying:

"Brushed Their Teeth This Morning"

and in the other column it said,

"Did NOT Brush their teeth this morning."

Greg, Peter, Marcia, Cindy, Bobby and Jan and every child in the class was listed under the Brushed their Teeth heading, except one. Yep, you guessed whose name was alone on the Did Not side, DALLIN. I was horrified. It was true, but couldn't he just have raised his hand anyway??? My children do brush their teeth, but it must have been a hurried morning, you know, right???

So, Cameron enters Kindergarten and this Teeth Chart still haunts me and I know it's essential that he brush his teeth every morning, not simply for the health and cleanliness benefits, but so one of my children would not be on the "WRONG SIDE."


While sitting in the car at the McDonald's drive through this afternoon Cameron said, "We put our hands under a special light so we could see the germs."

I froze. THE HEALTHY HABITS UNIT.

Me (slightly whipping my head around and asking in a panicky voice) Did you talk about teeth?

Cameron: Yes

Me (eyes clenched closed hoping for the right response) : Did Mrs. W ask you if you brushed your teeth this morning?

Cameron: Yeh. and I was the only one that didn't raise my hand.

The funniest part of this to me is that I started laughing.

Uncontrollably.

I couldn't believe it.

Immediately after eating his lunch,

Cameron was sent to the bathroom.

Dr. Kenley, PhD.

Kenley was chosen by her teachers to receive training in Peer Mediation. They meet and discuss problem solving skills so in the event there is an dispute, she can sit in on the discussion and help them solve the problems. Quite impressive if you ask me. Well, today she was involved in her first mediation. Psychologists office, couch, small table, the works. No details shared because of the confidentality agreement she signed, but I asked her a few questions about the event.


How did you get involved with Peer Mediation?
I have it as an exploratory this semester. My Language Arts teacher recommended me for the class.


What have you done to prepare for mediating a dispute?
We've done practice mediations and we've watched movies and took notes and we have done activities that relate to different techniques in mediation.


How did you feel today going into your first mediation?
Excited because I had never done a real one before.


How do you feel about the outcome?
I feel good about it.


When are you going to practice some of those skills in disputes you have with your siblings?
I would rather not answer that question.

2:55 a.m.

It really was that time.

It happens to me every time during the last few weeks of pregnancy:

Eyes pop open in the wee hours,

a mind racing with things I did the previous day,

and full of things I need to do.

What was it last night?

My brand new iron,

ironing board,

and spray bottle

that desperately need to be used.

Bedroom curtains ready to be ironed and hung?


Mountains of clean, folded laundry to put away?

Baby things to organize and prepare?



Hunger pangs?




The rousing bowling game we had for Family Home Evening?

It was fun, but a little awkward with a BUMP.

(I had to include this picture of these gorgeous girls who make everything fun)

The home addition plans that Brent is currently drawing

up so we can add a family room and two more bedrooms?

It was probably all these things and more.

My alarm at 6:10 a.m. came around way too quickly after that,

but I enjoyed my 45 min of a quiet house, after all, it's not something I'm used to.

I hope you're kidding!!!!

We're in the market for a new automobile. We've outgrown our current one and taking two cars everywhere we want to go as a family doesn't sound like fun. So we've been looking, mostly at 8 seater minivans or a suburban or something of the sort. Every now and again though I'll catch Brent on the Internet looking at vans. Not your cute little minivan or stylish SUV, I mean the 12-15 passenger, beeps when it's put into reverse type.

I AM NOT DRIVING THAT AROUND TOWN!

He must have a secret passion to become scoutmaster one day because he often makes the argument that one like that would be so convenient for camping trips and if the kids were acting up they'd get an entire row of seats to themselves. I usually just roll my eyes.

Well, today I caught him just in time just before placing a bid on a "Shuttle Bus."

I was speechless as he was gushing over this BUS telling me all the positive features such as no carpet to get dirty, already has a built in T.V, we could change the outside lettering to include our name on it, and a built in microphone feature so I'd never have to yell into the back. (Ok, so this would be useful) But the real clencher was when he said I'd have to get a commercial licence to operate it.

Taking two cars is sounding better all the time. I'll keep you posted to what we end up getting, but as for now we are not flying to Houston, TX to pick up this SHUTTLE BUS.

35 days and counting

I thought it was time to document a little pregnancy news. I've talked about my cravings and preparing for baby, but do you know what I'm really thinking?

I always announce being pregnant the second it's confirmed. I can't stand it. There are some very patient, fabulous women who can keep it to themselves for months. That's admirable. Some say the longer you keep it to yourself, the faster it goes. For me, this pregnancy has gone incredibly quick.

Other than the large rotund feature that's speedily growing, the increased food intake and my sweet kids that constantly make comments like, "Wow, you're tummy is getting SO big," I have felt fantastic. Baby Emma has been doing her thing, and I've been doing mine.

I'm probably going to eat my words in about three weeks, but I can't believe that I only have about 35 days until "BABY DAY." I have never uttered these words before. I'm not uncomfortable and I still sleep great ( a few more trips to the bathroom, but no complaints here.)

I am sure that in my previous pregnancies at this point I was so done and so uncomfortable and ready to go to desperate measures to get this show on the road.

I Feel Great

and I am so grateful. A sweet little Hispanic teenager stopped my in Wal-mart the other day and told me how cute my tummy was. I could have hugged her.

Yesterday I even ran to the car in the school parking lot. Not wobbled, RAN!!

My favorite part is watching my kids be so exited. They have plans for who will hold her first, can they carry her standing up, can they babysit while I run errands. According to me, (others may feel differently) I feel wiser, more aware, more grateful, more excited than ever before. Having older kids to be excited too is a whole new world, we feel as though this is for all of us and we're all in it together.