First Day of School

and more pictures...

Random Pictures :)

Sibling Love

How often can you say the reason your child doesn't want to go to school is because they will miss their little sister? I love the close relationship my children have with each other. They are always protecting and thinking about each other. If Marquis gets a treat from school he almost always shares it with Kaitlyn. One day Kaitlyn and I went to the bank and she got a sucker. She looked at me and said "Mommy, I'm going to save this for Marquis." I hope this never ends I hope they can cherish their special friendship forever! I LOVE MY KIDS!!!

Quick Update

Ok, I know I'm HORRIBLE with updating this. I can promise to do better..but lets face it...I'm me, lol. Anyway, to let you know what's been going on here.

Marquis started 1st grade on Aug. 22. He has an absolutely AMAZING teacher. She is able to deal very well with his lack of focusing skills. It's wonderful to hear a teach tell me that she knows he tries so hard to focus but just can't. He's doing wonderfully academically. He has aced all of his test so far. :) We are so proud of him and thankful that no medication has been necessary! Such a blessing!

Kaitlyn is doing really well. She is taking a break from gymnastics. she just got so bored with it that we decided to give her a break and try again in a year or so when it's actually more challenging and different. She is doing preschool with a few friends from Church. She loves to read and learning. She's always asking for more and more information to learn. Wonder what will happen next year...hopefully she won't be too bored in Kindergarten!

Mike is still working for the IRS. He's also going to school. Yes, we are again doing the college thing. He takes only two classes a semester but this semester he is gone 4 nights a week at least until the mid Oct. It's not too bad though we do miss him. He is so good at balancing his time between the kids, school, and work. I couldn't ask for a better father for my kids! He's AMAZING!!!

As for me, well as usual I'm very busy. I don't think I know how to not be busy. :) I'm teaching the preschool that Kaitlyn and her friends are doing. It's so much fun. I really do enjoy it but it sure does take a lot of work....really makes me thankful for Marquis' preschool teacher and all the effort she made to make it such a wonderful experience! I get to visit with Mike's grandma once a week which is such a wonderful thing. My grandparents have all passed on so it's nice to have a grandma to talk to. She's such an amazing lady and a huge blessing for us to treasure and enjoy. The kids love spending time with her especially Kaitlyn.

So, there's our latest...maybe I'll get around to putting some pictures up. Overall, we are doing really well. I'm really enjoying the weather here just wish we could be closer to family...but we do have Mike's Grandma and Allison here! :)

The Beard

So the other night Kaitlyn and I were talking. She was brushing her fingers on my face and was asking why I didn't have a beard. I explained to her that only boys get beards. She had a really sad face and said she wanted a beard. Then she thought for a minute and asked why Marquis didn't have one. I told her of course that boys get them when they get older and that Marquis isn't old enough to grow one but that someday he would. After a little bit of time I asked Kaitlyn if she was getting older. She replied yes...and then thought for a minute and put her fingers on her cheeks and exclaimed "Mommy, I think I'm getting a beard because I'm getting older!" My silly little girl. She thinks of the funniest things sometimes. Lately, she keeps telling me that she's going to grow into a baby. Some how she thinks she can grow in whatever direction she wants...backwards or forwards! So silly!

We are all doing well. We enjoyed a great visit from Mike's mom. She was here for a few days this past week and we really loved having her here. She very kindly helped me to finish Marquis' weighted blanket. She was able to get my machine to work...I'm still marveling over that one. (Every time I have tried the bobbin part was bunching up I read the manual over and over and never could make it work for more then a few stitches.) I'm so thankful to have that done and he does seem to sleep a little bit better with it so well worth the effort!

Life here is going well. We are enjoying being with our little family and really is there anything else? So, there I'm doing a bit better with updating...maybe I'll even get some pictures up........well, maybe ;)

Update

I feel bad for not writing more on this blog. I guess I feel as though there isn't much to say. We are all doing well. Mike has nearly hit his year mark with the IRS and that's exciting because it will open up new opportunities for him to grow with his job. I'm a nursery worker at church and I LOVE it! It's by far one of my favorite callings. Marquis has started taking swim lessons again and he is really learning and LOVING every minute of it. Kaitlyn is still in gymnastics and we think we might put her in soccer this spring as well. Marquis says he wants to do basketball so we'll try to get him into that. We are really feeling settled here in Salt Lake, though we miss being closer to family. Once a week we do get to visit with Mike's grandma and the kids really enjoy that...as do I! So, there you go a little update on us! :)

Grateful

I had the opportunity today to sing a duet with a good friend of mine at a nearby Alzheimer's Ward today. It was an amazing experience. I haven't sang in front of people in a few years...and now I remember how much I love it. The Spirit was so strong and looking into those loving faces was just priceless. I'm so very grateful for the talent my Heavenly Father has given me in singing. It is such a great way to feel so close to Him.

Broken Eye...

Every Tuesday and Wednesday I volunteer at Marquis' school for a couple of hours each day. Kaitlyn comes with me and loves to help Marquis' class. This past Tuesday I was helping one of his classmates when I hear Kaitlyn start crying...she is sitting within a foot from me....she's pulling at her eye and just kept saying "My eye is broken...My eye is broken." I thought ok maybe she has something in her eye. I asked her questions like does it hurt etc. All she would tell me is that her eye is broken. Finally, she says look my eye is broken as she points to the ground. Yes, my sweet little girl thought the googley eye on the floor was her actual eye. I tried to convince her (trying to hold back my laughter...not sure I did a great job) that her eye was fine and that was a googley eye used for crafts that it wasn't real. Eventually, she either gave up or finally believed me. Gave me the best laugh though...poor KitKat! :)

More of Temple Square

I couldn't load all of the images at once...but these are some more including the model of the Salt Lake Temple in the Vistor's Center. As Kaitlyn calls it the "Temple Castle". :)

I Love to See the Temple

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE living so close to temple square. Lately, we have been taking our Sunday afternoons or evenings and visiting all of the wonderful places. Here are a few pics from our last visit.

Kaitlyn's Gymnastics

Kaitlyn started Gymnastics a few weeks ago. She is in love with gymnastics! She is always practicing at home. She does really well but has had a few melt down's. Being a typical 3 year old she's not happy when she can't do what she wants and when she would rather mix it up a bit and get away from the routine that her teacher is trying to teach her she gets really pouty. However; this past week she had another little girl join the class and I think it will really help to have someone else in class with her. Kaitlyn had been the only one in the class so having a classmate should help a lot.

Marquis' First Day of Kindergarten

Marquis started Kindergarten on August 30th. He loves it. He has met several friends and seems to really enjoy learning. He has already had homework and he asked me if he could do his homework. If only he could keep up that attitude as he gets older! :)

I do plan on updating...

Well, I've been really busy here and the blog has been neglected. I do promise however, to update it soon....hopefully in the next week. I have pictures to post and a few stories to tell so stay tuned! :)

Upgraded FHE Board!

I know I'm going to love DI! I found this FHE board for $1.50!! It just needed new paint and I bought some wooden hearts and we painted them last night for FHE. The kids love it!

Kaitlyn falls

Kaitlyn hardly ever gets hurt...she climbs on everything and somehow seems to manage to not fall...even when she falls she usually catches herself...well, today was a little different. She was climbing on the couch and fell off onto the coffee table. So glad it was only a busted lip and bruised face!

Cue Hallelujah Chorus...

We were almost there....thank goodness!!

Inside the van...

And can you believe they were like this the entire way? Really.......well, almost....LOL. :)

How packed was the truck?

To say we used every inch of space is really NO EXAGGERATION! And this is the biggest truck available through Budget Truck!