Hey Dad...

....I think its time to get up!

I Love this Girl!

This is my sister. Isn't she such a fun mom? That is her oldest son, holding her. She left him behind at BYU when her family left for Singapore last month. She misses him dearly.

I love my CUTE sister Rebecca dearly. Unfortunately I have not always been able to say that. I was able to spend a lot of time with her this summer and for that I will be forever grateful. For some reason we never got a long growing up. Maybe it was because we are so different, maybe because I was a brat and I was always secretly jealous of her, who knows. Now I wish we could go back and enjoy that time, appreciate our differences and be best buds. I guess it is never too late.

I just must have had to go through different experiences in my life to realize that relationships and family are really the most important things in this life. So, I am grateful that we can be good friends now, share bits of wisdom on parenting, housekeeping, decorating, etc. and just enjoy each other, even if it has to be through skype (she lives in Singapore). I look forward to her phone calls on Sunday evenings, they are a highlight of the week. I am thinking of her tonight because her husband just got called and set apart as the Bishop of her ward. I know he will do a fabulous job and she will be a great support to him. But I also know that added weight she will carry at home as a mother, housekeeper, and wife. So my prayers are with you! I wish we lived closer and you could use my shoulder to cry on!

James says, "I...

5 Months Old

This little cutie patutie is 5 months old today! Where has the time gone! I was so in love with him when he was born and I am even more in love with him now! He is so calm, sweet, happy, lovable, squeezable, easy, easy, easy! Did I mention he was easy? A dream baby! All I can say is... he is PERFECT! Heavenly Father new EXACTLY what our family needed and he was it. I will be forever grateful for you James!

We went for an evening swim tonight because it is still so stinkin HOT here! I think all of our 110 and above days this summer have come in the last two weeks! It is great that our pool still feels like bath water in September though! James loves the water. Actually we all do!

Some of James's Milestone:

*He has two bottom teeth

*Eating rice cereal and his first graham cracker (which did not sit too well, he won't be having those again soon)

*Scoots in circles on his back and tummy (has not rolled over yet)

*Talks to you (When you talk to him he waits until you stop and then talks back, lots of fun)

*Holds his own bottle

*Sleeps through the night

Canning Peaches

My friend Melissa and I spent the morning canning peaches. It was a morning full of great conversations, fulfillment and food storage! Oh, the life of a Homemaker!

1st day of School

Today was the first day of school for Haley, Scotty and Madeline. They started at a new school, Somerset Academy! They have a uniform dress code, thus the matching outfits. Everyone was a little sleepy, but excited this morning. The school is about 7 miles from our house and starts 15 minutes earlier than our old school, so we were up bright and early! We are (or should I say I am) turning over a new leaf. I set up routines for the kids and me, lists of daily chores, and my motto is to "DO IT NOW"! I am really hoping to make some permanent changes in myself and I know that my house will run smoother if I do. And I will be a good example to my kids of what I expect out of them. Because isn't example the best teacher??? Wish me Sucess! Enough about me...

Haley started 5th grade. She rotates teachers this year, but her homeroom teacher is Mrs. Metzel whom we love! She is one of my good friends. She has a son Scotty's age and a daughter a year older than Madeline, but is one of her best friends. Haley is super excited for this year. She has worked many hours this summer with Mrs. Metzel getting her classroom put together. She came home and told me she is every 5th grade teachers slave. She said the other teachers know her name and so they just call it out if they need something done. She is going to have a great year! Oh, she was in tears when she realized she would be wearing the same boring outfits everyday, so she came up with some accessories we are hoping will be acceptable wear (sequin belt, leggings, and cute flowers in her hair). We'll see how it goes!

Scotty is in 3rd grade this year. His teacher is Ms. Tsilis. She is a new teacher that graduated from the University of Utah (we will try not to hold that against her). He was not as enthusiastic about his first day as Haley was. I think he got bored of the many rules that were explained throughout the day.

I cannot believe my little Missy Moo is in Kindergarten! She has been so excited to go to school. She has been asking how many more days until Kindergarten since she turned 5 in February. Her teacher is Mrs. Tanner. She is just excited to finally be one of the big kids. She was scared for a few weeks in anticipation for the big day, however my friend Mrs. Metzel took her to the school one day this summer and showed her her classroom and that seemed to help alot.

Here they are on the blacktop where they find their teachers. I cannot get over how old they are getting. It really makes me kind of sad.

I got to walk with Maddy into her classroom. She was pretty confident, but I guarentee she didn't talk very much. She is so shy!

I LOVE YOU MADELINE!

Grandpa!

My parents were not able to come down for James surgery. Truthfully I never even thought about asking them too. It did not seem like it would be that big of a deal. I knew that I had several friends I could ask to watch my kids and that would be all I really needed help with. However once a parent always a parent, right? They were worried about us and wanted to help out. So, Ken drove down on Saturday after he had worked in the temple from 5am to 11am to help us! My mom could not come down because she needed to be at work on Monday morning. The kids were excited to have Grandpa come and stay. He said he was here to work and help and that is what he did. He folded laundry, did the dishes, shampooed the carpet and watched the kids so I could take a nap. He even took the kids to Chuck E Cheese for several hours one day. That is something I don't even like to do.

Haley helped out so much with the little girls at Chuck E Cheese that Grandpa wanted to buy her something nice. So, he watched all the kids, even James while I took her to the store. She picked out a nice outfit for church.

Grandpa and Haley have had a special bond since she was a year old. They both share the love of Fresh Farm Corn. When corn is in season Grandpa always brings up a bag full when he comes to visit. This visit was no different. It was very yummy!

Thank you Grandpa! We love having you! Please come back again soon!