The Endeavour

Last week we had the honor of seeing the Endeavour space shuttle fly over the base.  The kids were in school but Troy and I took Emree to see it.  I took my good camera and was able to get some great pictures.  The kids were sad they missed seeing it but the pictures made up for it.

This was the first view of the space shuttle flying over.  It was awesome to see everyone's reaction. 

I like this picture because it gives a good perspective of how  LOW the plane was flying.   It was only  1500 feet above the ground. 

A good view of the shuttle attached to a 747.  Incredible! 

The plane/shuttle was escorted by a fighter jet.  When we first saw them flying over I only saw the jet and was a little disappointed until I saw the real thing.  

New Church Calling

Well....I have a new calling...one that I never would have thought about.  Are you ready for it???  I am the ward Christmas Party Coordinator!! I don't know what the bishop is thinking....ha! The Christmas Party is a very big deal for this ward and so I have my work cut out for me.  Any of you wonderful party planners, crafters or people who have planned a ward Christmas party before, your ideas and suggestions would be VERY APPRECIATED! I really have no idea what I am doing...

Kindergarten & Preschool

Yes, it is sad but true, Sebastien has started KINDERGARTEN!! I have a hard time believing that he is five.  While it makes me sad that he is no longer at home and I don't get to see him until the afternoon, he really LOVES school.  He is such a people person.  Everyday we walk to school, his little face just lights up when he sees one of his friends.  He gets the cutest smile on his face, will wave and say hello to everyone he knows.  He will then proceed to tell me what desk they sit at, where they sit on the carpet for group and if they got in trouble the previous day.  He definitely gets his "outgoing" side from his dad.  I wish it was that easy for me to make friends.  Another funny thing about Sebastien's class is that he is the ONLY blonde hair, blue eyed boy. It makes it very easy to spot him when they are eating lunch in the cafeteria or walking out at the end of the day from their classroom.  He has picked up on reading and is really excelling in his class. He makes us very proud! 

Along with Sebastien's big day Manti also hit a big milestone.....PRESCHOOL!! What am I going to do without my boys?  Manti has been waiting for this day since Sebastien started preschool last year.  He is in a class with about 20-24 kids and three teachers.  He is really loving it and having so much fun.  He sometimes gets sad on the weekends because he misses school.  One thing I have always thought about Manti is that he will be the child we get phone calls from the school about because he LOVES to make people laugh.  It was no surprise that as we stand in line every morning waiting for preschool to start, Manti runs around being EXTRA silly, making all the little girls giggle. 

Here are some pictures from the boys 1st day of school.... 

1st day of kinder photo! It was foggy and cold out, hence the sweater! 

He is NOT excited about going to preschool at all.... :) 

The three amigos ready to head out. 

Outside and ready to roll. They are getting so big...(tears from  Mommy) 

Manti getting a special hug from Dad. 

AND THEY ARE OFF!!! 

This is the school mascot.  The kids thought he was super cool. 

Standing on his "cougar paw" outside his classroom.  

Here he is heading into class.  He didn't even look back. 

I was hoping he would at least turn around to wave but NOPE, he walked right to his desk and got to work. 

Manti was upset that we had to wait 20 minutes for preschool to start. (After taking Sebastien) 

Learning the preschool routine....1st step, washing hands.

Activity time and making friends!

Enjoying snack time.  What kid wouldn't? 

If I ever give him milk to drink at home he refuses.  So what does he do at preschool.....drinks the whole cup!! Sure, that makes sense. 

Just being silly Manti! He loves to make people laugh and this is a pretty standard Manti expression. 

Mom and Sebastien sitting at his desk. 

He wanted to make sure everyone knew he was wearing a BLUE shirt under his sweater.  I don't know why he wouldn't just take it off and I wasn't going to fight it so this is as good as it gets.

Both boys looked very handsome their first day of school and are really loving every minute they are there.  One funny story.....The first two weeks of kinder, they were going half days (until noon) for the kids to have testing and just to get use to the process of school.  When they finally started going "all" day (they get out at 2:20) I picked up Sebastien and he said, "but Mom I thought I was going ALL day?" I told him he did and he replied again, "No, I mean ALLLLLL day!" The poor kid thought he had to go to school until it was dark and was very disappointed that I picked him up when the sun was still shining.  He is hilarious!! 

Sassy Princess

Emree has got quite the personality.  She is sweet, sassy and full of spunk.  I love that I get to spend my mornings with her while the boys are at school.  It is funny though, since the boys have started school, she has resulted back to 2 naps a day.  Hey, I am not complaining, it is nice to get things done. It just makes me think, "Am I THAT boring that when her brother's are gone she would rather just sleep until they get home"...or maybe, just maybe she is going through a growth spurt.  We all know how badly she needs that.

Our mornings consist of walking the boys to school and then walking.  We come home, I clean up from breakfast, play with Emree and then by about 9:45 she does this....

She curls up on the couch with a pillow, blanket and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and crashes.  Sometimes, if she is feeling really energized, she entertains me by dressing up like Grandma....

And after we pick up Manti, we come home and play for a little while (Manti is not usually hungry when he gets home due to the preschool snack he gets).  After play time with Manti we eat lunch and she will sometimes end up doing this....

Anytime she is awake, she runs the roost.  She is very talkative, quick to tell on her brothers if she thinks they are being naughty and loves to "help" me clean.  I LOVE my baby!

The Year of Changes

I have gone back and forth and rewritten this post several times.  Trying to put all of my thoughts together has been really hard.  September 2011 was probably the worst time we have faced together as a married couple.  I don't want people to think we were having problems....we are GREAT! It was a matter of very UNEXPECTED and SHOCKING events taking place within our families, we realized our lives were never going to be the same.

Adjusting to these changes has been difficult.  They are things we can never fix.  We can't go back and   "what if" I had done this...."what if" I had done that...it has happened and now we just need to find a 'new' normal.

During this time, I really had to focus on the gospel.  We were very fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends surrounding us and helping us through these changes. Saying the right things at the right time. Even saying the wrong things but at the right time, if that makes sense.   For that I will be forever grateful.  People really are placed in our lives for a reason.

It is an ongoing process of trying to understand these circumstances.  I have come to realization that we will probably not fully understand what has taken place and why but I know someday we will get the answers.

I have high hopes for September 2012 to September 2013...here's to finding and succeeding with the 'new normal'!

New Area, New Target

While we were in Wyoming, Troy picked up hunting.  He had a GREAT friend to teach him all the good and bad things about the sport.  His usual hunting trips consisted of Antelope, Deer and Elk as targets.  Moving to California, I thought his hunting trips would end.  For some reason I just didn't think there would be anything to hunt around here...but I was wrong.  He has met a guy in his training who is also an avid hunter so they go out on random trips.  Their new target....wild PIGS!! So far he hasn't had any luck in shooting anything...actually he hasn't even seen one yet.  We are hopeful.

 I think what he really needs is for Aaron to come hunt with him. (hint, hint)  So Bri, if you are reading this, you guys NEED to come! The boys can go hunt and we can go hang out on the beach.

A Moment of Weakness

There has been off and on chatter going on in our house of getting a dog.  I am not hip on the idea.  The boys would love it.  They want to take a dog for walks, wrestle with it and let it chase the gophers in the backyard.  I was feeling bad the other night because I am always so firm on the NO and started looking online.  I found a few that would be a perfect fit.  I felt a moment of weakness and really thought this might be a good time.

Now rewind 11 days....I am kitty sitting for a friend.  She warned me that when there is a change in the cats routine, she might act out and have an accident in the house.  We made it 8 days without any problems and I was thinking, "Awesome, having a dog wouldn't be that bad".  We get to day 9....We (the kids and I) went to see the kitty.  I let the boys play in the backyard and let the cat out.  I sat down and started reading, the cat jumped on my lap for about 5 minutes.  Again, I had the thought that having a dog might be kind of fun.  And then IT happened....the kitty jumped down and went inside.  No big deal right?? Two minutes later Emree comes walking outside holding her hands up and says "Yuck Mommy POOP" I asked what happened and so she showed me....the cute little kitty cat that had previously been sitting on my lap had gone inside and pooped in the middle of the carpet!!!  I was incredibly grossed out, not so much by the cat pooping, more so by the fact that Emree had played in it.

I think I can officially say my "moment of weakness" has been CURED and there will be NO dog in this house ANYTIME SOON! Thank you kitty for making me realize why I didn't want a dog.

* Sarah if you read this....I still love your cat.  She is such a cuddly thing it is actually fun and the kids are loving it! We will get our pet fix through you. :)