"My Wish Came True"

To Be, Or Not To Be......

Monday night we brought Myka home for a trial run to see how we will all do together. When we were getting him, Brandon looked at me and said, "Mom, my wish came true!"  

Brandon has always wanted a Husky dog. It makes me think back to the first time I fell in love with Husky's. I was about 7 and a neighbor family had puppies, I begged my parents for one! I thought they were the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. Since that day I have always wanted one. I know Justin has always loved them too.  So, hopefully this was meant to be. 

Myka was born last Thanksgiving day. He has been through lots of families and really needs a stable home with good, positive attention, love and some training. We feel that we can give him all of these. 

In the three days we have had him, he has already shown huge improvements. We are all excited to have him and he will be a great addition.  (The cats haven't decided yet, but skittles did lay a few feet from him, while he was asleep, to check him out.)

Time to play!

Today was perfect outside! I could not pass up the kids playing outside after school. 

The plan was for them to ride bikes on the driveway while I worked in the kitchen and watch through the door. Well, not the case... 

The whole neighborhood actually came out, which was good. They all played so well together.

They were doing all kinds of pretend play and one of the best was to see them all line up for a race! 

Hayden was in the back, but man can he haul on that bike! 

Alyssa did some of her normal digging through the dirt and catching bugs. She had a grass hopper and excitedly ran to show the boys and the second it jumped out of her hand the oldest boy stomped on it and smooshed it! She bawled forever. By then she was done. She was soooo sad. Poor girl, she loves all living things, not when there life is taken out of them. (as she says) 

 It's so good to get them outside to get out there energy.  

this past week

This was the kids first week in school. I myself need to come up with a new strategy.........  I really thought I would get a lot more done with two gone, but, this week has proved me wrong so far. Hopefully the following weeks will prove to be better. 

So, onto the kids, they are loving school. 

Alyssa can't get enough of it. She already has a best friend, and she talks about school all of the time, asks when she gets to go again, and tells me every single detail of her day. I love having a girl in school. I even learned every gory detail of the toilet flooding, twice! in her classroom. I confirmed this with her teacher and she just laughed and said it was all true. 

She was so mad at me when I told her Wednesday's she doesn't have school and told me I'm lying and went to Justin for a second opinion. She was still asking me today if she could just go to school on Wednesday. She begs to ride the bus day after day, Kindergarten is too far away for her..... 

I don't ever get as much out of Brandon. I am lucky if I get my three requests. I have a rule that he just tells me 3 things about his day, sometimes I just find out about recess, lunch and PE. Other times he expounds on it a little more a little later on at night. I just have to learn that I will never know as much of what happens with my boys when they are away, it's just in there nature to not talk much and especially add all of those little details. 

He really likes school and everything about it.  

Mike

This past Wednesday my little bro got his mission call! 

I am so excited for him! 

He is called to serve as a full time missionary for 2 years 

for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints   In the Lubbock Texas Mission. 

He reports to the MTC (missionary training center) in the end of October. He's going to be great!

He was so funny waiting for it to come. I know it's been a very long hard process getting everything settled to just get his papers in.

He then was waiting for it and I got a call/ or a text a few weeks ago from him trying to figure out if the whole family could get on the phone that evening because he was so sure it was going to be there that day! Of course it wouldn't show up when you expect it to! I think it was only a week later it showed up.

Love you Mike!

Back to School

(These pictures were all four in a square when I was posting them) ?

Left/Top: pic from Feb. 2008 

Right/Bottom: Meet the teacher night 

             Aug. 2008 

Yesterday was the first day back at school.  The Summer was not short enough for Brandon because he would ask almost everyday when would he get to go back to school.

The day finally arrived and he was still excited! In fact, he was so excited, he came walking into my bedroom at 6:30 AM!! completely dressed in what he picked out, backpack on, shoes on, he was ready to go.... Well, almost, I had to remind him to eat, comb his hair and brush his teeth. 

Just a few details, it was fun to see his excitement.

Today he was up just as early except he learned a little from yesterday and brushed his teeth and did his hair, he thought he was going to skip breakfast.

I hope he keeps this excitement all year.

Alyssa started preschool this year! She is growing up so fast!

I am so glad she gets to go because she really needs more to challenge her during the day than I feel I can do. She has been so excited for this and I know she will love it. She was so sad she couldn't get on the bus with Brandon yesterday morning and have had several more demands to ride the bus.

She goes in the afternoon for 3 hours, 4 days a week. She only has about 8 other kids in her class so she should be able to get to know them well. She eats in lunch in the cafeteria right when we get there so we get to see Brandon in the afternoon when we drop her off. The kids are so cute and little carry those big trays of food!

Brandon and his teacher Mrs. Hughes.

1st Grade

Alyssa and her Preschool teacher 

Mrs. Sarah

Tagged

4 places I visit often:

1. The park

2. Target

3. Miner Mikes

4. The post office 4 People Who call or e-mail me often: 1. Justin 2. sis, Liz 3. bro. Mike 4. My sis Heather 4 Places I'd rather be: 1. Some place without humidity 2. The beach 3. with Justin, anywhere 4. ? 4 movies I'd watch over and over again! 1. Sweet Home Alabama 2. Pirates of The Carribean

3. . ? 4. I really can't think of any, but I am sure I will remember once I post this 4 Favorite Foods: 1. Chicken Marsala from Olive Garden 2. Olive Garden Salad! 3. Burrito and Rice from Cafe Rio 4. Ferrero Chocolates mmmmm 4 Favorite Hobbies 1. I don't really have hobbies but things I enjoy...

2. I enjoy painting unfinished projects 3. making new things (decor type stuff) 4. Hiking (when the weather is nice) 4 People I'm tagging: 1. Mollie 2. Becca 3. Heidi 4. Heather G.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Alyssa is 4 today! She is so excited. She loves birthday's and it's even better because it is her own. This is her just after she woke up this morning. She was so amazed by all of the streamers I had above her head (that you can't see) and the flower and her name 

I drew on the door with window markers. She was all smiles. 

I was up way too late decorating for her but, I love to see the kids excitement when they wake up and see the decorations and they know that it is a special day for them. It is so worth it.

After breakfast she ran a few errands with daddy and she told everyone that today is her birthday and scored a free cookie out of it! 

She has her share of Ponies now! but I am sure she could never have too many.

Trying to be patient

Yummy cake! but it was soooo rich. This is what we had for lunch so we could do it all with dad before he left to work. The kids really had lunch after we ate cake, we just did it backwards. But they didn't mind. And I was surprised that they actually ate even after having cake. I was pretty impressed.

It's fun to think back on the day she was born. I sometimes forget all of the details.

She was right on time, maybe even a few days past the due date, at 7 lbs, 14 oz.

It all happened so fast. I was in the hospital under 2 hours when she made her entrance into the world. It was not easy though. She had her arm wrapped up around her neck and didn't come out easy. She was so blue and I had to push with everything I had at all costs. She came out and didn't make a sound. They carried her straight to a side table and all I could hear was code blue over and over. Justin and I just stood there staring back and forth from each other to all of the dozens of people surrounding her not really knowing what to think. Finally they got a good pulse and her color was coming back and they carried her over to me to touch her tiny little hand for a brief second, and then off to the NICU.

14 hours later I was finally able to go in and look at her.

and then some hours after that I was finally able to touch her and then hold her.

For some reason her lungs were underdeveloped. So, with only a short time in the hospital (almost a week) she was breathing on her own and we could finally take her home.

Alyssa is such a fun girl with quite the personality. 

She loves to make people laugh and smile. She is so kind and sweet and thinks of others. She is very creative. 

some of her loves are dressing up and nail polish, make believe, playing in the dirt, finding bugs to play with, coloring/ painting, reading books. She is a goer. She never stops. She has always been my busy body of the three. She can be so sweet and caring but her feelings are crushed very quickly and easily. We have a lot of crying in our house daily. She is a very Sassy girl with attitude too, hence her nickname. She keeps me on my toes.

We love you Alyssa!

Happy Birthday Alyssa!

Fun with Heather

My awesome little sister Heather came out to stay for a bit.

I only had her a few days, while she was staying at my other sisters for most of the time, 

but it was fun as usual to be together.

We introduced her to Miner Mikes

And introduced her to the young women in my ward. And a few of them loved her so much they had to hang out with her again...

Shopping at the mall and another night of shopping... along with

a raid of my closet shopping which I think she scored the most in.

We went swimming

Hayden's new cheesy, cheese smile

Alyssa pouting over something

poor thing gets her feelings hurt so easy

you know she's a girl

Fun at the castle

I seem to take everyone here but it is just so beautiful

I can't help it.

 (and really there isn't that much to do here)

If it's not a little butterfly or bug it's a tiny purple flower, or something....

We decided to something a little different too and take a different path besides the flat sidewalk along the lake. We ended hiking down this long path in flip flops and then I had to piggy back Alyssa back up because she got blisters.

I think I will stick to the well known path next time when I am not fully prepared.

I am missing some pictures, but, Saturday we took Heather back to Becca's and upon arrival we saw her and the kids beautiful hand made sign that said Happy b-day Alyssa! 

She was so happy to get more Ponies! Can you tell? 

More water fun, there is never too much of this during Summer!

we actually filled up a cooler full of water balloons, but they went so fast when they started to use them I missed the whole thing and pictures!

They were all gone in under a minute!

Thanks for all of the fun times Secor's! we always have fun at their house.

And I will miss you so much Heather! It's hard going this long without seeing you! I am so glad we had some time together. 

So Sweet and Innocent

Hayden and Alyssa went in the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed with their arms around each others shoulders and asked Brandon to sit next to them, but he declined. They then laid down in bed ready to go to sleep. Uncertain they would settle I waited to see what they would do after a little bit of laughing and giggling and talking it got quiet and a few minutes later I came back to see this...

It was really sweet. I wish they could be this sweet all of the time.

Hayden really tries to be but Brandon and Alyssa just don't always get it.

Camp, and more camping

Friday night we went camping as a family and with some friends. I was recalling the last time we went all together and it had been just over 3 years or so because I was pregnant with Hayden and Alyssa was tiny and i remember it being soooo freezing cold at night. 

It was quite the opposite here last night. It was soooo HOT! Summer temperatures have finally really settled in here. 

Here is our view of part of the lake from our camp site

Alyssa and Brandon were way too excited about having that water so close.

Brandon took his shoes right off and went and stood on the little shore there. 

I soon heard his cries for help when he couldn't move! 

Skyla, Alyssa, Brandon and Hayden

eating bananas, waiting for dinner

Caleb and Skyla roasting marshmallows

Lisa, Hayden and baby Canyon

We all went swimming in the lake that evening. 

This is Hayden's first time back in the water after his accident.

He was very clingy and a little nervous. 

Mom couldn't even take him away from dad.

Justin was good at getting him to loosen up a bit.

The kids all loved laying in the hammock Raylene and Caleb brought.

Alyssa was so excited about all of the butterflies

all around us. 

Dad sharing a butterfly

A lone duck wandered over to us

so we shared a little bread with it

and the little fish too.

Skyla's holding a small box turtle her mom and dad found on the road

everyone wanted to hold it

It was a different experience to camp in Missouri, but besides a little crankiness from kids and the heat, it was fun. We had many more visitors at night to our spot. as the camp fire died down and it was really dark, we started seeing little eyes every where in the bushes staring out at us. I turned around and a raccoon was about 10 feet away from us, 

he didn't seam to mind us being there. 

We had fun with Caleb, Raylene and the kids even though they had to take the little ones home to sleep. They made it back the next morning for breakfast and to have a little fun swimming time in the lake. camping with a 4 month old a two year old in those temps is not easy. I didn't get a single picture of Raylene! She was able to go up to the girls camp just 5 min. away Fri. night for a bit. I decided to stay since this was the first time 

together as a family for almost 2 weeks.

We are hoping to do another camp out in a month or two when it has cooled off a lot!

Girls Camp

This past Wednesday I was able to spend the entire day up at girls camp. Thank you to Justin once again for coming through for me. I was not able to go as a leader, so it was good to be able to be there for a small part of it. It also helped that it was only a 30 min. drive. 

It was great to be able to just choose where I wanted to go and not have anything that I was supposed to be doing. It rained ALL day long! Thank goodness it wasn't pouring or lightning, it was just a steady nice rain. So, it did make it very wet, but it felt so good out. It really beat the heat! I went on a very short hike (more like a walk)  with the 3rd yrs. then the rest of the day was just certification then free time. Among those things I was talked into going swimming with them in the lake, and in the rain! It was actually fun to be swimming in the rain and the water was so much warmer than the air. 

A funny story.......

I almost forgot! I was almost in trouble for using my cell phone at camp!! I snuck outside of a building to call Justin about the boating the next day, and two leaders were close by giving me a look. When I was done I knew what they were thinking... I said I just had to call my husband real quick. They told me I didn't look old enough to have a husband! They thought I was 16!!! I just laughed and told them well, I am 29 and have 3 kids! It was a good laugh. 

That is why I should wear makeup to girls camp I guess. (not that it would help my height any)

I stayed through dinner and the talent show that night and then hung out until bed time about 10:30. It was a long day but it was good. 

Justin even got to be a little part of girls camp this year by 

driving the boat for them all day Thursday. 

I am sure that was tough on him! (ha ha)

Sorry not really any pics to post. I didn't get to be in many of the shots.