Kam is grateful for all of her Fans...

We've been encouraging the kids lately to express more thanks in their prayers. Last night as Kambria said her prayer, with much gratitude, she expressed incredible thanks for all of her fans.

Huh???

Brian and I peeked at each other while scratching our heads. I then noticed she was looking around the room trying to find things to be grateful for, and there it was, her nice white fan that keeps her cool at night. I asked her about it afterward, and she pointed to that fan and mentioned that the ones that we have on the ceiling around the house are nice.

This was after she prayed that Brynlee and Gavin wouldn't wake up at night (this always makes Bryn upset because she doesn't think it's fair if only Kam can wake up at night), ...and before Brynlee prayed that Kam would no longer be whiney.

Two...

It doesn't ALWAYS have to be "terrible two's" (although, I have plenty of pictures to go with that "theme," that is another post for another day). We are reminiscing on the positive today, hmm... must be in a good mood. :)

Anyone...........Anyone?...

We have 2 ducks. We recently found out that one is male and one is female. (We were hoping for 2 of the same gender, but apparently it is hard to tell when they are babies!) We also recently discovered our female duck has been laying fertilized eggs and HIDING them! We now have 6-7 eggs that will probably hatch in the next 3 weeks. We like our 2 ducks, but we don't want to turn into a duck farm! Not sure what to do. Anyone want to adopt a duckling?...or two?...or six??? They are going to be so cute and the kids are so excited to see them hatch. We will try to be more responsible next time. Promise. :) I look forward to hearing from you. Yes YOU. :)

Gotta Say, I'm a little surprised...

...that you made it to 28 years old, little Bro!
My Dear Brother Dodge,
I enjoyed singing Happy Birthday to you on the phone this morning, I know you loved it as well, HaHa! We will celebrate today by having treats and a cartoon-night with the kids...(all the oldies/goodies like Smurfs, Woody-Woodpecker, Flintstones, Charlie Brown, etc...), wish you could be here with us to celebrate YOUR birthday WITH YOU, maybe next time! You are so talented and I will take most of the credit for that (I can do that because this is my blog)...

Oohhhh...
Awhhh...
...This is proof that we liked each other when we were little. Then we didn't like each other very much. Remember when I was pulling your hair and you were punching me, then I decided to just grab you and kiss your cheek? Then, we both started laughing. I remember winning everytime (it's ok that I remember that way, because again, this is my blog). We have come full circle because I really like ya again, lucky fellah you are... ...You now have a beautiful family of your own! I am a proud sister. Oh, one more memory: Remember when we were in Vegas with the fam and you and me and Dad Bungee jumped off of a 200 ft tower and almost gave mom a heart attack? That was funny. I hope you have a WONDERFUL Birthday, you deserve it!

Love,

Aletha

P.S. My cat picture is better than yours. :)

With not much notice...

...I took Kambria and Gavin on a last minute road-trip to be home with my family for my Grandma Isabel's funeral. Brynlee really wanted to go, but it was her first week of school, so she stayed home with Daddy. Besides wishing the circumstances for the visit were a little happier, it was a nice reunion with loved ones. Kambria relaxing with Chelsea and Dawson:

The kids were able to have lots of bonding time with their cousins, very important...always a good (and crazy) time! Gavin just LOVED Baby Dawson and Baby Ella, he kept saying "Mommy, I hold it!" ...or "Mommy, I pet it!" (Yes, he was referring to the babies.) The highlight of the trip for Kam was her "date" with Grandpa. He took her to DK's for ice cream, to the dollar store, and to 2 different parks! She hasn't stopped talking about it!

Until next time. For now, I will sit here and feel like SuperMom for driving 2 small children on a 12 hour road-trip (each-way) by myself! I even took them swimming in the hotel. My favorite part? Hmm... probably when we were swimming at the hotel and Kambria had to use the restroom ASAP and they were OUT of pool towels with NO restroom in the swimming area!!! We had to RUN through the hotel trying to find a restroom while we were SOAKING WET(it felt like one of those dreams of not being dressed in a public place)...it was AWESOME (or not)! I am awesome. :)

2 of the Best Actors I know...

"First Grade is..."

"...FUN!!!" -Brynlee Brynlee LOVED the first day of First Grade today! She has been counting down for several days, and was SO giddy this morning that she could hardly contain herself!
The first day did not disappoint. She is just as excited for tomorrow! Her favorite part? Math. And lunch. Oh, and we can't forget...2 recesses!!! Actually, that kinda reminds me of my Grandpa Al ...he always used to say his favorite subjects in school were lunch and recess, awhh memories. She is growing so fast, it feels like she will be graduated tomorrow at this rate!

Grandma Isabel...

Dear Grandma,

I miss you. I hear that you are not feeling well. My Dad tells me you only have a few days left. Chelsea saw you at the hospital yesterday and said you were asking about me. I think about you too, a lot. As I sit here right now thinking about you, my daughters are sitting next to me wiping my tears. I am wiping theirs too. Brynlee wants me to write to you that she loves you. She has your eyes. She gets complimented all of the time on her eyes. Kambria wants you to come to our house. Kambria also wants me to tell you that Brynlee can "do the whole thing of the monkey bars!" Gavin is sleeping right now. The girls want me to make sure to tell you that Gavin loves you too. You have always lit-up with joy and excitement when you have been around my children. I wish it could have been more often. Even though we live far from you, my children know who you are. I will never let them forget. I am making plans right now to come to your side and give you a big hug. Grandma, I love you so much.

Love Always,
Aletha

**Thank you to Chelsea (and Dad, since Chelsea couldn't get all the way through it) for reading this to Grandma, until I can get there.

All in a Day's Work...

Yes, these socks were CLEAN and HOLE-FREE when I put them on him in the morning! He was actually Very Proud of these socks...and because of that, I am a Proud Mom (or something like that). :)

The Reason I let Hubby...

...do the GROCERY shopping: CLOSEUP:

These are a couple of Brian's REAL receipts from Albertsons last week! EACH receipt is for 15 boxes of cereal! Brian really is a mastermind on how to get the best deal on things. If we do the math, that's 30 boxes of cereal for only $10.80...and a TOTAL SAVINGS of $127.60!!! We have 2-3 more receipts (and a whole lot more cereal) that look exactly the same (could only buy 15 boxes at a time).

Now it's just figuring out where to put it all.