Happiness

Brennden wrote me a note yesterday. It reads; Dear mom hope you have a great day. ps I love you. The only word he asked for help with is have. dear is spelled de, hope is hop, you is spelled both u and you right together, i can't tell what great says, day is on two lines, and love is spelled luv. It was so cute, it made my day. He then wrote one for Dustin and Candice. Such a sweetie when he wants to be.

Charity has been singing about everything. She has also been saying, excuse me sir all the time. She also loves giving hugs and either telling you "Your the best...(mom, dad....)" and "you make my heart happy (or sad)" It's just cute.

Dalin still doesn't say much. He prefers the primitive method of grunting. Cars are his favorite toy along with swords and guns. He even makes shooting sounds. It's really cute. He is definitely a boy all the way. He also blows kisses all the time and is trying to say 'love you'.

I can't believe this year is almost over! It went buy way to fast.

Camp McFadden

Saturday we went to Camp McFadden for a Halloween thing. It wasn't that good this year. Although we did get to go canoeing and kayaking this year thanks to Candice helping out. Dustin has never been able to go because of work.



We spent an hour or more on the little pond.



Of course Dalin couldn't go out on the water, but he did have fun on a beached boat.


Brennden talked me into letting him go out alone. He did a pretty good job.

We got a free pumpkin to decorate.

The kids got to go on two horse rides. Charity was in heaven.
Oh, and when we first got there a deer walked into the camp and we got to pet it.

Yes, it was a wild one.

One of very few pics of Dalin smiling instead of scowling.

Lost and Found

Friday night our ward was having a fish fry and a camp out. Although I wasn't going to brave the camp out alone with 3 kids, I did go to the fish fry. The kids ran around and had lots of fun. I even got a few good pictures. It got dark but we stayed for roasted marshmallows and glow in the dark Frisbee. That's when things went south. Brennden got mad and tossed his glasses. In the dark. Outside. Plenty of people got out their flashlights and helped me look for them, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I had a lovely 30 min drive home to stew over the glasses. Keep in mind that he is currently of pair 4 for the year. We did have 1/2 a pair at home. (he lost a lens at football practice one day) so I thought maybe we could order just one lens. I would have to wait for Monday to order them though so I just stopped thinking about them.
Then, Sunday morning someone walks up to me and handed over Brennden's glasses. One of their kids had found them Saturday morning! What luck. I thought for sure they would never be found. And they weren't even scratched up (more than they were in the first place that is). Needless to say, I was very happy.

Here are a few pics of the night.

Charity had a blast 'climbing' this tree for an hour.

Favorite pic of Dalin there.

The boys playing Frisbee.

Potty Training Woes

Let's rewind to this time last year. We had just moved here and Charity was completely potty trained. No need for diapers, pull-ups, nothing. It was wonderful. And then.... I don't know what happened. Charity always went in the potty, now she hardly ever goes in the potty. It's so frustrating! Today she came up to me soaking all the way to her socks with a foot print trail from where she peed. Her story; "I didn't pee mom. I'm just muddy." Really. Where'd she come up with that one?

Dance and Gymnastics

A few weeks ago I enrolled Charity in dance and gymnastics. She absolutely loves it. I have to hide her outfit so that she won't ruin it. Well, the tights are already getting to look sad, but what do you do?
I love her face in this one. She is singing while stretching.

She is a little shorter than the other kids so she needs help reaching the bar. She is pretty good at swinging on them. No surprise to me though, in Bloomfield her and Brennden would swing on her closet rod.
Tumbling isn't her strong suit. She doesn't like to do somersaults. Can you tell by her expression that she is a little concerned?

She is so slow on the balance beam if she isn't holding on to someone. This one surprised me. She climbs on everything at our house. Fridge, dressers, counters.... you name it. I thought she would be a little braver here.


Just doing a little stretching and rhythm. I really enjoy watching her. There is also a rock wall that they climb over a foam pit that they let the kids play in during the last few minutes of class. It can sometimes be a challenge to get Charity out since she loves to climb (and is pretty good at it to) and the foam pit doesn't really help in trying to wade through to get to her.

1 Year Comparisons

Brennden at age 1.

Charity at age 1.

Dalin at age 1.

Brennden's head is rounder than Charity's and Dalin's, he weighed more, and was in no hurry to walk. He didn't walk till 13 months compared to Charity's 8 or 9 months and Dalin's 11 months. All three of them have lots of hair, a big appetite, and are very photogenic.

I could often find Brennden sitting, looking at a book. Charity is always dancing/spinning and cimbing. Dalin has a love for tackling and anything that looks like a ball.

I love watching them play together. One minute they are 'best friends' as Charity puts it, and the next they are attacking each other. But hey, that's siblings for ya.

Kindergarten and Shots

Today was Brennden's first day of Kindergarten. He didn't really care to take any pictures at first.
But then he got excited and started making silly faces just like always. I couldn't take any pictures out side since it was pouring. He was a little nervous at first since doesn't like change, but once he saw a few kids from last year he sat right down and ignored me. Couldn't even get a kiss. :(

Charity and Dalin went for their 3 year and 1 year checkup and shots. Dalin is 19.6lbs and 29.25 inches. Charity is 27.8lbs and 37.5 inches. Poor Dalin got 4 shots, but was a trooper and didn't cry for long. Charity just needed 1. She said ouch but that was it. And she even went after Dalin.

I can't believe how big my kids have gotten!

Oh What a Week

Oh what a week and it's only Wednesday. Sunday Brennden decided to help Charity paint her nails. In doing so he got red nail polish all over his brand new khaki church pants. After hours of trying different methods I got 'most' of it out. Nail polish remover works the best fyi.

Monday. Hmm... I don't remember Monday. I know it was bad. It ended with all 4 of us crying. I probably blocked the day out of my memory. Or was that Sunday? I don't know. Anyway....

Tuesday, Charity put her princess cd into the ps3. And it was stuck. Let's just say that it made me pretty mad.

Wednesday, I went outside to take care of the front yard. While out Charity decided to paint her nails. I thought that the top of the fridge was out of her reach, guess I was wrong. She got the nail polish, painted her nails, pjs, and table. Table made me mad. The nail polish came off, but so did the finish. You can see exactly where the nail polish was. Grrrr. I also decided to try and fix the ps3 situation. Looking online everything said "This works but will void the warranty and possible ruin the ps3. Try only as a last resort." I called Sony instead. I mean, come on, this has had to of happened to someone else right. Sony told me how to get it out without voiding the warranty!

Last weekend was pretty bad so I'm thinking that I've hit the bottom (hopefully) and am now on my way up.

Yesterday we drove down to Stillwater for a Pioneer Day celebration. It was 108 outside and the kids insisted on going out to play in the water. I'm surprised Charity could even climb that ladder.


Brennden of course had no trouble. There was also a bounce/slip n slide. Brennden was a little short to run and jump onto it so he asked all the guys around for help. I'm very grateful that they took turns launching him down the lanes.

Dalin had fun walking around on the grass and getting the occasional spray of water.




Here's a short lip of the slide. Ladies kept walking in front of me and Dalin was hanging onto me so I couldn't really move around.

A Beautiful View

It's been little over a year now but I finally got around to hanging Charity's butterflies back up. This is what she gets to wake up to. Isn't it pretty?
And this is the view from her door. She hasn't left her room since I put them up. Can you hear the silence? I can. And it sounds wonderful! I just wonder, how long can a 3 year old be mesmerized by something so simple?

The Bird Killers

Brennden and Charity came running to the back door today yelling, "We did it! We're bird killers." Dustin and I jump up to see what they are talking about. There is Brennden at the doorstep with a dead bird. At first we thought it was one that had blown out of the tree and died earlier, but we were wrong. It wasn't even stiff yet. Brennden said he stepped on it. "Now we can cook it and eat it." He was so excited. He thought he had just caught dinner for us. I was grossed out. Needless to say, we took care of it and made the kids come wash their hands.

Health Fair

Thursday we went to the Edwin Health Fair. There were games, food and prizes so why not go? Dalin got his first balloon and fell in love with it.

While walking around I somehow lost his spoon so I couldn't finish feeding him. Luckily they were handing out animal crackers.
We waited 30 minutes for face painting. Brennden wanted Spiderman.
Charity wanted a butterfly. I think the guy did a great job.
And of course there has to be a bounce house. Who cares about the games and prizes when there is a bounce house. This is my favorite picture from that day. Both of their faces are priceless.

Charity Scarity

Last night we had a storm with some real good thunder roll through. Charity was terrified. She was physically shaking. The under (thunder) was scary. She kept saying, "We need to go hide." She remembered that storm in April that drove us to the shelter and wanted to go there again. We tried watching a movie, but the power went out. Luckily I had just downloaded some Dora shows on the ipod and the computer has a good battery life. I think that's the only thing that would have calmed her down.
Tonight another bigger storm is coming through. I'm betting Charity sleeps in bed with us tonight. This morning the sky was cloudy, but Chariy must be sensitive to electricity in the air. She asked where the under was. Then she said, "We need to go get Bubba right now." Poor girl. She is going to hate the month of May.

My Princess

If you didn't already know it, well, I suck at doing hair. Since I have a girl I have been trying to do some hairstyles that weren't just a pony, pigtail, or straight down. To help with this I found a couple of blogs to follow that show how to do hair.



These first two pictures were taken with my old camera so please forgive me. This one is a simple topsy tail pulled back into another pony.



And this is my personal favorite. It's a braided pony rolled up. It's simple but looks real fancy and nice.



I had to take two different views of this one to really be able to see it. It's a little harder to do because Charity has so many fly aways and it takes a little bit more time to do. It's also hard to explain how it is done. I took a strip, divided it in half and tied it in a knot, then added another strand and knotted it again. I know it doesn't make sense unless you've seen it done.



Charity used to not like her hair being done, but now she asks me to do it. We sit on the couch and 'bond'. I enjoy doing many different things to her hair, now if only I could find things to do with mine. Between her hair, jewelry, nails, and dresses, I'd say I have a princess. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sillyness

One warm sunny day without wind, I decided to clean out Dustin's truck before switching to the new car seats. Brennden and Charity headed on out too.



They climbed onto the bed cover and camped out there for almost an hour.



I love Charity's facial expression here.



And Brennden, being Mr Photogenic, had to have his picture taken too.



They got blankets to lay on because the truck was dirty. I think it was probably a little hot.



When the sun got to her, Charity climbed inside to 'help' me.



Brennden didn't care to clean so he just put a blanket over his face to shield himself from the sun. And yes, he is in a long sleeved flannel shirt and Charity is also in a long sleeve shirt. It was cooler when we were out this morning.

Climbing Higher

Today me, Brennden, Charity, and my sister Candice went rock wall climbing at the Y. We have been before with Dustin but didn't take any pictures.



I made it further than last time but still didn't make it much further than this. I know, I'm a wuss. (I'm only 10 feet off the ground.)



Brennden still only makes it a foot off of the ground. Maybe one day he will go further. But he did try a bunch of times. He is trying to smile for the camera here. Funny boy.



Charity climbs the six foot wall. I don't even hold her I just have my hands there in case she falls. She climbs to the top of that one. When she gets bigger she will be the first in the family to make it to the top of the big one.



And of course she wanted to take another pic.