Time-Out for Women

I just went to Time-Out for Women this weekend and highly recommend it to any and every woman who has an interest in going. There were wonderful speakers with a little something for every one there. What a powerful influence we could all have if we followed the messages of our great leaders and those who have learned much and shared with us. We can all be so much more. We can all attain our fullest potential if we will try. We can all be excellent Mothers, leaders, listeners, examples. A big thank you to my sweet husband, Ryan, who took the kids all day so I could do this. It was an all day event and a lot of people sacrificed so the nearly 3000 women could attend. Ryan made it possible so I could go. The only regret is now the kids would rather him be home every day with them. They had a lot of fun together. I'm grateful for the wonderful husband and father he is, and what he does to help me be a better mother and wife.

Mister Moppee's Birthday

Today was Caden's sunbeam teachers birthday. Her name is Sister Mockbee, but Caden has always called her Mister Moppee. We've tried correcting him, but figured no harm done. He came home from church and told us it was her birthday, so we decided to get her something. I asked him what he wanted to get her, and after giving a list of suggestions, he decided on lotion and flowers. We went shopping together and he found some things he thought she might like...brown sugar and fig lotion (from Bath and Body Works - Caden's got good taste...I bought myself some and love it) and pink flowers. He loves eating brown sugar on oatmeal so that was an easy one when her heard that one, and the pink flowers were the closest he could find to Lightning McQueen red. We took them to her house, I snapped a quick picture to capture the moment, and he gave them to her. Scared of the dog he could hear barking on the back yard, he was ready to hand them to her and run, but she managed a hug out of him. I thought it was cute and thoughtful of him to remember her.

She eats what???

I don't know whose child this is, but Avery will eat anything and everything. She is such a good eater, and it's all so healthy. I know she didn't' get it from me. I'll give Ryan all the credit on this one. She eats peaches 2 and 3 at a time, strawberries by the hand fulls, grapes, corn straight off the cob, hamburger, steak, chicken, pancakes (every morning - 6-7 of the minis plus a bowl of fruit), bananas, carrots, watermelon, entire cans of Vienna sausages, pudding, yogurt, pinto and black beans, ham...I could go on and on. Every once in a while we catch a good picture of her, and these were the best. It shows how happy she is when she gets to eat. This truly makes her happy. Notice the corn straight off the cob in her hand...she loves this!!! She gets plates and bowls out and brings them to us when she wants to eat. Sometimes she does sign language to tell us. One of her favorite places to play is in the pantry. It's her own little slice of heaven. She still is the tiniest little peanut, but I know she's healthy and that's good enough for me.

Caden's 1st Day of Pre-School

Caden had his first day of pre-school. This is something Ryan and I have gone back and forth on for some time, not knowing if it was the right thing for him or not. Actually, I knew it was, Ryan knew it wasn't. I felt he didn't need it academically, although it wouldn't hurt. I just thought he needed it for his confidence, separation issues, and some structure and learning from someone else. Well, we agreed to go to the Open House and let him try it out and see what he thought. He was still a little reluctant, but willing to try on the first day. Caden on the other hand was excited and ready. He has two friends in the class, Easton and Noah, and goes 3 times a week. He is loving it and really learning a lot every day. The 2nd day was hard, and we actually brought him home crying after he realized his two friends weren't there. But since then he has done so well and now looks forward to it.

The eyes are a dead give away that he was a little nervous to go.
Still a little nervous, but willing to give it a try. He was able to sit with Easton which helped.
The three buddies all smiles after their fun first day.

More Utah time

While in Utah, we got to see all of Ryan's family. Caden has a lot of fun playing with his cousins there, and this day we went to the Dyer's. He and Mckenzie become better friends the older they get. They found these 2 umbrellas and ran around most of the day in the rain. Unfortunately, we found Caden's at the end of the day turned inside out. I guess the wind got a little too strong - oops, sorry Ronalee.

Our kids also seem to have issues with animals. Caden hates them and Avery smothers them. We've talked off and on about getting a bunny. They just love Ronalee's bunny, and we think it might help Caden with his fears. Here, Avery was trying so hard to pet it without poking and scaring it. She also tried to give it her binky, touch his eyes, and kiss it. We'll have to work with her a little more.

BYU Football!!!

We went to Utah for the first BYU football game. We love this time of year. We actually were just planning on going to see Ryan's mom and family for the long weekend, but since there was a game and there were seats available, we went. We weren't sure how Avery would do for that long with no nap, but I guess with enough people to look at and food to eat, she can last a really long time. Caden and Ryan sat with his mom, and Avery and I sat with my parents and brother. That's why I don't' have too many pics or Ryan and Caden. The game was unbelieveable hot, we were sweaty and tired, but we had a lot of fun. We can't wait to go to another one!

The poor guy sitting in front of us. Avery couldn't keep her hands to herself and kept touching the couple in front of us. They were nice about it, but I'm sure bothered. She would drop her toys down below their chairs, and her sippy. Towards the end of the game the mans shirt had brown spots on the back. I asked Andrew, my brother, if he thought Avery had done that. Avery turned around and was holding an Oreo from her bag and had chocolate all over her hands and face. I couldn't bring myself to tell him. I'm sure he realized it was her.