Chase's First Day of School

Chase had his first official day of school on August 15th. He was very excited to go. My Aunt Karen, Emily, and Valerie came over to be with us his first morning. They stayed home with Parker and Maggie while I took him to school.

When we got there, he was eager but also wanted me to stay with him until the last moment. He had a big smile on his face. He did a good job listening to his teacher and standing in line. Not an easy thing for an active 4.5 year old :) As the teacher told the kids to say goodbye to us, he ran over and gave me a big hug. So cute! I felt a twinge of sadness leaving my boy in someone else's care. However, I felt mostly ok with the whole idea.

I went back to pick him up with Bridget and Parker. He was SUPER excited to see us all. He said he had a good day, but didn't want to talk too much about it. He was too excited about our plan to go swimming after we left school. I asked if he behaved, and he said he only had a "few troubles." He said he talked a little bit and played in the bathroom. Not too suprising :)

Last week was a big week for us. Chase started school and Abe went on his first business trip. Abe left early Tuesday morning before the boys woke up. They woke up looking for him. My mom showed up later and watched the kids while I dropped Chase off. He looked a little overwhelmed walking in by himself, but he was ok. He was ok when we picked him up as well. That night my cousins came to stay with us which was super exciting.

Wednesday morning we woke up to Emily and Valerie here, and the boys were so happy to have them here. They played non-stop with them. Amazing amounts of help! The only problem was that Chase did not want to leave the fun. He cried and went and hid. So sad :( We got him ready and headed out to grab some lunch. He wasn't happy when we left, but we prayed for him. He had a good day, and was totally fine when we picked him up.

Thursday morning was another rough day. He was missing his Dad, and we were still having lots of fun at home. He said he didn't want to go, but we just kept on going. I walked him into school, and he was not happy. It breaks my heart to leave my sad little boy. After getting in the car, I totally fell apart. I just prayed and asked the Lord to calm his little heart. The Lord heard my prayers. His teacher reassures me he is totally fine within in minutes of me leaving. Abe came home that night which was a huge blessing!! The boys were so happy to see him not to mention me :)

Friday we woke up with just our family in the house. We had a calm morning. Chase got ready for school and was totally happy and ready for school. I dropped him off without one problem. Such an answer to prayer.

Chase's first week of school was filled with ups and downs. We made it, and the weekend was so refreshing and a nice break from the school schedule! Phew!!

The Bouncer

                                                  Here is our girl getting some exercise!

Do I really look like that!?!?!

 

With all three of my pregnancies I have gained about 35 pounds. I lose the first 20 pounds really fast. Usually within a week or 2. The last 15 come off soooo slowly. It is hard work. It also has gotten more difficult to lose with each pregnancy.

For me it is always a shock to see a picture of myself when I am carrying extra weight. On an everyday basis it is difficult to see, but a picture sure makes it all clear . This week I saw a picture of myself in a swimsuit. Let me just say I hardly recognized myself. It is time to get to work.

My eating is decent. I could definitely cut back on some junk food, but overall my eating is pretty good. I need to get to exercising. I started yesterday, and I hope to get back into running. I hope to get back to my normal self. I refuse to be a person who lets themselves go after having babies. I have too many examples in my life of people who have returned to normal after many pregnancies. I know it can be done, and I have done it twice already. I am ready for round 3!

My goal is to be “normal” by Christmas. Hopefully, I can reach my goal

California State Fair-2011

My family has been going to the State Fair for almost 20 years. We haven’t missed too many years. We really like the exhibits and the livestock. When my brother and I were younger we loved the rides as well. Since having kids our State Fair experience has changed dramatically. We barely fit in the Livestock part and spend most of our times at the rides.

Abe and I skipped last year and my parents took Chase. We almost didn’t go this year, but Abe spoke up and mentioned that he wanted to go. My Grandma watched Maggie for us, and we went last week. It was so nice to know that Maggie was in a safe, cool place. It is not the best place for a newborn. Thank you, Grandma!

We bought the kids unlimited ride wristbands. We were debating whether or not we should get one for Parker because he is risk averse and not a daredevil. We ended up getting him one, and boy were we glad we did. He had a blast!! He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to ride the whole time. It was so fun to watch Bridget, Chase, and Parker have fun! We saw a little livestock and watched a showmanship contest for cattle. We had perfect weather! The only downside was that my mom and myself were quite sick. We are looking forward to going back next year totally healthy!

 

4th of July 2011

We had a wonderful 4th of July. The weekend started out roughly with Parker getting sick on Thursday. He had a high fever with a cough/cold. Saturday we had is birthday party with my family and Chase left that night with a high fever and feeling terribly. We stayed home from church the next day and the kids recovered. We were somewhat ready for the holiday on Monday. It was VERY hot, so we knew it might be kind of rough with kids who were not 100%. Thankfully, we had a good time. We went to the parade with family and enjoyed lunch with everyone. We headed out around 1:30 for naps. We were more than ready to get in some air conditioning.

We had planned to go watch fireworks at the levy in River Park, but the kids weren’t up for it. We went to the Costco parking lot near Cal Expo and got to see a few fireworks. It was late, our kids were tired, but we had a great time! We hope to make it to River Park next year!

Uncle Brandon, Aunt Janna and Maggie Doo

Grandpa, Grandma, and Jakey-Poo

Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Bridget, and all the grandchildren

Bridgey and Jake

Grandpa and Mags

Me, Jake, and The Boys giving kisses to Jake

 

Chase and Tyler

Kids on the Fire Engine

In the parade

Waiting for fireworks-it had been a long, hot day!

Parker’s Parties

We had two parties for Parker. We do one party with each side of the family. It is really too big to do just one party, so he gets two . At the Green party we celebrated Parker, Summer, and Ben’s birthdays. We had a blast at both parties. We have great families! Here are some pictures:

Summer Time Fun

We love Summer. We love the extra light in the evening, the ability to play outside. swimming, late bedtimes, family trips, lazy mornings, and so much more! It is such a blast. I am trying to enjoy this Summer because Chase starts school in August and our life is going to drastically change. Here are some pictures from our Summer fun so far.

Swimming and popsicles in Hood and Grandpa and Grandma Berger’s house.

Backyard and sprinkler fun!

Water Painting