Friday- Stellar Student Award!

Hailey got the Stellar Student Award at school today!  She received a certificate and got to sit with the principal at lunch up on the stage.  Debra in the front office made a big deal about it.  

Hailey has been telling me about the boy who sits right next to her in class.  He just moved here from China and is learning to speak English.  Hailey has been telling me that she helps him learn new words and also helps him underand their assignments in class.  So I was not surprised when I read what her teacher wrote about Hailey and why she deserved the award.  I'm a proud momma that my child makes such good choices.  

We are having another rain/wind storm this weekend and so I started a fire to keep us warm.  

We snuggled up and watched a movie tonight too.  

We went with Grandma Clark today to go visit her new puppy she is getting from a breader here in Seattle.  It's a Schnauzer and is only 2 weeks old.  The kids were in heaven holding the puppies.  I wish I had my phone so I could have taken photos.  Grandma was having a hard time choosing a name for her new dog and since it's a German dog, she wants a German name.  So she asked the kids what name they thought she should name her dog and after a moment, Jacob said very quietly, "How about Holly?".  Grandma was sold.  So that's her new name and we might actually get the dog to stay with us a few days before grandma makes a trip back to Sattle to pick up the dog when it's ready in 6 weeks.  

Thursday- Grandma Came to Visit and My Phone Was Stolen :(

Grandma Clark came today for a visit.  She will be staying with us until Monday.  So far it has been fun and the kids have enjoyed the gifts she has brought them, rocks!  She finds some of the coolest rocks and the kids love them.  Jacob and Hailey each have their own totes full of rocks.  

On a sadder note, my phone was stolen today.  We stopped off at a fish hatchery to see the salmon migrating up the stream and I failed to lock the car when we got out.  I left my phone in the car and when we came back, it was gone.  Whoever took it either turned the phone off or removed my SIM card right away so I wouldn't be able to track the phone.  So I called Tmobile and had them disabled the phone.  Now if anyone tries to activate the phone at any network, the phone won't work.  Dang.  I had a really cute picture of Jacob from the school's walkathon that I didn't get to upload.

On another note, the school had their annual walkathon and the kids and I completed 18 laps around the school.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but it took 2 hours to complete.  We walked for two hours straight.  I felt like a pioneer.  Pathetic, but true.  We needed to complete all 18 laps to be able to submit a raffle ticket into a drawing to win a Kindle Fire. The kids were super motivated and so I had to keep going with them to cheer them on.  

Tuesday- Errands and Bedtime

While we were out running errands today, James and I stopped into a Petco to see some animals.  Do you think it was worth the trip?

This kid is a solid sleeper and of course he has his Monster Lego book with him in bed.  He loves that book.

Monday- Oreos and FHE

Look, he's one in a half and he instinctively knows how to eat an Oreo.  Interesting. This one is Nature, not Nurture.  

Tonight during FHE, Brennan told the kids to sit on him to see if they were heavy enough to hold him down.  

They lost.

James quickly grabbed Brennan's iPhone as soon as he saw me taking photos with my camera.  He's trying to take photos as well.  

Sunday- Cookie Drop Off and Missing Teeth

On Sunday we made cookies for the families Brennan home teaches.  Jacob asked me to take this photo of James sitting on his lap.  They are very aware of mom's blog and they love to look through it.  I'm glad I figured out an easy way to blog.  

This little girl lost one of her two front teeth today.  She was sitting in the middle of her primary class when she all of a sudden pulled her tooth out.  I apologized to her teacher because I know Hailey is quite the talker in class and so this must of been even more disruptive for him.  He laughed and told me that it actually kept her quiet because she kept running her tongue through the now huge gap.  Now if only she would pull out that other crooked tooth before picture day in two weeks.  

Saturday- Birthday Celebration

Saturday was my 29th birthday.  It was actually a pretty good day.  The night before, Brennan went on a Boy Scout camping trip, which left me for a very relaxing evening to myself!  I got to watch whatever movie I wanted and eat some ice cream without sharing.  Can't complain about that!  The next morning, the morning of my birthday, the kids woke me up by telling me that they had cleaned their bedroom!  Happy birthday to me, I didn't have to push them to do it!  Then I went for a run, pushing James in my new jogging stroller, while Hailey and Jacob rode their bikes behind me.  We played games together and had a very relaxing day.  Brennan came home mid afternoon and we both got ready for a date night.  Remember how earlier in the week we switched our anniversary and my birthday so tonight we could get a babysitter to celebrate our 8 year anniversary.  Last Monday night we went to Benihana's to celebrate my birthday with the family.  Anyway, Brennan took me to Daniel's Broiler, where we enjoyed some nice steaks and then we went to the spa to get a couples massage.  It was a great evening.  

The view of Lake Washington from our table.  

Here is the view Brennan had while hiking with the Boy Scouts.  

Wednesday- Blessings from Heaven

We went to Microsoft today to have lunch with dad and to bring him an extra key because he locked his other key in the car.  

Funny story.  As we were leaving Microsoft, I realized that it was Wednesday and that school get's out two hours earlier at 12:55.  I looked at the clock and it was 12:50.  I was 30 minutes from home and there was no way I was going to make it home in time for Hailey to get off the bus.  So I called my neighbor, but she wasn't home.  I then had no other options.  Hailey was getting off the school bus and was going to walk into an empty house :( I sped the whole way, praying that Hailey would be ok and that she would be a brave girl and not get scared.  I finally got home at 1:12 and ran inside looking for Hailey.  30 seconds after I get home, the bus pulled around the corner.  It was running late!  It was a blessing I tell you!  Our family was looked after.  Hailey and I had a chat about what to do if something like this happens again.  I also went over to a couple of my neighbors houses to get their phone numbers, just in case.  

This little man thinks it's funny now to put his hands infront of his face when I try to take his picture.  

Hailey did something very sweet today for her brother Jacob.  She knew that Jacob was limited on the books he was allowed to check out from the school library.  So she checked him out a cool Star Wars book, just for him.  Isn't she the best?! She is the most amazing child.  I love her.  

Now for my last blessing of the day.  I had been doing a lot of thinking lately about getting a single jogging stroller so I can do my running during the day.  It's getting too dark to run during the early mornings or evenings and I really hate running on treadmills, so my only option is to run during the day.  I was feeling very doubtful of myself that I could run and push a stroller at the same time.  We have a lot of big hills around here.  I had been very prayerful about it.  Today I had prayed wondering if it was realistic that I could do it and if Heavenly Father thought I could do it.  Well, later as I was driving the kids to their piano lessons, I saw this single jogging stroller parked outside my neighborhood with a free sign on it.  I felt that it was an answer to my prayers and that Heavenly Father knows I can do it.  So i picked it up and now I am determined to go running with it through out the week.  I have faith that I will make it!  By the way, it is a really nice stroller.  It's old, but it moves a lot better than most of the new strollers I've looked at.  

Monday- Birthday Celebrations and Benihana

Hailey and Jacob waiting for the school bus.  

My birthday is on Saturday and our anniversary is tomorrow and since things are a little crazy this week, I decided to switch the two dates around to make celebrating both a little easier.  So tonight we went to Benihana to celebrate Hailey and I birthday for the month.  

On another note, I discovered something quite disturbing today.  As you know, Brennan and I have become much more aware of the amount of sugar that are in our foods and the damage that it can have on our bodies.  

Earlier this month, I felt ill after eating a cupcake from Hailey's birthday.  I told Brennan that we needed to ban sugar from our house for the month of September because I am tired of feeling sick so often.  Obviously my body is trying to tell me something.  A few days later Brennan and I read the current issue of National Geographic that happened to have an article on sugar.  We American's consume around 150lbs of sugar per person, per year.  That is nearly a half a pound of sugar a day.  The article went on to say that many of the health problems we deal with today is caused by our sugar intake.  

Well, I bought some chocolate milk at the store today as a treat for the kids after I had spent time looking at the sugar content of all the food items I was putting in my cart, making sure to avoid brands with too much sugar.  Ironically, I didn't look at the chocolate milk until we got home and were drinking it.  I had just pored James 8 oz in his bottle and gave Jacob his glass.  I looked at the nutritional facts and saw that in one glass of chocolate milk, there is 33 grams of sugar.  I wanted to know what that looked like, so I got out my scale and measured out 33 grams of sugar.  The end result is the photo shown below, using a small mason jar.  Just so you know, 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon.  My baby was drinking 8 teaspoons of sugar and was drinking his bottle like it was filled with, well you know, Sugar!  He was addicted to it and no wonder!!  So here is another crazy thing.  I was spending time at the store today going through yogurts trying to avoid the ones that have 33g of sugar per cup of yogurt.  Isn't yogurt supposed to be healthy?  I think my eyes have been opened and we need to make a lifestyle change.  

Sunday- Lightning Storms and Fires

First off, this little man loves to climb up and sit on anything.  Especially countertops in kitchens, bathrooms, offices, kitchen tables, you name it.  

Today we had a lightning storm.  It was pretty rainy and kind of chilly in the house, so we made a fire.  It felt so good.  And the Seahawks won their game tonight despite the bad weather, which makes me feel even better.  

Friday-James

Oh this boy.  How he is a trouble maker.  

He found a sharpie today and wrote all over his arm and face with it.

Then he wrote on the dry erase board and wall.  

Thursday- Swim Class & Bus Stops

The kids are rocking it in their swim classes.  They are becoming quite the swimmers, which is good because we are going to Hawaii in 5 months and the kids need to be ready.  

Jacob is so cute, he loves to tell me all the cool things about his bus that takes him home from school each day.  He thinks it's so cool that their is a place in the back of the bus for someone in a wheel chair and how his seats have seat belts, but that he doesn't have to wear them.  

Wednesday- Fun and Piano Lessons

Our Rec Center has a toddler time play area, where for $2 your child can play with a million toys for as long as they want.  It was good to get out of the house with James while the kids were at school.  He was a happy boy.  

James watched the older boys play basketball.

I think he thought it was pretty cool. 

Jacob getting off the school bus.  

The kids have been taking piano lessons from Rebecca Bennett.  We travel all the way out to her house once a week and hang outside for an hour while the kids have their lessons.  They live in this super cute old craftsmen style house.  It's very picturesque and has a farm feel to it.  

The kids love the rope swing on the tree.

We found a grasshopper on my car.  I think it was Jacob's first time seeing one.  

James got his head stuck in the fence, again.  He did this the last time we were there.  

The neighbors have chickens and so that was exciting for this kids.  

Just waiting for Jacob to finish up his lesson.  It was so hot, poor James was sweaty and flushed.  Hailey was trying to make a funny face.  

Grandma Webber gave Hailey an art set for her birthday.  She is putting it to good use.  

Brennan got stuck in traffic on his way home from work for an hour and a half!  So we all went outside and enjoyed the last of the nice weather for the year.  It's supposed to start raining on Sunday :( 

Tuesday- Swim Practice and Child Labor

Today was swim class day.  Jacob did awesome on his freestyle.  It suddenly clicked in his head and he just took off.  Even the instructor was pretty amazed.  He spent time after his lesson jumping into the pool and swimming to the stairs.  You can tell he likes swimming.  

Is this child labor?  James really loves to vacuum.  So, I let him :) My floors are actually cleaner now because of him.  

Monday- Shots Day

Poor, poor Jacob.  He had to get his 5 year shots today.  First of all, I would like to share a rather funny story about Jacobs 5 year check up.  The nurse down at the school kept calling me all summer, leaving me messages about how Jacob was missing some vaccines on his record.  I put it off until last minute because I was quite certain he had his shots up to date.  I was so certain, that I called the Drs office to get a complete record of his vaccine history.  Turns out, I never took him in for his 5 year check up.  His birthday was in April.  What kind of a mother am I?!  It was so funny.  So I got him scheduled as soon as the Dr could get him in, which happened to be 2 hours before Hailey's 7 year check up.  James went in the Friday before for his 18 month check up too.  Good gracious, I'm so glad we won't have to do that again for awhile.  

Anyway, so I thought I was doing Jacob a favor by telling him on the way to the Dr that he was getting some shots.  I don't know what rationality I thought I had going there, but I thought, you know, maybe telling him early would help him prepare for the shots.  That was dumb.  I get out of the car and open the door for Jacob and he just sits there, not moving.  I had to unbuckle his seatbelt and force him out of the car as he tried his hardest to hang on to James' carseat.  I carried him into the office while he cried, "I don't want to get a shot!".  He got three shots.  I felt bad for him.  I hate getting even one shot.  His arm really hurts now too.  

Sunday Adventures

The kids think it's fun to sit in the Tonka Truck and ride it down the hill.  James often steals the show by hogging the truck.  

This is what happens when we water the plants and James is outside.  He will just stand under the hanging baskets and let the water drip on him.  Oh, to be a kid again :)