Time continues to fly by!! Our Family Update

It has been a long time since I've blogged! Part of the reason is time and also because I have started to use facebook. FB is fun and DEFINITELY ADDICTIVE. The cool part is that I can converse with family and friends all over the world and friends I haven't seen since I lived in Hawai'i.
As summer came to an end it was time to for us to prepare to go back to work and school. I think Hannah was the most excited as she started kindergarten this year. She absolutely loves going to school! I love that we live so close (about 1 mile) to her school. Andrew, (and I when I'm home), will walk with her to and from school. It definitely gets their exercise in for the day! She is such the social butterfly! I was afraid that her outspoken and hard-headed nature would get her in trouble, but her behavior has been pretty good. She's had a couple of color changes, which is not bad at all. She is learning so much and excelling in the standards that she needs to know. Just last Friday she came home and told us the pledge of allegiance word for ward. Needless to say I was EXTREMELY proud of her. She did that better than some of my 8th graders! LOL. She is an amazing little girl who never ceases to amaze me!
The boys are doing well. I think Ethan had a hard time at first with Hannah being gone. He started to become very clinging to adults, especially Grandma Brown, and would absolutely break down if she came over to our house and had to leave. He's doing better, especially now that he is going back to the babysitters twice a week. He is such a firecracker, bouncing off the walls from the moment he wakes to the minute he falls asleep. Sometimes I swear he has ADD. He still can be very sensitive. His feelings are sometimes easy to hurt. I think he is coming into his own now that Hannah is gone and he is the older sibling at home in the day.
Morgie is the mellow one. Nothing phases him. He tries to keep up with the older ones and they are pretty tolerant and accepting of him when they are playing. He is also quite the lover boy. He loves to run up to you and just wrap his arms around you while burying his face into you. Even though he has a sensitive side, he can still hold his own with Hannah and Ethan. If they take something away from him or make him upset in anyway, he does not hesitate to yell at them or smack them. I think he has some of Hannah's boldness and Ethan's sensitiveness.
Andrew started school this September. This will be his last quarter at CSUB. He will graduate with his bachelors in December.....YIPEE. It has been a long journey with trials here and there, but I am SO PROUD of him for sticking with it till the end. Once he is done in December he is going to watch the kids in the day and continue to work his evening job with Bakersfield City and Recs. The plan is to start looking for a job around January in Idaho. Hopefully, if all works out according to plan, we will be moving to Idaho come next summer.
As for me, well its another busy school year. This year instead of teaching a contained 8th grade class, I am teaching 6,7,8 grade history; 8 grade algebra and writing; an art elective; and p.e. Not to mention I am the ASB advisor as well as the math field day coach. Although it can be stressful at times and the work can seem never ending, I love my profession. This age group can be very challenging, but also rewarding! One of these days I would like to try teaching the younger grades.
The people, (some of them, any way :) ) I work with are great. We've started a little Biggest Loser competition 2 weeks ago and I've lost about 8 lbs. Its just the motivation I need to lose weight. Its great to have good people to work with.
So, that's whats been happening here in the our household the last couple of months. Enjoying each other and life..... LOVING EVERY BIT OF IT!!!

Vegas Vacation

After our Idaho trip, the kids, my mom, sister, tutu and I went to Vegas to visit family I haven't seen in a long time. We stayed with my Aunty Tina and Uncle Clifford ( my tutu's sister and brother in law). We got to see uncles, aunts and cousins. It was the first time that the kids met them. We even got to spend time with my Papa Baysa. He took us to this neat aquarium in one of the casinos. It was extremely hot, but everyone had a great time!!

Idaho Brown Vacation

We spent a week in Idaho with Andrew's family. We went camping at a beautiful spot in the Idaho mountains. Our camp site was next to a stream were the kids spent most of the time playing. We also got to hike a little, ride a 4 wheeler, shoot BB guns, and go bear hunting. The kids had a blast being up there and playing with cousins. It was definitely a fun and exhausting time chasing after kids!

How do you use these things?

We were having art time one day and the kids decided they wanted to use scissors for their projects. Well, as you can see, Ethan had an interesting time trying to use the scissors. He doesn't know how to do it with one hand yet so, he would use two hands to try to scoop the paper from the table to cut it, or he would open the scissors on the table and then pick it up and put the paper in it to cut it. You can see the determination on his face. He was really adorable!

4th of July, 2009

We celebrated the 4th here at our house. We had a little BBQ with my family and some of Andrew's family. We then did fireworks in the front yard and waited till it was dark to watch the big fire works at the high school. The kids were extremely excited and amazed as Andrew lit the fireworks. It was really cute to see the excited expressions on their face.

Hannah's 5 years old

Where does the time go? This year we celebrated Hannah's 5th birthday. It is amazing how grown up she is for her age. The theme of her b-day was " getting ready for kindergarten". She received a lot of things for school. Grammy even made a cake that had pencils and erasers! She is really excited to start kindergarten. And though I am a little apprehensive, I am also excited for her too !!

Ice Cream Days

The kids and I have spent a lot of time at my parent's house this summer.My tutu ( grandma ) is here from Hawaii for a month. The kids love going over to spend time with them, swimming in the pool and EATING ICE CREAM on these hot Bakersfield days.

Summer Softball

I love softball! This school year I had the privilege to coach my girls softball team. I had a blast playing again. I hadn't played since I was in high school! Anyway, some of me girls loved it so much that they signed up for a summer league. I got to go to one of their games. I loved the bond that I have with these girls. It's cool that they invite me to things and they even will call and text me now and then. They were a wonderful group to teach!

Way to go Drew!!

This last school year Andrew received a scholarship based on his outstanding academic performance. He was also told he would receive student of the year for his department, but because he wasn't graduating in the spring quarter he wasn't eligible to receive it. Anyway, we went to an awards dinner for his honor and he received a certificate from the university president.

Camping in Big Meadow

This last weekend we went on a mini camping trip to Big Meadow, (Girls Camp). Driving up the winding, twisting mountain road, one would never imagine that a beautiful meadow awaits. it is absolutely breathtaking to see it emerge through the pine trees. The kids had a wonderful time playing with friends and being in the outdoors. It was pretty cold and damp, but that didn't stop them. Camping is wonderful!! But, it is definitely a lot of work when you have little ones.

Hannah's new earrings

For Hannah's 5th birthday Grandma Brown took Hannah to the mall to pierce her ears. She has an extremely hard time with shots and so I was sure that she wouldn't go through with it. And to make matters worse there was a little girl there in the chair ahead of us screaming her lungs out. Nevertheless, Grandma got on the chair and Hannah sat on her lap. She was apprehensive, especially as the ladies brought the guns to her ears. She did start to cry, but they were able to pierce them. After, the ladies gave her a lollipop and her crying was over. She really loves her
earrings!

Sacramento and San Francisco

Two weekends ago Andrew and I, along with some people I work with, took my graduating eight graders to Sacramento and San Francisco for a two day/ one night trip. It was an awesome trip! We went to the state capitol building, old town Sac., Alcatraz, Fisherman's Warf, Ghiradelli Square, China Town, and the Golden Gate Bridge Look Out. This year's class was an awesome group of kids! I'm truly going to miss them next year.

Hannah's New Haircut

I took Hannah in for a summer haircut about 3 weeks ago. She doesn't like to put her hair up and she can get really sweaty and overheated in the hot, Bakersfield summers, so, we give her short haircuts. This time she got a cute little asymetrical bob. As soon as the hair dresser was done she got off of the chair and exclaimed how beautiful she is! It is definitely a grown up look... Nonetheless she is pretty adorable!

Lover Dog

I can't believe how incredibly lucky we have been with Mia. Almost instantly she has figured out how to use the doggie door, so she goes outside to do her buisness. She is extremely mellow and loves to cuddle. Even with kids!

How Fast They Grow

It is amazing how time flies once you become an adult, especially when you become a parent. Morgan is about 8 months now. He has been sitting up on his own for a while now. He is starting the motions of crawling, but he is not quite there yet. He already has two bottom teeth and three more are coming in on the top. Before I know it he will be running and screaming with Hannah and Ethan.

Blondie

So I was highlighting my hair the other night and ended up with extra dye. My crazy husband decided that he didn't want the dye to go to waste soooooooo, he caked it on his head and left in for about an hour. The end result was platinum. Needless to say he dyed his hair back to the original color before church!

The Snails

Ever Since Hannah could walk and play outside she has had an obsession with snails. We have a ton in our backyard! Last week, while playing outside, Hannah and Ethan found about 20 different snails from under their swing set and put then all over the top of the set. They had a blast watching the snails crawl up sides.

Introducing Mia the Mutt

Last Thursday, while I was putting gas at a station a couple of blocks from our house, this friendly little puppy came up to me. She was obviously a stray and I couldn't just leave her there. So.. I brought her home and we now have a new addition to the family. Her name is Mia and she is a terrier mix, about 3-4 months old. She is a very sociable puppy. She is great with the kids. She has also figured out how to use the doggy door and goes out to handle her business. She is a wonderful addition to our family!!