Back to "School"

At the beginning of the month Gracie started her first year of real preschool (real because we have to pay for it!) She goes twice a week for 2 hours and LOVES it. I have a feeling she may be one of the more "spirited" kids in her class who has a difficult time focusing on doing her work but oh well it's preschool right...we'll worry about focusing in kindergarten!

group shot...best one I could get, nobody was in a picture taking mood!

I had to include a picture of Gracie's backpack. I looked forever for a backpack that wasn't as big as her body and couldn't find anything. So in an ambitious moment I decided I'd make one! Oh dear is all I have to say. I thought it would take me like an hour to do...and it should have...however, some how and I really don't even know how but it took more like 4 hours! And in my attempt to give her a backpack that wasn't so huge I made it way to small and nothing that she ever brings home from preschool fits inside of it! Oh well, I tried!

notice Brynlee's lack of backpack...the plan was to make her one too but after Gracie's I haven't had any more ambitious moments to actually attempt one for Brynlee!

The week after Gracie started preschool, Brynlee started joy school and thank heavens for that! She was lost without Gracie around. She was constantly asking when we were going to go pick her up. There are quite a few kids Brynlee's age that live near us so there are 8 kids in her class. It's a little crazy having 8 three year olds at my house, but the good news is that I only have to take a turn ever 8 weeks...totally worth it! I can't believe next year I'll have a real for real school age kid!

Brynlee is 3!

Well for anyone that actually looks at our blog I'm happy to report we are still alive! We've had a few computer problems coupled with busy life which made blogging fall down on the list of things to do. However, now I'm sad that I've gotten so far behind on documenting our oh so interesting lives {ha, ha}! So time to play catch up...starting with Brynlee's birthday!!!

Brynlee turned 3 on August 10th {yes over a month ago!} The above picture is of her cake that Grandma and Grandpa Smith suprised her with a couple of days before her birthday {the picture is suppose to be video but I can't ever get video to upload, any suggestions?} Boy did she LOVE this cake. Her and Gracie are still playing with the princesses!

On the day of her birthday I decided it would be fun to take her out for a birthday lunch. I wanted to take her to somewhere with a playplace so we headed to McDonalds. However, much to the girls disappointment {and my relief I have to admit} they had ripped out the entire germ infested playplace. Their disappointed wasn't anything some chicken nuggets and french fries couldn't cure {don't worry I got the apples too so I could be a good responsible mom, ha ha} Well just our luck when we walked into the "restaurant" it was a sea of asian people. I hadn't noticed the Giant tour bus in the neighboring parking lot. There was no way I was going to be able to convince my kids to leave so we stood in line trying to not be bothered by lack of personal space only to get our food and have no where to sit. I spotted some table outside and figured that was perfect. Of course I quickly realized why no one else went outside...it was HOT and oddly Bright! Brynlee kept saying "I need some sunglasses!" We sweated out our lunch and had lots of the asian visters laugh and point at us. I think they were amazed by Lydia's white, chubby bald cuteness...I know I am:) All in all it actually was a fun lunch. Lydia even tried her first french fry!



That night we decided to go to farm country at Thanksgiving Point so Brynlee could ride the ponies...she LOVES ponies!

Then since we had already had a cake with G'ma and G'pa Smith we decided to get a banana split and the fun ice cream shop there at Thanksgiving Point. I think this is going to be a new birthday tradition. The girls thought it was SO fun that we got such a big dish of ice cream. I was trying to get them to look at me and smile but I think they were afraid that we weren't really going to let them eat such a massive dish and that it was going to be taken away at any moment so they had better eat it while they could!

And eat it we did!! YUM!

Then all sugared up we headed home for presents...horse toys of many variety, a princess doll, some clothes and a scooter!

Happy Birthday Ninny!

Here are a few things I don't want to forget about Brynlee
*She has movements like a cartoon princess...always dancing and twirling around and moving her hands so gracefully. However, she's also a Klutz (sp?) so many times those twirls end with a fall, and the dancing puts her right into the wall or a piece of furniture.
*When she talks she really exaggerates her "L" letting her tongue come all the way out. She also has a lisp when she says her "S's" which I secretly hope she never loses because it's just so darn cute.
*She loves to snuggle. I remember when she was a baby she loved to rub her face on my skin. At church she would wrap her arms and legs around my leg and rub her cheek on my bare legs. She still loves to kind of rub her cheek on your face, arm or hand as she snuggles.
*She's a helper. She almost always does what I ask her to do if she thinks its being a helper (throwing away diapers, getting diapers, watching the baby ect.) unfortunately she doesn't view cleaning up toys as helping:)
*She loves talking on the phone. When Jake calls to say he is on his way home she ALWAYS has to chat with him and usually the entire time it takes him to get home.
*She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES horses and would love nothing more than to have a pony of her own to ride whenever she wants.

We Love you Brynlee and wouldn't change anything about you. Happy Birthday!