hello!

Welcome to the "new" blog. :)

new address

This blog is getting a new address very, very shortly. If you would like the new address, leave a comment here with your email address and I will email you the new address when we put it into effect. Hopefully this will solve a problem I encountered today and won't make me have to make the blog go private- I don't '*want* to do that but will if I need to- I will see how the new web address works first.

I have to approve all comments, so once I get your comment with your email address in it, I'll delete it so it's not posted on the web! :) As soon as the new address goes into effect, I'll send you the new info.

rhyme time

We took a drive this evening so I could find an "N" to finish up a photo project I've been working on. We drove out in the country and saw lots of cows. Brecken asked what cows eat- here is the rest of the conversation:

Me: Cows eat grass.
B: So do deer!
(a short time later...)
B: HEY! Cows and deer RHYME!
Me: Um, no, not quite. Rhyming means two words sound the same, like Cow and Pow.
B: No, Mommy. Cow and deer.
Me: No, like pear and tear.
B: NO! Those don't rhyme! Grass and sky rhyme!
Josh: No, buddy. It would be like sky and pie.
B: DADDY! NO! Car and house.

Boy, was he getting mad that we had "no idea" how rhyming works. HA! :)

party like a rockstar

What a great weekend! We had all of the Sandlian family over to celebrate Bryell's 1st birthday. What a fun time we had. Brecken had a BLAST playing with all his cousins. He is still talking about all the great times tonight! We had a wonderful time with everyone over.

sports and music

So many kids think they have to choose between sports and music.

My 3 year old son, however, already knows that he can do both at the same time.

He just told me, "If I sing while I run, it helps me run really fast!" And demonstrated by running around the house while singing the "ABC" song.

It's just one of the advantages of having a coach-dad and a music-mom, I guess. :)

planting a seed in a child's mind

I got this little garden thing for Brecken while we were in Chicago. He is always wanting to plant seeds (we have plenty of popcorn seeds in the snow...) and loves Curious George, so I thought this was perfect! We must check 12 times a day to see if anything has grown. I sure hope it does grow, because if not, I'll have one seriously sad little boy!

chicago

A few quick stories and a few pictures from our trip!





My grandma was put in the hospital a couple days before we flew out to Chicago. That was a bummer, because we didn't get to see her new apartment in the assisted living place she's in, and we didn't get to take her outside. :( We did visit her every day we were in Chicago though, which was good. It's been too long since we've seen her! I'm glad we were able to visit every day.


We traveled most of Tuesday. Our hotel was in the greatest location EVER- right downtown, a block off Michigan Avenue! We walked around Tuesday afternoon/evening and everything we wanted to eat was right there. :)





Wednesday we got up and went to the aquarium. It was a rainy day, and we got to the aquarium and about died at the size of the line. It was about a mile long, no joke. Luckily, they had an "accessible line" for strollers and wheelchairs, and boy, am I glad we brought the stroller that day. Even waiting in that much shorter line, it took us an hour to get in the aquarium! We didn't mind though, after we got to the ticket counter. It was going to cost us about $85 for the three of us to get in, but Josh asked if they had an educator discount and showed our teacher ID cards and all THREE of us got in for FREE! I was shocked. And very glad, because the aquarium was soooo crowded that day that I felt we didn't get $85 out of it! We had fun while we were there though. Brecken loves aquariums.

Thursday was a super fun day. We went to the children's museum! We were able to walk there from our hotel, and it only took about a half hour. Brecken had a blast while we were there. They had the most amazing rooms- a "move!" room where you could climb and rock and balance and feel and touch and run and jump. It was an occupational therapist's dream room! There was a water room where all you did was play with water items, a room to dig for dinosaur bones, an inventing room, an area to plaly checkers, bowl, make things out of clay, anything you could imagine. A few of the rooms were closed due to a school field trip occupying them, but we had PLENTY to see still!

Thursday night, we met up with my cousin Catie and went to a Bulls game! I've never been to an NBA game before. We had a great time! Thank you, Uncle Pudge, for letting us have your company's season tickets for the night! We had a great time!!! Catie, it was so great to see you!

Brecken cheering hard:

#16 is a Cheyenne East graduate!

Friday morning, Brecken woke up and the first thing he said was "What do we get to do today?" :) We didn't have anything too exciting planned, but we took him to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and just did sightseeing and shopping all day.

Saturday was GORGEOUS outside! Our plane didn't leave until the evening so we packed up the car and took off on foot. We walked to the other end of Michigan Avenue, across the Chicago River, and up to Millennium Park.

Our reflection in the "Bean" sculpture- I had to take quite a few pictures to get us in the frame! :)

It was so nice out that we got Subway and ate a picnic outside at the park! We haven't been able to do that since last summer, so what a nice treat! Then we took our time walking back to the car to get to the airport. We had a great trip, and hopefully it won't be so long before we can go again!

reality

Back to it. Yuck. I hate the last day of vacation! I'm NOT looking forward to work tomorrow. I wish Josh and I would win the lottery so that our family can just travel and be together all the time- that's when we're at our best!

We had a wonderful time in Chicago and got back at 1:10 this morning. My wonderful husband got us home without falling asleep, which is more than I would have been able to do. I tried so hard to stay awake with him but did a bit of dozing the last 40 or so miles. Brecken was asleep before we got a mile away from the hotel where we had parked our car. :)

We had a great trip. Today after I get myself moving, I'll get some pictures posted, along with some stories.

a hunting we will go...

Egg hunt day! We had two in Saratoga that we went to. Here's what it looked like outside on the way to the first one:

Wyoming kids grow up tough, since they have to put up with this junk at Easter! :) Luckily, just as the hunt was about to start, the snow went away and the sun came out. It was still gale-force winds, but at least we didn't have the flying snow to contend with, too.

The second one, this afternoon, wasn't much warmer. No blowing snow, but soooo windy still. Brecken had a great time and asked when we can go to the next one. :)

perfect day

Brecken was playing with his toy truck and trailer with the cows that go inside it this evening, and all of a sudden the birds started chirping outside. He looked up in surprise and said, "Hey! I hear birds!" Then got that big ol' glint in his eyes (if you know him, you know the one... he can't hide it!) and a grin on his face. He looked down and continued playing, and without looking at Josh and *just* loud enough for Josh to hear, said, "Hmmm... it's the perfect day to go golfing."

I about made my stomach hurt from holding my laughter in.

Never mind the 30 mph winds, the 20 degree air temp, and the blizzard we had this morning. :)

"aren't they so bootiful??"

That's what the B-man asked while gazing at his wonderful eggs we colored this evening. :)

soon

"DADDY! The snow melted off the grass and that means it's almost springtime and in springtime we can go GOLFING, and it's almost springtime because the snow is melting so hurry, Daddy, HURRY! Get the golf cart! We can drive it to the golf course because we have to go golfing because the snow melted off the grass and that means it's almost springtime and we can go GOLFING during springtime! Hurry, Daddy, we have to go right now because it will be springtime when we get to the golf course!"

That's what was shouted at our house last night. Too bad it was 7:00 in the evening and we had to tell B that, no, he could not go golfing right this second, and just because we can see our grass does not mean the golf course is ready to be played on yet. The poor boy had his heart broken last night.

Soon, buddy... soon.

(and guess where Daddy and B will be spending all their time this summer? I've already been told: "NO GIRLS ALLOWED, MOMMY. Just me and Daddy.")

it's because his daddy was valedictorian

We had our first parent/teacher conference as parents today. It was a bit odd to be on the other side of it! I wasn't sure what to expect- B is the youngest in his class so I kind of told myself we'd be hearing about how he's a bit behind.

Quite the opposite! His teacher said he's one of the smartest in his class! What a great thing to hear. She said he's a wonderful student, he never whines or complains, always tries to do his best, is very friendly, and a great kid overall. (And she wasn't lying about being one of the smartest!) She showed us his portfolio of work she has collected over the months and we could see how much he has improved with coloring in the lines and cutting. She had an end of the year evaluation (even though there's still two months of school) and he scored 47/50! I know he could have scored higher because one of the things on there was identifying letters, and I work with him on that at home and he can recognize all but 8 letters when we do it. At school, he only got about half of the letters. Must have been an off day. :) 47/50 is awesome though, and we are very proud of him! He has two more years of preschool; we *could* start him in Kindergarten when he's 4 turning 5 because he beats the cutoff date, but unless he turns out to be a genius, we will keep him out of K until he is 5 turning 6. (I have taught young K's before, and let me tell you- it's not a lot of fun. They just aren't ready to sit all day and listen and learn! K is NOT playtime anymore! It's amazing the demands on such little guys.) So, two more years of preschool. We discussed keeping him in the 3 year old class next year or moving him to the 4 year old class where he will be for two years. His teacher said what I had been thinking- she's afraid he would get too bored in the 3 year old class next year so we will be moving him to the 4 year old class next fall. She said she's rather challenge him in that class, than get bored in the other.

She said she loves having Brecken, and we said we think we got lucky with such a great kid. She said "You may have a bit of luck, but I think it's more that you've done a great job parenting". SA-WEET!

Hopefully the next 15 years of conferences go just as well. :)

small fry

Josh and I took Brecken to Laramie yesterday, to the pediatrician. The pediatrician we saw was a girl I went to high school with- weird to see her as a full-fledged pediatrician now! She was great. We took B there to get checked out since he doesn't seem to be growing, we just wanted to make sure he doesn't have anything medically wrong with him. She checked him out, took some history, and declared that she's pretty sure he's just a small fry. That's OK with me as long as there is nothing wrong with him! Phew! :) He weighed in at a whopping 28 pounds and that actually put him ON the percentile chart for the first time since he was about 6 months old! He's sitting nice and strong between the 3rd and 5th percentile. Impressive. :) Dr. H gave us the chart print out and told us to hang it on our fridge. :)

While there, I got my 6-month follow-up liver CT scan done. Might as well kill two birds with one stone, as long as I'm in town and taking a half a sick day. I'm sure everything is fine, but my mind is a pro at playing mind games. I mean, it's really, really good at it. The radiology tech told me the image would be up on the computer (that doctors can access) an hour after my scan was done, and the written report within 48 hours. I would assume that would mean that if something was terribly wrong, the radiologist would call my doctor who would then in turn call me. Otherwise, a letter would be sent to my doctor, who would then mail me one. I wondered all day long today if I had a message on my phone (my phone doesn't get service at work). I could call from school to my phone and check, but I was afraid there would be a message on there, which probably means bad news since it was so fast. I didn't want to get bad news at work, so I didn't check my messages. I had myself so worked up by the time I got back to cell service that I was afraid to turn on my cell phone! I did though, and NO MESSAGE!!! Hooray! I'm telling myself that means there isn't any change and they'll send me a letter! (And I keep reminding myself that my blood test in November came back TOTALLY OK! It's those mind games- have to keep myself in check.)

We woke up to a snowstorm this morning. 6 inches or so on the ground when I got up and by the time I left Encampment, another 6-8 inches had fallen. Story of our lives the past week or so- one day we walk to the park and play with light jackets on, the next day we have a snowstorm. Ahh, spring in Wyoming!

libby

all she can talk about

Guess who gets to meet her Aunt Kara this weekend? That's right!! LIBBY! According to Kristen, all Libby can talk about is getting to meet me. She's ready to look gorgeous for her newborn photos and let her Aunt Kara mess with her with hats and blankets and bean bags and all sorts of fabulous stuff. I'm so glad she's so excited! Be looking for photos soon!!!

libby diane

Usually calls at 2:00 am are never a good thing- but the one I got this morning was a beautiful call! My new niece, Libby Diane, was born this morning at 1:27, weighing in at 6 pounds even, and 19 inches long. (and if you're wondering, Diane is my mom's middle name!) So far, according to everyone who has seen her in real life and not just pictures, she doesn't look much like Brooklyn did, but a lot like Ryan did instead! Size-wise, Libby and Ryan are similar too: Ryan was 5 lbs, 7 oz while Brooke was a chunk at almost 8 pounds! Welcome to the world, little Libby! I can't wait to meet you next weekend- I hope you are ready for my camera and all the fun stuff I bought for you too look beautiful with!

Ryan after he was born- June 2006:

Brooke after she was born- July 2008

Libby after she was born- March 2010

no longer strangers

We spent the weekend as a FAMILY, and boy, was it nice!! I took Friday off of work, and Thursday night, the 3 of us headed up to Casper for the weekend. We took in quite a few basketball games, but we got to sit TOGETHER instead of Brecken and I across the gym from Josh! We spent time swimming at the hotel, shopping at the mall, eating meals and taking our time, and it was great. We had so much much fun that Brecken asked if we could stay another week instead of going home this morning. :) He is one tired boy though- he fell asleep at 5:30 tonight! I hope he doesn't wake up at midnight ready to party!!

My grandma is doing better. Thank you for the thoughts. She was moved from her independent living apartment in the retirement buildling she lived in, to an assisted living apartment in another building in Chicago a couple weeks ago. The move was against her will but she desperately needs the help. She is 92 years old and has dementia and needs more help than the caretaker that comes every couple hours can give her. She was in her new apartment for a day or two and then was hospitalized with pneumonia. Last Tuesday, while still in the hospital, she suffered to mild heart attacks. (Yes, the same day.) They really didn't konw she had them until they ran tests on her because she said her chest was hurting. However, she rebounded and was moved out of ICU this weekend, I believe. She's still in the hospital, but it's not an emergency like it was last week. I do believe, however, that she is on the downward hill so it's a good thing we have a trip planned out there starting April 6.

It was such a beautiful day out today, it felt just like spring. However, as I write this, I looked outside and the fattest snowflakes are blowing around. Typical Wyoming spring weather...

gram

If you can spare some prayers and good thoughts, we need them for my Grandma who lives in Chicago. She's not doing well right now and nobody knows which direction it's going to go, but it's to the point where we are now wondering if she will make it long enough for us to visit in a month as planned. :(

hello, stranger... i am your wife!

Basketball season is officially over. We went with Josh and his boys to the Regional tournament Wednesday night-Saturday. The boys easily won their pigtail game to get into the tournament on Thursday morning, then lost Thursday evening. They had to win Friday morning to stay in the tournament, and after a VERY exciting game, they won! They lost on Saturday morning though, so that meant they were done and did not make it into the State tournament. As much as I am glad to have my husband home after school for the first time since August, I will tell you that I had tears in my eyes after Saturday's game. :( I REALLY wanted them to make it to State!

Thursday's pigtail game was one of inspiration. They played Shoshoni, who had to forfeit their last several games this season because of injuries, and who only had seven kids dressed out Thursday morning. Two of those were wrestlers that did not make it to State Wrestling and were added to the basketball roster on Tuesday. You could tell who they were by the way they played. But those 7 kids NEVER gave up. They lost, 59-10, but they never once stopped playing as hard as they could. How awesome is it for kids to step up to help their team so the team could play, even though odds were completely against them for a win? Our crowd cheered as hard for that team as we did for our own.

Brecken had a blast, of course. He got to ride the bus sometimes with the boys, he got lots of gym time in, and he got to go swimming at the hotel. He LOVES hotels. He had several nights of really late bedtimes, no naps, lots of activities, and he was sooo good until it was time to go home, and then his exhaustion set in and had a meltdown. I'm a lucky mom though, to have such a good boy in those circumstances for that long! Josh's boys are so good to Brecken- they give him lots of attention and one of the boys even spent a long time having races down the hall and back at the hotel with Brecken. How great is that for a freshman boy to do?!

Even though the team didn't make it to State, Josh has a meeting there still this weekend so B and I are going to go with him Thursday after school. We'll watch basketball TOGETHER on Friday without Josh having to do anything! Brecken and I are both looking forward to Daddy time. Josh loves coaching though, which in turn makes me happy that he's doing what makes him happy. I'm a lucky person to have such a wonderful husband. :)