Biking To School!

Friday, August 21st--(This post was suppose to go before Brady's 1st day back at pre-school but I forgot.) My neighbor friend, Kathy, and I have decided we're going start dropping off or taking our girls to school via bike. We'll alternate. I'm pretty happy about this decision as it's a part of the way I'm going to make my life more healthy. I think it'll be good for Elise too. She seems to love riding her bike anyway. We can usually get to school or back within about 15 minutes and the trail isn't bad at all, a few small hills. We'll be biking to school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the days Nate is able to work from home. Tuesdays and Thursday are when Nate goes into work so he can't watch Brady while I drop off or pick-up the girls. Brady still uses training wheels so it makes for slow going and I don't think that would work out well. He is showing interest in learning so maybe, soon, he'll be able to start coming along.

I got my new bike a few weeks ago and just bought a basket to go on front--great for helping Elise when her backpack is heavy or a quick stop to Chevron to get my mug filled with a fountain drink (diet, of course!).

Brady's 1st Day Back To Pre-School

Friday, August 21st--Brady has been pretty anxious for this day to come and, I must admit, I have been too! What this means for mom is 2 hours, 3 times a week, ALL TO MYSELF! What I intend to do with those hours, I do not know yet. Probably a variety of things! Brady had his open house on Wednesday. We were able to meet his teacher, Mrs. Smart. She's a very nice lady, I know she'll do great and be what the kids in her class need her to be as they get prepared for Kindergarten next year. Part of the lesson plans will be bringing home books to start reading. That's crazy to think of but also exciting too! A few hours after the open house we met with Mrs. Smart, again, and the director of Learning Dynamics, Mrs. Dipko. We sat down with them to go over Brady's diabetes care. Fortunately, there were no problems at all last year so we anticipate the same thing this year. We went over signs and symptoms to look for when Brady might be too high or too low and how to use his glucagon kit, should he become unconscious. I had 3 expired kits so I brought them and showed Mrs. Smart and Mrs. Dipko how to administer the glucagon. They did a great job and both feel confident they can do what needs to be done, should something ever happen.

As far as we know, Brady only has one friend from last years class but he says he already made friends his first day---I believe that! And on his very first day he got to be the class "special helper". When I picked him up he was all smiles! I can't believe it's only one more year before my baby is in Kindergarten! As I always say, time flies way too fast!

Elise's 1st Soccer Game of the Season

Thursday, August 20th--Because the 1st day back to school wasn't enough (6:30 am came WAY too early!), we also had Elise's 1st soccer game in the evening. She's been practicing with her team and seems to be enjoying it. She played 2 years ago and loved it--last year I missed the deadline to register. Her coach is Ryan Hart, he lives 2 doors down from us. It's so nice to know who her coach is and trust that he will do a great job with all the kids on the team. Elise got her jersey tonight and she is #4. Their first game was a HUGE success. One boy, in particular, scored many goals. The opposing team only got a few goals in while Elise's team got several. Elise came really close to scoring a goal, herself. By doing so, we saw a lot more confidence in her playing throughout the rest of the game. The final quarter Elise got to be the goalie. We had a good laugh watching as she got bored and, eventually, she ended up laying on the ground because her team kept the ball down at the opposing sides goal getting one goal after another. They only made it back to her goal twice. The team got to think of a name for themselves and they came up with the "dragons". Her games are every Thursday night till the 1st or 2nd week of October. We enjoy watching Elise and Brady play sports, it's so fun to cheer them on. With the hot weather I also bring our "mister" and spray the kids down with cool water. Elise helped me and became instant friends with all her team-mates. Hopefully, in the near future, we'll start to see some cooler Fall weather so the kids don't bake and sweat like crazy as they play their games and practice.

I was so amazed at all the parents of the kids on Elise's team! They cheered for every kid on that team, I've never seen that before. Usually the parents will cheer whenever their kid does something but keeps quiet with any other kid. It helps encourage all of the kids of the team and makes each of the parents so proud too.

Elise's 1st Day of 2nd Grade

Thursday, August 20th--I'm so thankful this year wasn't nearly as emotional as last. I was able to drop Elise off and say "goodbye" without breaking down into tears. Her teacher is Mrs. Simpson. She gets a kick out of her name since "The Simpsons" is a show Nate loves so much (obsessed is a good word too!). We were able to meet Mrs. Simpson at an open house the day before. She is new to Pony Express Elementary. She is very nice and her personality reminds me much of Mrs. Mair, Elise's amazing 1st grade teacher. Elise and I found Mrs. Mair at the open house and she assured us Elise is getting a very nice and wonderful teacher. The only thing I don't like is that Elise's classroom is in a portable this year. I've never been a fan of portables (really, peeps, year round school would solve that problem and I'm am very much for it!) so I don't like the thought of Elise being in one. I just think of her having to go to the bathroom, it's 15 degrees outside, and she has to walk outside to get to the main building to use the bathroom. Ug!

I am excited for 2nd grade and I know Elise is too. She has 3 neighbor friends (one is Adeline and she bikes with us to and from school along with her sister, Savana) in her class, two of which sit next to her. Oddly enough, no one from her class last year is in her class this year.

I packed Elise a big lunch and, just like last year, put a sweet little note of love and encouragement in it.

Our Summer Break Has Officially Come To An End

Thursday, August 20th--Before I blog about Elise's 1st day of 2nd grade I want to take a moment to reflect on our amazing summer. I honestly think it's the best summer I've had for a very long time. We didn't do our usual Washington trip but we were able to make the summer fun regardless. I blogged about a few of the things we were able to do this summer: camping, Bear Lake, lots of boating courtesy of my Aunt Maureen and my sister, Alishia and her husband, Shad, neighborhood BBQ's, Salt Lake City Pass, etc. We also had a lot of fun hanging out with neighbor friends, bringing out the kiddie pool (or our neighbors blow-up water slide) and spending the day outside having lots of water fun and I was able to visit with my neighbor friends. AND, to my astonishment I've discovered my legs CAN tan! I have never been able to get them to tan unless I used some cream that turned them orange. It took plenty of sunburns but they are tan--not dark but it's a great start! The kids and I had great times having picnics on the front lawn or the porch. I truly believe Brady and Elise will look back on this summer with fondess and smiles.
I also started a pretty major diet this summer. It's a jump start to getting on track with a much more healthier life. Nate has also began eating better and working out. To date (Saturday, August 22nd) I am down 22 pounds. I was worried I was pre-Type 2 diabetic and I knew I had to do something. I actually don't mind the changes I've had to make and I'm also amazed that I haven't craved Coca-Cola since I started this all. I've been biking, as has Nate, and I love it. My neighbor and I will take turns biking our kids to school or picking them up. As I am getting older (34 in month!) I am also coming to some realities that I know I need to deal with. I only hope I can keep up the new life change and finally be at a size that I've dreamed of for so many years. It's so wonderful to have support from Nate too.

Happy 34th Birthday, Nate!

Wednesday, August 19th--A very Happy Birthday to my amazing husband, Nate! I wish I could say we were able to make this day absolutely amazing for him but it was loaded with last-minute things to do before Elise's first day of school the next day, open houses for Elise and Brady, work, soccer practice and church meetings. Nate had a busy work day as well. In between open houses I brought out his cake (from Dippidee, the BEST!) and we sang to him, then he opened his presents. Elise and Brady gave him a piano book of popular "Simpsons" songs. I got him a GPS to use for travel but also to do some geo-caching. I figured he might enjoy doing some of that since there's quite a few places to geo-cache in Eagle Mountain alone. He seemed to like both. Then we ate that amazingly delicious cake! Right after it was off to another open house then work and so on.

The night before, since I wouldn't have time today, I made Nate his dinner of choice: homemade lasagna. I made plenty so he could eat it throughout his birthday as well.

Nate,

I hope you're able to enjoy an incredible year full of lots of good times and great memories. I love you so much and am so blessed you are such a huge part of my life! Brady and Elise love and adore you so much and have been so happy to be able to celebrate your birthday too!

Day 4--Leaving Bear Lake and Visiting Logan

Wednesday, August 12th--Today we packed up and left Bear Lake. There was SO much more we could have done at Bear Lake but we will definitely want to come back when we have more time to take off. Perhaps I will find the ULTIMATE Bear Lake raspberry shake. I am a huge fan of raspberries so I must, right? ha ha ha

I was sad to leave but we were also excited to get back to nice, comfy beds and a little alone/quiet time.

I wanted to stop in Logan to visit a few placed. Our first stop was Gossner Farms. Right before we turned in to Gossner Farms, the winding roads of the canyon had gotten the best of Elise and she was our car-sick child this time around. I passed Nate's mug back this time (I made sure to fill mine with pop before we left, for this very reason! he he he). Well, it didn't all make it in so we had to pull over and clean up and change clothes. Oy vey! Once she was cleaned up and feeling better we went into the Gossner Farms store. Let me tell ya, in my opinion, they make the BEST cheese curds! The kids enjoyed watching the employees make some cheese through a glass window and I picked out a few bags of cheese curds and some other fun cheese. Then we went over to the sample area and had a few or..........a lot! But hey, there were several people at the sample area stuffing their faces so we just went along with the crowd! ....ahem.

From Gossner Farms we went to City Hall and looked around then drove up to the Logan Temple. It was a beautiful day and the temple looked quite beautiful. I like to think about the history of the older temples and those famous Mormon pioneers who helped build them, it's quite fascinating. We took some photos and then we were off. I wanted to see a few more places and stop for a bite to eat but Nate wanted to get home so that's what we did.

We got home and it was nice to unwind. We had a great little vacay. We were suppose to go to Lake Powell this week but the house boat we were going on needed to have an engine fixed. We were bummed for a while but once in Bear Lake we had no regrets. It was a wonderful time and the weather was perfect. We hope to go back soon!

Bear Lake--Day 3

Tuesday, August 11th--This was a LOOOOOONG day! We all slept in, grabbed some breakfast, packed stuff for lunch and headed out on the boat again for an all-day trip. Once we got the boat launched the kids and Nate did some more swimming. Then Shad took us to the middle of the lake and turned off the engine so we could all have some lunch. As some of us were finishing up, Jacob decided to feed a few of the seagulls hanging around the boat looking curious. Eventually, everyone else got into the fun of feeding the gulls (don't know if that was legal or not!) and by the time the bread was gone we had almost 20 of them hanging around the boat. It was insane! Our tummies full, it was time to cruise. I asked Shad if I could drive the boat (it was my first time ever) and he said "yeah, sure". I was so nervous and excited all at the same time! I got it going, it was pretty bumpy and jerky at first but then I got comfortable and we cruised! It was so much fun! At one point, Shad saw something floating in the water and had me turn around to see what it was. Well, it ended up being a life jacket that must have flown off someone else's boat. Shad decided to grab it and take it as a finder's keepers thing. It was pretty funny. After I was done driving the boat Brady and Elise wanted turns and they did really well and loved it.
Then we met up with Shad's aunt and uncle and his aunt hopped aboard and Shad wanted to try water-skiing. It took several times for him to get up but once he did, he did a really good job. The other times were just dang funny to watch him biff it! (sorry, Shad, they just were!) Then it was time to blow up the two individual tubes and tie them up for some "bumper tubin'". Shad and Jacob were up first. Holy moly, it was so funny watching them! They both attempted, several times, to bump each other off their tubes. I was laughing so hard! Both flew off their tubes and then it was Jacob's and Nate's turn. They went a few times around and, once again, incredibly hilarious. Shad had a lot of fun driving the boat into various wakes and trying to flip Nate and Jacob. We all laughed and laughed! Then we talked Brady into going on with Nate for a little while. It didn't take long before he was done. I think he was worried he was going to fall into the water.

After 6 hours, we begged Shad to let us be done and go back to the cabin. Everyone was tired, cranky and some of us (me, specifically) had been holding our bladders for a few hours! We made it back to the cabin where we rested for a while then ate dinner. Shad BBQ'd up some yummy burgers and dogs. It was our turn for dessert so we drove up to Le Beau's for some shakes. Nate and I split a Snickers shake (so good, the best Snickers shake ever!) and then we ordered a famous Bear Lake raspberry shake for Shad. I had a taste and it was....okay. I didn't get the hype over raspberry shakes. I should have tried some of the other places too. It seemed like they were kind of skimpy on the raspberries.

We got back to the cabin and Shad built a fire in the pit. He, the kids and Nate roasted hot dogs and had a good time chatting. Since we were leaving the next day, I decided to get a head start in packing up all of our things. I got most of it and loaded a bunch in the car. My hope was to get everything packed and loaded so we could leave early enough to enjoy some time in Logan, since I had never been there before.

Once again, we all went to bed early---what a day! A fun day!

Bear Lake--Day 2

Monday, August 10th--Today we started out with cooking a big breakfast. Everyone filled up on scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, and french toast. Then it was time to get ready and go boating for the day. Shad and Alishia just bought a fancy new boat and we were happy to be able to go on it with them and enjoy some time on the lake. The weather was a little chilly but it warmed up throughout the day. Shad took us out to the middle of the lake where Nate, Elise, Brady and Samantha had some swim time. It was cold at first and Brady's lips turned purple so we brought him in to warm him up. It didn't take long before he wanted to be back in the lake swimming. Looking at the depth guage and seeing we were in 100+ feet deep water kind of creeped me out in going in myself. I don't know why, but it did. Alishia brought the dogs for their first trip on a boat. We were curious to see how they would do in the water. Asia, did really well because she had experience but Brady's first time didn't go so well. He freaked out so both were brought back onto the boat to dry off--meaning the shook like crazy many times getting everyone wet.

Once the swimming was done we blew up the two-seater tube and all of us took turns on it, except Alishia. Brady and I got on and I noticed right away the tube wasn't blown up all the way so I kind of slumped into the tube. Once we got going I noticed it was hurting my neck pretty bad so we had to cut the ride short. It was a good thing because Brady didn't seem to like the tube this time around.

Shad got us going really fast and crazy when Nate and Jacob were on the tube. So much that Jacob ended up gulping a lot of water. Both flew off the tube and Jacob ended up puking a little (which all of us in the boat said "gross!"). Shad made sure he took the boat through many wakes and it was a blast! After about 4 hours, we were all done and ready to go in and take naps back at the cabin.

We had taco salad for dinner and then Nate and I went for a long bike ride. (we bought a bike rack and brought our bikes, I was so glad we did!).

It was a great day and we all crashed pretty early that night!

Bear Lake--Day 1

Sunday, August 9th--We headed out today and made our way to Bear Lake. The kids and I have never been to Bear Lake and Nate hasn't been since he was a teen. It was a LONG drive. About a 1/2 hour before we reached the lake we were on winding roads in Logan Canyon and Brady got car-sick. Luckily, I brought my big mug and we avoided a huge puke mess. Of course, I had to wash that thing out a couple of times before I decided to use it again. When we reached an area where we could first see the lake I was in awe. It was so beautiful and blue. I looked forward to the few days ahead.

We spent our time there at a KOA near the lake. My sister came with her family and two dogs (one being Bohdee, I miss that little puff ball!). We rented a two-bedroom cabin. Much to our disappointment the cabin was quite smaller than thought. The entire cabin was about the size of two bedrooms with one bathroom---and there were 10 of us, including the dogs. Needless to say, not much privacy but we managed. Nate, the kids and I were camped in the living room on a futon and an air mattress. There was a room with a full-size bed where Alishia, Shad and the dogs slept and a tiny room with bunkbeds where my niece and nephew slept. Cozy, indeed!

Our first day we got there in the late afternoon and unpacked. Nate took Brady to play at the playground and then the two went on a hay ride. The rest of us scoped the whole KOA out. It was a nice campground. Had we booked earlier there were even cabins with hot tubs (wow, was I jealous of those peeps!). We ate dinner and hung around the cabin.