Connor's Day

Connor turned four on August 27, two days after Bradley started school. It was a day filled with lots of excitement!
We always do a big birthday breakfast, and I intended to get up early, but it didn't work out. I stayed up late getting everything ready, and the kids were up a lot during the night.
Anyway, so Connor had to wait awhile upstairs while I got his birthday breakfast ready. This is what ended up happening. He was sick of waiting. I am such a mean mom!He did get what he wanted for breakfast though. Wes has got the boys hooked on coffee cake. It's one of his favorite breakfasts, and that's what Connor requested. Here he is blowing out the candles. He started before I could get around to take a picture from the front.
All he asked for was a big bluish-greenish ball. (I think that's because Bradley got one for his birthday this year, and Connor always wants to be like his big brother!)He also got a cool Toy Story shirt which is too big, but he still likes it.And, Aunt Cristi came over with Zack for lunch and brought some fun presents!
Maybe we overdo birthdays at our house . . . we blow out candles at pretty much every meal, and we let the birthday person pick what they want to eat for each meal. Connor requested none other than the most deliciously appetizing macaroni and cheese for his birthday lunch! Here he is blowing out the candles in his banana. Aren't I creative?? :)


For dinner Connor wanted to go to Arctic Circle. It's one of our favorite restaurants - not just for the food, but they have great customer service! My parents and sister met us there, and it was a lot of fun!
Here is Halley showing off her gorgeous smile!
The boys really enjoyed the play place. Here is Connor running to give Bradley a hug because he bonked his head.
And here are the two of them giving "brother hugs."



And here they are falling down all over each other!
I really appreciate my family coming out that night. I wasn't sure I would have been able to handle the three kids at Arctic Circle by myself.
We actually went home and did birthday cake and presents, but my energy is gone for the night so I'll do a separate post about that! Happy Birthday Connor!!!

The First Day of Kindergarten

The first few pictures are at home before we headed off!

I think this will be our "First Day of School" spot for taking pictures. Doesn't he look so sweet?
And, of course, Connor had to get it on the action! "I'm cool too, Mom!"
Here is Bradley enjoying his very favorite pastime. This guy LOVES to read. He reads constantly. I got him a new book for his first day of school, and we couldn't leave until he had finished it!
I cannot believe Bradley is in kindergarten now. That is so weird to me. He started school a few weeks ago, and we are pretty much in the routine now, but it is still so weird. He has had a little bit of a hard time adjusting to all the changes in our lives - moving, school, new friends, and especially having Daddy gone. I think that has really impacted him at school. He has had a few rough days, but overall I think he is doing well. His teacher talked about moving him up to 1st grade because he is such a good reader, but he's not quite ready for that, and neither am I! :)
This picture is just outside Bradley's school.
And these are some of the boys enjoying the kindergarten playground. Halley wasn't walking at this point so she was hanging out with me. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of her that day. That is so unusual! :)

ENTERING THE SCHOOL!!!

Do you think he looks a little nervous? There were a few kids crying that first day, and I think it kind of threw Bradley off. At least he had his brother there to hold his hand and give hugs!

A little side note - today (it's actually Sep. 24, but remember I'm doing the posts by the date of the pictures) - Bradley was sent to the Principal's office! Yikes, huh? No, it was because he did something good! Hooray! He wrote a little story for his teacher, and she had him read it to the principal. Bradley keeps talking about how the principal said, "Holy smokes!" after he read her the story. I am so proud of him! She even gave him a spiderman sticker. I am so excited. I think he is feeling better about things and adjusting to all the change. I love my Bradley!

Family Pictures on a Sad Day!

We took these pictures the day Wes left for Arizona. We got some really good ones, but Bradley was a little upset. I couldn't pick which ones to post, so I'm putting them all on. You can see how everyone was feeling that day. Wes left just a few minutes after this.
Halley got some love from Daddy!
And Bradley got more and more upset the more pictures we tried to take. I think he knew, more so than Connor and Halley, exactly what was going on that morning.
No, I was not happy about him leaving, but I had to pretend, right?

Say Cheese!

Here are some fun pictures we took about a week after moving in.
You gotta love that little Halley's attitude! She is so funny.

On the Road

I only took a few pictures on the drive out to UT. This one is at the hotel in Nevada where we stayed. I went into the room the boys were sleeping in and found them snuggling. Isn't that sweet? They were so exhausted. It had been a rough past few days, with the graduation and packing and driving and all that stuff.
The next morning we went swimming for a bit, but I only got a couple semi-cute pictures of Halley. It was kind of a cold morning, and we were anxious to head out so we weren't there very long.She is a definitely a cutie though!

Feed the Birds

The last few weeks we were in CA were kind of crazy. The kids were really feeling the stress of all the packing and studying that Wes and I were doing. I decided one day that we needed to just get out of the house. My friend had posted recently on her blog about going out and feeding some geese. I gave her a call to find out where she went, and we headed out.
We had a lot of dry bread that I intended to make into bread crumbs, but I figured I wouldn't get to it before the move. The geese and seagulls were very happy with our decision!

I could not believe how crazy they were, especially the geese! They would get right up next to us. I was actually a little uncomfortable. I kept thinking they were going to grab the bread right out of the boys' hands!
I felt a tiny bit guilty for feeding them since there was sign saying "Don't feed the birds," but what was I supposed to do-turn around and go home? The kids were all totally looking forward to it! I thought about going across the way to the beach where there wasn't a sign up, but hey, I figured it'd be the same birds just in a different location! He he he . . .And you can see, they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
There was also a cute little park that the boys had some fun on. Man, I miss CA when I look at these pictures!

I just love pictures of the two of them together!

A Quick Update

I haven't posted for awhile because I have been super busy traveling and looking for a house!! We found one, and we are currently under contract! Hooray! Here is a cute picture of the outside of the house.
I feel kind of funny posting very much about the house because it's not technically ours for awhile, but we are very excited, and things are looking very promising!
The pictures I am randomly putting on this post are from our anniversary and Father's Day. They were on the same day this year so Wes and I got some fabulous babysitters and went for a picnic and walk on the beach the day before! I cannot believe we have been married 7 years! Crazy!
Wes is getting ready for his big test. He starts testing in 3 weeks! I am certain he will pass, but I can't wait to have that certificate in our hands. He is keeping very busy with all his military duties and studying. This is him with his always-requested chicken pot pie. He helped me make the crust, and it was turned out perfectly.
Here is a cute picture from our anniversary. We had a fun picnic on the beach!

Bradley took this picture of me. Pretty good, huh?
As for me, I am going crazy. Yep, that about explains it. I have issues with stress and worry. I don't deal very well with change, and we have a lot of that coming up in our lives.
Bradley is also one who has a hard time with change so he has been a little emotional lately too. He is growing up so quickly. We are in constant awe at all he is soaking up. He absolutely LOVES to read. He just started reading "Treasure Island" (the abridged version with pictures) the other day, and he is already on chapter 8! Connor is loving having his big brother home to play with all day long. He loves to follow Bradley around and do what he does. He also loves to do worksheets and cut and color animal pictures! Oh, and I can't forget to mention how often he tells me, "Mommy, ummm . . .I love you," and "I know that." He seems to know pretty much everything about anything! He is also growing very fast. Both of them are getting too big to pick up. It's sad and amazing and crazy.
Here is a lovely picture of the ocean that same night we had our picnic! I am going to miss this!!!

Halley is so fun! She got lots of "walking" time while we were in UT. All she wanted to do was hold people's hands and walk all around and up and down the stairs. I am a little worried about how she walks, but people keep telling me I am paranoid! I am sure she'll figure it out. She makes us laugh all the time with her silly faces, and she just started saying more words - "this," "that," "kitty," and tonight we think she said, "ice." Of course, all these words are random and don't really sound exactly how they're supposed to, but they are definitely words!