Emilys Baptism

 Awhile ago, we went to Des Moines for the day to see Emily Wadsworth's baptism.  It was a great day.  The kids always love to get together and it was so nice of them to invite us. They  are good friends.  Lisa sent me the pictures she took when we were there so I thought I would post them.

 

Getting "Back" to normal

About three weeks ago, I returned from a "tone zone" class at the gym feeling a bit sore in the back.  I thought as I arrived home, I better go stretch out my back cause its not feeling quite right.  But first, I decided I had better get the laundry moving, so I bent over to unload the washer when a sharp pain hit my lower back.  I fell onto the laundry basket where I was stuck crying in pain.  Ouch it hurt!  

Well soon after, Brielle wandered over and lifted my hair that was covering my face and asked "What are you doing mom?"  Then she wandered off and told Brayden that I was on the laundry basket.  He was quite concerned.  He helped to get me off the basket to a flat lying position on the floor and I had him bring me ice and ibuprofen.  After 30 minutes I still couldn't get up, so we called Kevin home for reinforcements.

After a couple days of lying on the couch, I got much better.  I am still working to get back to my old pain free days but I function just fine.  Its just a good reminder to be grateful for all the things a healthy body can do and of course a good reminder of how grateful I am for a family and ward who all take such good care of me.  Brayden was my superhero for those days when I was down.  He did all Emmitt tending and everything I asked (which was a lot).  He is such a big help to me.

Oh and as for what is wrong with my back- who really knows!  I think it happens to a lot of people.  The chiropractor took x rays and found my right leg to be a half inch shorter than my left and my spine curving to compensate.  He thought the stress of that just built up over time and my body couldn't take it anymore so the  nerves and muscles there just spasm-ed.  I dont know that that's the whole story.  I have had a few back and neck problems in my life so who knows!  

Point is I'm good now and grateful to be.

Briellisms

Heres a few from Brielle that have made me laugh recently...

After picking her up from preschool on her second day I asked her how was school and she exclaimed in absolute disgust:
"I had to sit by two boys!- one on one side and one on the other side and they were both touching my knees"   

We were driving in the car when I heard her exclaim from the backseat
"I am SMOKIN HOT!"  (she was of course referring to temperature but it made me laugh to hear it nonetheless)

And at the park, she said to me
"Mom why do people leave all their smoke drugs here?"  (she was referring to the cigarette butts on the ground but I thought her term was quite cute)

Brielle's First Day

Brielle is going to preschool at Carriage Hill again this year.  She didn't make the cutoff for kindergarten so she will do one more year of preschool.  I think it will be great.  She loved it last year.  Her teacher Ms Sara is wonderful and Brielle loves her.  Brielle was quite nervous this morning before she went which was surprising.  It is a new group of kids so she is unsure about that but I know she will have a great time.

Braydens First Baseball Game

Brayden's sport of the season this Fall is baseball.  So far, it isn't his favorite, but he is giving it a shot.  We had his first game today.  It can be a bit slow at times and there is a lot of waiting which is all supposed to improve as the team improves.  Brayden is very fast and has a great swing, and is a great asset to his team.

 

 And then on the sidelines there are these cutie pies, keeping themselves well hydrated and staying busy at the park.

 

 

Wild Child

Makenna got a purple highlight in her hair this week.  I am kind of in disbelief that Kevin and I agreed to it.  Our hairdresser neighbor-friend (Julie) did one in her daughters hair (Ally) and of course Makenna was "dying" to have hers done too (haha).  So Makenna went over to play and came back with purple hair.  In a few weeks it will fade and she will color the strand back to brown again.  

You should know, this picture is deceiving because I purposely parted it to show the purple.  Normally though, her part is on the other side and so the purple is much much more hard to see.  Its much more subtle than this.  Oddly enough though it is growing on me.  I might even admit its kinda cute.  And as always, her poor little sister is beside herself with envy.  Poor little Brielle.

Back to School

It is Brayden and Makennas first day of school today.  Brayden is going into 5th grade and Makenna is going into 3rd.  We are all excited to start the school year!

Here are the kids with their best neighborhood buddies Ally and Carson.

Now the house is eerily serene and I don't know what to do with myself.

Brothers

Shadow Lake Splash ground

This morning the kids and I went for some frozen yogurt and then a stop at the Shadow lake splash ground.  Heres a picture or two. (Makenna was there but just as a spectator so I dont have any pictures of her).

A peek inside the garden

 See Mr. toad.  He lives in our garden.  Kind of gross looking.

 See the squash bug I absolutely loathe.

 And  now see the reason why I am now so fond of Mr. Toad.  In a matter of seconds he downed about four of those evil squash bugs, right before my very eyes.  He's about to jump up and snag that one on the zucchini.

Life Lesson- Don't hate toads.  They might gross you out and startle you every time they leap out of the dirt.  But they know who the real enemy is and they are on the same side as you.