Weekend in Hershey

Last weekend we had a great time visiting good ol Hershey, PA. We went for Hershey's "sell day" and as an added bonus we got to visit with Oma at her new acreage. It was all a lot of fun (well mostly a lot of fun- the airport delays and added flights were not so fun.) For some silly reason though I didnt take my camera so a lot of photo op's were missed. Luckily though Oma always has her camera on hand, so here are a few snapshots:The tractor rides were a big hit of course- with kids both big and small :)

Oma kept the kids busy all day Friday so we could attend the various functions in Hershey. They got to decorate their own Christmas trees and make candy trains. Lucky kids!

This was taken at a restaurant in Elizabethtown called Gus's (a hidden gem popular esspecially to the senior citizen crowd where you can get a killer omelet and the most delicious caramel french toast ever). Kevin and I competed to see who could complete the word search on the kids menu the fastest. Its amazing that I am even including this photo since I lost...miserably :(

The kids got themselves a real "farm" experience- hauling hay in a wheelbarrow, riding in the back of a pick up truck (yikes) and riding horses.I think the highlight was the fishing for Kevin. This is a good shot because if you look up the hill you can see Oma's house in the background and the stable and barn to the left of it.

The highlight for me was actually not the horses or the fishing (shocking I know) but leaving my kids with their Oma every night and enjoying my stay at the luxurious Hotel Hershey, oh and the outlet shopping was pretty fun too.

Our latest greatest claim to fame...

So next time you open up a package of Reese's peanut butter cups, take note of the clever advertising located inside the package on the U-board (thats that cardboard thing that the peanut butter cups are on). Guess who the genius is behind that one...yep our very own Kevin Brandvold!!! Pretty cool. That was part of his internship this summer--so cool!

Another wonderful claim to fame, Kevin has recently aquired, is that he has been awarded the prestigious Hawes scholarship. He is one of eight chosen from his graduating class. The scholarship recipients were chosen from peer nominations and rewarded with $10, 000. Hooray! Way to go Kevin!

One Month Old

I thought this was an important milestone worth documenting. Brielle is getting so big- I am already losing my newborn! She is a very sweet girl and we have just loved having her in our family. We're not quite at the stage where I can coax a smile out of her and take a picture at the same time though her smile is adorable- hopefully I can capture it soon.

The Tooth Fairy Makes Her Debut

Sunday morning, while Brayden was brushing his teeth, his first tooth came out. He was THRILLED- I mean jumping, dancing, singing thrilled! He was so excited, he even asked to go to bed early. The tooth fairy did come, and brought him a dollar. He is so proud, now, of his toothless grin and anxious to get himself to that dollar store and spend his dollar.

Haloween Pictures--Better Late than Never!

What it's like to have 3!

Since having Brielle, everyone is always asking what it is like to have three. There are of course two parts to my answer. The first, is that it is wonderful. I am so blessed to have three beautiful healthy children who mean everything to me and bless and enrich my life. The second part to the answer is that it's HARD. I am always exhausted, on the verge of an emotional breakdown, and my house is always a mess. The challenge is not so much the number of the children but, rather their individual "issues." Lets start with Makenna.
Makenna loves the baby in a cute but slightly smothering way. She is definitely having some adjustment issues which when combined with her "strong will" make for a frustrating experience. It has been a lesson in parenting for me and the only thing that works with her is extreme patience and of course picking my battles. So, yes, she has lollipops at breakfast time, wears her favorite clothes out of the dirty laundry basket, and church shoes to play outside... but for now we are just trying to get by- survival mode, I call it. The hardest part for me is the new phrases she has acquired. They are
"I dont love you"
"I dont want you"
"You're not my friend anymore" & my personal favorite
"You're a bad mommy"
Of course her cuteness counters those "less pleasant" behaviors. Ever so often she does tell me that in fact she does love me, and I do sympathize with her. It's hard to lose your spot as the baby in the family.
And then on to Brayden. He is a great helper. He loves Brielle and is actually quite useful. He helps with Makenna a lot and he tries to help with Brielle too. We have our moments of frustration but for the most part, he is just a great kid.
Brielle is a very sweet baby. My issue with her is SLEEP, or the lack thereof. Lately, at night sleep periods have become shorter and wakeful periods have become longer. It does make me quite crazy. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people who handles sleep deprivation very well. Otherwise I cant complain. Her fussiness is quite manageable and she is quite adorable- dont you think?As for Kevin- He is the reason I am surviving. He helps me get sleep, he calms my fussy baby, he changes diapers and he tempers Makenna's tantrums. I am truly blessed!

Brielle's Blessing

Last Sunday was a big day for Brielle. Kevin gave her a beautiful blessing at church and we were overjoyed to have so much of our family with us. Brielle was only two weeks old so the dress that I made for her was a bit big, but still cute. We were esspecially lucky to have Aunt Julie around to take some fabulous pictures. Here are a few. If you want to see more, click on the link to Julie's blog and her website has a slideshow of them all and a link to the web album.