Update...

My, My, My! So much to catch up on. Life has been pretty crazy around here. Juggling a house and 3 kids alone is challenging. I don't envy single parents.

Logan started back to school in August and tried out 1st grade. He was really stressed and struggling so I met with the Principal and his teacher and we decided that one more year of Kindergarten would be best for future success. The tears have stopped and he is excited to go to school again.

The girls are doing well. Savannah loves to play with Charlotte. Logan and Savannah had been having a hard time sleeping since Jared left. They would wake up in the middle of the night and tell me they were scared. So Savannah's day bed with the trundle is now in Logan's room and they sleep in there together. They haven't been complaining of being scared since.

Charlotte started walking about 2 weeks ago. Her first steps were all backwards, so funny. She is now walking more than she is crawling. She is also talking more and more. Of course her favorite thing to say is "NO". But she also loves to say "LaLa" which is what she call my girlfriend Laurie.

I am hanging in there, I really miss Jared but I am so proud of him. I think he was made for the Army. He has been so successful and he loves it!

Firework Shirts

This year for the 4th of July we made Firework shirts! It was really fun and sparkly! Laurie and Heidi and their girls came over and we covered my house in glitter. I saw the idea for the shirts in Family Fun magazine and we decided to try it out. We glued different shapes and sizes of pasta to cardboard to make "stamps". The we stamped fabric glue onto the shirts and covered that in fabric glitter. I think they turned out pretty cute and the kids loved them!

Allred night!

We are so blessed to live next to such good friends! The Allred's have been so awesome!! Laurie and I get in to plenty of trouble together..... and so do Reghan and Savannah. Robbie loves loves loves Charlotte and she has taken to him too. They have been over every Wednesday evening for dinner. We call it "video game night"!! With Jared gone Logan has really needed some guy time, not to mention, I can barely turn on the video games let alone play them. The boys spend hours playing and sometimes break to eat dinner. Last week we let the kids have strawberries and chocolate for dessert. Tasty... Messy... and so Fun!!

In the Army Now!!

Jared joined the Army National Guard! He left in June to begin basic training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. After that he will attend job training at Fort Lee in Virginia. He should return home in the middle of December. Before he left we had a great BBQ with the Richardson Family, one of Jared's favorite things. He was able to e mail me a few photos from basic. Any day I should be getting information on his mailing address, a website where we can see uploaded video and pictures from basic training, and more information on his family day and graduation. I am excited to get to go out to Oklahoma and see him!

Logan's school contest

One of the uppergrade classes at Logan's school put on a contest to raise money for a field trip. Logan was very excited to participate. He paid $2.00 for a Mr. Cole grass head kit. Mr. Cole is the school principal. We put the soil and grass seeds into the foot of a nylon stocking and water it for around 2 weeks. Then the fun came. Logan knew exactly what he wanted Mr. Cole to look like. They play music out of speakers at school every week and Mr. Cole loves to sing along. So with some help we made his glasses and microphone. Logan colored the "Grand Old Flag" and speaker box. He was thrilled to win 1st prize which was a new moon sand kit. Very fun for us and a great idea to raise funds for that class.

Savannah's haircut

Here are the "before" and "after" shots of Savannah's new haircut. They cut around 9 inches which we are donating. Dispite the look on her face, she really does like it.

Monterey

Jared and I took the girls to Monterey last weekend. We wanted to do something with Savannah while Logan was away at Disneyland. We had a busy but fun weekend. We left our house on friday morning to go to Nana and Papa's and feed the bird and cat before heading to GG and Cowboy Papa's house. We had a nice visit with them and left from their house on Saturday morning. We made a quick stop at the store for some ice and batteries for the camera. The girls slept the entire way to Monterey. It was a nice time for Jared and I to talk and reminisce about our trip to Monterey so many years ago! The girls loved the aquarium. They were so sweet and patient. Watching Savannah touch all that she could in the touch pools reminded me just how different she is from her brother. Logan would not have put his hands anywhere near that water, let alone reach in and touch a sea cucumber or crab. My little girl is fearless. We got a chance to see the penguins eating their breakfast. African penguins... I didn't know there were penguins in Africa. See, you learn something new everyday. I was surprised at all of the changes to the Aquarium since the last time we were there in 2001. They had so many fun things for the kids to climb on and play with. There was even a baby/toddler area for Charlotte to let loose. The crowds weren't to bad until we got to the new Sea horse sections. Once we got in a saw the weedy Sea dragons we understood. I could have sat there for an hour watching them. We went back out to the car and enjoyed a picnic lunch then back to the aquarium to finish the last section. The deep ocean where we saw the octopus, very cool. After that we walked around cannery row for a while and had some ice cream. Savannah got a sea otter stuffed animal that came in a shell purse. We even walked on the beach for a few minutes until the water to Savannah's feet. Such a fun day!