Blake's cuteness

So the other day Blake said probably the cutest thing he's ever said.

We were at the district office, signing papers for me to be a substitute teacher (Julianna's school district--I can actually sub for her class!) So anyway, after the woman gave me the papers and left the room, Blake asked what I was doing. I told him I was signing papers so I could be a substitute teacher.

Blake said, and I quote, "I don't want you to be a teacher. I want you to be a mommy."

Can you believe he even said that? I told him that was so nice of him to say, and that I will only do it once in a while, but when I teach, he can play with his friends all day.

His attitude immediately changed. "Oh, OKAY! Are you going to be a teacher now? When are you going to be a teacher?"

I guess he likes playing with his friends more than his mommy. I understand!

Just had to share this funny conversation.

Temple Grandin movie

Making Of

We just watched this last night. AMAZING. I heard about this movie, but it was released on HBO. Now it's available to rent on Redbox and probably Netflix. It's about a woman with autism--true story. Claire Danes plays her and she does a GREAT job. It was nominated for 15 emmys and won 7, including best movie. There were some parts in this movie that I just cried--the screenwriter was really able to say exactly how it feels to have a child with autism as portrayed by Temple's mother. I wanted to find that scene to post, but you'll have to settle for this one I found on HBO. I loved this movie. Watch it! You will love it!

Blake's backyard friends

(Don't you love the face?) Our fish died a few months ago after a long life. Still no new fish yet, but we found a new pet in the backyard. A big fuzzy caterpillar--the biggest I have ever seen. We put it in a jar and gave it some apples. Caterpillars really do eat apples! I asked Blake to give it a name and he thought for a second and said, "Paris!" So Paris it was.

Yes, there's the big caterpillar. We thought we'd keep it until it turned into a butterfly. We kept it about a week, and then I just didn't like having it in the house anymore, or living in a jar. So we set it free in our backyard. Maybe soon we'll see a butterfly flying in the backyard and say, "There goes Paris!"

Our neighbor's cat likes to hop the fence and play with the kids about once a day. Here was Blake today playing with the cat. He usually pulls a bunch of weeds and puts them in a bucket to give to the cat so it can play with the weeds. Or eat them, I'm not sure. He really likes playing with it.

And there you have it! Blake's backyard adventures. Another one of his favorite games is collecting sticks. We have quite an assortment of sticks from walks we go on, or tree trimmings in our backyard. He calls them his lightsabers. He's even got a stick for each Jedi from Star Wars. So we will play Star Wars with our sticks. He's such a boy.

I'll try to post more often! Just don't have much going on besides school, work, preschool, and church stuff! I don't even take that many pictures anymore. Oh well, that will change once the holidays hit.

First days and Blake's boots

Sorry it's sideways (I was too lazy to rotate it on my camera.) Now those blue boots are very special around here. Lots of his friends have rubber rain boots (don't ask me why they sell them here). So of course he's always wanted some. Well, I've always wanted to get him some, but they are not cheap. I happened to see some on clearance for $5 at Wal-mart, when Blake was with me. They are a little small, but they'll work for now. HE LOVES THEM! Now he can be a Jedi, or Batman, or whatever he wants, all the time. He used to wear my Ugg (not real Ugg) boots around and now those are ruined. I'm glad he has his own now.

Blake's first day of preschool--second year now. The co-op is in its second year and it's going to be great! He told me he had to wear his hat, because "we wear hats to preschool."Her Kai-lan shirt from Grandma. She loves it! Especially because Rin-too (the tiger) is on it.
Better late than never! Here's Julianna on her first day of 1st Grade! (which ended up being Aug. 31st so we could spend more time at home potty training). It was also picture day, so even more reason to get her dressed up! I volunteered on the first day and got to stand next to the guy taking her picture and approve the smile! It was fun. I like her class and her teacher. I'm hoping it will be a great year. And I'm proud to say that this girl is a BIG GIRL! Only 4 weeks and she is fully potty trained. What a difference it makes around here.

Are you there?

Parenting


Okay, this one made me cry. A LOT. Maybe that means I have some work to do. If you haven't seen it, watch it! It's a Mormon Message.

My Utah Trip

Cliff and my dad met me at the SLC airport. I still wish I could have been there to greet Cliff when he got off the plane.

My family. We are all so grown up! Four married sisters with kids, and now a returned missionary brother.

I took a trip to Utah (by myself!) this past weekend for my brother Cliff's mission homecoming. Even though it was a short trip, I had lots of fun seeing family. Cliff gave a great talk. Good luck at BYU this fall! And a big thanks to Joel for watching the kids over the weekend!

Haircuts

I was feeling ambitious today, and decided to cut both the kid's hair. I think they turned out pretty good.

In more exciting news, Julianna now does #2 on the potty!

In the most exciting news, my brother Cliff got home from his mission on Tuesday! I get to fly to Utah (by myself) this weekend to see him and more family.