BREEZY FIELDS

First, I would like to showcase the gorgeous bags that Megan made for each of us girls and for the little man. Can you believe it? We all LOVE our bags and they are so cute that even my very male husband commented on how cool they are. I promised Megan that when I come to town I will go to the store and buy her kids a cool DVD. That's as far as my crafty creativity takes me. Thank you Megan- again. We love them. Also, a little explanation about the whole posing in the shower. Meg and I were discussing where we were going to take cool pictures with our new cameras. Sadie said we should take pictures of ourselves in our shower (you know, because of the cool rock floor and wood walls) so there you have it.

"Brooke & Megan: A History" This was a Daddy/Daughter campout. I'm thinking summer before 5th grade. Here we are singing "The Teddy Bear Picnic" at a ward talent show. 5th grade maybe? We both are confused as to why we had to look like the parents of the bears. Poor Brooke had to wear her brother Adam's suit and be the boy, I'm sure because she's taller. 5th grade again, gotta love that short hair. Here we jump to 10th grade at a stake dance. 9th & 10th grade were the funnest years ever and it was rare for us to miss a dance. I think for 3-4 years in a row Brooke's mom was kind enough to let me tag along on their trip to BYU Education Week. Every year was a blast. I think this was either the summer after 10th or 11th grade. Please don't ask what we're doing in a fountain. It was hot and we were teenagers who thought we were the hottest thing since sliced bread. What more can I say? But don't we look happy? :-) This is Homecomi...

You know when you've met someone a few times but when you see them again, you can't remember their name for a second? What does it mean when you can't remember the name of your daughter's bus driver that you have been calling by his first name every day all year? I am documenting this because it could be the first clue to my dementia. You will be able to pinpoint this date, the day I forgot the name of Ellyn's bus driver for an entire afternoon. Really. I can't wait for Jane to get home to clue me in, until then, complete frustration.

Today is my brother's birthday. Can I tell you how much I love my brother? It is hard to believe that 18 some odd years ago we spent every morning on the way to seminary exchanging insults about each other's choice in music and purposely using our "turn" to torture the other person with our most obnoxious choices (Adam and Meagan did much better). What a waste of time. I'm sorry. Adam is the most caring, thoughtful guy I know. He is a great husband, dad, son (besides the amount of time he spends teasing mom), brother, uncle, and friend. My kids love Uncle Adam, he always has some outrageous (completely untrue) story to tell, some weird thing they can do with some odd body part, or some bizarre trophy they can bring home with them (bloody feathers, antlers that Jane still won't let me throw away). No more road kill k? He also married Mindi, for which we will all be eternally grateful. Adam is a good guy- sincere, opinionated, passionate about his int...

I do want to write a little Ellie Birthday Blog, but... it is Valentine's Day and we have spent the day celebrating Ellie's B-day and now it is time to spend the evening with my Valentine . He's finally home! I did want to let everyone know that the meeting on Thursday was a complete success. There might be a few kinks we will need to work out in our meeting in two weeks, but Ellyn is going to get everything I asked for. She will have an in class aide and an after school program. Both aides will come from the specific company that I requested, it could even be the same aide that stays with her all day. The staff at Central Coast Kids and Family are all highly qualified. They have to have a BA, which doesn't mean everything but it means that this is their focus and their long term goal, not a filler job. Ellyn's speech and OT are going to beefed up, we will have a coordination team that meets twice a month so that we are all on the same page at home and schoo...

On Thursday I have to go in and meet with all of Ellyn's educators. I'm asking for some big things that Ellyn really needs (an in class aide and an after school home program). We have huge budget issues here in California right now. Prayers would be great. Lots of love to all. Details and pics of the past week to come- after Thursday, possibly after Friday, my man gets home that day!

Happy Birthday Papa! Posted by Brooke at 7:20 PM On our drive back from Washington Mike and I were using our box of "dinner conversation" cards to help us stay awake. One of the cards asked "What do you admire most about your parents?" Mike and I took turns answering for each of our four parents. This is why admire Kenn. I can't really put these in any particular order, they just are. First , I know how much he loves his children and his grandchildren . He is one of the most loving fathers I know. He has endeared himself to me many times over through his very sincere love for Mike and concern for his physical and emotional well being. I don't think there is anything he wouldn't do for any of his kids if it needed to be done and he could possibly do it. Having a houseful of girls, I have especially loved observing the tender relationship he has with each of his daughters. It thrills me to think that Mike and our girls will follow that path ...

I don't want anyone to feel ignored or give said person to feel like now is their chance to tell me what an idiot I am. Thanks anyway. We have decided on a three strikes you're out policy. Strike Two.

I'll tell you, because jotting down a few quick notes on the past weekend is infinitely more entertaining than washing a sink full of dishes. So I will stall for five minutes. This weekend we did nothing. It was actually great. Friday night Charlotte spent the night. Jane gave me the best compliment ever the next morning when she told me that "it's just more fun when it is just our family." Saturday our main sewage line clogged (roots, thank goodness) and sent forth a stream of raw sewage out the corner of my garage. Luckily some of the water dripped on my fire alarm that I had resting on my deep freeze. So... our plans to go out were cancelled and we spent the day hosting our faithful plumber. I was so proud of my girls though. Jane played with Ellyn, Sadie read Ellie stories, Jane worked on a musical piece she's writing for her flute, Sadie read Harry Potter. They were so good to each other. Saturday night we ran to the store and got all the toppings w...