Aug 29th

its late so this will be short ...

t-went to do homework and then headed to class. had a rough 2 hours plus because everything he and his group had present was not what the teacher was expecting so it has to be redone and the website is not the way he wants it. did home work until he went to work where they started the new online survey incentive program. just got home (11pm).

a-did school - letter d- made doughnuts,ballon dogs and a dinosaur puppet. organized brookes clothes with ones that fit and ones that do and made bracelts for 2 new little babies born to friends as well as finished a lei from lauren's baby. skyped with taylor's ever so supportive grandparents and then visited montse (her husband is in taylor's class and not home much either) got the kids ready for bed and then talked with lauren who come to visit.

b- had an awesome day at school. played on his own allowing me to get a few things done. found a box and filled it with cans of soup, bags of beans and rice, and random serving spoons. this looked like fun to brooke so she climbed and started to play. nrenna then flipped the box upside down and sat on it ... all the stuff had flipped on top of her and she couldnt get free. she will one day be big enough to hold her own. brennan fell asleep eating dinner because he had no nap!

b-slept all the way through the loud balloons and excited kids with the dinosaur. loved playing with brennan until she was stuck! after we visited montse brennan decided he wanted to ride a bike. i had my arms full so i took brooke up to the house to drop her and the food montse shared with us. i emptied my hands which included my phone and key to the door. she was so upset i set her down and walked up way she some how flipped the stopper and shut the door. by the time i realised this i had brennan in hand walking up the stairs ... more riding for him because now i have to locate someone to open my door. luckly my neighbor is our ra but he was at work. he boarded over and got to give his wife a kiss! we were in and both were screaming!!!!! good times just before bed :-)

weekend

friday - our usual friday - taylor went to class we went to costco anf then met up again for pizza and a movie around 6 so the kids can go to bed around 7:30 and i fall soon there after to get up 2 for cinnamon rolls. this time brennan fell asleep for about 30 min in the car which kept him up until 11 and atylor so kindly stayed up with him as well as made the kitchen spotless for me to make a mess of until 9 am the next morninng.

saturday- cinnamon rolls until 11 and then we tried to geta hold of a few friends that live by a pool but all of them were busy or not home so we couldnt join them so we all ended up asleep! it was then time to make a dessert and head to a seminar one of taylors classmates was putting together as part od his peace builing certificate. it was suppose to be a 2 session event but we sqeezed into 1 6 hour setting! the kids were great until 9 when brooke broke down and couldnt be consoled. i took her outside and she calmed down and went to sleep but as soon as i headed back to the classroom she screamed. i dont know if it was the ac that was freezing or the fact that she was done with the same 4 walls. anyway we satyed outside for a bit more until it was over. it was a great presentation! we did eat in the middle a delicious taco salad with enchiladas that i now have the recipe for. the bean/corn salsa is to die for. come to find out it is from a restaurant in arizona :-) we then played settlers with the millers and taylor won both times!

sunday- taylor went to meetings and i got ready hoping to squeeze it in before the kids woke up ... that was easy because they were so tired from the night before they didnt wake up until after 9 and church starts at 10. put the kids in the tube and brennan decided to add some fregrance and floaties to the water. thank goodness taylor was able to come back after the meeting so i wasnt dealing with 2 poopy bathtub kids on my own! he took brooke and i took brennan because he required more ;-) i did gag once while cleaning! it seems there is always something he likes to add to keep me on my toes and use up a little time and patience before church!!!!! i have started calling them 'my adventurers'. after church taylor went home teaching and i put the kids down for a much need nap because brooke didnt get her usual morning nap and brennan hadnt taken a nap much at all during the week. then it was my turn to go visiting teaching and taylor to hang out with the kids. we then had our home teachers come over. they are new ones so it was a bit longer because we got to know them a bit. they gave a good lesson on love at home. one is from korea and the other is from somoa and niether of them come from a culture where love is expressed openly much less verbally. they said though as the church grows in their countries the expession of love has increased. the younger generations are adpting it so its not as akward when it happens. brooke then went to bed at her usual time but brennan decided it would be fun to stay up until 11 so it was my turn to stay up with him so taylor could get up when he needed to to finish a few things before class.

Aug 25th

t- was enjoying his morning when a frined walked by so thay started talking and he asked if taylor was going to the group meeting ... uh yeah give me a sec! he was gone until 6 when we skyped with his family (his sister is now home from her mission). then went to meet a person for sife but the guy didnt show so he started laundry and finished his night with a presidency meeting.

a- did school same as yesterday ...contacted some people about different things and then ran lunch over to taylor. brennan walked and brooke rode in the backpack. we took our time walking back because the kids love to be out and about. we finally made it back and brooke was ready for a nap so i put her down and went back out with bennan. i worked more on the lei until i got a text saying the shower is postpone to next friday so i have more time. some how half of us mom were out watching our kids. there was play dough, balls, bikes. dolls, running, snacks, homework, stuffed animals all going on

Aug 24th

t- went to figure out his classes for the rest of the time we are here and forgot he had a research group meeting ... no biggy because he had done and talked to the leader prior. worked more on the website before class. he didnt have to go into work because his boss wasnt there so he worked on stuff and then had meetings until 5 when he came home and made dinner. the reason for that was he had the option to change a poopy diaper or make dinner :-) he then had a cool down for game and then hit up his homework unil late.

a- taught the letter c and shapes. we made camera cards, cookies and created a car with cicles for wheels, squares for windows, and triangles for bumpers. the kids are getting more and more comfortable with eachother. there is a boy and a girl who are a like a couple ... he started to cry as his mom left so i grabbed him to distract him and had him help me decide where everyone should sit (i make the letter of the day out of tape on the floor and then write their name on it so they have a spot to call theirs .. you know 2 year olds) he pointed where he wanted to sit and the i asked where this little girl should sit and to no surprise he said ... by me! she chimed in and said i want to sit here (the oppoiste end of the letter) he was crushed. as time went on they were cuddled up like a couple as they sat on their buckets in the kitcken waiting for the mixer to mix the dough. there is another boy who likes this same girl but she just pushes him away and doesnt give him the time of day but he is persistant and wants to be at her side or in her face all the time. its entertaining and like i've mentioned before ... i wonder if anything information gets passed their little ears. the rest of the day was our usual ... play outside. there is a baby shower i am trying to get a crochet lei finished for so i did that as i watched brennan play and brooke napped. then it was dinner and bed time for the kids.

b- had an awesome day ... because most of it was spend outside. he loves riding a bike. he cant go down stairs without sitting on one. i got some fun videos and pics of the kids ... brennan riding and brooke playing in the grass. taylor took 20 or so to spend with us before he went back to the computer. he alsp loves to play with our nieghbor hola who is 10. he is from tonga and only here until december. hola and his friend play rough and thats what brennan loves so everytime he sees them he stops what he is doing and runs to them. brennan calls him wa ... mom where is wa... what is wa doing...

b- started a runny nose today. i cant tell if its from being sick or teething because she does have 2 top teeth coming in. im hoping its teething! poor thing had to cry herself to sleep during my little class because she wouldnt take her bottle because couldnt breathe. brennan was very cute with her while he was riding his bike and taylor was out with us ...dad its brooke's turn ... she sat on the seat which was also standing on the bar. they sure love each other but she does have her moments of ... i need my space so back off brennan!

Aug 23rd

t- he had more work he needed to do for the egypt project (homework) and then class to present what he had prepared. he is a group leader for the media group which means he has other helping him so they all have collaborate and then he presents. he now has been given the assignment to make his mock website fully fuctional. he is stress because it has to be complete by friday and there is so much he doesnt know how to do. he has to learn and the apply his knowledge and he is worried its not possible. they have created a 800 slide powerpoint to present to the charity they are helping of things to improve ... plans have now chaged and they are doing it for them so taylor now has to take all the information and make it functional for them. yikes! he then went to sife where he had 2 couples approch him about a business plan for our cinnamon rolls/bakery idea because they have people wanting to donate their money to something so it might happen after all the 10+ other attempts we have made.

a-made taylor breakfast in bed because he works hard so we can have food, clothes and a roof over our head as well as school and a calling at church that keeps him on his toes. then i took the kids to a wic appointment. played with the kids and then helped plan a baby shower for lauren. bathed the kids and then off to bed.

b-saw a bible on the table at the wic appointment (its held at a baptist church) so he started pointing at the letters and saying random letters. i then asked him to find a b ... is ther another b? ... h ... he pointed to all of them as i said them. it over joyed me to know the preschool is paying off for him as well. i have had several comments from other parents but hadnt seen a difference in him. i huge relief for me to know he is listening occationally :-) he decided to climb on the outside of the railing tonight while i was talking to a neighbor i never see. as she looked up and saw him i turn to run for him and scold him, once again decided to move faster and lost his grip. his feet slipped and he was holding on to the bars and our other neighbor ran out of his house to grab him before i could with brooke in my arms. that was honestly the first time i have been scared for my monkey. i hope it scared him enough to not do it again. he later got a bike and begin peddling, which i didnt know he could do. i can handle a bike fall not a 15 foot fall to concrete stairs!

b- had an emotional day ... my guess is from her lack of sleep yesterday. she wanted to be held or touched and if brennan got close she cried. taylor had a bit of time before class so he played with the kids on the bed and brooke loved jumping (with assistance) so hopefully now he jumper will be more enjoyable for her. she laughed the entire time with him. she has become an extremely light sleeper so its extra challenging to discipline brennan without him sceaming and waking her up. its all a part of raising kids and im not the first mom to deal with it nor the last. its only a period and then there will be new challenges :-) i am constantly thinking of heavenly father and how he must feel as i disobey or achieve something new. how would he treat/teach the child because after all these are his spirits we have been entrusted with.

ps 2 people within 2 days had dreams about us with more children so if anyone else has been blessed with this information please share :-) we can take hints

Aug 22nd

t- had a meeting with a project leader from sife and then went to class and work. he came home earlier than planned ready to eat so he made the family quesidillas! he then went back to do more with his homework.

a-did the letter b for school and the number 10. we bowled, blew bubbles with our super duper bubble blower (10 straws), made pom pom bears, made thumb print bumble bees ...it was a greta day for all the kids. i had one extra because i have an appointment tomorrow so cruz came to join our monday group. brennan didnt nap and brooke had a short one so we spend most of the day outside to keep smile on everyones face.

b- had a good day at school but a rough time while brooke was napping. some of our tongan neighbors made his evening because they played rough with him, chased him, got his run away balls from the street ... he loved every minute of it he asked to go bed because he was so tired. he didnt even want to read scripture (we did it anyway) and he fell asleep during the prayer :-)

b- woke up half way through scholl so she joined in the fun. her naps were short but she seemed happy for the most part. while we were visiting our frineds the oborns and their new baby she decided to let go of the coach and show them how she stands on her own. i now have witnesses because she only does it when she wants to. she knows already what she wants and doesnt want ... thanks gigi ... baskin robins i want it! i am amazed at the traits children aquire without being around a relative.

weekend

friday -taylor and i had an learning/growing occation ... we have yet to be perfect yet we arei perfect for eachother! i tooke the kids to costco while he was being busy and then we had our growing tradition of pizza and a new movie. this week was dispicable me ... brennan watched 5 times in the 24 hours we had it and laughed every time. this kid gets humor and it makes us as parents extremely happy to know he can find joy in anything at such a young age.

saturday- we had an amazing selling day! we were done with 24 pans in an hour 45. that gave us time to play at the pool before the kids turned blue and brennan asked to go home because he was so cold. the rest of the after noon we relaxed until the millers came over for bbq and games. after dinner the kids went to bed and we played 3 rounds of settlers ... tayloe0r one the first and then tyler smoked us the other 2 games. lauren and i decided we are going to try a new game that us females will dominate.

sunday-church ... brennan had a rough day in nursery ... he threw toys constantly and pushed people for no reason over and over again. we have to come up with a plan so the leaders can control the wild man. i am thinking it was just the day but we will see what happens next week after a big crack down at home. it is exhausting me but i am doing my best to stay consistant with him and his throwing or mistreating others. after church we put the kids to bed and taylor slept too ... i organized what we needed to take to the potluck. the elders quorum was in charge and decided to do breakfast for dinner. it was the best turn out we have had! the bishop and taylor made it very clear that it was a men's activity they needed to participate so they were the ones that cooked. we went through 15 dozen eggs or more an entire bag of pancake mix from costco.

Aug 18th

t- went to a meeting before class. then went to work for a few hours before he came home changed clothes and went to the ward farm. he then stayed with the kids while i went to a relief society activity.

a-walked taylor to his meeting before school kids came. we had fun again with the letter e and number 9. played with the kids doing summersalts, head stands, wheel barrow with brennan and making brooke giggle uncontrolable by tickling her under her chin. brooke then went to sleep and i made brennan play on his own whiile i started a crochet lei for my firends baby blessing. walked over to walk taylor home because we needed to get out and then we headed up to the farm with him for a bit. gave baths and then headed to the activity ... minute to win it!

b-got to ride his friend tricycle to drop off taylor at his meeting. he then did awesome at school until the last 20 min when we went outside to do excersises. so he didnt get to watch his most recent favorite movie ... rio. when i made him play by himself he was entertained for about 10 min and then he turned into a monster so i took him outside. he rode the tricycle around for a while and then he found a stick and ditched the wheels. he climbed on the top of a table and i asked him to get down 3 times and he just started at me so i started to get up. thats when he moved a little too fast and fell off, hitting below his eye on the bench and finishing the fall on his head as the concrete stopped his momentum. he now has a cut on his eye and its turning black in addition to a knot on his hairline. some of us just have to learn to listen to mom the hard way.

b- she woke up earl from her morning nap and did exercises with us again but to she didnt become a horse! he has been standing a lot more on her own. i have noticed its as long as ther is an object in her hand she will stay up otherwise she just sits down. so many things i want to catch on camera but cant for one reason or another. i can feel a top tooth coming in but hasnt broken skin yet. when we went to the farm i put her in the hiking backpack we were given and she was silent the entire time. she is an observer! taylor asked me today if i thought she would be shy or social. he said he has paid extra attention to that the past few days and things she will be. she might be like me ... likes to be aroound people but doesnt say much unless spoken too. brennan sure loves to tease her so sometimes i have to seperate them becuase she gets so frustrated. when brennan is being brennan it is fun to watch them play but he has been a monster lately and she cant take any more.

Aug 17th

t- went to a research meeting and found out that his teacher has been plotted against. there were several other scholls that came in april to interview several of the members from different research groups to see what they do. they are now saying that he is a tyrant and trying to disperse of all groups and projects here. it will be interesting to see how this all plays out because he has helped countless number of students get into top schools such as oxford, brown, berkley ... taylor is currently part of 5 of those groups! what a shame ... someone helping others achieve more than they ever dreamed of and others trying to put a stop to it. after his meeting he copied stuff for my little class and then it was off to another group meeting before class and then work. he was able to come home at 5 today so we took a walk and then had dinner and relaxed as we watched the results to agt.

a- i am so proud of myself because today for school all of the things we did i came up with on my own with no help from websites. we did the letter e ... colored and decorated eggs, pinned the ear on the elephant (that i drew on my own), went outside to use energy by exercising and matched all the number 9 dominos. after school we had lunch and then it was time for a much needed nap. i didnt realize i was so tired until i laid down with brennan and fell asleep before he did i think. tonight for dinner i decided to use up some of our wheat macoroni noodles but lasgna sounded yummy so instead of the layered dish we had elbow noodles with everything else from lasagna. it turned out awesome and much faster!

b- had a very energetic morning and was sick of his little buddy pushing him around so he tackled him to the ground. his planned failed because the kid continued to push and push everyone. i finally had to put on buckets in the corner until his mom came. had a long nap and loved the walk with dad and the girls. just before i started typing i looked at my sister ann's blog to see who had updated theirs and as soon as he saw the picture of ann he said ... grandma? ... he knows that i always show him her picture from the blog. it brought so much joy to know he knows her picture and will on day put that with all the other feelings and moments they have shared without him knowing her on this earth. it melted my heart and the frustrations i have with him subside because he is just as christ taught ... be as a little child. he is my constant reminder and helps put things in perspective of how my heavenly father might feel about me as his daughter. i disobey and he tells me over and over how to improve yet i am hard headed and its frustrating to him im sure ... yet he still loves me and picks me up with open arms to hug me .

b- had a rough morning. she woke up 45 min before my class was over but we had things out that i didnt want her into so i left her in her bed which made her super mad. when we went outside i took her with us and she cried most of the time because she wanted to be held from having to stay in her bed. when we went back inside she fell victim to the pusher and they he tried to ride her like a horse. i then put her in her jump to keep her off the floor and brennan decided it would be fun to swing her. nothing was going to calm her down accpet being held by me. she was so traumitized and distraught that her face was red 10 min after i held her. the rest of the day was awesome. she woke up from her nap long before brennan so she was thr happiest little girl playing with a book while i cleaned up the kitchen and living room. she loved the walk just as much as brennan. she was so content at 7:30 her usual bed time i didnt even realize it was so late but after she ate she went right to bed and happy to do so.

Aug 16th

t- slept in and for some wild reason thought i was still in bed with him. he went to class and then work as usual. he was given something at work that he could do from home so he surprised me at the house! he allowed me to take a nap while entertaining the kids and working. once i woke up headed to a research group meeting and then sife. he then came home to enjoy our show together ... agt.

a- had a fun little group at school and one boy cried uncontrolable for his mom for while but we continued on and he didnt want to leave by the end. it was wierd because is not a crier at all but other boy was crying so that might have been the cause. put the kids to bed and then planned for school tomorrow. i was then blessed with the wonderful presence of my busy husband. after my nap i took the kids to play outside and we ended up going over to a friends house who i was suppose to go swimming with this morning but she was sick. she is a young womens leader so was busily working to put decorations and things togerther for the new beginings program they have tomorrow so while all the kids were entertained i helped her so she would feel so neglectful to her 2 boys. we then came back had dinner and bath time. finishing in time to enjoy time with taylor.

b-woke up at 6 so was ready for a nap when school was done. he loved doing potatoe painting which then became a puzzle of the number 4. tuesday thursday is a smaller group so we gat more accomplished and this is one of those things. he has his friends and constantly asked where they are so we went searching today. that is when we went over to miggy house to play and i ended up helping his mom. he didnt want to leave even when i said we would be eating because montse his mom is the most amazing cook and snack giver.

b- she woke up before sxhool was over but taylor was gone for class already so she played with boys and they all asked for her as soon as they heard her cry. she played for about an hour all on her own while i was napping because taylor left her on one side of the baby gate and brennan on the other so he wouldnt pester her and i could stay asleep. she loved it so much there were times taylor had to get up to make sure everything was ok because he didnt hear any sounds from her playing or talking. she was helping brennan and i pick up toys and stood on her own again for a good 30 seconds and then sat down because we were watching and cheering.

aug 15th

t- printed some little booklets for my preschool kids and then headed back campus for class follwed by work. at 4 we met him to go to pcc for some tickets to give to my brother in laws coworker who was here on his honeymoon. for some reason taylors new debit card wouldnt work so we walked him back to work and continued back the house for my purse. once he finished work he went to get help with making a mirror image of his website because they are making a portion of it in ariabic and they read right to left.

a- had a wild and out of control preschool class. usually there are a few that cry because they want their moms but not today they were bouncibg off the walls and i wonder if they even heard a work i said. i know they surprise you with what they actually hear while being 2 and 3 year olds so hopefully they told their parents something good! played with the kids until it was time to take taylor food and get the tickets. it was quite sweaty speed walking with 2 kids back and forth to pcc twice but we made it just in time. when we got back the other kids from the building were out playing so we stayed out there until it was dinner and bed time. neither one of them afternoon naps so it was quick to bed after they ate.

b- i forgot to mention ... on sunday as i was doing my hair he decided our white walls were boring and climbed up on the tv stand (which is a 5 drawer dresser) and grabbed a marker one of the preschool kids left and wrote all over the walls, table, frig and kitchen floor. before that he and brooke had gotten out the boggy borad. brooke ended up on the board and brennan pulled her around. the funniest part to me was the fact that she was naked because i was letting her aweful stbborned diaper rash dry out a bit. back to today ... he was his usual wild boy during school but the other kids were just as crazy and picking fights with each other. he did have to sit on buckets in the corner for a bit becuse he wouldnt follow directions. his energy continued the rest of the day until he finally stopped moving at 7:30. he ended up walking all but the second trip to pcc. we took out time coming back the second time because he stopped for rocks or a stick or to pick me a flower to put by my ear ...

b- broke down at 9 so she was put in bed for her nap. she stayed asleep until the kids left at 12 which was perfect timing. she is becoming a climber. once again i forgot to mention on saturday while we were waiting in the car she figured out how to turn around and clim over her seat into the front passenger seat. too bad i dont have eyes that go in two different directions at the same time because it would make it easier to watch my t2 monkeys. her favorite is to climb on me when i sit on the floor to play with them. she is also becoming more and more a fan of being flipped and twirled by her dada. she leans into the twist or flip now which is entertaining to watch. she played with our friends the tapias baby on a blanket outside and then played with her new best friend rythm before she lost it from no afternoon nap.

weekend

friday - the kids had fun playing with dad while i cleaned in the morning and then he went to class at 12. when brooke woke up from her nap we the kids and i headed to costco because taylor had a research group meeting from 3-6. once we returnedwe had pizza and a movie as a family. we barrowed the movie rio from our friends and brennan ended up watching it 5 times before we returned it the next morning before we went out for cinnamon rolls.

saturday - we passed our cleaning inspection! brooke fell asleep before we went out to do cinnamon rolls so i stayed with her while the boys went to sell. brennan had a exteremely exploritory attitude so he pull things off, wrote on himself, ran faster when taylor called his name ... needless to say ... he was buckeled down when brooke and i got there. poor guy had to stay there for a bit more because we have up graded our cardboard signs for a snadwhich board. a friend of ours is the head of a huge construction project at pcc extremely good at what he does plus he has the tools so we asked him to make us one. i was paining it so taylor held brooke and brennan had to stay where he was until it was dry. after cinnamon rolls we helped a friend with his car ... it ended up being a new battery that cured the issue. while we were at the mall taylor decided a new wallet would be a great idea because all of his magnetic strips on his cards were being ruined within a day of getting a new one. he is a fun person to watch as he gets something new!

sunday - taylor went to his meeting while the kids and i showered and got ready. brooke is starting to change her nap time to 9 and church starts at 10 so it was a tearful morning because i didnt want to have wake her up instead my hope was she would go to sleep during church. she didnt give in until the last hour. oh well atleast she was good because there were lots of people and she was out of the house. my kids are outdoor social crazies! after church we had lunch and had some family time just relaxing. our close firends the millers came over and asked if we wanted to do dinner and games later. of course we did! they made twiced baked potatoes and we put a ground turkey tomatoe corn and bell pepper mixture together and it was awesome together. then it was time to put the kids to bed so while we did that they went on a walk. the sunset was absolutly amazing so we turned the lights off as we set up the game and the room turned a purply pink color! once they came back we played settlers of catan ... 3 games later we decided we were all tired and it was best if we called it quits.

Aug 11th

t- had no meetings before class or homeworks so he got to hang out with us. he took brennan out to play and went on a walk. went to class and then work. he finished what he needed to for his class yesterday so he got to come home after work at 8. he hung out with brooke and made sure she stayed asleep.

a- wanted to sleep longer than 6 but brennan did want to. pu the kitchen bacl together before school. had lunch with the kids and then laid down with them. once they were both asleep i paid bills and relaxed a min or two because then it was curtain screen and window time. i made a deal with our neighbor whose wife has been in the hospital for 6 days with their new baby, the oborn family, that if we used their detergent (i was out) that we would pay for their curtains to be washed. he agreed and it only made sence to do all of their window stuff too. baby was released from the hospital today so it was perfect that i was able to do it while no one was home. i was finishing the last window when they returned. oh well it was fun to see their reaction.

b-had a rough late morning from waking up so early so school was not fun until dad pulled him out and had a chat. took a short nap and then played outside while mom did window cleaning stuff. he is always asking to help. he would bring me the screens as i need to put them back on or hand me what i needed or pour cups of water on the screen as i scubbed (i forgot to mention my brillant idea ... use the car brush on the screen instead of a sponge ... it was so much faster because it attached on to the hose). once it got dark he played with bannock's toys while i was doing their windows.

b- slept a total of 2 hours today so she was very tearful. she is one that knows what she wants and will do nothing else. taylor was trying to play with her as he does brennan on the bed but she wanted the floor and to crawl around. she doesnt like to be alone either. its hard to take a shower while she is up because she just cries. she loves people ... especially here daddy. everytime she sees him there is the biggest brightest smile on her face so full of love and joy. went to bed quickly and easy because she was so tired.

Aug 10th

t- had a neuroscience meeting then printed off stuff for my little preschool kids and then it was off to another research group meeting, this one was for pcc. after that he headed for class then directly to work. he was able to sneek home for an hour before he met up with the website tutors. we were able to fit in a walk to the store and back before he grabbed food and left.

a- had a relaxing morning because the kids slept in until 8. there were alot of criers today at school. bannock our little neighbor who never whines or cries cried because i didnt get him water the second he asked for it. poor little guys has had to be without his mom and new baby brother for 6 days now and its getting to him that things are not as they normally are. his grandma came yesterday so that is another out of the norm thing for him. oh well we made it through and the whale puppet show turned into all the little whales swiming in the ocean - i covered the table with a blue blanket and after all the kids had a turn to show their puppet they went under the table like a fort with their whales we just made for the letter 'w'. put brennan to sleep and then started cleaning ang brooke woke up but so kindly played with all the tuberware and lids. she played long enough to be tired again and brennan still wasnt up so i was able to clear out all the cupboards and pull out the stove as well spay the inside of the oven to let it soak over night. finally both kids were up so we played outside and thats when taylor surprised us with his presence. we had to grab food from the store because the kitchen is torn apart or sprayed with chemical. we had a picnic in the living room and then went back outside until the kids were ready for bed.

b- had a very fisty day until he slept for 3+ hours. he spent most of school time on the buckets, our spot he cant get down or bother anything else. he did help me figure out how to put up 7 fingure when you arent able to do the normal 2 plus 5. we did a shaka on one hand and all 5 fingers on the other. he says that to taylor as he walks out the door in the mornings and most of the time when people leave the house or saturday morning with cinnamon rolls. he started it on his own and we have since encouraged it because it is so stink'n cute. rode our neighbor kai's bike all evening long and then kindly returned when he was done without me asking him to. i didnt even telling him it was time to go inside. he wanted water and a movie.

b- played in her bed until brennan woke up. there has only been one morning that she cried during preschool because she fought sleep knowing big kids were here. it has been a huge blessing to have her sleep the entire time. i planned it around her nap and it has worked so far. loved the new toys - tuberware as i cleaned. while playing outside the last 2 evenings she has aquired a new admirer. rhythm the little girl down stairs who will have a baby sister in november has wanted to carry her and have her at her side the entire time we are out. tonight she but brooke in a little car that floats around the complex and pushed her down a little hill. they both loved it. brooke would hold her hands in the air like she was on a disneyland ride. i wish i would have had a camera close. it sure wore her out because she went right to sleep.

ps taylor's sister returned from her mission today and we were blessed with picture messages from both his mom and dad. congrats darcie and job well done.

Aug 9th

t- helped a friend whose 2 day old baby had a seizure and had to return to the hospital for 6 days. today was the day he was suppose to come home but he was put on oxygen lastnight so they are keeping the little guy one more night. the baby's grandma flew in today as well so she will be able to fill in as well. they have a another little boy who is 3 months older than brennan and they live in our same building so we have become like family to each other. sean ... the dad is the brother taylor never had and i am the sister ashley ... the mom never had. was asked to go to class even though he was going to be over an hour late because the work he had done on the website was amazing and their excitment drove them to add more. he then went to work where he found out he is only alotted 19 hours a week because they hired another person and dont have the budget to have them all work 25 hours a week. its all good though because that means we might get to spend a little more time with him. he then had a meeting for sife ... the business club ... and finally made it home at 8 to watch our show ... americas got talent. we have only ever watched one other show week to week and that was with his parents ... deadliest catch when we lived with them. we have started watching it this season as something to do together as the kids are in bed. it has allowed us to sit on the couch together and enjoy eachother company for an hour instead of worrying about homework or housework. he is now touch up some of the requests on the website.

a- got to sleep until 6:30 when brooke wanted a bottle. i felt like it was too much sleep because it has been a rough week plus for one reason or another. had 2 preschool boys come and we enjoyed the number 2 and letter k more so than yesterday because of the smaller group we got to go outside and actually try to fly our kites. i was blessed with a surprise lunch from taylor ... southwest chicken salad. started on my cleaning list ... light fixtures, walls, behind the frig ... played with kids until it was dinner time and then bathed them when we were done. we finished just in time to put the little ones down before thhe show started.

b- is such a sweet boy to give mom a kiss to get her up instead of his pillow like other mornings. had fun with his little school buddies. one in particular he really loves is jack. anything jack says or does brennan copies. the first day kack said he needed to go patty so i helped him and when he was done brennan was right there telling me he had to go potty too. if he gets anything out of our little class it might be going potty is cool not a diaper. oh i forgot ... before atylor left a friend from his class stopped by to see if the taylor could email him some info and before he could say hi brennan was asking where miggy was ... our friends son miguel. he is one social kid and always wants someone besides mom dad or brooke. although if he had to pick from the 3 of us it would be brooke. they love each other and it warms a heart to watch them ... most of the time. he didnt take a nap today so after the bath he was everywhere doing everything trying to keep himself going because the moment he stops he is asleep.

b- had an awesome night. i hope she is over her 2 am waking. she played in her bed for awhile allowing me to have a lazy morning until brennan got up. she loves an food i have offered her so we are hoping it continues as it has with brennan. it was awesome to be able to put her in her bed before the other kids came and have her sleep for an hour after they left. brennan tried to share his dinner with her ... not because he didnt want it but that what he does when he has food. it takes a very watchful eye when they eat or they have to be on opposite long ends of the table. she has an obsession with anything paper so before i can let her out of bed after class the floor and everything whith in her reach has to be cleared. i missed on piece of a blue colored one today and she ended up with a blue mouth. poor thing had to be woken up from her second nap today because it was getting late if i wanterd her to keep her 7pm bedtime. i brought her out to the living room and brennan growled in her face causing her to shake in fear. she is becoming more and more talerant of brennan poring water on her head in the bath. they have made it a game now.

Aug 8th

we are back. it has been a while due to the fact that we were computerless for about a month because the motherbaord died. we took it in and it had to be shipped back to the mainland to be worked on and then shipped back. it works great now ... taylor is back at work and school so the computer goes with him at 9ish and returns between 11:30 and midnight. i decided to do it all from my phone because there is so much i am missing.

t- had to wake up and take a nebulizer at 4am because they gave him the wrong solution and it is short acting so after 6 hors he feels like he is breathing through a cofee stirer. it gives him the gitters so it took a bit before he could go back to sleep but he was out until almost 9 when he showered and headed off to a training for a research group he is part of ... neuroscience and they will be publishing an article soon that will have his name on as one of the contributors. he then had class until 2:30 and continued on to work until 6 when he snuck a bit to eat with the family and then off to do homework. he is part a huge research project supposed to be done in eygpt but with everything that has happened there there are doing what they can from here. his task is to build a web site for the charity group they are doing the research for. he is learning alot because he new nothing to start. our friend tyler is a tutor for all the computer classes so thats who he goes to and they love spending the time sharing passions. he will be ther until the lab closes at 11pm.

a- woke up with brooke at 2:30am and when she finally went back to sleep at 5 so did i for an hour when brennan woke me up. she has started waking up at this same time the last couple nights and she has been good about going back to bed within a decent time but she wouldnt have it this morning. prepared for my little preschool class i have started for 2-3 year olds in our ward. there are 10 of them so i have divided it into 2 sections ... one monday and wednesday and the other is tuesday thursday. we talked about the letter k and the number 2 today. we made kites and crowns while reading a k story and played 2 games. today was a rough day for several of them. 2 of them had siblings added to their family over the weekend another missed a day and didnt want to come back today another had an early morning but by the end they didnt want to leave so we did something right. made lunch and then played with the kids outside before they fell asleep. i worked on little books for the preschool kids while they were asleep and organized myself foe a cleaning check we have on saturday. made dinner and then played outside again with my kids and 2 others joined us while their mom made dinner. it was fun had by all ... rolling races, running races, summersalts, princess dances, hide and seek, bike ridding ... just as brooke started to get tired we walked over to say goodnight to taylor. put brooke to bed and then watched a movie with brennan.

b- woke up asking for a banana as usual. he ate breakfast and then played by himself as i tried to sneek in a few more zzzz before brooke was up. when it was time for the other kids to come for school he opened the door for everyone. he was done wear his crown about half way through the class so he put it on my head. i forgot about it until someone came over and asked about it. loved his kite and wanted to play outside with it before eating. lately i give him a nap only if he falls asleep on his own and since brooke was out and his friend who we were watch was out he decided sleeping was a good idea because mom is boring. he needed it because he didnt wake up until 4:45. not eating his lunch made his super hungry for dinner which i couldnt make fast enough for him. adored the fact that dad got to eat with us. wanted to walk with him to the lab so we went later. he will be up for atleast another hour because of his nap.

b- might be having a growth spurt because he isnt sleeping through the night and is eating more than usual. loves playing and wrestling with her brother. her only defence as of now is to pull his hair. she made him cry for the first time a week ago. i was a bad mom and laughed along with telling her to keep it up. he teases her so much but there will be one day that she can tease back and i will laugh then too. its funny to watch the other boys brennans age who have sister and they play with dolls and dress up like princesses but brooke plays with cars and balls or wrestles. she slept for the most part during preschool and then was the happiest girl on the planet playing outside. she puts every tiny thing in her mouth for a taste test ... yuck. i end up holding her most of the time because there is too many things but she loves being outside and watching the older kids. taylor put her in the window the other day when she would stop crying and just as brennan did ... stood there with a huge smile for as long as we let him. they want to be big too fast. she stands on her own for about 20 sec until she realizes she no one is helping her so she sits down. she loves stand up but as for monuvering she is content to crawl. she started crawling at the begining of june when the computer died. she also sprouted 2 teeth around then too. i keep waiting for more but nothing yet.

i am going to do my best at daily updates again. as of now there will be no pics because i cant do that from my phone. boring i know.