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.