Visit from Grandma Jo

My mom came to visit for the weekend. We had a good time shopping, eating out at a new yummy restaurant, and just relaxing at home. The kids had so much fun with their Grandma Jo around. And she even babysat one night while Bruce and I had a much needed date night. It was a great weekend that went by way too fast.



They had a hard time sharing Grandma Jo. All 3 of them were on top of her pretty much the entire time.

Courtney really misses having her Grandma around. They are very close. She cried all day after we dropped her off at the airport.

Dylan talked non-stop the whole time, telling her about all his TV shows and toys and school adventures and who knows what else.

Travis had no problem warming up to his Grandma right away. Someone new to read books with!


She helped take the kids Trick or Treating. I'll post those pictures as soon as I get them. Unfortunately they are on her camera, so I have to wait for her to send them to me.

So now we've had Aunt Kim, Grandma and Grandpa Cook, and Grandma Jo all come to visit, and all in the same month! We can't wait for more people to come!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Bruce and the kids gave me a good birthday today. I got to sleep in, (as much as you can with the kids screaming all over the house.) But at least I was able to stay in bed and wake up slowly and get up when I felt like it. ahhhh, the best present ever!! Most of the day was routine, taking Courtney to riding lesson, the kids had a Primary activity at the church, moving furniture around so I can try to finish unpacking, etc. But here was my evening:


Bruce took us out to dinner. I've been wanting to try this restaurant, but I'm the only one who LOVES Mexican, so we haven't been there yet. Since I got to choose the place, I picked Qdoba Mexican Grill. Turns out, we all loved it. Yay! A new place to eat! It was so good and I left feeling stuffed!

Bruce brought home this yummy cake for me. It was very rich chocolate, and after that huge dinner, I just couldn't eat a big slice. I did the best I could, after all, who can pass up a great slice of chocolate cake? Good thing it will be waiting for me tomorrow. Breakfast???

This was my birthday gift, which I'm using for some much needed clothes. That's really all I asked for this year. Unless you count the one time I used my birthday power to get out of changing a poopy diaper! HEE HEE :) Who's watching the kids while I go shopping?? Better yet, who's joining me?

Happy Birthday Courtney!

Courtney turned 10 years old this last week! How does it happen so fast? She had a great day. The highlight was that evening when she went to get her ears pierced. She has been looking forward to that for over a year, but we told her she had to be 10. She was pretty nervous once we got there, but did great, just a few moments of pain. She loves her earings and can't wait to wear other ones in 6 weeks. One of her big presents was some opals from Bruce and I. Plus aunt Kim gave her some cute bug earings. Bruce isn't too happy about the whole ear piercing thing. He won't admit that his baby is old enough.

yummy ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins

showing off her pretty ears

We're Home!

We've moved into our new home and are slowly getting settled. I can't believe how hard it is to find a place for everything. The last time we moved into a house, I only had 1 child. Now with 3 it seems like a challenge just to get the normal things done during the day, let alone unpack everything. My first goal is to get everything from the apartment unpacked. That was the bare necessities we were living with for those few months. The rest, which was in storage, is now packed into the garage.



I'll give myself awhile to get that done, maybe 6 months or so. I have to take time and be sure things are in just the right spot. I hate just throwing things into closets and onto shelves, thinking I'll come back to it later and organize. 3 years later, it's still there. So I'm determined to do it right, even if it means being VERY slow. My goal was to have everything put away by this last weekend. But my sister Kim surprised me with a visit, so of course we had to play instead of unpack. We had lots of fun shopping and eating and watching movies and getting too full from our yummy Baskin Robbins shakes.



So now I've got to get into gear and actually get something done. Not walk into a room, look around, feel overwhelmed, and promptly walk out, somehow thinking that by waiting until tomorrow it will all make sense. My inlaws are coming next week and I really want to look like I have some sense of order in my life and home. Oh how these boxes and piles taunt me.

I'm sending out change of address cards in the next few days so many of you should get one. If I miss someone, just blaim my crazy chaotic life right now, send me a quick note and I'll email my new address.

2nd Time Around

Well, here we go again. We're moving this weekend, hopefully for the last time in a LONG time. We closed on our house today, and will start moving things in tomorrow. We have 2 weeks before our lease is up, so we can do things slowly, which is nice.

I'll post pictures and info about our new house soon. For now, I get to prove how weak I am with all this lifting, carrying, pushing, sorting, etc.

Courtney & Ben

You can take the girl out of Wyoming, but you can't take Wyoming out of the girl!

Courtney's new love: horseback riding. Her grandpa had taught her a little bit about riding before we moved, just enough for her to fall in love with it. So I thought if I could get her riding lessons, it might help her enjoy living here more, since she's had such a hard time adjusting. I searched and searched and had almost given up. Have you seen the price of riding lessons??!! Just when I was about to give up, I found this little stable that's only 20 minutes away from us. They are very small, but very affordable, very flexible (you set your own schedule) and so nice. It's perfect. So I signed Courtney up, and she had her first lesson on Saturday. It was originally cancelled because of Tropical Storm Hannah, which traveled right over us. But it was moving so fast that by Saturday afternoon, the sky was clear and sunny. Here's some pictures of her first lesson.



Today's lesson was with Ben, a very sweet horse, who loves to eat and was born in Wyoming the same year Courtney was born. Of course she loved him.


She has to groom the horse before and after the lesson, learn all the parts of the horse, and know how to saddle him.



Learning the reigns.


She rode around the corral a few times, getting used to the reigns and controlling the horse. She even got to trot a few times.


Her instructor was really impressed by how much Courtney knew and how much control she had on her first lesson. Courtney gave all the credit to her grandpa. It usually takes a while before they let students out onto the trail. But because she is doing so well, she gets to take the horse out next time. She's a natural.

Here's the owner, during a barrel racing competition.
Maybe Courtney one day???



I hope Courtney has found her niche and can really get into this. I think having a passion will really make a difference for her. Now Dad, you have to come visit so Courtney can take a ride with you out on the trails!

Preschool

Dylan started his first day of preschool yesterday. He's old enough to start Kindergarten this year, just barely. We decided to hold him back until next year, didn't feel like he was quite ready. Being so shy and a little small, I was afraid it would hinder him throughout the years. This will give him one more year to grow and gain some confidence. Last year in preschool, he came a long way. He started out never talking to anybody. When I picked him up yesterday, his teacher said he answered lots of questions, even during circle time which usually scares him, feeling so on-the-spot. He loves school and making new friends. It will be a great year for him. Way to go Dylan! We love you!