Mo Willems

I had to do a post about Mo Willems because I think he has become our family's all-time favorite children's writer. His books are so funny!

We found out about him because the boys' school has been encouraging the kids to read Caldecott Medal books, and "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" was one of the Caldecott books that Blake brought home from the school library.

After reading "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" we decided we definitely needed to check out more of his books. So far, we have read "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late," "Knuffle Bunny," and "Knuffle Bunny Free." I think the Pigeon books are the best!

So, try them out with your kids if you haven't all ready!

We're Still Here!!!

Life has been moving so quickly the last few months, but I wanted to let everyone know we are still here and someday we will catch up on this blog...hang in there with us, please.

The Hunger Games Trilogy

So, I have finished the third book in The Hunger Games Trilogy. This series was great. The books are intense and fast-paced. As you read them, they play out like a really great movie in your head. The last book was pretty dark and even more intense than the first two. But I was satisfied with the ending.
If you haven't read these books, I would tell you to check them out! Even if you're not a big reader, you will love them!
I cannot wait to see how the movies turn out.

I Know School Started Three Weeks Ago, But...

All right. So, I am finally getting around to posting the pictures of the boys' first day of school. I know it's late, but I also know there are some grandparents out there that would agree, better late than never. So, here they are. The first one is obviously of the boys in front of our house before school.
Here they are walking together.

The next one is of Landon finding his locker. If you look closely, you can see his teacher. She is the blonde in the blue shirt with kids swarming around her.

I love this one of me and Landon. I am trying to give him a hug goodbye, and you can tell he's resisting. I think I might be embarrassing him! (Sigh)

The next one of Blake, I just think he's trying to take it all in.

The last two are of Blake at his desk in his classroom. He sits at a table with all girls, which is probably best. If he had another boy at his table, he'd probably never stop talking!

Courage, Cheerfulness, and Humility

In the June 2010 issue of the Ensign, President Monson said the following:

To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, dissappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility.

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I haven't done any of those things very well. I am very good at facing everyday, normal, run-of-the-mill events with courage, cheerfulness, and (maybe) humility. But, give me any type of medium- to large-sized trial to deal with, and I am Chicken Little, running around crying, convinced that the sky is falling.

The thing is, my way of dealing with problems doesn't work so well; in fact, it doesn't work at all. No matter where we are at in life, we all have trials to go through. Young children may deal with fears of being alone in bed at night, older children may deal with challenges of schoolwork and fitting in, teenagers may deal with self-confidence issues, college students may deal with decisions on what path to choose in life, adults may deal with mortgages, jobs, and divorce. My point is, no matter who we are and no matter how great or simple or easy our lives might seem from someone looking in, we are all struggling to overcome something.

What I love about this statement from our Prophet is that it's a reminder that we are meant to be challenged in life. It is part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. Instead of running around, acting like the world is coming to an end, we should get on our knees and confide in the Lord. Going to the Lord in prayer will give us the peace and comfort and strength that come from the Spirit so that we can face our trials with courage and cheerfulness.

The Magic of Friendship

I wanted to give a little update on how school is going for the boys. So far, they seem to love this school year. I believe the teachers are still getting the boys' classes settled into routines, so we haven't seen any homework yet, which is nice. Both of the boys love recess and P.E. the best, which is nothing new. Landon's enjoying the new freedom and responsibility that come with being in 3rd grade. Blake really enjoys the days I allow him to buy lunch in the cafeteria. He loves getting to choose, all by himself, what he is going to eat.

Landon is as happy as can be in 3rd grade. We are really fortunate that Landon has his best friend in his class again for the third year in a row. Landon and Sam are two peas in a pod. It's like they seem to just be in their own little world when they're together. This is a picture of Landon and Sam on a field trip last year.

Blake is thriving in kindergarten. He has a new "best buddy" everyday, as he calls his friends. He cannot seem to get enough of meeting all these new friends. Below is a picture of Blake and his buddy, Charlie, at the Fathers and Sons campout this year. When I see my kids this happy, it just makes my heart smile. I am so glad that they have good friends.

There's a magic to friendship, especially friendships we have in early childhood. I believe that friendship is one of God's greatest gifts to us. Nothing makes a day sweeter than a good friend to share it with. The most ordinary, mundane situations become remarkably more interesting and significantly more fun with friends.

I love this song by the White Stripes, or maybe you've heard it covered by Jack Johnson:

We're Going to be Friends

Fall is here, hear the yell

back to school, ring the bell

brand new shoes, walking blues

climb the fence, books, and pens

I can tell that we're going to be friends

Walk with me, Suzy Lee

through the park and by the tree

we will rest upon the ground

and look at all the bugs we found

then safely walk to school

without a sound

Well here we are, no one else

we walked to school all by ourselves

there's dirt on our uniforms

from chasing all the ants and worms

we clean up and now its time to learn

Numbers, letters, learn to spell

Nouns, and books, and show and tell
at playtime we will throw the ball
back to class, through the hall

teacher marks our height
against the wall

And we don't notice any time pass

we don't notice anything

we sit side by side in every class

teacher thinks that I sound funny

but she likes the way you sing

Tonight I'll dream while I'm in bed

when silly thoughts go through my head

about the bugs and alphabet

and when I wake tomorrow I'll bet

that you and I will walk together again

cause I can tell that we're going to be friends

Aren't we all thankful for friends? I'm so grateful my boys have chosen good friends that build them up and make them feel good. I hope they will continue to choose good friends as the years go by.

And I have to say, my life is so much sweeter with my best friend! I love you, Jeff.

The End of Summer

Well, it is school time again. Somehow, summer has already come to an end, and with it, hopefully, the 100+ temperatures! For the first time in months, the temperature didn't climb into the 90's today, so I think we're making some real progress toward fall, which is the absolute best time of year here in Texas.
What I think our family (at least Mom) will miss most about summer:

• letting the boys stay in their pajamas until noon
• watching the boys spend hours swimming at the beach club and the aquatic center with their bright green and blue goggles on, playing with each other and their friends
• my really great tan
• no where to be - no homework, no schedules, no sports practice
• spending time building memories with grandparents, cousins, and friends
• eating ice cream and popsicles just to cool off

I cannot believe how quickly this summer went by. We started the summer with a week of Cub Scout Camp, which is called Twilight Camp because it's from 4 to 8 p.m. It was one of the funnest things we did all summer! Landon is a Wolf; and Blake went to camp, too, as a Papoose, which was an area set up especially for younger siblings of Cub Scouts; and I went as a walking den leader. We built benches, disected owl pellets, built crystal radios; it was a blast! We also had a visit from my mom and dad, which was so wonderful. The boys demanded attention from them constantly. And we had a relaxing trip to Coronado Island and Orange County, California with Jeff's family. We enjoyed the beach and the amazing Southern California weather, and even went to church at Jeff's childhood ward. And of course, we celebrated Jeff turning another year older just a few weeks ago. And in between it all, I managed to get through three more classes toward my degree, which I'm really happy about!

Our family will miss summer. But luckily, it will be back around next year, and we'll be ready to build even more wonderful summertime memories!

Family Picture

Here is our new family picture I took while we stayed on Coronado. By the way the boys are dressed - you would never guess it was late July.

Beach Pictures - Family

Beach Pictures - Boys

Here are some pictures of the boys from Coronado.

Beach Pictures - Landon

Here are some pictures I took of Landon while on Coronado.

Beach Picture - Blake

Here are some picture I took while we stayed on Coronado.

Canvas

We saw this arrangement on another photographer's blog and decided it would look good with the pictures of the boys. We received the canvas prints of the pictures I took of the boys a couple of months back. Marcie and I love the way they turned out and look. We now want to do all of our future pictures in canvas.

Sidewalk Creations

Blake's First Lego Meeting

Blake was very excited for his very first Lego club meeting. He had fun building with the other kids in his group.

Texas Heat

It has been real hot lately and even though this toy is a little young for their ages, they still have fun playing with it to get wet and beat the heat.