halle's first day...

August 30 was Halle's first day of preschool. She was so excited and she has loved every day. In fact, she doesn't like that I have to drop Clate off first for school; she always asks for me to take her first, but I can't as Clate's school starts at 8:30, her's at 9:00. She also gets mad on Tuesday mornings when Clate gets to go to school and she doesn't; she'd go every day if she could.

warm river my booty

Halle dressed and ready to go. I love her sense of style.


Clate helping Pa pack the trailer.

Clate and Pa floating down the river.

The girls playing in the ice water.

Enjoying the s'mores.

The week before school started, grammie and pa treated us to one last summer vacation, one we had been wanting to do all summer long but hadn't...a campout. They took us to Warm River, somewhere near Ashton, Idaho. It was a fun little campground with the Warm River running through it--funny name for a river that felt like ice water; there was nothing warm about it. But the kids enjoyed it anyway, floating down the river with Pa and playing in a little shallow area. My favorite part of camping...the campfire and roasting marshmallows, after a tasty tinfoil dinner and hot dogs, of course. We ended the night with a flashlight-lit walk up the river where Pa told some stories to the kids, making them laugh and wanting more the whole way back. And believe it or not, the kids all fell asleep quickly and slept peacefully all night long. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself. There really is no comfortable position on a hard ground for a pregnant belly. Fun, nevertheless. It was a quick trip, but definitely worth it!

adam is NOT absent

Sometimes Adam worries that our history, as recorded on this blog, would lead someone (his posterity or others) to believe that he was/is an absent dad because very few of the posts include him. When in reality, he is NOT an absent dad...he just happens to work alot. But when he is home, he always makes an effort to do fun things with the kids and make the most of his time with them. He is quite an excellent dad if you ask me. So, I will try from now on to record more of the things that he does with the kids, because they are not few.

One of Adam's favorite things to do with the kids is hiking. We've tried some long hikes with them, as well as a lot of little hikes. I think we've all leared to enjoy the shorter easier hikes a little more, then the kids can walk themselves (mostly) and we don't have to carry them. Here we are a few weeks ago hiking up to Lake Mary. It was a short, but kind of steep hike. Clate did it all by himself. Halle only needed a lift towards the top. And Chloe...well, we're still working on her. Dad got to carry her quite a bit. The more hiking we do, the more the kids enjoy it, especially when they can do it by themselves. And dad never passes up the opportunity to teach the kids the important skill of rock skipping. It was such a beautiful day and a really fun hike.

8 years on 08/08

Adam and I celebrated our 8th anniversary last week. We scored with free babysitting from the young women in our ward and a good friend who put the kids to bed, and we enjoyed an evening of Randy Travis with the Utah Symphony Orchestra at the Deer Valley Resort. It was a little chilly, but a beautiful night, so peaceful, and the music couldn't have been better! It made me miss all of the concerts I used to go to back in the day. And this was definitely the way to see a concert! It was a really great evening. And it has been an even better 8 years. Wouldn't change a thing.

Chugga chugga poooo pooooo!

Chloe is on the potty train! And it's about time! I am determined to have a few months without diapers...so about a week and a half ago I decided we were going to get this girl trained. And she's doing awesome! Between the Starbursts, the suckers, the popsicles and a sticker chart...this girl has stayed motivated and finally prefers big girl panties to diapers! YEA, we're almost there!

what will HIS name be???

Yes, that's right...we're having a BOY! and we couldn't be happier, especially the kids. For weeks the kids have been talking about baby names, only BOY baby names. I kept warning them that it could be a girl; we don't really get to choose. Then Halle asked me who chooses. I told her that Heavenly Father chooses. Her response, very matter-of-factly, "Well, Heavenly Father spoke to my heart and said that it was a boy." OK then...and I guess she was right after all. Even Chloe was sure she would be having another brother. And Clate, well, it just had to be a boy.

So, what will HIS name be? This has been the topic of conversation for weeks, and options are all over the board. Some of my "favorites" that have come up: Clate came up with Bull Grunter Bergeson. (We recently went to a rodeo and he loved the bull riding.) This morning Halle suggested Marvin the Tap-dancing Horse (yes, you read that right) or Marvin the Baby Brother. (Is she suggesting we skip a middle name and give a title instead?) As much as I enjoy their input, it's a good thing that they won't have the final say in what HIS name will be!

halle is 4!

Celebration for Halle's birthday started early in the week with a party with friends. I wasn't planning on doing big parties this year, but since we won't be here next year (so sad to think of), I wanted them to have parties this year with all of their friends...so that's what we are doing. And of course, Halle's friend list is not short. I think we ended up with 10 friends and a few siblings at the party and I think we all had fun. They made tambourines, danced the hokey pokey, played musical chairs, popped balloons, had a bday parade with their tambourines, opened gifts, and ate cupcakes. What more could a 4-year-old ask for!?!

The party ended today with a little party at home with family on her special day! And it was her birthday ALL day long...mind you, not just part of the day. She made sure to let everyone at church know that. Mike and Andrea came over and we opened gifts and ate cake and ice cream. Speaking of the cake...I have seen these princess doll cakes around and thought it would be fun to do. And it was fun, but cutting into the cake only an hour or so after finishing the decorating wasn't so much fun. Oh well...I guess that's why I made the cake, right??? to eat it! The Belle cake was a surprise for Halle, and I think it took her a minute to realize it was her cake too. I was happy with how it turned out.

I will be back with more of Halle at 4, but in short...she is one happy, fun 4-year-old!

Happy Birthday love bug!