Happy 8th Birthday Raquel!!

Eight!! I really can't believe my baby is 8 years old today. I tried to get a picture of just her, but I couldn't get Marcus out of the way!! He was really excited it was her birthday too!! She got to open her presents last night because her Daddy isn't here today. She thought that was pretty cool. Now, I must talk about my girl. I am tearing up just thinking about what I want to say about her. Despite my best efforts to totally screw her up by being her mother, she is growing into an amazing young lady. I thought I'd share some tidbits about our sweet Raquel.

Raquel is super smart and she remembers everything! (And I mean everything. She can remember something I said weeks or months ago. Let's hope she uses her powers for good and not for evil when she grows up.)

Raquel is so beautiful and has the best curly hair ever! (Even though she hates it right now, one day she will thank me for her naturally curly hair. When all of her friends are curling theirs with curling irons, she'll thank me.)

Raquel has definitely been blessed with a love of the arts. She loves to draw and write stories. She loves to play the violin at school and the piano at home. She is super dramatic. And not in just the typical girl dramatic way. She has an imagination that I really can't believe sometimes. She just takes herself away into these imaginary worlds full of imaginary people and I find it quite extraordinary. (She said she'll thank me when she wins her Oscar for best actress in a dramatic role.)

Raquel is very confident and makes friends very easily. She has been uprooted and moved quite a bit in the last few years, but I never worry about her because she adapts so well and easily makes friends because she is such a good friend. (I asked her once if she was nervous going into a new school and she looked at me like I was crazy and said, No, why would I be?)

Raquel is a great sister. She loves, loves, loves it when Nicholas is home with us and she is very motherly to Marcus and Raigan when she wants to be! (When she doesn't want to be we have this little thing called fighting in our house.)

Raquel is a wonderful daughter and we couldn't be prouder of her. We love to watch how she grows and learns in the gospel each day and we are so happy that she has chosen to be baptized next month. Never change Raquel because we love you so much!!

Todd left this morning to go to Utah to see Nicholas, so he woke all of us up at 6:30 am to say Happy Birthday to Raquel. This is what she got in her bed first thing on her birthday!! What a silly daddy you have Raquel!!

Today was also Marcus's first day of preschool. Mommy was so nervous for him, but I think everything went well. Let's just say this - his teacher didn't call and there were no notes in his bag for me - so we'll call our first day a success!! He looked so grown up and I actually really missed him. I didn't cry though, so I think I am getting better at this whole letting go of my kids thing. He gets picked up and dropped off by the bus, so when I asked him what he liked the best he said riding the yellow school bus because yellow is his favorite color!! Yesterday we went to his classroom for a little meet and greet. I stayed with him while they went through what they would be doing in preschool each day. He loved play time, but wasn't having any of circle time. When we left he said goodbye to his teacher and then we walked out of the room and he looked at me and in his most loud and clear voice told me that his teacher was SO BORING!! Aahh! I really hope she didn't hear him! Good job on your first day of preschool Marcus!

P.S. - Sorry for the crappy pictures today. My camera was acting all weird today taking pictures that look kinda smoky. I thought for sure my camera was breaking, but then I cleaned the lense off with a q-tip and now they are as clear as a bell again. Darn. I was really hoping it was broken so I could get a real camera. I keep letting Marcus play with it in the hopes that it will die and Todd will be forced to get me a new one!!

Aahh, my kids . . .

So, the other evening Raigan was laying on the floor in front of me being SO adorable. She was all cuddled up in a big blanket with her sweet little head resting on a pillow. Could not have been cuter. I was just sitting there watching her and I looked at Todd and said, "She is just so sweet." And then, all that sweetness promptly sat up and belched the hugest burp I have ever heard come out of someone so small!! And we all died laughing, so she pretended to fake burp the rest of the night since she got such a great reaction with her first one. She doesn't crave attention at all and is nothing like her mother!! LOL!!

And then tonight, my Marcus pulled another one. Literally. You know of course it has something to do with his weiner because the kid is fascinated with it right now. I was changing his clothes and so he had nothing on but his underwear and wouldn't you know it - he had his hand down the front of his undies. Except for this time he has found something new to do - he was using it as a gun!! I am so not kidding!! I can't make this stuff up. He was pointing his thingie at us through his underwear and shooting us. I don't get it, but apparently he is a normal boy, so let's just hope someday soon he'll get over his little obession. Hopefully before his first day of preschool on Thursday!! LOL!!

Hey, they give me good material for my blog, so I'm not complainin'!!

Girlfriends!!

It's been so great to be back here with all my sweet ladies. We've already gotten to hang out twice in the week I've been home!! Friday was Rene's birthday and we all went out to breakfast at our favorite little eatery, Berryfield's Cafe. It was nice to catch up with everyone and to just be silly and laugh. I love my girlfriends!! And Rene really loved her birthday dessert, didn't you Rene?!

Then Saturday a bunch of us went and saw the new movie All About Steve (Bradley Cooper - yummy!!) up in Olympia. We met up with my friend Rachel who is notorious in my book for smuggling in illegal food at the movies. And we are not talking about just a candybar here people. She usually has a bag full of food and last night was no exception. She sits down and pulls out a box, a box!! And it contains a grilled tuna fish sandwich!! Cracked me up. And of course, smelling it the rest of the movie was super awesome. Thanks Rachel!! And that was just the first course. Food just kept coming and coming. She is so little too, so I have no idea where she puts all that food!! You crazy thing. After the movie we headed back south and ended up at Applebee's until 12:30 in the morning. We had great conversation (wink, wink) and lots of girly silliness. Thanks for staying up so late with us Heidi. (Who is very pregnant with baby #4!) And that is a dessert shooter Clarissa is sporting and we were really tired!! I love girls night out!!

Goodbye Spokane, Hello Chehalis . . . Again?!?

Hey Everybody!! Well, we made it and we are settled at my parents house and I finally figured out how to transfer the pictures from my camera to my parents computer!! Yay - the blogging can go on!! I was worried for a bit that I wouldn't be able to get my pictures and blogging without pictures is just, well, let's all admit it - BORING!! I was in a bit of a panic thinking I might not be blogging for possibly months, but I figured it out and now all is right in my world!!

I should probably back up a bit. Our move over from Spokane went really well and without any problems. My parents, of course, are super excited to have us "visiting" and are just rearranging their house to accomodate us. It's really very sweet. I think they might start missing their naps though, because my kids aren't having any of that. If they can't find Grandma and Papa they go in search of them and there are kitties down at Papa's shop right now, so I'm afraid he gets no peace even when he escapes down there. He usually has a little shadow following him down to see the kitties!! It's really nice to be back at what really feels like home for us and our kids.

So, we got in on a Friday and our first Sunday back in our ward, which was our ward before we moved, was pretty funny. Before the day was over Todd was already teaching a class the next week and I had a calling. Seriously!! I told my bishop that he didn't even have our records yet, how could he give me a calling!! He just laughed at me. It's nice to be among good friends again and to feel so welcomed and loved. We liked Spokane, but I think this area will always feel so right to us.

On Monday Raquel started school. I was so nervous for her. The poor kid has had to start a new school every year she's been in so far!! You know that mother worry. I hope she likes her teacher and that she makes a friend and that no one is mean to her and that she is happy. And of course, as is tradition for me, I dropped her off and then cried all the way home. I really don't like to cry, and I really, really don't like to cry in public, so I held myself together until I got in the car, but I still bawled like a baby. I was so ansy that whole first day until she got home and as she was leaving the bus someone yelled, "Bye, Raquel!!" and then I knew she had made a friend. After her first week she seems to be enjoying herself. This is her on her first day. Isn't she so stylish?

Marcus will start preschool on the 15th at the same school Raquel goes to, so that will be nice to have them together. He is really, really excited to go to school like Raquel. Let's hope that lasts after he goes the first day and realizes he has to listen and learn!! He had another run in with the infamous bike helmet. (When we moved to Spokane he refused to take off his sister's pink bike helmet for over a week! He even slept in it.) A few days after we got here he got a free helmet for going in for his well child check up and was wearing it all over the place again. At least this one is blue and we don't HAVE to wear it when we are sleeping!! I think preschool might be an issue if we have to wear the helmet!! Aahh, my boy - I love ya'!!

It will be really strange to only have Raigan for half of the day. I need to get ready to go back to school so I can start working when she leaves me and I'm all alone all day!!