Krispy Kreme

Cooper and his homework

Caden and his doughnut


After the cemetery I promised the boys I would take them to get donuts at Krispy Kreme. They thought this was a fantastic idea since they both got to wear the hats... As we were walking to our car afterwards we saw a double rainbow in the sky. The boys were very excited. I told them they were very lucky and it was an extra special sight to see a "double" rainbow... and that maybe it was Grandpa showing them how much he loved them.

3 Years

Caden and Cooper

the flowers we placed

the back of the bench

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Today marked 3 years since my dad passed away. I took the boys up to the cemetery in Chandler where he is buried and we placed flowers on his headstone. It was a rough day for me but it helps to have the boys remember him with me. I guess the pain lessens with the passing years, but the sadness doesn't. Cooper told me he wished that Grandpa could see him as a 6 year old and I assured him that he does...

First Day of School

the Preschooler

Cooper's "Mario Bros." backpack

The Big 1st Grader

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Cooper and Caden started school today. Cooper was very excited to finally be a "grader" and not a kindergartner anymore. He has most of his old friends from his class last year in his class this year, and his classroom is right next door to his classroom last year. He told me this morning that 1st grade is a lot like kindergarten so far...

Caden is at a new school for preschool and also has a new teacher so it was exciting for him, too. He also gets to eat lunch at preschool this year! As for me, I'm pretty much a taxi driver during the week again. It's hard to get much done when I have to always be somewhere every 2 hours to either drop off or pick up one of them. At least this year their schools are on the same side of town... I'm very glad school started though :)

Last Day of Freedom

Cooper

Caden (a little too happy)

Caden

Caden

Cooper
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We took the boys to the Sealife Aquarium today at AZ Mills. It was their last weekday of freedom before school starts on Monday. The boys loved seeing the octopus and stingrays swim overhead and underneath our feet. I loved the seahorses. ( I've always been fascinated with seahorses) They also had to ride the carousel, of course, and Caden's happy face was hilarious. It was a fun way to end the summer.

Grad School

Looks like I'll be starting Grad school in 2011. It's time to move forward and I'm very anxious to start. It's always been part of the plan before I go back to work and since Caden has 3 more years until he will be in school all day, I'll be able to take my time. I'm very excited but a little nervous since the first time around I didn't have children to take care of at the same time... I've decided to go through NAU's extended campus program and get my Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. I've been mulling it over for some time now and doing a a lot of research online and finally came to the conclusion that I can either turn 40 in 5 years with or without a Master's degree... although it had better not take me that long! I'm determined to be all caught up with the boys' scrapbooks by January. For some reason I really don't like to scrapbook (gasp!) but I like the finished outcome so I make myself do it... :)

Addiction

I think I've become addicted to Wii Fit. I do it pretty much 5+ days a week, which is a good thing. I'm a lot better at most of the games than I used to be, but some are still very hard...Anyway, it's fun to try and beat my scores. I love the cardio workouts too. Caden loves to do the yoga with me and often shows us his "tree" pose, which cracks me up. The only thing is that he's very bossy with what yoga poses he wants me to do...so we have to compromise often... yep, that's my 3 year old. :)

Good Things to Come...

This was posted on the blog of a friend of mine... She said it keeps her going every day. It couldn't have come at a better time for me...

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nczw6xHJ0I

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Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until Heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come !"