grateful

My kids are absolutely wonderful. I wish I could say it is because of my stellar parenting skills, but it's not. I think the Lord just knew I needed extra good kids to offset the fact that they will be homeschooled and will just be home way more than other kids. I have just been noticing their wonderfulness more and more every time we do go out. They are just plain well-behaved. I don't get it, since I am sure I was a very obnoxious child. They sit nicely in church and share their books and toys. At the doctor's office they patiently allow the doctor to check them all out and never fuss until they get their shots. At Reagan's last CF appointment, we found out while we were there that she needed a chest x-ray and lab work right after the appointment. Did it bother her? No, not at all. She did cry when they were drawing her blood, but she stopped when they stopped and said "thank you." And Kennedy, well she just wants to be just like Reagan. So she is super polite too! She always says "thank you" and "your welcome." Reagan talks to her like she is a grown-up and wow, it helps! Kennedy speaks in complete sentences. Cindy told me that when we were setting up for Young Women yesterday I walked out of the gym and Kennedy said, "Cindy, where mama go?" Cindy told her I was just getting something and Kennedy said, "Oh, ok." She is such a big girl, I can't even believe it! And when she is saying something that I can't quite understand, I can just ask Reagan and she translates! Isn't that crazy?? She totally understands everything Kennedy says! Then there is Reagan's ballet class, where Kennedy sits in one of our laps the whole time and enjoys watching the girls dance. Then when class is over, she gets down and tries to mimick Reagan's movements. One girl at ballet was standing with her parents and didn't want to join in. When the teacher was taking roll and called her name she asked her to come join them. The girl shook her head, so Reagan started saying, "Sophie, come here. Come sit by me!" She didn't even know the girl, but wanted her to to join in the fun! She teaches me things everyday. Both girls will eat basically anything I give them. The other night they were racing to see who could eat the most broccoli out of the bowl. (It didn't even bother me that it was the serving bowl and that Rick and I got almost none.) When Kennedy poops she goes over to the basket of diapers, picks one out and lays on the floor to wait for me to change her. And when we get home from anywhere they both go push chairs up in front of the kitchen sink for us to wash hands. And now Kennedy loves to pray. When I ask whose turn it is she always says, "Kennedy's turn!" She can even say it mostly by herself. And when she finishes, Reagan always praises her for being so good and reverent! Sometimes I feel like I must live in a make-believe world because no one really acts this polite. How did I get blessed with two peace-makers? Reagan and Kennedy just ultimately want to make everyone happy. They talk to everyone everywhere we go (which is a little weird sometimes). I am so grateful for my precious girls who just radiate pure joy. Whenever I look at the daunting task ahead of me, I am reminded that they were prepared for this. They are sisters for a reason. I love, love, love them!

Kennedy watching Ballet with Grandma.
Seriously, could she be any happier?

Doesn't she look like a ballerina?
Kennedy trying to walk on her toes after class.
I am so blessed!

oh yeah

and there was halloween... That was the beginning to our no good, horrible week. But my mom did take a few pictures of the girls in costume trick-or-treating at the businesses in Williamston. Reagan was Uniqua (a backyardigan) and Kennedy was a giraffe (or a "draff" as Kennedy says).

It was freezing, but the kids had lots of fun. We went to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa, trick-or-treated with Austin, spent the afternoon with Susie and Jack, then trick-or-treated with Grandpa and Sunshine. It was a great day, even though it started with Kennedy falling down our stairs. Yes, all the way down. I'm still having nightmares.

In case you were wondering, here is everything that we enjoyed during the week of my birthday...

• Someone stole my phone.
• Kennedy fell down the stairs.
• I sliced my finger open making dinner.
• Rick's work computer got major viruses on it.
• Rick's car broke down.
• Tried putting a storm door on the house, but couldn't get a drill to fit the drill bits we spent $30+ on.
• Finally borrowed a drill and bits from our neighbor and then pinched my finger and got a nasty blood blister.
• Fixed Rick's car and it broke down again.
• Spent saturday afternoon sitting on the lawn at Burger King with the girls waiting for Rick's car to charge enough to get it home.
• Brand new alternator we bought was faulty.

But at least we had a few bright spots.

• Bob fixed the car for us for free, twice.
• Our neighbor let us borrow his tools.
• Kennedy wasn't injured after her fall.
• I had a nice birthday dinner with family, and had three birthday meals (stillwater, carrino's and red robin - yum!)
• It was nice weather while we sat outside Burger King.
• We went to the Temple yesterday with some great friends.

Whew. Now I'm ready for an easy week, hopefully.

ballet

One of Reagan's birthday presents was enrollment in a ballet class, along with all the ballet essentials (leotard, skirt, slippers, tights...) Her first class was yesterday and let me tell you that it is quite possible that she has never been happier! She was so giddy and excited and hyper! When we arrived she went and sat in the circle with the instructor and other girls while they waited for class to start. The instructor asked her "What's your name?" to which Reagan replied, "Hi! My name is Reagan Mackenzie Brooks!" The Instructor's response, "Um, wow. Okay." Yea, she never really stopped talking. She introduced herself to most of the girls and asked them is they were having so much fun at ballet. She pranced everywhere and would squeal in delight. Definitely my highlight from this horrid week (more on that later). So here are some videos for your enjoyment. The first is during warm-up (Reagan is on the far right). The second one is 'going on a bear hunt.'

Toward the end of the class, the instructor taught them first position, plié and sauté. In the room there was a hopscotch painted on the floor. Everytime the instructor would tell them to stand in first position Reagan would go stand on the one. She is a very literal child. Sorry the video is so long, Rick had a meeting so I had to tape part of it for him and I don't know how to edit it. Hope you enjoy it half as much as Reagan did!

the bloopers

There were so many funny pictures, that I had to include a few bloopers from our fall photo sessions...

trying to copy grandma? who knows.

told her to walk to me, she thought it was funnier to run away.
one word, grandma.

i think we told her to laugh or something.

no idea, but kennedy looks concerned.

told her to lift her chin a little...

snarly face.

forced smiles??

this was their response to "say cheese."

wink, wink.

not quite the picture i was going for.

synchronized leaf throwing?

ummmm...

great shot, all around.

their response to "look at the camera."

karate? or maybe magic?

their response to "stand still."

yeah, sweet.

cute, but not exactly what i want on my wall.

they are just weirdos, what can i say?

and now they are trying to out-sing each other instead of taking a nap... better go put an end to that... or maybe i will tape it instead... ;)

Fall pictures

My mom took our fall pictures last year, so we had her do it again this year. We never have money for a professional, plus studio pictures seem too posed for me. Anyway, so we took the girls to Williamston one evening so we could take some family pictures, but it got dark really early. So the next day I took the girls to campus to meet my mom and we took more pictures of them. I really love how they turned out. We may have to try for a better family shot, unless someone wants to photoshop my hair out of my face in the one that turned out! Anyways, here are the pictures...

I actually took some of these, because my mom is way better at getting natural smiles from my girls. I just get the cheesey grins - go figure!

Cheesey grin exhibit A - Reagan...

How can my 17 month old look so grown-up?
These two really love each other. They are absolutely best friends, it makes me so happy!

Grandma is funny!

Cheesey grin Exhibit B - Kennedy...

Such a doll!

Playing around!

Mom, why didn't you tell me my hair looked like this??

st. louis

We took a long weekend to go visit our St. Louis family. The drive is long, but it was well worth it! We fit a lot into the 2.5 days we were there, and the girls had a blast with their cousins! (We didn't mind hanging out with Nick and Allison, either...) So naturally I took lots of photos!

Day 1 we went to Fitz's for lunch, and it was delish! They bottle their own root beer, so floats were a must! Mmmm... We could barely move after our huge lunchs, but the weather was gorgeous so we headed to the zoo. The girls loved the animals. Their favorites were the orangutans and the sea lions. Or maybe the lions which they decided were Simba and Nala. Our favorite part was probably listening to the girls read all of the signs. One was the Somali Wild Ass. We told them it was a donkey, but then they read the sign. It's very weird to hear your child say Ass, even if it is an animal. The girls liked holding hands. They frequently cut people off, or ran into them.

Some giant bug statue that they all wanted to climb on...

Kennedy made up a game that made Brockden laugh. She would pretend to give him her bear aka "Toogie." Then she would pull it back real quick and he would laugh really hard. Hilarious!

Day 2 we went to this fun park after church. We played there for at least an hour, and the kids still didn't really want to leave!

After lunch we headed downtown to see the sights. Here are some of the things that interested us. Reagan especially liked the big sign that said "Hole." There is an ampitheatre, some big face you can climb in, a fountain that had red water for the Cardinals, and a big Pinnochio statue

And this time we decided we had to visit the arch. We got there only 5 minutes before it closed, so we couldn't go in it. That will have to wait until our next visit. It is such an amazing statue, the angles are crazy depending on where you are standing! Plus it looks like Granite or something from far away, but it is really some kind of metal!

Nick and Brockden after church. Brockden seems to know his dad is a whacko!

Kennedy was napping in the car, so I decided to take some pics of our matching girls. They are silly!

That's more like it!

And what kind of trip would it be if we didn't cram all the girls into the tub together?!

Day 3 we went to the Science Center while Nayeli and Karyna were at school. One last spot to wear the kids down before the long car ride home. They got to build a replica of the arch, play with mirrors, learn about tornados, and run around in a crazy angled house. Plus Nick and Rick had some fun of their own!

Thanks for a fun time Nick and Allison! We had so much fun, we miss you already!

new bed

Reagan really started to outgrow her toddler bed. She was always hitting her arms on the rails, and couldn't really stretch out. So a wonderful lady my mom knows at church gave me her old bunk beds. I stripped down the wood and painted it so it would be all new for Reagan. She loves her new bed, and loved picking out bedding to go on it! And with the exception of one incident with Kennedy's head and a corner, they both play on it nicely. Thanks so much Sister Griffes!