First Day of School

This is what Michaela did while both kids were away at school all day long. She said, "Mommy, I want to make a mask." So she did! She had fun scaring me with it.

Here they are! The big 3rd grader, 1st grader and preschooler. Brevin has Mrs. Grow this year--an artistic/science loving teacher. He came home from school SO excited! "It feels like I've been a 3rd grader forever and I love it!"

Lindie's kindergarten teacher "looped" up to 1st grade with her. Maybe it was the LONG first grade day, or the fact that she's still getting over her week long virus of high fever, because she came home saying "School was so BORING. All we did was work, work, work."

Michaela's Co-op Preschool in Dixon doesn't start until after Labor Day--the way it should be! I'm excited because her teacher will be the same one Lindie had at her UCDavis preschool!

Overall, it was a great day. The kids came home exhausted. They spent the afternoon creating things out of paper and crayons. Brevin made some awesome origami, Lindie made "the tallest ladder in the world" that led her to the top of a Redwood Tree where she told us everything she could "see." She also made a quilt out of paper. Michaela made more masks! They told me about their day over brownies and smoothies. I missed them! And we do it all again tomorrow....

Whirling Dervishes

We had a Robertson Family Reunion on Sunday. A member of my mother-in-laws ward asked if she could stop by after church to let the girl cousins choose some dresses her mother had made before she died. It turns out her mom was quite the Daisy Kingdom seamstress. This member of the ward brought the dresses and presented them on a hanging rack so the four girl cousins could choose their favorite dresses. It was better than Christmas! Here are the cousins putting on a fashion show. The princesses from left to right are: Sonya,7, Michaela, 3, Lindie, 6, and Emma, 9.

More twirling and whirling. All the dad's were so encouraging and had all the right things to say to their princesses. It helped the girls feel comfortable putting on their show when the boy cousins were there watching too.

Beautiful cousins! Sonya, Lindie, Michaela and Emma.

Skin Cancer

My parents flew in from their mission in Ghana to SLC last night so my dad could have some skin cancer removed. My parents are now in Utah recovering for the next 3-6 weeks. How can I not go out and visit them? If only I had just not returned from visiting my sister Ally, after she came out to visit us. Can my feet take the swelling of driving in a car again? My kids school starts next Thursday for crying out loud. Can I sneak in another road trip before then?

For now, I will enjoy talking to them on the phone and having it be only an hour time difference instead of 8.

I wish they could just stay three months to help me when baby comes...maybe skin cancer can be a blessing in disguise.

A day at the Beach

My sister and I found THE BEST BEACH IN THE WORLD near Point Reyes. It is called "Heart's Desire". The perfect kids beach. Here is my cousin Maren and my nephew Hunter.

Brevin building a sandcastle village and Michaela walking on by.

Brevin and my nephew Chase working on the sandcastle village.

Lindie soaked through and through from wading way out into the sea, coming back and making sand angels, then going back out again to wade way out.

Michaela enjoying the world's largest sand box.

I love days like today where you just wake up and decide to go to the beach, pack all the kids and go. I have my sister, Celeste's, two youngest kids, Maren and Chase, while she is at Girl's Camp. My sister Ally is out on a visit from Idaho with her two kids Hunter and Brooke. My kids are in cousin heaven. We're having so much fun, we've decided to go back with them to Idaho! I love summer.

Marvelous Fourth

We enjoyed ourselves this 4th of July. It all began where we started our lives in Vacaville a year ago--at our ward breakfast picnic in the park. Only this year we knew people! My favorite part was hearing that one of the boys in my Primary 8 class was down by the creek collecting frogs and selling them for 75 cents each!! I also enjoyed seeing our amazing youth play with the primary kids like one big happy family. That is how I feel about our ward--family.

We enjoyed a picnic dinner in our backyard. We even watched the fireworks by climbing on top of our backyard shed (very good experience for Brevin and Lindie--Michaela led the way "It's ok guys. You can do it!"). We live pretty close to downtown where the fireworks were taking place and loved being able to sit and ooo and ahhh right in our own backyard.

Brevin has been eagerly anticipating his Scout Twilight Camp this week. He made it the first two days and loved every minute of it. Sadly, Michaela shared her fever with him and he's has been down and out the rest of the week. It's weird to be inside with the kids when the weather has been in the 80's. Lindie and I have been doing each others hair, playing games, and making recipes together. Brevin and Michaela have been lying listless on the floor watching PBS non-stop. Hopefully, all kids will feel better by Saturday so we can attend our cousin Maren's baptism. We also get to have our cousins Maren and Chase stay with us all of next week while my sister goes to Girl's Camp. My sister Ally is here with her two kids and they get to play with us from Saturday until Tuesday!! Let the cousin memories begin!!!

It's A....BOY!!

Yes, we had our ultrasound today and there is no question that we are having a boy! The baby was moving around so much during the entire ultrasound, I was getting worried that we wouldn't be able to find out at all. But thankfully, he cooperated. He has long arms and legs and a distinguished nose like our other kids. I am just so excited to meet him!

When we told the kids, Brevin gave me a giant hug and said, "Finally, the brother I've been waiting and waiting for." Lindie jumped up and down and started talking to the baby saying, "Well, hello there little brother!" Michaela hung her head and cried. I picked her up and she just sobbed. She finally put her head up to look at me and said, "Mommy. I really, really, really wanted a little sister." Lindie saw Michaela and said, "Michaela, don't cry! Your prince is coming!" That cheered Michaela right up and she's been saying all day today how her prince is coming! Thank you, Lindie.

Randy and I don't have any names. We asked the kids what names they liked. Brevin likes the name Anthony (no), Lindie likes Jack (hmm) and Michaela likes Devin because it rhymes with Brevin (no, we're not going to do that). Matthew, Ryan and Corbin are also contenders, so we'll see what HE looks like and go from there.

Wow. Another boy!

Summer, Summer, Summer

The kids finished school on Thursday!! Hooray! Thanks to my amazing neice, Kaitlyn, I was able to make it through the last week of school while Randy was away in Kentucky. He was off grading AP Stats tests for the AP College Board again this year. Next year they'll be grading in Florida. Can we say Disney World, anyone? That would beat crying non-stop after a sacrament meeting from HADES. Why do kids act up when dad is not here? Kaitlyn, you saved me! Thank you!

Today I attended my older sister, Celeste's, college graduation. As soon as they started playing "Pomp and Circumstance" I was a basket case. Her son, McKay, kept asking me why I was crying. My first response was, "Oh, I'm pregnant. It doesn't take much for me to cry." And then I had to remind myself that it doesn't take much for me to cry when I'm not pregnant. So why was I crying? Because I am so PROUD of my sister! I could feel of my Grandma Bingham and Grandma Johns presence. Both women instilled in us a desire to better ourselves in everyway, and to get an education. I thought of my parents in far away Ghana, Africa, and how they taught us to work hard, and to do whatever it takes to get an education. I thought of my sister, and how she went to night school while rearing her 5 children (ages 5-15) and did whatever it took to not only obtain her degree, but enjoy it. I saw her husband and kids cheering her on not only today during the ceremony, but by putting dinners on and helping with homework so mom could be at class. When thinking of all that, how could I not cry? Way to go, Celeste!!!