SIX

We woke up Ella with the traditional cinnamon roll and candle! She was a little bit excited..

All ready for school!

I took some cupcakes to her class, she was in heaven. Especially when the lunch lady gave her a sticker for her birthday....so cute!
Chad and I had some birthday surprises for Ella when she got home..she opened up a few packages that had come from family...she loved everything! Then we went to a movie..Ella loves movies!

After the movie we took her to Macaroni Grill for dinner

Owen was of course a monster, but finally calmed down when I showed him how to make a castle out of his noodles.

Our waitress brought both Ella and Owen out ice cream and a huge piece of chocolate cake. She then serenaded Ella with Happy Birthday in Italian opera style! It was actually quite cool!

Happy Birthday to our little girl! We love you so much!!!

Happy Birthday to My Best Girl!

This post is dedicated to my best girl on her Birthday!

Bridgette, you are what keeps me afloat in this crazy world!

You have brought me joy that I can't describe in two children that I love!

You have made my dreams possible in a world that says that dreams are make believe.

Thanks for being my cheering section when other left the stands.

If I could go on and on, but I have to say that it is my honor and privilege to be known as " Bridgette's husband," and I would not have it any other way. Happy Birthday and here is to many more birthdays to come! I love you, or I should say we all love you!

One year

On August 8th we had officially been in Georgia for one year! Can't believe how the time has flown. Our family has done some serious growing since we've been here. Not that we didn't before, but we really love to hang out with just each other. We were a little bit forced to rely on each other and not always have people to see or places to go.
Chad is done with with one year of PA school...crazy...he is that much closer to achieving his goal, and I couldn't be more proud. He is the smartest person I know. The PA program is extremely demanding, and to be doing that while also taking care of his wife and children is no small feat. I am one lucky girl!
Ella has gotten so big, and I am loving her new sense of maturity. She is now able to handle situations in a "calm way" (this is what I've been trying to teach her forever! All of those talks are finally paying off!) She does wonderfully at school, and her teachers love her. To quote her kindergartner teacher "Ella is just, well......my everything!"
Kids gravitate to Ella, and she is definitely a leader. She has even got an admirer in her class already whom, to get her attention, pulls her hair on the bus. haha! His mom has told me that he comes home everyday and tells her everything Ella did...even what she was wearing! Not real sure how I feel about that!
Owen....the cute little stinker. He is big and he is all boy! Except when it comes to colors..."I want the pink one!" This of course is because Ella typically gets the pink one. For all his toughness he is also very sensitive (he gets that from his Dad) He really cares about his friends and how they are feeling, and asks about them all day. "Where's Beagan (aka Reagan who is his newest best friend) "is Beagan night nights too?" or "Idia (aka Lydia whom we are not telling her Dad, but they love to give eachother kisses and hugs when they play)
Yesterday when I sneezed in the car, I hear a "Bless you" from the back seat. I had not thought to teach him this yet, and thought it was absolutely adorable.
Me........
What I miss about Utah(in no particular order)
running with Lilli
hanging out with Holly every day
Cafe Rio (oh how I miss Cafe Rio)
mountains
Mom
Dad
Brothers
Seeing my kids interact with my Mom and Dad
Seeing Ella get snuggle time with Auntie Holly
my adorable neices and nephews(I've got a lot of them!)
Sunday dinner at my in laws house
Did I mention Lilli? talking with Lilli, getting sound advice from Lilli, Lilli's kids, Lilli's husband
Bookclub

What I like about Georgia
diversity (I think its a good thing for our kids to see that not everyone is the same, and how our faith helps our family to be happy)
Trees!
Paula
Lori
Lisa
Keisha
Sarah
The Leornards
Teaching my classes at the gym and my boot camp
Year round running weather
All day long kindergarten
Beaches so very close
Our house.....so nice to finally have space
Amazing parks
So of course like anyone else we have our share of struggles and life is not always perfect. Sometimes I want to come running home to Utah, but I remind myself that Georgia is now home for awhile, and I am so grateful for the people we've met, and the great friends I have. I suppose you could say the move to Georgia has been a success!

Inlaws, White Coat Ceremony, and Kindergarten!

It was a great weekend with Jeff and Carol here! Here are some of the highlights...




















Getting on bus....sniff..




















So Big!!! And yes, I did get on the bus to take a picture.....and followed the bus to her school!





















































We went to float down the Chattahooche on Saturday in Helen...it was fun, but very crowded!





















Owen and Ella at the white coat ceremony















The boys! Love Owen and Jeff's matching shirts!




















Can you see the absolute misery in their faces from the heat?!
(August....not a good time to visit Georgia!)














So proud of my baby!




















Grandma and Ella!






























The fam...can you tell I'm holding on to Owen to keep him from running away





















The big moment!





















Owen being cute in Helen!

My Baby.......

When did my baby become old enough to get on the bus and go to kindergarten?! I'm really not one of those moms that has been dreading kindergarten and not being with my child all day long. I think its really great that she gets to go and meet new people and make new friends......but thinking about it yesterday and today I've been getting all sentimental. Ella has been a wild ride, and we couldn't love her more! Here is a cute video, that she didn't know I was recording. She can be quite the rockstar when she doesn't think anyone is watching!

RECAP!!!!!!

Sooooo, I've been a terrible blogger! I can't believe the summer is almost over, and I will have a kindergartner in a week and a half!
Here is an attempt to recap the goings on of this summer.
We are all doing really great...Chad is finishing up summer semester, which I guess you would have to ask him, but it seems like its been a little easier on him. He has got one year under his belt, and one and a half to go!

It has been really fun having Ella home for the summer. Owen has especially enjoyed it, whenever she is not around he definitely notices and has to have her home right then and there! Ella has matured quite a bit. She has become much more reasonable(if that makes any sense, maybe you have to really know Ella to know what I mean) Last week she proudly announced "Mom, I am a big girl and can take a shower all by myself, get dressed by myself, and blowdry my hair all by myself!" And she definitely does, she does her own hair and everything....most of her cute clothes go unworn....she is all about comfort! My favorite thing she does right now is that she likes to say all of our prayers, and her favorite thing to say in our night time prayer is "Please bless Ella that she will have good dreams, good thoughts, not nightmares, good dreams"
Chad and I chuckle everytime she says it, because it is exactly the same every night...so cute!

Owen....where to start with Owen. This kid is so dang cute, funny, and sometimes really naughty, which he gets away with because he is so stinkin' cute. He definitely loves his sister...mimics everything she does...has to say what she says, walk exactly where she has walked....eat what shes eating...and so on! I don't know what he'll do when she goes back to school! Anyone who knows Owen absolutely loves him. He is growing up so fast, and I keep having to remind myself that he is not a baby anymore.

As for me....I have been a busy Mama! Summer is hard work for a Mom. We have been going swimming, playing with friends, going to the zoo, and whatever else I could come up with to keep them busy. Needless to say, I don't think its possible to keep your home clean during the summer! I have also been keeping busy by teaching my classes at the gym and I just started my own bootcamp on Saturday mornings, both of which I really enjoy doing!
We've gotten to do a few really fun things. I took Chad to Aerosmith for Father's Day, Chad went to Hilton Head for a PA conference, and I got to go to girls camp.
Here are some pictures of our summer!

New York!

I got to go to New York with my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law over Mothers Day. We had such a great time! This post would be extremely long if I detailed the entire trip, but here are some of the highlights. We went to the Met, saw a taping of the Jimmy Fallon Show, saw Rock of Ages on broadway, went shopping...and more shopping, went on a harbor cruise, and rode bikes over the Brooklyn Bridge.
We all know how much I love to exercise, so of course my favorite part of the whole trip was running in Central Park! It was awesome. I was so lucky to have Ang there to be my running buddy, and to make me laugh! Here are a few pictures, the rest of them are on my facebook page!