New blog

Hey you all! I am starting a new blog and maybe I'll be retiring this one. Blogging is a dying obsession of my mothering generation but I am still an avid fan so I will probably keep it up forever. But I felt I wanted a fresh start. Honestly, I am not sure if anyone ever reads this blog besides my dear mother and father and myself but if for nothing else its worth it to me so if you do actually read this and you want to follow me on my new blog I will post it's new address as soon as I get the pictures I want for it taken and all edited so they can be posted. I warn you its going to be churchy, but its sincerely me and my heart. Its what I want people to k now about me if nothing else, and most importantly what I want my children to know about their mother's heart. So there that's it. I just wanted to announce that. I am excited about it. Churchy blogging here I come. ;) 

Starting School

The school year started so soon this year, the 2nd of August! I could hardly believe that I'd have half of my kids going off to school all day long. I was excited and a little nervous to be getting established into a new school and I knew the kids were feeling the same way. The school the kids are in is rated as an A+ school and I have been so impressed with the teachers and staff there. They are so kind, smart, helpful, and organized. I am so grateful to be in the situation we are in here in Tucson we really have been placed in the best place for our family. It will; be great to watch us grow into it more and more.

The day before school started they had a "meet the teacher day" where we found out who the kids teachers were and got to tour the classrooms, and fill out lots of paper work of course.  I feel like both Angeli and Bridger were blessed with getting the best teachers for them. I signed up to work as one of the room moms  for each class which I am excited about. I hope its not too much but I am really looking forward to getting to know their teachers and to get to help in the class and the planning. I love my planning. ;O)

The next day was the start of school and it was a bit surreal. I didn't feel too ready ...like little silly things for example, I wasn't sure what they should wear or anything like that, which usually I'd like to have that all planned out but whatever! They got to pick it out themselves out of what was clean. :O) We live so close to their school that it really doesn't make sense to do anything other then walk to school so every morning and afternoon that's what we are doing, walking in the blistering heat to and from school. :O) - its hot at 2:40pm!

When they came home and we asked them how it went Angeli declared that she loves "everything" about school and Bridger said he loves "nothing" about school. He thinks its so boring and she thinks everything is so fun. :O) The difference between boys and girls I guess! I hope they can make friends. They were sad they cant eat together at lunch or play together at recess but I think it is good for them to branch out and make friends of their own. I am so proud of them for doing hard things. For Angeli overcoming her anxiety of new scary things is such a huge thing and Bridger its all about getting over the hard work of school. :O) I tell them daily "you can do hard things!". So anyways, we were late for the first day!!!! So the only pictures I got were on our way to school. I miscalculated how much time it would take to get everyone out the door, get the "littles" in the stroller, all of us off and walking....plus the campus was so crowded it was a bit crazy. So these are the only pictures I got. Bummer, but heck they are so cute  who needs fifty pictures anyways! ;) I love them!

I sure missed them that first day. The house was so quiet! I know things will pick up really quickly here soon so I am going to try and take advantage of every "quiet" moments I get! 

Happy 18 Months My Little Perfect!

I call her my perfect because I think she is just that. :O) I think that of all my kids but I am not sure I could call them all the same word...it'd get confusing for them. ;)

 My BABY is now a year and a half old. She is less and less of a baby all the time. We all adore her. I think her brothers and sister more then ever now that she plays with them quite a bit. She does silly things that keep us giggling all the time. The thing about her and especially at this age is the amount of joy she radiates. You cant be sad or grumpy when Genevieve is around. You just cant. She walks up to you just overflowing with cuteness and joy...she is adorable. She is confident, obedient, curious, smart, happy, a consistent mommy's girl, she LOVES to eat and would eat constantly all day long if I let her, she loves to swim and run and jump and she loves music and dancing. Her wave is the cutest thing you have ever seen - seriously my favorite thing she does. she loves kids and if she sees someone close to her size she immediately tries to be friends with them. I think we might have a social butterfly on our hands. When she hears music she lights up like a firefly. She LOVES babies: real and dolls. I love watching her reaction when we see a baby at the store. I love how she gets the little doll stroller ready with a baby doll buckled in and everything and pushes her baby all over the house coming to each of us to show us her baby. She loves shoes and wearing dresses...I never have to wrestle her into clothes when its a pretty dress and never shoes...she loves shoes. She gives really sweet cuddles and she leans forward not to give a kiss but to get one....99% of the time she expects a kiss and doesn't really think she should have to give them in return so if you get a kiss from her its a big deal. She gave one to me the other day it was literally and figuratively sweet as her mouth was covered with fruit-loop crumbs. I loved it no matter how sticky it was. ;) She is shy of strangers but quickly her curiosity over shadows her shyness and she is just as cute as can be and as BUSY. Did I mention how BUSY she is? Well she is very busy. :O) When I am not calling her Perfect I might be calling her "My Mischief Maker" or "My Tornado" because a path of destruction, I mean exploring and play, ;)  follows behind her at all times. Its getting to the point where I cant really let her play without my supervision...don't love that part too much. At least she is cute to watch and play with. ;)

She is not talking very much in English but her "baby talk" is very developed. She has complete conversations with people with nothing being said in English. It worries me a little that she isn't using real words much but its still pretty adorable. Besides Ben all my kids were pretty slow talkers so we'll see how long it takes her to develop her speech, hopefully not too long because I want to hear more and more of her thoughts. With all her childlike cuteness there is a deep intellect to her, this maturity that is easy to miss with all her giggles and putting on my make up three times a day but its there and I want to hear her thoughts more fully to get to know that side of her a little more.

She loves doing little actions to songs so we'll sing the popcorn popping song or the itsy bitsy spider and she loves to do the movements with us. It is so cute how fun it is for her.  On Sundays she has to help lead the music...she loves music. She has been going to nursery for the past two weeks and loves it. The nursery leaders love her too because she is so happy and cute to have around. When we get to church she walks right over to the nursery room and wants to go to nursery as soon as we get there...needless to say sacrament meetings are a bit long for us these days. :)

Yesterday she threw her first real tantrum. I was a bit shocked. She kept climbing onto the counter/bar and grabbing handfuls of her brothers' and sister's cereal. She had a bowl for herself but she wanted theirs not hers. I kept putting her back in her chair and showing her the bowl for her. That's when she climbed back on top of the counter picked up her bowl and poured it out on the counter and then threw the bowl. She then proceeded to wave her hands in her spilled cereal frantically in defiance. I picked her up washed her off and set her down on the ground while I went to work cleaning up the mess...when the little rascal climbed back up the counter and plopped right down in the mess. I was getting aggravated. I told her firmly that she cant climb up on the counter and sit in milk. I cleaned her up yet again and set her down on the floor she was screaming as I set her on the ground and she marched over to our basket we put our shoes in and she pushed it out into the room and then pushed it over and started to scatter the shoes. At that point I was so shocked by her little tirade I couldn't help laughing. I guess she is stubborn and has a temper too!  You learn something new everyday.

This morning when I got back from my run Stewart and I were about to kneel for our morning prayer and I could hear her awake in her crib. I went and got her and she was just beaming and giggling and talking to us about little things we couldn't really understand and she knelt with us dragging her giant blanky and folded her arms so cute while we said prayers. Then she leaned forward for a kiss from me and then her daddy and beamed at us giggling. Stewart remarked that he was so glad we have her in our family because she is our little sunshine. And she really is.

I think one of  the best ways to capture her cuteness is in pictures so enjoy these cute pictures of my little perfect. I tried to have her sit still for them but she is not the type to sit still so these are action shots of the two of us going on a walk together....she's a doll. :O)  I am so glad she is my daughter. She keeps me smiling all day long,  she's a joy.

A Special Family Home Evening

This week we had a special family home evening that I wanted to share because the spirit was so strong and I felt really guided when I planned it and put it all together.

Last summer we took some really cute pictures of the kids outside the Reno temple and I had wanted to get them hung but with the move coming and our limited wall space as it was I decided to wait until we moved. So last week when I worked on my personal progress in divine nature I thought getting those pictures hung would be a really good value project for me to do. So the kids and I went to the store picked out nice frames, picked out our favorite pictures and then ordered prints. I felt inspired to hang along side the pictures the proclamation to the world. I wanted to do a family home evening centered around talking about why we were going to dedicate a whole wall to these pictures and the proclamation. I wanted to focus on how important the temple is and how real their divine nature is. as I pray and pondered about it it came to me what I could do.

I had the week before taught the kids in great detail about the plan of salvation and it was a really spiritual experience. At the end of the lesson I asked, "do you feel a special feeling inside? do you feel really happy and loved?" they are said they did. I told them that was the Holy Ghost telling them that what I had taught them was true, that they are children of God and this is his plan for us so that we can return to live with him again. Angeli came running up to me and gave me a big hug, Ben exclaimed, "I want to go to heaven!", and Bridger said, "Mom, do you know what the spirit is telling me? He  is telling me that I am a child of God and that Heavenly Father loves me." Then tears welded up in his eyes and I gave him a big hug. It was a really special moment for me and the kids.

So for this lesson I followed up with that and I told them that they are children of God and that because of that they are royalty! They are princes and princesses. They loved that idea. We then decorated crowns and put them on...very cute. Then I asked, But where is our castle? The kids took a couple guesses and they got it, the Temple! We talked about how it is like our castle that Heavenly Father has given us. We talked about the special ordinances that we do there and the kids LOVE the idea of being together forever as a family. It was fun to talk about how in the temple we promise to act like royalty and then Heavenly Father promises us that if we will act like a Son and daughter of God (Royalty) then we will inherit his kingdom and all that he has. That was such a fun way to illustrate that to the kids. We talked about how it was our family goal to act like royal children of God so that we can be together forever with our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong as each child expressed how much they wanted that too.

Then we hung the pictures up on the wall. We talked about the proclamation a little bit and how it tells us how to live like royalty as a family. It was such a great way to make the most of my personal progress, family home evening, and my home decorating. ;) I loved how the kids applied it, Angeli asked "Would royalty talk with bad words?" (which in our house is saying "poop" and other such words like that), to which everyone replied "No!". :O)  I hope that every time they stop to look at that wall they remember the things we talked about and have a renewed desire to be true to the royal and divine nature they have inherited from their Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.

Snapshots of Life

These are just some random pictures of us and our lives I wanted to share without any special writing or description.

 First these are my kids all ready to go to church...aren't they beautiful? honestly that picture of Angeli sort of took my breath away when I saw it. she is an angel. And Ben's coloring is so handsome. and all their eyes! such a light blue and so clear. How did Stewart and I make such beautiful kids? Anyways, I am bias I am sure, but really they are so beautiful. And so grown up too.

 Then this is the view from the front of our house. To the west there was a coral sunset so everything has a peachy tint to it but I think it is really pretty. So different then I thought our view would be in my day dreams I had pictured years ago of our future but I think its so much better, its so cool that we live here. What an adventure for us.

Here are the kids being super heroes...They were running all over the house solving mysteries and saving the day. It was really cute to watch. Genevieve did her outfit all by herself. :) The kids dubbed her "Goggle Girl"! LOL

 My sister and her kids came to visit us for a little day trip from Phoenix. Angeli has been so excited that she will get to live closer to her cousin EDEN! they are too cute together. And then the cute toe heads....this is them trying to smile for the camera. LOL We are goign up there next week and we are super excited to see them again! 

Good Morning.

Its 7:30 in the morning. I just got back from a relaxing 50 minuet jog. I kissed the hubby good bye and now I'm laying on the trampoline under our big green tree in our back yard listening to the coos of doves and the chirps of little sparrows. I can hear a rooster calling out the morning and the faint nay of a horse from the stables on the other block of our neighborhood and with the kids sleeping in this morning I feel so blissful. Its fun to watch Choco hunt a fly that is annoying him.....life is so good. I didn't think Tucson would be like this but I am so glad it is. 

Life

Life is pretty normal now-a-days. Which is good. I don't really have any crazy fun plans for the summer - mostly because we are short on cash right now. Man, moving is even more expensive then I thought it would be and I was expecting it to hurt. I was thinking we might head to Cali for a week but not so much. So instead I am looking at the good in the days we have already playing out this summer. I also wanted to capture a little snap shot of our revamped lives here in Tucson and share a little of what we are learning and liking about this place.

The pool...I know we cant get over it. But we like it a lot. This is us swimming on the 4th after a big monsoon rain storm just went through.

Stewart's training. Oh, I cant even express how fun it was to have Stewart come home from his first day of Radiology and see him just beaming. I like few things as much as my husband's smile and knowing he is really happy. He loves it. First off, they gave him an Ipad, so how could he not like it? Plus all these gifts cards with credits to things like buying scrubs and all that jazz. Plus they told us he can start moonlighting as soon as he can get basic knowledge of nuro rad which is his first rotation so that is great. PLUS they will completely pay for all his licensing.  I think that is over $3000. Which is really good because we don't really have any money left over after the move. Thank heavens! Plus everyone is really nice. Lots of Mormon guys with families and the program is growing and they have hired on some really awesome new instructors that not only bring a huge new knowledge base but also lots of grants. So nice to be part of a thriving program that is family friendly and with great Doctors he can work along side with.

My running. So we live really close to miles and miles of trail running. Oh, what a tender mercy. I've been able to start running again in the mornings since Stew doesn't have to be at work until 8am this week so I get up early and get a run in and I love it. Not going really far but I'm at least going! :)

Cactus. Okay I don't love cactus but it is pretty cool. We have a a HUGE cactus in front of our house and the kids are super proud of it. When we drive around town they point out all the different types of Cactus. There are many different types.

Kids School. we walked to the school and I timed us. It took a grand total of 6 minuets. How nice will that be?!?!?!? love that.

Lizards. There are so many different types of lizards. There are these tiny ones, like two inches long, that run around so cutely. I love those ones.

The kids have been really grumpy lately and I was wondering what it was that was making them freak out so much when I got sick and realized they have all been sick too. We are all a little out of it...like super tired, have head colds, and hacking cough. its been a slow onset but I hope it will be a fast recovery. probably not but I can hope. :) 

Our ward. They are the nicest, down to earth people ever. We are always blessed to be in the best wards ever and this time is no different. We have been so impressed with how kind, helpful, on top of things, and fun they all are. It feels like coming home going to their ward. So happy!

Shopping. Living outside of town was nice but it is nice to live a little closer now. I love how we live in this neighborhood with houses spread out just enough so you feel like you have privacy and space but still close enough you don't feel like you are out in the county and we have these beautiful views of the mountains but then I can drive down the canyon for four minutes and there is everything I could ever want. Sweet.

Potential. I have a love hate relationship with potential. I am depressed if I cant see potential in the things around me BUT I have this weakness where I am very impatient in the wait time that is often required to reach full potential....I am referring to our house. I see so much decorating and design potential in our house but I have to be sensible and just tell myself, some day we will get to do something better with that room or that space  but that day is not today. Its hard for me. But I like to dream in the mean time. Almost every day I am showing Stewart a drawing of an idea I had for this porch or that porch or what have you. He is so good to try and care. :O)

"Mom School" - every week day I do mom school with the kids. It has been cute how much they love it and beg for it. We are working on everything and we have a little chart and we cover every little area each day. I have a section where I teach a little lesson on something that has to do with science or history (my favorite subjects) and yesterday was the history of Ireland and today was a lesson on bones, muscles, and our vascular system. Oh, I love teaching! We've been observing our caterpillar we found on our porch on moving day back in Reno and he has made his little cocoon....We think he'll be a moth. time will tell!

Routines. We sure love our routines around here. We have Morning chart, where they have a chart of things we need to do each morning: morning prayer, breakfast, take medicines and vitamins, clean up from breakfast, feed the pets, dressed, brush hair & teeth, make bed. They do really good at it with the proper application of nagging. ;) Then we also have a bed time chart: pick up house, jammies, brush teeth, family scriptures, stories, family prayers, tucked in bed and then personal prayers.

Watching Genevieve grow. She is in the cutest stage ever. she has such a fun little personality. She is such a busy little ray of sunshine. She keep us laughing all day long. She loves to walk on her tippy toes and rest her left hand on her hip and she looks too cute with her baby chub and her oh, so elegant walk mixed together. She is the cutest thing ever.

Swimming lessons. We found this awesome website that gives really great instructions for teaching swimming lessons by yourself, Its Uswim.com. We have been doing it with the kids and it have been really fun to see them take off. Bridger is getting really good, he swims like a little dolphin it is really cute watching him dive into the pool and touch the bottom 8 feet down and come up so proud of himself and Angeli is just a few steps behind him. Ben, I would not be surprised if he becomes a champion swimmer in high school - his cannon balls about the cutest things you have ever seen.  Plus we do water slide Olympics....I got a perfect 10 the other day for my tummy slide. ;)

Shedding. The dogs have been shedding like crazy. I have to sweep and vacuum like crazy to keep up with it. I want to give them a buzz but Stewart wont get on board with that. So I tell him he has to brush them daily. :)

Chocolate chips. They have to be kept in the refrigerator. If I keep them in my cupboard they are super soft...not totally melted but very soft. I think that is sort of interesting.

The monsoon season. It has been really fun so far. I was taking a nap yesterday when I woke up to the sound of crazy hard pouring rain. It was fun to go sit outside in our AZ room and just watch it pour down. I love that room. I cant wait till we have some furniture to put out there so we can utilize it more.

So those are the random little things about my life right now that I find interesting and fun.

Moving

The almost a week of moving has been busy and stressful but it has gone well. We had been preping for so long that we were really well packed when it came down to it. I was able to get all the cleaning done that I wanted to so that was really great. Plus we were able to spend some fun times with our friends and neighbors too.

 On Sunday we picked up Stew's little brother Paul up from the airport and had a father's day dinner and then we did the last minute things like mopping the kitchen floor. Then Monday morning a bunch of friends from our ward showed up to help us move which was so nice of them. I bought Costco muffins and milk to say thank you a little bit. We had the truck loaded and the carpets cleaned in 2 1/2 hours. We did it in great time. I left a little house warming gift for the buyers and a little letter for them and I tried to leave the house in move in condition so I hope they are happy there. :O) Then we were off.

It was a long drive for Stewart and Paul in the big slow truck and it was long drive with me having four kids, two dogs, two fish, and one caterpillar to take care of while I drove for 8 hours. We had lots of stops with the combined forces of the kids and such but it was a fun drive all the same. We actually ended up arriving at mom and Dad Ras's house in Vegas at the same time as Stew and Paul in the big truck. Their slow speed and my many stops evened us out. Then the next day we spent there hanging out and going to Whitney's graduation. I highly recommend taking a break day in the middle of a move. It was so nice to have a day of rest! and just look at this girl! Can I say accomplished! so proud of her! and what will mom and Dad do without here?!??!?! I guess they will just have to vacation in Tucson a lot! LOL ;)

Then we were off again, this time to Tucson. But it was just Stewart, me, the dogs, the fish, and the caterpillar. :O) Our new ward had a great turn out with six big guys showing up and we unloaded the truck in an hour. We were able to get a lot done that first day without the kids there and then Stewart's family drove out with the kids so it was so awesome to have them there. I was sooooooo grateful for all their help. Having them with us helped it feel like a real home filled with family and fun. It was so great to sit back and watch as everyone splashed around in the pool even great grandma Ras. Just lovely. I keep wondering how on earth we have gotten to this point in life? How do we have four kids, two dogs, Stewart is a doctor, I am shopping at Costco once a week, and we have this big house with a pool? When did we get so grown up? So weird. But also so blessed.

I love Tucson. I just love it. One thing that is really cool is that Stewart's father found out that on Stewart's paternal grandmother's side there are two ancestors lines from the pioneer days who helped settle Tucson. All over Tucson are Binghampton and Farr history sites and hospitals named after them and its so cool to think we have so many roots here. His father was reading their family history stories from here in Tucson and it was just so cool to think we are back where his Farr side of the family started. Stewart is even named after the same ancestor who settled here,  his name being Stewart Farr Rasmussen. In the history they talked about going up Sabino Canyon for picnics and church dances and its just so cool since we live right off of Sabino Canyon Road! Just really amazing stuff to sort of feel like we are returning in some sort of way.  I bet that is partly why it just feels so good and right here. Like we fit in perfectly.  I cant help but think it is no accident that we are here living in the heart of Stewart's pioneer history sites, the very pioneer he is named after.

Our ward is really friendly and nice. They seem really social and outgoing and welcoming which is so great. There are a lot of students and residents in our ward along with the long time residents. I was hoping I would meet a bunch of mom's with kids my kids age but not so much. I guess most people who are in residency don't have four kids starting out. LOL. I guess I will always be a bit of an odd ball!  I think it will be fun being a friend to these beautiful women who are just starting out on the adventure of having kids. I think I will be hosting lots of play dates at our pool. :O)

So its been interesting and really an emotionally exhausting thing to say so many goodbyes and so many hellos; as well as physically exhausting to pack and unpack and load and unload everything we own all in one week. But life is good. We are really so happy. :O)

Hello next chapter of our lives...I think you are going to be awesome. I am already hooked.

Angeli's New Smile

 Our little girly came to me the other night and asked what that white thing was in her mouth and there growing behind her baby tooth was a new tooth. I was shocked, it looked sort to funny and I thought she was still too young for such things! :O)  So I made her start wiggling her existing tooth so we wouldn't have to visit the dentists. And then last night our girl was so brave and she let her daddy try like 6 times to pull her tooth and then on the last try, pop! It was out. She was so delighted! She loves stuff like that as much as her daddy. I on the other hand could hardly watch! LOL It was fun to see them in their element talking about blood, and teeth and their roots, and stuff. They have similar hearts those two. I love watching them interact when they are taking care of the dogs or healing wounds or whatever thing they love to do. It is a sweet little connection they have. And her tooth fairy was so excited to put lots of "bravery money" under her pillow last night. :O)  Anyways, isn't her new smile the cutest ever! I adore this little angle girl. She's lovely in every way!

Saying Goodbyes

Okay, I love these people. I really love them. They threw us a goodbye party. Aren't they the sweetest people ever?!?! They have been my surrogate family for the past five-ish years and I am so grateful for their friendship and love for me and my family. From sleeping over when I was in labor, to running over when I had to take Stewart to the ER, from babysitting endlessly for me, girls nights, working in callings together -Nursery, Primary, and Young Womens, having Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners together, to play dates and preschool, from weekly play group, library time, and enrichment, from saving me when I locked my family out of the car, to calling me to see how I am doing just cause they thought of me, bringing us meals after I had my babies, walking groups, throwing me baby showers, going to the lake together, coming to our birthday parties, having fourth of July parties, picnics at the park, visiting teaching, home teaching, Sunday evening ward walks, Ward temple nights, praying for us and helping us build our fence, tutoring Bridger, and watching our kids grow up together,.... I LOVE these people. It is hard to imagine life without them. What will I do without Jenn? I honestly am not sure. She has always been just down the street always willing to help me when I am in need. We were laughing the other day how Stewart and I visited them with a plate of cookies when they moved in because they hadn't come to church for the first three weeks since they moved in because they had family stuff and we were trying to reactivate them. LOL What will I do without Janie and Anna and Jessica?!??!?!? Just the other night we went to the drive in movies with Jessica and Nathan and their cute kids. It was such a blast. I wont get to see their kids grow up and see what other little ones they are blessed to have. These women are so dear to me. When I grow up I want to be like them.

Really, living in our too small house that is worth 1/3 of what we paid for it was so worth it because I got to know, love, and live with these amazing people! I love Sparks first ward. I always will.  It is so hard to think I may never see them again. When will I be back in Reno? But maybe we'll do a girls weekend once a every few years. I'd love that. But even if not I know heaven would not be complete without them. I sure hope I can make it up there so I get to be with them, I know they'll be there. Oh, my heart is aching. I will miss them so much. In just 7 days I will be driving away from Reno/Sparks and I may never be back. I cant believe it is finally happening. It is such a whirlwind of emotions. I think I may just sob for the first hour of driving.

Graduations!

 We had two graduations this past month. The first to graduate was Angeli! She graduated from preschool. After two years of preschool she is now ready for kindergarten! I cant believe I am going to have two kids in school next year. I am a little nervous for her since she gets super anxious and nervous about these big changes but I know she can handle hard situations and I pray that she will make some really great friends in her new school. She is very hard working, obedient, and smart so I know she'll do great academically in school she just needs to believe in herself and she'll be capable of anything! It was so cute how proud Bridger was of her. When she was singing and stuff Bridger kept getting teary eyed and saying how happy he was for her.

Ben also finished up his first year of preschool! He is so sweet and smart. He was the youngest one in the class but he was one of the biggest! He is this sweet, giant of a boy with the most obedient little heart ever.  They are getting so old! Oh, I adore them!!!!

Then we had Bridger's graduation! He did it! I cant believe we made it to this point so quickly! He can read and count, and add and subtract, write, and tell time, and all sorts so fundamental things that felt like they would never come. We are so proud of him. It has been a hard year with trying different medications to help him with his ADHD but by the last week of school we finally got a winning combo! YAY! Its hard because with his meds he'd get 100% on everything at school but then he'd get really depressed and moody. Cry a lot and stuff but without it he is bouncing off the walls, getting into trouble all the time and getting like 20% on everything. Its been emotional to get things sorted out. Our little guy has speech issues, has a learning disability in the area of taking in language input and then storing it correctly in his brain so its like this triple hit for him. It takes three times more consecration to talk, understand what people are saying and then to store things correctly in his brain. So when you add the ADHD to the mix it means his ability to concentrate is like three times lower for him then the average kid when he needs three times more concentration then the average kid to get things down. It is really hard for him. But he is so resilient, hard working, and smart. Thanks to his hard work we are finally getting there. I hope to have things really well tuned with his medications so when he starts school next year he doesn't have to deal with so many ups and downs. We are so proud of him. He works so hard, he deals so patiently with all that we ask of him, and we adore his huge delightful heart. Way to go Bridger!!!!

Lake Tahoe: Our Last Trip

 

 

We wanted to go to Tahoe one last time before we move so this past Saturday when Stewart got off we loaded up the van and headed up to the lake. It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely time. Since its still spring we only got in 2 1/2 hours with it starting to cool off earlier then we hoped. But even just those two hours were nice. I thought I would be really emotional about leaving but honestly Stewart and I just felt like we were done and ready to leave and it was really non-emotional. I'm not a big crier when it comes to good byes. Goodbyes aren't that traumatic for me because I am not one to linger in the past or even the present very long. I'm always one step in the future. I do mourn the lost experiences and not seeing my loved ones though, but usually all by myself and slowly. I think I've only had like two really emotional crying goodbyes in my whole life. So I am curious how these goodbyes will go for me. The other day I had a last girl's night and it was a lot of fun and then when I left I cried on the drive home. All by myself and not very much and then when I got home I was okay again. I think I will have pangs of sadness as the moments come when I would have called my friends or seen them and then I will cry a little then. But anyways...I got way off topic. :O)

So here are my pictures of our last trip to Tahoe. We where thinking about doing the 2 hour lake cruise they do but the water was pretty choppy and I wasn't sure how Genevieve would have handled it so even though I knew Stewart would have loved it we opted out. Maybe if we ever visit again in years to come we will do the little cruise. It is breathtakingly beautiful up there. I recommend visiting there no matter where you are from. Its a beautiful place.

Poor Stewart, I did a not do a very good job putting sunscreen on him and he got really burned. I forget that he burns so much more then me so I did like three times a better job with him then me and thought that would be good enough but not so much. Even the bottoms of his feet go burned. I think a year in hospitals has softened him up a bit too much! ;) Good thing we are getting a house with a pool! We'll be rock'n year round tans soon enough ;)