Picture this!

So, my cameras are working great and I have taken tons (and tons) of photos but I can't find my card reader just now so I haven't uploaded them. It's probably not even that hard to find, but we just stay so stinkin' busy all the time I haven't taken much time to look.
   In my last post, the kids were just starting school. We're a couple months into 1st grade now and all is pretty well. The boys don't try to get out of going by pretending to be sick each morning and have lots of friends. I just went to parent teacher conferences and they are both doing fine. Right on track for their age and grade. I would say "average students" but considering the challenges they have to just sit still and learn being average is above average in my book. I am glad we spent so much time on workbooks over the summer so they had a head start though the class instruction is well behind what we were working on. And I am quite frustrated that Carter was graded at a reading level 1 less than the end of Kindergarten. I think testing technique probably plays into that because I think he is reading at least as well as then. It has been rough that his regular teacher had her baby the day after school started and won't return until next month. I have met her and she seems very capable and good with the kids but I don't think the substitute is the same. After all, subs don't have the same training. I just feel my C slipping compared to his brother and it is so frustrating. Here's hoping for changes next month.
   We just went through all our birthdays! Claire is Sept 20, the boys Oct. 6, and Lowell's Oct. 13th so I knock out the whole family in a few weeks. It was not a particular great few weeks I realized later because my stress to get everything just right took away from my normally fairly pleasant mood. My husband said he missed me. I hope I'm back! The parties did turn out well though and we had a lot of fun. The kids were thrilled with them and their presents so mission accomplished. Here's a little bit about all my growing monsters.
   Claire at 2! I can't even believe this little girly is 2 already. She is such a busy big little girl. She has developed much more rapidly than her brothers, partly because she was full term I would guess but I think more so just because she is a girl and girls are different! This girl is opinionated and knows what she wants, she can also voice what she wants much more than her bros could at her age. For instance, she'll want a drink (grink), she'll choose juice, and she'll point to the place on the table she'd like it delivered! She has a whole collection of bedtime pals (I'll put her in bed and she'll say, Hi guys!) and has names for each one. So when you take her out, she'll rattle off all the friends that need to come too, Dada, Mama, and Cute (pillow pet family), and blanket are the most popular. Plus a collection of babies, Minnie, Daddles, etc. She got a fun crib, feeding station from Aunt Sina and Uncle Mike for her bday (Cute the must have bedtime accessory was from grandma) and she has fun putting her babies to bed and feeding them, Baby night night, baby eat, etc. She likes to watch shows, Daniel the tiger, Doc McStuffins, Octonauts, and of course Bubble Guppies are hits with her. I started her watching some Disney in preparation for our surprise DL trip in December and she is obsessed with Nemo (Elmo-fish) now. It's hard because she has an Elmo app on the ipad as well as Nemo movie but she calls them the same thing and is not happy if you get it wrong. She is 60th or so for weight and 98th for height, my giant child (bros have always been more like 15th for height). She has had all her teeth for a long time (working on 2 year molars) and lots of long curly hair. She looks a lot older than she really is from that. She speaks well too so that doesn't set off the age thing, but her fits are fitting a young 2 child. They make me laugh though, I am so much more patient with 1 naughty silly child than I was with 2. I guess 2 is just too overwhelming, there wasn't a chance to sit back and laugh about it. The other day at the corn maze Claire decided she wanted to go one way and the rest of us chose another. She wasn't going to budge and just stood there and stomped her foot and then jumped up and down. Finally she gave in and joined us saying, "I the baby!". Yes, she knows her place and what that means. She also just learned to say Princess, something her brothers taught her not me. They really give in to her a lot, they love her and are so patient with her. I see through her though, she still fits her nickname of Beast! With the boys in school all day she's been my little buddy. Most mornings we'll drop the boys off and then bike or jog to a park. We go to the park almost every day. Winter will be a bummer, I'll tell you that! She loves the park and it great at climbing all over and going down the slides. And she LOVES swings. She's very persistent when she wants something, "swing swing swing swing swing" is often what I hear while I am trying to make lunch. And first thing in the morning it is always "canny (candy) canny canny canny". I fold too often too--she was easier to ignore when I didn't know what she was saying. Everything is also pretty, hair things, bracelets, finger polish and she likes to have them on. Such a girl. But she is also dirty 98% of the time so not all girl. Mostly she wants to be in everything, doing everything, and having all the attention to herself. And most of the time, that is what she gets.
    Carter and Davis at 7! I still can barely write that, it seems impossible that they can be 7. Or that in 1 year they will be 8. I can hardly stand it. They continue to love to ride bikes and come up with new tricks. Davis can now ride almost the whole block without hands. They just finished a season of flag football that they enjoyed. I think the play was a little more confusing for them, so I am leaning toward a different sport next year. They like to play soccer at recess at school, so that may be it, we'll see. They are fine with growth, still short and average for weight. They are very into Legos right now and that is one thing that will really hold their attention. Carter especially is very handy with building. They like to look at books too and read fairly well but it isn't something they seek out at this point. Friends continue to be a bigger and bigger part of their lives with them frequently asking to go play and even choosing that over fun family activities (to my distress). They have made a new little friend, D, who lives just across the street but isn't in our ward so we didn't know him. He's a nice kid so it's nice to have him around. They love playing wii and jumping on the trampoline, and throwing the football around. Lucky for me they still like to snuggle with mom and will sit in my lap to read or we'll all pile on the LoveSac (bean bag chair) and watch Netflix. Given their preference they would have a tablet each night with them, but they usually only get them on Friday nights, as Sat is the only day they don't need to get up early. They play app games and website games and watch Netflix. They have discovered a lot of new shows this way and are into things like Dirty Jobs and old cartoons. They spend so much time at school I don't get to take them near so many places. I miss them.
   So that's an update on them. Here's a few things we've been up to. We had my childhood BFF Kris, that I've kept in contact with through the years come to visit with her 4 kids. That was lots of fun and I love seeing how her kids have grown. And new this visit the kids are all old enough to really play together and have fun. My boys can't wait to see them again, I love that they are forming friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime as well. We've done more hiking and biking. Claire and I have been to the zoo and the aquarium and shopping. I went with the boys to their zoo field trip and have been taking them on date nights to the movies, dinner, and BYU games. We got a pass to Cornbelly's (Halloween place) and have gone there a lot this month. We've also used our Thanksgiving Point pass a lot going to to gardens, children's garden, dino museum, and farm. I just got back from a week in Dallas training on a new analyzer for work. It was hard to be away from my kids that long and to be alone, but it was a relaxing break as well--not being on call at work,  being fed constantly, and spending a lot of time socializing with other Med Techs. It reminded me that I have a mind to be used and has me thinking about new directions for my career. Most not until my kids are bigger but some changes I want to make now. It also made me realize just how fuzzy and tired I am usually as I now feel how it is to be well fed and rested, if briefly. And we're coming up on Halloween, we'll be carving pumpkins tonight, making caramel apples this week, and Trick-or-treating on Weds. Very exciting time of year. I will be disappointed to see it go and with it our mild fall. Winter is my low point in the year, there are still fun times to be had but I miss my outdoors time. Plus 2 year olds have to run and snow is not conducive to that.
   So there you have a bit of an update on us. There's more to be shared but I will do so another day, hopefully when I actually look for my card reader and you can see what I am talking about. :) Much love!