Jessie is causing us some interesting problems regarding her and Brandon sleeping arrangements. They have bunk beds with Brandon on the top of course. She keeps coming up with ways to get up on his bed. When we first got them, she just climbed the ladder so we got a ladder cover. That lasted about two weeks before she figured out how to wedge her little toes into the cover and shimmy up. so then we just take the ladder off when he is sleeping and I put it back after they are asleep. He can climb down on his own if I forget. That worked until the other day when I came in because they were very loud during "naptime" and Jess was on his bed with no ladder. She climbed onto the rocking chair that is in their room, onto the dresser next to the bed and then over the railing. We switched out the dresser with the chair thinking that solved the problem but then yesterday she was back up again. Now she is climbing up the headboards. The back of the beds are a metal with openings and there is a pretty good gap between the beds and she just swings up them like a monkey. Now we have to try to figure out how to block those or take the beds apart which then loses a lot of space that they need plus Brandon loses his personal space above. We'll see what happens.

Brandon's a power ranger. Mom made the helmet for him.
She really worked hard on it. Thanks mom.




Jessie was a angel with devil horns holding up her halo.
A perfect fit for her. She was very proud of her costume.

Halloween went really well. We went to Brandon's party at school and then met up with Aunt Betty to get their treats from Scott's side of the family. Then we went to lunch with mom and dad. Later that night after dinner we went trick or treating at the mall. That works out really well for us because they still get candy but it is safer and quicker. The kids don't get as scared that way either. After the mall we went to GG's and Bill's, well the nursing home anyway and Bill got to see the costumes. We didn't stay very long though because he was pretty tired. The final stop was Uncle Chris. The kids got to wind down there a little and run around and we got to visit with him for a little while. Then we went home and put everybody to bed we were all exhausted by then. Good day all around. Thank you to everybody that gave the kids treats. They appreciate it. More pictures will be posted on shutterfly.

Brandon and Jessie were playing dressup one day when the weather was cold. He was prince Brandon and she was Princess Binky because she refused to take the binky out of her mouth the whole time. We took a movie of them acting out their "play" and they really got a kick out of watching themselves on TV.

We took the kids to the Pantaleo farms (a farm nearby that does activities for kids) for their annual Halloween thing. The kids got to go on a hay ride driven by a tractor, which of course Brandon loves, and see all the pumpkins. Then they rode the pony rides and there was a petting zoo where they could feed animals. Jessie has no fear whatsoever. There is also a corn maze but the kids are a little too young for that. There is a giant blowup slide that is probably about twenty feet up and last year Brandon got scared so he didn't want to do it this year but Jessie did and Scott said I would need to go with her but I said she is a little monkey so let her try. She started to climb and went up like nothing. All the other adults that were watching were cheering her on because she looked so small climbing. When she got up there I wasn't sure if she would go down by herself or if I was going to have to go up there after all but we were all standing there at the bottom cheering her on and she went for it. About half way down she started not looking so sure of herself and then she hit bottom. Anybody who has seen these big slides have seen that at the bottom it is a big blowup pillow and when she hit that it stopped her quick and when I picked her up she started crying for a second because it hit her then what she had done all by herself and then she was scared. We all told her how proud we were of her and then she was fine.

Brandon got his first report card from kindergarten. He is doing really well. They had literacy testing like two weeks into school and we didn't get the results until the conference. Brandon was afraid he flunked and had come out in tears, so I was a little worried how he actually did but I didn't need to worry because he aced them. He is well above where he needs to be. The only thing he needs to work on is asking for help and he needs to be a little more focused but then what six year focuses on anything for very long. He is having a little trouble with writing but I think that is because he is supposed to be left handed and he refuses to write with his left hand. He is still abidextrious for the most part but he picked which hand to write with I think because he sees more people writing with their right hands. It is coming along pretty good anyway and luckily I can write with my right hand when I am helping him with his work so as not to confuse him any worse. All in all everything is going well with him.

Brandon is doing well in school so far. He keeps asking me why he has to go because he thinks he is already smart, at least we keep telling him so. It's amazing the difference between him last year and this year though. It is like everything he learned last year is kicking in this year and he keeps popping up with little tidbits of info that I didn't even know he knew and showing us stuff that I know he learned last year but wouldn't show us. It is so amazing to watch both of them growing and learning and getting so excited over things we take for granted.

Jessie was making crafts the other day while Brandon was in school and I showed him the picture she made. He assumed it was for him and asked her "you made this for me?" She just went along with it and said yes (luckily). Then he told her that it was very pretty and asked me if he could hang it up. I figured he wanted it on the fridge with the others but he had me hang it in the living room so he could see it from his chair so that he can admire it any time he wants to. Then the other night, Brandon started crying because his sister is not a baby anymore and he misses the baby things she used to do, and because he won't be able to pick her up much longer (he wasn't able to pick her up until recently anyway). I had to remind him that she will always be his little sister and he teaches her things everyday and there will always be new adventures as they both get bigger. He is such a sensitive little boy and sometimes he acts way older than six.

Jessie is as entertaining as ever. She is learning so much from Brandon that I forget that she is only two. She already knows her alphabet and can count to thirteen consistently and higher sometimes with prompting. She is recognizing her colors to a point and her vocabulary is through the roof. It is funny to watch people's reactions in public when they see this tiny blond thing that looks younger than she is and then she starts having these big conversations and saying things very clearly. It tends to take them back slightly. For example, the other day we went to a book fair at mom's work. Mom was carrying Jess so she wouldn't get into trouble and there was a lady looking at books right by us. Jessie all of sudden pointed to her arm and told mom that that was her arm bone and that she has bones in her body and so does mom. The lady had to do a second take because she was so surprised that someone that small would say something like that and it was so clear. The only thing baby about her is she still has her binky. It makes me a little sad sometimes because I feel like I didn't get my baby for very long but I guess that happens when you have an older child teaching them stuff.

By the way dad's 60th birthday is this year so if anyone has any ideas on how to celebrate this milestone that doesn't cost a lot of money, we would appreciate any suggestions.

Well summer is over and school has started. It is depressing because now Brandon is officially in school and I can't believe he is already six. Summer vacation went by so fast. On Brandon's first day of school, Jessie decided to keep me occupied by sticking a dried pea that she found up her nose. We had to take her to urgent care because her doctor said they didn't have the equipment to get it out. So we got all the way over there and while I was filling out the paperwork, it slid out. She promises to never stick anything up her nose again but we will see. I had my birthday and it went well. As long as nothing dramatic happens and the kids don't fight constantly I consider it a good day. Scott's family came over and we will have my family over on Saturday when Chris can make it. I put some pictures of the fire Scott was on, a trip to the reservoir, and a tea party we had at GG's and Bill's.

Scott is home from California, he got back last saturday. Everything went fine and they had a few adventures but nothing dangerous. Hopefully they will be going out again soon. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

catching up

Here is a story that all the mom's will appreciate about stubborn children. First, for those of you who don't know the ladybug story, let me summarize it. When I was around Jessie's age I was at grandma's house and she had these ladybug magnets on her fridge. When it was time to go home I refused to put the magnets back. My dad and I fought for over an hour and he finally forced me by taking my hand and the magnet and putting them on the fridge. No one has ever let me forget that. Well now I have one of my own who is more stubborn than me, except this time it was coins. We have a container that Scott and I keep spare change in and the other day Jessie decided to dump the coins onto the floor. Now she has done this in the past and always has picked them up without a problem, except this time I said the dreaded words that she had to pick them up because we were going to go to grandma's for dinner soon. That did it, she refused and the battle was on. Now since I am just as stubborn as she is and the ladybug story was running through my mind, I was not about to let her win. She did the standard run into the other room to get away and I would bring her back in screaming. She is at that age where she thinks that if she doesn't see me she is invisible, so she runs and lies flat on her stomach covering her head like I can't see her now. I told her we would not leave until they were picked up and Brandon would go over by himself. Well she started to pick them up after I left the room for a minute and then I messed up by telling her she was a good girl when I came back in and of course, she quit. Brandon even tried to help her pick them up so we could all go over together, but then I noticed that she had left the room and he was still picking them up. When I asked her what she was doing she said Brandon was helping her. I informed her that she had to be in the same room at least for him to be "helping" her and told him to quit. About a half hour passed and the coins were still on the floor and it was time to go to dinner. Brandon went over by himself (with mom watching for him) and we were still at it. My mom told me that maybe I should do like dad did with me and put the coins in her hand and "help" her put them in. Well after 45 minutes I even tried that but she just laughed, which made me madder. At one point she even told me that she couldn't do it because she didn't feel well, her back hurt. (her exact words) Scott happened to call during this ordeal and he talked to her hoping that maybe she would do it for him, which she didn't. Over an hour later she finally started picking them up while she sat in my lap and as I handed them to her she would stick them into the container with her foot sitting by her hand and say "stinky foot" every time she put the coins in. I thought "I won" because she was basically doing it herself with no forcing from me but after we were all done she said, "Put my shoes on now so we can go to grandma's, I can't wait to tell her what a good job I did." So I am not sure who won after all.



Brandon had his 6th birthday parties. We had one for the family on Saturday and then he had his first friend birthday party on his actual birthday. The parties went well, but he gets a little overwhelmed with so many people around. He got a new fishing pole for his birthday, one of those that cast for you with the push of a button, and Scott told him that when he gets back from California he will take him fishing. Now Brandon is upset because he thought that meant that Scott should take off from the fire to go fishing immediately. He got over it pretty quickly though but I have a feeling that as soon as Scott gets home Brandon is going to make him take him. He got lots of toys and I think he had a really good time. He enjoyed having his friends over for a party also, we just had a few over to the house. Will have more pictures on shutterfly soon.



Brandon has been taking swimming lessons this summer and moving rapidly through the stations. There are ten stations total and he is already on three. He really likes it and then goes swimming in our pool and shows us what he has learned and he is trying to teach Jessie. I will probably put her in next year, you have to be three for the program.

Scott Fire

I just wanted everyone to know that Scott is finally on a fire. They were sent to California on Sunday. They are considered relief crew so they can be sent anywhere and doing anything from actually fighting fire to running fire stations while the other fire trucks are busy. They could be out for at least 21 days if not longer. The kids are handling it better so far than they have in the past. They are definitely being pistols though and driving me crazy. hopefully everything will settle down in a few days.

summer fun

The kids are having fun so far this summer. They have swum in the pool a few times so far but it has been kind of chilly for swimming. Brandon asked me when it was going to be "real" summer. I told him it was and he said it wasn't real until it was hot enough to go swimming everyday. We are going to put him in swimming lessons again in a few weeks, but he still remembers what he learned from last year. Jessie is having a ball and is learning from him. She has one of those floatie swimsuit and looks like a turtle. She already swims on her own but drinks up the pool because she is too busy laughing and sucks up the water.

Jessie is almost completely potty trained. She had been going backward instead of forward, but all of a sudden decided she wanted to do it. Both kids are so single minded that it has to be their way, but at least she chose to do it earlier than Brandon did. Guess that is what you get when you have spirited children.

I took the kids over to GG's and Bill's apartment the other day. GG brings Bill up to their apartment to spend some time up there and since the kids freak out at the nursing home it works out better for them. Bill really enjoys seeing them and I think it lifts his spirits a little. Anyway he wanted the kids to have a new toy to play with there so we got a tea set to play with. Mom was off work so we took the kids over so she could see Bill and they could try out the new tea set. They had fun serving everyone. Bill wasn't feeling the greatest so we will try again soon and hopefully he will feel more like participating, but I think he still enjoyed it. We are hoping to have Bill over for either the Fourth of July or Brandon's birthday party. We will have to see how he is feeling. I am going to try to get pictures of the kids swimming and the tea party on here soon so keep watching.

Fire Training

The boys had a fire training on Saturday. We had a big pile of branches to burn and figured we'd kill two birds with one stone. There is a new firefighter working with us with no experience so they did a training for him. Brandon of course had to be part of it. He looked so cute in his little fire outfit running all over the place telling the guys what to do. He was not even scared when the flames got really big. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures when the flames were really high. If Brandon doesn't become a firefighter when he grows up I will be surprised. He is a natural, he absorbs everything Scott teaches him. Jessica didn't really care about what was going on too much.

Not much else going on. We are still waiting for fires big enough to get sent out on. Brandon got a hold of his scissors and cut Jessie's hair. Luckily it was not very noticable, especially if you haven't seen her lately. He just cut both sides shorter. What is it with older siblings cutting the younger sibling's hair? Oh well.

Memorial weekend

We started Memorial Day weekend by going to City Park on Saturday evening for a birthday party for one of Brandon's friends. They had cake and punch and opened the presents, then went on the rides. This was Brandon's first birthday party and he was excited. He had fun with the other kids until they started riding the rides he was scared of (the roller coaster and salt & pepper). He got left out then but was just as happy to ride the rides with us instead. Jessie was excited too. While the party was going on we ate pizza and then grandma and grandpa took Jessie to the duck pond while Scott and I waited in line with the kids to get into the rides. Mom was afraid that Jessie was going to fall in the pond because she was chasing the ducks and climbing on the dock. Then we took turns watching Brandon and taking Jessie on the rides. She loves them and laughed the whole time.

On Sunday, we went to the mountains. The kids sang songs, Jessie loves singing. Smokey the Bear and the Alphabet song are her favorites. At the end of the alphabet song, she sings "next time won't you sing with me, night night". We played on the big rock and the dogs played in the water. The kids wanted to play in the water too but it was running too fast from the spring run off. Then we went to the mountain park after walking around a little. The kids played there until they were about to fall down from exhaustion.

On Monday, we went to put flowers on the graves at the cemetaries, then played around the house until dinner time. We had a BBQ with Chris and Rachael and the kids played with Chris until bedtime. All in all I think everyone had a good weekend.

Brandon's preschool graduation

Brandon had his preschool graduation on May 15, 2008 in the morning. He was a little overwhelmed by the whole thing and can't figure out why he isn't done with school forever. He doesn't do well performing in front of people, especially people he doesn't know well. Afterwards he got really excited because we went out for a celebration dinner at Country Buffet and he got to pick out his own food and everything.

Before he couldn't wait for summer break and now he is upset because he "misses" preschool and doesn't want to go to kindergarten. He hasn't even officially started summer yet until Monday. Hopefully I can keep him occupied for two and a half months. We have lots of things planned. It is hard to make too many plans when we don't know when Scott is going to be in town or away. Moneywise hopefully he will be gone a lot. We usually just switch plans when we know he will be here and do the more mundane stuff when he is gone. Having "grandma" around helps a lot too, especially when she takes vacation or has a day off. It should be interesting at least and with my two, never dull.