All About B

 Brooke poster she completed for school:

 Her three wishes: I wish I had a cat. I wish I had a...? (not sure about the second one). I wish I had my money jar filled up.

 I am 48 inches tall and weigh 44 pounds. My hair is blonde and my favorite color is purple. I am six years old.

 When I grow up I want to be a mom.

What mom says about Brooke:
Brooke is very friendly and can immediately make a new friend wherever we go. She is very accepting of others and is always making crafty things for her friends and teachers. She can also be bossy and likes to be in charge of the imaginary story she is acting out with her friends. She loves nail polish, is desperate to wear make up (mom won't let her yet), and loves to play dress up. She also likes to go spotting for deer and elk with dad and camping. She loves to ride her bike. Brooke is a great helper around the house and does a lot for her brothers Porter and Grant.  She hates to wear jeans (leggings, dresses, and shorts are ok), and hates to have her hair brushed in the morning. We love Brooke so much and can't imagine our life without her.

Grant is 10 months!

Grant turned 10 months old on August 29. This first year of his is going by so quickly! A few weeks before his 10 month milestone, Grant mastered the army crawl and has been on the move every since! It's been kind of hard for him and for me. No longer is he content to just sit in the other room playing with toys while I get dinner made or clean. He is everywhere I am and that makes it hard on both of us. We have to constantly watch him with the stairs and Grant will get mad when he'll crawl up to me and want my attention but I can't because I'm busy (like elbow deep in grating zucchini from our garden).

I think we're on the last few times in his little bouncer too. Now that he can move, being confined to the bouncer just isn't any fun.

No, he's not pulling himself up yet, but if we stand him up he can hold on with no problems.

Grant is telling me he's "So Big!"

Porter pulled the kitchen chairs in front of the stairs to the basement then moved the highchair over and got in to act as a "guard" in case Grant got too close.

We sure love our sweet, smiley guy!

Ouf of the Mouth of Babes

Aug 24, 2015
Porter made a little friend in the waiting room at the Dr.'s office. He also had a stick from outside with him.
Little Girl: You have a stick?
Porter: No, it's a sword.
Girl: Oh, a stick-sword?
Porter: It's a real sword so I can kill naughty lions!

Blake took Brooke on her first mountain bike trail ride. He forget to tell Brooke that there was a steep hill coming up. She went right over the hill, off the trail and almost ran into a bush. She said to Blake, "Dad! Why didn't you tell me there was a hill! I could have ran into a skunk in that bush!"

Aug 21, 2015
What Brooke has gleaned from her first days of school "in our bodies we have a tank that fills with water. When your tank gets full, that's when you pee your pants"

Aug 21, 2015
I  overheard porter having a conversation with his imaginary friend. The friend asked if porter could play. "Um, let me check. (Pause) yeah, my parents died in a fire so I can play alllllll day!"

Aug 18, 2015
Oh heaven help me survive toddlerhood with boys! Yesterday porter burned his thumb from touching a hot burner on the stove. Then today he comes running in the house screaming because he tried to eat a bug and it bit/stung him on his tongue. Oh.my.gosh. what!?

Aug 8, 2015
We went to Blake's work picnic and the kids each got some cotton candy. Porter's face was a sticky mess at the end and I could see him using his tongue to try to lick it clean. Not getting very far, he comes over to wear I was sitting, sticks his face right next to mine and says, "here mom. Lick my face."

Aug 7, 2015
 We always tell the kids if they leave their toys out we'll give them to DI for another little girl/boy to take care of. Well, I didn't put the vacuum away and porter said, "you need to put that away or I am taking it to DI for another little mommy to play with."

July 9, 2015
The kids have been watching Peter pan and porter loves captain hook. He broke off the curved end of a plastic hanger so he could have a hook. Well, at the store he dropped his hook and when he couldn't find it, he was yelling, "where's my hooker?!" Over and over

June 30, 2015
 I was attempting to help Porter do a page out of a preschool workbook. He was supposed to fill in the missing number. I said, "One, two, three...what comes after 3?" Porter looked at me so serious and said, "You get a spank."

June 15, 2015
Why I hate potty training boys: took porter potty at the library. Used the handicap restroom so I could bring the stroller in. Porter sits and then sprays pee all over the bathroom stall including all over Grant in his stroller! Yuck! Next time I will remember to bring a raincoat for us.

February 19, 2015
 Yesterday Porter was helping Blake in the garage. He points to something and says, "Dad, I wuv (love) this. What is it?" Blake turns around and says, "It's an ax, buddy." Porter: "Oh. I love it!"

December 9, 2014
 Another Brookeism: "Mom, we don't have to make our own bananas. Do you wanna know why? Because they grow on monkey trees!"

May 27, 2014
Brooke-isms: *While listening to Christina Perri in the car "Mom, is this witch music?" *After seeing a commercial of a sister reading to her brother: (in a wishful voice) "Oh, I wish I had a brother!"
 *Brooke makes Porter crawl around and meow and be her cat. She's named him Molly.
Porter can now climb out of his crib. He scared the crap out of me last night when he suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

First Day of First Grade

 Brooke is in first grade! I can't believe it! Brooke's teacher this year is Mrs. D. She is actually the mother of Blake's best friend growing up and we are so happy Brooke gets to have her as a teacher.

 Brooke had PM kindergarten last year so she and her friends had the bus stop all to themselves. When she saw some of the bigger kids at the bus stop, she was pretty nervous but quickly got excited as soon as some familiar faces from last year showed up! I love that there are some great kids her age in our neighborhood.

 I was more nervous than Brooke was about making sure she got to her classroom okay. By the time I drove to the school, Brooke was already inside! Brooke has navigated a new teacher, classroom, new friends (no kids from our ward at church are in her class this year), and even has bought school lunch! She had a great first day.

Last Day of Summer

 My mom came to visit earlier in the month and had never been up to Flaming Gorge. We went on a drive so I could show her and happened to come across this little gem of a spot. Blake and I decided this would be the perfect way to spend the last day of summer. And on a Wednesday afternoon we had the whole place to ourselves! We stopped and got lunch at the lodge and then ended the day with a BBQ with some family friends. It was a great last day of summer.

 Baby G was really hungry and had no patience for pictures.

 Brooke was determined to catch a fish with her bare hands. Porter loved chasing lizards in the rocks.

 The water was a little chilly for Porter. He laid on dock to warm up.

 I was finally brave enough to get in the water.

 Brooke thought she was going to trick Blake into jumping in the water. She counted to 3 with no intention of jumping in too. But the joke was on her! At the last second, Blake grabbed her hand and pulled her in.

 See ya later summer!

The Rest of August

 Here is our August photo dump...

 We love looking at babies from behind. There is just something so cute about them sitting there.

Porter loves his sandbox! Blake and I complain about all the sand that's tracked in the house, but when we see the kids out there playing and using their imaginations, it makes it all worth it!

 He spotted an airplane

 According to Porter, the empty pool is now his rocket ship.

 We have had some problems with Brooke and lying lately. One day she got sent to bed early for lying and this is the note she wrote me: "Brooke is stupid and a idiot. No hugs and kisses. No one loves Brooke." Then she drew a sad person in the middle

 Brooke's hands, she painted them herself.

 Another note she wrote at church "I like to play with my little baby."

 Porter is the biggest cheeser! He likes to wear my shoes around the house.

 Brooke made a baby turtle out of playdough

I love that Porter loves to look at books and be read to.

 Porter also loves to dress himself and he will either usually 1) wear the same clothes day after day or 2) put them on inside out and backwards or 3)do both things

Blake  updates: Blake is working hard and doing a great job with helping our family reach our financial goals. He recently bought a mountain bike and is having a blast riding again. He is also looking forward to hunting season this fall. Blake serves in the stake young men's presidency and had the opportunity to go on the youth pioneer trek to Martin's Cove in June. He had a really great experience and it helped him appreciate our pioneer ancestors.

Courtney updates: I have been so slow getting back into shape after Grant was born. It's been super hard to stay motivated and keep on the right track. I have definitely come a long ways, but still have a ways to go. I am trying to kick my soda habit and choose healthy options instead of treats (I really, really struggle with this). I ran a moonlight 5K a few  weeks and it was so fun! I didn't realize how much I missed running a race. My goal is to do a half marathon in April/May. I have also been struggling with hive outbreaks since February. They have been super annoying and uncomfortable. I went in again for the 3rd time for new blood tests to try to figure out what is causing them. If nothing shows up, I will go to an allergist for allergy testing.