And when I turned around this is what I saw......

I put the boys in the living room and went back out to the car to clean up the Cheerios they had dumped in their seats and when I turned around this is what I saw...

Kate's Career Day!

Kate had career day today at school. They were supposed to dress up like what they want to be when they grow up. How do you dress up like an entomologist? Well, last minute, this is what I came up with...(Thanks to Maria and Em for suggestions and Aunt KT for finding the last brown vest on earth!) It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but on short notice, it worked! I was at the school a couple times today for meetings and car pool and several people commented on the little entomologist! She cracks me up! I asked Clair what she wants to be when she grows up and she said, "A princess". Kate said, "That isn't a job, they don't do anything!" Clair responded..."Yes, they do! They help the queen!"

Four Perfect Pebbles

Last night I went with my friend Ivy to the Jewish temple to hear Marion Lazan speak. She is a Holocaust survivor. She wrote a young adults/children's book about her experiences. I read the book about two weeks ago and last night I got to hear her speak. It was phenomenal! I am amazed and in awe of people who go through extreme tragedy and come out strong and without bitterness! Mrs. Lazan is both! Her message is one of hope and faith and most importantly, one of love and peace! I do not understand MASS hatred...and Mrs Lazan teaches "her audience to be tolerant of others and not stereotype individuals based on religious belief, color, race or national origin. She stresses the importance of positive thinking as well as creativity and inner-strength when working to overcome adversity. She warns students to be true to themselves and not blindly follow the leader." Mrs Lazan's entire family was held in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp...her mother, father, & brother! To occupy her mind and time while being held prisoner, Mrs. Lazan believed that if she could find four perfect pebbles that were the same size, shape, and color...her entire family...all four of them...would survive! And they did! Her story is remarkable and testifies of the strength of the human spirit! I recommend you read this book...and go and hear her speak if you can! Hearing live testament of these events will only be possible for a short time more...take advantage of it! To close I want to leave you with a quote Mrs. Lazan shared with us, it was said by the British Statesman Edmund Burke, "Evil prevails when good men do nothing."

18 Months Old!

Well yesterday (September 21st) was the boys 1/2 birthday. Hehehe! They are officially 18 months old. They had their first day in nursery at church. It went very well since Aunt Rosalind is the nursery leader. They even made bunny rabbit pictures w/ a cotton tail glued on it. It was so cute. Here are a few pictures of them on their first day.

Ben found a "puppy" to play with right off the bat.

Alex wasn't sure where to begin. He took it all in at first.

Then he crawled around and found a few toys.

Then Ben played with the "kitchen" and put some stuff in the microwave.

Rah rah ree...kick 'em in the knee! Rah rah rass...kick 'em in the...

OK, so that is not one of Kate's cheers...but it is my personal favorite! That is why I was never a cheerleader! However, I have a very girly girl, who thinks cheerleading is SO cool and here we are! This was Kate's first game to cheer...she actually missed the official first game due to a fever (or as Bowen says...FEE-BER!). So this week the weather was WONDERFUL...not hot, not humid, nice coolish breeze and little kids cheering and playing flag football...it was pretty nice. I am still a bit confused as to how I cheer for Kate cheering? This was me..."Yeah Kate! Way to....ummm cheer...ummm...cheerleaders!" I felt like a dork! I guess I have all week to think about it and lots of family to comment on the appropriate way to cheer for the cheerleaders! Oh and by the way...for those of you who are cheer dumb...like me, those pom poms don't come all fluffed out like that! I spent like 3 hours getting her pom poms ready for her! THREE HOURS!

Hey Y'all!

"Y'all" was a fictional character when I was in college. My roommate and I were both from SC and the boys in our group of dorms always asked us if "Y'all" was coming to dinner with us. I never really got the joke. I mean it's a contraction, right? You and All? And you can conjugate the heck out of it. Y'all - singular, All Y'all - plural, Y'all's - posessive, All Y'all's - plural posessive. What's so hard to understand?

So here are a few pics from our trip to the zoo on Monday (October 15th). We went with three other MOMs and thier twins. We always have fun at the zoo the boys love the elephants and the lions. But it was so hot that day we were glad to get home and be in the AC for a while.

From L to R - Ciara and Gavin, Ally and Ashton, Zachary and Avery, Alex and Ben

Ciara and Gavin close up....with Ally being flirty.

Ally (still begin flirty) and Ashton.

Zachary (or as we like to call him Khaki) and Avery.

And finally Alex and Ben....with Alex flirting with Avery. What a ladies man!

Our Princess is 3 months old!! (and an update on the REBEL!)

She is so peaceful when she sleeps!

She isn't quite big enough to play with the toys
yet, but she loves the Exercauser anyway!

Can you believe it? It is hard to believe that she is 3 months already. Where has the time gone, I'll tell you where it has gone... Laundry, dishes, bathrooms, floors, Laundry, picking up toys, work, dinner, Laundry, dusting, breakfast, Laundry, Preschool, Enrichment, MOPS, Lunch, and did I mention Laundry. Yeah we have been busy and it has made the time fly by. Elizabeth is now smiling all the time, laughing in response to those around her and sometimes at nothing in particular. She is still sleeping between 11 and 12 hours a night, cat napping in the daytime, and eating 4 (7oz) bottles a day. She seems quite interested in our food and screams when we eat in front of her. She hasn't rolled over yet, but I am sure that is right around the corner. She does love her white rattle bunny, TJ, her daddy, me too, and of course being swaddled (at least TJ gave us hope that we won't have to go on his mission with him to swaddle him up every night, so she will out grow it too.). We hate that we can't see you all whenever we want but are glad to stay in touch through the blog and webcam. We will see you all in December.

Love ya

Maria


OKAY NOW FOR TJ:
TJ is doing great with preschool, he actually had a great Tuesday and he only had one time out, and then Thursday was SUPER... no time outs. Now that is a big deal for TJ. He is working hard at trying to be good. He is learning so much. They just talked about the letter "A" for Astronaut, and Apple, and did Aerobics. He is learning many new songs and even a few bible stories. They have talked about the Creation of the world, and Adam and Eve. I asked TJ how God created Adam and he told me out of dirt (as he bent to pick up imaginary dirt from the ground). I then asked him how God made Eve and he said, "From Adam's RIBBON!" (with a big smile while he pointed to his side). I corrected him and told him it was called a rib, and he said OH!!! He is sure smart. We love our little TJ. Tyler has begged all summer to give TJ a mohawk and I always had a great excuse... finally I didn't have one, so he did it. TJ didn't want a mohawk and Tyler convinced him it was a "Thomas Mohawk" like Thomas the tank engine. SO... TJ calls it the "Tomahawk". He even cut our neighbors little boys hair too. Well I thought you would all love to see it. We love you all.

His missionary hair do... the way I like it!

His "Tomahawk"!!

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na....Hey Hey...Good bye!

Big news in the Bright house! So last night Stephen went to put Bowen to bed and he couldn't find his passie. For several months he only gets it when he is in the bed and so we didn't' know what happened to it. He had been playing in his room and I think he must have tried to sneak sucking on it and then put it down or hid it somewhere. I told Stephen I had another one out in the car (for emergencies!). He said, let's just see what happens if he doesn't have it. So, Stephen rocked him for about 5 minutes and just kind of snuggled him. Then he laid him in the crib and went out and closed the door. Bowen immediately started crying. "Ohhhh nooooo! Passsssieeee! Passsssieeeee!" It was pitiful. Stephen went back in after about 5 minutes of him calling for his pass. He asked Bowen what was wrong, Bowen told him his passie was gone. Stephen consoled him and told him he didn't know what happened to it. He told him to lie down and just rest and Stevie gave him his little stuffed dog from my Aunt Geraldine and Uncle Ben (Root Bear...AKA Rubbie). Stephen left the room again, and Bowen didn't cry, but went to sleep and slept pretty much all night. He woke up once and cried out, but went back to sleep quickly! I guess a real test will be nap time...and tonight. Maybe if we just snuggle a bit he will feel soothed enough to be able to relax. Keep fingers crossed! So sad...another baby thing gone! :(

TJ- Man's First Day of Preschool

TJ in front of the apple tree with his name!

Well, I would love to say that it went smoothly, at least the drop off and pick up did. When I went to pick him up I asked him if he had gotten in trouble and he just hung his head. I knew what that meant. I asked his teacher and as sweet as she could be and as nice as she could put it she said, "Yes, he had 2 time outs." I felt horrible. I wish that he could have made it through at least the first day or two without any timeouts, but this is TJ we are talking about. He did his best I guess. We had a long talk and we are going to "do better". Keep us in your prayers. Anyhoo... here are some pics of TJ on his first day, notice I only got 2 pictures, he could not stand still long enough for more than 2 pictures. He was so excited!!!! He even wore his backpack for an hour before school. :) His favorite part about their room, I think is the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree!

TJ with his teacher Mrs. Powers

Oh my! How FAST they grow!

Elizabeth in the kitchen... 2 1/2 months

We are still moving right along here in Cheyenne. Elizabeth is growing like a weed. At her 2 month check up she weighed in at 11 lbs. 6 oz. and was 23 in. long. She is a growin' girl. She has recently started to giggle, or chuckle. She definitely has the "Social Smile" down pat. We are loving her, but not as much as TJ loves her. We took him the other night to meet his preschool teacher and he was excited, but very concerned that we left his sister with the neighbors. He kept asking if we would get his baby after we met his teacher. He is too funny. I am looking forward to him starting school on the 2nd. Please keep him in your prayers, you all know how wild my child is. I pray that preschool will be good for him. I thought I would add a few pics from when D&D and L were here. Talk to you all soon. LOVE YOU!!!!

Tyler, TJ, and Aunt Leah in
Rocky Mountain National Park,
feeding Chipmunks!

Ben and Alex are stylin'!

Check out Ben's new haircut. What a cutie!



Here are my cuties posing in our newly rearranged living room.


And finally......their Daddy trying to make sense of all the cables in our living room. I like to call this one "A Rat in His Nest!"

Christmas Buying List

Here it is:

Tyler buys for Stephen
Stephen buys for Maria
Maria buys for Jessica
Jessica buys for Roz
Roz buys for Creighton
Creighton buys for Josh
Josh buys for Katie
Katie buys for Tyler

$50 is the limit. Happy shopping!

Bowen's 2nd Birthday Party

Bowen's birthday was a blast! We missed TJ

(and the rest of the Franklin fam).

Here are some pictures from the fun event!

Happy Birthday Son!

Click here for my birthday tribute to Bowen!

http://callcorner.blogspot.com/2008/08/happy-birthday-to-my-son.html

Dinner Disaster!

Last night I thought I would make my kids something extra special for dinner. I found these cute pasta shapes with Mickey, Pluto, and Donald. On the back was a homemade mac and cheese recipe. So, I slaved over a hot stove and made a huge batch of homemade mac and cheese. The kids were so excited. Cheers of “It smells so good!” and “When can we eat!” rang in the air. After testing a little bite, I thought it was wonderful. I proudly served up nice big helpings! As soon as the prayer was said, my kids dug in. I was busy in the kitchen when I realized not much eating was going on.

Here is how the conversation went…
Me – “Clair eat your dinner!”
Clair – “I don’t really want it.”
Me – “But Clair mac and cheese is one of your favorites!”
Clair – “Mom this isn’t the right kind of mac and cheese.”
Me – “I know this is different, it is special mac and cheese. I made it special for tonight!
It tastes good I tried it!”
Clair – “Mom, it tastes like vomit in the back of my mouth!”
(I promise this is what she said...I can't make this stuff up people!)
Me – “Clair it tastes GOOD!”
Kate – (with hesitation) “Mom, it isn’t good.”
Me – (with desperation) “Doesn’t anyone like it?”
Bowen – “NODDLES!” (…while eating a big fistful)

So, Bowen was the only one to eat it and Kate & Clair only like that fake cheese stuff! So much for my special meal! :( Hungry kids at the Bright house last night!

Kate's new school in the NEWS!

Kate isn't in this article...but one of my neighbors is shown shelving books in the library with her little girl in her lap! It is a beautiful school :) ...all be it without a playground! :(

http://www.wyff4.com/video/17236724/index.html

Back to School - 1st Grade

Kate went back to school today...and officially started 1st Grade.
She looked darling and was excited. (She's holding a little "good luck" pig Mrs. Manuela gave her.)

Her teacher is Mrs. Smith (13 years experience!). Her classroom looks like a fun magical place where lots of great learning will occur!
This year we get a brand new school...Rodolph G. Gordon Elementary - the gators!

Clair really wanted to help me take Kate to school!
(Bowen went down the street and played with Mrs. Manuela and Katharina.)
This is Clair with one of Mrs. Smith's "Smith's Super Kids"! Kate got right to work! Good luck in 1st grade my little Kate Kate Super Kate!