Michael Is HOME!!!!

The sun is setting on Michael's time in Iraq!

Michael just sent this picture and I thought it was cool. This might be the last picture on our blog from Iraq!!!! He will be home soon (unsure of the exact date) and we are SOOOOOO excited!

Braden's FIVE!

Happy Birthday Braden! We had such a fun time celebrating Braden's birthday, other than the fact that Dad wasn't here to celebrate with us.

On his birthday (the 4th) he had a great day. He got special treatment all day from breakfast in bed, to going birthday shopping, to lunch at McDonalds. I think it made him feel really special. His favorite part was being sang to, and he asked me for the next two days after his birthday if I would sing to him several more times. He told me that it made him feel good. Daddy called on his birthday and sent him on a treasure hunt to find a special present. That was so fun.

Today was his party at Carrabas (italian restaraunt). It was GREAT! This year I was all about easy and no hassle, so I was excited about having it somewhere other than at our house. The restaraunt doesn't open until dinner time, so we went for lunch and got the whole place to ourselves. The kids got to make their own pizzas and see how they were cooked and they had a really good time sitting along the bar watching and eating. After pizza, we opened presents and ate cake and ice cream. It was a great time, and after it was all over, I didn't have to clean up. -So nice! And to top it all off, it was super cheap! I would highly recommend Carrabas for a birthday party to anyone.

Braden is such a sweet boy. I can't believe that he is five. I really do think he is the best little five-year old ever. Today at his party he said, "I'm going to tell you who out of all of my friends I wanted to be here the most" ...and I started to cut him off because I thought that this might not be good, but he said, "Everyone. I'm so glad that everyone is here". That was very sweet. He does and says so many nice things everyday. When I ask him to pick up, I'll say something like, "pick up 25 things", and he will always come to me and say, "I went the extra mile. I picked up 30". He is a good helper and such a good big brother. He loves to learn new things and doesn't give up easily. He is a great example because he loves to read the Book of Mormon and always reminds me that we should read. I love Braden so much and feel so lucky to have him as a son. -And I know his Dad feels the same way.

Just thought this was a cute picture to share....

First week of pre-school

What a busy week! Conner started pre-school on Tuesday and seems to really like it. Two of the mornings, he was sad when we dropped him off (in a mad dash to get Braden to a different school on time), but he was very happy each time we picked him up. It has been very stressful trying to get Conner dropped off quickly to make it to Braden's school on time and then to pick Conner up and rush to Braden's school again. I don't know if I am going to survive this schedule. ...We'll see! I go to the YMCA to work out just about every day, and this week I felt sort of bad after dropping my three children off in three different places. Am I a horrible mother?

Oh, this week we also started soccer. I feel SO busy. How do people do it with more children and older children? I was seriously on the verge of tears several times this week due to stress.

Update on Michael

I haven't posted anything about Michael lately (mostly because I am waiting to get more pictures from him), but I thought I would give a quick little update....
Michael seems to be doing well. I am SO grateful that we are able to talk just about every day. I love him and miss him so much!
He is at a different base right now doing dentistry on a lot of Iraqis. Actually, most of them need teeth pulled and they don't want him to pull them, so he is trying to convince them to let him work on them. I think it's nice for him to be in a new environment and seems to make time go by faster. About a month ago, he got a small pox vaccination and ended up with cellulitis. His shoulder was very swollen and red and he got sick. Though he still has a scar, he is doing much better. He works VERY long days (16 hours sometimes) and sounds tired most of the time. I feel so bad for him, but I'm so proud of how well he has dealt with this experience.
Now for the good news....When he gets back to his home base, he will have just a short time before he gets to come home! Yippee! He should be home by the end of September!! I CAN'T wait! I feel so lucky that he has had such a short deployment and really admire people who do it for 12 or 15 months. I just can't imagine.

Holy Crap!

Tonight while I was cleaning up the backyard, I found the biggest spider I think I have ever seen (aside from at a zoo). I even said "holy crap!" out loud to myself. I went next-door to show the neighbors, but they weren't home, so I had to put in on the blog. Unfortunately, the boys are in bed and didn't get to see it, and I'm not a nice enough mom to save it for the morning. It was sprayed with spider killer and flushed down the toilet. I have felt like I have something crawling on me ever since. Yuck!