SCHRIEVER FAMILY: September 2010

I cannot believe that it has been a month since I last posted, I am having the hardest time keeping up with all the happenings of the Schriever household because we are so awesome and do so many cool things ha ha just kidding! I think I am getting Lazy with old age (couple of months until the big 30 ya know) I like list's so here are all the things I have to catch my blog up on.

1. Sophie started Ballet
2. Last day of fun before School starts for Bree
3. First day of 1st grade and Spanish Immersion
4. Bree started Soccer
5. Idiot me stabbed my finger so awesome wait till you see pics!
6. Sun Valley trip with the family
7. Sophie starts preschool
8. We bought a house and will be moving once we (meaning Tom) finish all the updates in it.
9. Bronson is 8 months old

Sophie has been dying to start Ballet for some time now and I have finally gotten around to putting her in a class. She loves loves loves to dance so she looks forward to it all week, it is so great to see her happy.
Unfortunately Tom took pictures of her on his phone and I don't have them on my computer yet so I will have to post them later, so when she is 30 and reads this post she does not say "What the heck, you guys did not take a picture of me on my first day of Ballet". Just in case you were wondering what my sassy child will say later in life!

I was so sad that summer ended. I know it was like a million years ago, but I was determined that Bree's last day as a child who does not have to attend school for the full day was going to be amazing. It was. We went to the Zoo and had the best time together. All the kids were awesome which rarely happens all at the same time. I walked out after cheering to myself that I was awesome and so are my kids. This is not something that happens every day! We all went on the carousel, and the train which were the highlights of the day. My favorite part was the baby Elephant Zuri, she was so cute and I could not stop taking pictures of her. Most of them were her back end, but cute all the same, right.

Last school year I was talking to a parent at preschool and he was telling me about the Immersion programs and how they worked blah blah. I went on the District website that night because I thought it was a good opportunity for any child to learn a language. Anyways, it was the last day to submit your child into the program and so I put Bree's name in a couple of the programs around our neighbor hood thinking it was a long shot. The next week they called me and told me that we were super lucky because Bree had been randomly picked for two programs the Spanish and Mandarin Chinese and we had to pick ASAP so that they could put another child in the spot we gave up. I sat Bree down and asked her if this was something she wanted to do and then called Tom and we decided that Spanish was the best option for us. Bree was so excited and was willing to give up her cute group of friends to learn a new language. She is so not my child, I would never have dared leave my friends and go to a new school. She is so brave and we are so proud of her. She has half day in English and the other half in Spanish, and so far she really likes it. The first couple of days she would come home and tell me that she was really glad that her Spanish teacher had hands because otherwise she would have no clue what she was saying. Everyone keeps speaking to her in Spanish and they expect her to understand but she is only understanding little pieces here and there. We went up to Sun Valley and at the ice skating rink a mother was telling her kids to sit down in Spanish and Bree told Tom what she wanted the kids to do. So I think it will be slow but supposedly by mid year she will be able to understand pretty well and at the end of the year she is supposed to be able to speak it.

Bree started soccer and she loves it to death. She has some really cute girls on her team, and two that are seriously amazing. She has scored a couple of goals which is so great, but she does not really get excited. Weird. Tom does. You all know he is a little competitive and we have to sit him down and have pep talks before, during and after all the games to make sure he does not ruin our daughter emotionally. He is so funny and intense, its entertaining.

The night before we left to Sun Valley we had a really busy night planned with soccer practice and Sophie meeting her preschool teachers. All plans came to a screeching halt when I was making dinner fast and I was taking the pit out of the avocado and I pushed a sharp knife into the pit and the pit split in half and therefore the knife went in one side of my finger and out the other. I had to pull the knife out of my finger and then I freaked. I called Tom and luckily he works across the way and he ran home and thought I said that Bree was dead but luckily that was not the case. I had just stabbed myself. I really was hoping that I was wrong, but one look at the finger and he ran to see if Celeste was home so we could leave the kids. By the was Celeste is so awesome!! She is always so willing to help us when one of us needs to rush to the hospital. Yes everyone we have had to do this more than once. Luckily it was my other half and not me. So we go to the ER and they see blood and rush me in, but then they take forever to come and fix me. My hand hurt but by the time the doc came in I was feeling fine. The doc was a jerk but oh well he did his job right. He thought I might have cut a nerve or the tendon so they had to deaden my finger which felt AWESOME. After he searched my finger for all that stuff, but lucky me just missed it all by milli something!! So I survived and my other awesome friend Jen Turk was so kind to take my stitches out for me so I did not have to go back to the ER. I do love my neighbors, they are all so resourceful.

Sun Valley was so great. Bronson was my biggest worry and my stupid finger that hurt and could not get wet the entire time. I was the joke the whole trip, but I would have to say I did not use one knife the entire time becuase my family was so scared I might stab something more important. My dad gave us all the trip to Sun Valley for Christmas. The house was amazing, the weather was amazing, the food was amazing, and the sleep was not so amazing. The kids lived on their bikes the entire time, and only a couple of Boo Boos occured but they all did so great. We had an awesome Christmas dinner one night and it was accompanied by my Sister in Laws awesome Christmas Music. It was just so great to be with my family, have fun together without any drama phew, and enjoy the most important thing together which is Family. I of course missed my mamasita but she was off in DC enjoying herself thouroughly. The Men and all the kids except Bronson went from Elk Horn to Sun Valley village on their bikes, which is a large distance. We cheered them on from the support cars, and we were so proud of them for making the whole way. Bree and Sophie both went ice skating, and Bree is actually really good becuase she does not fall that much. Sophie could go a couple of steps by the end of her hour on the ice. She was wearing the little girls skates that was the star of the ice show the night before. Crazy that there is a little girl that small that can be the star. It is always so great to see my hot hubby ice skate because he is really good, I was just mad at my dumb finger for not allowing me to skate with him. oh well. Thanks dad we had a blast!!

Sophie started school the day after we came home from Sun Valley and she was crazy excited. I sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with me because my kids are so excited to go to school and they don't cry or freak out they just go. She came out of class beaming about all the new friends she made, the yummy treats they had, playing out on the play ground, and her favorite thing was all the dress ups. She talked about the dress ups for the whole ride home, it was darling. She had been to the Zoo on a field trip, they made applesauce, brought their bears to school, and I know she is just going to have the best year.She is at a great age and every day she cracks me up with all the funny things she says and does. It is really fun to have alone time with Sophie because Bree has always been around. I have noticed the biggest difference in our relationship since Bree went to school all day. It makes me sad to think that she just wanted more of my attention. Now she has the majority of my attention since Bronson sleeps half the day.

So we have been busting at the seams in our home since Bronson was born, but we love our neighbors and our Ward so we have been making it work.When we made the decision to change Bree's school we thought it would be nice to maybe look in the neighborhood that the school is in so that she could walk to school. We found a couple of houses that were great but things just did not work out with any of them which was fine because we were not in a hurry. Then we decided to go in a house that had been on the Market for a really long time, and when we walked in we knew why. The smell. Wow it burned your nose and Sophie still calls it the stinky house. We walked around it and thought it was ok but then we walked upstairs I fell in love with it. 4 huge bedrooms that all had vaulted ceilings, and the space was unbelievable. I really wanted it but we just let it sit there for a month of so and then we made it happen. It is in a great neighborhood, and the best part is that Bree can walk to school. I really can't wait to walk her to the cross walk, it will be divine. The house has character, and we are fixing a couple of things that need to be fixed in order to live there aka the carpet was nasty!! The back yard has great views of the mountains, and it has a swing set that my kids are crazy about. It has a basement that we will finish one day, and the outside needs a little TLC but we are excited to start this new adventure and hope we love it as much as we have loved our little town home.

The post would not be complete without a little update on my little man Bronson. Oh man this little guy has me wrapped around his little finger (except in the middle of the night). He is so much fun I can hardly stand how cute and fun he is right now. He loves the bath and will jet to the tub if the bathroom door is open, and he climbs and climbs with all his might to try and get into that bath tub. Cute but could be scary if he were able to get in. He is really loving all food other than baby food, I don't blame him that stuff is nasty. He has 7 teeth and 4 more coming in. He is a super fast crawler, and can go up the stairs but not down. He is walking around the couches and bathroom tub toilet but Dr. V does not want him trying to stand on his own so I pull him down whenever he does try to stand alone. He has to wait until Thanksgiving until we can allow any of that activity otherwise he might not be smart ha ha! Teeth are my enemy when it comes to sleep, but once those teeth pop through he goes back to normal phew. He likes to hear himself talk, and he loves to say da da. Oh and you know that Da Da loves loves it too!!He had his official first hair cut before family pictures and he is just so handsome and loveable yum!! Tom and him love to tackle eachother and of course Tom has taught him to hit low, so my baby crawls at you and then he drops his head before he hits. It is really fun and he loves to play like that with dad. I have to sub in once in a while but dad is the best.

I know this was long but I just am having the hardest time keeping up.

Soon to come pics of interior of house before and after pics, and all the fun stuff that goes along with moving.