Halloween and stuff

Caden started school and loves it.  The first week I dropped him off and picked him up and then he insisted that he ride the bus.  He is growing up so fast.  Kindergarten hasn't impressed me too much.  The first couple of days I asked him what he did and he said he learned some letters... Hmm-shouldn't all kids starting kindergarten know their letters already?  Kali already knows her letters and how to write some of them.  Oh, well I keep having to remind myself that we put him in kindergarten so that he wouldn't be socially behind and always be the youngest.  We do plenty of things at home and he is so smart.  He is reading like a whiz now, on to level 2 books and he is trying to teach Kali to to add and subtract.  She doesn't get it so much.

I have lots of fun at home with Kali.  She is my helper and always there to help me with any cooking or cleaning.  She is a girly girl and loves to play dress-up and have me paint her nails.  Lately she has been getting into my perfume and lotion.  I can always tell because she uses way too much and reeks for the rest of the day.  She is so much fun and I'm glad I have someone to entertain me all day.

My mom came to town and we went to a pumpkin patch and got pumpkins for $1! Ya so we got ten.  Why not? And I died my hair brown.  I needed a change.

Caden's class went to a different pumpkin patch (we have a lot around here), and I got to go.  Thankfully someone watched Kali for me so I got to be a chaperone. It was fun to see him interact with his little friends.  He has already picked the girl he is going to marry.  Funny boy- Kali told him she wanted to marry him and he said he is already going to marry Sierra so she has to find another handsome boy.

We carved those pumpkins.  Kali is not afraid of getting dirty and was a sticky mess by the end.  Caden    wanted to carve this little tiny pumpkin and he did a good job.  I thought it couldn't be done and he proved me wrong. 

They had fun on Halloween and got too much candy.  I need to toss it, but they would know.  So I have to limit it.  At this rate we will have it for a year. They picked their costumes and we will definitely use them for the rest of the year.  These kids love to dress-up.

I have done a post in a while, mostly because we haven't been home.  On top of that I don't have a lot of pictures because of our broken camera. So the phone has had to do.  Unfortunately, I don't always remember to snap shots with my phone.  This summer has gone by so fast.  Scott's first two rotations were ER and psych.  They really weren't too bad.  ER was a total of 14 shifts I think and psych was mostly 8a-6p so it really wasn't bad either.  I love staying home and not working.  Maybe next year I'll work, but intern year is going to get crazy pretty soon and I don't know when I would work.  Oh well, I will enjoy it while I can.

We got to go berry picking a couple of times.  The berries here are amazing and really cheap so we stocked up.

We have used our fire pit more this summer.

Unfortunately, we had to make a trip to Utah because Scott's dad passed away.  Really, really sad.  I'm so glad we moved closer and could be there.  It was nice to be around family.

Then Scott's mom, sisters and brother came to visit us.  It was really nice to spend time with them and show them around Oregon.  We went berry picking, shopping and to the coast.

These last few weeks we were in Utah and Idaho.  Scott did an out rotation in Spanish Fork for a week so we were able to see and spend some time with his family.  We went to Lagoon one day and stayed the entire day.  Kali spent most of her time in the kid area, but Caden was tall enough to go on most rides and I'm always surprised at how adventuresome he is when it comes to theme parks.  It was a lot of fun.   Although Scott got a little pale after one ride...

Kali doesn't take naps anymore, but all of the fun and sun really tired her out.

We went fishing at the fish hatchery with Scott's mom and Paul.  Kali loved it and wanted to catch more, but Caden ran at the sight of the flopping fish.  (On a side note we went to the aquarium with my brother and Kali has no fear she was feeding the sharks! I didn't want to stick my hand in there.  Caden probably gets his cautiousness from me because he wouldn't stick his hand in either.)

We got to celebrate the kids birthdays multiple times, which was a lot of fun for them. This was at my grandparent's house. We did a party in Idaho with family at Chuck E Cheese, but I don't have any pictures right now.  They are all on my mom's camera.  They love that place.

Scott is doing a couple of rotations in Michigan right now so I went to Idaho for a little while so I wouldn't be alone for so long.  We got Kali a bike for her birthday so they enjoyed riding bikes and playing in the pool every day.

We loved spending a lot of time with family.  I love that we are back out west and can see family more often.

Caden starts school again tomorrow. We have been debating what to do with him all summer.  His birthday is so late that he barely makes the cut-off, and we have had a lot of people tell us that they would have him repeat kindergarten so he won't always be the last to do everything.  This week he went to a screening and the teacher said that he knows everything and she thinks he should go on to first grade.  What a dilemma we have had with this!  In the end we want him to mature now and would rather not have to hold him back later. So tomorrow he will have his first real day of kindergarten... again!  

graduation/moving/coast

I haven't done a post in a while because our camera broke (Scott may have dropped it at his brother, Stephen's, wedding).  I was hoping we could get it fixed or at least get a new one, but we have been in the car for most of the last few months so it just hasn't happened.  First, we went to Utah for the wedding, then Scott dropped me and the kids off in Idaho, and he continued on to Oregon.  He did a week rotation here at the derm clinic.  I flew out to meet him and we looked at houses.  Next, we drove to Missouri for his graduation. It was a bummer not to have a camera there, but I had my phone and it does a decent job.  These are some pictures from the big day.  He has worked hard for this day, and I am really proud of him. I can't believe four years has passed so fast.  We sure are going to miss our Michigan friends!

Then we made it back to Michigan and stayed for about a month.  While we were there we tried to have some fun doing things that we hadn't been able to do yet.  We went to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum a couple of times... 

Went to a Tigers game...

Caden misses his best friend so much.  He asks to call him just about every day and is sure we are going to Las Vegas any day now to visit.

Caden graduated from Kindergarten. We had him in a Montessori school and he did awesome.  He is going to be repeating Kindergarten because of his late birthday.  Scott and I have decided that we would much rather him be the oldest rather than the youngest, especially as a boy.  He loves school and was really excited to get signed up here.

They did a fun cake with face cupcakes...

Caden learned how to ride his bike without training wheels.  It was a lot of fun to go on family bike rides.  Once he got it he took off...

Kali has grown up a lot.  I can't believe what a little girl she is.  She is definitely not a baby anymore and she knows it.  She always tells me babies are zero and one year olds and she is two.

Of course, we spent A LOT of time packing.  I have officially decided we have too much stuff. We made it across country a second time around and we are now in Oregon.  The kids are adjusting nicely, and we are getting to know the area.  We live right across the street from a subdivision park.  The kids think it is the best thing ever.  When we first got here they were a little sneaky and decided to go on their own a couple of times (not cool).  We like our house and feel like we have a lot of extra room.  It would be nice not to have to move too far if at all next year, but who knows!

Scott's first block is ER and he got a sweet schedule.  He has every weekend off in 3 or 4 day blocks.  I better enjoy that while I can. This weekend we decided to go to the coast. We are only about an hour away, but it took us a little longer to get there because Caden got carsick.  Poor kid gets carsick all of the time and has since he was about 18 months old.  I cannot count the number of times he has barfed in the car. It definitely wasn't warm weather, but it was a fun adventure.  And since I eat fish now (in limited varieties) it was the perfect time to have a meal on the water.