Blog Break

I can't believe it's been 3 months since I have blogged! I thought about giving up on my poor blog since it's been so long, but I love having this blog as a reference and I also turn it into a blog book which holds wonderful memories. So with that being said, I'm going to try to catch up on what we've been doing the past couple months! Let the ramblings begin!

*School started back up! Haylee has been doing awesome in school so far. She received straight A's for the first grading period and 1 B, the rest A's for her second grading period. She loves her teacher Ms. Nelon and I really like her too! She just finished her first club, Young Chef Club and started her new club, Craft Club. She's making new friends and likes having Jake at school with her.

Natalee is in her 2nd year of preschool and loves it. She's doing awesome writing her name and learning letter/number recognitions. Her teachers say she is a wonderful student and they just love her! I haven't decided where she will be going to Kindergarten next year because I love the idea of her having Ms Brianne but I love Legacy. I have a few months to figure it out. Natalee loves her little friends at school, especially Lilly, Mattie and Azi and she loves having play dates with them.

*Girl Scouts started again and Haylee is now a Brownie. And I am officially a co-leader!!! We tend to meet twice month and have already earned several badges. We have been able to do some fun stuff so far this year since we have cookie money from last year. We've gone to Enchanted Island, participated in a Teddy Bear Ballet and we're going to see Elves and the Shoemaker at The Palms in December. We have a troop of 8 girls, 3 new girls this year, 2 of them happen to be Haylee's BF Molly, and Hannah (Haylee's cousin). We have a energetic group for sure! Fall Products sales just ended and Haylee was top seller selling 50 items. Go Haylee!!!

*I was introduced to doTERRA earlier this year but recently became more involved with it. I am loving the fact that I can turn to my oils first whenever something comes up. My girls are always asking me for oils for one reason or another and so far everything has been working great. I use the OnGuard immunity blend on them everyday and I think they've been a lot healthier. The oils definitely lessen the severity of the cold and duration. I'm using them more and more on a daily basis and I'm hoping we stay out of the doctors office this cold/flu season. I'm trying to get into the habit of taking their Life Long Vitality vitamins which have amazing benefits but it's such an adjustment remembering to take them everyday. Since I love the products so much it's hard not to share with everyone I know. I've been giving out samples, sharing with people about the amazing benefits of using essential oils and I have taught 2 classes with Crystal. I have 5 more classes in the next few weeks and I'm teaching 3 of them. I'm hoping the more classes I help Rebecca with and the more I teach the more confident I will be. I've never been one for public speaking, but the products are too amazing not to share and I love teaching others to take control of their health.

*Josh has been taking care of his health the past 3 months and has lost over 30 lbs. When he went to the Dr. in July he had extremely high blood pressure, high cholesterol, elevated liver enzymes and was dealing with sleep apnea. We were looking at $2500 just for a sleep study and then another $3-$5,000 for a CPAP machine. Instead, Josh joined the gym next door, quit drinking soda and eating fast food everyday for lunch and has changed his eating habits. In September alone he lost 28 lbs. and won a weight loss challenge at work. When he went to the Dr. last month the Dr. was very impressed with all the changes. His BP is normal, and Josh can stop his HBP medicine as long as he monitors it. His lab results were all normal and the sleep apnea is very rare so he doesn't have to bother with a sleep study or CPAP now. I rarely hear him snore and if he does it's a lot quieter. I am so proud of how disciplined he is!

*In August we went camping for my Dad's b-day and had a much better time.

We went on a walk down memory lane. Visited double log cabin where my Dad carved our names when we were little,

ate Payday candy bars; my Dad's favorite!

put some Chips Ahoy out for the chipmunks and splashed through water puddles.

And then we made s'mores!!!

I didn't stress myself out keeping Kona on a leash and she stayed at camp the entire time.

The girls had their own hideouts and played the entire time.

While we were gone (of course) Danielle had little Nevaeh Marie. She is absolutely adorable and has a head full of hair!

*We celebrated my mom's 59th b-day! Of course Crystal made her favorite turtle cupcakes!

*For Labor Day, my Mom and I went to San Diego for our annual Mother-Daughter trip.

We had a wonderful time and the weather was beautiful.

 We shopped, ate, went to the beach and drank!

While we were gone, Josh took the girls to Sedona so they could have their own mini vacation too!

When we got back my Mom got Willow, a sweet little lab mix.

Her and Kona are the bestest friends and they ADORE each other!

*We spent Fall Break in Lake Arrowhead with Dustin, Hannah and my Mom is an awesome chalet!

It was a little nerve wrecking seeing the "Beware of Bears" signs everywhere but thank God we never saw one.

The girls played so nicely with each other....

and us adults had so much fun playing Tripoly and dying laughing!

We brought everything pumpkin we could find to get us in the fall mood- bagels, cupcakes, muffins, cookies, donuts, you name it!! Oh and we stopped to get a few Pumpkin Spice Frappes!

We took the girls to Mickey's Halloween Party and had a wonderful time. For a fraction of the cost we were at the park 8 hours, went on 14 rides (or more), and trick or treated more than half the stations. We had more than enough candy and were able to walk up on most of the rides. We watched the fireworks and got pictures with a few characters. Definitely a fun and more affordable way to do Disney!

We had such a fun week. And we sure wore the girls out!

*With fall comes the traditional farms and the horrible memories of what we were going through last year when we visited those same places. I remember taking Haylee to Mother Nature's Farm when she was dealing with her sudden, uncontrollable OCD and getting the call from her pediatrician while we were there saying her ASO levels were elevated signaling she had PANDAS and that she would call in an antibiotic right away. That was such a relief to have a diagnosis and a reason for her radical behavior going on 3 weeks. This was hands down one of the hardest times of my life. Watching Haylee struggle and act the way she did was horrible. I cry thinking about how lucky she was to get a diagnosis and have a 100% recovery as fast as she did. She was extremely blessed and it was proof that the power of prayer is amazing. But this year I had to smile knowing it's been a whole year since we have seen those symptoms and even though she had strep once this year, the symptoms never returned. And I pray they never will! The girls had a wonderful time at Mother Nature's farm this year and loved decorating their pumpkins.

*October 12th also marked 2 years since we lost our sweet Jackson. Still such a hard subject for all of us. Not a day goes by he isn't talked about and missed dearly. The girls point out "Jackson's rainbow" often and let balloons go to Heaven for him. We sure miss his sweet face. Kona has helped to heal our broken hearts and really is a sweet girl. We've had her for a little bit over a year and I think it's safe to say she is out of her puppy stage.

*My Mom and I went to the Luke Bryan concert and had a wonderful time. That's the first concert I've been to in a few years. Totally worth every penny. He just recently won Entertainer of the Year and totally deserved it!

*Boutique season has started and my Mom and I have already been to a few. This year we went to 2 new ones and I loved them. So far my favorite was Grandma's Attic. It was kinda small but had the cutest stuff at awesome prices. I got Natalee a cute Christmas skirt and a Family Rules sign which I have been looking for for awhile. There were really cute aprons I wish I would have bought too! We're still going to a few more in the next few weeks so I can't wait to see what other fun stuff I find.

*We took the Girl Scouts (and Josh and Natalee) to Schnepf Farms for the Chili and Pumpkin Festival. Always a fun time! Haylee lost her 5th tooth eating corn on the cob!

*The week of Halloween we went to Chris's Haunted House. He always does an amazing job and I was totally scared the first time through. Once I saw that it was too bad I took the girls through. They are so brave and wanted to go through over and over. The "actors" we nice enough not to scare the crap out of us since we had kids and Natalee would just wave and say hi when she saw them. She's fearless! We made a cute little Haunted House, had candy corn science experiments and got free spooky pancakes at Ihop. For Halloween this year Natalee was Anna and Haylee was Rainbow Dash. They were both so adorable. They only walked around for about an hour and had more fun handing out candy to trick or treaters.

*My Mom and I got a season subscription to The Palms Theatre this year so we get a little girls night out about once a month. We went to see Run For Your Wife last month and then we saw Caught in the Net last week. Things have changed so much since I worked there 7 years ago, but I have great memories from my days there.

*So far this month we have went to the fair, I've been super busy with doTERRA stuff and Josh has been working on our backyard. He extended the patio on both sides with pavers and cleared out the mulch in the play area. He just started to extend the driveway with pavers and next up he'll start our bathroom remodel complete with jacuzzi tub!

Looking forward to the holidays and all of our family traditions. Hopefully I can keep up on my blog now!!!