Here is our latest input for the Elg family newsletter:
Hello family! Life is good, but busy, up here with the Washington Browns. The girls have been back in school for about 6 weeks now and it is shocking to me how quickly it all flies by! Sarah has started 4th grade and she is loving it. She is enjoying being part of the older half of her school. Last week she got to ride in the back of the bus a few times and felt like she'd definitely been handed an upgrade. She has volunteered to be a Conflict Mediator and is currently in training for that. (Conflict Mediators get to help the recess duty teachers with younger kids who are having disagreements.) She is also planning on joining the honor choir that is for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. She loves to sing so I think she'll really enjoy it. Sarah is also starting her 2nd year of Quest. This year their research project is about something they think is interesting and they want to learn more about. Sarah has chosen weather instruments. I think I'm just as interested to see what she discovers as she is! Sarah has started back up in dance. She wanted to take ballet and jazz this year. We are really liking the new studio where her lessons are and she is enjoying it a lot. She gets to be in two performances this December. All the ballet classes put on a performance of the Nutcracker and the other classes do their own show. She is thrilled to get two fun costumes. Sarah is also back in piano. For multiple reasons, lessons just didn't happen last year. I am doing my best to teach her and Chloe. So far, so good, but it won't be long before we'll need to get Sarah with someone more experienced than I am!
Chloe is a 2nd grader now. A few of her best friends from previous years are in the same class as her, which is all she could hope for. This girl loves to socialize! She is as smart as her big sister though. Her teacher just finished their reading assessments two weeks ago. He called me to tell me how great she did and that she is the top reader in his class. She felt so proud to have her teacher call to brag about her. She really does love books. She has to read 15 minutes a day for school, but loves to squeeze in any extra time that she can. Chloe has also started dance lessons. She chose hip hop, which I wasn't too sure about at first. But after watching her first lesson and seeing all the spark and attitude that she has, I've realized this is perfect for her. She is working hard on piano too. She is at the very beginning, and so she is learning how music is like a code that you have to know the secret meanings of in order to play. She is working hard and feels very accomplished when she has learned to play her pieces.
Kyle is my sweet, stubborn boy. Sometimes he's sweet, sometimes he's stubborn. He's definitely all Kyle! He really misses his sisters when they head off to school each day. He loves to give them hugs and kisses and then watch them out the window while they walk up the street. Kyle also loves to have things his way, which in his mind is the one, true, and only way. I am definitely being taught many lessons (because I need many) in patience. He has become great friends with our neighbor Owen. They play together every afternoon that they can. He is enjoying Nursery at church and it is hard to believe that in just a couple of months he will be a Sunbeam! I think he'll be so excited to come and be in Primary with me.
Aaron is growing a mile a minute. It's hard to believe that he's nearly 10 months old. Sarah keeps saying how she is excited for Christmastime because then Aaron will be 1! (And because it's that much closer to her birthday.) He is working really hard on crawling. In the past two days he's really figured out how to pull himself around by his arms. He's trying to get his feet and legs up underneath him, so I don't think he's more than a week or two off from being fully moble! He also enjoys standing while holding onto something. I'm sure this gives him such a new perspective on his little world. Most of the time he sleeps through the night now, which is so nice for me. He lights up whenever one of the kids comes over to talk to or play with him. How nice to come into life with 3 ready-made friends!
Brad has recently changed codes (departments) at the shipyard. He's now working in the radiological controls area. (Rad Con for short.) Mostly he's so far had to sit and read a lot of manuals - which he finds so boring. He's just started getting the chance to get back onto the boats for more "hands on" type work, but even that has been a bit frustrating since they just haven't given him the training he'd like. He did have a two day course on Japan and the do's and don'ts of visiting there. The U.S. has a new shipyard in Japan that (they say) all the engineers will work at at some point. We know several people who have gone, or will be going over there soon. Anyway, he did enjoy learning bits of Japanese culture and writing and I know he hopes to get the chance to at least spend a week or two there.
I'm really busy with the kids, the house, and Primary. Our program is in a couple of weeks and I'm in charge of it this year. I know the kids are going to do a great job, but I'll be glad when it is done. I recently got to take a break from the day to day and had a girls trip to Leavenworth, WA over conference weekend. I went with 7 other gals from church. We stayed in a condo, watched General Conference, ate good food, and stayed up way too late talking and having fun. It was so nice and so relaxing. I'm lucky that next month I get to go away again to visit my friend Ashley down in San Diego. (They normally live here, but are down there because Brent also works for the shipyard.) While I was gone, Brad did an amazing job getting the girls new room downstairs painted. Sarah's half is teal and Chloe's half is hot pink. He worked himself to exhaustion, but he did a great job! Sarah helped out by being the "mom". When I got home last Sunday night, she said, "Now I know why you needed a break. Being the mom is hard work!" It's so nice to be appreciated! Brad is taking her to a rock climbing gym next Saturday to thank her for being so helpful. Yesterday Brad and I spent the afternoon out in the yard working on getting it a bit more winter-ready. I really enjoy getting to dig in the dirt and make our yard look nice. I'm looking forward to next spring/summer when Aaron will hopfully be a little more inclined to let me spend time out there! He sat in his stoller yesterday and watched Brad work for over an hour with no fussing, but when he's watching me, I'm lucky if I can get 10 minutes.
Well, now that I've taken up more than our share of the newsletter I'll close. We look forward to reading what the rest of you have been up to! As always, feel free to check out our blog
www.brownybunch.blogspot.com. I can't promise that it will be updated as often as Christy's, but I'm not as good at managing my time as she is. Thanks Chris for all the hard work you do to keep us in touch!!!
Here's our Halloween line up!
And again, in the dark....
Kyle wanted a scary face pumpkin.
Here is my creation, that I copied off one of my decorations.
Chloe made a mouse.
Sarah carved a pig. I should mention that both of the girls designed and carved their own pumpkins without any help this year.
Kyle requested a dragon, and once again, Brad came through with his awesome pumpkin carving skills!
Brad made some pumpkin pi....
