Charlotte's Arrival

Introducing:

CHARLOTTE LUCY GRANGE

Born at St. Elizabeth's Hospital

August 20, 2011

10:13 AM

9 lbs 2 oz

21.5 inches long

WE LOVE YOU CHARLOTTE!

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*To see the hospital photographer's shots click here. The password is grange.*

Road Trip!

Baby Girl's impending arrival happened to coincide with Cameron's brother Trevor and family's move to CT. Being super heroes, Grammy and Grandpa Grange, and Aunt Sylvie decided to kill two birds with one stone.

First as they drove the truck and trailer from UT to CT for the move, they picked up three small and cute hitchhikers in Lincoln, NE. After helping to unload the trailer, they took the scenic route back - stopping in Hershey, PA to visit Grandpa's old mission area, and also, of course, Chocolate World.

Upon arriving back in Lincoln, they stayed on an extra week to help out, play with the locals, and hopefully be around for the birth of their new granddaughter. Uncle Jared, Aunt Emily, and cousin Jess were able to meet up with us for a couple of days too. It was quite a party and a lot of fun!

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They were scheduled to leave the morning of Saturday, August 20th, but baby girl decided to use that time to make her grand entrance, so we got them for an extra day. (More on this later.) We'll miss you Grammy, Grandpa, and Sylvie!

Back to School

This week Esther, William, and Alex have been off on a grand adventure with their grandparents and aunt. They'll get home tonight, and pictures will likely be posted soon.

I decided to take this opportunity to box up last year's school and get set for our new year. We won't be officially starting until after Labor Day, but here's a sneak peak.

Esther will be starting second grade! Here is what her year looks like:

William will be in his second year of pre-k! He can't wait to start Kindergarten next year, but I think he'll have fun this year with this:

Alexander is much too little for school, but he doesn't know that. Though we don't have anything specific picked out for him, he'll definitely be sitting alongside his siblings with various coloring books, puzzles, and toys. We might even start the Letter of the Week with him. But unlike his siblings, he'll be allowed to wander off and do his own thing whenever he gets the urge.

Our new little girl won't be left out either. She's got a busy year ahead of cuddling, eating, crying, giggling, and learning to roll, sit, crawl, and maybe even walk!

How William Plays Chess

He defeated them all!

Lunch Time!

Yesterday I thought I would scream if I made another pb&j or box of mac and cheese. So I did something crazy and made a pan of peach cobbler for lunch. I was sure this was a terrible lunch for me and my kiddos, until I started making it.

I was aghast at the amount of butter (okay, it was really margarine) I was putting in, until I realized that it was the exact same amount that goes into a box of macaroni and cheese. Then I decided to use whole wheat flour rather than the white stuff that goes into mac and cheese. And of course there were all those peaches! I started realizing the only thing my peach cobbler had against it was all the sugar – which I halved anyway.

So, out of curiosity I did a little math. And it turns out that my peach cobbler is a healthier recipe than macaroni and cheese, and is fairly equal to pb&j on whole wheat bread.

Here is the breakdown:

1 serving of my peach cobbler recipe has 100 fewer calories, 4 grams less fat, 300mg less sodium, 1.5 grams more fiber, and 5% more rda of vitamins A and C.

The macaroni and cheese has 27g less sugar, 4 more grams of protein, and 5% more rda of calcium and 7.5% more rda iron.

So I can’t go as far as to say that peach cobbler is a great lunch choice (way too much sugar) – but it looks to be overall healthier than mac and cheese, and I think it might make it back on our lunch table again.

Camp Out

Do you have a four day weekend and don't know what to do? Do you love going camping, but are tired of traveling? Have we got the vacation for you!

Chairs will be provided for all, but sitting in them is optional.

Roast hot dogs in our luxurious outdoor fireplace.

Enjoy a gourmet meal.

Save room for dessert!

Here's a sign that the food was top notch!

Then relax and enjoy a night out under the stars. No rocky ground or cumbersome air mattress to spoil your night. And with our revolutionary system, camp breakdown is a cinch!

Best of all, you'll be within a few feet of all the comforts of home....because you never actually left.

Special thanks given to the daddy of the household, without whom this backyard camp out would not be possible. The toddler and pregnant mommy are choosing to get a good night sleep inside the house.

Things I Should Have Blogged About, But Didn't

Our trip to the capitol building.

Esther's tooth adventures.

Our trip to the zoo.

Esther's dance recital.

William's book-writing.

Astronomy Day.

All the cute things Alex says and does.

Esther and William's soccer teams.

Finishing up our school year (for the most part).

Our growing fetus.

Cameron's birthday.

Mother's Day.

Our 10 day trip to Utah, including Cameron's brother's wedding. I didn't take a single picture the whole time we were there.

Our attempts at gardening.

And many more.

You'll just have to go on wondering, because I'm not in the mood to blog right now. :)