{had to snap that cute tiny bum}

The best invention ever made was the camera. There are so many amazing pieces of technology around, but really, if you think about it, the camera is the greatest. (Close second is the washer). I love when I see or have a moment that I know I always want to remember, all I have to do is snap a button, and its mine forever, no matter how bad my memory gets!

This was one of those moments, nothing big, but I felt so happy as I watched Kosty coloring one day, he is so careful to stay in the lines, and he concentrates so hard. It's adorable to watch him. I am so grateful for cameras!

{I think} Kosty is pretty darn cool. He has such a mind and style of his own and doesn't care what anyone has to say about any of it. He wanted to eat plain white rice for dinner, in his swimsuit, with his goggles and his videogame. And so, he did.

These boys LOVE to look at our Blurb books. I found them like this on Sunday. It makes me so happy to see them flipping through the pages and chatting & reminiscing about the past. They especially love to look at pictures of birthdays & Christmas' past. So nice to know that all those looong hours of blurbing is for good reason.

His last day with the "Strictest teacher on Earth" ...Miss Phan.

Brayden and his 5th grade "buddy", Thomas. They looked and acted like they were in the same grade

I got to go into Brayden's class on his last day and serve pizza and watch them have a little dance party, pinata, and award ceremony. He got the "Sweetheart award" for being one of the sweetest boys in class. It made me laugh because all year long he talked about how much he didn't like his teacher and how "STRICT" she was, and how "mean" she was. It was obvious he really did like her and that she really did like him. He hugged her and told me that he would sort of miss her after all. Can't wait to see what he thinks of his teacher next year.

Kosty had his preschool graduation. He got to have pizza and cupcakes and even throw up his hat and watch a slide show of preschool memories. His teacher, Miss Nicole, lives across the street from me, so it has been an awesome & convenient year. He can now write his name and read a few sight words. He has come a looong way since his first day in class! Now, one more year of preschool since he misses the cut-off just like Brayden and I get extra time with him!

Having kids with minds of their own keeps you humbled. Brayden is a very sweet child with, I feel, very divine intuition. He hates to hurt feelings and he is very sensitive and insightful. Today at church he pointed two of my spiritual flaws, and one is that I don't bear my testimony. I only bear my testimony at the end of a talk or after my baby is blessed...so its been a while. I feel guilty because he also has stopped getting up to bear his and its hard to encourage him to do so while I remain sitting every fast Sunday. I really try to share my testimony during FHE but I seriously dislike doing it in church. I need to get past this. I need to get up and not cry. I cry every time I get up there. Which is the main reason I don't want to get up. I know this is a problem with a lot of women, right?? Any body have great advice for how to get over it? I feel about this big today.

new hat.

Kosty had been begging for a new hat for a while, so I took him to get one and to my surprise he actually picked one that was on sale for $5. I didn't dare tell him that's the one I wanted him to get or it would have completely backfired. So I casually hung back & watched him stare at two hats, and even try them on in the mirror. In the end the cheaper hat won because it was more "colorful". He LOVES this hat. But there is a catch. He will only wear it with pants. No matter how hot it is. Its becoming a problem because his ratio of pants to shorts is 1 to 6. When I asked him why he won't wear his hat with shorts, he said, "Because shorts are NOT cool!!! I can't wear my cool hat when I wear shorts!" He's always hated shorts but this rule kind of cracks me up.

Oh, and did I mention he will only wear it sideways?? I guess there are two rules then.