Preschool

After much debating I decided that it would be a great idea to put Addelyn in preschool this year.  After moving to a new place she needs to make some new friends and have some structure in her life again.  So, I signed her up at Bethlehem Lutheran Preschool.  Everyone here raves about how great it is.  Addy's Aunt Tess even went there when she was little!  Last Friday, we had a popsicle social at the school where Addy got to go in and meet her teachers and get acquainted with the classroom.  TOTAL FAILURE!  Addelyn has always been super independent.  Never had a problem with leaving us for any reason, until now!  She clung to us, didn't want to participate in story time, and didn't want anything to do with the other kids.  She was "that kid" that everyone is talking about.  When it was time for popsicles they passed them out and Addy was so mad because she wanted a pink one and got a blue one.  The girl sitting across the table from her got a pink one, which made it way worse!  She threw a huge crying, screaming fit!  Crazy! 
Don't let this picture deceive you, it was right before she got her popsicle. :)  

Tyler and I have been trying to hype up preschool ever since.  We talk about all the toys, the snack time, the story time, the playground, her teacher, etc.  Whenever we talk about it Addy seems super excited!  She even seemed super excited this morning while taking pictures. 
Today was her first official day!  I walked her up and she immediately clung to me and wanted me to pick her up.  I picked her up and went into her classroom.  She buried her head in my shoulder.  I walked her around the room asking her what she wanted to play with, when we got to the blocks she quickly got down and started happily playing.  I gave her a kiss and said goodbye.  Success!!!  Not so fast... When I went to pick her up, I asked Miss Tammy, her teacher, how it went.  She told me Addelyn did great! until... Miss Tammy looked at her.  Big mistake!  Addelyn had a screaming, crying, major fit and took awhile to calm down.  Miss Tammy also said Addy had a little trouble listening (one of my main reasons for putting her in preschool).  Miss Tammy told me that she is just going to have to be a little firm with Addy and that she knows that Addy is a very smart kid.  I told her that was fine and we would see her next week!  Let's hope that it gets better as Addy becomes more comfortable.  They have a 6 week probationary period to let the kids adjust... so let's hope she improves before then! :) 

She looks so grown up!  After I dropped her off, I may or may not have shed a few tears in the car.  I didn't think it would be hard for me at all, but it was!  I didn't know what to do with myself for those 2 hours. 

Umatilla County Fair and Rodeo

We love this time of year! Hermiston is on the Pro Circut Rodeo route and they come to town for a week every year. This year we made it to the parade. Addy had a blast watching all the trucks, floats, horses, etc and gathering candy. Her candy bag probably weighed around 10 lbs. No joke!  

Wednesday night we went as a family to the rodeo Dr. Jones and his family.  We walked around the fair for a little bit before hand, checked out the animals, and ate dinner.  Addelyn had a blast watching the motocross act, mutton bustin, and horses.  We pawned her off on Nana and Papa around 9 so she could go to bed.  We had a great time and great seats! 

 

Thursday night we went again with Tyler's family and got a sitter for Addy.  Once again, it was a blast! 

Update on Our Life

After the 3 houses that we were interested in all got offers put on them, we have decided to put off buying a house and instead, rent for 6 months and start the search again. With the waiting of buying a house came the opportunity to buy a second car. We have been "car shopping" since February. :) I would say that we were over prepared for this purchase. We had looked into every smallish SUV and mini van that is out there and narrowed down our list. We weren't having much luck finding anything in Hermiston and were ready to set up a trip to Portland determined to come back with something. I decided to go through every car lot in Hermiston and make sure we weren't missing anything. I came across a Mazda CX 9. It crossed off most everything on our list and we knew we could get a good deal on it! So, we went and test drove it. It was a little dirty and had a weird smell, so we left feeling a bit put out. We decided that if it was cleaned up we would be pretty interested in it. So, we went back the next day and drove it again. We were able to take it on a longer test drive with just us and talked about it while driving. I told Tyler "Let's just do it!" I was tired of looking and just wanted a new car. We weren't like super in love with it, but decided that if we could stay at a certain price we would do it. To our surprise it didn't take much negotiating and before we knew it we were signing the papers! We had bought a car! Yeah! After we bought it, I was more excited about it! Now, I love it! Part of our negotiation was to get 2 new keys with it and a roof rack put on. So, we're still waiting on those, but I love it!

2010 Mazda CX 9 with 50,000 miles on it. 

We found an apartment complex here that will do a 6 month lease and should be moving in next Friday!  We have enjoyed being at Tyler's parents house, but it will be nice to have our own space again.  I know Addy will miss the huge yard, and so will I.  But, hopefully in the not too distant future we will have a yard of our own! 

Swimming Lessons

Where to start!?  Ha!  Day 1 of swimming lessons was great!  She got right into the pool, had a blast, loved it... until she was asked to blow bubbles in the water.  No way!  Day 2 she cried and refused to get into the pool.  I did a lot of chasing her down, bad day!  Day 3 she got a little braver and would go in a little bit to get a toy and then run back out.  I feel like swimming lessons has made her go backwards instead of forwards in her swimming abilities.  Lame!  Not what I was hoping for.  The 3rd day one of the manager ladies at the pool came out to talk to me about what they could do for Addelyn, she said that Addy seems terrified of the water.  I explained to her that Addy absolutely LOVES the water and she did not have a very good first day with her teacher.  The manager lady decided to try to help Addy get in the water, so she picked her up and Addy started kicking and screaming.  She finally set her down in the water, and Addy ran right back out to me.  After a few minutes Addy got back in the pool and proceeded to ignore everything she was being told by the teachers that were trying to work with her.  They brought Addy over to me and said she couldn't be in the pool if she wasn't going to listen and stay by the class.  Understandable.  She then proceeded to tell me that she is the most stubborn little girl she has seen, as if I didn't already know! ha 
So, we are on our second session of swim lessons, and haven't improved much.  It takes her about 10-15 minutes to warm up and get in the water, which leaves 10-15 minutes of constructive time with her teacher, which she chooses to listen to what she wants.  Such a stinker! 

 Day 1!  Doing so well!

 Day 1.. on the wall because she would not listen to her teacher...

Day 2.. not good!

Day 3... getting her feet wet!

Now... notice there are no other kids by her because she is not by her class. :)

Tyler had a patient that works at the pool come in the other day and she said she had heard of his daughter!  So, apparently she is the talk of the pool!  Oh man! 
Hopefully next year will be better!  At least they have given us something to do!

Hermiston Life

Hermiston has been great so far! We have enjoyed having sun every day! I cannot believe the difference that it makes. I really did not enjoy the cloudy day, after cloudy day when it was supposed to be summer. We have had lots of fun with Cousin Emery, lots of bike rides and playing outside, lots of time with Nana and Papa, and lots of lightening watching.

Watching Aunt Tess' softball game.

Swimming with Emery and Ty.

Sprinklers!

Cousin Em, is too little for the sprinklers, so she just watched Addy.

We took Addy to see her first movie, Brave.  She enjoyed it, but most of all enjoyed the popcorn! :)

Done many puzzles!

Watching lightening with Dad.

Date with mom getting some fro yo. Yum!

Just enjoying being outside.

More storms and a rainbow!!

Happy Day for the Bendixsen Family

Tyler got his dental license today! I am super excited and Tyler is super nervous! This came way sooner than expected, and we are so grateful. Tyler will be able to start work on Tuesday, the 17th, way earlier than planned! We celebrated by going and getting free slurpys from 7-11 because of the date!  I am so, so proud of this man and his accomplishments! 

Fourth of July

We had a fun day! It was sunny and warm! We went to the Hermiston Butte and did some activities, including eating shaved ice, had a BBQ, roasted marshmallows, and watched fireworks.

Addy and I painted our fingersnails so we would be festive!

Addy in her patriotic outfit!

We also took time to go visit Grandma and Grandpa B.  This is the best picture I got of Addy with her Great Grandpa Bendixsen.

All ready for the fireworks!