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I think it might finally be winter around here. Today was our first day of cold weather. It has been a wonderful fall. I hear we might have a mild winter, I will cross my fingers.
We went to Milwaukee for Thanksgiving and it reminded us how much colder it is up there. My cousin and her family moved there the same time we left, huge bummer. Our kids got along wonderfully and we enjoyed a gourmet Thanksgiving meal made by her hubby (3 turkeys each cooked a different way, 8 pies! it was amazing!)
My cousin and I shopped the black friday sales like pros, we started at 9:30pm Thanksgiving night and went all night and got home at 8am the next day. We went to a million store and got some great deals. I think she might be wiped out for next year. Anyone want to do it with me next year?
I will be closer west so we can figure it out and plan it. We have made our decision and Phil has accepted a job in Cheyenne, Wyoming! It was a hard decision but we think it will be a great fit all around. My mom- not so happy that we didn't go with the closer offer, but after a visit during Frontier Days(a big deal in Wyoming- rodeos, country music concerts, parades, a whole week of western fun!) I'm sure she will love our decision. :) It is so great to know our next step in life. We are super excited!

ALOHA!

Look who turned 5 Hawaiian style!!


Alyssa had her hawaiian luau party on Saturday and is now a big five year old! She invited 10 of her friends over for her big day. We had them all wear their swimsuits, even though it is November and we live in Iowa. We didn't swim and we turned the heat up so no one was too cold, but it was actually a beautiful dayoutside. When the guests arrived we got them all hula'ed up with their leis, grass skirts, flower for their hair and tatoos.

We then had a hula hoop contest.


Then McKell took center stage, without me even telling her what to do. The night before McKell and I had gone to the library in search of a video teaching how to hula, no luck. The day of the party after the hula hoop contest I said we are going to learn how to hula and I was turning up the hawaiian music we had playing in the background and McKell went to town. She had everyone stand up and spread out so they weren't touching anyone. She taught them all how to 'hula' for a good 15 minutes. "Move your hands like they are going over mountains" "go side to side" "good job Maria, I like the way you are moving your hips". I was so surprised! I let her do her stuff, the little girls LOVED it. Thanks Kell you are a super star!

After hulaing we had lunch. Hawaiian pizza, fruit kabobs, and fish crackers.

We then did the limbo. The girls had a great time and wanted to keep going lower until they had to slither under the pole on their backs. I had the 'cake makers' make Alyssa's birthday cake, remember how cute Nate's was? They did an amazing job!

I made a ice cream volcano to go with the cake and Alyssa blew and blew and blew out the candles, we used trick candles- Phil was getting worried she was going to pass out she was blowing so much, it was pretty funny. We finished up the party with present opening and snow cones! You can't have a hawaiian luau without a snow cone! Here is the snow cone maker I rented, don't ask any questions- this thing almost put me in the dog house with my hubby. There was even talk of giving me a budget for my parties- gasp- I know! In my defense, we did have snow cones with friends Friday night, saturday, and sunday and the kids all loved them.

The tradition has now been set that you get to pick where we go to dinner when it is your birthday so Alyssa picked Red Lobster. As we were sitting there getting ready to order Phil and I were looking at the kids menu and we said to each other, 'Why are we here for Alyssas birthday she doesn't like anything on this menu?' and then it occured to us, she doesn't like anything on any menu. She was just there to pet the lobster. Since her actual birthday is Sunday she got to pick what we had for dinner. She wanted tortillas and carrots. After we talked further she came up with the menu of- bean burritos, cucumbers and carrots with ranch, jello jigglers and pineapple- with snow cones for dessert! (see we used it a lot) Happy Birthday Alyssa, you always make us smile!!

BOO!

Did I scare you? It is a shocker that I am actually posting, I know I will try and do better.

We had a great halloween around here.

The kids were all pirates!

We had a fun party for the kids and their friends. I made these fun invitations...

They are those little cans that are filled with fruit coctail, you open the bottom with the safety can opener, wash it all out and let dry, fill with paper scroll that has party details on it and put gummy worms and other candy in it, then seal the bottom back on with clear glue. Cover the can with cute paper and there you go.

We had scary food,

Mummy hotdogs, spider sandwiches, worm slime, witches brew, eyeballs, and ghost, witch, and cat cupcakes.

The kids all came dressed-up. We decorated sugar cookies, played games, ate food, had glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets and sat in the dark while I introduced the kids to our dear friend John who was nice enough to leave his remains for them to feel. They felt his guts, heart, ears, eyeball, brains, teeth and fingers.

A good time was had by all.

We had our ward party, which I had to do by myself since Phil was on nights, ugggh. There was a little party at the hospital. The girls each had their school parties. McKell's I helped with and made the popcorn witches hands, Alyssa's we took cupcakes (thats why I made so many for the party) but she didn't want me to even come in and take a picture. Some friends came from Indiana to go trick-or-treating with us, it was so fun to see them. McKell and Kaitlyn hadn't seen each other for over 3 years, but use to be great friends in Milwaukee- McKell answered the door when they came and they said to each other "I don't remember you" while they gave each other a big hug. The girls didn't waist any time, all 4 of them (McKell, Kaitlyn, Alyssa, and Sadie) loved playing together. Nate, Porter and Zach will be the same way in a few years.

Other fall fun: Pumpkin picking-

Hay mazes and farm fun.

And of course the annual pumpkin carving.

Football games- McKell did a cheer camp and performed at the West High game. She loved it and it was the first game Phil and I have been to since we were in high school. Fun times!
Other things we have been up to-

Phil has been traveling- conferences (New Orleans), interviews for jobs (can we really be close to finishing?).

I have been obsessed with the decisions of what we are doing next year and need a decision to be made so I can get other things done!

McKell has been going to birthday parties galore. We had her parent teacher conference and she is doing great in the second grade. Her teacher said there is a romance going on with McKell and Noah in class. They always want to be partners with each other and when they are reading or doing something Noah will put his arm around her, her teacher thinks it is so funny. McKell just thinks they are best friends. Her teacher and I were talking about how different it is for them because McKell is the oldest and Noah is the youngest with three older sisters.

Alyssa is looking forward to turning 5 next week. Her parent teacher conference was last week as well. I was a little nervous about going because a few weeks ago I found out about Alyssa's problem with telling the truth at school. Her teacher said Alyssa hasn't had anymore problems with telling the truth since I talked to her, whew! Alyssa is doing great and is ready for kindergarten. Her teacher is going to try and get some more things to challenge her for the rest of the year. She says she loves to play with her girl friends in class but when they get on the playground she loves to run with the boys because the girls can't keep up with her. Her teacher says- "She is so fast!"

Nate loves his music class I take him to once a week. He is obsessed with motorcycles, swords, guns, spiderman, batman, pirates, scooby doo, candy, books and drinks. He is hilarious to talk to. He is still a total boy. I dressed him up like this (it is a Kogan tradition) to dress up boys once like a girl. Phil is not happy about this picture. McKell told him to hold his dress up. After I put the camera away he ripped off his head band and pretended it was a gun. Zach is now 6 months old. He is a stellar food eater and loves veggies and fruit. He makes everyone think they are so special because he will catch your eye and give you a great big smile and keeps smiling at you like you are his long lost friend. He really has made peoples day, it is so cute to see strangers reactions to him. He can sit and loves toys. He went on his first airplane ride to Denver and did great.

Camping, Girl trips, and the Frog

We had our annual ward camp out a few weeks ago and Phil was on overnight call at the hospital. I thought it would be a fun adventure and decided to try and do it by myself. We got the tent set up and made a giant bed for us all to sleep on inside. Phil was totally surprised I did it, mostly because I did it without an air mattress. It was the first time I have ever been camping without one, and I am glad it was only one night. The kids had a blast and slept great. Zach slept next to me, away from the other kids, and he woke up with a big smile on his face, he is a camper already. The kids had fun catching little toads, which died the next day.

Some friends decided to go camping again the next weekend so camping was done again, except this time Phil took the kids (minus Zach) while I spent some girl time in Chicago. They ate like kings, well cowboys, with wonderful dutch oven dishes. Phil said he is getting too old to go camping without an air mattress, other than sore mussels everyone had a blast.

Kasey, who moved to Alaska a year ago, came to Chicago for her hubby's conference. So Robs, Sarah, and I drove up to see her. She brought Ethan so Zach wouldn't be the only boy. We had a blast shopping, laughing, eating, taking pictures of Robilyn, talking about the past and the future, and just being together. The boys were super stars!

I got home Saturday night, our anniversary was Sunday, Phil was on call 2 more times that week and then I headed out on another fun girl trip adventure. I went to Minneapolis to the Mall of America! Not to shop, can you believe I only went in two stores the whole weekend! It was Scrapfest 2009. My friend Heather, from med school she lives in Des Moines, and I decided to see what it was all about. It was Disneyland for scrappers. We payed to get a badge ($15) and then spent three days walking around the mall standing in lines and doing projects. It was lots of fun! They even had the expensive souviners we had to buy to remember the weekend.

The frog! I was driving to volleyball at the church one night last week and noticed something hop on the side of the road. I thought to myself, McKell is obsessed with frogs right now, she should come to this pond and see what she finds. The next day Phil was post call (home sleeping) I was taking the kids to school and when I got home Phil was awake, shocking.

He said, 'that was a funny joke.'

Me- 'What?' looking at him like are you sleep talking?

Him- 'Go look out in the garage in the bucket'

Me- 'Why?' thinking- just go to sleep so you can get up before dinner and help me with the kids

I go look in the bucket and there is this

I was so shocked. He found it on the ground in the garage. McKell has been asking for one as a pet and Phil thought I got one and was playing a joke on him. There would be no way a frog would be able to get in our garage on its own. We were baffled. Then I remembered the night before when I was driving to volleyball and saw something out of the corner of my eye. He must have jumped onto the grill of the van and stayed there while I played and then got off before I left in the morning. Prayers do get answered! The girls were so excited when they saw him and quickly named him Cody. They kept saying, 'I can't believe this is real, I can't believe we really have our own frog.' Poor frog had a broken leg, look how it goes out. They were planning his recovery and feeding him crickets and deciding who gets to take him to school first. McKell took him the next day to school and he was a hit. She didn't let anyone hold him except for Brody, of course, but let everyone look at him. She was going in from recess and held the door open for some 1st graders, a girl was walking in and looked at the frog box and didn't believe it was real. She took the box from McKell and shook it and threw it on the ground. Poor Cody was bleeding from his head and only lasted until about 5 pm that night before he 'croaked'. McKell was devastated. She was crying and didn't want to eat dinner. She wanted a proper burial, which I talked her out of. Poor Cody, he will now be forever remembered on the blog.

We won't be hanging out together as a whole family anytime soon, Phil is on nights then headed to interviews and conferences and then another week of nights. So maybe once October is over we can finally celebrate our 12 year anniversary, and go to dinner together.

The Twelve Years of Marriage

On the twelfth year of marriage my true love sent to me,

twelve Christmas mornings spent away with extended family,

eleven months of knowing each other before we were married,

ten years of schooling,

nine major purchases (over $300),

eight hundred new recipes tried,

seven frigid midwest winters,

six thousand diapers,

five glorious kids,

four long road trips to Utah,

three states we've lived in,

two hundred thousand dollars in debt,

and one lost wedding ring.

A weekend full of Birthday!

Today is McKell's 7th birthday!! This was the first no party year. It was a little tricky because Phil was on call today and so we needed to celebrate it earlier when he could be there. McKell decided she wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner and then to a different restaurant for dessert. So that is what we did Saturday night since I wasn't about to take 4 kids to dinner all by myself tonight and we don't go out on Sundays. She loved that her birthday turned into a birthday weekend.

Again since Phil wasn't going to be here tonight, we had her cake last night and so she picked out what we had for dinner. Salmon and baked potatoes. We invited her friend who lives down the street over for cake. She also opened her presents on Sunday because Phil was home. She was so excited for each one and let out multiple screams throughout the process, what a girl.

I made the famous rainbow cupcakes for her to take to her school class. I guess they were a big hit and everyone in her class was so surprised that her mom could make these wonderful cupcakes, 'She must be the best cook ever'. Wow, so easy to please 2nd graders!

She wanted a friend to come over and watch a movie on her birthday so we invited her 3 girl friends from 2nd grade to come have pizza and watch her new Hannah Montana movie. This was a last minute development and we just sent little cards to school with her to give them on Friday, since I don't have all their phone numbers. They had a fun play date today and sang and danced the whole movie. One of the friends moms called it a party to me and I looked at her like she was crazy, in my mind thinking 'this is NOT a party'. McKell was so surprised her friends brought her a gift today and one friend said something about it only being 3 friends over and McKell said 'its not like this is a big party or anything, we are just having pizza and watching a movie'. That will be something I pass on to my kids, they will know how to have a party.

McKell had a blast all weekend and especially today on her actual birthday. It was a great no party birthday.

She is such a great sister, she was happy to include both Alyssa and Nate in everything- even with her friends over today. I am so glad she treats her siblings so well, it is a great example for them.

She is a wonderful student in school and all of her teachers, since preschool, have commented on how they love her in class and that she is a perfect student.

She is a little drama at home but when she says she will do something it gets done perfectly. She loves to organize things. She loves to please everyone. She gets frustrated when things don't go as she plans. She is very cautious. She finally lost her first tooth in July and pulled it out herself. She is very smart and loves math. She loves to cook. She loves friends and is very loyal,she never says anything bad about anyone. She is such a wonderful daughter and we love her so much.

Quitting the blog, starting school

It has been so long since I have posted something new I am tempted to stop my blog all together. I am getting a little 'old fashioned' about the whole keeping in touch thing. I think this blog thing has made it so people don't call on the telephone as much to see how things are going, hardly any cards are sent in the mail, and people don't come to visit so they can see the family or how the kids have changed. I wonder if I stopped blogging would I get some visitors at my house? It is our last year here. Maybe if no one heard from me they would call to see how things are going? Or I would get something in the mail besides bills... thinking about closing down this blog...
I probably shouldn't, I haven't blogged since June and no extra communications have been happening, I think have had a couple of comments on my blog to start blogging so I guess that is where we stand. This is the new form of communication, I better get used to it and start posting a few new posts a week. Well, maybe I shouldn't get too ambitious.


The girls started school last week, on Thursday (Phils birthday). Alyssa is going to preschool 5 days a week and McKell started 2nd grade.
Last Tuesday we went and met McKell's teacher and saw who was in her class. She normally is super school child and lives for it. When she saw that she didn't have any girl friends in her class she was NOT a happy camper. She wouldn't even talk to her teacher. Then she was very negative about school. Thursday morning came and we got her ready and I dropped her off and she walked into school. When I picked her up she told me she started crying when I dropped her off and the principal was outside and helped her in and found her class. She was still crying and her teacher asked what she could do to help and she said maybe she could sit by one of the girls that she knew. She sat there for a few minutes and then went to her desk. She then told me that everything was fine the rest of the day and everyone forgot about it. (I assume this is what the teacher told her, way to go teacher!) She couldn't stop talking about going back the next day and on Friday she was sad cause it was the weekend and there was no school. So glad she turned back into her school loving self!
Nate didn't know what to do with himself and was so sad the first day of school. But we are finding him fun things to do and he loves picking up Alyssa at her school.

Goodbye

This is the time of year for goodbye's in our transient life. We are surrounded by people coming and going every year and I am getting so sick of it. This is the first year that I can see it effecting my children, McKell is having a really hard time with it all. So I'm not going to talk about the people who are leaving, I'm going to ignore that part and see if it helps.

We said goodbye to another school year. McKell has finished and passed the first grade. She loved every minute of it and is sad she doesn't have school every day anymore. She had such a great teacher and class. The first graders put on a little performance for the parents the last week of school and called it 'muffins for moms and donuts for dads'. Phil of course wasn't able to come but I went and was able to meet McKell's little boyfriends moms.

The girls got a butterfly kit for Christmas this year. The kids got 5 larva in the mail and watched them grow into butterflies. They loved every part of it: observing the different stages, feeding them, and especially letting them go. We said goodbye to another year of dance by having a weekend full of dance rehearsals and recitals. The girls performances were wonderful. You have to watch this little video of Alyssa, it will make you crack up- I had multiple comments on her dance moves.

We also are saying goodbye to our nice TV. It died after only a short 2 year life span. We are pretty devastated about this. (I don't know why the picture of it is so small).

And a goodbye to Zach's first month, well actually first 6 weeks of life. Luckily we haven't said goodbye to the binki, hopefully that will stick around for a while.

Failure on Day #2

It has taken a week to get this posted. Last Thursday (our early out school day) I decided to venture out with friends to the fossil gorge. I have only been there one other time and there was no water so I didn't expect all the water. Anyway, we had been there for about an hour- the kids were all having fun catching tad poles. Nate was doing good playing and every once in a while splashing water and mud at the edge of the small pools of water. I had Zach on my stomach in the carrier standing on a little ledge, 3 other moms right by me and 2 dads roaming with the kids. We watch Nate walk over to the edge of the deepest part of water and either he slipped or he tried to stomp and splash water and one of his feet went in the water, then his other foot, then the swampy water started to pull him and his bum went under, then his back, then his arms, then his head and finally Jen (thanks AGAIN) grabbed his leg right before his whole face was under the nasty water. I was still standing where I had been, I never thought I would be a freezer, I sure hope it was the fact I saw Jen running and I couldn't get to him with Zach strapped to me. Nate was speechless for the whole ride home and during his shower.

I would like to say my other kids were ok but Alyssa must have had sunscreen dripping in her eyes the whole time we were there because her eyes were bright red, they were perfect when she got out of the shower. Zach slept the whole time until we started walking to the car and he did a giant poop and cried and was hungry.

So I made it one day, after my help was gone, as a mother of 4 without problems. The first day I didn't leave the house, by the way.

Full house

We are feeling like a full house around here. Even though my parents have left it still feels like there are a lot of people around. It was so wonderful to have my parents here and I don't know how we are going to keep up on the laundry or taking the dog outside. Thanks for everything Mom and Dad, it was SO wonderful having you here.
It really is amazing to Phil and I that we have all of these little feet plus a dog and a fish and some little caterpillars (who will hopefully turn into butterflies) to take care of. We are so blessed!
Some super cute pictures to come taken by the wonderful Jen and Jessie. I am NOT going to spoil the birth announcements even though it is SO tempting cause the pictures are super cute. Thanks guys for taking them!
Tomorrow is Zachary's official due date and my birthday! So glad I am not laying in the hospital and that I can touch my toes again, what a great birthday present.

The name is...

Zachary Dean Brenchley! Little Zach arrived at 11:16 pm barely making it for Cinco de Mayo. His official weight was 6lbs 8oz, there was a little discrepancy on his weight. He was 20 inches long and had a apgar score of 9! He has a perfectly round little head and isn't swollen or anything.

He came out covered in 'cheese', as the nurse called it. I had some friends come and take pictures of the great event (THANKS guys SO much) so you could all feel part of it. Ok, I won't post any of those pictures but here he is minutes after being born covered in 'cheese'.


This is how he has been feeling ever since, tired! He is a sleepy little guy until about 1-2am then he is ready to party. He stays awake for about 3 hours and then he is asleep the rest of the day.

It was so nice for Phil to have a few days off. We had our own little mini vacation. Room service food, cable tv, people coming in the room at all hours of the night to talk, no kids running around being loud, whirl pool bathtub. Apart from the super uncomfortable beds, and some other non pleasant things associated with giving birth it was actually nice to have the quiet time.

Zachary Dean Brenchley

Pretend you didn't see all his stats here and that you are excited to get his birth announcement that I spent hours on!