Lost Tooth, Literally

So today Rylee lost her tooth at school which is what she's been waiting for on purpose.  She refused to pull it the night before at home because if they loose a tooth at school then they get to take the "Tooth Bag" home and fill out a special packet and share it with the class. She loves getting in front of the class so she yanked it at school. Now as you can see she has a helmet on and I've been riding bikes home with her every day from school. Mrs. Salcedo gave her a special necklace container to keep her tooth safe. On her bike ride home the necklace came lose and her tooth was lost.  She was so upset because she was worried that the tooth fairy would not come because their wouldn't be a tooth to leave under her pillow. So she wrote the tooth fairy a note instead. SO CUTE!  Of course the tooth fairy still came and left her a dollar as requested.

Tom & Alba's Sealing

Uncle Tom and Auntie Alba got married on March 17, 2012 at Oma's house with an intimate crowd and beautiful decor. Even the late G-poppa (Robert Little, Oma's dad) was there, which was the last time we saw him before he passed about 8 months or so later. Today was Tom and Alba's sealing in the Oakland Temple.  This was the first sealing I have ever attended and it was wonderful to say the least. Renee and I shed tender tears together as we held each other in the sealing room watching the ceremony take place. The temple is a wonderful place. It truly is a place of peace and calm. Clarity seems to come like it is something obvious that you've always known whether it be something that is right, or good, or true, or just something that you need to be working on or doing better with or paying more attention to, etc.  It's funny how you can step out of the temple and so easily forget those feelings or inspiration that was felt or revealed to you. I understand the need for constant temple attendance because the temporal world so easily helps you to forget the spiritual and teach that they are separate and disconnected. Not true, the temporal and spiritual are one and connected; not separate. I'm very grateful for Tom and Alba's example to me and my family. Today was also Auntie Aimee's birthday and she was having a hard day because it was so full. She is amazing and has so many things on her plate. Life is hard balance when you are good at so many things; people expect and ask for more from you than others. I'm grateful that the family could all be there to show their support and love for them. I love my family more and more everyday, which is not to say that we don't have hard times because we do. But it's very different when the general graphical curve tends to be upward. Someday we will be an eternal family, when the time is right. Until then everyday I can act like we are an eternal family. I don't need a special sealing or blessing to be working towards honoring those covenants I will someday make. I love the "Rudnicki 6"!

New Sewing Machine Please!

And the answer is...."NO I CAN FIX IT HONEY! NO NEW MACHINE NEEDED!" Darn. Sometimes it stinks being married to a handy man. But isn't he just so darn cute working with a sewing machined? Seriously, he did fix it. Ok, I'll keep the "new" one. And now it's ice cream time to celebrate!

We miss you!

Jon's been gone for 4 days and the kids were pretty sad to learn that he had to stay another day last minute and they were counting on him coming home. They were sad so we decided to make him this and they tried hard to make sad faces, but they were laughing by the time I got my camera out. HA!

Captain Jon Rudnicki

Today was Jon's official captain's promotion ceremony, though he's been a captain for quite a few months now.  It was a very nice ceremony. They first started off with hors d'oeuvres at the Children's Museum and allowed the children to play and enjoy all the activities they had to offer. Then we congregated in the meeting room in the adjacent building to hear all the promotions from the past year. We love our Jon and were so happy to support him in this big change for him.  More responsibility means more stress.  But so far for Jon it's been the good stress that pushes you to be better.  He is well respected and has carried our "Rudnicki" name very well. We love you Jon! Thanks for letting us be a part of this! 

Rylee & Taylee Sister Love

I love these two cute girls and they love being silly for the camera as usual!

Rylee's Gymnastics Jr. Summer Games

So Rylee had a gymnastics performance celebrating the summer games. She is in recreational gymnastics so they don't do competitions but performances for the parents to show off what they have been learning. Rylee has a great time every time they put these on and we love watching her! Great job Rylee! She sure is powerful!

Brody - SCBA Mask

Here is Brody excited that dad is home from work and trying on his SCBA mask. Silly kid.

Rylee & Brody First Day of School

It's here and summer was just too short! I love my kids being home with me and hate sending them to be with others for the majority of their day. I have to make my shorter time with them a bit more meaningful. They are so excited to get back to school and meet their new teachers and make new friends in their new class. Rylee has Mrs. Salcedo for 2nd grade, Brody has Mrs. Taylor for kindergarten and Taylee and Britlee have ME at their Joy School teacher. I'm so lucky that these kids are so good in class and help the teacher by being great examples to others.  This year at home we are sharing about our day by telling 2 things:

1. What great thing happened to you today? (So we can recognize Heavenly Father's hand in our life)

2. What nice thing did you do for somebody else? (So we can learn to serve others)

We each share these two things every night at dinner, which is great because it gives us a chance to hear about their day and share experiences with each other. These kids are amazing and I couldn't be more happy with what Heavenly Father has chosen for me. I don't know what it is about letting these kids go but I get choked up every year when I let them go for the first day of school. After that I know I'll be dragging them out of bed yelling at them to get ready and get out of the house so we aren't late. We will be all riding bikes every day of the school year except on rainy days just like we did last year. I love the exercise early in the morning though it is a lot of work to get everyone ready and out of the house by 7:30a. New school year here we come!

Rylee - 2nd Grade Pictures

Rylee had to provide her 2nd grade class with some pictures at home to bring in for the first day of school, which is tomorrow. Talk about last minute! We had a great time with the camera and she just loves to pose, can you tell? I am so glad that she is my oldest even though I know it's hard to be the oldest and feel like you have to be the example all the time, but she's good at it which is helpful to me. She will be a great mother someday. She is so SWEET (I've even nick named her Sweets) and I can't believe she is already a second grader.  It seems like she was just in kindergarten and I was pregnant with Britlee.  Not anymore, she's getting grown up fast and I'm sad that I feel like it's passing right before my eyes. Slow down pretty girl!

Ward Father-Son Campout

This is their first year going to the Ward Father-Son Campout and Brody couldn't be more excited! On their way to Sly Park they stopped off at Beach Hut Deli for a huge sandwich.  Seriously those things are bigger than I can handle. It's always ends up your nose and in your lap by the time it makes it way to your stomach. They left early because Jon had the day off and they played in the water, set up camp and waited for the other men to get there. They had spaghetti squash for dinner and then had s'mores and a little spiritual thought.  Then it was off to bed and the bishopric provided breakfast and then they headed home.  I'm glad the two of them were able to spend this time together. They need it badly. I love these boys and missed them while they were gone!

Road Trip Part 7

One nights rest in our own beds after being on the road for 1.5 weeks was nice.  We then packed things back up again and headed to north shore Tahoe for a mini reunion with Oma and my siblings and their families. We hung out at the cabin, watched Pitch Perfect, chatted, hung out at Meeks Beach and another day at Kings beach.  At Kings beach Jon rented a stand up paddle board (SUP) which was a lot of fun. He secretly misses his old SUP. Why he buys and sells so many things are beyond me, but for some reason it makes sense to him even though he always misses the items a few months after they are sold. The 2 week vacation was enough and next week the kids start school.  I'm sad to see them go, but I'm excited for them to start a new chapter in their books.