My Baby's in Kindergarten

Kindergarten!

Can you believe it! My baby,...... the last of the 3,....... is in school.
Everyone that I have talked to has told me that I will love having all 3 kids in school at the same time.
Well.......Hummmm........ As of today that verdict is still out.

Today has been a busy day. Rylee and Braxton left the house at their normal time.
And I started the house cleaning like normal, but the Eth-man he new today was the big day and he followed me around for most of it wanting to know what time it was every 5 min.

I finally got him and SpongeBob settled down with a pop tart and some milk so I could get something done.

After telling Ethan NO IT'S NOT TIME YET about 50 times. At 12:00 noon I was finally able to say ETHAN IT'S TIME TO GET READY FOR SCHOOL. I thought the kids eye's were going to pop out of there socket's, he was off the couch and in his room faster than a lightning's flash.

Ethan choose Dark shorts and a really cute striped polo shirt with his fast shoes (as he calls them) and to top it all off his spongebob backpack.
My baby boy Randy Ethan Bunnell is the cutest kindergartner at Longview Elementary.

And I'm not prejudice !

When we got to the school Ethan was excited to meet his teacher and find his seat and when I told him that I was going to go he said " okay mom don't pick me up I want to walk home with Braxton and Rylee" I was speechless I kissed his forehead and left the classroom.
I did stay outside in the hall just in case, but as I watched him I new he was fine and I left.



Being home for the first time with all the kids in school and to have 3 plus hours to myself was a different feeling I honestly didn't know what I was going to do so I made Zucchini Bread.

And when School was out and I went to pick up the kids the 3 of them were all smiles. Ethan had a great day at school and he can't wait to go back tomorrow.

I think after a couple years of watching the other 2 go to school and always getting left behind and then having hours of no one to play with this is exactly what he needed.

I on the other hand am going to have to find things on my day off to occupy my time. I'm sure it probably won't take me long.

I'll stay in touch!
Hugs and Kisses
Tianna

Home Town Hero

My baby brother the Marine. As in United States Marine Corps. The home town hero. My hero and also my little brother. (although he does tower over me by a good 11 inch's)

Clayton Noel Anderson was born May 30th, 1985 in Murray, Utah to Randy Noel Anderson and Sue Mullins Cropper Anderson.

I remember the day he was born.........I was in the 4th grade and thought I was old enough to be at the hospital cheering mom on, but dad the party poo per had made me go to school anyway, but he did make me a promise that he would come tell me what my mom had given birth too.

Like it was a horse or something! (He might as well have been one, he has always cleared out the fridge like one.)
My Dad did show up to my class room later that day like he promised to inform me that I had another brand new little brother (like I need 2 of them), but I was excited.

Little did we know that he was going to grow into the Jolly Green Giant!

From the time Clay could walk we new we were in for it, I think my mom new way before that,
I think from the first G.I. Joe, Clay had gotten he new what he wanted to be when he grew up.
G.I. Joe of course!

Growing up with my brother's was always an adventure in the making and Clayton with his very active imagination a sandbox, some G.I. Joe's, water, trucks, and maybe a firework or two, was always helping G.I. Joe get the bad guys. And it wasn't unusual for a bad guy to find there way into the path of dad's lawnmower. (Ya that was always followed by a sting of words I won't repeat, but that Clay found funny and did repeat.)

Clayton grew and grew and grew into a skinny lanky kid through the years, but Clay was a take no shit from anyone type of kid. When Clay graduated High School and TOLD (not asked but told) my parents that he was joining the Marines it didn't sit well, but Clayton is very stubborn and does what he wants to do. (gee that is sounding familiar)

I wasn't really surprised I had seen it in him for a long time, but I was scared there was a war going on (and still is).

The day he left for boot camp was hard for everyone especially for my parents I know that Clayton new he wanted to do this, but I didn't know if he new what it meant, and that scared me he was a kid, and my baby brother.

The weeks he was gone flew by the letter's my parent's got said he was fine, but was he really?

Marine Boot Camp Graduation!

It was time to see for ourselves if Clay had made it through boot camp alive or not, So off to San Diego we went.

Ross and I only had $800.00 dollars to our name for this week long trip, that had pay for hotels, gas and food for 5 people.
But this trip was so important to me that we made it, and to see what they had done to my baby brother was priceless.

Clayton was no longer a kid anymore he was a MAN!

A manly man he had muscles and manners. Oh how they had changed my little brother I could not stop staring I was afraid to touch I didn't want to wrinkle him, and he stood so straight and tall, compared to him I felt like a hunchback. I am so proud of the man Clayton left boot camp as.

Clayton has since served 2 tours in Iraq in the 4 years of active duty with the Marine Crops.

Each time he left we prayed like Hell that he did what he had to do and came home to us alive.
And each time he came home Clay was a little different, more grown up, and even more of a man. But he is still Clay, funnier than hell, Witty, tough, and a giant teddy bear at heart.

Clayton also made the best decision of his life when on August 4th, 2007 he married and gave me another sister Breanna Tucket Anderson.

And Today that Home Town Hero:

My tall manly little brother has made the decision to become a Police Officer and is graduating from the Police Academy with 4 Awards, (out of 5 may I add) for Fastest Shooter, The Administrative Award, Fitness Award, & Top Shooter. And his classmates also had to vote for someone who they thought would best represent them at Graduation and they choose Clayton.

At 25 yrs old he has seen what most men will hopefully never see in their life time.

My little brother My Hero!

Hugs and Kisses
Tianna

AWAKE

It's 4:45 A.M. and I'm AWAKE!

Laundry, dishes, mowing the lawn, that dream I had last night.........................oh well this is a family blog we won't get into that.
These are just a handful of the things that are keeping my brain awake, and I find myself yelling at my head to SHUT UP so that I can go back to sleep with........ obviously no luck.

It's funny that while lying here awake and thinking of all the things in my life that I have to get done.
I was actually contemplating throwing the laundry, and a note that said "will you please clean the windows too" over the fence into the O.C.D neighbors yard to see if he would actually return the laundry clean, folded, and on my front porch. (ya in fairy tale land which is were I obviously went too temporally.) And as for the windows that will get done sometime between now and when hell freezes over.

Ohhhhh...... But how Mr. O.C.D.'s window's shine I swear that man is outside on a daily basis washing his windows, even when It's raining,.......he goes out with his squidgy.....now that is window dedication, and major phyco problems.

If any of you are suffering from this problem please give me a call there are medication's out there for this problem! :) And yes that is smiling at you.

Wouldn't it be great if we had all the time in the world to get everything done that we needed to get done. If that were the case I would not be up this early thinking about it and everything in my laundry room would not attack me when I tried to open the door.

Gee laundry must be on the brain.

As for mowing the lawn...... well that is all on Ross .....his territory .....because it comes with dog poop and I just DO NOT do dog poop! (Stinky Yuk)

Well as for me and my insomnia I guess I'm just up for the day. And that just plain sucks because I know I will be tired later.

Hmmmm I wounder If I could talk Eth-man into a nap later.....we'll have to see.

Talk to ya later
Hugs and Kiss's
Tianna

Back to School

Another summer has come and gone and school is starting again. August 24th, 2009 is the first day of school for Braxton and Rylee.

Ethan still has yet another week before Kindergarten starts.

This year the summer seemed long I don't know what it was, most years it flies by, maybe it's me trying to hang on to my kid's a little longer, they are growing so fast, and I am having a hard time keeping up.

Last night, the night before school, Rylee was having a hard time. We go through this every year, she was worried because she didn't know where her class was, or where she was supposed to play, or that she was going to have to much homework, and not be able to handle it.
As you can tell she is a worrier.
After sitting down with her for a few minutes, (okay 45 minutes) I was able to ensure her that everything was going to be fine and, that I would show her where her class was, and that her teacher, Mrs. Jackson would show her the rest. Besides her bestfriend Charlie was in her class. That made everything all better!



I should have just mentioned that in the beginning and it probably wouldn't have taken me 45 minutes.

Braxton on the other hand shows his cool side if he is worried he never shows it. He went to bed with no hitches. Thanks Brax.

At 7:40 A.M. my alarm clock sounded and I wanted to throw it though the dam window......Yes I said dam deal with it.

I woke Rylee up, or at least I though I did and headed to the kitchen for coffee......you DO NOT want to deal with me in the morning before I have had my first cup......just ask Ross.
After a few minutes I realized Rylee was not on the couch (the first place she goes after being woke up) so I headed to her room to find that she had just fallen back to sleep with the pillow over her head when I had turned the light on. (Crazy girl)
After shaking her awake and possibly causing brain damage, I sent her down stairs to wake up Braxton. Who with in minutes came up stair's dressed and ready for school. That's Braxton for you.



It's know 8:10 A.M. I'm loaded with my first cup of coffee and going for my second when Eth-man comes into the kitchen, although he's not going to school today he has gotten himself dressed non the less. And he looks like the cutest kindergartner ever!



It's now 8:15 A.M. and I find Rylee in her room on her bed staring into nowhere land, at this time I don't know whether to laugh or scream!
Finally we get her dressed, hair brushed, teeth brushed, with 5 minutes to spare for me to take pictures. ( I am thinking this is just a preview of the year to come. Lord help me!)

We get to the school and go inside to find their rooms, Braxton is excited, Rylee is apprehensive, but as soon as she see's Charlie (her bestfriend) it's goodbye mom and hello school.



We found their classroom's and where they were supposed to line up at outside, Rylee went with Charlie, and Braxton went outside with his friend John.

I can't wait to hear about what happened at school today.
Until then..............
Hugs and Kiss's
Tianna

Fun at the Park

Summer is winding down and it's getting harder to find thing's for the kid's to do or that they want to do.

As for my kid's they love to play at the park, any park so we have decided to make it fun and go to many different park's all over the valley, not just the one's close to home.




Among our favorite's are Liberty Park (yes the one in S.L.C), West Jordon Park (so far our kids like this one the best), Murray Park, and Willow Pond Park.

West Jordon Park is the one that we found today. And so far #1 on the kid's list of funnest parks and I have to admit this Park is awesome!




It's like a fort/town in the middle of the park with swings, slides, and ton's of towers, and town like building's. They have a jail, bakery, blacksmith shop, a climbing wall, and a big building that is supposed to represent the salt air.




The kid's love to climb, run, jump, and play hard it gets their built up energy out. (most of the time) Sometimes I wish I had half the energy they have I'm sure my house would be a lot cleaner and I would still have energy to do laundry.

After the park coming home to some of Ross's famous BBQ is always a treat. And as always Ethan is there to help put BBQ sauce on the chicken and of course taste it to make sure it's of good quality.
That's my BBQing Boy's



West Jordon Park I think was the favorite and I know we will be going there again and again.

As for summer...Well I think that is coming to a faster end than we wanted.....
Our next adventure is going to be the up coming school year, with all three kid's in school and all the different activity's going on...... Well I'm sure you can imagine.

We will check in soon until then....
Hugs and Kisses
Tianna

Texas comes to Utah

My sister Nishia & her two kids Lexi & Cody who are living in Texas, (Aubrey, Texas to be exact) came to visit us in June of this year.

I was so excited to see my sister I hadn't seen her in a year and a half, since our brother Zach got married. (January 08)

We talk all the time on the phone, but it's just not the same, and I really wanted to see Lexi and Cody.

When my kids found out that Lexi & Cody where coming to stay with us for a week it was a major count down.

We picked Nishia and the kids up from the airport on Tuesday, June 16th. You should have seen my car.... imagine 7 people and luggage in my Ford Wagon P.O.S. (if you don't know what P.O.S. is use you imagination) I prayed that the wheels would not pop off and beat us home.
And yes there were enough seat belts for everyone!

The kids immediately headed for the bikes and what ever else there was to play with, as for Nishia and I we headed in for cool air and some much needed sister time.

We didn't have any major plans for the week because as everyone knows penny's are very tight around here and Nishia as well didn't want to blow a lot of money. So parks, sprinklers and picnic lunches made up our afternoons. And no one cared the kids loved seeing each other It was like they were never apart.



You don't realize how much family means to you until you can't see them on a regular basis. And yet still I think some people still just don't get that.
I would like to think that my sister and I are close even though hundreds of miles divide us, but the telephone helps.

We did have a great afternoon at our Grandparent's house on the Anderson side of the family. My grandma got most of the grand kids together, but most important she was able to get all the great grand kids there (while Nishia and the kids where here in town) for lunch.
And boy was that a site to see!
It was even greater to see two very proud Grandparent's!



After that the week just flew by, the kids played Nishia and I caught up we did some shopping and scrapbooking with my mom and our other sister Alecia, and before we new it they were heading back to Texas.

We were sad to see them go, but we are hoping that they will be here for Thanksgiving!
Utah loves Texas!

Hugs and Kisses!!
Tianna

The Aquarium

Ross and I decided to take the kids to The Aquarium in Sandy (Utah) for those of you who don't know where Sandy is.
It was a hot day and I was looking forward to some cool air..... Swamp cooler's and hot moist air don't work.

Braxton who had already been to The Aquarium 3 or 4 times with school was less than enthused if he could have taken 3 things with him they would have been the computer, keyboard, and mouse.

Going anywhere with him when he doesn't have his electronics is like listening to a bear growl...
But I was excited it was like going to Sea World again.... Okay maybe not quiet on that scale there were no Dolphins, Whales, or Sea Lions, but non the less we were going to have fun despite the groaning from the first born.

The first thing we saw was this HUGE Octopus. But the funnest one to watch was Ethan he was soooo interested in that Octopus he just keep looking at it then he would move around the glass to get a better look. I just loved watching him!



Then we moved over to the Sting Rays petting pool......DUN DUN DUN!!!!!
I thought they were so cool so did Braxton and Rylee as for Ethan he didn't want anything to do with the slick black fish.
I on the other hand thought that they were awesome they were slick and smooth, but not slimy like I thought they would be. Rylee loved it when they came up to the side and flapped there wings at you (or at least they look like wings to me) like they wanted to be petted she would stick her hands down there and let the Sting Rays glide along her hand her giggle was priceless.

It's this time in their lives that I wish I could capture forever and keep it, but I also know that I have to let them grow from caterpillar's to butterflies and someday let them fly.
But for now their all mine!

Through the afternoon we moved throughout the Aquarium and saw all kinds of different sea life.
From Jelly Fish to Purana and even a Giant Anaconda. Which Braxton and Ethan wanted to bring home and keep as a pet. BOYS!!! I have a feeling that I'm going to dealing with snakes, bugs and rodents for a long time to come.
BRING IT ON!!! (I think)



Well that concludes our day at The Aquarium. The kids had fun, I had a blast watching the kids and their enthusiasm for life, and Ross had fun just being Ross a kid at heart.

More to come in the life of The Bunnells so stay tuned
Hugs and Kisses
Tianna

My First Blog

Well I decided to do this so that my brother Zack and my sister Nishia can keep up with what is going on in our family. And anyone else that wants to keep up!

Our three beautiful children, Braxton, Rylee, and Ethan are enjoying whats left of there summer.
They start school Aug. 24th. Braxton will be in 5th grade, Rylee in 3rd grade & Ethan in Kindergarten. Yeah!!! there all in school. Finally some freedom. (a little anyway)

Ross and the kids have been going fishing at Willow Pond they absolutely love fishing. Ethan loves to catch the little ones as he calls them (ya know the Minos) or bait as I call them. But he doesn't care a fish is a fish to him.

Rylee I think has watched the Hanna Montana Movie 30 times in the last 3 weeks, she loves the Hip Hop Ho Down Song and that girl knows every word of that song and she does not miss a beat she is even tring to learn the dance that goes a long with it. Move that booty Girl!

Braxton well he is con coring the world of Zombie killing on the computer and practicing his balancing skills on his Rip Stick. I have got to say he is getting really good at it
.
As for Ross & I we continue to work, play with the kids, and work some more.
I'll try to keep everyone as up to date as I can on what's going on with the family.
Hugs and Kiss
Tianna