Today was awesome

Brevan and I got our braces off! Brevan will need to have braces put back on after he has a year break to allow his baby molars to fall out. I had my braces on for 7 months and have perfectly straight teeth! I can't wait to have them whitened, so I can feel like a whole new Ali! (And Mom, I recently lightened my hair again, so you and Grandma Palmer can stop stressing about me being a brunette!)

Logan used the words "tomorning" (tomorrow morning) and "befirst" (before/first). That smart boy just doesn't want to waste any time when speaking so he combines words all the time!

Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games series came out today. I will be hitting Barnes and Noble tomorrow!

Homeschooling went better today than yesterday. I know we will get a schedule and routine down and we will make this work. It's been much more time-consuming than I was expecting, but I feel good about the progress we've made and the things we've learned.

Lindsey ran off the bus after school and yelled, "Carly is my best friend and she's going to sleep over on Friday, OK?" I have no idea who Carly is, but I'm glad my little sweetie is making friends! Yesterday she was best friends with a girl named Emily. I wonder who the lucky girl will be tomorrow?

I went to both Office Depot and Office Max because they had pocket folders, pencil boxes and rulers for ONE PENNY each! I bought 16 folders, 3 pencil boxes and 3 rulers and gave the cashier 23 pennies. I felt like a little kid in a candy store again.

Ryan is leaving on a business trip to Utah tomorrow, and is TAKING LOGAN WITH HIM! Logan will spend 4 days playing with both sets of grandparents and his favorite cousin, Brayden. Logan's mom will get LOTS of things done while he's gone! The plan is to paint several rooms, run many errands that have been on the "to do" list for months, read books and watch movies. I know I will miss that boy so much it will hurt, but I am going to take advantage of every minute without a toddler in the house!

I went to lunch with two girls in my ward that I love and don't get to spend much time with. It was so fun to let our kids play while we chatted. Sometimes I forget to take time for myself in my busy life. It was nice to speak to actual adults . . .in the middle of the day!

I love my house. The temperature was in the mid-70's. Brevan and I laughed so hard at a joke that we fell over and started gasping for air. I delegated the Primary Program over to my 1st counselor. Logan got a new haircut and looks ADORABLE. We read scriptures together before school today, which started the morning just right. Brevan didn't come off the bus crying, so the bus ride must not have been as awful as yesterday. Brynlie gave me about 30 kisses and 20 hugs before getting on the bus, waving goodbye and yelling "I love you SO much, Mommy!"

Just another day in Paradise.