New year, new name...

Okay, I know I haven't blogged in quite some time, but I'm starting over AND I have a new blog address...SO make note of it (that's if you want to keep up-to-date with my fam)!!!

http://thebergesontimes.blogspot.com

See you there!

Chloe wears shoes...

Chloe has figured out that it's a good thing to wear shoes...she just hasn't figured out where they go exactly. Chloe is always finding shoes and putting them on her hands and crawling around the house; this time they happen to be her own shoes, but she'll "put on" any pair of shoes she finds. And she just plays, like that's how your suppose to wear them. Such a cutie!

What do you do in the Fall-time?

We are trying to enjoy the last few days of Fall...as I'm sure it will be turning quite cold before we know it. Last week I took the kids to Wheeler Farm with the Packs, our neighbor friends. Other than that we had to wait for 3 wagon rides before we got on one, we had a great time.

Clate and Isaiah running through the pumpkin patch.

Halle and Asher posing for a cute picture with the pumpkins.

Poor Chloe just has to sit in the stroller. Until she starts walking, that's just how it is going to be.

Finally, the wagon ride.

I love the FALL!

I just can't get enough of this BEAUTIFUL weather we are having. This is why I live in Utah!! I absolutely love Utah in the Fall. The leaves on the trees are changing color, the air is cool, and the sun is warm! And today was the perfect day to be outside, especially up in the mountains. After church and naps, we took the kids up to Silver Lake to enjoy it all. I wish there was a place like Silver Lake a little closer (as if 30 minutes is too far). As much as I enjoy going up there, I hate the drive. The winding roads up the canyon (or any canyon for that matter) make me so sick, even if I'm driving. By the time we get up there, I can't wait to get out just so I can stop feeling like I'm going to lose my dinner...and the headache lingers the rest of the day. But I guess the time up there is worth it...it really is beautiful, and the kids love "hiking" around the lake looking for squirrels and tadpoles and fish and ducks and moose tracks and....anything else that moves. It made for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon.

NEW YORK...finally!

SO...Where do I begin??? Adam and I did make it to New York! I'm a little late on the posting as it was almost a month ago, but I haven't forgotten about it...just been a little busy.

How was it, you ask? Well, as probably expected...New York was impressive to say the least. The city is so big!!! I've lived in some big cities ie. Atlanta, Barcelona, Seattle, and SLC (j/k), and none of them compare. The city just went on and on and on, people and big buildings everywhere! Everything about it was awesome! We also got to spend time with Jon and Ashley and their 2 little girls, Brooke and Mya. Mya was only 3 weeks old, so it was fun to meet her!

We spent 2 full days in the city and could have spent 2 weeks taking it all in. We started off buying one of those city tour passes that gives you 2 days of hop-on-hop-off tour buses through the city and a cruise around Manhattan, as well as some other little things; we spent $150 or so on them. We "hopped on" a bus that morning hoping to make the downtown loop and get back in time for our Broadway show...we had about 3 hours until showtime. We made it almost to downtown, not even half the loop, in 2 hours, then had to "hop off" so we could find and take the subway back up to midtown to get lunch before we missed our show. We were practically running to make it on time...and the only place close by the theatre to eat was McDonald's. How's that for eating in New York city??? Sad, I know. Adam downed his spicy chicken sandwich, half of my drink and fries while I shoved some fries and drink in my mouth and off we ran to see Wicked! I saved my 10 piece nuggets for intermission.

Wicked was definitely one of the highlights of the whole trip. I don't consider myself a big Broadway kind of person, so I wasn't super excited about going. I was sure I would probably like it if I went, but it wasn't on my top 10 things to do in New York if it were up to me. Luckily, it was on Adam's top 10 list...so we made it there. And I LOVED it!! Maybe I should be embarrassed to admit this, but before the show I had no idea that Wicked had anything to do with the Wizard of Oz...and it wasn't until the tin man that I clued in to that. Afterwards, Adam asked, "Didn't the green witch and the "wizard of Oz" clue you in?" "Nope! Not until the tin man." I look forward to more Broadway shows in the future!

After the show, another highlight for me, we met up with Kendra and Matt Cope, one of my mission companions and her hubby for dinner and dessert! We ate at a little italian restaurant, Celeste, went to Magnolias for cupcakes, and then for a little walk down by the Manhattan Temple, where were hung out and chatted. It was so good to see Kendra and catch up things; I just love her!

We got back to Jon and Ashley's just in time to visit and little and then crash, only to wake up early and head back to the city for the 2nd day. By this time, we figured our little tour bus purchase was a bit of waste...we didn't really plan on using it again other than for the cruise around Manhattan...it was just too slow. So, we took the city by foot and subway. First thing on the agenda was the cruise, so we headed straight there. Adam insisted on the 3 hour cruise, a little long for my liking, but I was game. We got there almost an hour before it left...which turned it into 4 hours, but the waiting was fun and relaxing. Adam fully enjoyed the cruise. Me, on the other hand, after about an hour and a half, I was tired. I found and chair and propped myself up against a wall and napped. I normally would not have done this, but I wasn't the only one on board who had had enough...there were quite a few people actually who laid down on a row of chairs to snooze. I at least stayed on 1 chair only. I woke up before it was all over.

After the cruise, it was to the city to see as much as we could see. We stopped, sadly again, at Chevy's for lunch. Why didn't we eat at some cool New York places???? I still don't know. Then it was off to Wall Street, ground zero, Trinity church to see Alexander Hamilton's grave (another of Adam's top 10), picture with the Bull (now I really don't have to worry about our financial success!), and then some. Finally, we made it up to Central Park. I could have stayed there all day long. It was beautiful...and much, much bigger than I expected. We actually saw a real kickball game going on...teams, uniforms, coaches, umpires, the whole shebang! I had never seen such a thing. On the way back to catch the bus, we stopped again for a little dessert at another cupcake shop and then a chocolate shop...mmm!

Sadly, after 2 days of the city, I was just too tired to do it all again, AND wake up extra early to make it to see Matt Lauer...so instead, on day 3, we slept in. The day was really great, but I was bummed that I had been there, right in New York City, in Rockefeller Plaza even, and had not seen Matt Lauer. That's the saddest part of the whole story. But we enjoyed the day with Jon and Ashley and that was okay with me! The last thing on the agenda was a Yankees game. The weather wasn't promising, but we had the tickets, so we had to try. We went to the stadium, saw Monument Park (another of Adam's top 10), and then sat and waited, hoping that the rain would stop enough for them to play even 1 inning. But alas, after an hour and a half after game time, they finally announced that the game would be postponed to the following night. Were we disappointed??? Not totally. We're not really Yankees fans at all...we just wanted to see the stadium before they tear it down, which we got to see, and Adam wanted to see Monument Park, which we saw also.

On the way home, we passed through Grand Central Station...another incredible place, and then went by Times Square at night. It's just like they show it on TV.

So, that's it in a nutshell...a big nut shell. We had a great time, though by the end of the week, I have to say, I was ready to see my kiddos again. We got home after they were in bed on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, we both raced to the kids to get them out of bed. Chloe and Halle had looks on their faces like "Oh, all of that must have been a dream." And things were back to normal for them. Clate, on the other hand, knew we had been gone and was excited to see us and to tell us about all the fun things they had done with grammie and pa.

I'll be back with some pics.

Happy Birthday CHLOE #1!!!

Only 5 days after Clate's birthday we were celebrating Chloe's big #1! Now that I can't believe. This past year really has flown by SOOO fast. I'm not sure if it's the bald head or the fact that she's not even close to walking and isn't really saying anything, but she doesn't seem like a 1-year-old yet. I think it's just God's way of letting me enjoy the baby stage longer so I don't get any crazy desire to have another one any time soon...no worries there!
Her birthday kind of crept up on me. The week before was quite the crazy week, and at times I actually questioned myself if I had the right month..."She really was born in September, right? Not October?" But I was sure that it was right after Clate's birthday, so it had to be September. Of course, her birthday fell on Sunday, so come Sunday morning and I didn't have a cake or anything for her. AHHH...am I a bad mom? I was determined to have a cake for her, so I pulled out my cookbooks and did something I had never done before...made a cake from scratch! It actually turned out pretty good! I was proud of myself! Luckily, the night before I had run to the store to get a gift for her (come on, what does a 3rd child need when it comes to toys?), just so I could give her something...if for nothing more than to make me feel better. So, we enjoyed cake and presents with just the family and Grandma Dell who came in to help us celebrate!


The cake I made from scratch!!! Maybe I should go into business with this...NOT!

Chloe eating her cake...and loving it!

Chloe at 1:

• Like I said, she is not walking, just crawling...all over the place. She has started to pull herself up to things and today climbed the stairs by herself...scared me to death when I heard her talking at the top of the stairs. Yeah, she doesn't know how to go back down yet.
• She also is not saying much...no mama or dada, not even animal sounds. We gotta get working on this.
• She has 4 teeth; that's more than Clate or Halle had at 1 year.
• She loves to be tickled and has the cutest laugh.
• Still sleeps in the playroom in the pack-n-play; she sleeps better in her own room.
• Loves to snuggle, mostly with just mom...I'm not complaining.
• Enjoys playing by herself with her toys. She does this better than Clate or Halle.
• Prefers formula to cows milk, but must be weaned soon.
• Smiles and giggles at Clate and Halle at almost anything they do. Overall, she's a very happy 1-year-old.

I wasn't sure about how I felt about her coming into my world, but it all seems to make sense now and I know she was supposed to come when she did. She just fits so perfectly into our little family and I wouldn't change anything about it...even if I had it to do over again. Happy Birthday, CJ.

Happy Birthday CLATE #4!

Clate turned 4 on September 16. It seems like just yesterday I was holding him and crying because I couldn't believe he was here...and now look at him! I had a little party for him...it was crazy, but the kids had fun I think.
I had them make these blindfolds, then we played games that they could play blindfolded. 4-year-olds may have been too young of a group, but we made it through.
We read one of Clate's favorite birthday books, "Birthday Monsters" and then...
Present opening, of course. From his friends, he got a Batman figure, a soccer ball, the game "Go, Diego, Go!", a red spaceship, and a Lightening McQueen flashlight...all VERY cool gifts.
Clate chose to have rice crispy treats instead of the traditional birthday cake, so that's what we did! I think it was a good alternative.

Clate at age 4...

• He loves to ride his Razor scooter, his bike, and his tricycle still...he's pretty fast on all three, fast enough to scare me sometimes.
• Loves anything red, especially Lightening McQueen.
• Has learned that girls like pink things and boys like red and blue things.
• Loves preschool and runs in before I'm even out of the car to walk with him. After the first couple of days at school when I would ask him what they talked about that day, he would say, "Grasshoppers and praying mantises." I knew that wasn't what they had talked about, but he insisted. After a few times of answering that way, he started to giggle. He knew he was teasing and he thought it was pretty funny. Come to find out, Ms. Wendy showed them a praying mantis one time...but apparently that is all Clate can remember. I did finally get him to tell me that they had talked about trees one day.
• He loves to work outside, ride bikes, or play any kind of ball with dad when he gets home. Just being with dad doing anything is fun.
• He has become quite the big helper around the house and likes to sing the clean up song when its time to clean up.
• Loves pickles...he got a big jar of them for his birthday and was super excited about it!
• LOVES animals. Since we don't have any live animals in the house, Clate loves his plastic toy animals...and he has a ton of them. He picked out a frog from Michael's for his birthday and a little duck from Discovery Center. Then yesterday he asked if he could go back to Michael's and get the squid, "It was so funny and so cute," he said. "I've got to have it!"

We love Clate and are so proud of the little boy that he is becoming! Our family just wouldn't be the same without him...and the girls just love him! Happy Birthday, little man!