Weekend at the "Mountain Hotel"

We went to my parent's cabin this weekend and had so much fun. On the way there Brayden was very adamant that we were NOT going to the cabin. So I told him we were going to a mountain hotel and he was fine. Not sure what difference it made, but it mattered to him. We met up with my parents and my brother Austin. We were only there Saturday and Sunday morning, but we had so much fun!

Bryayden and his Papa

You can't really tell, but he is "playing" horseshoes. He's standing about a foot away from the post.
Also playing horseshoes
Roasting Marshmallows

As you can tell from the below video Tawny had her own special way to eat a marshmallow. This wasn't even close to the worst, but it's what I caught on video. Aren't we great parents for letting her eat it just so we could get it on tape? But seriously, what kid hasn't eaten her fair share of dirt?

Me an Eternal Optimist?

As many of you know I work in the financial sector. And anyone that has had contact with the outside world for the last week or so, knows that we're going through a bit of a rough patch (to put it mildly). I've spent this entire week taking client phone calls, explaining to them what is going on and how it affects them. Of course, I try to be as upbeat and positive as possible. After all, we don't want all our clients withdrawing their money and running for the hills. Anyway, as I fielded the millionth client phone call for the day and began to reassure him, I realized I genuinely believe it will all turn out okay in the end. In fact, not once during all of this have I worried about my own investments; 1. There's not much to begin with, 2. I feel they're well-placed, and 3. In the long run, I think it will all turn around.

In speaking with my boss he mentioned that he appreciates my constant optimism. Huh? I never really thought of myself as optimistic. Sarcastic? Sure. Jaded? Maybe a little. But never optimistic. Maybe I am and just haven't realized it. Hmm, point to ponder today (because I always have SOOO much time to ponder)

Pretty Princess?

Since it was a Saturday and I have tons of things to avoid doing, I thought we should do a mini-photo shoot with Tawny. You see, I've wanted to take Tawny and Brayden to a photographer, but I haven't got around to it. So decided to try my hand at it. Keep in mind I am no photographer. At all. But I figured I could try, and if it doesn't turn out I can still always take her to a photographer. And well, I just can't decide what I think. For one thing, she spent the entire time eating grapes off our grapevines and she's chewing in nearly all the shots. So what do you think? Did they turn out at all? If so, which is your favorite? Let me know in the comments!

Yes, her mouth is stuffed full of grapes

I think this is my favorite....maybe...

And lest you think I ignored Brayden, there are no pics of him because he has a beautiful rash all over his face. I think we'll wait for it to go away first.

Rodeo, Rashes & Silly Faces

Last thursday we decided to go to the state fair. I was hesitant, but I thought the kids would have fun so we went. And I'm so glad we did! Brayden and Tawny had so much fun. The animals were a big hit, as was the fair food for Tawny and the lemonade for Brayden (it was the only thing I could find that I was sure he could have.) They had this little mini-farm set up for kids where they could go and milk a cow, plant veggies, dig up veggies, and a bunch at the other stuff. At the end the kids sell their "harvest" at the farmers market. They even gave Brayden and Tawny fake money that they could use to buy a treat in the "general store". It was so cute and Brayden really loved it.

Later that evening we went to the rodeo, which may have been their favorite part. To start off with, there were sky divers. Brayden really loved that. I think Tawny's favorite part was the music. She was even dancing and singing along. The thing that really suprised me is that Brayden really wanted to particpate in the mutton bustin'. He saw the other kids out there and was mad that we hadn't signed him up. I guess we'll let him do it next time, if he really wants.

Waiting for it to start

Skydivers

About half-way through the rodeo, we noticed that Tawny looked a little flushed. She had a fever earlier in the week, and I thought it might be coming back. Instead, by the time we got home she looked like this:

The pictures really don't do it justice. She had this awful rash everywhere (if you click on the pic to enlarge it you can see the rash). I took her to the doctor the next day and they just said she had some kind of viral infection, possibly roseola, but there was no way to tell what exactly it was. But it's contagious so we should keep her home. That would have been useful information the day before. So we probably infected tons of people at the fair, but I had no idea she was even still sick. She's fine now. Brayden had a much milder version of it, just a real low grade fever and two or three spots.

In lighter news, Brayden is learning the joy of making faces, especially at inappropriate times (ie at the Bishop during the sacrament). He insisted on putting them on here so grandma could see all the "really tricky and cool" faces he can make. Here's just a few of his favorites:

I think the last is my favorite.

Holy Crap!

I chose the title for two reasons. First of all, it is freezing here! It rained all Sunday and Monday and has been miserable. I check the thermostat last night before bed and it said 64 Degrees. But who runs their heater in September? And this morning it is 45 degrees in Sandy. 45 DEGREES. It's only September 2nd. What am I supposed to do all winter? I'm pretty sure staying in bed isn't an option, but it's the only place I'm warm.

Second reason for the title: It's Brayden's new phrase. I think he picked it up from his Uncle Michael who stayed with us for a few days. He loves it and uses it pretty regularly. I guess as long as he doesn't yell it out during the middle of the sacrament I'm fine. (this will probably happen. Just give it a week or two.) Here's some more funny Brayden stories:

• "Mom, did you know Heavenly Father only makes thunder and Jesus only makes lightning? Well it's true."
• I'm in the kitchen when Brayden brings me the child safety thing we put on the front door and says, "I took it off cause I can't open the door with this silly thing on the handle. It broke into two pieces, but I fixed it." He then hands it to me, walks down the stairs and goes outside. Call me crazy, but I don't think my three year old should be able to take off the child safety "thing" (what else can I call it?) So I'll have to devise a new, cunning plan to keep him from going outside whenever he feels like it. hmm...

And just for the record, it's freezing and I hate it. And it's not even close to winter. I have a feeling our heating bill is going to be astronomical. Sigh.

Our House

I've had a few people ask for pics of our new house. I thought I'd wait until I get the house put together before I did that. But it's looking like that will never happen. So here it is. It has 4 bedrooms and three bathrooms and is huge compared to anything we've lived in up to this point. It also has a storage room attached to the back of the garage, so I don't have to have piles of stuff in the corners of my bedroom. Yea!

It's a nice split level with a great backyard (not shown)

Living Room

Dining Room. We finally don't have carpet under our kitchen table. Woo-Hoo!

Kitchen. I'm not completely sold on the green countertops, but it's a decent size and pretty functional

Tawny's Room- I need to do something about the blue wall

Tawny's Room again. I couldn't get it all in one shot

My Room (and Greg's too, I guess)

So the kid's bathroom has a monkey theme, and it's actually my favorite room in the house. But I couldn't figure a way to get a decent picture of it. So you get just the artwork (which I painted)

All of that is upstairs. Downstairs is Brayden's room, the playroom,a bathroom and my office. The playroom is the only room I felt like posting. Minus the orange carpet, I love it. It's huge and full of toys and the kids love spending time down there.

Family Fun

We've had so much fun recently. Greg's family came to visit last weekend and my mom flew up to see us this weekend. Somehow I didn't take hardly any pictures while they were here, but we all had so much fun.

Brayden and Tawny with my mom

We all finger painted the other day. It was Tawny's first time and after the initial hesitation she really loved it. That is, until she noticed the paint wouldn't come off her hand.

We also went on a walk today, which we've been doing quite a bit lately. Brayden rides his bike and Greg pulls Tawny in the wagon.

So Handsome!

In this pic Tawny is saying "It's coooold", which is her new favorite phrase (She's right. It is cold.) She makes the funniest face when she says it.

Random pic, but I love it 'cause he's trying to help and she just wants to get away. That seems to be how about 75% of the day goes