The Hebdon Family

Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas was wonderful this year. It was unhurried and full of patience and gratitude. We had church at 9am so we only did Santa presents before church. To my surprise there were no complaints from my kids. Not a single one. They willingly helped get breakfast ready and didn't fight my while getting ready for church. I think they were giving me my Christmas presents early!

The kids showing me their favorite Santa presents. Of course Tawny's is food!

Church was wonderful and again, all three of my kids were good and let me listen to the speakers. That is a very rare occurrence for me so it was much appreciated. I enjoyed having sacrament on Sunday. It reminded me of why we truly celebrate Christmas.

Tawny loved her hair for church and wanted a picture

Right after church. And believe it or not, but I only took one shot and they all happened to be smiling.

After church we opened gifts at our house. Ethan's favorite was the Nerf guns from Uncle Anthony. He thought the whole thing was so hilarious. He would run after every single bullet shot, bring it back to Greg and sit down on his lap so they could do it again. Brayden's dramatic acting when he was shot only added to Ethan's laughter.Ethan also loved his colored pencils. For some reason he loves to dump them out, put them all back in and dump them out again. That is what he does at church every week for at least 20 minutes.

Brayden and Tawny loved their pillow pets.

After lunch and Ethan's nap we went to my mom's house for even more present opening. Steven and Ashley were there (with Jordan) plus my mom, dad, Austin and Grandma Wanda. With all the people and crazy present opening Ethan was a little overwhelmed. I helped him open a few presents, which he drug to a far corner, sat down next to them and didn't move for over 20 minutes.Of course Brayden and Tawny were excited for even more presents. I'm glad I didn't get them much because they got so many presents from everyone else. It's going to take them weeks to get around to playing with all of them.

This is a picture from the day after Christmas. I had a lot of cleanup to do, and was busy in the other room when I suddenly noticed it had been quiet for way too long. That usually means they are doing something they know they shouldn't be doing. I had mentally prepared myself for something naughty, but found this instead. They were all curled up on our chair and Brayden was telling Ethan and Tawny stories. It's a memory I never want to forget.

To all those who sent cards and gifts, thanks for remembering me and my family. The greatest gifts are those that are received all through the year- a kind word from a friend, a hug from my children, a knowledge of who I am, of my Savior and the ultimate sacrifice He has given me. I love having an extra reason to attempt to make my home Christ-centered. This year for Christmas I made a Christ book. It has scriptures, simple explanations, pictures and songs that chronicle our Savior's life, death and resurrection. Every night in December we read a section, discussed the pictures and sang the songs. It served as a daily reminder of why we have Christmas. I wasn't sure how much my kids were retaining, but when we read the Christmas story in Luke on Christmas Eve Brayden and Tawny were whispering little comments to me that we had discussed all month. It is definitely something I will be doing next year too.

The Lost Pictures

2011-12-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

The pictures that were lost last post magically appeared on my camera this morning. I have no idea what happened but I'll take it!

Jingles playing Wii

decorating our tree
Ethan huggin his doggie ornament chowing down at the parade

Tow Mater, without the "T"
watching the parade (notice BRayden has on)

Christmas crafts

genuine smiles. love it!

mmm...

Christmas Spirit

2011-12-22T06:39:00.001-08:00

As a heads up, this is going to be a pretty long post. So if you intend to stick around grab some cocoa and put your feet up.

Greg is picking cotton which means very long hours every day of the week. He leaves at 5:45 every morning and doesn't get home until about 6:30-7pm. It's been hard to make sure he is included in all the festivities. We've adjusted the kids' sleeping schedule so they actually get to see him at night. They have new pickers this year that are much more efficient than the old design. They are the first of the kind in our valley and have caused quite a stir. We are all looking forward to the end of January when cotton harvest will be done.

This month has been full of fun activities so far. We started out the month with a Christmas parade here in town. I somehow lost the first two weeks of December's pictures, which included the parade, but the kids love it and so did I! Our favorite float was a tow truck painted to look like Mater from Cars. They did a great job because it really looked like him. We also decorated our Christmas tree that weekend (pictures also lost). Brayden and Tawny have a tendency to put all the ornaments in one section of the tree, so it looks very unbalance, but I resisted my urge to fix the ornaments. They were so proud of how it looked that I just couldn't.

Even though to most it isn't very cold here, we have really been enjoying a fire in the evening. All the kids crowd as close as they can (don't worry, we watch Ethan really closely). The kids had a little photo op in from of the fire one night. I had to include a few because they are all so cute!

We harvested the corn in our garden the second week of December. This was round two of our corn, planted in about October. Since it was colder, it was small but very sweet. The kids love to help Greg shuck it, always making a huge mess in the process.
Ethan just loves to eat it. Actually he likes to eat pretty much everything!

This is one of his favorite places to hide when he has something he really likes and doesn't want anyone to take it away from him. It's the bottom shelf of the vanity in our bathroom (obviously homemade so the underside isn't stained.)
Ethan faithfully guards his "snacks" (food on the floor under his high chair) every time the vaccuum is turned on. He runs to his corner of the dining room and sits right in my way so I can't vaccuum. He'll alternate between pushing the vaccuum away and putting food in his mouth as quick as he can. Soooo funny!We have an elf this year that reports to Santa nightly on the behavior of the kids. They named her Jingles and she is quite mischievous! One night she spilled sugar in the kitchen and made sugar angels (another lost picture). She packed Brayden a lunch of olives, tuna fish and garlic powder. Another night she was caught in the shower.
One night she took the kid's letters to Santa. The next morning she had written Brayden and Tawny a little note. I think this might have been one of their favorites.Last Thursday Tawny asked what her Christmas dress was going to look like. Somehow I hadn't even thought about a Christmas dress for her. So with a little quick thinking and resourcefulness I altered the flower girl dress I had made her this summer. I took off the lace and blue accents and added red ruffles, bows and a waistband. She loves it so I'm happy. I think it turned out pretty cute.Brayden, Tawny and I made matching Christmas aprons this year. They're from oriental trading, but I got them for free at our church's rummage giveaway this fall. They helped me hot glue all the felt in place (I sewed it on later so I can actually wash them). I think it would be fun if we kept them and pulled them out every year to use during the Christmas season. I'll have to come up with something for Ethan, the baby on the way, and any other future children we have. The kids LOVED that we matched. Greg was a good sport about it, even though I'm sure he didn't really want to wear such a manly apron.We decorated "gingerbread houses" made out of graham crackers, which was a huge hit with the kids. Tawny piled so much candy on her roof that it caved in at one point. But we were able to fix it before she completely fell apart.

Ethan didn't really participate in the building, but he very much liked the eating.

I had to include a picture of my dad's house. For some reason he really struggled with the construction of his house. I t was quite hilarious to everyone but him.

A few days later we also decorated Christmas cookies, which the kids liked even more. They spent almost a hour and a half decorating their cookies. Everyone else was done in about 15 minutes, but I didn't see any reason to rush them.

Ethan's favorite part was again eating them. In this picture he's telling me how yummy they are.

chowing down....

and begging for more.We decorated my mom's tree after that. Since I didn't get any picture of our tree I snapped a few of them decorating my mom's.

I'll finish out with a picture that's a little bit random, but worth including. After baking so much this week, my flour container was pretty low. Tawny decided she would be helpful and fill it up for me. This is what I found when I walked into the kitchen.The mess wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but even if it had been I wouldn't have minded. It was so sweet that she was trying to find ways to help me. And you can tell from the picture, she was so proud of herself!

A Day of Thansgiving

2011-12-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

Greg ended up having the entire day off for Thanksgiving so we were really excited about that. In the morning him and the kids went out and picked picked all the pomegranates and then trimmed the tree.

Even Ethan helped!

We had dinner up at Susan's. As always there was a ridiculous amount of food, but none of us were complaining!

My dad always makes the funniest faces while he is carving meat.

Could we have any more people in the kitchen?
Two of my favorite people

After dinner we did a few fireworks.
Brayden and Tawny and Kadence.

Gratitude

2011-11-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

I meant to write this post earlier in the week, but life got in the way. We have tried all month to help the kids (and ourselves) remember everything we have to be grateful for. This year we decided to do a grateful wreath. The kids helped make it. Every day they would write something they were grateful for and add to the wreath. I wanted to remember each of their lists (in no particular order):

Brayden: bones, showers and baths, floor, school, people to make friend with, Jesus, medicine, markers, straws, clothes, our blessings, Ethan, family, books, candy, games, food, trash cans, church, Wii, computers, beds

Tawny: toys, babies, scissors, church, tape, showers, school clothes, staples, Jesus, Food, cribs, piano, floss and toothbrush, home, pets, couches, church, mommy and daddy, doors, home, brothers

I have so many things to be grateful for I don't even know where to start: a loving husband, wonderful children, my faith in Jesus Christ, our home, health, me and Greg's jobs, family, and so much more!

When I grow up

2011-11-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

Brayden brought this home from school the other day. it says, "When I grow up I am going to be a farmer. I am going to ride a trackter. And I am going to be on the same farm as my dad. I hope my dad is still alive when I am a farmer." I thought it was cute so cute!
On saturday the kids got to ride with Greg on the new cotton picker. They had so much fun, even Ethan!

Ethan

2011-11-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

There's so much I want to remember about him. At this age he is changing so quickly.

*He's learned to tickle. If we're cuddling in my bed, he pick up my shirt, tickle my belly and do a little fake laugh

*He's my only child that will let me wipe his nose. Yesterday he even brought me a piece of toilet paper. It makes it so much easier!

*His new word this week was "heavy". He applies it to everything he can't push. He walked around the house all morning pushing on things, then telling me they're "heavy" if they don't move. So far the stove, wall, kitchen table, sliding door and the couch are heavy. (When he pushed on me I made sure I moved. I didn't want to be heavy!)

*If he sees someone scratching their arm/leg he'll come over and help.

*He is finally walking!! He'll be 15months in a few days, so it's about time

*He loves the uh-oh game (do something with purpose then look super innocent and say uh-oh!

*When he is irritated, tired, or just doesn't want you looking at him he makes this sound I can't even describe. It's like the annoyed sound an upset teenager would make on a movie. I definitely have to get a video of it because I can't describe it any better.

*He loves to cuddle so much more than any of my other kids. He loves his mommy the best (as he should) but if he's in the right mood he'll cuddle with anyone he knows well. Yesterday he cuddled with Brayden while we were watching a movie. Adorable!

*He loves peek-a-boo

Where are you?

Boo!
Again,
and again....
and...

again! It never gets old (for him or me)

Halloween Festivities

2011-11-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Halloween seemed to be more of a week long celebration than just a day. The Sunday before we carved/decorated pumpkins with my parents. My parents always do such cute pumpkins. My dad tries to get a pumpkin with a "scar" that he can incorporate into his face. This year was no exception.
Since our kids are so little and can't really help carve at all, we let them decorate their pumpkins this year. They used paint, glitter, feathers and rhinestones. They turned out very unique! But the kids loved doing it and I didn't have to clean and cut both of their pumpkins, which honestly is not one of my favorite things to do.
Aren't they gorgeous?! I actually didn't carve my pumpkin this year either. Brayden and Tawny inspired me to be creative so I used rhinestones to decorate mine.The other great thing about not carving our pumpkins is that they don't rot before Halloween. And because they didn't rot I'm able to bake them and freeze enough pumpkin puree to cover my baking for the next year. I did two of the pumpkins today and got over 18 cups of puree. And it taste so much better than the canned stuff.

On the Friday before Halloween Greg and I hosted an adult Halloween costume party. It was so much fun! We had awesome company, ate great food and had such a food time talking and playing games. I made a spiderweb cheesecake that turned out so cute I had to include a picture. And according to ever there, it was super tasty too! (I don't know because I don't like cheesecake).On Saturday we had out ward "trunk or treat", which we did inside the church this year. The primary was in charge of decorations and all the games, so Saturday was pretty busy for me, but it all turned out really well. All the kids seemed to have a lot of fun, except Ethan. He did not love all the people in their costumes. Greg finally had to take him home early.

I told Brayden to give me his "serious football face"
Tawny wanted to be a pirate just like last year. She loved her costume that much.We started out Halloween day with spooky pancakes. They're even healthy whole wheat pancakes and the kids don't even notice because they're in cute shapes. I've found I can get them to eat almost anything if it looks cool.

They do a costume parade at Brayden's school so he got to wear his costume to school that day. Of course Tawny had to wear hers too. They even let Tawny walk with Brayden, which I really appreciated and she loved!

For dinner I let the kids decorate their own pizzas. We do this every so often and the kids really love it. This time I cooked their pizzas using our skookie pans (individual sized cast iron pans). They were so much tastier! The bottoms got nice and crispy but the rest was soft. As you can tell, pizza decorating takes a high level of concentration!Brayden made a face.

Tawny went a little more abstract. (She said hers was a face too, but I just don't see it)

After dinner we went trick or treating. This was the first year Brayden or Tawny have actually gone trick or treating. I was too busy chasing them around the neighborhood to take any pictures. Apparently our neighborhood is one of the most popular in Blythe for trick or treating because it was packed! The kids got so much candy, more than they will ever eat. They really had a great time. I'm glad that the next holiday is Thanksgiving because it is one of my favorites. I love that it reminds me daily to have an attitude of gratitude. It is so much easier to have a great day when I am constantly on the lookout for blessings. November is going to be a great month!

Cheerleading and Footballl

2011-10-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

Man I'm behind in my blogging! About a month ago Tawny did the cheer clinic with the PVHS cheerleaders. They hold workshops all week where they teach them the cheers and mostly just have fun. At the varsity game on Friday she got to cheer on the field for the whole first quarter. I've never seen her smile so much in my life, and that's saying something 'cause she's a pretty smiley girl. She got to play with the megaphone and pom poms before the game.

she was looking for her daddy and papa.Once the games started she was very focused on getting the movements right. I was surprised at how well she actually knew the cheers.
She got to be on the box for part of the time.This is in the stands after she was done. Right after this picture she said she couldn't stop smiling even if she wanted to.Ethan with daddy at the game. It's a good thing we live somewhere that's warm because he HATES anything on his arms. He spent most of the game trying to pull the jacket off.

Brayden is playing flag football this year and is really enjoying it. He ended up on a team with a lot of his friends and is doing pretty well. At the beginning of the season he was a little slow to get into the game. Not out of fear, but because he was analyzing everything for too long before he would decide what to do. Half the time the play was over before he'd really even move. But the last few games he doing really well. They moved him from the line to defensive back and that's been a great spot for him. He even got a few flags the last game.

Brayden with his best friend Rustie. Love this pic!

I love this one because it looks like Brayden and Adin (the blond boy) are running to give each other hugs. (they're also really good friends)Tawny spends most of the games eating sno cones. Hallie (Rstuie's sister) is a sweetheart and takes Tawny to go get them.
I don't have very many great picture of Brayden. It seems like I'm always sitting in the wrong spot. After one of Brayden's games I took the kids to the park. We had a picnic and played. It was the first time Ethan's been in a swing all summer. It's just too hot. Of course he loved it.

Family Pictures

2011-09-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

We had a good friend of ours take family pictures again. She did them two years ago and we loved them, so we thoughtw e would try it again. I think they turned out awesome this time too!

I tend to like the candids better than the perfectly posed ones

I love this one
and this one
and this one! (ok, I think I love them all)

Beautiful

So what do you think? Which is your favorite?

Weekend at the Cabin

2011-09-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

We decided last minute to head up to our cabin in Utah this weekend. I haven't been there in forever. It's hard with little kids and a husband who can never get a weekend off. The kids had so much fun. Just being with their grandma and grandpa all weekend was awesome enough. Add in 4-wheelers, dirt, fire, marshmallows and a way late bedtime, and they were in heaven.

Brayden's favorite thing to do was go on walks with Grandma. They went to the pond, where they saw a water snake (thankfully I had stayed behind.), and all through the forest.

Ethan loved the rocks and dirt.He also loved being with his Papa.We took tons of 4-wheeler rides
Brayden and his Papa...

...right before Papa threw him in the water.
It was freezing, but he ended up loving it and we had a hard time getting him out. It was so beautiful up there. The leaves were just starting to changeFor dinner we roasted hot dogs
Right after my dad laid down, the wind shifted and he didn't feel like getting up and moving. It wasn't the experience he was hoping for.Again, Ethan played with rock the entire time. I couldn't even get his attention for one second to take a picture.

Still in the dirt...
Still having funAfter dinner we roasted marshmallows. The next morning we made gliders. Brayden and Tawny had to color their first (of course).
This was Ethan's other favorite thing- the cattle. When they would moo, he would laugh and moo back. I should have got it on video. It was adorable

More walks

More 4-wheeler rides

Beautiful kids and a beautiful view

Ethan got trapped while we cleaning up to go home. It worked quite well. I was able to get so much done while he was in "baby prison".

Baking Fun

2011-09-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

We've done lots of baking around here recently. Yesterday I made egg-free cupcakes for my friend's birthday. They were pretty tasty, especially considering they were egg free.

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake with chocolate chip cookie dough filling and frosting

Cocoa cupcake with raspberry filling and chocolate buttercream frosting

The cocoa cupcake was my favorite. I'm definitely going to have to make them again with eggs.

This evening Brayden and Tawny took a turn at being the chef. They made banana muffins completely by themselves. The only thing I did was crack the egg (I don't like eggshells in my muffins) and put the the pan in the oven (I don't like burnt children). They mashed the bananas, measured and mixed all the ingredients and filled the muffin tins. We'll see how they taste tomorrow, but they look pretty delicious. They had so much fun and were so cute doing it, so quite a few picture follow.

look at that concentration!
a little assist from her brotherLook!It's mixing!almost there...

Beautiful!

Friday Night Football!

2011-09-18T20:19:00.000-07:00

This by far my favorite thing about Blythe. It's mid September and the water is still warm enough that we can swim comfortably. My kids are pretty picky about cold water , and they haven't even mentioned it yet.

We've decided to be high school football fans this year. The kids love going so we bought a famiyl season pass. Ethan spent the entire time trying to take my dad's glasses off. This is by far his favorite game.

Well, anything that involves my dad seems to be his favorite.Silly faces

I think it'll be a fun thing for our family to do this fall. Brayden and Tawny seemed to really love it.

Favorites

2011-09-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

Ethan:

He waves hello, bye, and night-night

His favorite words are "woah" and "wow". "Oooo-coo" (cool) is also well used

other words: ma-ma, da-da, pa-pa, ba-ba (bottle), a-da (all gone), oo-da-do (where did he go? followed by putting both hands up in the air) wa-wa (bath, not to drink), da-da (also doggy, but somehow sounds a little different), there's others that escape me

He loves peek-a-boo and won't go to bed at night until it's been played

At bedtime he also waits for me to point to the mattress before he'll lay down. The funniest thing is he'll put his head wherever I point, even if he has to crawl to the other side of the crib.

He's a cuddlebug and a thumb sucker. It's easy to tell when he's ready for a nap because he crawls into my lap and starts sucking his thumb

he crawls soo fast, especially if someone has food he wants

he loves his papa (my dad) better than anyone/anything. If papa is in the room, Ethan will be on his lap.

Tawny:

Started dance today and loves every minute of it

is convinced she is a princess

loves her little brother, sometime a little too much. Her new thing is to carry him around. Keep in mind he weighs 27 lbs and she weighs 42.

is starting to understand sarcasm. If something goes wrong and I respond by saying "well that's fantastic" she'll immediately say "you mean it's not fantastic mommy. not even a little bit". This happens at least 4-5 times every day. Hilarious.

She learning to read and is so excited every time she gets it right

she loves her mommy. When she is sad, happy, tired, pretty much anything she turns to me. I love feeling needed.

Brayden:

Loves everything about 1st grade. His teacher, friends, class, everything.

Reading anything and everything. Right now he is into The Chronicles of Narnia and the Magic Treehouse. Did I mention he's only in first grade.

He also loves science and understanding how things work.

He had his first day of tumbling today and had so much fun. He's so much more coordinated than he was just a few months ago.

Enjoys helping around the house and is really great at it. Sorting laundry, emptying/loading the dishwasher and vacuuming are his favorites. The only thing he regularly fights me on is cleaning the playroom.

Is growing up! He gave Ethan his teddy bear because "six year olds don't need teddy bears anymore". I thought it was sweet to share, but was sad at the same time. I don't want him to be too old for his teddy bear ever!

Happenings

2011-09-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

We've been busy, but I'm not sure with what exactly. I think it's just getting beck into the normal routine of things. Brayden has been enjoying school. He had his back to school night on Wednseday and loved showing us his classroom. He seems to be doing really well and really enjoys his teacher.

I have been trying to spend time with Tawny doing things she enjoys while Brayden is at school. We play playdough, have schooltime, color and other art projects. Her favorite thing is getting a "pedicure" from mommy. She really loves it, and it she's happy, then I'm happy. I keep asking her when she's going to give me my pedicure and she just laughs.
This was her birthday present from me and Greg this year. I took her to the build-a-bear workshop and let her pick everything. She actually picked a cowgirl outfit that is really cute, but she seems to like this matching outfit better.

Last saturday was a great weather day. While Greg and I were working on the sprinklers (more on that later) they decided to sit an "watch the cars go by".
Me and Brayden went on a bike ride together. and yes, he wore his helmet. He just didn't have it on for the picture
Just because they're cute

He loves popsicles! Every time the older kids get one he follows them around begging for tastes until it's gone. I think this is the first one he's eaten all by himself. He was in heaven!

One of my big projects last weekend was reorganizing the playroom. It gets so disorganized that my kids don't play with half their toys because they can't find them. I should have taken a before picture. The difference is huge. Maybe I'll just wait a week and take another pic since that's how long it will take for them to destroy it again. Oh-well. At least I tried.For family home evening we talked about being sons and daughters of a heavenly king. I really want my children to understand that they are children of of Heavenly Father, that He loves us, and that we have a responsibility to try to be like Him. For our activity we made crowns (obviously their favorite part).

What a Weekend!

2011-08-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! We kicked it off by going a party with great friends. Ate tons of yummy food then played some minute to win it games. It was hilarious and so much fun.

On saturday morning we went out to get some stuff done on the farm. Tawny loved helping daddy feed the animals.

Saturday afternoon we went up tae Lake Havasu for my Aunt Susan's birthday. We saw tons of family we haven't seen in quite a while. The kids got to swim with cousins for hours. My dad and his sisters, Susan & Marie
Ethan played with rocks the entire time
Aunt Kelly and my dadmuch better!me and my mom

First Day of School

2011-08-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Brayden had a great first day of first grade! His teacher, Mrs Angel is awesome. Her and Brayden hit it off right away. It looks like it's going to be a great year!

Ethan's Birthday

2011-08-21T22:55:00.001-07:00

Ethan's birthday was on Monday, the same day Tawny had her birthday party. I'm not kidding when I say that August was busy. Two weddings on opposite side of the country, 2 kids with birthdays and 1 wedding reception that I did top to bottom: rentals, decor, catered it myself, clean up. I am so ready for school to start tomorrow and to get back to normal boring everyday life. Back to Ethan's birthday.

Her wasn't so sure about the presents, probably because I usually take paper away when he rips it and this time we were encouraging it. Life must be so confusing for a little kid!

He loved all his presents once they were out of the boxes. He would have loved them a little more if he didn't have so much "help" playing with them. Tawny and Brayden were a little intense, but they meant well.

He loved when we all sang to him.
I let him have a smash cake, just like I've done with the other kids. He wasn't so sure at first, but once he got going there was no stopping him.

Going...Going...Gone.

I'm not sure he ate very much, but he was great at sharing. My dad couldn't eat it (he can't have wheat) but Ethan shared just the same.

The aftermath.

I can't believe my little baby is already 1! Happy Birthday monkey. Of all my kids you are attached to me the most (at this age) and I love it. Your cuddles can't be beat, especially since you are so smushy. You are smiley and happy and I can't wait to get to see your little personality develop. Actually I can wait. I'm in no hurry for my baby to disappear.

Tawny's Birthday

2011-08-21T22:04:00.000-07:00

We got back from Florida Sunday morning and we had a family birthday party for Tawny on Sunday evening. She loved all her presents

They had to get the Playdo out right away

After dinner we decorated cupcakes.Ethan was so excited to see me after I was gone for so long. It's nice to know he loves meHe also really loves his Papa

The next day (which was actually Ehtan's birthday) Tawny had a friend party. I had told her months ago she could have one, before I knew about all the weddings. And I couldn't go back on my promise. I'm glad I didn't because she had so much fun! She wanted a fairy party, as girly and frilly as possible, so we had homemade hair flowers, lip gloss and nail polish as our party favors.

Of course lots of streamersWe decorated fairy wings with glitter and rhinestonesHad pink fairy cupcakesAnd all dressed like fairy princessesEven Mommy (look at later pics. I'm even wearing a pair of her wings at Tawny's insistence)
They all had so much fun

After opening presents (which was very much a team effort) we had a little fairy dance party led by my mom Miss Terri the dance teacher. This was by far the girls favorite part of the party.
making "shapes" Brayden was our lone boy fairy. He didn't do everything because it was "too girly" but he was a good sport about it.Ethan even got in on the fun

Happy Birthday to my princess Tawny. You are everything I could ask for in a daughter and so much more. You are helpful, spirited, independent, full of joy and have such a love for life. Your smile lights up a room. You love to cuddle and spend every waking moment with me (which I love most of the time). You have a strong sense of right and wrong and try so hard to do what is right. I love you.

Wedding #2 Jason and Tawny

2011-08-21T21:13:00.000-07:00

The day after we got back from Washington Tawny and I flew to Florida for Tawny and Jason's wedding. Are you noticing a theme here? Weddings and Tawnys seemed to be the theme for August. We met up with Linda and Kadence in Phoenix for the flight. When we got to Florida we had to ride a tram to baggage claim and the girls thought it was so awesome that they got to ride a "train".

We shared a hotel room with kadence and Linda. We bought a bunch of food from the grocery store to help keep the cost down. Being the nice mommy I am, I bought Tawny pudding cups, but no spoons. She improvised quite well.
On Thursday we went and all got mani/pedi's. It was Tawny's first time and she loved it.

This is at the rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. It was so great to spend a few days with my best friend. I haven't had that luxury in a long time.

At the bachelorette party the night before there were so many mosquitos and Tawny got ate up. So she pretty much bathed in lotion to get them to go away before her wedding. Who wants to talk down the aisle with red mosquito bites everywhere? Luckily you could hardly see most of them by Friday.

Little Tawny being cute

We all got our ahir done together before the wedding

It was right during Tawny's nap time and she fell dead asleep. So I had to hold her head up the entire time.

But she woke up refreshed and ready to have a great time.

A few really quick shots of Tawny in her flower girl dress. I didn't have much time since I was a bridesmaid and had tons of last minute things to do.

So adorable!

This is where everything gets interesting. Tawny hadn't been nervous to walk down the aisle at all. She was super excited to toss out her flowers and wear her pretty dress. The ring bearer was having a hard time so his mom insisted that Tawny had to hold hands (not every nicely I might add). Tawny was fine until the boys took off running half way down the aisle and lef ther there alone, right efter she had been told they HAD to hold hands. So she did what any self respecting four year old would do. She tossed her flower basket into the congregation and started screaming. I had to walk back up the aisle, pick her up and take her to her seat. It wasn't exactly how he had planned it but Big Tawny (my friend) didn't mind at all. She actually thought it was kinda hilarious. So if she's good, then I'm good. My Tawny got over it super quick and had a great night at the reception. Because I was in the wedding I have no pictures of the actual ceremony or the reception afterward. But take my word for it that Big Tawny was gorgeous and it was a wonderful night.

Tawny's birthday was the same day as the wedding so we didn't get to do much. But Kadence did get her a gift, which really made Tawny's day.

On Saturday we went back over to Jason's moms house to spend a little more time with Tawny. They had rented a HUGE waterslide. I hve no idea how tall it was, but it was taller than their house, and they didn't have a small house. It was so much fun!

After that Linda, Kadence, Tawny and me headed back to Orlando where we ate dinner, and hung out in the hotel.

Wedding #1 Michael and Tawnee

2011-08-21T20:30:00.001-07:00

The first week of August we went back up to Washington for Michael and Tawnee's wedding (Greg's brother). I was a little worried that the kids would revolt at sitting in the car again for 22 hours but they did really great.

They got married at the Seattle temple which is absolutely gorgeous. There are little paths through the woods all around the temple and I couldn't help snapping a few pics of the kids (more like fifty but who's counting?)

this one is my favorite...

but I had to include a few out takes because I love how their personalities shine through

Believe it or not, this was completely uninfluenced by an adult. Brayden posed and was copied by his cousin Auger.

Tawny walked around most of the time asking me to take her picture because "I think I look kinda pretty right now". She would follow it up by striking some kind of silly posy. It was hilarious

Like true boys Brayden and Auger fought with stick swords...

did their best to intimidate me...

and had pine cone throwing contests with Grandpa Rodeback.

Best Buds.

Most of Greg's family.

The sealing ceremony was beautiful. I love being reminded of the covenants I made when I married Greg. I was able to relive our own wedding day, as well as be a part of Michael and Tawnee's.

The next day we had the reception in Royal City. It turned out so beautiful. I think we loaded up half of Elaine's house to decorate with! Good thing we had so many helpers! ;)

I can't help it. They're just too cute.

The only picture I got of Tawnee and Michael.

We had to leave right form the reception to make it home in time for Greg to be at work Monday morning. The kids did great again. Ethan even took a turn driving. We'd let him stand up when we would stop for gas.

July

2011-08-21T20:18:00.000-07:00

July flew by! We went to Washington for Grandpa Keith's funeral (Greg's grandpa). What a wonderful experience it was to celebrate his life. I did not know him well but he was a truly exceptional man. We enjoyed spending time with family, so much so that I didn't take a single picture! I'm not quite sure how that happened.

We spent the rest of July at home in Blythe. My mom had knee surgery and had limited mobility, so my kids got extra reading time on the couch with her. We also were able to spend time with my brother Austin, who was home for the summer in between his mission and college. He cut his face open with a jack and was also laid up in the house for a few days. So my kids got to see more of their uncle too. I spent most of July preparing for the upcoming month. August was jam packed with so many events.

A little guitar hero with his uncle Austin

Reading time with Grandma

more reading time

Just because he's so cute
building forts together. Ethan is under all that somewhere

4th of July

2011-07-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

River Fun

2011-07-02T09:43:00.001-07:00

Despite the look on her face, she loved it. She was mad because we were leaving.

Week in Review #2

2011-06-20T03:45:00.001-07:00

I'm not planning on making this weekly thing a habit, but we'll have to see. My mom's birthday was on Wednesday. We had a fun day of eating, swimming and playing.

smile!

angry faceme and my momma

We swam every day this week. On Friday we switched it up and went in played in the yard while my mom flooded it. And I remembered my camera this time! We also had a great relaxing Father's Day, just the way it should be

Week in Review

2011-06-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

Hopefully can finally get caught up on all that's been going on. On Monday I took Ethan to the Dr for his 9 mo. checkup. Everything looks great and I know it may come as a shock to you all, but he's huge! He weighed in at 25lbs 7oz and is 29" long. He's not quite crawling but definitely moving around and starting to creep along furniture so I'm guessing his weight is going to start level out. It better or I won't be able to carry him around any more! He loves playing peek-a-boo, is finally taking a bottle and is starting to be able to communicate through "words". Obviously not real words, but he is using baby versions consistently for different wants. When he is hungry he say "naum-naum". It's like a cross between num-num and ma-ma. He calls his papa "ba-ba" and me "mmmaaammm". Super melt-my-heart cute. His new favorite game is dropping a toy/food/bottle and waiting for someone to get it. He gives the best "kisses" (he basically just slobbers all over your face) and is definitely a momma's boy.

Brayden and Tawny also went to the dentist on Monday for a checkup and neither one of them had any cavities. Yea!! I was way more excited about this than they were. While on the subject, Brayden lost his two front teeth this week. They had started loosening up, but still had quite a ways to go. On Tuesday Brayden and Tawny crashed while playing ghost (running around with sheets over their heads. Yea, it's as unsafe as it sounds) and her head knocked them much looser. By the end of the day Brayden had pulled both of them himself, which was pretty surprising to me. Did you know the tooth fairy pays a bonus for a matching set? Greg's been calling him Toothless (from How to Train a Dragon) and Brayden thinks that is pretty funny.

Tawny has had a hard time adjusting to Brayden being home all the time. She had a very rough week. She like being the big kid around the house and doing what she wanted, and Brayden likes the same thing. So they have butted heads quite a few times this week. But I'm hoping they'll work it out because I am tired of playing referee! On a complete sidenote, Tawny calls Gatorade "Ater-gade" and I love it. It makes me want to keep them around just so she'll say it all the time. So cute!

We spent the rest of the week swimming and having fun around the house. On thursday morning we went out to my mom's and helped pick plums. When we were done we let the kids play in the front yard which was being flooded (on purpose. It's how she waters her front yard) I didn't have my camera but they all had so much fun. It was a walk down memory lane for me. That was a typical June day growing up. Sometimes it would be apples, peaches or apricots, but we spent a lot of time in that orchard, and most the time it was a lot of fun.

On Saturday morning we went to the park. Brayden and Tawny loved everything while Ethan stuck to the swings. I hope the rest of the summer is just as fun and low-key.

Last Weekend

2011-06-11T06:33:00.001-07:00

There is so much I need to catch up on. We've just been having too much fun! Last weekend two of my brothers and their families came down. So we were all together except for Clint who is still on his mission. There was a very important reason why we were all there. On Sunday my dad was called as the Bishop of our ward. As you can imagine, he is very nervous but I know he will do an incredible job.

It was so great to spend the weekend with family. We packed so much into three days. On friday we hung out in the morning and spend the afternoon at the pool.

The boys played three flies up while the girls watch from the side. The water was seriously freezing! I've been swimming in my pool for a while now, and it's a little cool but completely manageable. We were at my aunt's pool and I swear there ice cubes floating around. It's also possible I'm a pansy about cold water.

We spent the evening in the backyard playing in the sandbox with the kids. I wish I got a picture of the entire sandbox. I'm not sure it can even be called a sandbox. It's huge! I'm not sure exactly how big it is, but I know it's somewhere around 1,700 square feet. And it's full of all kinds of toys. The kids could spend hours out there. Ethan loved eating the sand, but I'm no fun and kept him in the swing instead. He seemed to love that too. What do you think?
We spend Saturday at the river. Again, Ethan loved the sand. The kids buried him and he thought that was pretty fun.Not a lot of context to the pic, I just thought it was funny. (that is root beer, by the way)

This is Jordan, Steven and Ashley's daughter

This is Tyler, Brian and Kaylyn's little boyBrian and Papa

Ethan and daddy sharing lunch

They loved the watermelon!Brayden and papa played frisbeeI went out with the kids on the tube. Brayden took a turn too, but I didn't get any pics with him.

Later that evening after grilling ribs outside. My dad has this killer strong ginger ale he loves and they decided it would be fun to see who could drink theirs the quickest

Surprisingly, Greg won! He really doesn't like carbonation so I didn't expect him to win.

Saturday evening was out in the sandbox again.

Sunday was obviously a very busy day. My dad spent most of the day at the church and all just hung out at my mom's. It was a great but very exhausting weekend. So exhausting that Ethan couldn't even make it though a meal without falling asleep!

Family and Last Day of School

2011-06-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

We had some of Greg's family visit over Memorial Day weekend: his brother Brandon and his wife Megan and Megan's brother Montana and his wife Brittany and their little boy Beckett (did you follow all those family connections? Whew!) Ethan wasn't so sure of all the new visitors and spent the first day or so with this look on his face.

...but he eventually warmed up and thought it would be fun to play steamroller with Bennett. I'm not sure how fair that was since Brayden outweighed him by a good 7 or 8 lbs.

It was so great to get to spend the weekend with all of them. True to form I didn't get many pictures. I don't remember at the time to grab the camera.

Tawny went to a birthday party last Thursday. It was Disney themed, and she looked so cute I couldn't help but snap a picture.
Friday was the last day of school. They had a graduation ceremony for all the kindergartners that was really sweet. They made them shirts that said class of 2023 with their hand prints on them. The idea was to keep the shirt until his senior graduation as a reminder of where he started. Brayden is excited for summer break, but it was also a little bittersweet. He really loves Mrs Conrad and she is an incredible teacher. She will be sorely missed. I am afraid Brayden and I have been spoiled this year. She kept him engaged academically and was so diligent with his allergies and medical issues. I know it's only kindergarten, but Brayden worked really hard and tried his best to excel in every area. Mrs Conrad comment on his final report card was:

"This has been a stellar kindergarten class and Brayden has been its shining star. It has been my honor and pleasure to have been Brayden's kindergarten teacher."

Mrs Conrad read a poem at their graduation that I really loved. She was very emotional as she read it. It showed how truly invested she was in her students. She gave each student a copy of the poem, but wanted to include it here as well:

Your Flowers

I've worked with your flowers and helped them to grow

I'm returning them now but I want you to know

These flowers are precious and dear as can be

Love them, take care of them and soon you will see...

...what I saw:

I saw bright new blooms every day

That grew and blossomed in such wonderful ways

In September just buds, but in January blooms

Now lovely blossoms I return to you this June.

Remember these flowers, as dear as can be

Though rightfully yours, will always in part, belong to me!

I am so grateful for dedicated teachers who work so hard to teach our children. I'm also looked forward to having Brayden home all summer. There are so many fun things we're going to do!

Ethan's First Haircut

2011-05-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

I really didn't want to cut Ethan's hair. Somehow it just makes them seem so much older. But Greg had been asking for weeks and even I had to admit it was getting pretty shaggy. So I broke down and let Greg cut his hair. Here's a few before pics.

Look at the shag over his ears. So cute!

He was absolutely fascinated with the clippers. No fear at all.

He even wanted to help out.

Towards the end he got a little impatient

How Handsome!

He looks much bigger and older! :(

Recital

2011-05-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't live in Blythe, recital is a HUGE deal for the community, and even more so for my family since my mom is one of the studio's teachers. This was Brayden and Tawny's first year and they did so incredibly awesome. As their proud mommy, I must say that they were both the best in their classes. (I'm well aware that pretty much all moms think this, but still. One of us has to be right. It might as well be me.)

This was Brayden's 2nd year in tumbling, but his first year performing since we were in Washington last year for recital. Their song was "Are You Ready for some Football?". He did so well and was so focused on his skills and remembering everything. And he loved every second.

For Tawny this was her first year taking any dance class. She did a tap dance with her class to "When I Grow Up", a mix of the original Shirley Temple version and the newer Pussycat Dolls version. It was so cute and she did so well. Because she won her age division in the dance competition she also got to perform her solo dance. She did a tap dance to "Peppermint Twist". I chose this song intentionally because it was the first song I danced to in recital as a little girl. My mom had even saved my costume so she was able to wear it. I had so many people say that it was like they had stepped back in time and they were watching me up on the stage. Man I must have been cute!

Happy Birthday Brayden!

2011-05-19T21:05:00.000-07:00

Brayden turned SIX today! Where did my little boy go? He's growing up so fast. We had a pirate themed friend party last Saturday and had a family party today. The pics below are all out of order and I'm too tired to fix them. So as Tawny is so fond of saying,"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit".

Tawny thought of his present all by herself. A new bank since he broke his a few weeks ago

What's that face for you ask?

Only the coolest toy in the whole world. It's a magnetic ball run. All the PVC pipes and fittings and hoses have magnets on the back and can be moved to make different configurations for golf balls to roll down. I thought of the idea and my dad implemented it. I can't even begin to tell you how much Brayden loves it.

Pirate party in no particular order
Using clues to find the treasure

We found it! Notice Tawny's celebratory stance. Love it!

I made these bags for all their pirate loot...

...and hats & eye patches for all the kids. They were such cute pirates!

My Chunky Monkey

2011-05-03T22:34:00.000-07:00

The pictures do all the talking. He's constantly happy and smiling. Other than his mommy and daddy, he seems to really love his Papa, and though he may not admit it, Papa can't get enough of him.

This one is about a month old, before his hair decided to lay down. I still love his fuzz head.

Family Time

2011-05-02T03:59:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to spend more time as a family and do more fun things together. The other day I walked in on Daddy painting Tawny's fingernails and toenails. Don't worry. She said she picked orange so "Daddy didn't have to hold a girly pink color".
My dad cooked ribs and the kids love them. Ever since then if I ask them what they want for dinner they say "pig meat stuck on the bone". Cute, but it seems like just saying "ribs" would be easier. Last weekend we took a little mini vacation to Mesa. We spent pretty much all of Friday at the Children's Museum. The kids loved it

Tawny loved everything that had to do with food. Ice cream...pizza...grocery shopping.They all loved the noodle forest, especially daddy. Brayden was too fast to get a picture of.

Brayden's favorite was this magnetic wall. You could rearrange the pieces to make paths for golf balls. He spent forever here.

Painting the castle.Having fun

We also went to a few restaurants, stayed in a hotel (for some reason this is always the coolest part for my kids), went to the Mesa temple, took the kids to a park and had so much fun doing it all!

Easter

2011-04-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

The older the kids get, the more fun the holidays are. I'm guessing once they get older that will end, but for now I love it. They loved the egg decorating this year. We did glitter eggs for Tawny and monster eggs for Brayden.

They had an Easter egg hunt at Grandma's the Monday before Easter since she was going to be gone Easter weekend.

Brayden had another Easter egg hunt at school (no pics since i wasn't there) and Tawny had another one over at Mande's house. She does a playdate once a week for the kids and thought it would be fun to have a little Easter party. She was right!

I love her hat

Ethan was a great cheerleader.

Greg didn't have ANY meeting before church (first time in a long time) so we were ready early enough to walk to church. That very rarely happens when it's just me getting every one ready.

Since we had already done the eggs/candy thing ahead of time, we chose to keep Easter Sunday purely about Christ and hie resurrection. I want my kids to have a clear understanding of why we celebrate Easter. I taught sharing time that week on the resurrection and was able to continue the discussion with Brayden and Tawny after we got home. I think they understood as much as a three and a five year old can.

I have a touching story to tell about Brayden. The Saturday before Easter we took the kids to the Mesa temple, which also has a visitors center. One of Brayden's favorite parts of the visitors center was the statue of Christ showing the marks in his hands and feet. On Sunday the primary president was conducting and asked the kids if they had done anything fun for Easter weekend. Kids immediately started shouting out all the fun things they had done (parties and candy and easter eggs, etc...) Brayden raised his hand and reverently said, "We went to the temple. I saw a big statue of Jesus and I touched the marks in his feet. When I touched it I felt the spirit. I know He loves me." Wow. It was so simple but such a strong pure testimony of the Savior. I am so thankful for my children and all they teach me on a daily basis.

Murder Mystery Dinner

2011-04-16T11:16:00.001-07:00

We hosted a murder mystery dinner last night and it was so so so much fun! Every dressed in character, we ate great food and try to figure out who committed the crime. Thanks to everyone who came! I somehow forgot to get a pic of Greg and I. Greg was a janitor and I was a stablehand.

Cookie (a trucker) and Jessic (pie baking gossip)

Ruth (ex beauty queen) and Troy (town mayor) John (elvis impersonator) and Kim (gypsy)

Cade (rodeo rider) and Erica (4-H snob)

Budding Artist

2011-04-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

Brayden has always loved art, but recently his drawings have really improved. I want to keep so many of his pictures but haven't figured out a good way to do it. So for now, I thought I'd scan them in. That was I'll have a copy of them in my blog book. Here are just a few of my favorites: Notice the gray then yellow guy being pushed off the plank and falling down down into the water? Also note the spelling of pirate on the big guy's shirt

When I asked Brayden why the tiger was bigger than the house and Tawny, Ethan and himself he said,"cause we have to be able to hide under him, and we couldn't hide under a regular tiger." He said this with patronizing patience, like I'm mentally slow and incapable of grasping such an obvious concept.

This isn't really art, but I thought it was pretty funny. He wrote the letters like they sound (except for t thru x). and yes, he does know the real alphabet.

Ethan: 7 months

2011-03-19T11:26:00.001-07:00

Since Ethan's been sick for the last month, he didn't get his checkup until this week. He's almost 24 pounds and he's 28" long. He got four shots and was so brave! He didn't cry at all for the first two. With the second two he fussed, but kept his mouth closed so it was just a muffled "mmmm". It was funny because it sounded like he wanted to cry but was trying to fight it back by keeping his mouth closed. I know that's not what he was really what he was doing but I was able to tease Brayden about Ethan being braver than him. Maybe that will help Brayden not cry the next time he gets shots, but I highly doubt it.

There are so many thing I love about Ethan and so many moments I never want to forget:

When he's tired and I rub his head behind his ear, he'll fall asleep instantly
He wakes up at 5:00 to eat every morning and doesn't go right back to sleep, but isn't fully awake either. The house is completely quite with no distractions and I get to hold and cuddle him. It's just me and him. It is hands down my favorite part of every day.
There is no end to the things that make him smile and laugh. Dogs, people, loud sounds, silly faces, toys, food. Pretty much everything and anything.
His hair. Oh, his hair. It sticks up in every direction and there is nothing I can do to get it to stay down.
He babbles and "talks" incessantly. Of course his favorite sound combination is "ma-ma-ma". Does he know what it means yet? Probably not. But that doesn't mean I don't light up every time he says it.
He's starting to understand certain words. If I say the word "eat" he gets so excited. Greg didn't believe me so the other day I said it in the car. Ethan was in the back all by himself and as soon as I said it, he started kicking and talking and got so excited.
He never wakes up crying. Just imagine hearing him babble over the monitor instead of crying. It's the most wonderful sound.

This Week

2011-03-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

This week, as always was a busy one. Tawny participated in her first dance competition. She was so excited and had so much fun. The students choreograph and perform their own dance. Since Tawny is only three I helped her a little with the choreography, but I tried really hard to let her have as much input as possible. She did so awesome and was insistent that she was going to win. I tried to explain that she was the very youngest girl competing and might not win, but she was so sure she would win. She ended up being the trophy winner for her age group (Ages 3-5)! That means she gets to perform her dance at the county fair and the year end dance recital. I sure hope she doesn't get stage fright when 200+ people are watching her. I'm guessing she won't. She's a natural born performer. We're so proud of her! Brayden has been playing t-ball for a few weeks now and is really loving it. His coaches are great and try to make sure that everyone get a chance to play every position. Since it's first year t-ball the rules are very basic. Each inning everyone gets a chance to bat, and everyone gets to run all the way to home, ever if they are thrown out (which doesn't have very often). They focus on learning the game, and having good sportsmanship, which I really appreciate.

Brayden really loves being a big brother. I can always count on him to step up and help when it's needed. Today I was super late getting ready for church. Greg as at early meetings, I had forgotten about the time change and found out I had to do singing time about 45 minutes before church started. Fun times. Brayden was so helpful. He fed Ethan his breakfast, got himself dressed, helped Tawny get dressed and packed the diaper bag books, crayons, paper, diapers, extra clothes...everything! (the clothes may not have matched, but oh-well) Then he played with Ethan until it was time to go. What an awesome little boy.

Greg got a new church calling this week. He is the Spanish Group Leader, which is like a branch president with a few less responsibilities. He nervous but very excited about his new calling. I know that he'll do great. He loves the people and I know he'll do everything he can to help the grow in the gospel. I'll get participate some too, which I'm excited about. I'll be the pianist for their sacrament. I guess I need to brush up on my Spanish!

Love in Her Heart

2011-03-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

I had the cutest conversation with Tawny today as we were driving to pick up Brayden from school. I looked in the rear view mirror and noticed that she looked a little sad. Here is the conversation that followed

M: Tawny, is everything okay?
T: I feel a little sad in my heart. Right here. (pointing to her heart)
M: Why?
T: My heart is all empty of Daddy Love. I need to see him so I can fill it up with Daddy Love.
M: Should we see if you can visit him at work right now?
T: YES mommy YES! Can I stay with him a long long time so my heart can fill all the way to the top with Daddy Love?

Needless to say she got to spend the rest of the day at work with her Daddy. And when she got home her eyes were shining as she told me that her heart was full "all the way to the tippy-tippy top". Priceless.

6 months

2011-02-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

My little baby is already six months! Where did the time go? He's definitely growing up so quickly. He's been sick for the last few weeks with a real nasty cold that turned out to be RSV. But he handled all like a champ and is doing great. I still can't get over how happy he is. Even when he was sick he was still so smiley and happy. He's cut his bottom two teeth and is working on his top. We started him on solids about two weeks ago and so far we haven't found anything he won't eat (no surprise there). And he finally rolled over yesterday! I was starting to wonder if he ever would. I think it took him so long because there's just so much of him to roll over. I took him to the dr. a few weeks ago and he was 27 inches and 22.5 pounds. That's a lot of weight for a 6 month old. We all love him so much. He's made our home a happier place.

Brayden

2011-02-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Brayden has had quite the busy month. A few weeks ago he played his first soccer game and loved every second of it. I'm officially a soccer mom! It was so exciting to see him come alive and fully commit to the game. I was really impressed with how quickly he picked it all up. It seemed like everytime I looked he was right in the middle of things. And most importantly, he loved it.

He missed his next soccer game because he was in the hospital because of his asthma. He didn't have a full attack, but we just weren't able to manage it at home, mostly because he needed oxygen. Everyone agreed that his was pretty sick, except for him. I guess he never got the memo. When they admitted him, his oxygen sats was at 81%, which is pretty low, and I could still hardly keep him in the bed. In fact, he pulled the oxygen tube right off the wall twice the first night. He kept trying to convince the dr. that he didn't need anymore breathing treatments, even though I could tell by watching/listening to him breathe that he did.

He was such a trooper through the whole thing. He hardly even got upset when they did a blood draw. For those of you who know Brayden, that is a HUGE deal. He won't even let me put bandaids on him because they hurt when they come off (such a tough guy). But before we took him to the hospital, Greg gave him a blessing. Among other things, he blessed him that he would be calm and able to handle everything. What a blessing it is to have the priesthood!

He stayed there from Friday to Monday. I kept him home from school for the rest of the week. For Tuesday and Wednesday he was doing breathing treatments every four hours, and he had a follow up with his pediatrician on Thursday. He 's doing great now. His oxygen sat on thursday was at 98%, which is great. I'm still a little nervous to send him back to school tomorrow, but I'm sure he'll be fine.

Ethan

2011-02-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

We've had such a busy few weeks, but I want to document all the things happening with Ethan right now. He's officially outgrown his infant car seat and is definitely the biggest of all my kids. We're finally starting him on solids. I meant to a few weeks ago, but it just never happened. He isn't rolling over yet, but I think it's mostly because he's so big! There's just too much to get over. He's smiley and happy all the time. One the rare occasion he does cry, he's very easy to soothe. You can't tell from the picture below, but his hair sticks straight up all the time. He constantly has something in his mouth, whether it's a toy, his hand, or anything else within his reach. We'll have to keep an eye on him!

Phoenix Zoo

2011-01-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

I am so hopelessly behind that I'm not even going to try to write a lot. We took the kids to the zoo that day after we flew back from Washington. The pictures are in reverse order thanks to Blogger, but here they are for your viewing pleasure.

Winter Break Part 2

2011-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

We took one extra week off of school and went up to Washington to see Greg's family. They were able to finally meet Ethan and I'm pretty sure they loved him! I think he was held pretty much the entire week.

The kids were so excited to play in the snow with their uncles and cousins. They spent one day riding bikes on the bike path (after the snow was shoveled). Brayden and Tawny really liked using the big snow shovel. Another day when there was more snow they made snow angels and rode on the sled behind the 4-wheeler. Luckily Elaine still has tons of snow clothes for the kids to wear, so they were nice and warm.

They were both having so much fun...

...until Tawny got cold. She melted into a little pile of sad, crying, snot-nosed three-year old.

But after a little rest on the couch she went back out for round two and had so much fun.

It was great to see everyone again. As always, the trip didn't feel quite long enough. At least we didn't drive this time. We didn't think 24 hours in the car with 3 little kids sounded too great, so we decided to fly this time. I was a little nervous with Brayden's peanut allergies (okay, I was super nervous), but we were careful, and everything went fine. It was Brayden and Tawny's first time on an airplane and they loved the whole experience.

Winter Break

2011-01-17T20:42:00.001-08:00

I didn't know it was possible to pack so much fun into just a few weeks! The week after Christmas my brothers Brian and Steven were here. We spent the entire week over at my parents house hangin' out, playing games, and eating tons of great food. Brayden and Tawny loved playing with Tyler and Jordan. The best was watching Tyler and Brayden "wrestle". Brayden was making such an effort to play softly and not hurt Tyler. I loved seeing him show so much concern. It made a Mommy proud.

The following week was just me and the kids and we made the best of it. We had picnics in the park, friends over to play, rode bikes all over the neighborhood, watched tons of funny movies, baked treats together, visited daddy at work, went to the Children's Museum in Phoenix, and so much more.

Greg was busy working, but we still wanted to see him so one day we took a picnic out to the farm and ate lunch with him. Afterwards Brayden and Tawny rode with Daddy for a while.

These pictures are all of the Phoenix Science Museum, We went with the Sotos and we all had so much fun, the mommies included. It started out with this HUGE three-story tree house. We spend almost an hour exploring and having fun up there.

This was the racing room. There were realistic toys for them to climb on, as well as 3-4 huge racing tracks for little cars made out of PVC pipes.

The Ball Room. There was a little market where the kids could go shopping for food, then pay for it at the register. Then they could take the food to the adjoining kitchen and "cook" what they had bought. This was one of Tawny's favorite rooms.
The noodle forrest. Hundreds and hundreds of pool noodles suspended from the ceiling. Enough said.
Arts and crafts

The Car Wash

Things I Love...

2011-01-01T20:06:00.000-08:00

...the way Tawny says except: "Ba-cept"
...watching Brayden play with his cousins Tyler and Jordan. He was so patient and cautious, always watching to make sure they didn't get hurt, and pretty good about sharing
...the way Ethan sucks on his lips. He makes the cutest fishy face.
...everything about my husband. He's thoughtful, considerate and loving. Seven years together and it just keeps getting better.
...Tawny on Christmas morning. She'd pick up each present and say "Whose is this is?" So cute.
...how Brayden find pure joy in every little thing.
...that all my kids have naturally happy dispositions. Laughter is always just a heartbeat away in our home.
...watching my kids learn and grow. Brayden learned to ride a bike. Tawny learned to button up a shirt. Their joy in accomplishing a new task is so incredible to witness.
...for family: husband, children, mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, grandparents. My life wouldn't be complete without all of you! I love you all!

Merry Christmas in Pics

2010-12-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Posing in front of the Tree

Ornaments

Christmas Jammies

Reading the Christmas Story

Santa came!
My Super Heros!

The Bike (you'll see more of this later)

I love the excitement on his face

Such a sweet moment

Gift from Elaine. Thanks!

These are called Plasma Cars. The kids love them

Video of the kids on their plasma cars

Ethan's present. This should actually be my present since it keeps him entertained so well

Brayden riding his bike all by himself! He figured it out so fast. We never even put training wheels on it.He was so proud of himself!

We had a great Christmas. How about you?

Catch Up- Picture Edition

2010-12-12T21:43:00.001-08:00

What a busy month so far! I'll just use pics to highlight what's happened.

We decorated the tree...

Brayden had his Kindergarten Christmas program. He did awesome! His favorite song was "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"

Brayden's teacher Ms. Conrad. She's incredible and Brayden loves her.

Brayden visited Santa. Tawny isn't pictured because she wouldn't go within 20 feet of him. Oh-well. Maybe next year.

But she did write him a letter. The first thing she asked for was new boots for Mommy. I don't want to disappoint her so we may have to make it happen. Only for her though...

Tonight we decorated gingerbread houses.

Tawny's was....interesting....

Ethan is getting so big! And even cuter (is that possible?)

One of my favorite places to be.

Thanks

2010-11-26T08:02:00.001-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we did a "thanks" tree and a "giving tree". Every day in November we each wrote on separate leaves something we are thankful for and some act of service we gave. We did just the thanks tree last year and I loved the addition of the giving tree because I think the best way we can show our gratitude to our Heavenly Father for all he has given us is by serving others. The kids really enjoyed filling our trees with leaves. I loved watching them actively search for ways to serve. I think this may become a tradition.

What am I thankful for most? My family.

Christmas Cards

2010-11-21T14:54:00.001-08:00

HELP! I can't find my address book. If you'd like a christmas card from us (and I knw you do), email me your address at caliangel030@hotmail.com. Thanks!

Ethan Pics

2010-11-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Not much to say. Just wanted to include some pics of Ethan since he was MIA last post. He such a cutie and happy baby. I know he's awake in the morning not because he's crying, but because he's making happy baby sounds. And he's learned to sleep through the night! He'll go from about 9pm to about 5:30 in the morning and I'm pretty much always up by then anyways. It's so much easier to be happy when you get to sleep!

Picture Post

2010-10-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Warning: lots and lots of pics follow.

At the raceway in Vegas last weekend

a need for speed! (notice Tawny isn't paying attention AT ALL to where she is going? That was how it went pretty much the whole time. She crashed a lot)

Carving PumpkinsEwww!Since they can't carve themselves, they drew faces with markers and then we cut them out. After that they got to paint their pumpkins. They loved it!Clint's BirthdayHalloween day at schoolI made Tawny's costume this year. The entire thing was made out of upcycled clothing (except the trim and button) It turned out pretty cute

In case you can't tell, he's holding a fire hose and spraying out a fire

At the costume parade at Brayden's school. I was so glad they let Tawny participate.

The treats I made for Brayden's party. The pics are here at Brayden insistence. He thought they were pretty dang cool

Somehow I didn't take any pics of Ethan during this whole week. I'll make sure to take some this weekend. He's getting so big and is such a cutie!

Update

2010-10-24T15:13:00.000-07:00

I took Ethan to his 2 month checkup. He was 14lbs 9 oz and 23.5" long. He's quite the chubby little boy! He's really starting to come alive. He smiles all the time and is starting to laugh. He'll also try to copy faces that we make.

Brayden is doing really well in school. They've placed him at a 2nd grade 6 month reading level, so he's working at a different level than the other kids in his class. His teacher is really great about challenging him without making him feel completely separated from the rest of the class. This last week he has started reading books to the class during reading time. He thinks that is pretty awesome.

Tawny is loving her dance class. She comes home and teaches what she learned that day to Brayden. She is also loves being the big kid at home during the day. She helps me with everything and has a smile on her face while doing it.

We went to Las Vegas this weekend to go to the temple and to visit family. We got the kids winter clothes shopping done. We also went and raced go-carts. They even had little mini go-carts that Brayden and Tawny were able to drive my themselves. It was so much fun! We all could have stayed there all day.

Did you know?...

2010-10-18T15:05:00.000-07:00

...that Tawny has a "bi-skittle"? It's true. No matter how many times I correct her she will not say bicycle. Not that I really mind. It's pretty cute!

Carnival

2010-10-10T20:07:00.001-07:00

We got our tickets (not from the policeman) and went to the fair on Friday. They kids had a blast. They rode rides straight from 5 until 10:30. And they only quit them because I made them leave. I was too tired to stay any longer.
Ethan's eight weeks old and getting bigger everyday. We love having in our home and can't imagine life without him.

Don't shoot!

His tongue is out most of the day.

Can I Have a Ticket Please?

2010-10-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

So there's a little carnival this weekend in Blythe and we've talked to the kids about going, and they're super excited. This morning I told Tawny we were going to go buy tickets in a little bit so we can go on the rides (they're cheaper if you buy them ahead of time). So I was out walking this morning with Tawny and Ethan in the stroller. Up ahead there was a policeman who had just pulled someone over. As we walk by the policeman Tawny yells something out. Thinking that she's talking to me, I stop to ask what she wants. So she repeats it again. "Mr Policeman? Can my mommy have a ticket? We're going to the fair and need to get a ticket to go on all the really cool rides. Please?" Me and "Mr Policeman" both about dies laughing. Luckily he did not give me a ticket. I think I'd prefer to get my tickets elsewhere. I think I laughed the entire way home.What a great way to start the morning!

Ethan's Blessing

2010-09-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

We blessed Ethan this weekend at church. What an incredible experience. Greg gave Ethan a wonderful blessing and the spirit was so strong. Ethan is a very special little boy! (But we already knew that) ;) Greg's brother Brandon and his wife Megan were able to make it down. My Grandma Sharlene also came. Thank you for making the trip to be here! We loved seeing you all again. We definitely missed those family members that weren't able to make it, but we fully understand their situations.

I wish I had some pictures to share but I feel like the entire world conspired against me that morning. Greg had meetings before church so I had to get all three kids ready for church by myself. No big deal. I do that every week. I had laid out all their outfits the night before, including Ethan's blessing outfit. Everything was going great until about 8:40 when I went to get Ethan dressed. His blessing outfit had magically disappeared (ie: Tawny was playing with it, carried it off and forgot where she put it.) I finally found it under the crib and we rushed off to the church. We made it just in time for Greg to grab Ethan and take him up to be blessed. I never found his shoes or hat, but at least he was wearing white. He was nearly blessed in a blue onesie. So no pictures were taken before. And his blessing outfit didn't even make it through sacrament before it had been spit up on and pooped on. So no pictures afterward either. You'll just have to take my word for it that he looked very handsome. Regardless of all the commotion, it was a wonderful day and are so excited to have Ethan in our family.

Conversation

2010-09-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

*Brayden was talking to Tawny as she's pouting for not getting her way.

B: You know Tawny, you don't just get your way all the time. Like, just because you want a pet lion doesn't mean you can have one. It would be dangerous and he could eat your face off.

T: Well, I already have a pet lion. He's name is Freddie and he sleeps in my room with me. He has big mean pointy teeth, but he's nice to me. He's only scared of flies. He likes me cause I keep all the flies away.

B: That's silly. You can't really have a pet lion. They live in zoos. And lions aren't afraid of flies.

T: Well my lion is. And he's not a real lion. He's a pretend one.

B: That doesn't even count.

T: Yes it does.

*dissolves into an argument whether a pretend lion counts or not.*

I loved listening to this conversation for so many reason. Mainly because it perfectly shows both of their personalities. Brayden is super cautious, goes by the rules and has both feet firmly planted in reality. Tawny has an incredible imagination and assumes she is the exception to every rule. They couldn't be more different, yet I love them both more than I could say.

On an unrelated note, Tawny has turned into quite the little mommy. She loves Ethan and is so helpful with everything. She would hold him/play with him all day if he could tolerate it.

First Day of Dance

2010-09-14T19:34:00.001-07:00

Tawny had her first day of dance class today. She was so excited. Grandma Terri was her teacher. She did great! Her ear-to-ear grin never left her face. Sorry for the poor picture quality. My camera is dying a slow and painful death.

Ethan: 3 weeks

2010-09-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Not much to say. Ethan's three weeks old and his personality is showing more and more. For the most part he is still a great baby. The only disclaimer is that he hates to be swaddled, but that is the only way he'll sleep. I'm looking forward to that being resolved so I can sleep more than 2 hours at a time. The kids desparately want to play with him, but both have colds so for now they can't touch him too much.

Time to Slow Things Down

2010-09-05T13:01:00.001-07:00

In the last 3 weeks we have:

Had a baby (and all the upheaval that comes with that)
Tawny dislocated her knee
Brayden started kindergarten
Greg had his appendix removed
we sold our car
Brayden lost his first tooth
Greg was called as Young Men's president

And those are just the big items. I think it's safe to say that we're ready for everything to slow down!

First Day of School

2010-08-24T07:12:00.001-07:00

Brayden's first day of kindergarten was yesterday. Here's how the day went in Brayden's own words:

"I was first scared but then when I came home from school I was happy and I liked school. I loved when we ate lunch and my friend is going to sit by me today. In class I colored and glued beads on my name and then we had lots of recess. I made new friends. That's all."

I think that pretty much sums it up. He seemed like he had a really good day. He has a great teacher and I know the parents of the majority of the kids in his class. I think it will be a great year. I'm not sure he will learn much academically, but it's only kindergarten. The only concern I have is that they have full day kindergarten here. He's at school from 8:30 in the morning to 3:20 in the afternoon. It seems a bit long to me, but I think he'll do fine. A certain mommy really misses having him at home though!

Week in Review

2010-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

This week has obviously been all about the new baby. I knew Brayden would handle the adjustment pretty well. He's the kind of kid that just rolls with the punches. Plus he was very excited about having a little brother. Tawny, on the other hand, I was a little more concerned about. She seemed excited about having a little brother, but was very insistent that she was still "mommy's little baby". You can imagine my relief when she became completely enamored with Ethan the second we brought him home. She loves helping me with anything and everything that has to do with Ethan. In the morning when I wake up I know exactly where I can find Brayden and Tawny: sitting by Ethan's crib, watching him sleep and waiting for him to wake up.

Yesterday at the store Tawny told a cashier that we have the "most beautiful baby in the whole world with the most beautiful eyes and the most beautiful little toes and the most beautiful belly button and...." I love seeing how much she really loves her little brother.

Minus the late night feedings and the mastitis that I currently have (which is seriously unpleasant by the way) this has been an incredibly peaceful and perfect week. Ethan is such a great baby (for now). He cries very little and is easily soothed when he does. It has been really great to slow down and just spend the week with my kids, just enjoying one another's company. Lots of play......even more sleep...

...and a lot of enjoying our little angel.

He's Here!

2010-08-17T08:18:00.001-07:00

Ethan Rex, born Sunday at 4:37am; 7lbs, 14oz and 19.5". He's such a great baby and we already love him so much! Even at 2 days old he is so different than our other two. We're so excited to have him home, that the delivery went well and that he is healthy. We're not quite sure who he looks like. I guess just himself!

The kids are so excited to have Ethan home. All they want to do is hold him and play with him. They're pretty sad that he sleeps so much!

So Done

2010-08-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

7 more days. I'm so done with being pregnant.

Update on Greg's Dad

2010-07-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

I've had quite a few people ask recently about how Greg's dad is doing. They are doing well, but still in Seattle. Elaine (Greg's mom) does a great job keeping us updated on her blog so I thought I'd include a link for anyone wanting more info. Click here to see how he is doing.

Baby Update

2010-07-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Warning: This post will mostly be the rambling of a very tired, very pregnant woman. Be warned.

I think this pregnancy has been ignored a little. It's not that we're not excited, because we are! There's just been so many other things going on that it's been put on the back burner. But with only three weeks it's time to focus! I went to the dr. today and she said everything looks great. For multiple reasons, including baby size and distance from the hospital, she suggested scheduling an induction at 39 weeks. I went past my due date with both Brayden and Tawny and they were both huge! So we'll see if I make it to 39 weeks, which I think I will. I'd prefer not to be induced, but I'd also prefer to not deliver a 9.5 lb baby. ;)

I've been surprised at how different this pregnancy has been than my other two: very little morning sickness, swelling, indigestion or discomfort. In fact, even now at 36 weeks I regularly "forget" I'm pregnant, only to be reminded when I walk by a mirror. That is not a pleasant surprise. I feel like the Lord knew how much I could handle with everything else going on and chose to lighten my load. It has truly been a tender mercy over the last 8 months.

So only three weeks to go! I still haven't even picked out a name yet. Any suggestions?

We're Home!

2010-07-18T14:23:00.001-07:00

It is so good to be back home! We were in the pool literally 15 minutes after I got home. We'll pretty much be living in the pool until the baby comes.

The kids with grandma.

(you didn't think I'd post a pic of me in my swimsuit did you? Besides I don't have a wide angle lens so I couldn't even if I wanted to.) We have a lot to do to get resettled. Yesterday Brayden informed me that our house "is a disaster". That pretty much sums it up.

just because it's so cute

Happy Fourth!

2010-07-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July! We went up to Seattle for the weekend. Greg flew back from cali and it was so good to see him again. The kids had such a great time. I was feeling crafty and made them both shirts for the special day. Well, I made Tawny's and decorated a plain white tee for Brayden. Close enough right?

such cuties!

We played with bubbles in the afternoon and they both really loved it.

sparklers at night

Tawny had an outfit change due to an accident. It was cold and I had only brought her one pair of pants so we had to improvise: princess jammies, daddy's socks and Brayden's shoes. Quite the fashion statement!
This was probably the best of all- sitting on Grandpa's lap and and smarties. It doesn't get much better than that.

Seattle Visit and Swim Day

2010-06-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

We went up to Seattle for Father's Day and spent a few days there with Terry and Elaine. One of the things we did was visit the Seattle aquarium, which the kids loved.

Today we went the the Othello Aquiatic Center and had a great time!

I mean...

2010-06-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

This is Tawny's new favorite phrase. I'm pretty sure she is destined to be a lawyer because she has mastered the art of reasking the same question in different ways until she gets the answer she wants. Case in point:

T: Mommy can I have a candy?
M: No.
T: I mean later after lunch.
M: No
T: I mean when you feel like letting me have a candy.
M: Okay. You can have a candy when I feel like giving you one.

T: Mommy can I use the sharp knife?
M: No.
T: I mean tomorrow.
M: No.
T: I mean when I'm super big. When I'm bigger than you.
M: Sure, that would be fine.

T: Mommy can I play with your phone?
M: No.
T: I mean when you're done.
M: No.
T: I mean later.
M: No.
T: I mean I don't really want to play with your phone.
M: Sounds good to me.

I kid you not when I tell you that this happens every single time I tell her no, which is a million times every day. The funny thing is that she is perfectly content once she reaches the point where I am able to say yes. I think in her mind she has somehow won. I'm not sure if it's cute or mildly irritating. I think I'll go with somewhere in between.

Fun in the Sun

2010-06-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

The sun finally came out and it warmed up! We've spent the entire day outside so far. The kids found a huge mud puddle and started splashing , and ended up having a huge mud fight

Cuddling and resting after their fun in the mud!

Rainy Fun

2010-06-02T10:30:00.001-07:00

We decided to get out and have fun despite all the rain we've been having. So we took the kids to a local fair. Brayden and Tawny really enjoyed every second.

checking things out with Daddy

So excited for their first ride.
loving it
this was both of their favorites.

another day, but still enjoying the rain.
this one isn't a rainy day, but so cute I had to post it!

Making Bread with Grandma Idris

2010-05-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

The kids made bread with Grandma Idris the other day (Greg's grandma- his dad's mom). They had so much fun and loved spending time with their great grandparents.

They helped mix it...

...then shaped their loaves....

...then enjoyed the fruit of their hard work.

Yum!

They had so much fun. They especially loved that Grandma had little mini loaf pans for them to use. Brayden insists that it tastes better when the bread is "little and cute". Thank you so much for a great afternoon Grandma Idris!

Self Esteem Builders

2010-05-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Brayden and Tawny have had some pretty interesting comments about me recently. I thought I'd share a few:

Brayden: "Mom is your belly EVER going to be little again? 'Cause I kinda don't think so."

Tawny: "Mommy, you're so big and pretty." (she sugar coats her insults a little bit)

Brayden: "Mom, you just keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger. If you get too big you might pop or explode like a balloon."

Tawny: "Mommy, suck in your belly so we can cuddle. It's in my way."

Brayden: "Mom you're getting kinda lumpy and bumpy. Maybe we need to by more healthy food, like skinny milk (skim) and carrots. That might help."

Such sweethearts, right? It's not even like I've gained an insane amount of weight. I'm 27 weeks and have gained about 18 lbs, which is pretty close to what is recommended. I just take it all with a grain of salt. After all, Tawny did say that I am pretty...

Happy Birthday Brayden!

2010-05-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my little man! He turned 5 today. Where do I start? He is such a happy, joyful, energetic little boy. He loves life, is kind to others and tries so hard to do what is right. Did I also mention he is smart and such a cutie?

He's had a great birthday so far. He loved all his presents. Thank you to everyone who sent something. He also had a party here with his new friends in Washington. Thank you so much to everyone who came. He had a great time.

Look at the excitement!

Happy Birthday bud. We love you!

Activities

2010-05-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

We've been busy with the day to day things, but have still managed to get a lot of fun things in too. Last week we took the kids out to pick wild asparagus (yes it as only last week and they are still bundled up like it's December).

Just a pic of the asparagus. I've never seen it growing all on it's own. The taller mini tree-looking things are also asparagus. If it's not picked it will eventually look like a bush-shrub type thing.

We planted the garden and of course the kids needed to help.We made a cake to take to a funeral yesterday. Good thing I had a very involved helper. How would I manage without her?Yesterday afternoon BrittanyJo and I had fun sewing together. It was her first time sewing and made a really cute pillowcase. You can see it on her blog here. She did a great job, especially for her first project. I had this bird fabric I've been dying to use so I made Tawny a summer dress. It's based off of the Summer Vacation Dress pattern from Made. I altered it a little by adding sleeves so Tawny doesn't have to wear a shirt under it. It's a little big, which I was hoping for so she can grow into. This may be Tawny's favorite dress so far. She loves the fabric, but I think the pockets are her favorite part. She had to tell every single person at church that her mommy made her a dress and "it has birds and trees and pockets for me to put all my stuffs in". I think I'll make this one again, with a few alterations.

"Make a shape!"

Conversations

2010-05-06T07:23:00.001-07:00

Tawny came running in yesterday completely naked from the waist down. Here's how the conversation went.

M: Tawny where are your pants?
T: I took them off all by myself. And I bring clean pants and underwear (obviously very proud of her accomplishment)
M: Why did you take your other pants off.
T: They were dirty and wet and covered in pee.
M: Oh, did you have an accident?
T: No, I did it on purpose. (awesome)
M: Why?
T: I was tired of those pants and wanted new ones. So first I go pee then I take the dirty pants off and get new pretty clean ones! (still very proud of the whole thing)
M: But you made a big mess for mommy to clean up.
T: No, I already cleaned it up!
M: How?
T: With lots of water and soap and towels...

I ended the conversation right there to go assess the damage. It was pretty much what you would expect when a two year old cleans up her own mess. Did you know shampoo works great to clean pee out of carpet? But you have to use the ENTIRE bottle. Just ask Tawny.

Completely unrelated, the kids took a bath with their cousin Auger last night and had a pretty great time.

Update

2010-04-28T05:08:00.001-07:00

The last week has been even busier. We had a suprise audit at work so I had to make an impromptu trip to Utah for a few days. The timing was nice since my brother was graduating from BYU that same weekend. So I got to see my family and have some fun. The only thing I didn't do much of was sleep. But the audit went well.

I came home to two very sick little kids. Fever, cough, sore throats, earaches, the whole thing. I'm hoping they'll get better soon, but I may have to find a doctor in the area. I'm starting to think I should have extended my audit trip by a few days.

Pics

2010-04-19T18:24:00.000-07:00

There's not really a theme today, just a few pics that I wanted to share, particularly for my mom and dad who are really missing Brayden and Tawny.

Playing in the yard with Uncle Anthony

The face of concentration (I still stick out my tongue when I'm thinking hard)

Tawny pouts when she's thinking.

Still loving their Easter boots and sun glasses

Tawny got her first "haircut" today. She was pretty excited

I didn't really cut much at all.

Yesterday I...

2010-04-18T14:46:00.001-07:00

...got my visiting teaching done (sort of, by mail)
...prepped boxes and transplanted strawberries (with a lot of help)
...cleaned the kitchen
...did 6 loads of laundry
...swept and mopped all floors
...vacuumed all carpets
...cooked lunch and dinner
...played with my kids
...fell into bed at the end of the day. I need a weekend from my weekend!

Not According to Plan...

2010-04-12T10:12:00.001-07:00

I finally made Tawny's Easter skirt (only a week late) and decided to make Brayden a coordinating bow tie. They looked so cute! I didn't have time to take pics before we went to church. So I waited until after church. Very bad idea. One was very cooperative...

the other not so much.

If you ignore her face they look so cute!

I'll have to show the skirt a different day. It's pleated on the top (box pleats I think) and trimmed in the sweetest pink lace. I wish the pattern went up to my size.

Pic Post

2010-04-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Not much time for anything other than pics and captions.

Easter at my mom's before we left (yes Tawny dressed herself)

New boots

Splash!

Coloring eggs

Easter in Washington

Cool!

Tawny's been such a help with the baking. How would I keep everything clean without her?

Ready for war!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Our New Adventure

2010-03-28T17:09:00.001-07:00

We made it safely up to Washington. For those of you who don't know, Greg's dad Terry has had cancer for awhile now, and needs a bone marrow transplant. They found a donor, and the procedure is set to take place in a few weeks. Terry and Elaine (his wife) will be in Seattle for a few months following the transplant, and they still have four kids at home. They will not be able to come home at all for over 3 months So Greg and I came up to help out for as long as we can. Greg will help on the farm and I will help in the home. We're so thankful that we are in a position to be able to help when needed. My job allows me to work from anywhere and my boss fully understands the situation and is willing to make it work. Greg has the most incredible boss in the world (my daddy) who let him have a few months off so he could be here for his family. We really are so grateful for their understanding and flexibility.

So we'll be living up here in Washington until sometime in July. We would stay longer, but I'm due in August and would really prefer to have my baby at my home with my doctor. Call me crazy. ;) We're excited and concerned at the same time. Excited to have time to spend time with Greg's family. Excited to be able to help. Concerned for Terry. Concerned to be in charge of four teenagers! There's a reason that you start with babies and slowly work your way up to teenagers. But they are great kids and I'm sure it will all work out okay. We are not asked to do things we are incapable of. As long as I can remember to rely on the strength of my Savior and not my own, things will be okay. Easier said then done, isn't it?

Drumroll.....

2010-03-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

IT'S A BOY!

Brayden's excited for a brother to play with. Tawny is excited it's a boy because she didn't want to share her room, toys, clothes,....you get the idea (what a little stink!). Everything else looked great. Hopefully it all continues that way.

Look What I Can Do!

2010-03-11T20:31:00.001-08:00

This evening Tawny was drawing on the easel and asked me to write her name. Once I wrote it she told me to leave her alone. So I left for a minute or so, came back and this is what I found.

"Look mommy. Look at what I can do. All by myself. It says Tawny, Ta-awny!"

What an incredible little girl. I honestly had no idea she could write her name. She was so proud of herself. That smile didn't leave her face for a long time.

Ready, Set, Sleep!

2010-03-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

We had a busy weekend, mostly working on some projects around the house. Hopefully I'll show you some of those soon. In the afternoon the kids took their boat for a ride instead of taking a nap.

Between all that work and play, the kids were ready for bed by 6:30. And Tawny didn't even make it through one book!

Fun Times

2010-03-02T06:55:00.001-08:00

I just went throught the camera and found some pics Greg took while I was gone. The first two are from their field trip to the local airport.

Brayden helping strip the walpaper from his bathroom.

And this was just a cute one from Sunday.

I'm Back

2010-02-26T17:02:00.000-08:00

I'm back from out of town. I had to take an impromtu trip up to Utah. My boss's mom was diagnosed with cancer and she passed away only five weeks later. Needless to day he was spending as much time with her as possible and needed more help in the office than usual. So I went up there for a week and a half. I stayed with my brother Brian and his awesome wife Kaylyn. I had so much fun hanging out them and Steven and Ashley and Clint. Thanks so much guys!

Greg was able to take some time off work and he stayed home with the kids, getting a little taste of being Mr Mom. He did great! Brayden was so impressed that daddy could make pancakes and cookies (from scratch) just like mommy. But the kids still seemed to really miss their mommy, which made me sad for them, but glad that I am loved.

I have to give a huge thanks to Greg's awesome boss (who happens to be my dad) for letting him take the time off. It was so appreciated. Also to my mom, who helped whenever and with whatever. It is so incredible to have family that is so willing to help when it is needed. Thanks again. I appreciate it so much, and I'm sure Greg, Brayden and Tawny do too!

What have we been up to?

2010-02-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

No, we did not fall off the edge of the planet. Things have been a very busy around here recently. Just to list a few...

1. Home Renovation projects. So far we have painted Brayden's room, painted Tawny's room, partially demo'ed the downstairs bath, refinished a beautiful antique bed for Tawny's room, added a built-in to the playroom closet, recaulked the master shower and bath, stripped wallpaper out of the kitchen and two bathrooms (only one bathroom to go) and painted 3/4 of our HUGE master room only to decide that we (I) don't like to color (so we quit and have to started over). I really need to get some pictures up of all the progress we're making. The thing is most of the rooms aren't quite done....okay they're not even close to being done. And the crazy in me says wait until they're completely pulled together. So we wait. But before moving on to the next item, I have to give a shout out to my awesome husband who pretends to be game for everything, even thought I'm pretty sure he would rather not do any of it. For reasons to be disclosed in point#5, he pretty much has to do everything, while I check in and point out everything that still needs to be done. We're an awesome team that way.

Good thing Greg has this awesome helper

How would he get by without him?

(yes he's still in his jammies at 3pm when Greg got home from work. Sue me)

2. Playing and having fun. That's what it's all about right? Brandon and Megan visited one weekend, we took the Jeeps out to Cibola another weekend to go rock climbing (not on foot silly, in the Jeeps), and have plenty of play dates for the kids. We have also been...

Playing cowboys and...pirates?

...getting trains stuck in Tawny's hair, which for some reason she thought was hilarious. Once I freed her, she spent about 45 minutes trying to get it stuck again and broke into tears when she failed. (it took a good 15 minutes to remove, but I refused to cut it out)

and coloring each other's faces. Who needs paper anyway?

3. Greg's been working hard to get the fields ready for cotton in March. He's been working so hard he needed some extra back up. I assure you, he would have never made it through without them.

You have to blow this one up and look at the concentration on her face. She was convinced that the lever she was holding onto was critical.

4. Dealing with the aftermath of the tornado that went through Blythe. Yes you read right. A tornado. It knocked over a beautiful tree in our back yard, which took out one complete side of our fence on its way down. We also had some significant roof damage and had to replace our pool filter. At least it all goes on one insurance claim. Our power was out for only about 12 hours, but there were part of Blythe that didn't have power for 5-6 days. My parents didn't have power for four day, but luckily my dad's crazy and has like 50 generators (only slightly exaggerating). Everyone that needed one in the ward knew who to call. He did get in a little trouble with the power company because he rigged them through each house's main circuit breaker so their entire house would have power, not just extension cords running to refrigerators, stoves and other essentials. For some reason, they didn't really appreciate that. But in the end we're all okay and it was a good exercise in emergency preparedness.

5. This last one should probably have a post of it's own, but I'm on a roll and can't guarantee that I'll post again any time soon. We are expecting a baby! Due the end of August, so I'm about 12 weeks along. To be honest, this is probably the main reason I haven't got around to posting. Me and pregnancy do not mix well. Like oil and water. I can't things of the appropriate words to describe how much I dislike being pregnant. Instead I'll just focus on the outcome, which we are so excited for!

We weren't going to tell the kids until it was obvious, but Brayden is one of those little kids that is constantly listening to adults conversations, and I was pretty sure he had it figured out. So last night when he asked,"When is the new baby going to come out of mommy's tummy and could we please name him Diego? Or maybe Dora. Or maybe you have a baby boy and and baby girl at the same time in your tummy and we'll name them Diego and Dora? Can I tell both of them hi?" (picture him saying this really fast while trying to lift up my shirt and wave to my belly) we figured we should bite the bullet and pretty much tell him what he already knew. Regardless we're all excited, but seriously August is a lifetime away. A very very long lifetime.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-28T06:19:00.000-08:00

Elaine, Tawny was really excited about your bonbons!

Analysis Paralysis

2009-12-09T08:32:00.001-08:00

We had a friend of our take some family photos down by the river on my family's farm and they turned out great. Almost too great beacuse I'm having a hard time narrowing them down. So be warned, there are a ton of pics in this post. But I need help. Which ones really stand out to you?

Love

2009-11-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

The way Tawny talks: "opimeal" (oatmeal), "pinspess" (princess), "ap-bee-bee" (apple juice)
Brayden's refusal to wear his shorts on his waist.For as long as I can remember he'll push them down if I pull them too high. I guess he's just naturally cool.
Little by little my house is starting to become a home.
My kids' belief that everything can be fixed with "new batteries". If only it were that easy.
How cuddly my kids are. Even though I get up before my kids, I make sure I'm in bed when they get up just so we can cuddle.
Tawny insisting that everyone calls her "Princess Tawny".
Brayden's ever expanding farm knowledge. Give him a few more months and he's going to surpass me.
Myhusband and all of his patience. I'm not the easiest person to live with (shocking, I know), but he is constant and loving through it all.

2009-11-17T05:26:00.001-08:00

The last few weeks have been so busy it's impossible for me to catch up on everything. New house, trip to Washington, Utah, Las Vegas, Halloween, and life in general. In no particular order, here's some pics

cousins
baking w grandma

our new house (more pics to come)

Thanks to everyone who let us stay with you. We had a great time!

Best Friends

2009-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

These two little kids really love each other. They are absolutely inseparable. Not to say they don't fight. After all, they are brother and sister!
Sorry, but I still don't have any house pictures yet. Believe me when I say it is in no state to be photographed. Instead I'll distract you with pictures of some really cute kids. We took them to the local Bazaar last weekend with their cousin Kadence and they loved every second. Their favorite ride was the bid slide, which isn't pictured because I had to ride down with Tawny.

Ready to work!