Oh Christmas Tree...

This year was the first year that Harlee has been able to help decorate the Christmas tree and, my goodness was she ever a good helper! We had decorations and lights and bulbs, from one end of the house to the other! Oh well, it was all totally worth it! Let the season begin!

Family Photos

It's been a LONG time since I've udpated the blog. I always have the best of intentions, but, man, it can be super hard to find the time to fit this in! The demands on a full-time working mom can be hard--super hard.

Enough of that--onto the postings! We had our family photos taken toward the end of November, 2011. Harlee had very few melt-downs and Brykn was a big ham for the camera.

Some of my favorite things about these photos...1) I've looked and looked at the pictures of Brandon and I. We've been married nearly 9 years now and it sure doesn't feel that long. It's amazing how time flies when you're happy. Sure, we look a little older than we did in our wedding photos, but I'm so incredibly happy with the life we've built. I love you, Brandon. Thanks for being my everything!

2) My kids are so stinking cute! I mean, seriously, there are no cuter kids on the face of the planet! (Don't argue here...hell hath no fury like a mother who's told her kids aren't cute!)

3) Innocence. Isn't it amazing the innocence in a child's eyes? All that they will learn, experience, and become is yet to be. I LOVE being able to witness that.

Fantastic Family--that's what I have and I'm a lucky girl!

He's a Purple Belt

Holy crap! My karate kid is movin' on up. Here's to my handsome little purple belt!

Love Ya!

A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away.

Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween!

This year's Halloween was super fun! Harlee was a leopard kitty and Brkyn was Scoobie Doo. And, then there was Brandon. For the first time in nearly 13 years, I saw Brandon dress-up for Halloween. He was Shaggy, Scoobie's side-kick. Holy crap, I've never seen a better Shaggy! Seriously, he looked JUST LIKE Shaggy! I bought him a wig and Brykn and I dyed a white shirt green. Dead ringer, I tell you, dead ringer!

Carving pumpkins was....well, messy! Harlee didn't understand that the guts needed to stay in the bowl. Despite my best efforts, I swear the entire kitchen floor was covered with pumpkin guts--ewwwww!

When we went Trick-or-Treating, everyone giggled when they saw Brandon and Brykn. They looked so great. And it only took Harlee about 2 houses to figure out that when she knocked on the door someone would give her a treat. She thought this whole thing was fantastic!

We all had such a fun Halloween! Check out the photos of the Halloween parade and the kindergarten class--very fun!

Brykn's Special Day

Brykn's special day at school was the highlight so far! He came home with the instructions on how to complete his mobile and his "Special Day" book. Brykn had such big plans for the mobile. Talk about pressure! He wanted it to be "bigger than everybody's!" We put photos of his favorite activities, a picture of our family, and even had a section with his likes and dislikes. After an entire bottle of scrapbook glue, glitter paper, string that looked like rope, and about 5 hours, our mobile was complete. (I did threaten him with his life if he took it outside, ran around the house with it, or otherwise defaced it...I used my "I'm the Mom" voice and put my hands on my hips--it was serious.)

As for the Special Day book, he did a great job on that. Brandon helped him with most everything. He counted his teeth, checked the box that indicated he has freckles, and drew a picture of what he wants to be when he grows up--a "Questar guy," is there anything ELSE to be when you grow up? And then there was the drawing of his favorite food...a colored circle. At first I wasn't sure what it was. I guessed a pomegranate...nope. Then I guessed a plum....nope. A raspberry? Nope. It was a "red and juicy steak." Silly, Mom, of COURSE it was!

Next was the most important part: the presentation! Brandon was convinced that Brykn wasn't going to dare talk in front of everyone. Surprise, surprise! When it was his turn to sit on the big, "Special Day chair" he jumped up there like there was nothing to it. That's when Mrs. McMurray asked Brandon and I to join him and I thought Brandon was going to pass out. He got all white and sweaty--no kidding! When Mrs. McMurray handed Brykn the microphone, he just started a talking--it was SO stinking cute! The "Special Day" presentation ended with Brykn's name chant. This was the part he was most looking forward to. The kids shouted out the letters of his name and when he said, "What does it spell?" The kids shouted back, "Brykn!" He had a smile from ear to ear and I had tears in my eyes.

Great job, Brykn. You make me so proud every day. You might have only had one "Special Day" in kindergarten, but every day is special to me. A smooch and a snuggle--I love you more than anything in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!

Davis County Fair

35

You guessed it...Brandon's 35!!!

#32

It's my birthday...again. They just keep coming too soon! This year the 24th holiday fell on Sunday, which meant the festivities were on the 25th--my big day. So, we did the traditional stuff--the parade and the rodeo. My favorite part of the day was just being with my cute kiddos!

Awe....Payson Lakes!

This year we were all able to go camping to Payson Lakes and we had a great time! From canoe races, fishing all day, hiking, s'mores cooking, and all geocaching, there's not one square foot of Payson Lakes that we didn't touch. One thing is for certain, though, keeping kids clean while camping is IMPOSSIBLE!

Red, White and Blue!

Yet another 4th of July has passed--where does time go? The bike parade has become a staple of our Independence Day celebration activities and this year was no exception. Brykn looked great all decked out in his red, white and blue get-up and Harlee cheered and cheered for him as he rode like the wind! The day was fun and relaxing and was capped by a great fireworks show in Liberty. Well, great for everyone except Harlee who just kept crying and saying, "All done, all done, all done." Poor thing!