Our August Vacation...

...In a nutshell but I'll try to make it a large nutshell for those 6 followers out there.

Because Brad goes to school year-round, he only has off from the 24th of July to the 24th of August as his break. And because we don't see anyone in our family unless they make the trip here, we wanted to see everyone we could! I think we did a pretty darn good job of stuffing this last month full of family and fun! Here is a run down of our travels across this vast country!

After the first long leg of driving (16 hours) we ended up at St. George, UT. We did, however, stop in Albuquerque to see the beauty only New Mexico has in late July! We did decide never to choose to move there. And we got to visit Chad and Darbie, old friends from the BYU days! Thanks again guys for lunch and for putting up with our stink after a lot of driving!

We got to St. George at 3amish only to crawl into a much desired bed and sleep laying down as opposed to the sitting position if at all. We got to spend some time with Great Grandma and Grandpa Allen and catch up. The last time they saw Brody, he was 6 weeks old. He's changed a lot to say the least. Brylie and Brody got to see the St. George Temple. Brylie loves to see the temple! And the kids loved the Christus!! We also got a surprise visit from Aunt Lisa, Uncle Roger, Summer and Johnny that was awesome! This was the first time they saw Brody and maybe Brylie too, I can't remember. Thanks guys!! We love you!!







Then we drove to Cedar City to visit Great Grandma and Grandpa Winterrose! We were lucky to see Aunt Angie, Uncle Keith, Alex, Aunt Robin, and Shawnell while we were there! As usual, we were served some great food, something I always look forward to! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We love you!!

Next we traveled down to Mapleton to see Great Grandma and Grandpa Korth! It was so nice to be able to play on grass!! And not die in the heat! We also had great food and company and Brylie will not be able to get over "Go, Diego, Go" on the projector screen! And I don't think we will ever be able to live up to that expectation! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! We love you!!



We were able to spend a day with Uncle Shay, Aunt Chelsea, Jonas and Cooper and go to the Bean Museum with the kiddos! Brylie and Brody loved this aspect and it was so fun! Then we went and fed the ducks at one of the many duck ponds in Provo. My favorite was watching Shay and Jonas mimic the ducks while chasing them! We also enjoyed some good food and great company! Thanks guys! We love you!!

We had the priviledge of spending a day with Aunt Angela, Uncle Mike, Elizabeth, Katelyn, Cassidy and Robert and then attend the blessing of Robert on Sunday! Brylie could hardly contain herself at all the dolls and girl toys! We could have left her there for days and she wouldn't have cared nor would the Bairds have known she was there as she was very content playing in the basement by herself. Brody loved the swimming pool and wanted more even after we got him out to go take a nap! The blessing was wonderful and it was so fun to see lots of extended relatives whom we haven't seen in ages. Thanks Bairds! We love you!!


We then stayed at Great Grandma Gunnells house with Aunt Karen and Jodi and got to see Melissa! It was so fun to be able to catch up from the last time we had seen her! We made sure to visit places like the LDS Distribution Center and Deseret Book while we were there as they aren't anywhere near our home in Texas. We always love to chat with Grandma and were so glad to be able to spend that time with her! Thanks Grandma!! We love you!!

It turned out that some of our friends from our missions to Slovenia were getting together while we were in town and we were able to go to dinner with them! Three of the families (including us) had babies around the same time (when Brody was born) so it was fun to see all those kids grown and big! It's crazy how fast it happens! Thanks for the visit!!

We also got to go to the Temple Square with the kids! Brylie saw 3 couples who had just been married! She loves the temple!


Another expectation that we won't be able to meet was found at Uncle Danny, Aunt Mary, Macie, Reid, Davis and little Danny's house! And that would be a playroom the size of our whole house here in Texas and more toys then they could have dreamed up! The kids were always sneaking away to the playroom and Brody sure got good at going up stairs there as the playroom was on the 2nd floor. Every place we stayed at after that, Brylie wanted to go upstairs to play. Brad was able to go golfing with his dad and Danny again (and win, I'm sure) and we all went bowling! Brylie was so cute after each bowl! It didn't matter how many pins she hit or which gutter the ball went down, she would skip back to the chairs with a squeal and grin! She loved it! We enjoyed good food and great company! Not to mention our 5 star accomodations! Thanks Danny and Mary! We love you!!

After all that, we were only half way done and had some more driving to do. Luckily it was only up to Logan to visit Aunt Amy and Uncle David! We had a great time playing with Amy while David worked and enjoyed some great food! (I'm still so impressed by that meal, Amy!) Brylie and Brody loved the trip to the park! We had a great time guys!! Thanks again! We love you!!

Then we drove to Oregon (11 hours) to visit Grandma and Grandpa Allen, Uncle McKay and Aunt Abby. It was so fun to see how the kids absolutely loved their grandparents, Abby and Mac. Brylie would hang out with Abby and her friends (thanks for being so nice) and would often hang out with Mac in his room! We went to the zoo on the perfect weather day (such a nice change from Texas heat!) and see some animals that we don't have in the Waco Zoo. Cass got to have a girls day out with Grandma Allen and spend some quality time together! Thanks so much for such a great time everyone! We love you!!




Our next destination was not too far away to Grammie, Pops and Aunt Lisa's house. The kids loved "the park" in the backyard (swingset and trampoline)! We went to the Dahlia's field where we had to run through some sprinklers, took a ferry across the river, did some garage saling (got some great finds!!), blackberry picking, and Powell's bookstore downtown. Brad and I got to go to the temple and Brad took Brylie back so she could "go in the temple" in the atrium. She loves the temple! We had great visit! Thanks guys! We love you!!






Then we drove to Rexburg to visit Paige and Matt. They live about 3 blocks away from the Rexburg Temple so you can bet we made a stop there! Brylie has seen 4 temples on our trip and got to touch them all! She loves the temple! We then had some healthy competition on the Wii and had some good food! We were so glad to see you guys! Thanks! We love you!!

Then we drove for 25ish hours straight except for a 6 hour break when we got a hotel room and slept in the most inviting beds I have ever seen (you can see what kind of delusions a long drive can cause)! The kids were amazing and we only had one "meltdown". We arrived home at 5am and all slept in until 10am. It was so good to be home!!! I have never loved my quaint little home as much as I did then! The kids have been discovering their toys they forgot were here and have been playing like it is Christmas. We are so grateful for this opportunity to drive to visit family! We have grown closer as a family and have loved rekindling our relationships with extended family! Despite the miserable drive, we would do it again just for the company at the end of the traveling! Thanks again! We love you all very much!!

Our big surprise!

One of the most fun things on our trip was showing everyone the inklings of #3! And today we got to find out we are having a GIRL!! We are so excited and Brylie would like to name the baby "gunnell"! That we can do. We hope everyone is as thrilled as we are!!

And we're back!

After a very LONG and WONDERFUL visit with almost all of our siblings, we are finally back in Texas.

I have to admit that looking back, the drive wasn't as bad as I thought it would be however, I wouldn't do 70 hours in a car with a young family again unless it's the only option available. Then, I'd seriously consider the importance of my trip.

A big thanks to Brad for being the best driver dad and fill in Mom when I drove, Grandma and Grandpa Allen in St. George, Grandma and Grandpa Winterrose in Cedar City, Grandma and Grandpa Korth in Mapleton, Grandma Gunnell in Orem, Shay and Chelsea in Provo, Danny and Mary in Provo, Melissa in Provo, Mike and Angela in Draper, Amy and David in Logan, Paige and Matt in Rexburg, Grandma, Grandpa, Abby and Mac in Beaverton and Grammie, Pops and Lisa in Wilsonville. You made our trip very awesome!! We love you all!!

Another quarter almost under the belt...

So Brad is at Baylor Law School, for those of you who don't know and he has been attending year round in an attempt to finish in 27 months so that we can get back to Utah and his job!

I'll admit, I probably complain way more than Brad does of how much he is gone when he really does a great job of seeing the kids and me as often as possible.

He, however, hardly ever complains of the 100-200 pages of reading he has to do (sometimes more, rarely sometimes less) then write a brief on every case that went along with that reading, be prepared for every class so that if he is called on regarding the information the professor is discussing that day, he knows it to the degree the professor thinks is adequate to avoid getting kicked out for not being prepared (times 5 classes), have to worry about regular husband things like killing the huge bugs, fixing the van, or what's on ESPN?

And all the while, have in the back of his mind that this life will go on for another 12 months non-stop (minus a one month break that will consist of 72 hours of total driving with 2 kids, a wife who loses her patience way too easily, an overly excited mini dachshund hoping to be able to sit on your lap the entire ride, 108 stops along the way and time for probably only 53 of them). Oh, the joys of being a law student.

Good Luck on your finals honey!! We are rooting for you here at home (it's that whining sound you are so used to hearing)!! We love you!!!

Diapers at age 5...

I have resigned to the fact that my kids will be in diapers until kindergarten. Here is why.

Today I decided that it's a good day as any to try potty training with Brylie. She knows what is happening as we have had accidents after the bath before the diaper is on and she lets me know when she is or needs to go #2. She is a very intelligent little girl. In fact, she has even peed in her potty. She knows what is up. So today I decided to tell her about her underwear I had gotten a while ago and that she needs to tell me before she goes so we can keep them dry. She sat on the potty for a good long while before I let her free to roam in her underoos. Immediately she is dancing around and holding herself like she needs to go so I bring out the potty and she sits while we read 4 books. After that, she has gone a pretty good amount. Yeah! Brylie, big girl this, sticker and M&M's that! As I'm putting the date on the sticker of today's success, she says, "oh mommy, pee pee again" and I look to see a puddle on the tile so then we clean that up, and take a quick bath and put undies #2 on. I then tell her to let me know if she needs to go again so we can keep the panties dry. Not 5 minutes later, "oh mommy, I peed!" Again, she has puddled the tile floor and her 2nd pair of undies! At this point, I am a little perterbed and almost at my wits end because Brody is doing everything to get in the way and be difficult! So this last time, after a quick bath again, and a diaper, I have given up for today and this year the feat of potty training, and resigning to the idea of a 5 year old in diapers.

I'm off to do a load of laundry...and I feel like I need to clean off the tops of my feet from splatter!

The Temperature is WHAT?

Just picture this as me without a bike but carrying one child and holding onto another walking from our car which is parked just 100 yards away from the park playground except that we have to walk 1000 yards to go around a ridiculous ditch in 100 degree weather at 9:45 in the morning. Honestly, I question the sanity of those who choose to live in this kind of weather! And I don't think we will ever being going outside until September when the heat breaks the 80's again. It's HOT!!

Singing the ABC's...

We have been practicing the ABC's and Brylie is doing so well but lately, she has come up with a short-cut version...I think she just likes the part, "now I know my abc's, next time won't you sing with me!"

A Star in the Making...

Warning! This Post is Rated PG-13 for Gore

I love having a dog for many reasons, my floor is quite clean despite the large amounts of food my kids discard onto the floor, if ever someone spit up/vomited on the floor, couch, my clothes, the dog always cleaned it up better than I ever could, we have a 24/7 burglar alarm. But probably the one thing I hate about our dog is his instinct.

Today we were having quite a pleasant afternoon, both the kids woke up happy and Brad and I had decided to go to the local water park for the evening as a family. We had a lot of fun!! After baths, we ate pizza around the table as a family. A few times, Brody kept pointing under the table saying, "Ball" which we didn't think much of. I guess Brad finally paid attention and looked and then said to me, "look at the ball under the table". So I looked, mind you I could have easily kicked this "ball" I was so close, and this is what I found.How do you clean up after this? How do you not throw up after seeing this? How do you not kill your dog after this? It's any wonder we made it through the moment of discovering this disgusting prize proudly displayed by our dog. So Brad took it out to the garbage while I basically Lysoled everything! We never found the back end to this rabbit so we hope we don't find another surprise somewhere...I did search to no avail and Brad couldn't find it in the backyard so my hope, as sick as it is, is that the dog ate it and it's not here.
So then, I layed all the toys out and Lysoled each one on both sides. This is something I was going to do after their illness and this just threw me over the edge as being "the night" to do it.

I love Dozer still, but I don't appreciate these prizes. He has killed 5 rabbits to count. Five! We are out of the beginner hunting stage and well into the advanced!

What is your lion sound?

Brody is starting to "talk" and is learning the sounds of the animals. His favorite is the lion and he has the funniest lion sound. I couldn't resist showing ya'll!

Six years can seem so short...

Today Brad and I celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary!! I can't believe it has been 6 years! I guess when you are truly enjoying the experience, time gets away from you and speeds along! We have been through a lot and there isn't anyone else I'd rather spend forever with than Brad! Six years of marriage and 2 kids later, I'm even more excited for what's up ahead and knowing you'll be by my side the whole way! I'm so grateful to be married to Brad! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BRAD!! You're the best!! Thanks for everything!!

Stay Away!!!...Not really!

This last week we have been given the challenge of having Hand Foot and Mouth disease. Friday, Brylie had a little bit of a fever but that morning, I noticed she had a cold sore/fever blister on her lip and some sores on her tongue that looked very ouchy! So we went to the doctor. I just mentioned the sores in her mouth and he immediately noticed sore on her hands. Later that day, I noticed some on her feet too. These aren't just little red bumps, they start out as bumps and then grow into blisters and can pop and heal or just go away. Brylie has had this for about 6 days now and is almost free of blisters...the little red bumps are fading and going away however, Brody is now to the blister stage and so is Brad. The doctor said most adults have been exposed to it so shouldn't worry about being near the kids. I, as usual, have seen no sign of anything despite my kissing all three of them and handling almost all contagious material. Ahh, the blessings of motherhood! So if we don't come over or seem to be hiding out, we are! And it's for everyone's benefit!!!

South-(ish) Texas Trip

This past Thursday we took a much anticipated trip down South to Austin and San Antonio. Even though Brad lived in Dallas for about seven years, he had never been to either historic Texas city.

Here's the story in pictures:

First stop was a drive-by of the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin:


The second stop was the "Taco Taco Cafe" in north San Antonio, which was named the Best Tacos in America by Bon Appetit magazine. After spending entirely too much for below average enchiladas and fajitas, Brad realized that we just went 3 hours to the best tacos in America, and we didn't even get tacos. Oops. Here's Brylie cheezing it up with the menu to prove we were there.


And from there it was off to the Alamo. Brad was kind of disappointed in how small it was after years of looking forward to seeing it.




After it the Alamo it was down the street to the beautiful San Antonio Riverwalk.


While we were waiting for someone to come by and take a picture, Brad took this picture of a statue of San Antonio (Spanish for Saint Antonio).


And the wait paid off with a family picture. Brody was nice enough to take a nap in the heat, and we learned that the Riverwalk is not terribly stroller-friendly, especially two-stroller-friendly.



It was a FUN trip, the kids were extremely well behaved for the 6+ hours in the car, and they were handsomely rewarded with a Taco Taco Cafe quesadilla (but not a taco). Now we know it's a trip worth taking!

Photo Shoot

This last weekend, we had a "photo shoot" with one of our friends from the ward who is quite an amazing photographer. Here is the sneak peek at the photos! I just love them!!! And my kiddos!

Were you afraid we fell off the face of the earth?

Well don't worry because we are alive and well! Just lazy! We did however, manage to go to the Fort Worth Zoo yesterday and capture many photos. What a blast it was to go with our kids and see their reaction to these creatures. My highlight was hearing the lion roar...it's very intimidating and so cool! We also saw the white tiger lunge at some kids who were taunting him. It was an awesome trip!!
The Rays met us there! Thanks guys! We had a great time!!!

Summer has begun in Texas!!!

And if you don't believe me, here are some summer fun photos to prove it! Thanks to the Workmans for letting us "slip and slide"! We had a blast!!


The great thing about swimming in Texas is the water is always warm! In fact, you can never get cold water out of the tap because of the heat!

Our little readers!

One thing I am so grateful my kids got from their dad is their love of reading! Brylie has always loved to read but Brody has taken some time but lately, he brings me books of all kinds for me to read to him. They literally look at books for hours!