FHE Yahtzee

We played a few games after family home evening one night and now Brylie insists on FHE every night…she also loves to pick out a note from our song bag (I have a bunch of large wooden notes with a song written on each) and we have to do this before we read scriptures and go to bed every night. We are really good at the hokey-pokey! Anyway, this is a video of us playing yahtzee…more specifically, Brody. He is such a doll!!

King Noah in the house….

Tonight during family scripture “study,” Brad was going through the Book of Mormon picture book with the kids. We just open to a story and talk about the pictures and let the kids point and ask questions. At one point, Brad pointed to King Noah (the wicked king who kills Abinadi) and said “Look at King Noah….is he fat?” He is fat. He is obese.

Brylie looked at the picture, and said “yeah.” Then she said “Dad, he has a belly like you!” Brad has put on a bit of extra weight in law school eating so much good barbeque, but he is no King Noah….yet. While we tried to hold in the laughter and proceed with the scripture stories, Brylie began to stroke Brad’s beard, and we realized she had said “Dad, he has a BEARD like you.” Much better, but still a cautionary tale about eating too much Pop Walton's Barbeque.

Dark and Early

I hate Daylight Savings.

 

Whoever invented this stupid idea definitely didn’t have kids.

 

Good morning fellow mothers!

A little smile...

In all my pregnancies, I have only had ultrasounds around the 20 week mark so the babies have been easy to see but small. Well, this pregnancy, there were some things seen in our 20 week ultrasound that needed to be followed up on. We just recently had another ultrasound of our 28 week baby. There is quite a size difference! And I think the personality is a little more visible. If I could, I would have a constant look into the womb! The day we had our ultrasound, the tech told us she had already been flipped the bird. I was delighted to see that this is what our baby did for her! Isn't this just so miraculous?!


Smile for the camera!

Butt end of the deal

Parenting has a way of paying you back...sometimes, it's for the good things you do. Sometimes its for the things you need to improve on, and sometimes, you just get the "butt" end of the deal.

A whirlwind of a weekend!

I don't even know where to start...probably at the part where my Mary Poppins of a husband (practically perfect in every way) arranged a surprise visit from my sister, Paige on Thursday! He covered it by telling me that his friend from BYU was coming and because he had a late class on Thursday, I would have to pick this friend up. I was ok with this despite the fact that it would take 2 hours of driving with the kids only to pick up this friend and drive the 2 hours back hoping that there would be enough to talk about, not to mention that he's married but his wife wouldn't be there and Brad wouldn't be there and I don't know him that well so...I was just a little unsure of how I felt about the whole situation.

So I get to the airport and Brad only wrote down half of this guys phone number so I couldn't call to see where he was at the airport so we could arrange where to pick him up. Instead, Brad would call me and say, the flight had just arrived and to look for this friend's classmate who might be easier to spot, tall, blond haired girl. After driving through the airport passenger pick-up circle 5 times, I came around and got a call from Brad stating they were standing under the sign that said JetBlue, United Airlines and to look for them there. I was just approaching that sign and I could see the blond girl but for the life of me couldn't see Brad's friend. Then I saw someone who looked kind of like him but then he got into a car 2 lengths ahead of me. It was only the girl and so I was looking at her noticing she was looking at me and I was way confused, especially when she started waving at me and smiling! I still didn't get it! Then it all clicked that this was my sister and not the lame story I was so gullible to believe but a delightful surprise! We had more than enough to talk about and even ended up making a trip to the Round Rock Outlet stores!!

Needless to say, I have the best husband in the world and we had one great of a weekend because Paige was here! I can't say "thank you" enough!!!

We went to this family farm that is fairly close and then went to the Heart of Texas Fair and Rodeo which was so much fun! Here are some photos to document the awesome time!!

Thanks again, Brad and Paige!!!

Happy Halloween!!

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I may have copied you, Rachel...great idea!

Giving Up!

Don't worry...we've only given up on potty training! However, I saw this in a doctor's office and saw myself in place of the bird and Brylie in place of the frog.

Her grip is tight, just in case you were wondering!

The Woes of Potty Training

I either end up with this...

...or this!

Sometimes both. Woe is me.

Losing my mind...

This seems to be me these days...

Afraid of what?!?

So the other day our family was at Target and I saw a Whoopee Cushion for a dollar and the child inside me decided to buy this toy! Brad's inner child was glad of the purchase as well and the wrapper was off before we were a few blocks away from the store. I could hardly blow up the darn thing I was so excited to laugh at it and see my kids' reaction. After about three "let her flies" and laughing hysterically, I looked back to see disgust on my kids' faces. And then, Brylie says, "Mom, put the toot away!" Well, that was quite disappointing for me as the toy I thought would be a hit was NOT and in fact my children thought I was the immature one. Kids these days.

So a few days later, I pulled the Whoopee Cushion out again thinking they were just in a bad mood that day and tried it. This time, it was like pulling out a monster that was going to eat them with every explosion. They would run away and wouldn't even touch it. Neither one of them would sit on it and when I lovingly made Brody, he couldn't get up off it fast enough. I guess this will just have to be a routine toy to get out and ease them into liking. A kid that is afraid of a whoopee cushion, what?

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!!