Breakfast with the Big Guy!!

Ahh...Helllooooo, I am here to see Santa..

Look at this face....aghhhh, so cute!!! if I do say so myself

This year Brayden "gets it".....Santa is a huge deal at our house, he sings about him, talks about him, and tells Mom and Dad he IS coming to his house....He is so much fun, we had our tradition of Breakfast with the Big Guy. Brayden was so thrilled to see Santa and talk to him...even though he did not say one word to him...It was still a ball to have him be a part of the magic! We are looking forward to a happy Christmas, and cannot wait until Christmas Morning to see Bradydens face...

Yes, it was a "Silent Night" or better yet a "Silent Morning"..makes it all the merrier!!
Merry Christmas to all!!!!!!!!!!

GNO! Merry Christmas..

Don't be jealous...I got a 44DD bra and panties to match!!! LOVE it :) thanks Jill..

No Christmas is complete without a Snuggie!!

Tara is HOT and BOTHERED!!!!

Last week the high-schools girlies got together for our Christmas party!! Good food, friends, great "gifts", and of course lots and lots of laughter!! Here are some of the fun presents we shared....Thanks gals for a wonderful evening, love y'all!!! Merry Christmas...
Shan's "really BIG" calculator!

Psst....Ali, we missed ya but glad you made it through a yummy dinner :)

PURE Talent!

Take a look at this TALENT!!

Okay, first off I need to apologize to my brother..he is super humble and would never brag about his AMAZING art talent...but I am going to do the bragging for him! I am so proud of him, I was on his blog and he had posted this collage of past pieces of art that he has done. And I am impressed...One does not realize just how many hours it takes to do all of that, let alone 1 picture or sculpture. He is working so hard up at Utah State pursuing his art degree, I am always blown away every weekend when he is hunched over his laptop putting together the graphics of an entire magazine, or creating a shoe sculpture that is as big as I am, how about cutting out micro sized paper(with an exacto knife mind you) and slicing up your fingers to bits in the process!! I swear some of his assignments he gets thrown at him are crazy..yet, my diligent brother takes a breath and spends hours getting it done"perfectly"...I admire his hard work throughout the all the stress of deadlines, dealing with nutty teachers, traveling home every weekend, homework, homework, and oh yea homework! I cannot imagine doing what he is doing, and I just wanted to let him know he is doing a fantastic job, I am always amazed at his talent and all of the hard work will pay off one day! Way to go Brandon, we love you!!

P.S. I still have my eye on a couple of your pieces..DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY!!

Grateful.

My heart is full of gratitude, it is overwhelming. I am so grateful for all that I have. I feel that now more than ever I am aware of all the many blessings I have...When so many people are facing challenges and hardships right now I feel extremely grateful for all that I do have. And how lucky I am to have my beautiful family by my side. The other day when I was just driving around town I was overcome with emotion when I looked in my rear view mirror and saw my beautiful boy staring back at me and saying.."Home, Mama" I couldn't help myself and just let the tears flow down my cheeks. How blessed I am to have a healthy, happy boy, a wonderful warm place to call home, a hard working husband who supports our family, and having the opportunity to become closer with one another...I decided to write down as many things that I was thankful for in just a few seconds...

~Family

~Home

~Laughter

~Memories

~My Hubby,someone to grow old with

~Holding my child

~2 year olds~

~Sight,Smell,Touch

~Warm Clothing

~Good Food

~MyJob,Ienjoy

~Friends

~Gospel

~HearingBraydenSpeak

~Health~Freedom~Love

~Seasons~ Nature's Beauty

~Our Troops

~Kind Words & People

~A Hug

~Mimi's & Papa's

~Uncles & Aunties

~My dog

~Service

~A Good Family Night

~Have the means for basic needs~I can pay my bills

~A "smooch"from my family

~Sharing~and many more...

I did not post this just because Thanksgiving is upon us, I want to make it a goal to have a prayer of gratitude in my heart always. When I catch myself complaining that I have to wait in a long line at the store just to get a few items, I need to be thankful that I can afford the things in my cart, and have a convenient place to purchase them at..we should all be aware of the many people standing in long lines just to get 1 hot meal at a homeless shelter...Any negative thought that enters my mind, it will be replaced with gratitude and I will try to find the positive in it..I want to let all my family know how much I love them and thank them for everything that they do for our little family. They are such a strong support system for us and are willing to do anything whether we ask or not...we can always count on them for anything..

I found this funny/cheesy poem but...It is fitting for the time of year...

I am thankful for -The taxes I pay because it means I'm employed . . .The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have more than enough to eat . . .My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine . . .A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home . . .The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking . . .My huge heating bill because it means I am warm . . .All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech . . .The lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear . . .The piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby . . .The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I'm alive . . .Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive . .

And with that my friends, I wish you all a Happy Healthy Thanksgiving and Holiday....Please leave me with one thing you are thankful for...

"Pooskie"or..."Spooky"

Brayden had such a great Halloween...it was "pooskie" as he would say, or in other words SPOOKY!! We had all the fam over for dinner and trick or treating. Brayden was a dino/dragon and looked absolutely adorable in his costume, love Halloween! He scored with lots of goodies, both Nanna and Mimi gave him an entire bag of toys, treats, flashlights, special candies, and juice. Needless to say he had a great night...all sugared up for sure. He was literally RUNNING around the house with the family, it was a wonderful POOSKIE night, yea for Halloween...

Brayden and Izzie... so cute

Thursday was Braydens Little Gym Halloween class. The kids were a lot of fun to see, they sang their Halloween songs they practiced and went trick or treating to all the closets :) in the building. He is growing too quickly, seeing him in a classroom with all those kids made me think he is not my baby boy anymore. He is learning and talking so much and Brady and I are such proud parents. He makes our lives so happy....we are so blessed to have our Brayden boy joy of our lives!

Our cute new neighbors....The Bates, their little boy Broox and Brayden same age and will be best buds...

Happy Halloween!!

~The Marathon Move~

And the work begins....
We did it! After moving for almost 18 straight hours, blistered feet, rough hands, and with the fabulous help of our family and dear friends (which we cannot thank all of them enough) We can finally call our house our new home. We are over the top thrilled with the way things worked out for us. We love it here, it turned out so wonderful. We are extremely blessed to already make new friends and to be able to add them to the list of our old dear friends. I have literally been going NON STOP for a week now. People tell you that moving is a huge job all the time. But you never really know how much of a job it is until you actually do it. And I thought I was pretty prepared, boxed, wrapped, labeled, and grouped by room. But it was still super crazy. And I am glad it is over. We are still slowly organizing little things and trying to figure out some small things. But, overall, seriously...this is where we are supposed to be, to raise our family and stay for a very long time!! We have already had neighbors come over the first day we arrived. They have to be some of the nicest people we have ever met. So friendly and very welcoming. Already offering to lend a helping hand. One young man even came over twice to ask if he could help. It is just hard to explain the feeling, it is different, a much welcomed different. Another lady that lives behind us, dropped by with a plate of cookies and told me if I needed anything to call her in a "jiffy" :) hahaha! It felt so, so good to have that kind of welcome...

So we continue to settle, unpack and organize. We are so very happy and can see us here forever and looking forward to a very happy future...

Day at the Track..

Mimi and Papa...

the ridin' boys

Just call us the motorcycle family....we spent most of the day out at the Larry Miller Sports track. Brayden had the time of his life watching dad and papa race bikes. It was fun seeing them go so fast and hearing the roar of the motors. Only a matter of time until Brayden does this himself...was a fun day!

And here he is on papas bike...not much longer until he can reach the pedals!! haha

Girls Trip!!

A few weeks ago I got some time to relax, unwind and laugh with my girlfriends from high school. We had a blast together and stayed at my friends moms home in St. George, the house was beautiful, had cozy beds and a gorgeous view!! We of course ate lots of yummy food and treats, played games, shopped and took in the musical Aida at the stunning Tuachan venue. It was so good!! I had such a wonderful time, it was a great break...cannot wait to do it again soon!! Love ya gals..

and.. we ate at this DARLING cafe called twenty-five and main. Being the nerd I couldn't help myself am I took some snapshots, she had the place decorated to a "T", there was also live jazz music and had really yummy cupcakes, what more could you ask for??!!

That's my Boy...Dew Tour '09

And it Begins...

Mommy and my Guy, so happy to be with him today!

Look his eyes, twinkling with excitement... just had to take a quick pic :)

ThE DeW ToUr!!!!!Waiting to get on the bike...

Mom and little "B" having a BlAsT!!!

Clap for the Dew....

Oh, YEA!!!!!!! Nitro Circus, his favorite show.... Brayden is a big FAN!!

Well now, what can I say... we had such a great weekend!! We took Brayden to the Dew Tour, and I cannot tell you how much fun we had together. These guys are so incredibly talented and it is so crazy what kind of insane tricks they try. We walked around, got autographs, saw motorcycles, skateboards, and bmx riders. It was amazing. As many of you know, my son is a thrill junkie, yes anything that involves a stunt, motor, or a HIGH jump count him in, and yes he is 2 years of age...

***Are you ready for this?***

We both know that we are in for a world of trouble with this kiddo, because of his love for this crazy sport. He WANTS to be on every bike he sees, and the scary thing is he knows how to work them... There was Yamaha tent that had these mini motorbikes going around a dirt track, so Brady went to see what it was all about, and.... they had a "sample" of a riding lesson from ages 2-4...next thing we know we are both running down to this tent and signing Brayden up to go ride a bike. He was ThRiLleD!!! Parents were not allowed where they were suiting up the kids or on the track, so with great trust I handed my little man over to the instructors to give him his first mini lesson. It took a while to get him fitted with his gear, so that made me a little nervous. But, a lady that was part of the production looked at me and gave me the thumbs-up. I couldn't wait to see my guy! Which then he was put on the littlest bike they had, I have to say my heart was bursting, I was so PROUD of my guy. I just kept thinking, oh my he is only 2!!!! What kind of crazy Mother am I?! These instructors were so great, they worked with Brayden for only 20 minutes, and he was pretty much doing this on his own. One gentlemen came over to me and asked how old he was, I responded 2...He just looked at me and laughed, smiled, and said, "You are in BIG trouble.This little guy knows how to ride. " We told him he already rides a 2-wheel bike, never had training wheels. So he takes Brady back into the tent and shows him what bike to get, how to teach him, and so forth.

Helmet=check, suiting up=check, goggles=check, seeing your boy ride for the first time=priceless :) ( I just had to put that in there)

That would be poppin' a wheelie... Whooo HOOOOO!

The little dare-devil...

Just one day could turn out like this...What an unbelievable time that we had together!! Lots of memories to share...As my Brayden would say.. "GO, GO, yesssssssssss" with his little arm bent at the elbow pulling it into his hip... He is the coolest little boy EVER!!! Love you B!! :) And yes my friends, this is my son riding for the very first time on a motor-bike.... (well~ that was actually going) He did AWESOME!!