Beautiful Life

Newborn Photo Shoot

2012-01-06T09:55:00.006-05:00

If you can really call it that. Hahaha! We tried THREE different times to do pictures with little miss Sawyer. We cranked up the heat and got down to business. The first time I had Nathan as my helper and we quickly realized we had BAD backdrops. She was the most cooperative on that day but the backgrounds weren't good. Then, I made Carol help me two more times. Better backgrounds but a wiggly little baby! I would try to prop her head with her hands and she'd completely switch up her position. I'd put her on her belly and she'd flop to her side. We laughed and laughed! I'm a newbie with taking pictures and I really needed her to work with me! Here is what we got - nothing super impressive (again, they aren't edited) but I'm happy I got some pictures at least! They are better than nothing. =)

Day 1

Day 2

(See what I mean about uncooperative?!)

Day 3

Isn't she beautiful?!!

Older Kids Photo Shoot

2012-01-06T09:32:00.011-05:00

Well, I got a new camera. I ended up going with the Canon EOS T3i. I love it but I don't have the slightest clue how to use it! AND I don't know how to edit pictures either. Hello! I just figured out how to get rid of red eye. SO, this was my first try at taking pictures. They are NOT edited (still need to figure that out) but I still think they look a whole heck of a lot better than the pictures my old camera took!

My Bookcases!!!

2012-01-06T09:00:00.005-05:00

I've been dreaming of having beautiful bookcases for YEARS! I found some styles that I really liked but all of them were about $2000. YIKES! As much as I love books I wasn't ready to drop that kind of money on the bookcases. Anyway, after building Brenan's bed and the girl's bunk beds (holy cow! I never posted pictures of those! I will.) we figured we were pros at building and decided to build our own! Haha! We also thought that bookcases would be super easy. It ended up being a more time consuming project than we had originally planned but I LOVE the way they turned out and am SO happy with them. Nathan designed our plans using the pictures of some of the ones we liked as a jumping off point. I love ours even more than the $2000 ones. Thank you Nathan!!! Aren't they pretty?!

Keslie's Ballet/Tap Recital

2012-01-05T15:51:00.006-05:00

Keslie had her first ballet/tap recital here in Fort Worth. I think she's a natural at this stuff! It was so fun to watch her! She is usually shy when she's in front of people but she loved the spotlight and was grinning throughout both of her performances. Here she is before her performance:

A couple group shots that we got during the rehearsal. Keslie is in the front 3rd from the left (or 2nd? I can't tell if the girl at the far left is in the front or back).

And a couple close ups of our little dancing queen:

Here she is with her fabulous teacher:

Proud daddy! He let her choose a place to go get dinner and she chose Taco Bell and then requested Braums ice cream for dessert. =)

Anika's 8th Birthday

2012-01-05T15:47:00.003-05:00

8 years ago I became a mom and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I couldn't ask for a better oldest child. Last year on her birthday I promised she'd get a party for her 8th birthday not knowing that I'd have a one week old. I talked her out of having a huge shindig this year and promised once again that next year she could have a big party. I think that was a safe promise since 2 babies in 1 year is unlikely for me! Haha! We started off the day with her favorite breakfast - Dunkin Donuts! And present opening of course! She was pretty thrilled with all of her gifts but her favorite was the Doctor Dreadful Zombie Lab. After seeing this commercial it was all she could talk about. I guess zombie vomit and brain fizz and snot shots are all the rage! Gross!

We headed over to Vangrow Art Studio and painted some pottery. Anika is quite the little artist so she was in heaven! I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of their pottery! Anika painted a Santa cookie plate and a Mickey Mouse for Granana and Papa. Keslie painted a plate and a little reindeer. I painted a snowman mug for Nathan. It was really fun!

She chose chinese food for dinner and then we came home and had cake and ice cream with some friends. I think she was happy with her day even without the big party. =)

20 questions* : answered by Anika age 8

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? My scooter, my wilbur stuffed animal, stuffed animals, Littlest Pet Shops
3. What is your favorite fruit? bananas
4. What is your favorite tv show? Phineas and Ferb
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ham sandwich with all the fix ins
6. What is your favorite outfit? How do I explain my favorite outfit because it's my pajamas?!!
7. What is your favorite game? Basketball at home
8. What is your favorite snack? Crackers
9. What is your favorite animal? dogs and cats
10. What is your favorite song? Tonight, Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae
11. What is your favorite book? Magic Treehouse books
12. Who is your best friend? Keslie
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cookie Crisp
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Run all around crazy.
15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk and Eggnog
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Blankies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Donuts
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Stromboli

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mommy

Brenan Turns 3 , Thanksgiving, and Sawyer Grace

2012-01-02T12:14:00.024-05:00

Brenaman is 3! It is unbelievable how fast these past few years have gone. He had been so much fun at every age. I love his little voice, his dance moves, and his squishy little toddler hands. We are so blessed to have such nice kids. He chose Trix for his birthday cereal. =)

I took him to the mall play place and out to lunch for his day. He also got to go to Toys R Us and choose out a present with the money Granma and Granpa Kivett sent.

He wanted pizza and ice cream. So that's what he got!

I don't know why we didn't get the traditional before and after blowing out the candles picture! But, here he is, waiting for his cake.

20 questions* : answered by Brenan age 3

1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? Racecars
3. What is your favorite fruit? Um, I yike oinges.
4. What is your favorite tv show? Cars
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Strawberry yogurt
6. What is your favorite outfit? I yike my car shirt
7. What is your favorite game? hide and go seek
8. What is your favorite snack? fishy crackers
9. What is your favorite animal? Um, horse
10. What is your favorite song? I yike ABCD, Scripture Power, There was a little house
11. What is your favorite book? Go to sleep book and Dora book
12. Who is your best friend? Thomas
13. What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Basketball
15. What is your favorite drink? water
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? I don't yike cars in my bed. I yike my blue blankie.
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Cheerios
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? yogurt. ??? =)
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Francesco and Finn McMissile. =)

We saw Puss In Boots at the Drive-in. We have the worst luck at drive-ins. Our car battery died and we had to ask someone to jump us. Always super awkward. We felt grumpy after that so we skipped out on the second movie (Footloose).

Here I am at 37 weeks.

We decorated before Thanksgiving this year just in case the baby decided to make her debut a little early. Here are the kids putting their ornaments on the tree. I had big plans to have a fancy tree this year but in the end decided that I like the one we have every year. =)

Grandma Kivett sent the kids a box of fun Thanksgiving crafts to keep them busy. They LOVED them! Here was one of their favorites:

We spent Thanksgiving with the Soters again this year. It was lovely.

Here is this AMAZING picture of the chefs!

Getting ready for the feast!

Keslie REALLY wanted a turkey leg. It looks like a chocolate ice cream cone to me!

Mandi and I hit up the Black Friday sales and it was great fun! It's a totally different experience when you're about ready to birth a child though. My back almost went out a few times - at one point we were in the mile long line at Toys R Us and I had sat down on the ground to rest. When I tried to stand up I found that I was stuck. I ended up having to get on to my hands and knees and then slowly climb up. It was pretty embarrassing and I was grateful to have Mandi there to laugh with me! We were pretty successful and got almost everything we had set out to get! The next day we came home to get some last minute things done before the baby came. We dropped the kids off at the Soters on Sunday night and headed into the hospital to be induced the next morning. Here I am right before we left:

Sawyer's Birth Story

Sawyer Grace West was born on Monday November 28, 2011 at 5:07 pm. She weighed 9 lbs 8 oz and was about 20 inches long! My induction was scheduled for 5 am - at least that's what the nurse had told me. When we arrived at the hospital we were informed that we were actually scheduled for 7. LAME. I could have used those extra 2 hours of sleep! We did get set up in a room right away though and then we just waited around for a couple of hours. About 7:30 they finally got things rolling. I got the IV put in my hand - OUCH. It was pretty painful! Maybe the worst part. =) Then got started on pitocin. I was dilated to a 4 and was totally shocked by that. Usually I don't get farther than a 3 until my water breaks. I figured that my doctor would stop in on her way to work, break my water and we'd have a baby by noon! She didn't end up coming until about 1 and I hadn't dilated any further - even being on the pitocin. I went ahead and got my epidural before my water was broken - why not?! I LOVE epidurals but HATE getting them. Totally worth it though. And I'm betting the crazy screaming girl next door was wishing she'd gotten one. No offense if you're a screaming crazy lady when giving birth - but FYI having a baby with an epidural is blissful. See:

Happy as can be waiting for my baby to come.

SPOILER ALERT - I'm about to give "TOO MUCH INFORMATION" so don't read if you don't want it. Haha! Most embarrassing moment during this birth: The nurse came in to check to see if I'd dilated any farther (this is after my epidural) and as she was doing her thing my body (on it's own accord) let out a SUPER LOUD, LONG TOOT. At first I didn't put two and two together - I hadn't felt it, only heard it. But when I realized what had happened I said "oh my gosh! Was that me?! I am so sorry!". She said that it was ok and that I couldn't control it. Anyway, she went and sat over by her computer and I glanced at Nathan. His ears and face were bright red from trying not to laugh. We both tried to control it but every time we'd look at each other we'd burst into quiet laughter. I don't know how the nurse didn't join in. =)

The next time she came into check me I was at a 10 and ready to go! She called for the doctor and we waited for a little bit. When the doctor arrived I pushed 3-4 times and she was out! I have loved all of my childbirths but after this one I was on a high. I just sat there and smiled and watched my baby and smiled some more. I am so grateful to have her here! Right away I thought she looked like Keslie with her chubby cheeks. Over the next couple weeks I couldn't decide whether she looked more like Kes or Anika. Either way - she's a cutie and she's happy!

Here is our nurse who took such great care of us even though I tooted on her more than once. =)

Here we are right after, getting to have some "skin to skin" time.

Her sugar levels dropped because of my gestational diabetes so Nathan got to feed her a bottle.

The kids were pretty thrilled to see their baby sister. Brenan and Keslie didn't want to hold her at first (Keslie told me later that she thought she looked gross - haha!) but Anika wanted to right away.

First family picture!

I left the next day this time. Usually I want to stay the full 2 days but I was ready to be home.

This is us right after we got home from the hospital on Tuesday night:

Here are a few more of her first few days home. Aren't her cheeks so squishy and so kissable?!

She had LONG feet!

First bath - she was not happy about it!

Granana and Papa came the following weekend to meet her. I think they liked her a little bit. =)

Papa is always so great to play games with the kids.

Carol stayed for 4 more days to help me out. She was my very own personal angel. She got up every morning and got the kids ready and made their lunches. She did laundry galore, kept my kitchen clean and killed millions of angry fire ants. She kept me company and helped me take "newborn photos". I was so glad she was able to come. I hardly had any of the normal hormonal emotional breakdowns and I know it's because she was there making things easy for me.

We had a hard time getting the kids to cooperate for this picture. I guess the more kids you have the harder it is to get them all looking at the camera at the same time! Let alone smiling!

Here we are - a family of 6 heading into the holiday season. =)

We love our little Soybean. She is a very happy and content baby. We feel so blessed to have her in our family. I love my babies. =)

October

2012-01-02T11:47:00.007-05:00

October started off with another fun visit from Granana and Papa! The kids each got a new Build-a-Bear animal. I liked that the official name Brenan chose for his puppy is DOG. Haha! We love it when they visit! Here is Papa loving on Kes!

And Granana and Papa with the kids

My sweet little Keslie turned 6! Here she is with her special birthday cereal. She was so kind and shared with everyone.

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was fun! It's never too late to start!

20 questions* : answered by Keslie age 6

1. What is your favorite color? Purple and pink
2. What is your favorite toy? I like to play with my roller blades, her Kachooz, Littlest Pet Shops and stuffed animals.
3. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries and blueberries and blackberries and raspberries.
4. What is your favorite tv show? Phineas and Ferb
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ham sandwich
6. What is your favorite outfit? My ruffle shirt with sparkles and my boots. And my scarf.
7. What is your favorite game? Tag!
8. What is your favorite snack? Candy. <----What?!!
9. What is your favorite animal? A kitten.
10. What is your favorite song? Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam.
11. What is your favorite book? I like Ivy and Bean.
12. Who is your best friend? Anika
13. What is your favorite cereal? Reeses Puffs or "Balls" as they like to call them.
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play at the park!
15. What is your favorite drink? Water
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My blankies
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Bean burritos with "brocamoli"
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a Mommy. =)

She got some fun stuff for her birthday!

Brenan and I went and ate lunch with her at school. She was SO excited to see us there!

Our cakes are never fancy but my kids LOVe them because they get to choose out the flavor and help frost and put on the sprinkles and candles. Which is why there almost always too many candles!! =)

She had a Littlest Pet Shop party and I am lame and hardly took any pictures. We are so lucky to have Keslie in our family. She is kind and helpful and funny and smart. She loves to play and put on make up. I can't believe she's 6!!

For Nathan's birthday we made him a fried ice-cream cake because he loves fried ice cream! These kids love their daddy! For his birthday date we met up with Steve and Mandi for some fajitas! I love this man and still feel overwhelmed with gratitude that he's mine.

Here they are at the trunk or treat: a dragon, a cat, and "spider girl".

Hahahahahahaha! We never looked better. The bishop thought his shirt said "Where's the beer?" instead of beef.

Our pumpkins.

September

2011-11-16T14:54:00.008-05:00

I'm going to do a quick break down of the past several months so that I can get caught up and start blogging again! So much has been going on and I don't want to forget any of it.

August ended with a bang when Mom and Dad West came for a visit! We finally went and saw the cattle drive (or The Fort Worth Herd) in downtown Fort Worth. It's the only cattle drive that runs twice a day every day of the year - rain or shine! We were pretty excited to see all the longhorns and the real cowboys. We now affectionately refer to the cattle drive as "the stampede" because that is EXACTLY opposite of what it was. We died laughing as the 9 or so longhorn strolled on by us. I'm still glad we went - I love the "old west" feel of that area. I always get the itch to buy me some cowboy boots and a hat and sing 'whip crack away, whip crack away, whip crack away'. And now I'm feeling the itch to watch Calamity Jane! Anyway, the girls had fun riding some ponies and for about 2 minutes I thought it would be fun if they became interested in horses and we could buy a couple (someday). Then I snapped out of it and realized it would be WAY too much work for me and that we will stick with things that don't poop all over the place and attract flies. Haha! The rest of the weekend we just hung out and relaxed which is just what we all wanted to do. This past summer was terribly hot and I was big and pregnant so it was nice to just be together.

Papa, Anika, and Keslie

The Herd

I had a big "30th birthday" post planned but never got around to doing it. I don't know why but I was not excited about turning 30. It ended up being a great birthday and I got to celebrate for 4 days straight! Nathan took me on a date to Outback Steakhouse where I feasted on delicious steak and coconut shrimp. The best part was when the waiter came over to our table with my free dessert and he said that I would have to work to get it. He brought it to the very front of the restaurant and then came back and gave me a baby rattle and made me shake it and yell "It's my birthday!" as I went to get my treat. SO embarrassing but I REALLY wanted it so I did it! Haha! Here we are at Outback and I have a handsome husband. =)

And we took a pregnant picture that didn't turn out so great - but here I am at about 28 weeks.

The next day Mandi and Steve and their kids came for birthday cake.

M&M and Me - I'm very lucky to have a friend like her.

Our crazy kids.

On Pinterest I found an ice cream cake recipe that I had been dreaming of so I made that one for our Sunday celebrations. Look at all this delicious candy!!

My good friend, Stephanie, and I share a birthday so we had to celebrate together!

Stephanie and Jeff

Playing Settlers of Catan and LOVING it!

And the ugly shot - because what is a blog post without one of these?!

On my birthday my kids and Nathan all gave me a little gift. They were so excited and so was I! Afterwards we met up with Stephanie and Jeff at IHOP and it was delicious. Then we came home and I got to embark on my "day alone'. I know, I'm weird, but I just wanted some "me" time. I went and saw Harry Potter and then took myself to lunch at Sweet Tomatoes and shopped at Charming Charlies and the furniture store. It was a great day - the only bad thing was locking my keys in the car out in Arlington and Nathan having to come save me. =)

The West super hero squad!

His lips are SO kissable!

And that's about it for September!

First Day of School!

2011-08-23T14:32:00.004-04:00

Anika - 2nd grade!

Keslie - Kindergarten

For their first day of school treat we had oreo truffles and then when Nathan got home we went and got dinner at Whataburger (gross! I'm done with fast food burgers for a LONG TIME!) to celebrate a great first day. The girls came home with smiles and nonstop talking. I'm sooo glad they were happy!

Summer Wrap-up

2011-08-15T16:59:00.012-04:00

Well, this summer flew right on by! We had a little welcome/get to know you party with Nathan's work and Brenan and Anika found the stash of dress ups. I think I need to invest in some good boy dress up clothes because Brenan was having a ball!

We had our first visitors to Fort Worth! Granana and Papa came and we had a great weekend with them. The kids love all of Granana's games on her IPad.

Anika let her pull out the tooth that had been dangling forever! Papa gave her a dollar. She was pretty thrilled!

Anika made Papa a special nose and he was a good sport to wear it!

It was a great weekend!

We haven't gotten any furniture to fill our front two rooms yet so the kids have a blast making forts and houses. Here is one of them:

They also like to use the table:

Anika helped me make granola! It turned out so yummy! We used this recipe:

Homemade Granola

I ate it for breakfast every day!

They did a lot of backyard swimming since Fort Worth is lacking in pools and splash pads.

Weirdos! I found them both with oreo guts all over their heads!

The girls got their ears re-pierced since their holes had closed. They chose their birthstones which happen to be their favorite colors - pink and blue. =) Here is Kes getting all ready!

Then they got their hair cut and the lady cut Anika's hair about 2 inches shorter than I had said. Rarrr! She did a pretty horrid job on Keslie's layers too. I think I'll just do it myself from now on!

A friend in my ward had a "feather party" so I let the girls get a feather. They were pretty darn excited!

My friend, Winni, from San Antonio stopped by on her way home from a trip in Missouri. The kids played for the morning before we headed down to Austin.

I look LARGE and IN CHARGE next to Winni! She is so tiny. It was fun to see them.

Brooke and Scott are heading to Hong Kong for a year so we wanted to see them before they left. We took a quick overnight trip to Austin and ate dinner with them at Chuy's and then the next day we went to breakfast and an ice cream festival before heading home. We will miss them! Olsen is going to be a full fledged toddler the next time we see him! Here are some pictures from our quick trip:

It was pretty miserable outside but luckily we could have all the ice cream we wanted. It was $10 to get in so I was determined to get my moneys worth!

We went to Lake Worth for the first time with the cub scouts. The kids loved it! Lake Worth is so beautiful to drive by! I"m happy we live so close to it.

I bought museum passes last week and we've already gone a couple times. This last visit the girls took advantage of the fountain that is coming out of the ground. I don't know if it's really supposed to be a splash pad but whoever put it there was sort of asking for it by setting benches all around and having water shoot out of the ground. It was probably their favorite moment of the summer and I LOVED that they were so happy!

This little sweetie (don't even look at me!) had her first run in with fire ants.

I counted 49 bites. Those ants are nasty little things! We managed to make it 2 years in San Antonio without any of us getting bit and now we've all experienced it since moving here.

Phew! Now I'm caught up! Hopefully I'll be better at posting now that my girls are in school! I'm tired of all my boring, long, picture posts! =)

Mutilation...Mutilation....Mutilation

2011-07-24T21:37:00.007-04:00

Many of you have heard about that fateful night when Nathan almost lost his life. Not really - but he swears he saw my eyes become murderous. =) It all started because I pick my heals. I think it's hereditary - my mom used to pick her feet too. I remember the huge piles of skin she would set on the arm of her chair. She was super lucky because wicket (our dog) would come over and eat them for her whereas I have to stand up and throw mine away. It's a hard life I live! Haha! Anyway, it is one of Nathan's greatest pet peeves that I do this. One night when we were in CT and I had been blissfully peeling skin off of my heals he started to get after me about it. I told him to leave me alone - it's my body and if I want to pick my darn feet then by golly I will! Well, he just kept at it and I was NOT in the mood (and I told him so). He kept going. I warned him that I was seriously not in the mood (my voice may have wavered - maybe I was pregnant and emotional - I can't remember). This is the moment that's gone down in history - he started CHANTING: mutilation, mutilation, mutilation, mutilation (this is where my eyes became murderous) and I charged him. I think the only thing that stopped me from really wrestling him to the ground and giving him a wet willy or something was the honest to goodness look of fear in his eyes. I laugh every time I think about it!

Well, it's heal picking season again and here are the results so far:

It's not that bad yet - I haven't gotten to the middle of my heel. You can sort of see the deep grooves and scabs. Nathan doesn't say too much about it anymore and I make sure to not complain about the incredible amounts of pain it causes me the next day. I don't want to give him any ammo for the mutilation theory! =) So, do any of you have any great heal treatments so that I can get rid of the temptation to pick? I've tried those foot scrubber things and it didn't do much to help. What about the Pedi-Egg? I haven't wanted to drop $10 on something that wouldn't work. =)

In other news - we are loving Fort Worth! I've been terrible at taking pictures since we've been here but I will do a quick catch up! We have quite the horrible moving story (eventually I'll write that one down) but once we (and our stuff) arrived at the house things went uphill. We love our house and the kids can actually play in the yard! We've been living it up in the kiddie pools almost daily! We love the surrounding area - it feels like we live in the country. There are lots of open spaces and horses and we love the green. It's not Connecticut green but since I can't have that I'll take this for sure! Nathan loves his office staff and the doctors he's working with. We love our ward and now I'm just crossing my fingers that I'll love the school! Here are the 2 pictures I've taken since we've been here:

Chick-Fil-A customer appreciation day! This is the best I could do without a printer (it still hadn't been set up) and limited construction paper. There were a lot more people dressed up this year and I wish we'd had our camera because we could have taken a picture with the cow! Last year the Chick-Fil-A didn't have a cow! Anyway, it was totally worth it! =)

Reunited and it feels so good!

We have gotten to hang out with the Soters' several times since we've been here! I even got to see M&M on her birthday! Unfortunately, I haven't taken any pictures of our fun times except for this one of the kids eating mac n' tom. I'm going to have to be better! I didn't even take any from 4th of July. LAME.

Happy Sunday night y'all!

Graduation

2011-07-18T16:45:00.006-04:00

It's hard to believe we've finally reached that light at the end of the tunnel! Part of me is sad to leave the student life behind. There is such a camaraderie with other student families and it's kind of fun to be poor and to really appreciate all the little (and big) things that happen. I am extremely proud of Nathan. He has always worked SO hard. In Tucson when he was getting his undergrad in business management and getting in the credits he needed for dental school he would ride his bike to work at Wells Fargo in the morning and then go to school for the afternoon and then come home, eat dinner, and then often would be studying for the rest of the night. Especially as we got closer to dental school and he began preparing for the D.A.T. In dental school he spent countless hours studying for tests and boards and still made time for our family. He always helped with dinner clean up and played with the kids and helped me get them ready for bed even after coming home from a long day at school and gearing up for a late night of studying. I remember when he started dental school - graduation seemed so far away! But it came and went and now he's graduated this one more time and I just have to say: BRAVO Nathan! You are one amazing man and I am so lucky to have gotten to join you for this ride!

Nathan's parents were able to come for his graduation. It's quite the laid back affair but it was great to see him up there with all of his co-residents and to feel so proud of him.

Here his is with some of his co-residents

Us with David and Misty

Hello World!!

2011-06-15T11:04:00.025-04:00

Welcome to the LONGEST post in the world! I have finally emerged from my cave and am ready to catch up on this ole' blog of mine. We have moved to Fort Worth and are loving it here! Nathan joined a great practice with wonderful doctors (seriously - they are the salt of the earth!) and we are so happy to not have the job hunt stress looming over us. Looks like we will be Texans for good and we are so thrilled!

Watch out cavities - Dr. West is gonna get ya!

Kes took this picture before we moved and it cracks me up. =)

March was a super productive month for me and then April rolled around and I pretty much hung out on the couch or in the bathroom next to the toilet. In May I started to show my face to the world a little bit more and by the end I was just about back to normal. Babies are such sweet, wonderful things and totally worth it in the end but I have to say the first trimester is one of my least favorite things EVER. I was just as sick (maybe worse) with this one as I was with Bren so maybe we are having another boy or maybe I just get sicker with each pregnancy. I don't know. Were just glad this one decided to stick to the right place and we won't be having a repeat of last time! I am 20 weeks along and due on December 2nd. We are very happy to be adding another little person to our family! I probably won't find out what I'm having for a WHOLE month!! Switching doctors and insurances and figuring all of that out is FUN! =) I was going to scan in an ultrasound picture but I can't figure out this darn scanner. Oh well!

In February we had a kitten adopt us. The girls were playing with her in the front yard after school one Friday and she was so sweet. We took the kids to our friend's house for the babysitting swap that night and when we came home a few hours later there she was waiting for us! I shouldn't have held her - that was my downfall. I loved her right away. She was the nicest kitten and had the loudest purr I've ever heard. As a kid I always loved cats but since becoming an adult I have become a self proclaimed NON-pet lover. I don't want to deal with the poop and the vet costs and the furr and I don't want to be worried about people being allergic to our pet when they come over. Anyway, that all changed in an instant for Pepper! The kids went to bed and I fed her and we knew we were stuck with her for the time being. At first Nathan didn't want anything to do with her but she LOVED him for some reason. We were watching a movie and he would move her by me and she would immediately crawl up on his chest or in his lap and purr her mighty purr. He was won over pretty quickly! She really was too good to be true - she never had any accidents - she'd go to the back door if she needed to go to the bathroom. She never scratched or hurt the kids - she let them drag her all over the place and dress her up and push her around in a stroller and seemed to love every second of it. She didn't meow a lot and she didn't shed too much. AND she happened to be very clean and cute. She was hilarious and would run around the livingroom like a crazy animal at night and she would scare the living daylight out of us by jumping up on the window or the door window outside and hanging there while we were eating. Haha! We knew we couldn't keep her forever though - we aren't allowed to have a cat in that house and we didn't know what to do. I think we had her for a month or two. I got her spade and vaccinated and we found a good home for her with a family in our ward. The night they were coming to get her I had quite the surprise little emotional breakdown. Who knew I'd be so attached to a little cat? We miss her but it's nice to not have to worry about her anymore. I still don't think I'm a pet person. She was just sneaky and managed to bread through my barriers. =)

Nope - I was lying about that emotional breakdown! Haha! Let's blame it on pregnancy hormones. =)

Brenan is doing marvelously in his big boy bed! At nights he almost always falls asleep next to the door and Nathan enjoys getting to go pick him up and snuggle him for a second before putting him back on his bed. He takes naps on it like a champion! It's fun to listen to him talking to himself and singing songs. His favorite is Book of Mormon stories. Brenan's speech has improved a lot since getting tubes put in his ears in April. He has the best facial expressions to go along with his cute voice and it's so fun listening to him. He likes to argue everything. I'll say "Brenan, you're CUTE!" and he'll put his eyebrows down low and stick his lips out and say "No I NOT!" and then we'll go back and forth for awhile. It's pretty fun. Haha! He finally loves nursery after a year and a half of hating it. Yay! I hope moving doesn't mess that up! He is quite the snuggler. If we ask him for a snuggle he'll grab his "blue" (blanket") and come curl right up on our chest and then stay for as long as we want him to. He loves to be a dog. He has a couple "modes" he goes into. Dog mode - where he is a dog and will not talk - only make dog sounds and do dog things. And Silent mode - where he is very helpful and nice but won't make a peep. He loves picking his finger nails and has the cutest chubby toddler hands! He won't eat meat right now at all. If he's eating something that has meat in it he'll chew until all the non-meat stuff is gone and then spit out his glob of meat on the plate. Little pill! He always makes us laugh. I can't believe he's a two and a half year old!!

Girl's night out at Olive Garden was a nice reprieve from my couch sometime in April with these beauty queens! And I didn't even throw up my delicious dinner! Yay!

Me, Amber, Jordan, Heather, Celeste, and Ashley

Kids are so great because even when things aren't as stellar as usual they are still happy as can be! The Easter Bunny did make it to our house and I did manage to make these yummy Easter Morning rolls (after lunch and I used a lot more brown sugar on top!) and we had a wonderful dinner with Sandy, Aaron, and their boys on Easter Sunday. But we didn't make it to any Easter egg hunts and we didn't color Easter eggs which we have done every year that they've been alive! They didn't even notice! They loved their basket hunt and the hunt with the Liddell boys.

Us outside watching the kids look for eggs.

Brenan got to lead the way since he was the littlest!

Everyone else was close behind though.

Kes and Landon

Anika and Lucas

The sun was bright!!

Haha! I love Sandy's face in this picture!

Sandy, Stephanie, and me.

One day I was cleaning the kitchen and noticed that Kasey and Aaron's eyes were covered up with these round magnets - Nathan cracks me up! I had to take a picture of it.

In April, Carol took me and Brooke to Time Out for Women and the guys stayed home and watched the kids for the weekend. Here is Papa loving on Kes. The kids were spoiled - they went to a movie, out to eat, and Papa and Scott even cleaned out the nasty pool so they could swim!

I was spoiled too! We got to stay in a super nice hotel and eat yummy food and be uplifted by great speakers. It was such a fun weekend! Thanks so much!! Here are Mom and Brooke:

Sometime in May we took a little day trip to the Guadalupe River State Park. It was perfect - not too crowded and the water was the perfect depth for little kids. They also loved digging in the rocks. Kes had a bee land on her chest and she handled it much more gracefully than I would have! Haha!

We set up a little ways back from the beach and were enjoying our lunch when a massive group of people came and stood right in front of us. We thought that surely they would move on since there were tons of open spots all along the river and RIGHT next to us was a huge one. But there they stayed and performed a full on religious ceremony. Complete with hand holding and singing/praying - everyone saying/singing whatever they wanted and a couple baptisms, followed by more singing and chanting. It's great if they want to do that but seriously?! Right smack in front of our little set up?! As soon as they were done we moved our gazebo right up to the river just in case they came back. Great day!

I had to sneak a picture- here is part of the group. =)

We went house hunting in May. We came across such a cute, little neighborhood and the best part was that there were peacocks EVERYWHERE! Walking up the streets, sitting on mailboxes, chillin' on front porches and in yards. It was awesome! Here are a couple:

We met up with our buddies, Steve and Mandi, for a night out on the town. We felt like Lucy and Ethel when we sat in the front and the guys sat in the back! Good grief - how old are we again?! Haha! We at yummy BBQ and then played at Dave and Busters. I am so excited to be so close to them again!

These aren't the prettiest pictures (when do I ever take pretty pictures?!) but Keslie REALLY wanted to take a couple with me and I want to remember her sweetness. Plus that band aid on her chin is classic. =)

Saying good-bye!

Ashley left at the beginning of June for Corpus Christi so we had to have a little get together with her before she left.

Jordan, Mandy, Me, Ashley, Heather, Amber, and Celeste

Brenan had his last speech appointment with Becky and Brenda. Here he is with Becky:

We went to Corpus to see the Packards and go to the beach one more time.

After the beach we headed back to their beautiful, new home and ate burgers and hung out for awhile! Nathan and Kevin played some Wii. It was so fun to see them.

Ashley and I did what we do best - take beautiful pictures:

The week before I moved we had one more girl's night out. Lots of laughing was done in the car and then we met at The Cheesecake Factory for some delicious food and fulfilled my dream of taking a picture on the boots out at Northstar mall! Thanks girls!!

Me and Tammy

Amber and Lindsay

Heather, me, Lindsay, Tammy, Amber, and Meghan

And the boot pictures! We were even huzzahed at by a car full of boys! That's right - we've still got it! Haha!

We are going to miss all the wonderful people we met while in San Antonio. I smile just picturing all of your different faces! Thanks for the great memories, belly laughs, being there for us during our little rough patch last year, the great talks at book club, the fun conversation at Bachelor night, the crazy girl's nights, loving my kids, and for being my friend even though I can be a little quirky sometimes! I love you all! PLEASE COME VISIT US!!

So What. I'm Still a Rock Star!

2011-04-06T16:42:00.003-04:00

I have something to add to my last post. =) Today after school the girls were talking to me about their bus ride home. They told me that a couple of their friends kissed a Justin "Beaver" doll and a picture of him in a magazine and it was SOOOO funny! They told me that a lot of people love rock stars and asked who my favorite rock star is. Keslie then announced that her favorite rock star is: "mom because she sings alllllllllllll the time!" Thank you Keslie. Maybe it's because she's 5 so she's not embarrassed of her old mama yet. All I have to do is hold my cell phone up as a microphone and she is laughing like a maniac. =) By the way, Keslie singing "Baby, Baby, Baby, ohhhhh" is hilarious. Especially since I've never had it on for her to learn! She must hear it at school. =) I've got a Justin Bieber fan in the making over here.

Running

2011-04-06T10:54:00.004-04:00

Oh, Homer. I feel your pain.

I know just what is going through his head:

'Have I really only been running for TWO minutes?!'

I'm not a runner. I've never wanted to be a runner. Ever. But today I went for a little run! And when I say RUN I mean Ruuuu-jog/walk. Hahaha! I needed fresh air and some upbeat music and thought I could at least handle 3 miles. Not so much. I ended up in my living room after 1.5 miles thinking KILL ME NOW. Is it me or is it WAY harder to run for reals vs. running on a machine? Is it normal that my gums hurt after I run?! Why can't I be one of those people that love to exercise and love to eat healthy? Or at least one of the two! =) Anyway, I was grateful for my music - it kept me moving! But I wish I had been dancing to it in my living room rather than mindlessly running up the street! You know what I've discovered? I used to think I had absolutely no rhythm but I DO! I've got the rhythm but maybe not the cool moves to go with it. I took Anika on a little date last night and Usher came on and she actually hid under the seatbelt because she was embarrassed of me and my dancing. Thanks Anika. Thanks a lot. =)

Anyway - totally random post. Happy Wednesday!

Brenan's BIG Big Boy Bed

2011-04-03T22:11:00.007-04:00

Brenan thinks he's a big boy. =) He likes to put on his shoes and wander around out back in his diaper. I admit it - we can be pretty ghetto around here! His new thing is climbing our fence and talking to the neighbors OR climbing through the fence slats and wandering around in the neighbor's backyard. It's particularly awesome when he does that - especially if he's just in his diaper! =)

We decided it was high time Brenan graduated from his crib. After all, if he can climb over a fence he can probably climb out of his crib! He hasn't tried yet but I have caught him in the middle of some seriously cool acrobatic moves while playing in his crib. We've been perusing Ana White's website for months and getting SO excited about all the furniture we are going to build! We decided to start with a bed for Brenan and we are quite proud of the end product! It was definitely a joint effort.

First, I bought all the wood and then Nathan cut it using our handy radial arm saw!

Then I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded. I am SO glad we invested in a sander back when we did our table!! Note to self: move things away from the sanding area because EVERYTHING will be covered in sawdust!!

Nathan did most of the hammering and screwing and drilling but I was there to hold things in place for him. =) Here are the beginnings of our head board and foot board.

Almost done! We just need to paint. I have a love/hate relationship with paint. =)

I did all the painting because Nathan has a hate/hate relationship with painting. Haha! I did 1 layer of primer and 3 layers of the blue. It was humid so I don't think the paint was drying very fast. I may have painted over not quite dry paint. Oh well. Also, I think next time I will figure out a way to do it indoors. Little bugs kept getting stuck in the paint and bird mosquitos were attacking me and june bugs were dive bombing me. It's lucky I didn't knock over the bed! I don't react very well when bugs fly at me!

We have a couple moves coming up so we wanted the bed to be easy to take apart. We bought some handy hardware from Rockler.com and it worked like a dream!

When we set it up it seemed HUGE!! It's quite the jump from a crib to a twin sized bed!

He loves his "blue bed". At night he goes to bed in it just as easily as he did when we put him in his crib.

Naptime was not so successful! He played for a couple hours and then fell asleep next to the kitchen.

I broke out the pack n' play and he went right back to his 3 hour naps. What a sleepy head! So, what do you think of our first project?! Next we are making the girl's bunk beds. It will be similar to Brenan's bed except we are going to put an arch on the headboards and footboards and use 2X4's instead of 4X4 posts. I already have the wood sitting in the garage. I love feeling like we can build anything we want!

Seaworld, Reunion, and a St. Patrick's Day Parade!

2011-03-15T14:03:00.005-04:00

I thought our Seaworld days were over in December when everybody's fun passes expired! But, I realized that I still have my year pass and it's good through June and that Brenan doesn't need a pass until he is 3 so it looks like I'll be taking Brenan while the girls are in school! Woohoo! I might go by myself a few times too and ride the roller coasters and water slides!!

The new Sesame Street Bay of Play opened up and it's tons of fun!

Brenan and Kimball had a great time hanging out at the mini splash pad.

I tried to get Brenan to ride some of the rides but he was not interested. He freaked out on the merry go round and insisted that we sit in the seat rather than on a horse. Anika was the same way!

Here is my little wimp!

That night we got to see some of our old friends from Connecticut!! Hillary and Kyle were vacationing in San Antonio and it was SO fun to see them! We ate at Big'z Burger Joint one night and then the next night they came over and hung out some more. I'm excited that we will only live a few hours from them when we move!

Brenan and Ben were little buddies and had fun playing with the trains.

Knuckles!

Kyle, Hillary, Me, and Nathan and we aren't sure which ghostly presence is in the picture with us. =)

On Saturday I loaded up my three cute buddies and we headed into downtown San Antonio for the St. Patrick's Day parade! We all loved the parade but were a little disappointed that they didn't throw candy or necklaces. My kids had brought special bags for their loot and everything! =) It was the perfect day for a parade and we were in a prime spot - shaded, front and center.

Where does Anika get her camera goofiness?!! Haha!

There were a lot of elderly people in the parade dancing, baton twirling, singing - it was awesome and I hope I'm involved in cool things like this when I get older!

And now we are loving spring break! We've played at the park, gone to a movie, hit up the library for some "Granomino Stilton" books ( that is the way Anika says it - the author's name is actually Geronimo Stilton.), raked leaves, and played games. I love not having to deal with school!

Kensi's Wedding

2011-03-12T14:17:00.009-05:00

I was so lucky to be able to go to Idaho for Kensi and Brett's wedding! I left my kids home and thoroughly enjoyed traveling without toddlers or babies or strollers or tons of luggage. I actually got to read and sleep on the airplane!! But, oh my gosh! I missed Nathan and my babies so much while I was gone! I don't know if it was because I was home with family and I've never gone to my parent's home without my kids but I felt like I was missing a limb! I don't think it would have been like that if I'd been on a tropical vacation or something. =) Anyway, it was pure bliss aside from the missing my kids and Nathan part. It was pretty much GO GO GO from the minute I arrived. I went straight to the bridal shower (almost). Two of Kensi's cute friends threw it for her. I love these girls. I'm so glad my siblings have such great friends up in Rexburg!

Summer, Kensi, and Alexis

Haily(my cute cousin), Kelyn, Brittney, Alyssa, Hannah, and Me

Annie, Mom, Kensi's friend, Alyssa, and Kens

The sisters (minus Carlie and Baylie)

Kensi got a balloon tied to her hair every time she answered a question wrong. =)

Killing time while we waited for Dad to bring the generator. The power kept going out and the fire alarm kept going off. It was hilarious!

After the shower we headed to the movies for the traditional pre-wedding movie. This time we brought a whole slew of people with us. It was so fun and we had the WHOLE theater to ourselves! We saw Gnomeo and Juliet.

Here are a couple group shots - we couldn't get the whole group in one picture so we had to divide everyone up. =)

After the movie all the sisters and a couple brave girlfriends did the traditional dancing in the front. The guys made scary hand shadows and pretended to pluck us up off the ground! Yikes

I like this one of Kensi and Brett with the psycho hand shadow hovering over them. Haha!

All the dancers:

Her wedding was beautiful. She was such a gorgeous bride and I'm just so happy for her and Brett! They were so cute all day. =) I didn't take any pictures of them at the temple because I was lazy and didn't want to tote my camera around so I stole this picture off of my sister, Amber's, blog:

I did take tons of pictures at the luncheon though (not so many at the reception - I was tuckered out!).

Here is one of all ten of us sisters:

Amber, Baylie, Brittney, Brittanie, Kensi, Carlie, Alyssa, Hannah, Tessa, and Kelyn

It was so fun to have ALL the siblings there!

Me and my Daddy

Kelyn, Britt, Tessa, Amber

Tess and I have never been very good at taking normal pictures together. =)

My Dad cracks me up - he kept popping up in these silly pictures!

Kel smooching on Hannah Bo

Me and Joseph

Addison, Tessa, and Addison's parents

Cute Haylie and Daniel

Me and Brandon

Me and Baylie and Carlie

The fabulous Brittney with Raylee and Brayton

I love this picture of Dad and Grammy.

Kelyn and Grammy

Amber and Kasey

Me and Grammy

Joseph and Grammy

And that's all the pictures I'm going to post from the wedding! I love my family so much. It was a busy, crazy weekend but we made lots of great memories.

Congratulations Kensi and Brett! I hope you have so much fun being in love and sharing in all of life's adventures! Love you guys!

WTF - Why The Face?

2011-03-07T15:05:00.012-05:00

Haha! Thank you Modern Family. =) Apparently, when the girls get a hold of my camera and try to take a picture of me, I feel it's my duty to make the ugliest face possible! I think sometimes I make faces to answer questions. For example - if you were to ask me:

"Hey Brittanie! What did you think of the Mango Pulled Pork Enchiladas you made last night?"

Answer: (see picture)

Yes, they were that gross. Nathan says they are a little better heated up the next day. I can't believe he took them for lunch. Gag.

Or: Hey Brittanie! How did you feel about the movie THE SOCIAL NETWORK?

Answer:

Yes, I thought it was that boring.

Anyway, time to catch up!

Beanie's 2 front teeth dangled there for a couple months until she finally got brave enough to let Nathan take them out. We did them over 2 nights. After the first one came out she sort of looked like a little hillbilly!

She was SO happy to have them out and Keslie was SO jealous and wishing that she could lose some teeth.

We spent one Saturday morning trying to teach the girl's how to ride two wheelers. Anika got the hang of it but Keslie kept turning around to make sure we were behind her and then she'd crash. We broke out the ole' roller blades and had a blast.

Brenan climbed into the bathtub with his clothes on for the first time(I think). He climbed in while it was draining so by the time I found him (Anika ran down to tell me he'd climbed in) he was just all wet in an empty tub.

Here he is just chillaxin'.

I said "what are you doing you weirdo?!" and he turned and gave me a big old grin. Haha!

It got pretty cold here in San Antonio! We even had a snow day! It was pretty comical watching the newscasters talking about the snow. The entire city shut down! Check out these pictures I took at the entrance to our neighborhood! It reminded me of CT!

We had a baby shower for one of my best friends - she had her first boy!!

Ashley and Heather - oh! I love them!

They are holding the "group gift". Haha! It was to signify a rocking chair but when she opened it she was pretty confused! I had a good laugh. =)

Nicole, Britt, and Bretta.

Nicole - I want you to know that this picture made me love you even more and it was even better because it was a surprise! I had no idea you did the tongue face. LOVE IT!

Some of the fabulous guests (I should have taken the camera out before people left!):

Ashley, Nanci, Jordan, Celeste, and Katie

Cute Lindsay and cute Shannon

We had yummy soups and salad and I had leftovers for days. It was glorious! Now Kyler is here and he is so darn cute. =)

We took the kids to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and it was a blast! I'm sad that we didn't get to see the actual rodeo - we just wandered the grounds. It reminded me of the state fair. My biggest regret is that I didn't have a cowboy hat to wear. =(

We learned how to lasso. Nath got the hang of it pretty fast!

and we got to pose with an Indian chief!

They had the best petting zoo I've ever been to! Sheep, kangaroos, llamas, dear, and pot-bellied pigs were a few of the animals wandering around and some were hungry! There was a dear that kept trying to eat Nathan's shirt!

"Llama face!! WAAAA!"

The kids rode some carnival rides:

Every time Kes came around she was doing something different. She's hilarious. =)

I learned something new about Nathan! He has never been to a state fair or ridden any fair rides! I can't wait to take him back and ride on the Top Spin with him.

Anika got to hold a ginormous beetle. She's our little bug charmer.

We did our best to keep track of this little escape artist! It was such a fun day and I'm so glad we went!

Valentines Festivites!

It was fun to hear these girl's love stories. =)

I know our husbands feel so happy to be married to such beauties. Haha!

Me, Lindsay, and Ashley went on a little girl's night out before V-day and had a lot of fun! We went to Orange Leaf (my new favorite frozen yogurt place!).

Then we did a little shopping. Fun night!

On Valentine's Day we had a PINK and RED breakfast.

Pink, heart-shaped (sort of) pancakes with strawberry syrup and red smoothies.

It was so easy and the kids were beyond excited!

The girls on V-day morning:

We also cut out, baked, frosted, and decorated dozens of sugar cookies! In keeping with tradition we only delivered half the plates we planned to. It always takes so much longer than I think it will! Next year we decided to divide and conquer. =)

And for my Valentine:

This is my super cheesy love song for Nathan! I just love him so much!

New Year's Eve in AZ

2011-02-08T14:49:00.006-05:00

It was totally worth it to drive though the snow and ice to get to spend New Years Eve with the Wests! We were only there for a day and a half if you're wondering why we didn't pop up in your neck of the woods. =) We had a pretty relaxed day on Friday - we saw Jordan and Marshall's cute home and played outside. That night Nathan and I got to go with Jordan and Marshall to a Suns game! Here we are:

Then we hurried home for the New Year's festivities. Games, firecrackers, and yummy food! We did a pretend New Year's Eve around 9 or 10 so that the kids could participate and then head to bed. They were pretty excited!

I think Kes is so cute in this picture!

Anika, Carolyne, and Keslie

We had fun spraying each other with silly string and jumping over the fire crackers. I laughed pretty hard!

All the girls - freezing our buns off!

These cuties were pretty excited to have a little cousin sleepover!

Ringing in 2011!!

Cam and Afton

Marshall and Jordan

Mom and Dad (Carol and Gary)

The next day we went to see Tangled and I loved it even more the 2nd time!

Then we met up with Kelyn at Mickey D's and played at the park for a little bit.

Then we said good-bye and drove home through the night. It was such a great visit - even if it was so short. I am so lucky - we can't go wrong - whether were hanging out with my family or with Nathan's we always have such a wonderful time and leave feeling so blessed and loved.

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to a great 2011!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-25T23:01:00.033-05:00

I think I've been putting off this post because it was such an amazing, wonderful Christmas and I don't know that I will do it justice! Prepare yourself for an onslaught of pictures! This year we decided to drive to Idaho to be with my family for Christmas. Nathan hadn't seen some of them in over 3 years and he'd never met his new brothers-in-law! Almost everyone would be there and we didn't know when it would happen again - with a family as big as ours it's a miracle to get us all together - so we just bit the bullet and did it! We missed Kelyn, Spencer, and the boys so much. It would have been perfection if they'd been there! We started our "little" trip on Tuesday the 21st at 5:00 pm. Good thing we have a van (the bullet) - it was jam packed with luggage and presents and goodies and blankets!

That's not really our van - but awesome, right? I made it about 4 hours before getting pulled over. What can I say?! I like to go fast - especially on the freeway in the middle of nowhere. And really, I wasn't going that fast! I think the police man clocked me at 72 which means I was probably only going 78ish before I slowed down. The speed limit changes to 65 at night (it's 75 during the day). Anyway, he was such nice old cowboy policeman. I loved his Texan accent! He gave me a warning and sent me on my way. =) I didn't get pulled over again. My kids are angel travelers! The girls slept the entire time. Brenan woke up when we switched drivers in El Paso at 1 AM and he laughed and talked to himself until 5 AM. What a goofball! The weather was great until we got to Price Canyon and even then it wasn't so bad. We made it to Rexburg in 24 hours!

Day 1: We played on the snow hill behind my parent's house for a lot of the day. Nathan and Dusty built a "snow angel". Basically, it was a snow man with wings and it was pretty awesome. I can't believe we didn't get one with the two of them but here is the proof:

Keslie is an animal in the snow! Joseph built a snow jump and we were all sledding down the hill trying to catch it. I went down with Tess and we caught it! We laughed so hard! Anyway, Keslie went down backwards, by herself, and caught the jump and it was hilarious to watch! She thought it was so cool - nothing phased her! Luckily, my mom took a bunch of pictures of them playing on the snow hill. I was either playing in the snow myself or in the house getting warm!!

My maniac Keslie girl!

Anika and Keslie after a sled trip together.

Keslie and Uncle Brandon. He is crazy - what is he doing out there in shorts?!

Here is my beanie girl.

And Bodess

Anika preferred the slower pace of stomach sledding. =)

Here is an action shot of Raylee and Dusty catching the jump!

Doesn't this picture just catpture Anika in all of her cute 7 year oldness? I love her.

My mom managed to round up a bunch of extra snow clothes. A lot of them were from the 80's. I love how Kasey tried one on and then modeled for us! Haha!

That night we watched the season 5 finale of Psych. Have you started watching it yet? If not, you should. It's the best show ever. I love these dorky promo commercials they do!

Anyway, It was a good first day. Great to be with my family.

Christmas Eve: My mom ordered a bunch of cool project stuff from the Oriental Trading Co. It kept all of us busy for awhile. =)

There were these cool ornaments that you could scrape off the black and there was bright colors underneath. This one was my favorite.

And foamie gingerbread houses:

Here are some of them from the back and cute Amber doing a pose!

Keslie and Brenan helped Grandma Kivett get started on the sugar cookies for Santa. The love to help in the kitchen!

We all had fun decorating them!

I just want to gobble him up! He is so fabulously, to die for, cute! I know, I'm just a little biased. Haha! Here is my sweet, little Anika. Isn't she looking so grown up?!

Here I am with a few of my cute sisters.

Alyssa, Brittney, Me, and Amber

Me and my Bubba Lind (that's what I called him when he was a one year old!). He's a full fledged teenager now. Good grief.

Next on the agenda was to act out the Nativity. My mom managed to get some super cute costumes so everyone was decked out!! Here are the performers:

And some more Nativity costume pictures:

Amber, Kasey, Keslie, and Brayton

Doesn't Nathan make quite the handsome wise man?

The 3 wise men (Addison, Kasey, and Nathan) and a little shepherd boy.

Mary and Joseph (Raylee and Brayton)

The angels - Keslie, Baylie, and Anika

The shepherds - Dusty, Joseph, Brandon, and Carlie

The audience!

Hannah, Alyssa, and Me

Kasey, Amber, and Kes

Tess, Addison, and Joseph got a hold of my camera - this is one of my favorites!

Me and Nathan - snugglin' in the pj's. =)

We took lots of pictures on Christmas eve - all of us got new pj pants from Grammy with a white top so of course we had to pose! These are the pictures that are just not complete because Kel isn't there!

Here are all the kids and grandkids:

And the goofy face one because we ALWAYS have to have one of those!! =)

Mom and Dad and the couples:

Mom and Dad and the kids!

Just the girls (and Brandon in the background). Side note: We watched a bunch of home videos (as always!) while we were there. The one I love is of Me, Britt, and Kel doing a music video to Tearin' Up My Heart and Brandon is in the kitchen making a sandwich. We had no idea he was there and were just jamming away and every few minutes Brandon (11 years old at the time) would start doing a dorky dance to make fun of us. It's hilarious to watch!

It's so fun that we have so many guys in the family now!

Mom and Dad

Us!

Britt, Dusty, Brayton, and Raylee

Amber and Kasey (coming up on 1 year!)

Kensi and Brett (getting married next week!!)

Tessa and Addison - been married for 4 months!

After we got the kids in bed we played some Mafia and the animal game. It was a blast! We've never had that many people for the animal game before so we had to invent a few new animals. My personal favorite was the human. Unfortunately, we were all having too much fun to document it. We did last minute Christmas prep and then headed to bed. =)

Christmas Day: I think it started at 6:30 or 7 am. I can't remember! Santa really outdid himself this year! Even the marrieds got their stockings stuffed! The stocking is my favorite part of Christmas I think. ESPECIALLY when were at my parents house. Haha! Nathan got a Droid Incredible for Christmas and he LOVES it!

Brenan loved his new cars and has played with his Geotrax set nonstop since Christmas!

Anika loved her Rainbow Dash pony remote control thing. Other favorites: Scooters, pony stuff, and Leapsters. =)

It was so fun to just relax on Christmas morning. It felt like old times.

Here are some more pictures from Christmas morning:

On Christmas afternoon a group of us went to see Tangled and I LOVED it SO MUCH!! My favorite song was 'I See the Light'. Chills were had. Tears may have come to my eyes. Oh, I loved this movie so much.

The rest of the time: We had a nasty stomach bug begin to run rampant the day after Christmas. I think it started with Bren. He had some serious diarrhea that began on Christmas day. Poor guy. The next morning Me and Hannah were in the kitchen puking by 6 am. I think everyone got it but Nathan, Dusty, Dad, and Brayton. There were a couple days of lounging about while we all tried to feel better. It was a blast to go sledding at the BYU-I hills. Everything was pretty much frozen so we went FAST!! Nathan wore my dad's old mission shoes and they had absolutely zero traction so he had to have helpers to get up the hill. He went to the very top and flew to the bottom! I slipped and landed on my head. It was one of those moments where you fall and stand up super fast and smile big and say you're okay but really you're about to bawl your eyes out. Haha. This is how Brenan felt about getting decked out in snow clothes:

Here is Dad helping Nathan get up the hill. It was quite treacherous. Haha!

They made it! I think the 3 of them went down together.

Anika, being a penguin again!

Mom and Tess

I tried to climb the hill while holding Brenan so that he could sled with me - well, I slipped and we went sliding down and Keslie was right in our way. I sound like a psycho in this video! Haha!

We also made hair things, played games, watched movies, did hair, went shopping, ate at Dairy Queen, went and saw Harry Potter in the bitter cold, and took engagement pictures for Kensi and Brett! Aren't they great together?!

It was freezing cold!! I don't know how my mom's hands didn't turn into icicles!

Saying good-bye to Alyssa since she was heading to Utah:

Me and Mom

Me and Dad

Brenan with Papa Kivett - they were good buddies! Brenan loved my dad and all the uncles. =)

We took off for AZ on the 30th in the early morning and drove on solid ice for hours. It was miserable. Cars were off the road everywhere! We made it to AZ safely though and had a great New Years Eve! That post is next! Both Nathan and I are so glad we decided to make this trip happen. What a great family I am blessed with!

Christmas Traditions

2011-01-25T22:40:00.004-05:00

I really failed at getting good pictures of our pre-Christmas stuff this year! Here are the couple I did get:

Trying to get my kids to pose in front of our newly decorated tree and they were not cooperating!! Haha~

That's a little better. =) Again - how did I not get one of them in their dresses and church clothes in front of the tree this year?

Making donuts and getting ready to watch Luke 2.

Gingerbread house night! This is the only semi-good picture I got the whole night. I can't believe I didn't get a group shot of their finished houses! I think my camera ran out of batteries. Dang it!

And that's it for pictures. Pathetic, right?!

Last year I tried to do a daily Christmas advent calendar. I was so excited and made a list of activites/things we could do for the month of December. I don't think I'll ever do it again. Maybe I'll do an advent calendar - just not so intense! I decided it's more fun to have our traditions that we do every year and not stress about doing a daily thing.

Some of our traditions include:

* Watching Luke 2 with Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven song dubbed over it and making donuts and drinking hot cocoa. We do this one a couple times each year!
* Making gingerbread houses with friends.
* Watching the First Presidency Christmas devotional.
* Singing Christmas songs every night before bed.
* Having Christmas movie nights.
* Looking at lights.
* Making cookies for Santa.
* Acting out the nativity on Christmas eve.

Anyway, It's a small list. I really want to build it up as we become more established. Usually we try to get a picture with Santa and deliver goodies to friends but that hasn't happened these last couple years! I would love to do 12 days of Christmas and find other ways to serve. What fun traditions do you have that I can steal?!! =)

Anika's 7th Birthday!!

2011-01-09T21:29:00.004-05:00

This is so weird! My little girl is starting to look like a big girl! She is tall, gangly, beautiful and at that super fun in-between stage. =) I love her so much. I couldn't ask for a better oldest child.
I'm getting pretty good at doing low key birthdays! I promised them that they could have parties next year. I don't think they mind just hanging out with the family though! She took cupcakes to school and we went and ate lunch with her. She was SO happy to have us there and rearranged the entire seating chart at the lunch table so that we could sit with her class. =) After school we got her cake ready and when Nathan went home we took her to eat at a place of her choice. She chose McDonalds. She knew she'd be able to get a happy meal since it was her birthday. I hate going to Mickey D's because my kids never eat the food. Oh well - her choice. =) She talked to a bunch of people on the phone and I took her to Walmart so that she could spend her birthday money. She has the hardest time making decisions and we were all over the store trying to decide. It was awfully cute. =) When we got home we had cake and ice cream and then called it a night. Happy 7th birthday sweet Anika!!

At 7 years old Anika:

* Loves to read. Lately she's been "into" stuff about mummies and outer space and she loves The Magic Treehouse books.
* Has lost 6 teeth. 4 bottom and 2 top.
* Is a snuggler and has a very tender heart. She really cares about people and is a very good friend to kids of all ages.
* Is bossy. Aren't we all? First children, I mean. Hahaha!
* Runs like Napolean Dynamite - we love her little run!!
* Is very helpful with Brenan and Keslie. I often find her teaching Keslie letters and reading and the other night she got Brenan all ready for bed for me - diaper changed and all!
* Wants a pet SO badly.
* Loves inventing "stories" for her and Keslie to play. They remind me of Kelyn and me when we were kids! She has a great imagination.
* Has the BEST LAUGH EVER!! Hearing her laughing from a couple rooms away always makes me happy.

I've said it many times but I'll say it again; she is an angel and I am so lucky to be her mom. Okay - all this Anika talk is making me need to go in her room and stare at her sleeping and then maybe give her a big, mommy smooch!

2010-12-10T13:29:00.003-05:00

I'm not actually going to mail out 50 cards this year (that's $35 that would be better spent on gas money or presents for the kiddos) so here is a blog Christmas card! Maybe next year when Nathan is working we'll actually get one out in the mail! I've got some serious updates coming - Girl's weekend with Mandi, Thanksgiving, Christmas stuff, and Anika's birthday! She is 7 today! She's been "shivering with excitement" (her words!) for the last month!

Weekend Escape, Olsen, and Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T15:26:00.013-05:00

I'm going to go way, way, way, back to November! It was only a month and a half ago but it already seems like it's been ages. We had a lot of fun in November and a lot of that fun was had with the Soters! Somehow it worked out for me to be able to go on a girl's weekend escape with Mandi and what a fun escape we had! There are a million reasons why I love Mandi. She is my "Diana" and I know I can be ME and she will love me no matter what. We had a good laugh when we saw our FANCY hotel! (Note to self: do NOT ever go below 3 or 4 stars on Priceline!) Hahaha! There were HAIRS on our pillows!

And brick walls (it gave our room quite the rustic feel).

We quickly set off for a night of fun! We went out to eat at Chili's because when have we ever NOT eaten at Chili's when we've been together?! Then we went to a theater to see if anything good was playing. There wasn't so we headed back to the car with an extra wiggle in our hips because the bus full of teenage boys was TOTALLY checking us out! =) At least we like to think they were. =) With not many other options we headed to the next obvious place - H.E.B. - where we took weird, random pictures with Pillow Pets:

And as many cans of beans as we could carry:
And then we sneakily took a picture on this police segway and then ran away with the sounds of H.E.B. employees laughing at us in the background!
THEN we did a little cruising, singing, and dancing through downtown Austin until our eyes started to droop. The next day was spent shopping at the outlets! We had fun and spent money (just a little!) until our feet hurt. The best part was when my friend, Kelli, caught us taking pictures. I don't mind sharing them on my blog but it's a little awkward to get caught in the act! It was right as we were climbing into this thing:
We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, visited Brooke and baby Olsen at the hospital, and then went and saw Megamind that night. It was a glorious weekend and I was sad when it was over.

The rest of the family needed to see Olsen so we headed over to Austin the next weekend. He is SO cute and sweet! We are so happy for Brooke and Scott!
Nathan and Scott rode off into the sunset in their new go-cart. I think it's funny how Scott has his arm around Nathan! They were so hilarious making plans to get houses next door and have a big go-cart track in the backyard. We'll see if that ever happens!
THANKSGIVING!!

We spent Thanksgiving up in Dallas with Steve and Mandi. It was so fun to hang out in the kitchen with her and make the feast! I don't think I'll ever be able to eat regular turkey again. Their bishop smoked our turkey for us and it was delicious!

We did some serious Black Friday shopping! We went to Toy's R Us around 8:30 pm. I expected the wait to be like last year but we were in by 10:30 (store opened at 10) and out by 11. It was amazing! We scooted on over to Walmart to stake out our stuff and at midnight we went crazy just like everyone else and managed to get most of the things we wanted. We had a couple hours to spare before Target opened so we went to eat at IHOP. That was delicious and woke us up a bit. Target was super fast too! It was the best Black Friday experience I've ever had. =)
Here we are - excited as can be for our LONG night!
AND here we are several hours later while sitting at IHOP! Haha!

Look how pretty the leaves were!

Thanks for the wonderful Thanksgiving Steve and Mandi!!
Next up: DECEMBER!!

Keslie's Ballet Recital

2010-11-28T22:41:00.003-05:00

This little girl is a hoot! It's funny how shy and unshy she is at the same time. You should have seen her at our ward's primary program! She was in the very front dancing and doing who knows what with her arms and making her hair super crazy but then she got so scared when it was her turn to do her part. She was still very proud of herself and I got such a kick out of watching her. I admit - my eyes filled with tears when it was Anika and Keslie's turn and they got up to say their parts. I feel so blessed to be the mom of these sweet little girls. Keslie has been taking another dance class from Miss Nanci on Friday mornings. She is SO fun to watch! I love her! Enjoy these cute videos - she has some pretty sweet moves! =)

Brenan is TWO!!

2010-11-10T14:25:00.004-05:00

Here he is all bright eyed and bushy tailed on his birthday morning! That's right - His Royal Cuteness is a TWO YEAR OLD!! One of my favorite ages ever. I seriously can't get enough of this little dude. He was thrilled to open his presents from Nana and Papa and Grandma and Grandpa!

He got a haircut, played with his speech helper, Brenda, and chillaxed with his sister in the morning.

He went to the park and helped make a birthday cake in the afternoon.

He blew out the candles (more like huffed them out)!

And then he chowed down!

We are so lucky to have this little boy. He is such an angel and so easygoing and fun! I can't stand how cute he is and pretty much want to eat him up for dinner. I'll say "That's it!! It's time to get eaten" and he'll die laughing and run because he knows I'm about to munch on his cute bones. I love him SO much.

Updates on Brenan - at 2 years old he:

*Weighs 30 lbs 4oz
* is 37 inches long and 100th percentile- the Dr. thinks he'll be between 6'2'' and 6'4''!
*LOVES cars! It's all the kid plays with!
*Is becoming very independent and wants to do things without my help.
* Is starting to talk a little bit more and puts more than one word together. His "yeah" has evolved - he used to say LAHHHH! with tons of energy and now it's neah which is tough cause it sounds like Nah (no) but he's really saying yes. He says "Dada go?" and "I want dada".
*He loves to drink his milk out of the cereal bowl.
*He loves squishing bugs - pretty opposite from his big sisters who go out of their way to save them (even evil ones like wasps!).
*He loves to help with putting away the laundry.
*He is an EXCELLENT sleeper. He never cries when we lay him down and he never cries when he wakes up. He just plays until we come in to get him. He still takes 3 hour naps and sleeps from 7-7 at night! Good boy!
*He loves to watch Thomas the Train - he calls it "choo chooo".
*He's discovered markers and if he ever gets a hold of them he will color on anything in his path - especially his hands and belly!
*He is SO smart.
*When Nathan and I brush our teeth he runs in and wants to brush his. I usually lean against the wall and cross my left foot over my right leg. He always stands exactly like I do. Nathan and I tested it one day and if we would change our stance he would copy it and stand however we did. It is SO cute!
*Every night for the bedtime routine we sing a song right before the prayer. He always starts pounding his fist on his hand because he LOVES the song Book of Mormon stories.
*As soon as the song is over he kneels down just like his daddy and usually will stay that way through the whole prayer. He's 2 so occasionally he'll get distracted and start jumping around!

I've got to be better at writing down the things he says and does. I can't believe my baby is a full blown toddler! I have enjoyed every minute of his life. He's been such a sweet baby.

Your Mama loves you, Mr. Brenaman!

My Good Lookin' Dudes!

2010-11-08T16:25:00.003-05:00

Nathan had a few hours off in the middle of the day on Friday. I think Brenan liked having his daddy all to himself. =)

Since Brenan turns 2 tomorrow we decided he needed his own mini daddy church outfit. He and Nathan looked so handsome (his hair looks a little nutso in this picture though! Time for a haircut!).

I love these boys of mine. Even if one of them dumped a full can of mandarin oranges (in light syrup) all over my living room carpet this morning. That was the best.

Happy Haunting!

2010-10-31T21:50:00.005-04:00

We have crammed all of our October fun into one weekend! Trunk of Treat, Seaworld's Howl-O-Scream, pumpkin carving, Krispy Kreme Donuts, Halloween breakfast and a Halloween party! We've been busy! Our ward's Trunk or Treat was super fun - there was a bounce house, cotton candy and popcorn! Next time they need to have an adult bounce house and it will be perfect! =) Here is our ghoulish family: pizza delivery zombie, tooth fairy, ghost, vampire, and our pet dragon.

Sometimes the fact that I don't edit my pictures works in my favor! Look how spooky they look with their blood red eyes! Sweet. Thanks camera!

Nathan stuck some vampire teeth in Brenan's mouth. He wasn't too happy about it but we couldn't stop laughing! Bren has become pretty anti-camera. He won't hold still and he won't smile and he won't look at the camera! When we do get a good one we consider it a miracle. =)

Our day at Seaworld:

Pumpkin carving:

Happy Halloween!!

I Love You, November! You're only 4 days away!!

2010-10-27T23:37:00.006-04:00

I'm ready to bid farewell to the month of October! It's just been one of those months. Five good things happened though:

1. We got a visit from my mom! Hooray!!
Look! She knows how to make crazy faces too! =)

We mostly just hung out around the house (more on that later). But right before we took her to the airport on Friday we went to the Alamo and Chipotle!

2. Keslie's birthday (see post!)
3. Nathan's birthday(see post!)
4. We discovered our love of PSYCH (the TV show). It makes us laugh so much! Doesn't he look like a mix between Ben Stiller and JD from Scrubs? It's hilarious - we highly recommend it!

5. Tessa got married to Addison! Look at them - they are beautiful. And Tessa is wearing pink shoes. Be still my heart! Why didn't I think to wear pink shoes! I'm so happy for them! I just wish I could have been there!

And this picture is so darn cute! However, it's just missing two very important sisters - me and Hannah!!
Why am I ready to say good-bye to October? When I last posted about my ectopic pregnancy I had just gotten my first dose of Methotrexate. Well, that first dose didn't do the trick so they gave me a second dose - it HURT like the dickens. Four shots in all. Ouch! When I went in a week later they said that my hormone levels were finally going down so it was working! I was feeling fabulous that day - energetic, happy, and back to normal. Then that night I stood up from the couch and was hit with severe nausea and bad pains in my abdomen. I thought maybe it was just gas??? But I could hardly walk so we decided to go back to the hospital just in case. Nathan gave me a blessing and we left the kids in good hands (thanks Heather!). The Dr. didn't seem too concerned - she thought it was probably a side effect of the Methotrexate. That seemed weird to me because it had been 2 weeks since my first dose and a week since my second. Wouldn't I have had the pains before that? Anyway, as soon as she did the ultrasound I could tell something was wrong. There were big, black spots all over the place. SO, after 4 painful shots of Methotrexate my dang fallopian tube STILL ruptured (they said it was shredded!) and I was bleeding into my belly and behind my ovaries. I was pretty sure I was going to die at this point. I just wanted some reassurance and I looked for it twice. Right after she told me they would need to do emergency surgery I asked if I could die - she said "I don't think so". Then, when another Dr. asked me if I had any questions I tried to laugh and ask if I would die and he said "Well, I can never guarantee 100% that you won't". I understand that, but come on! Would it have hurt to say that it's rare and that they had caught it in time and that I would be just fine? I'm a psycho. I know! Anyway, I got to undergo my second surgery in less than a month! They told me they took my left ovary and fallopian tube but I found out at my appt. a couple days ago that they only took the tube. Sweet! =) And that is why my mom came. And why Nathan's birthday was pretty crappy. Monday night when Nathan was picking up my mom Anika puked all over her room. Seriously. I think she leaned over her bed rail and did the sprinkler with her head. Then she came downstairs and threw up. It was a HORRIBLE stomach flu. Nathan left for Dallas the next morning and Kes and Brenan both got it on Wednesday. If my mom hadn't been here I think I would have just sat down on the floor and bawled! Since she was there we were able to find the humor in the situation. We just looked at each other and laughed a couple times! It was insane! I am so glad she came! I'm not supposed to lift anything over 20 lbs for 6 weeks. That didn't last long - as soon as Brenan was covered in throw up I was pulling him out of bed and throwing him in the tub. Hopefully I don't get a hernia - I've been lifting like normal ever since. How do you not lift when you have kids?!! Anyway, I have high hopes for November!

Here we are - 3 VERY sick kids and me right after surgery. =)

The recovery wasn't so bad. I was pretty sore and my shoulders hurt really bad (from the gas they used) but it only lasted a few days. I was feeling SO much better by Thursday. I've been to the hospital and had more blood draws, ultrasounds, surgeries, and shots in one month than I would want in my whole life. I'm so grateful for the love and concern that we've felt from family and friends! I'm very thankful to be alive. =) I'm thankful that they used superglue on my incisions because it was SUPER fun to peel off. My whole belly button was full of the glue and it was amazing to pick it out of there! =) And because I am not not having a baby in May, I will be able to go to CT as planned. I'm super excited about that! I have a second chance to work off this baby weight from Brenan. I will NOT be sick for the holidays. I can ride roller coasters. Just looking at the bright side! Of course, none of those things are as great as having a sweet, chubby baby of my own in my arms! It's okay though. I'm doing great - emotionally and physically. Except for my a little toe on my right foot. I stubbed it tonight and it's hurting A LOT. I'm pretty sure I broke it. Me and door jams. We just don't get along! =)

Happy Birthday Nathan!!

2010-10-18T21:28:00.004-04:00

He lives with a bunch of weirdos!
But they are weirdos that love him!
I hope he gets what he wished for because he deserves it. All he's done is take care of me today and clean up our house to get ready for my mom to come to town. He should have gotten to sit back and do nothing!

I love you so much! I know this wasn't a very fun day for you but I promise we will make it up to you!! Thank you for being so wonderful and kind and patient and fun! You are amazing!!

Power Tunes and a Whole Lotta Prayer!!

2010-10-14T14:56:00.006-04:00

That is the recipe for being a happy mom. =) When I'm in a "slump" I go over my "How to Be Happy checklist" in my head to find out what I'm missing. So, what was missing for me? I'll tell you right now - Power Tunes!! I hadn't listened to my Power Tunes for several months and I was FEELING it. This CD is the soundtrack for my LIFE. I grew up with it and I LOVE it and it makes me "happy and cheerful, happy and cheerful in everything I do"! This CD is the best of the best children's music (it's great for adults too!)and is guaranteed to make even the crustiest person smile. =) It is full of wonderful songs that teach great values in a fun way. It's the good kind of brainwashing! Check out this song list and click on the song to listen to a sound clip. If I HAD to pick my top 5 for you to listen to they would be: Attitude, Enthusiasm, Determination, Industry, Courage, Cheerfulness, Integrity, Overcoming... Oops - just realized I've gone over five! Just listen to all of them because they are the BOMB.COM. Forgive me Nathan. (He hates it when I say that. Apparently, I'm not as cool as I think I am). =) Anyway, here they are:

You can thank me later. This CD is back in my van's CD player where it belongs. If you see me driving up and down the road with a big, goofy grin it's because I'm listening to "Courage" or "Enthusiasm" or "industry"!

And for the times when you see me using my phone as a microphone and shaking my other hand by my ear and snapping (if you've seen me dance then you know what I'm talking about!) I am probably taking a break from my Power Tunes to listen to my song of the moment. If I'm at a stoplight I might pop my head back and forth and throw in some shoulder action and then I'll throw my hands up in the air and sing:

" I Throw My Hands Up In The Air Sometimes, Saying Ay-Oh, Gotta Let go. I wanna celebrate and live my life!"

Catchy, right? It needs to be turned up pretty loud for it to have the best effect. I can't wait to be in the car with one of my sisters while this one is on because we will ROCK IT. A couple of my girlfriends went with me to a movie on Friday night - since I missed out on the traditional sister bachelorette movie night (the one where we dance in front of the theater when the movie is over!). It was great and they are always so willing to indulge me when I want to take dorky pictures. I think they secretly like it! =) My favorite picture of the night was this one:

Thank you for indulging me girls! It was just what I needed.

Bo-peepin' squeakins is 5 YEARS OLD!!

2010-10-14T13:59:00.006-04:00

Keslie has already put 5 years of life behind her! I like to think they've been good years and that she's made some happy first memories. =) She is SO easy to please and because of that I think her birthday was dreamy! She chose Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast and got to open her presents right when she woke up. She doesn't show her excitement very much but all day talked about how much she loved her new panda and her puzzles and her "keymote patrol" Strawberry Shortcake car. =) She played at Hallie's house in the morning and then took cupcakes to school. After the girls got home they played a "story" until it was time for the big dinner! I always let them choose their meal and Keslie did not disappoint! She chose macaroni and tomato juice. It's a winner every time! =) Then we had a couple friends come over for cake and ice cream and that was it. We didn't have a big party. We didn't even go out for pizza at Chuckie Cheese and she was still talking about what a great day it was. I asked her what her favorite part of the day was and her answer was THE PRESENTS (shocker!).
Here are some pictures from preschool. She shared her birthday with Justine from school. Her mom took these pictures for me!

The "party":

Here are our birthday cake guests - none of the kids wanted to cooperate but I think both Heather and Meg look super cute so I put the pictures up anyway!

The Saturday before her birthday we met up with Brooke, Scott, Drew, and Taylor for dinner so we could celebrate Drew and Keslie's birthdays together. Kes freaked out when we sang happy birthday to them because "it wasn't her birthday!". She loved the cupcakes and her new Zoobles though! AND we didn't get kicked out for lighting candles! *BIG sigh of relief!*

I think this picture is funny - if they weren't brother and sister I would say they look really cute together. =)

Keslie is one of the most amazing little people I know. Sometimes she is misunderstood. Her shyness is often interpreted as unfriendliness but unfriendly is a word that should never be put in the same sentence as someone as sweet and kind as Keslie. She loves to share, especially with Anika. They are "best friends forever"! If she gets in trouble or messes up she gets very embarrassed and quietly leaves the room. I usually find her sobbing on her bed covered with blankets. She doesn't want to be touched or snuggled until things are cleared up and she knows we are okay. She loves to snuggle when she feels safe and secure but as soon as her world isn't right with her she closes in on herself. It's been tough learning how to discipline her without having her shut down. I think we are finally figuring her out though. She's like an m&m - tough on the outside and super soft and wonderful on the inside. =) She is very smart and has a great imagination. I love her laugh and her cute phrases! She says "What the heck" in front of a lot of things and "That was amazing!" and she sometimes pops her head back and forth when she talks to make herself extra sassy. We love her and our home would be lost without her cute, LOUD voice and her fun-loving personality! Happy Birthday Keslie!