Brandon's Birthday

Now it is Brandon's turn to celebrate his 3rd birthday. It fell on a Sunday so we attended church in the morning. We just switched our church schedule at the beginning of September and I'm so excited to have 9am church for the next year. Here in Utah they change church schedules at the start of the school year. Different than the rest of the country, I know. Once we got home, we had lunch and then put the kids down for naps (another reason to love 9am church - they get naps again on Sundays). I decorated Brandon's cake during that time and got dinner ready. We did presents first, had dinner, and finished his birthday with cake and ice cream. He scored big time with his presents. I was worried at first he wouldn't have much to open so the last couple weeks I added some items and then he got packages from both grandparents so he was set.

They each got new toothbrushes - Tinker Bell and Peter Pan

He loved the airplanes and they are perfect for church

This was his favorite thing by far since he is crazy about Star Wars. I got one for both kids but they were gone by the next morning. Brandon was hitting everything in sight so I think they'll stay hidden for another year or so.

He kept followng Briana around trying to get her to take her lightsaber so they could fight. She wasn't into it as much as him.

Brandon's racetrack cake

Happy 3rd Birthday Brandon!!!

Girl's Camp Pictures

Here are some pictures from Girl's Camp and as you can tell from the pics, we had a blast!!

Our "camping grounds". This cabin in Bear Lake is owned by our Camp Director.

I know, I know...we totally had it easy.

Me, Angie-2nd counslor, Leslie-Beehive advisor, Ken Morley-priesthood leader, and Cindy-camp director just hanging out waiting on the girls

All the YW and the pillowcases we made for them during mutual the week before we left. They turned out so cute.

Leslie and me

(I look huge in this picture. I swear it is the sweatshirt....I swear!!)

Our YW Leaders:

Cindy-camp director Lisa-YW President, myself-MM advisor, Kathy-1st counslor

We ate so good while at camp. Dinner this night was salad, spagetti, and breadsticks

This became the usually after dinner was cleaned up every night for the leaders. Occasionally some of the girls would join in the game too.

Beach Time!!

My horrible canoe experience. We could not keep that thing steady!!

Tubing!! I am on the yellow tube on the far right

This round I'm on the smalll red tube (far left) by myself.

Bro. Willmore who was driving the boat was trying to get me to fall off but he did not succeed. As you can see though, a couple times he got really close!!

Our final night after testimony meeting.

Star Wars Monsters

I think I've made a big mistake. It all started on this particular Friday (a week and couple days ago) that I did deep cleaning in the house and organized the garage and cleaned it out so it basically took me most of the day. After showering around 3:30pm and having the kids wake up from their naps soon after, I was so exhausted that all I wanted to do was sit and watch a movie. But not a kid movie. I wanted to watch one of mommy's movies (as I told it to Briana). Looking through my limited DVD collection, I decided on Star Wars thinking that maybe the kids will be okay with it and maybe watch it with me. They were fascinated and watched it with me with big eyes while Luke Skywalker and friends defeated the Empire. We ended up watching the whole movie and as soon as it was over, Brandon turned to me and said, "More Star Wars?" repeating it over and over. My first thought was, "This is great. We can take a break away from Toy Story and Cinderella for awhile." Little did I know that both kids would ask to see Star Wars all day long and everyday since then. Even after Brandon's naps, the first words out of his mouth when I go to get him is, "Star Wars? Star Wars?" We went to Walmart this week and passed the toy section and at the end of the row were tons of lightsabers. They both pointed together and said, "Star Wars". I went over to them and handed each of them one and once I did that, there was no giving it back. Luckily they were only $7.00 and Brandon's birthday is next week so I gave in to the impulse buy. They both ask about Darth Vader during the movie and wonder where he is when he is not on the TV and they know C3PO and R2D2 or "the robots" as they call them. Tonight when we turned the movie off after having watched it for the 2nd time that day, Brandon freaked out and cried for what seemed like forever. I'm starting to regret introducing the movie to them in the first place because they are crazy about it now. I guess there are worse things though that they could be into then loving the Star Wars movies. Hmmm.... I wonder if I did this to my mom when I was a kid because I loved the Star Wars movies too?

3-Part Day Trip

My aunt was having a birthday party Saturday afternoon at her house in Orem so we decided to make a day of it with a couple stops along the way. We told the kids we were going on a trip so everytime we stopped Briana would ask, "Is this part of our trip?". So here are the 3 parts to our day trip.


Part 1: Park City. We left the house at 9am and headed to the outlet mall there in Park City. We weren't shopping for anything in particular but Eddie Bauer was having a 70% sale so both Craig and I got some things. I wanted to look at the Carter's store for the kids but the line was out the door so we just kept on walking. We lasted about 1 1/2 hours until the kids and I were ready for lunch. We had lunch at Bajio (kinda like a Chipotle) and then headed to Heber City.


Part 2: Midway. We thought we'd check on Swiss Days which is held in a small town called Midway west of Heber. I had heard about Swiss Days from ladies at church who said how fun it is to go to. We drove down the main street first just to check it out and it like driving down a country road of Switzerland. It was the coolest little town. We had to park forever away and take a shuttle to the main area of the festival. Unfortunately I left the camera in the car too so I don't have any pictures of this cute town. It was so crowded that it was hard to even get close to any of the craft booths to see what they were selling. We stopped to get some drinks and find some shade from the heat. We hadn't been there long but the kids were tired since we skipped their naps and it was so hot that we decided to head back to the car. Instead of taking the shuttle though I decided we should walk since our car was down at the other end of main street. Craig complained the whole time since he had to deal with Brandon while I pushed Briana in the stroller and enjoyed passing the local stores and homes on the way.


Part 3: Orem. On our way to Orem, both kids slept in the car and Craig and I enjoyed the beautiful drive through Provo Canyon. We got to my aunt's house early but I was able to help out in the kitchen getting ready for the barbeque. All my cousins and their families were there and we celebrated birthdays for 4 kids all turning 3 years old. Briana is the oldest with her birthday on 8/19. Then my cousin Rachelle's daughter who's birthday is 8/21. Then my other cousin Aaron's daughter turned 3 on 9/1 and then finally Brandon who's birthday is 9/14. This is the 2nd year we've done this so I was prepared this time bringing the kid's bathing suits and pajamas. The kids played in the kiddie pool while the adults ate and then we had cake and ice cream. The weather had cooled down a ton so it was nice sitting outside and visiting with family who I don't see very often. Before we left, we bathed the kids and then got the car loaded for the hour long drive home. We pulled into our driveway at 9:30pm and both kids were asleep. It had been a long but great day for us. We don't do day trips like that very much and now that the kids are getting older, I hope we can do this more often.

The birthday kids

My aunt Dana and cousins Rachelle and Shannon (in chair)

Brandon got a huge piece of cake and ate every bite!!

My cousin's wife Christine did body outlines of all the kids

A family photo before heading home with everyone's eye on the camera and smiling...this is a first!!

Beautiful Sky

We finally got some rain over the weekend. This is our 2nd summer here and it just doesn't rain at all for months. I guess I have to remember that we are in the dessert even though there aren't cactus anywhere and people don't have rocks for yards. On Sunday afternoon a storm was rolling in and I got some great shots from the backyard of the sky promising rain.

Backyard Fun and Cousin Brooke

While shopping for the kid's birthday presents, I got these battery operated bubble blowers that I knew they'd love. I gave each of them one for Briana's birthday and they have been having a blast in the backyard today playing with it. I love that I can sit at my kitchen table and look out from a huge window into my backyard and see everything the kids are doing. All they want to do all day is go outside so it is nice that I can let them out to play but I don't always have to follow.

Since Monday, Craig's sister Kathy and her 11 month old daugther Brooke have been staying with us. Kathy is here for work so I've been watching Brooke for her during the day. She is such a good baby and my kids have enjoyed having her around. It is always nice to have family come for a visit since we don't have much close by. I have some cousins and my aunt who all live an hour away and we'll be seeing them this weekend so this week will be packed full of family visits. We didn't get out of the house at all yesterday so today I planned on taking them to the park and then stopping off at the store to get a couple things. I get all 3 kids strapped in, two diaper bags loaded up, and then go to start the car and it is completely dead. How frustrating but whatever, the kids ended up playing around the house and in the backyard and I got some cute pictures with all 3 kids together. Really just Briana and Brooke since Brandon couldn't sit down long enough!!

Love is Spoken Here

The kids and I were hanging out in the kitchen the other day. I was making dinner and they were playing with their toys. Brandon is the most affectionate child and he went over to Briana and spread out his arms and said "hug, hug". She dropped her doll and they gave each other a big hug. Briana then started to pat Brandon's back and said "love you brother". My hand went to my chest and my jaw dropped at what I had just witnessed. I'll admit - I almost started to cry. I was so proud at that moment to have my children express such love to each other. Wishing I had my camera right then and there, I hurried and grabbed it and asked them if they could give each other another hug. Since they were both in a loving mood, they quickly continued to hug each other over and over so I could get some great pictures.

Briana's New Look and our Swing Set

While mowing the lawn yesterday, the kids were playing on our new swing set. I'll explain below the story about getting that. Since the kids can't swing themselves yet, they have learned to do the superman swing - lay their tummies on the swing and push off from the ground. I had just finished the lawn when I heard Briana screaming. I look over and see her in the dirt having fallen off the swing. She must have tipped over head first into the ground because her face was all dirty and she had lots of scraps by her eye. This morning her eye is swollen a little but at least it looks like it is starting to heal.

Now about our new swing set. It is new to us but it's actually 8 years old. I was checking the online classified ads for our area and found someone giving away their swing set. I called immediately since things like a swing set go quickly around here - especially when it is free. I happened to be the first caller and told him we'd be there the next day to come get it. He had already disassembled it for us and it was easy to put back together in our yard. It is a little rusty and wobbly when both kids are swinging but I don't care - it was FREE!!!

Briana turned 3 years old

Wow they grow up fast!! Briana has amazed me these last couple months on how much she has learned and understands about things. She talked about her birthday to everybody that would listen over the last couple of weeks and couldn't wait for the day. We meet daddy for lunch at Chili's and while the kids napped, I decorated Briana's birthday cake. I wanted to make a crown - fit for a princess - but it didn't turn out exactly how I wanted but it worked. She loved it and that is all that mattered anyway. She scored this year on presents getting clothes, toys, videos, and daddy and I got her a play kitchen. We've noticed that in Nursery at church, she plays with the play kitchen in there all the time. I told my mom about it so she sewed me some oven mitts, dish towels, and a cute apron for her. She and Brandon played with the kitchen the rest of the night and made pretend cookies for daddy and me. So cute!!

Girl's Camp

I was gone from Tuesday night to Friday afternoon at Girl's Camp for my church last week and had a blast. I'm in the Young Women's organization and teach 14-15 year old girls. I didn't know if I'd be able to go because of my kids but luckily I have great neighbors that each took a day to watch my kids while Craig dropped them off in the mornings and then picked them up after work. I'm so glad that I got a chance to go because I feel so much closer to the other YW leaders and the girls too. We stayed at our Camp Director's cabin up at Bear Lake and hung out at the beach everyday. I know, I know...it really shouldn't be called "camp" because we stayed in a house with a full kitchen, 3 bathrooms, family room and all the leaders shared bedrooms. I think I actually put on weight that week too because we ate so well. Each day we made cute crafts and did all different kinds of activities around the cabin and then each afternoon was beach time. On Thursday, our last full day, we went boating. We had three boats up there so there was plenty of tubes, waterskies, and wakeboards to go around so everyone had a chance to try what they wanted. I went tubing the whole time and laughed so much I lost my voice. Kathy (one of the leaders) and myself practically claimed a tube as ours and went tubing almost every time. I actually tube jumped on accident. Okay...I really lost my grip when our tube collided with another tube and I rolled from my tube to another. For a second there I was sitting up on the tube processing what had just happened and then got down to hold on for dear life. The only problem was that there were two girls on the tube I landed on so I was pretty much on top of one of the girls. Poor Ashleigh!! I kept telling her to hold on so that we wouldn't fall off and I saw my tube heading back our way so I jumped back onto it without falling off. I couldn't believe I had just done that. I really wish someone had a video camera to catch that one!! I had so much fun with the other leaders and haven't laughed that hard in a long time. All the girls got along so great and everyone just hung out with everyone else, no click groups or anything!! We are so lucky to have the best young women!! Of course, the only bad thing about Girl's Camp was the lack of sleep I got. I really have gotten used to my 7 hours a night and it was hard to go to bed at 2am and get up at 7am. The first night I only slept 3 hours...maybe. Kathy who I roomed with had ambien so I took one and looked forward to a full night sleep. Minutes before I was about to drift off in a deep sleep, I hear girls outside our door. Kathy and I get up and heard the girls head to the other leaders room next to ours. So Kathy and I climbed out our window and banged on the window to give them a good scare. They screamed so loud - it was awesome!! Later on we found out that while they were outside our room, the had saran-wrapped our door shut so we couldn't get out. Luckily Kathy who is the scrapbooking queen had scissors so with some pulling, we got the door open just enough for her to cut us free. Okay... so back to that night...once we finally all got back into bed it was almost 2am and I was wide awake. Desperate for sleep, I took another ambien and I was OUT!! Everyone was up at 7:30am and I tried my best but when I started bumping into walls, I had to go back to bed. A couple hours later having missed breakfast completely, I was up and refreshed. What a night. I don't think I've slept that hard in a long time. Driving home on Friday, it was hard to get myself back into mommy/wife mode. I really had such a good time and it was nice to have a couple days to escape all the dirty diapers, time-outs, cooking, cleaning, peacemaking, being the receptionist, mail collector, bill payer, comforter, and telling my kids for the millionth time to close the door, come here, don't touch that, get out of the fridge, and that we aren't going outside right now!!

Can't wait for Girl's Camp next year!!

I will post some pictures soon!!

Legacy of An Adopted Child

My mom sent me this poem that she found and it is truly beautiful. Being an adoptive mother of two children, I couldn't help the emotions I felt (crying my eyes out to be honest) after reading this. I hope this touches your heart as well.

Once there were two women

Who never knew each other;

One you do not remember

The other you call Mother.

Two different lives, shaped to make yours one;

One became your guiding star,

The other became your sun.

The first gave you life,

And the second taught you to live it.

The first gave you a need for love,

And the second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality,

The other gave you a name.

One gave you the seed of talent

The other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions,

The other calmed your fears.

One saw your first sweet smile

The other dried your tears.

One gave you away-it was all she could do,

The other prayed for a child-and God led her straight to you.

And now you ask me, through your tears,

The age-old question unanswered through the years:

Heredity or Environment-which are you the product of?

Neither my darling, neither,

Just two different kinds of love.

Breaking Dawn

Now that I have returned to the living after a 3 day absence since picking up the last book in the Twilight Series, I have to say that I didn't care for this one as I do for the other 3 books from Stephenie Meyer. What captured my minor obsession about the Twilight books is the passionate relationship between Bella and Edward who happens to be a vampire. Their love for each other and the sexual tension was crazy which kept me on the edge of my seat. Edward had to continually stop them from becoming too physical for fear of hurting her since she was human and that made her breakable. In Breaking Dawn, they get married among other things (I don't want to give too much away) so that same passion and yearning has changed into something else. This last book also started to get a little "out there" with the whole vampire mythology, werewolves, and their special powers stuff that it was too much for me to swallow. I am glad to have read it to find out if they have a happy ending and all but I don't see myself re-reading this book again like I have with the first 3 books.