Brandon - Amber - Ashlyn - Brooklyn - Parker

Happy Anniversary!

2012-01-25T13:36:00.000-08:00

Last night we celebrated our 8 year anniversary! We went up to Park City for a nice dinner since we decided not to go anywhere this year. We went to the J&G Grill and it was DELICIOUS! We both loved everything we got. The chef even sent out this yummy desert for us!

It was really pretty too...in order for you to get to the restaurant you get to ride in this finicular up to the restaurant. It so beautiful to look out over Park City at night with all the snow. It reminded me of the day we got married and how crazy it was snowing! Taking pictures outside the temple was so cold but it was so pretty with the biggest snowflakes I had ever seen. That day was so perfect! I am so thankful for marrying my best friend! Its amazing that its been 8 years already but on another note I feel like we have always been together, it's hard to imagine life before I was married to Brandon. He is seriously my prince charming! He is so thoughtful, the best daddy to our kids, he is so much fun to be around and talk to, he is so loving, and he is the man of my dreams! I don't know how I got so lucky to fall in love with him and to be married to him for eternity! I love every day knowing I get to spend it with my sweetheart!

So I did something kinda fun for him when he got home from work I had 8 balloons in our room each with a little note of some of the things I love about him! And he was so sweet and brought these beautiful flowers home for me!

Happy Anniversary Hunny! Here's to another wonderfully awesome 8 years! :)

CHRISTMAS!!

2011-12-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

We love Christmas time at our house we decorate way too early and do so many fun things throughout the season! This year I decided to do with our Christmas advent calendar to have the girls do something fun each day of December until Christmas. They loved it! Then we also got the opportunity through Brandon's work to participate in their night of giving. So we got to go as a family and shop for 3 little girls. The girls were around my girls ages so they got really excited to help pick out a new outfit, a toy, and one other thing that they each needed. Ashlyn especially was so into it. We picked it all out then went back to his work and wrapped it all up and put it in a big "Santa-like" bag to take to the families. Ashlyn was kinda bummed she didn't get to deliver it herself but she was so very excited to give the little girls Christmas presents. I hope we can do this as a family every year it sure made us realize how blessed we are!

We were able to go up to Boise for just 3 short days and see our family before Christmas. We enjoyed our time with all of them and are very thankful for all that they do for us and for such wonderful family! The kiddos got to do our traditional cookie bake at my moms house then we did our secret santa gifts with my family and a big yummy dinner. Parker got this really cute truck to sit on with tools and blocks, he just loves it! Then the next day we spent with Brandon's family its so nice to be able to get along and spend time with family! We did our usual Christmas eve day with them even though it was a day early for us to get back to Utah. We had good fun with singing carols, eating dinner, opening gifts, and talking. What a wonderful start to all the Christmas festivities! The kiddos loved playing with all their cousins, they miss them so much!

Ashlyn and Carson making cookies at cookie bake!

Brookie into her cookie decorating

Parker Boy say cheese!

All us Bailey girls!!

Opening at Grandma Baileys

Parker and Daddy checking out the cool new tractor

The boys playing phone games! Looks like they are having a blast

Grandpa Read reading the Christmas story

Brooklyn and her new baby

Ashlyn super excited about her easy bake oven

Christmas morning! Look what Santa left ?!

Yeah for Christmas!

Ashlyn's lalaloopsy doll!

Parker said "Car" for the first time when he opened up his car!

Helping put together his car track!

Santa's key to come in since we don't have a fireplace! (He mailed it from the North Pole and the girls opened it on Christmas Eve to leave on the door knob to let him in)

Santa's footprints!

Brookie Boo and her feeding baby!! She is just in love with baby dolls, its so cute!

We then left early Christmas Eve morning to come back home to spend Christmas as a family. The girls were so excited!! We did some fun Christmas activities then got all ready for Santa to come. We opened pajamas, set out milk and cookies, read a Christmas story by the tree, and then watched a movie on Christs birth. The girls must have been super tired because they went to bed early which was nice considering the things we had to put together and do. :) The next morning Ashlyn woke up and went and peeked to see what Santa had brought then came running in "Mom Dad!! Santa came!!" (Usually Brandon and I wake up before them and wait around until they wake up) so we all then had a wonderful Christmas morning opening presents. Then I made for the first year scones (just like my mom always makes on Christmas morning) and a big breakfast. The whole day was spent as a family just hanging out! Now we are totally addicted to the xbox kinect Disneyland game. Our Christmas has been wonderful! I am so very thankful for my sweet family and for such a loving husband! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Dance Recitals

2011-12-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn's Dance Recital

My sweet Brookie and me

Santa came to watch the Christmas dance recital!

Ashlyn's school class after their Christmas song!

Ashlyn's Christmas dance recital

Always posing!

This year the girls Christmas dance recitals were so cute! Their teachers are just so darling with them! So we had all in one day; Brooklyn's dance recital, Ashlyn's school music program, and Ashlyn's dance recital. They both did so good in their dances!! It was a crazy busy day but nice to have it all done! :)

Thankgiving

2011-12-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

My Mom and me doing the traditional Thanksgiving rolls!

Getting excited to ride the train

At the "North Pole" with Grandma Read

Sitting on Santa's lap...Parker not liking it so much!

Telling Santa what they all want for Christmas!

Thanksgiving was great this year! We went up to Boise to spend it with all of our family. We had Thanksgiving dinner with Brandons family on Wednesday then on Thursday we had Thanksgiving dinner with my family. It was special this year at my families house because we were all together it had been two years since we all were together. It was so great to get together with all of our family and spend lots of time with them! Black Friday was always great with kicking it off at good old Sharis for breakfast with my fam then off to shop for the day! On Saturday we went on the Holiday express train to see Santa and the North Pole. It was so much fun the kiddos got to ride on a train for the first time. Which Brooklyn was in heaven! Parker even loved sitting there looking out the train window. The got to play with cousins on the ride and then Santa came and sat down with them and asked what they each wanted for Christmas and talked to them a little bit. It was so cute! Ashlyn jumped right in and said all she wanted but Brooklyn was a little more hesitant. Luckily the only was she would get close to Santa or talk to him is by sitting or talking to Mrs. Claus, luckily she was there too! :) Parker....well he wasn't too thrilled to sit on Santa's lap! Maybe next year. We had just so much fun with our families! It was a great Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

At the Halloween Express train ride!

My sweet Little Merdmaid!

Decorating pumpkins

This was a big day she loves playing wedding so when she got to be a bride all day long it was the best day ever! My Cinderella Bride

My Monster! He loved his outfit we put it on him and he gave us the cheesiest smile ever it was super cute!

So I am a little behind posting Halloween but I guess better late than never for my blog book. This year was really fun! We carved tons of pumpkins. When we finally finished we had a Rapunzel, Snow White, Minnie Mouse, Lightening McQueen, Spiderman, a happy jack-lantern, and Jack Skelington. We went a little pumpkin carving crazy but super fun!While we were carving Parker thought it would be fun to try and eat the pumpkins he of course like it just like everything else he puts in his mouth...the little stinker. :) The kiddos got to dress up 3 times! Once for ward trunk or treat, once for the Halloween dance recital, and then for Halloween! Halloween the girls really wanted me to dress up especially because I was helping in Ashlyns class. So I was Jessi/cowgirl it was fun to dress up! Ashlyn was Cinderella bride, Brooklyn was Little Mermaid or as she says it Little Merdmaid, and Parker was a monster. We did Ashlyn's school party which was totally fun then a couple of us from the neighborhood went to trick or treating in the park and let the kids play for a little bit, then over in Linden there is a real train that a couple families make into this really cool Halloween train ride so we went and checked that out. It was so cool with music coordinating with the scenes throughout the ride. Brooklyn loved it! She loves trains and to get to ride a real one was totally awesome. Then of course trick or treating in the neighborhood. The kids had a blast! Topping off the evening with our usual homemade chilli and cornbread. :) Happy Halloween!

Parent Teacher Conference

2011-11-17T19:17:00.000-08:00

I had my very first parent teacher conference a couple weeks ago and I was kinda nervous but excited at the same time! So at the first of the year Ashlyn's teacher asked if Ashlyn would be a part of an extra reading group after school 2 days a week. I had really mixed emotions about it thinking she was way behind and then she explained it to me that it was for the average students just for them to get extra reading time. So I talked to my mother inlaw, my sister, and my mom and they all said why not do it it can only help her and kids her age love the extra time at school. So I went ahead and had Ashlyn be in Super Readers Club (that's what we call it)! She totally loves it and when she gets home all she wants to do is read more! I am loving how much she reads. So at parent teacher conferences her teacher was telling me that she was just doing so great in school and she loves to help out around the class room which she said was really sweet. Then she told me that she just moved Ashlyn to the top reading group in her class and that she is becoming a wonderful reader! YEAH!! I was so extremely happy! Her teacher is just so sweet and started to tear up and said that watching Ashlyn grasp a hold of reading and find a love for it is what being a teacher is all about and that she is so happy to be her teacher. I am so happy for her teacher and how caring she is and how great Ashlyn is doing in school. She loves every minuet of it! I am having so much fun watching her grow as a student!

Riding 2 wheelers!

2011-10-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

So a couple weekends ago Ashlyn decided it was time to step it up and ride a two wheeler. So Brandon helped her get the hang of it and off she went just about a half hour of help. She was so excited and is doing awesome! Her little friends like to race starting at the top of our driveway and go across the street up the long driveway. She loved to ride down the road then use her break and see how big of a streak she made on the road. It's so fun to watch her and see how much she loves riding with her neighbor friends! I can't believe how fast she learned. What really amazes me is since Ashlyn learned to ride her two wheeler Brooklyn of course wants to be just like her big sister and asked for about a week if she could learn too. So Brandon and I thought well why not let her test it out and see how she does. So last Saturday Brandon took off her training wheels and started teaching her. Well only about 10 minuets later she was off riding it all by herself!! Stopping with her breaks and turning. Now Brooklyn is our little spunky and a bit crazy one! She is all over the place. She looks so adorable with her unicorn (yes I said it) unicorn helmet riding like crazy up and down the street! She is so proud of herself. And now the moment she wakes up she says "Mommy I want to ride my two wheeler bike! (with her little accent)" So that is what we do! :) The weather has just been so nice to be outside with the beautiful fall weather! I just can't believe both girls are riding two wheelers now!

Crazy Crafting!

2011-10-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

So these past like two weeks I have had the crafting bug! It's been so much fun! So I thought I would share some of the fun things I have been doing!

This was my favorite project we painted around the pictures and I made the saying on my cricut. Then my awesome handy man of a husband cut one of our old tables down and I painted it to be an entry table. I just love how it all turned out!

Sorry this picture is sideways. I finally finished the girls quiet books for church. I had so much fun putting them together and letting the girls help and put in their input on what they wanted on some of the pages. They actually play with them during sacrament meeting and it helps them be quiet, hence the name "quiet books" it is named that for a reason I truly believe that now! :)

My little pumpkins! Brandon cut them for me with some extra wood we had . Then with some sanding and a little paint, they turned into some cute fall decor.

We had a girls crafting night last week to make holiday wreaths! This was
the one I made out of burlap (might I just say I love burlap)! My new girlfriends and neighbors are just amazing...I am so happy with our new house and neighborhood, it's awesome!

I found the idea on pintrest to make your own canvas so I tried it. So this now hangs in our dining room to remind us of our family rules! :)

I have a couple more projects in the works right now too so that will be for another post. But I just have to say I just love doing anything crafty, I think its my "outlet" (well other than shopping). But it's been really fun to be creative lately! :)

Dance Dance Dance

2011-10-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

Ash posing after dance

Brookie loved her class

So the girls started dance class 2 weeks ago and they love it! I am so happy with the studio and their teachers...much better than last year! So we are going to Center Stage and the studio is amazing!! All the teachers are well qualified and there have been tons of professional dancers come from the studio. We go on Thursdays, it makes for a long day but very worth doing both classes the same day to just have one big dance day. So Brooklyn's teacher is Miss Kim (reminds me of the fabulous Miss Kimber!) and she loves her. Brooklyn did dance and tap all by herself, she was very proud of herself. Then Ashlyn's teacher is actually Miss Kim's daughter, Miss Amber. They are just the cutest teachers for the girls. We are so happy and excited to go to dance each week. It's so fun to see my girls find a love for dance like I did and still do.

Daddy Daughter Date

2011-09-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when Brandon wants to take the girls on a date day without my supervision. We have a few pets....well kinda of. Brandon took the girls on a daddy daughter date last night. He told them that they get to pick out a pet! Ashlyn was so excited she thought she was going to pick out a dog or a cat and our sweet little Brooklyn was so excited that she was going to get a penguin! :) But they got to pick out some fish! :) They were stoked! When they came home they told me all about it and showed me their new pets as we all put the fish bowls together. Ashlyn named her big fish Big Boise State (because it is orange of course) and Brooklyn named her big fish Alley. All the small fish get new names every time we ask we will just call them the other 5. They are so excited and happy to have a pet to take care of! We all know what happened last time we had fish, oh that crazy Christmas party at our house with a bunch of 3 year-olds. Hopefully this time the fish will last a little longer! :)

1st Day of Kindergarten!

2011-09-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn made a little present for her teacher Ms. Rigby

Ashlyn and Emma

Tuesday, August 30th Ashlyn had her first day of Kindergarten! She is in afternoon kindergarten this year and just loves every minuet of it. The week before school started she went in for an assessment and when we walked into the school for it she was holding my hand and then started to rub my arm. (A little background on Ashlyn she is super confident and loves to meet new people and has talked about going to school for a long time. When she was little and on occasion now she will rub my arm for comfort to go to sleep) So told her you are going to do awesome and we get to meet your teacher this is going to be fun! She looked up at me and said "Mommy I'm nervous!" That was the first time I had seen this side of Ashlyn. As soon as we walked into her classroom she perked right up and I could tell she was going to be ok. A few days before I had a little break down thinking of my sweet little Ashlyn going off to school. I can't believe I she is old enough to be going to Kindergarten! I knew she was going to love it but it's still hard to think they grow up so fast. I was very excited to have her start her schooling chapter of her life. So the first day of school she was so excited she even got in the same class as her cute little friend Emma. They were super excited to be in the same class! :) I thought I was going to have a hard time and cry like a baby when I walked her into the classroom but I didn't! I gave her a little bracelet to wear so if she ever missed me while at school she could look down at her bracelet and it would be like I was holding her hand. So I think that helped me more than it helped her. :) I am so excited for her to learn and to go to school!

Paka Boy is 1!!!

2011-08-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm One!

Our little stud

Like Father Like Son....just adorable!

Opening his presents

He loved his cake!!

My darling Paka Boy

A flash back picture from the day he was born!

Parker turned 1, yep my baby boy is now 1! I can't believe how fast this past year has gone. While we were in town for the weekend we threw a little party for him. He is such a happy baby always doing his cheesy smile and just a truly happy boy. He wakes up happy and goes to bed happy. I am so proud of him he is my first baby to actually be on a good sleep schedule and yes sleeps through the night! He is on a great schedule he wakes up at 8:00 goes down for his first nap at 11:00 no matter what and has a second nap (yep 2 naps its wonderful) at 3:00 then actually goes to sleep at a normal baby time at 9:30. I am just so thankful to have him sleep so great. He has 3 teeth on the bottom and 3 teeth on the top so he looks like a cute little pumpkin when he smiles. Will eat everything in front of him and if you have food you better be ready to share because he has to have a little taste of yours too. He says mama and dada he is also starting to say ball he will pick it up and say ba and is starting to say this when he points at things. He chuckles and grunts all the time. He is left handed (Brandon has high hopes for him to be a left handed quarterback) its quite funny to have two of our kids being left handed but he is very much so a lefty. He's a very busy boy he has been walking for a good two and a half months now. He absolutely loves to play ball he will pick it up then try and throw it to you, its cute! He also loves trucks and is starting to say truck sounds when he plays. At his one year check up he was 26 pounds which is 90% and 31.8 inches in the 95% so he is still a big boy. He had so much fun opening his presents on his birthday and after a slight melt down (from his fat feet squished into shoes, he prefers to be barefoot) LOVED getting into his cake. I am so thankful for this sweet little boy I just love every waking moment I have with him! He is a true blessing in our lives. His big sisters are so sweet with him and he already puts up with them doing his hair and playing babies and dress up with him. I can't believe he is already 1! Happy Birthday to my sweet Parker boy! I love you so much son!

JORDAN IS HOME!!

2011-08-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Awaiting his arrival!

ELDER BAILEY HAVE ARRIVED!

The hug I was waiting for!

Yeah!! Look at that awesome missionary!

On Saturday July 30th Jordan cam home from his mission! I was so excited I could hardly stand it the whole week leading up to him coming home! We all were so excited to have everyone home for the first time in a little over 2 years! So he was scheduled to come in at 4:15 so we all had sings ready to go and we got a call from him a few hours before of him saying that he missed his connecting flight from it taking so long going through customs so his flight will be later than scheduled. So we were now going to to have to wait just a few extra hours no big deal for him to arrive at 7:00, well unfortunately we got another call from him (from a very nice man's cell phone that was on his same flight) that because of bad weather his flight now would be delayed and not come in until 11:45!! We were bummed but at least we could still see him that same day and we wouldn't have to wait another day. So with all that anticipation and waiting we FINALLY got to see him walk off the plane from serving his mission in Peubla, Mexico! It was amazing seeing him again. He looked incredibly happy, he seemed to have this beam and aura around him that everyone could tell what a successful missionary he had been! I have this amazing sister brother connection with Jordan that is very hard to describe. We seem to know each other so well and love to spend tons of time together! We even doing nothing always have a blast! :) I just love him so much I am so proud of him serving his mission each week when I got his email it was such a great day! I could tell immediately how he was feeling and could almost pictures his ups and downs of him on his mission. I just am so so proud of him!!! I couldn't stop hugging him! It was a long day but even when he had gotten up at 4 am and flown all day we still stayed up until 2 am (yes he was almost up 24 hours) talking and hearing his stories and he told them with a little accent!! Yes he has a little accent which is totally cool! Well I have to say I am so happy he is home and so grateful for his great example and his strong testimony. I feel to thankful to have Jordan as my brother and to have had him serve a mission for the past 2 years! He is one awesome brother! Welcome Home Elder Bailey!!!

4th of July

2011-07-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

The fourth was a little different this year we are in Gillette, Wyoming for two weeks here for Brandon's work. So we are somewhat living in a hotel but we were still able to make it fun! We had a BBQ like tradition and then the kiddos did pop its and sparklers until it got dark to do the rest of the fireworks. Pretty typical Ashlyn is still scared of all fireworks and will cover her ears to all of them, Brooklyn just thought they were so pretty and magical, and Parker loved every minuet of them clapping at the end of every firework. We also got to have Tyson spend it with us which is fun to spend lots of time with him! Happy fourth of July!

Parker Is Walking!

2011-07-08T17:43:00.000-07:00

Parker Walking

I had to post this because that is one awesome farmers tan he has going on!

CHEESE!!

For a while now he has been walking around holding onto the furniture and taking a couple steps here and there but he decided when we were in Boise that it was time to take off! So June 23rd he walked clear across the family room and hasn't stop walking since. He thinks he is just so big and when he walks he looks like a little frakenstein it's so cute! He will take teeny tiny steps and holds his arms out in front of him. :) I just love it when my babies start walking they just seem so much happier to move around. Parker loves music every time he hears it now he will dance by bouncing up and down it's just so cute and when he is in his car seat he will bounce his arm! He also is now 10 months old and he loves mac and cheese and is the bottom less pit! He can eat an entire easy mac package by himself! Yes he is preparing for his future football career! He also cut 3 teeth these past two weeks and its a matter of a couple of days until his front teeth cut through. His teeth have come in like a little pumpkin he got his bottom front left side first then the got his top right fang tooth and the third on the bottom right. So he has the cheesiest smile ever! He is still such a happy great little baby! His little personality is coming out more and more. I just love this little dude!!

Fun Times with Grandpa and Grandma

2011-07-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Plane ride to Boise!

BBQ with the family...good times!

Build A Bear and they loved it so much!

Our little surfer boy

Walking around with Grandpa

The girlies!

Brooklyn loved this ride!

Ice cream cones so yummy!

The kids always love it when we visit Grandpa and Grandma! They got to do so many fun things. We got to go on a plane, go shopping, go to Build A Bear, had yummy BBQs, went swimming, played at Provo Beach Resort, and went to Lagoon!! It was super fun to go to so many fun places and spend tons of time with my family! :) Thanks Mom and Dad for all your help and the fun times we always have!

Brooklyn is now 3

2011-07-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

Our Birthday Girl!

Opening presents..I've never seen a kid open presents so fast!

Her Tinker Bell cake!

She's been wanting this baby and stroller for a while to go no walks with me and Parker.

The girls taking the baby for a walk

Brooklyn's new baby!

My little Brookie Boo!

While we were in Boise we celebrated Brooklyn's 3rd birthday! I can't believe she is 3 already she is just so much fun right now! She is really growing up a lot! She chose a Tinker Bell or as she calls he a Teamper Bell birthday. We had it at her favorite place the park and were able to have all our family there which was so nice. When she opened her presents she went so fast I could barely catch up with her it was so funny! She was thrilled with every single present she opened! Some fun little things about my Brookie Boo! She says the cutest things! She will say "Mommy fatch (watch) this I'm magical!" She gets some of her letters mixed up and has kind of a New Yorker's accent. So I could just listen to her all day long! She LOVES anything chocolate! She also likes pickles, popsicles, receses, chocolate milk, and noodles. She loves to play with babies and is just so sweet when she plays. She really likes to help out with Parker or as she calls him Pawker Boy! She is in love with flip flops or as she calls then "fip fops." I love watching her play and giggle with Ashlyn. They are just such cute sister friends! I am so grateful for my sweet little Brookie Boo in my life. Each day she gives me her sweet smile from the moment she wakes up to cuddling with her to go to sleep. I am so blessed to have such a sweetheart of a daughter. Happy 3rd Birthday Brooklyn! I'm glad you had so much fun! :)

Tyson is Home!! Tyson is Home!!

2011-07-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

The family awaiting Tyson's arrival home!!

All the nieces and nephews watching for him with their signs

Seeing Mom and Dad for the first time! What a beautiful reunion a moment they will never for forget!

The kids made Tyson pictures and notes !

Look at those proud parents! :)

Welcome home Elder Bailey!

Aubrey's cute missionary cake!

On Saturday June 18th at 9:30 my brother Tyson got home from his mission in Puerto Rico!! He came off the plane with another missionary and we all looked at him, thought bummer it's not him, then looked again, and it was him!! He looked so much older and (I think) taller. It was so amazing to see him home and to feel of his great spirit that he brought home with him. We all chatter for quite a while and listened to his fun stories and things he got to see or places he got to visit while he was serving. Brandon had to head back to Colorado on Tuesday but me and the kiddos got to stay until Monday playing with family. Then me, my kids, Alexa, Tyson, and my parents started our road trip we drove down to Provo and played for 2 days with my sister Aubrey did some shopping then we went on Wednesday to Lagoon. It was so much fun! I hadn't been there in years and my haven't ever been. The girls absolutely LOVED it! Ashlyn's favorite ride was the one called Bat a roller coaster where you hang your feet she had a blast and Brooklyn loved the chair lift of all the rides! She is so silly! We had tons of fun playing at Lagoon with my family! Then on Thursday they drove us to Fort Collins, Colorado where we have been staying this summer for Brandon's job. And Tyson is now going to work with him too so it'll be really fun to have Tyson be out here with us on our summer adventure! :) They stayed through the weekend and we did lots of shopping (there's a great mall and outlet mall here) and tons of hanging out! It was so much fun to hang out with my family. I just love our close relationship that we all have and I really appreciate all that they have done with driving us all the 12 LONG hours to Fort Collins!

When it rains it pours!

2011-06-10T12:08:00.000-07:00

So the other day was quiet eventful! There was the craziest storm I have ever seen. The rain and hail came down in buckets and then to make it even more exciting to watch the storm was the thunder and lightning. I've never seen so much lightning in my life I almost thought there was a war going on close by it would constantly light up the sky for a couple hours this went on. The girls and I just watched through the window thinking thank goodness we have a home! :) As we were watching it we were amazed at all the water filling up the street and by our sliding door hoping that the pooling water wouldn't come in through the door. We went to sleep and when we woke up...in our master bedroom...the floor was all wet from the window wall to the middle of the room! Oh fun the water seeped in through the foundation! So we have a big fan drying out the carpet. It is so loud and the guy that came to pull up the carpet and put the fan in said it has to stay on constantly until Monday! Oh fun :) Well to continue weird things happening, on Brandon's way home from work that night he realized the one tire was making a funny noise and pulled off the side of the freeway and saw a huge lag bolt and hole in our tire! So luckily he had a budding in a car behind him and stopped and helped him change to the spare! I hope that is all of the weird things! I guess when it rains it pours right?!

On a happier note Tyson gets back from his mission in 8 days!!!! We can not wait!! :)

Fort Collins Fun!

2011-05-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

My little sweethearts!

Parker loving the slide! (With his first big bonk by his eye)

Some of the fellas girllin up some good food!

Our grill master!

All us girls as Eliza named us "The Wives Club" I thought that was perfect!

I never thought I would live anywhere but Boise Idaho but now I have lived in Utah for the past year and now in Fort Collins, Colorado for the summer then back to Utah in August. It's just crazy where life takes you. But we are enjoying our time here. Brandon has been doing great at his job and is such a hard worker! I thought he put in tons of hours last summer with working and school but I think he is gone more this summer with this job but he is liking it and doing great. He is the top rookie in his office and continues to amaze me in everything he does! It's been a couple weeks now here in Fort Collins and we are really liking it! There are tons of things to do here (well if it would stop raining)! We have been having tons of fun with all our new friends. Each week all us wives get together on Thursday for a little lunch bunch and this week we are doing a craft! I am totally excited :) And the other wives are super nice and really fun to hang out with I can't wait to spend more time throughout the summer to get to know them even better! Even though its been kinda chilly we have gone to the pool a few times as a family its been really fun Brooklyn likes to stay on the steps and play with her little water baby, Ashlyn is a little fish and is a crazy swimmer (I think she can swim better than me), and Parker just loves kicking around in his tube and splashes tons! We go to the park like everyday and kids just love it! Parker is just growing so fast, he kinda crawls well scoots on his bum its funny but he would much rather stand and try to walk. He is getting so sturdy and kinda almost took a step on his own the other day. I just can't wait for him to get moving! Brooklyn and Ashlyn love playing with their little friend Emmalyn, they get along so good. Well and I have been in the crafting mood lately and have been having tons of fun making the girls some fun bows and things! That about all that we have been up to here in Colorado.

Parker 9 months and Growing

2011-05-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Parker standing up all by himself!!

Fun day at the zoo! He looks so big here! :)

Parker is 9 months old today I just can't believe how old he already is! So here is a little update on our little well big dude! He is a whopping 26 pounds, loves all food put in front of him except rice cereal (he thinks its totally disgusting), he still is a wonderful sleeper which I am so grateful for, he loves his naps he is taking 2 sometimes 3 then goes to sleep for the night at 9:30 it's amazing to have one that likes to sleep :) he has said dada for a little bit but just the other day said mama I was ecstatic he said it then looked right at me it was so cute, he is not quiet mobile yet but will pull himself up on things and will stand all by himself for a bit so I think walking is not too far away, and last but not least he is just the happiest baby in the world I love how giggly and smiley he always is! I am just so thankful and happy to be his mommy! He brightens up my day everyday I love having this sweet little boy a part of our family!

Happy Birthday to Brandon!

2011-05-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Monday was Brandon's birthday and this girls were so excited to throw him a party so while Brandon was at work I took them to the store to pick out decorations and presents. It was so cute to watch them discuss with each other and then get all excited when they picked out what they wanted to get him. So they settled on a the Tron Blue Ray and the best part Pirates of the Caribbean Lego's!! Yep they saw it and both ran to it in the store and said daddy will love this! :) We decorated up the dining area with a homemade banner they helped make and streamers! I mad his favorite dinner hamburger scramble and to top off his favorite meal a cheesecake birthday cake! I am so grateful for him in my life as my husband and best friend! Everything he does for our family is just wonderful and he is such an amazing Dad!! Hope you had a terrific birthday my dear! You deserve only the best! Love you tons! :)

My Princess is 5 Today!!

2011-05-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

The day Ashlyn was born!

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

5th Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Ashlyn! I can't believe she is already 5 years old! Time just goes by so fast! It seems like just the other day I was finding out we were pregnant with our first little baby. She is such a blessing in our lives. Since day one she has been so happy and cheerful! I am so thankful for her....she is the sassiest, loving, sweet, most helpful beautiful little girl a mother could ask for. She is seriously like another little mommy at our home. She is so obedient and is always making sure she and everyone around her is choosing the right and if you are not she will remind you! She loves to help me out with her little sister and brother, she loves anything princess or pink, she lives her life as if it is a musical on Broadway. I love watching her play and become a new character in her playing its so entertaining! She has the sweetest heart and will make sure to help you out when you are needing it.I love the relationship she has with Brooklyn and the sweet friendship they have already started. I am so grateful for her in our family and for her to be the great little example she is already to her sister and brother. I love everyday being her mommy! Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you!

The Craziest Two Weeks of Our Lives!

2011-04-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

So this has been the craziest month EVER! After we got back from Cancun it's been non stop planning and packing and busy. busy everyday! While we were gone the kids were all sick and unfortunately gave it to me. So luckily we got all the sickness out of our systems right away. Ever since we got back these last two weeks have been crazy! So here is a ridiculous long post of what we have been up to with some pictures included...

Ashlyn has been working on tying lately and while we were gone in Mexico Grandma Read helped her to master tying her shoe laces. She doesn't wear very many shoes with laces, but luckily she has some little aprons to learn on. She does such a great job--one step closer to going to Kindergarten next year!

Parker is learning to wave 'hi.' It's so cute he gets so excited! He turned 8 months old on the 24th. I just can't believe it, time is going by so fast! He is also starting to rock back and forth on his arms and legs so I know soon he will be moving around like crazy. He can say dada, but when I tell him to say mama he laughs at me. So we will work on that one! :)

Waiting to start the dental procedure...a little scared.

So cute all ready to get her special treat for being so good!

Brooklyn went to the hospital to get all 8, yes EIGHT, cavities filled. She came out with 3 beautiful silver "princess crowns," five normal cavities filled, and her teeth cleaned. She wanted her Daddy to take her--which we let her choose. I was waiting at home and was a nervous wreck! But I knew she would be just fine, especially knowing Brandon was there to take care of her. She did so well! And was so proud of herself. After she got home we took her to pick out a special treat at the disney store. She was so cute picking out her new doll!

Then we celebrated a little birthday party for Ashlyn so Daddy could see her open her present, since he won't be in Boise with us for her "real" birthday and celebration. She was so excited to get a new big girl bike! She rode it around inside (since it was raining outside) it was cute! :)

Loved it for just a minute, but was unsure the longer she was riding the pony.

Thanks Grandpa for taking us!

Ashlyn posing and loving it!

My dad came into town to help us pack up and move. We had so much fun with him. The first day he was there we played tons! We took the kids to Thanksgiving Point to the farm and rode the horses, fed all the animals, and went on a carriage ride. The girls loved it so much! Then we all went to Spaghetti Factory for an early birthday dinner for me, and then went home and had some fun opening up a crazy little addiction we all share....disney vinylmations! It was a really fun day!

Thanks Grandma Read for their beautiful dresses!

Happy Easter! The kids were so excited to see that the Easter Bunny came to visit them. He left a trail of jelly beans from the door to their easter baskets. When Ashlyn saw the trail she said, "He does poop out jelly beans...I knew it!" I assume from watching the movie HOP that just came out. So funny. They all looked so adorable in their new easter church outfits! Then later that day in the midst of moving, we decorated Easter eggs on the kitchen floor. Happy Easter!

I still can't believe my dad got it all to fit in the car!

Then we packed all our things up and moved!!! Yep we did. No, we don't have a place yet, so we moved into a storage unit until I find a house. It was so much fun--for last 2 nights, while moving everything out, we all had a big slumber party in the family room on matresses. Good times! :) We will be spending the summer in Fort Collins, CO for a job Brandon got, then going back to Utah in August for school. It will be a fun adventure this summer. I am excited! Brandon left on Monday for Colorado and we left for Boise to spend some time with the family before we head out to meet up with Brandon. A HUGE thanks to my dad who helped us get all our things into storage and then pack up my car and drive with me and the kids up to Boise! He is one amazing dad! :) And that is the end of our crazy two weeks! Thanks goodness I can now relax and spend some good time in Boise with my family and friends!

Cancun Was Perfect

2011-04-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

It all started Brandon and I got to go get away for a little over a week and go to Cancun, Mexico!! It was so much fun! We stayed this amazing place, Live Aqua, it seriously smelt like a spa through the whole resort. We love every minute of being together and spending some good time together. We actually had time to have a conversation without being interrupted or distracted with the kiddos. It was a very much needed get-away! We had a blast with our good friends Doug and Kara who came with us. Great times watching the boys "googling" for sea shells for the kids, stories from back in the day, relaxation, tons of AWESOME food, a little (ok a lot) of sun and yes we got roasted, and a perfect setting for it all on the beach! We did a day at the spa and had a couples massage outside in a little tiki hut...it was perfect!! Can't wait to go back! :) Thanks dear for planning this trip and for being such an amazing husband and best friend! I love spending time with you! I love you!

The Makka is actually trained to pose for the picture!

Our Resort...just perfect!

Our tiki huts in the out door spa area

This is inside the tiki hut where we had our massages

Me and my sweet husband in the infinity pool next to the beach! Love you babe!

April Fools Day!

2011-04-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

April Fools Day - I thought it would be funny to pull a prank on Brandon. I have to set this up a little bit he has been talking about our next child and when he wants to have it, I keep telling him lets enjoy this baby first before we have another. :) So I got a pregnancy test that showed negative (yep I even peed on it sorry TMI) and put a paper saying "April Fools" then put it back in the box, wrapped it up all pretty. Brandon got home from school I said I have a present and he was all excited. I gave it to him, he shook it and said "Is this a pregnancy test?!" I said just open it and when he opened I was just waiting for his reaction! He looked at it and yes he got a little excited then nervous for what I was going to do if we were...then took the test out and was totally surprised that I pulled something like that off! Hahaha Happy April Fools!! :)

7 Months Huge

2011-03-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sumo Baby

Loving swinging at the park

Parker is 7 months old now and is just the most fun-loving happy baby ever! :) He loves to sit and play with his toys and LOVES to laugh at his sisters. The weather was nice enough the other week we went to the park and he got to ride in a swing for the first time and loved it! He likes his bananas and apple sauce. He is such a great eater and loves his naps! Parker now growls when he gets really excited and when he gets hungry. It's quite funny! He is just growing like crazy. He is 22 lbs 2 oz and 28 1/2 inches!(That's 94%) Just preparing for his football career when he is older! :) We just love him to pieces and are so blessed to have such a healthy happy baby boy!

A Few Extras About my Girls!

2011-03-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Movie Star Ashlyn...yes she had to go to the store like this

Tea Party Time with their friend Kenedee

Brookie boo and her baby

I thought that I would post a few things the girls have been up to. We play their favorite board games Disney Rumekib and Good Night Moon everyday. They have tea parties about twice a week. We LOVE to play pretend! If someone ever asks me where I live I should tell them I live in the house of fairytales and make believe! We have imaginary friends join us all the time! Usually Brooklyn's "friend" Alley is hanging around. Brooklyn loves to play babies and her baby name is Audrey (which is after her sweet little cousin) and then Parker has to be Rowan when she plays since Audrey and Rowan are twins. It's quite cute! We have Ashlyn who is a drama queen. She will get into character while she is watching everything. From dressing up and going on a date while we watch the Bachelor to a Dancing with the Stars dancer or an American Idol contestant singing using the treadmill as her stage! She will put her heels on any chance she gets! :) Lately the girls have been playing so cute together and are just so sweet with each other, their relationship really reminds me of my brothers Jordan and Tyson and how they were best friends and so close as they grew up! I just love watching them play and playing with them too! :)

An Interesting Family Scripture Time

2011-03-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

So the other night when we were reading scriptures Ashlyn thought that since we take turns saying prayer we should take turns reading scriptures too. So we said ok and she opened the Book of Mormon and started off pretty good, saying and it came to pass...she talked about Lehi and Nephi in the wilderness and some other things from her memory that actually were right. Then it went down hill from there she said, "And then it came to pass that Santa came in his sleigh to meet Jesus in the manger with his reindeer." Ummm thats when I realized oh boy she is a little confused!! Or maybe a lot confused so we had to tell her that Santa is not in the scriptures and that there weren't reindeer at the manger with Jesus when he was born! She continued with a whole story on Santa and Nephi in the sleigh in the wilderness. We helped her understand the two different stories and she caught on after that. I would have to say her story was quite entertaining and love that she wanted to read the scriptures by herself. Oh man the things kids do and say! :)

Cheerleading!

2011-03-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn and Kenedee just after they performed!

This past week Ashlyn got to do a little cheer leading clinic with her friend Kenedee. She had so much fun she just loves performing and learning the dances. Ashlyn takes these clinics very seriously she will come home from the clinics and practice and then perform the dance many times to get ready for the real performance. It's so cute! It's fun to watch her learn and develop a talent! :)

Parker Boy is 6 months!

2011-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

Parkers 6 month Stats:
20 lbs 6 oz
28 inches

He just loves his blanket! This is how he sleeps sometimes he will pull his blankie over his whole face...so cute!

Parker's first time having rice cereal, yummy!

I can't believe my little man is already 6 months old today. He is just the happiest baby ever! I thought my girls were happy babies but he is really happy and LOVES to sleep. Yeah finally one that sleeps good. :) He loves his big sisters hugs and kisses. He just started sitting up which he thinks he is really big to play with toys sitting up! He likes peek a boo and likes to touch peoples faces and give big open mouth kisses. It's so cute! He loves watching himself move his fingers and feet. He is just so interested in how his hands and feet work its so cute when babies learn they have control over their hands and feet. He still is having at least one blow out a day, I stopped blaming the diapers and realized it was just him. He makes me smile I can just sit all day with him and just play and cuddle with him. I am so thankful to have this sweet little boy in our family and the blessing he is in our lives!

Trying a new do!

2011-02-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

The Front!

The Back...so short!!

So for years now I've been wanting to cut my hair I am a big scardy cat when trying new things with my hair. It's I think more of a comfort zone issue with me and my hair. Anyhow so I finally broke down and did it!!! Yes believe it or not! I went to my good friend Rachael that lives close to me down here and she did a great job she cut it exactly what I gave been thinking and visioning for all this time. She is awesome! With all that said now I'm not sure if I like it on me...I am still getting used to how short it is and especially how little my pony tails are now!! I think I like it more each day. :)

Valentines Day!!

2011-02-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

My little sweethearts!

Yummy fondue desert!

This Valentines Day we decided to spend it as a family instead of Brandon and I going on a date. So we started the day off with heart shaped poptarts for breakfast. A fun afternoon just playing games as a family. Some beautiful roses from my sweetheart! Then we went to Red Robin for an early dinner then came home and had a yummy fondue desert! Pink marshmallows, bananas, heart shaped rice krispie treats, strawberries, and heart shaped brownies to dip in chocolate! The girls had fun helping me make desert and to top off the night watching the Bachelor (how appropriate right?!). I just love my little family and the happiness they bring to my life each and everyday. I love Brandon he is the love of my life and a perfect husband! I love how Ashlyn is so kindhearted, a great big sister, and how she loves to be the center of attention! I love how Brooklyn is our little spunky sweetheat! She has this silliness about her that will always make you smile. And lastly I just am so in love with our little Parker boy. He is the happiest baby ever, a true blessing in my life. His smile melts my heart everyday! I just love Valentines Day and am glad we had a fun filled family day!

Ice Castles

2011-02-15T19:51:00.000-08:00

We decided to randomly go to these really cool ice castles by Park City! We met our friends Doug, Kara, and their kids up there. We had so much fun looking around at the awesomely huge ice castles! Some we could even go through. I think the girls especially like the icicles they ate. :) After the ice castles we ate some yummy pizza at Malawi's Pizza. Thanks for a fun time Kaufmans!

Girls Day! (plus Parker-Boy)

2011-02-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

Painting nails

Their darling jelly shoes all ready for spring time!

While daddy's away we will play! So I decided to let the girls tell me what they wanted to do and so this was our day....we ate lunch at mcdonalds and played on the playground. Came home did pedicures and manicure red sparkles for Valentines Day of course! Then they decided they wanted to go shopping. Of course I couldn't refuse! :) So I let them pick out a new dress and jelly shoes to match. They actually picked out cute things!Might I add I just LOVE little girls in jelly shoes! Mommy was so proud of her girls. :) Lastly a chick flick to end the evening, it had to be Legally Blonde! While watching it Brooklyn turns to me says about a girl with a belly shirt on, "I can see her belly mom, she needs an undershirt!" lol I thought it was so cute! Then I had Ashlyn there practicing the "bend and snap" what a perfect day! I just love my girls so much and all the fun we have together! Being a mom and getting to spend all my time with my kiddos is just the perfect way to spend my days! Oh and Parker was such a good little boy coming along for our girls day. :)

7 years!

2011-01-24T12:59:00.000-08:00

Seven years ago today I married the man of my dreams. It was such a beautiful day with tons of huge snowflakes all surrounded by our family and friends. I remember I was so happy I just couldn't wipe the smile off my face knowing I was starting my eternal marriage to Brandon. And today seven years later I still couldn't be happier, I still smile at just the thought of Brandon. He is such a wonderful husband he always knows what I am needing and knows what to say in any situation. He is my best friend we talk about EVERYTHING which all started when we were engaged we just would talk for hours and hours and we still do...I just love that! I am lucky to have him as the father of our kids, he is such a fun cute dad, I love watching him with our kids! I love all your crazy randomness, your funny-ness, your other personality Jim Bob, how hot you are, how understanding you always are when I am being a dramatic girl, your love for the church in our lives and I am mostly thankful for you just being you...you are my better half! I am so in love with you, just like when I fell in love with you 7 years ago on a playground in Burley. I feel like one lucky girl to have you in my life! I love you dear happy anniversary!

Friends For "Change"

2011-01-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

On the Disney Channel there are these commercials for Friends for Change to help make a difference on the environment. Ashlyn has seen these commercials and her interpretation was this...the other day Brandon and I walked into the family room to Ashlyn and Brooklyn having found the big cup of change, and them throwing and tossing the change all over yelling, "Friends for Change! Friends for Change!" Cracking up we asked, "What are you doing?" Ashlyn responded, "You know mom like disney friends for change!" Oh of course in a 4 year olds mind that is what friends for "change" is! So funny I still just think of Ashlyn doing this and laugh.

Super Long Christmas Blog!

2011-01-11T20:59:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn seeing her Belle for the first time!

Brooklyn loves baby dolls!

Parker's first football

Ginger bread house decorating

So proud of her hippopotamus cookie

At Disneyland!!!

Parker Boy!!!

Meeting Santa...surprised Brookie wasn't scared...total breakthrough for her!

All beautiful dressed up as snow white

Our princesses!

Belle is her favorite princess ever

Brandon in heaven with his skewers :)

This year Christmas was a little different since we had to travel to Boise to be with family. So we were lucky and got to be in Boise for 10 days. It was super fun playing with all our family; making ginger bread houses, cookie bake, fun family time, and seeing some of our friends! We stayed with Brandon's parents this time while we were in town and it was so nice to be able to spend some time with them and Lou Anne even had a beautiful Christmas tree set up for us upstairs to have our own little Christmas around. The girls were really cute this year, Grandma Bailey sent the girls "the elf on the shelf" so for the month of December they loved waking up to find out where the elf had magically moved to! Christmas Eve we spent with Brandon's family and had a wonderful time singing carols and enjoying our time with them. We always do pj's on Christmas Eve so the girls were excited for that because they know what's coming in the morning. The funny thing is Brandon and I (for the past like 3 years) have woken up before the kids...I think we are more excited than they are. When they finally woke up we took them out and seeing their eyes light up just is the moment I wait for at each Christmas. They were so cute as they opened up their presents. Then after we opened we spent Christmas Day with my family tons of games, food, dancing with the Wii, and talking to my two brothers on their missions! It's amazing that both are serving right now and how awesome their testimonies have grown since they have been gone. Christmas was so wonderful being able to spend it with our families. We left on the Tuesday after to head back to Utah to spend some time just us before Brandon headed back to being busy school-man. We are crazy and a little addicted and went to Disneyland over New Years!! We didn't tell the girls until the night before we left so they were totally excited and surprised! It was super fun to be there and just enjoy each other, the girls were so cute as they hopped around Disneyland holding hands and running up to the characters with huge smiles on their faces! They discovered they love Lego's and have been addicted since. Disneyland was decorated to beautiful for Christmas time and might I add Haunted Mansion is awesome during the holidays! :) We just had so much fun over the Christmas holidays as a family. It makes me so grateful for the wonderful family members and friends I am surrounded by! I just love the spirit I feel during the holidays and for the church in my life to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

A few fun pictures!

2010-12-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

So it's that time of year again for Christmas cards, and being down here in Utah we were so grateful for Brandon's friend Nick to let us come to his work,the LDS Motion Picture Studios, and take our pictures. The place is just amazing; so many awesome pictures spots, and it was just so cool to see where they do all the commercials and church movies! It was rad! We had so much fun looking around and also getting our pictures taken. So, here are a few of our favorite pictures. :) Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

Our Thankful Turkey!

Watching the turkey cook...so exciting!

Making rolls with Grandma Bailey

This year I have so much to be thankful for...it has been a crazy year with so many changes. First, I am thankful for my sweet husband, he is such a sweet wonderful husband and best friend. I am so grateful for all the help he gives me each and every day and for doing so much for our little family. I can't even imagine how life would be without him, I love him so much and am so grateful he is my eternal companion. Second, I am so grateful for my sweet little girls. I absolutely love listening to them giggle and play! I love to play with them and just soak in every moment I have with them each day. They bring so much happiness to me and to our home. Ashlyn is my little helper she loves to help me with anything possible she is so fun to be with and I love going on our little "girls nights" together! Brooklyn is my spunky darling, she has a way about her that is just so cute! She is a little mother in training with following me around the house with her baby in her arms imitating me and what I do with Parker, and I just love listening to her talk! Third, I am so grateful for bringing a sweet little baby boy into our family this fall. He is the happiest baby ever and I am so grateful for his sweet spirit that we were blessed with. Forth, I am incredibly grateful for my family and my in-laws for all their love and support they have given us this past year is something I will be forever grateful for! It's hard for me to put into words what a wonderful family I am surrounded by. And fifth, I am so grateful for this time of year I love the spirit I feel and for celebrating Christ's birth. Thanksgiving is just the perfect start to kick off the holidays to make us remember what we have been blessed with! We had such a wonderful time in Boise with all our family and were able to see a few of our friends. Time went by so fast while we were in town luckily we get to go back for Christmas in just a couple weeks! :)

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-09T22:06:00.000-08:00

Ashlyn our Little Mermaid

At trunk or treat with cousins and Grandpa!

Our sweet little dinosaur

Our Princesses!!

Look how wonderfully she lined up all her candy...I wonder where she gets her organization from?? :)

Oh my sweet husband as Facebook!

Brookie Boo as Tinker Bell ( I love this pic of her so sweet)!

So for Halloween we decided to go up to Boise for only like 2 days to spend it with our family! We had a great time. Ashlyn decided to be Little Mermaid this year and she looked so cute. When we were picking out her outfit she kept making sure that she had to get the whole outfit the crown, dress, wand, and shoes (which we left in Springville). We had so much fun putting her makeup on and getting her all ready! Brooklyn wanted to be Tinker Bell or as she calls her "Teamper Bell" she was just too funny. She put her outfit on and her wings and looked to the mountains and said, "I Teamper Bell, I fly high up to the mountains!!" And our little Parker Boy was a Dinosaur. We had tons of fun with all of our family trick or treating and visiting with all of them! :)

Parker's Blessing and Boise Fun!

2010-10-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

My cute boys!


The best we could do of the family

Parker in his blessing outfit! (Isn't it awesome?! Jennifer made him it!)

Ashlyn at the Farmstead Festival

Brooklyn loving riding a horse!

The girls loving the cow train!

On October 10th we blessed Parker Brandon Read. It was so wonderful to be able to go up to Boise and share this wonderful day with our entire family. Jennifer offered so kindly to make his blessing outfit, she is amazing at what she can do! She ended up writing her own pattern for the outfit and whipped it up in 6 days!! Thanks so much Jennifer you are amazing and the outfit is just darling!! It was such a beautiful day for his blessing. When we blessed him it was just so great that all of our family was able to make it. I am so grateful to have the priesthood in my home and to be able to have my children have it in their lives also. Thank you dear for a beautiful blessing and a wonderful father to our children! I am very thankful my Grandpa was able to come who ended up with pneumonia and in the hospital the next day...luckily he has been so healthy that he took to the medication quickly and is on a great recovery.

The next week Brandon went to Washington DC for school so the kids and I decided to just stay in Boise and play with family and friends. We had such a fun time! From all our lunch dates, playing with family, to girls night out with my mom and sisters was just too much fun! We had a hard time leaving that's for sure. Thank you dad also for driving me and the kiddos back down to Boise ( I was way to scared to drive that whole way with 3 kids...yes I am a worry wart). We love Boise and everyone there, it was so nice to see everyone!

Family Pictures!

2010-09-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

We decided to get the kids pictures taken, a little scared but I really like how they turned out. Thanks for Brandon taking the pictures and me trying to keep them in place. I think it worked! :) With two little drama queens posing for the spotlight it was quite the adventure! :) Enjoy!

Parker Brandon Read is here!!

2010-09-04T16:22:00.000-07:00


Parker Brandon Read - 08/24/2010

The birth story...so I don't know if I had mentioned in some of my last blogs but my original due date my doctor in Boise gave me was Sept. 13th (yes I still would be prego) but I had always thought it was off by like 2 weeks. So when I went to my new doctor here in Utah he measured me and check everything out and gave me a new due date of Aug. 26th. With me being a person who likes to plan things out I asked to be induced to make sure I had family down here to help out with the girls. So my doctor scheduled to induce me on Tuesday, Aug. 24th!! Brandon and I got to the hospital at 6:45 AM, checked in and were so ready to get this little boy here. Doctor came and broke my water at 8:00 AM, we knew it would be a pretty long day because I wasn't dilated or effaced at all so we were starting at nothing. Got my pitocin going and my contractions started a little bit but nothing really happened. When we were totally bored out of our minds 8 1/2 hours later and only at a 4. We were ready to do anything at all to get him here! I wasn't in any pain cause I was only dilated to a 4,but I was starving!! So the nurse said to just get my epidural since sometimes it will move things along. So I said ok, sign me up I'm ready! So I got my epidural --Brandon did great :) no passing out -- and finally I started to do something. I was complete and ready to push an hour later, and after 3 pushes, he was here!!! At 4:41 p.m. Parker Brandon Read arrived in our arms. Oh so tiny at 6 lbs. 13 oz and 19 in. He was so cute and had tons and tons of blond hair! It was amazing to see who he looked like...especially when we looked at him and noticed he looks exactly like his Daddy! We did have kind of a scare though, he had the cord wrapped around his neck. Luckily not too tight, but enough to create some weird breathing complications. He was trying so hard to take in breaths so they whisked him away to the NICU before I even got to hold him! Brandon went to NICU with him since I couldn't get up yet. They put oxygen on him and and gave him some steroids to help his lungs. He responded really well to it all and was released from the NICU only 2 hours later. Finally I got to hold my sweet little boy! I am so happy and grateful to have his sweet spirit join our family. I know he wasn't a planned baby, but I know Heavenly Father knew he was supposed to come to our family now. He is such a good little sleeper, which I totally love, and a great eater! He is so much fun...I couldn't see myself with a boy before but now I know I wouldn't have it any other way. Ashlyn is such a big helper always wanting to help me or hold Parker. She truly has natural motherly instincts. When coming to meet Parker for the first time Brooklyn was singing down the hospital hallways, "Parker Brandon Read!" over and over! Brooklyn didn't like me at the hospital which was sad to not get her little hugs or kisses but the minute I got home she was back to being a little mommy's girl! She is loving on Parker so much, sometimes too much, but that is just fine with me. It's so sweet how my little girls just love their new brother so so much! The sweetest relationship I see is between Brandon and Parker, I have never seen Brandon more proud than when he saw his son for the first time. He had the biggest smile on his face (I think it's still there too)! It is so exciting to see what a wonderful father he is and what a perfect example he will be for his little boy! He already has him watching football, and shows about cars...oy! Parker is so loved and we are so happy he is here! We are loving every minute with him this past week and a half.

Fresh out, covered in goo!

All hooked up - Franken-baby


Dad's doing. Does this really surprise anyone...?!

Our sweet Parker

His big sisters love him soooo much! :)

Our little Brandon clone :)

1 Week old and woke up for just a min. for me to take a pic!

Parker is here!!!

2010-08-25T16:27:00.001-07:00

Ashlyn's Cheer Clinic!

2010-08-17T14:12:00.000-07:00

This past week Ashlyn got to do one of her favorite things, be in a cheer clinic!! She was able to do the clinic with her new little girlfriend Kenedee! They were so cute and did such a great job! Ashlyn the whole week would practice her cheer and dance and Brooklyn would try to copy her, oh I love to watch them. It's so much fun! So they had a performance on Thursday for all the parents then on Saturday there was a parade they got to be in. Oh Ashlyn loved all the attention. The princess wave was in full force for most of the parade! I am so glad she loves to perform and is such a fun daughter to watch at different events! I can't wait to have Brooklyn start doing things like this too!

We love visiters!

2010-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have been really nice! We first had my family come and visit and play for 4 days. We did tons of hanging out, playing at the pool, and we went to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. The girls just loved going there and seeing all the animals their favorites were the giraffe and the little baby elephant that put on quite the show for us to watch! It was so good to spend some time with my family and the girls loved having sleepovers with Grandma, Grandpa, Aubrey, and Alexa! Then last week LouAnne came into town to visit too! The girls had so much fun playing at the park, baking cookies, and going to a movie with Grandma! Oh and Ashlyn just loved splashing at the pool with Grandma and Bonnie! They had quite a fun time laughing and making plans to splash each other! Brandon and I even got to go on a date!! It had been some time since we had gone on a date night. We went to dinner then to a movie, "Inception." Which was super crazy good! Thanks to all the awesome family visitors! We all really needed to see some familiar faces and were missing family quite a bit. Thanks family for coming to visit us we really appreciate all of you!! :)

The things we have been up to

2010-07-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn all potty trained, she' feels so big!!

Ashlyn playing in the water at a waterfall we had a picnic at.

Me helping Brooklyn through the water to play with Ashlyn.

Meeting Princess Pea and Super Why at the Park!
(It's a really cute learning cartoon my girls love!)

4th of July....Brooklyn cheering and Ashlyn trying to smile even though she is scared. :)

We have been up to a little bit lately. We moved down to Springville, UT for Brandon to go back to BYU to finish his degree about 5 weeks ago. He is crazy busy with working, school, and trying to find time to spend with his family. I am so grateful for all he is doing! He is one amazing man as I watch him from day to day and see everything his doing and accomplishing, it makes me love him more and more each day, knowing he is doing what the Lord directed him to do. Us girls are just enjoying the summer together. We have a pool in our community which is luckily not very busy so we go swimming just about everyday then we have our picnic trips to the park and fit in a tea party, barbie, and play wedding too. We are staying quite busy! :) Brooklyn has been quite addicted to Toy Story, she asks to watch Woody and Jessi just about everyday and will talk to the movie and the characters as she watches. She knows all the characters and is just adorable on how much she is in love with Toy Story! Ashlyn is just my little buddy I love watching her plan her play weddings and play school with her. She is just such a fun girl to be around. Brooklyn has been potty trained for 3 weeks now and is doing so good! She will say every time she has to go, "Mommy potty bad!" And then she has to decide who she wants to help her usually it's "Ummm sissy watch me!" Which translates to I want Ashlyn to watch me be a big girl and clap with I am done. :) It's super cute, I am very excited that I was able to get her potty trained before Parker was born...yeah only one in diapers at a time!! Well speaking of Parker he is growing so much. He loves to snuggle up under my left rib which is not very comfortable but luckily he's big enough that I can try to move him in a different position. He gets the hiccups every night at 11:00 right as I lay down to go to sleep. I am amazed that he is coming in like 7 weeks(ish)!!! I just can't wait to see my little boy. Well we had a great 4th of July although it was very different than usual. We did a our fireworks just as a little family. Brooklyn loved them and would say pretty or cool! And Ashlyn still doesn't really like them. But she does pop-its so we did lots and lots of pop-its! We had fun together as we celebrated the 4th! We are really enjoying our new lives and home in Utah!

Brooklyn's 2!!

2010-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little baby is 2! We threw her a little party in our new place the day after we moved in. It was small but sweet. :) She was just so excited she got a little bike to stay up with big sister. Brooklyn is our little gremlin, she is always being silly or getting into something. She has such a sweet happy little personality! She is starting to talk so much more...and she is loud! I think she decided if she is going to be heard over her big sis then she has to talk really loud and a lot. It's darling how she just wants to be just as big and do everything Ashlyn does. She absolutely loves any fruit and will do anything for chocolate. (I think she gets the chocolate thing from her mom) She is just in love with her baby dolls, yes 2, she has to take them everywhere lately. I am beginning to wonder if she will have twins some day because she already has the two baby thing down. She loves planes, being outside, talking on the phone, and cuddling. My very favorite thing is her sweet little voice when she's tired saying, "Cowdle mama?! I wuv vu!" Then as I cuddle her to sleep she has to hold my hand while I tickle her palm! I think it's so sweet and very coincidental that I too had to hold hands and have my palm tickled when I was around her age to go to sleep! :) She is just so much fun and I am so thankful to be her mom! She keeps me smiling every day! Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

Sky Diving!!

2010-06-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

All suited up and ready to go!

Brandon coming in for his landing

Dad coming in for his landing

"Let's do that again! That was AWESOME!"

So for my Dad's 50th Birthday my mom surprised him with SKY DIVING!! My mom didn't want him to go alone so Brandon was the lucky one to go along with him for kind of a belated birthday present also. All day he had no idea other than he had a surprise coming and we were leaving at 4:00 for it. Brandon kept telling him it's going to blow your mind! It took a bit to drive out there the whole way he had no idea until we came over the hill where the skydiving place was and he yelled, "I'm going skydiving!!!" Way excited they both jumped out of the car, watched the lovely safety video, and signed their lives away happily. While being suited up both of them couldn't keep from smiling...it was really cute! They kept looking at each other, like we are really doing this, this is awesome! :) So away they went! Dad jumped first (since it was his b-day surprise) and then Brandon jumped. It was so cool to watch them come down safely. I had been a nervous wreck all day for this! :) While they were up in the plane Brooklyn kept saying, "Daddy plane up! Gampa plane up!" It was cute she knew what was going on too. The entire family watched them land then ran over to them. Both Dad and Brandon, still having the same huge smile on, immediately said would do it again! I'm so glad they got to go skydiving!

Dance Recital

2010-05-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn all dolled up and ready for her recital!

Her favorite part in her dance! So cute!

Last weekend Ashlyn had her dance recital. She did so awesome! She had so many people there to watch her it was really great. I think one of her favorite parts is getting all dolled up to go. It's what I love to do too...what's more fun than dressing up your little girl?! After she was done doing her dance she had to sit with all the other dancers to watch everyone do their dances. She would dance crazy to all the songs, she was quite the entertainer. Then my little sister, Alexa, was in 3 of the dances. She did great! Alexa got her 10 year award and was so excited. Ashlyn of course couldn't keep herself off the stage and had to go up with her. Good job to both Alexa and Ashlyn you did awesome!

Ashlyn's Birthday!

2010-05-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn posing in her birthday outfit!!

Getting her nails and toes done for the party!!

I can't believe Ashlyn is 4!! Seems like just the other day she was born. She is a true blessing in our lives. She is such a fun loving, happy, beautiful little girl! She is so loving towards her sister and sure has the motherly instinct in her. She keeps us so busy but we love every minuet of it.
Some our favorite things she does or says;

1. Always asking to eat at "Chicken and Rice" a.k.a Panda Express
2. Her WILD imagination! Including all your many imaginary friends and all the places you go
3. Wanting to watch Michael Jim with mom and dad (The Office)
4. In her sweetest voice helping Brookie with whatever she needs
5. Loves anything Princess, Pink, or Girlie
6. Your sweet little giggle
7. How you are liking to say big words like; apparently, supposubly, and especially
8. When she sings your Hannah Montana, Taylor Swift, or Jonas Brothers songs
9. Whenever you ask her where do you want to go? Always says, "The Popcorn Store" which is
Target
10. Every night wanting asking, "Mommy with you cuddle with me?" Then as she falls asleep
rubs my arm. It's so sweet!
11. She likes to be called Sweetheart not Ashlyn
12. Randomly throughout the day saying I love you followed with a hug and a kiss!

Minnie Mouse birthday cake

Pin the bow on Minnie game

We had fun watching you at your birthday party. Playing with your friends and all your facial expressions while opening your presents. We love you!!

Disneyland Picture!!

2010-04-19T19:44:00.001-07:00

Disneyland!

2010-04-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

These past 2 weeks we were able to go to Disneyland for some much needed quality family fun time! We spent way too many hours in the car driving to and from but it was totally worth it! :) I was amazed at how well the girls did in the car. We started off at 3 AM so the girls would sleep most of the 10 1/2 hours to Las Vegas, where we stopped for the night on the way. We had an interesting night though, which is what would you expect you are in Vegas. At about 4:00 AM a girl started banging, kicking, and yelling on the door next to ours to be let in...this went on for about a half an hour then stopped. We finally thought we would be able to get back to sleep but she was so drunk that she thought in order to get into her room she would pull the fire alarm. Very smart girl! So that was extremely loud and fun as the announcement blared for 15 minutes saying to stay calm while the investigate why the alarm was pulled...really stay calm?! But none the less it was turned off and we were able to go back to sleep and not have to evacuate the hotel. The next day a short drive to Disneyland and 7 whole fun-filled days at the parks!! Ashlyn loved getting all the autographs from all the characters but of course her favorite part was seeing all the princesses and giving them all hugs. She picked out a Sleeping Beauty dress this time and got to get her face painted so beautifully! Brooklyn had to be just like big sister and picked out the same princess dress and thought she was so big! Ashlyn is our little dare devil going on every ride she was tall enough to go on. Her favorite was the Alice and Wonderland ride and a close second Pirates of the Caribbean but loved Toy Story, Space Mountain, Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, and Tower of Terror. After riding Tower of Terror she ran up to me and yelled "Mommy I was so brave! It was so fun!" Brooklyn just loved all the rides too, while standing in line would call out which car she wanted to ride on in the ride. She was so excited and she being our little gremlin unfortunately did get a few scrapes and bruises from going head first out of the stroller. Luckily it wasn't too bad and she quickly was back to herself running around. Oh I can't forget Brandon found a new addiction these really cool collectors called Vinyalmation! My Dad and he had so much fun opening them to see which one they got. This year we all had sweatshirts made with our nicknames, favorite numbers, and our favorite sayings. It was a blast to wear and have people read all of them figuring each of them out. We had so much fun as a family! It was great to be with my family and bond with them on our yearly Disneyland trip! We all already want to go back! :) Until next year Disneyland!

The Things Kids Say!

2010-03-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

So we were on our way to church last Sunday and we were driving behind my sisters old boyfriend. He waved to us so we waved back. Ashlyn asked, "Who is that?" We said it's Aubrey's old boyfriend just saying hi. Ashlyn replied, "Why is he not her boyfriend anymore?" We replied because she just likes someone else now. Ashlyn says, "Oh, Aubrey doesn't like him anymore?" We said nope. Ashlyn sweetly responded, "Maybe you could like him mommy? You could have a Daddy and a boyfriend!" The way she said it was just so innocent and sweet. We were laughing but had to explain to our 3 1/2 year old that mommy just loves Daddy and doesn't need a boyfriend. :) Oh I just love the things that she comes up with!

2010-02-15T18:19:00.001-08:00

So these past couple months have been crazy to say the least, but this past week Brandon got the most overwhelming feeling that he needed to go back to school. Yes school! We felt like this was our answer to our prayers! Since he was laid off back in November we have been searching and praying for what to do and what job to take. This was actually a huge relief to know the direction that we need to go, especailly for Brandon. We went down to BYU middle of last week and he met with the admissions office and they will accept him back...yeah! :) He is so happy with the decision and frankly so am I. It will help with his career path change and help change our future for the better. He is first finishing up his undergraduate degree in Business Management, and then doing to do the MBA program at the Marriott School. I am very excited for him - I know he will do great at school because, lets face it, he has a huge dome with lots of brains. (inside joke for Jordan) So our plan is to move down to the Provo area, I am hoping not in Provo, more like American Fork/Spanish Fork I don't know somewhere family oriented for me and the kiddos to adjust better. I already know it will be hard being away from my family but I know it's what we need to do for our future. We are so grateful for this direction we are going and for how the Lord answers prayers.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-01-29T14:42:00.001-08:00

I can't believe we have been married for 6 years now... wow time flies! I just seems like yesterday we were headed to Burley to meet up and fall in love. But here we are, this past year has been crazy but not matter what we seem to always be there for each other. :) I just want to tell Brandon how grateful I am for him. He is everything to me, I love him more and more each day. He makes me laugh when I need to, he is the shoulder I cry on, the hand to guide me, and my rock in everything else. I don't know what I would do without him. I love watching you with our girls, you are such a fun daddy! Thank you dear for being so wonderful!

Us watching the fountain show!

So we decided to go on an anniversary trip to Las Vegas (where we went on our hunny moon) to get away for a few days. Boy was it needed, we have never left Ashlyn or Brooklyn so this was the first night(s) ever without kids in 3 1/2 years...yep! This trip was much needed especially when we have our 3rd baby on the way. :) So Brandon had this trip planned for quite sometime and little did I know he had some pretty awesome surprises too! We walked off the airplane and there was a man holding a sign "Read, B." I was totally suriprised! He had a limo take us to and from the airport! I had never been in a limo so that was super fun. We stayed at the beautiful Bellogio. We went and watched "O" the first night we were there. It was spectacular as always! And this time we made sure to check out the restraunt menu before hand. (No more eating tripe!!) So we went to a place called Sensi, it was delicious!! And the desert was so cool gellato in a cool ice sculpture! Anyhow then the last night we were there we saw "Phantom of the Opera." It was so good! I loved every moment of it. We sat right under the chandellier so when it fell it was literally falling on us. It was so incredibly nice to get away together and just be us for a few days! I really loved every minuet that we had together, it made me miss the feeling of when we were first married and helped me to keep that feeling always there. Thank you my dear for planning it and making our anniversary so wonderful! I love you!

The Bellogio where we stayed! :)

Our awesome gellato desert, so yummy!

Surprise, surprise!

2010-01-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

So, surprise, we're pregnant with number 3! This Saturday Brandon and I decided that I was late enough to justify a pregnancy test. Since my health stuff has been a little weird, my doc took me off birth control a few months ago. We have been super careful, because we weren't intending to try for quite some time. But apparently the Lord had different plans for us, and the test said prego! After we got over the initial shock and questioning how on earth this happened, we were super excited. We feel like the baby is going to be a great blessing in our life. Brandon and I are both really hoping for a boy this time...so cross your fingers!

I decided I wanted to tell my family in a fun way; so I put a #1 on Ashlyn's stomach, a #2 on Brooklyn's stomach, and a #3 on my stomach. As you can see from the video, my family didn't quite catch on to what we were trying to tell them?!? Notice Ashlyn telling everyone that she IS NOT pregnant, but she will be getting married! Oh man, how could we handle another girl??

A Much Needed Update!!

2009-12-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

This has been one crazy and busy two months!! I am so thankful for this time of year and the Christmas spirit that is around. I am so thankful for so many things this year! Some years are bumpy like this one and some years you don't ever want to end. But never the least you can always cound on your family and close friends! :)

Christmas was so much fun the girls are so into it. I was just so giddy and excited this year too, its funny how as a parent you can get that excited for your kids. Christmas Eve we spent with The Reads. We had a wonderful time; a delicious dinner, lots of talking, the beautiful Christmas carols that are sung (one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve), and just being together. As we got home opened traditional PJ's which Brooklyn slept through it was much too late for her, so her sweet sister opened hers then gently placed them by her while she was alseep. Then Ashlyn too excited for bed watched many xmas movies until finally giving up at 1:00 yes 1:00 AM!!

Christmas morning came VERY fast for Brandon and I but so worth it. We heard the girls stir and we up and so excited. So Ashlyn was estatic that she got a Barbie and princess barbie. While Brooklyn spotted her new baby in a stroller and imediatly, being the crazy girl she is, starting driving it everywhere all over the presents and all. It was hard to get them to stop playing with each new thing to open to next but eventually they did and loved every minuet and present they recieved!

Christmas afternoon we spent with the Baileys! We went over and had traditional yummy scons and family games and fun! At 2:00 we got a call from Elder TYSON Bailey!!! We all were so thrilled to hear his voice....he has an accent! Yep and sounds so grown up, it was great to talk to him over the phone. So then the rest of the day was just family filled good times at the Bailey house! :) Thanks to all the family for such a wonderful Christmas!

Jordan is gone!

2009-12-21T22:04:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month Brandon decided to get crazy and randomly list his truck for fun. Well like two days later someone asked him full price and Brandon of course not passing that up it was sold. Don't worry he being the car guy that he is, already had his eye on something in Seattle. So the boys decided to make it a last guys trip before Jordan left so Brandon, Jordan, and my Dad flew out in the morning then drove back that night. Good times!

So December 16th we took Jordan into the MTC! Crazy I am so close with him that it was hard seeing him go but I know its exactly what he needs in his life. And he had made the right decision of going and serving the Lord. So it was way different than dropping Tyson up. We had a car pass to get into the parking lot, pulled up to our number by the sidewalk, jumped out of the car, car him as many hugs as we could, took a few pics, and they said ok we will take care of him! And off he went pulling his suitcases into the MTC. We drove off thinking holy cow they weren't kidding when they changed it to "curbside" drop off! But we knew he was in good hands.

We love you Jordan good luck! You will be an amazing missionary! :)

Halloween & Fall Festivities

2009-11-09T17:55:00.001-08:00

Happy Halloween!

My sweet princesses!

Brooklyn trying to see inside her pumpkin

Finding her way through the hay maze.

Ashlyn loved the Pumpkin Patch!

This fall has been quite fun. We went to the Linder Farms Pumpkin Patch for a little hay ride, kids fun rides and of course pumpkins! Halloween was really fun Ashlyn of course told me what her and Brooklyn should be... princesses! So Ashlyn was the lovely Cinderella and our little Brooklyn was Snow White. Ashlyn just loves to play dress up so this was super fun to get to put on real make up (not imaginary) and be princess for a night. We had fun getting ready and I actually was able to get Brooklyn's hair in a little flip like Snow Whites. Oh my girls are so much fun! So we started at the Reads and met up with Jonah and Aidan which were the cutest little dinosaurs! Then off to my parents to meet up with Alexa, Carson, Kobe, and Riley. Brooklyn was slightly scared of swamp man (Kobe) and Scary pumpkin man (Riley) but they all had so much fun trick or treating. Brooklyn thought she was so big to walk around with the big kids. So then we headed back to our house to meet up with our friends the Frogleys and Beals. Did some more trick or treating then had yummy cornbread and chilli and hung out! It was really fun this year.

Homecoming Dances

2009-10-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

Aubrey & Chayse

MVHS Homecoming Hairstyle

Aubrey and Chayse

Centennial's Homecoming Hair

My sister is a senior this year and is dating a boy from Centennial so she was able to go to 2 Homecoming dances this year. Her dresses were so cute and I love doing fun hair styles, we had a blast spending time figuring out what hair worked best for what dress. And so these are the hairstyles that she went with. We thought they turned out pretty good. And I might add she looked so pretty at both dances! :) Love ya sis can't wait until your next formal dance.

Elder Bailey in the Making

2009-10-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we were able to go through the temple with Jordan for the first time. It was a really neat experience! I am so thankful for him as my brother. We have always been close but it has been so much fun having him live with us for the past 7 months. Especially as he has been preparing to go on a mission. It has been really cool to see little changes and see his testimony grow. I am so glad he is my brother and for what a good example he is to me! I love you man! :)

Oregon Coast '09

2009-09-14T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn after sliding in the sand!

Brooklyn not sure about getting dirty

The girls at Ozwald State Park Brooklyn insisted on holding Ashlyn's hand!

Girls at the Zoo

On the beach

This past week we went on our annual Orgeon Coast trip! We stayed in Cannon Beach it's near Haystack Rock and a cute little town with fun shops. It is so beautiful and relaxing! We had georgeous weather so the girls loved playing in the sand and chasing the waves! We started super early on Saturday we left at 4 am...crazy but Brooklyn in a car for that long...4am and a sleeping Brooklyn was great! So we stayed in Portland the 1st night and went to the awesome Porland Zoo. Unfortunately it rained pretty hard while at the zoo which we were prepared but Ashlyn kept asking to go play at the hotel. Funny how you spent so long driving to a vacation spot and the coolest thing is the hotel and the hotel pool. But what can you do. So then the rest of the time we spent on the coast. Taking walks, fires on the beach, making sand castles, and just enjoying family time. Brandons family was there too, it was great to spend some good time with such awesome inlaws!! Ashlyn loved playing with the boys! This year my brother Jordan came with us before he leaves on his mission. How great it was to have him come with us! We ended the trip trying to drive home late Friday but instead we got held up with some weird health problems I started to have unfortunately the last day of the trip. So after the doctor visit and lots of dramamean we were on our way home. Got safely back home at 4:30 am Saturday morning and slept in! We loved our relaxing family get-a-way!

Big Sister Book

2009-08-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

Ashlyn has a favorite Big Sister book that she loves to read. She has it all memorized so she can read it to "Baby Brookley." She is so proud of herself, and of course, we think it is too darned cute!

Swimming Lessons!

2009-08-23T21:09:00.001-07:00

Clara and Brooklyn having a picnic!

Ashlyn learning to dive

Look how cute they are!

Ashlyn posing to the camera!

These past couple weeks Ashlyn took swimming lessons at the Dunkley's. She had so much fun! Cooper and her were in the same class again which made it nice for them to have a friend in the class. By the end she was putting her face under water..yea! I was amazed she went off the diving board with a tube on but it still is progress. She was a little scared but she did it anyways I was so proud of her! It was super fun because one of my cute laurels, Lexi, was her teacher! Brooklyn loved playing on the toys and having a cute little picnic girlfriend playdate with Clara while the swimming classes were going on!

Boating Fun

2009-07-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I am not a good photographer ... Brandon just about ready to surf.

Me Surfing Yeah!

Grandpa and Captain Brooklyn

Me and Ashlyn...like Mother...like Daughter

Daddy and Our Little Flag Girl Ashlyn

Sun, food, swimming, boating, family, and friends! Sums up this past weekend. We went up to Lucky Peak for some good summer fun - and thats exactly how it was! It was our first time camping with the girls. We were a little nervousm,but we all survived and we actually want to do it again. Thanks to the Shraders and Johnsons for the awesome food...anything you needed they had! And the boating was a blast. I always forget how much I like boating. So we tried surfing for the 1st time. Brandon of course is already a pro and I surprisingly got up my 1st try. It was super fun! We can't wait to do it agian!

My cute little sister!

2009-07-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

I took my sisters senior pictures for her. We had such a blast! She is so much fun to hang out with. I am glad for the past year it seem like we have become closer. Aubrey I can't wait for you to start your senior year it will be so much fun! Love ya... hope you like your pics!

Forth of July Festivities

2009-07-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sisters!

The Hunters watching fireworks!

Brooklyn playing with the fireworks

Sparklers!!

This year we had our family over to our house just like last year! It was a pretty typical year some with some yummy desserts, thanks to Aubrey's cake and Mom's homemade ice cream! Tons of fireworks including Brandon's naughty ones, and lots of fun! Brooklyn didn't do too bad - just the loud ones she got a little scared. Ashlyn was still scared of all the fireworks except for the sparklers. I just get scared of the ones that go in the air (all because of last year). And of course you wonder where Ashlyn gets being scared from...me. But all in all it was super fun! Thanks for coming and celebrating the 4th Reads, Hunters, and Baileys! We love you guys!

Family Pictures!

2009-07-01T09:40:00.001-07:00