Sorry no pictures...

Well, this will probably be one of the most random blog posts ever. Let's see...the first week of work I cried every day, but don't worry I never let the kids see. Sunday I sang a duet in Relief Society. I guess it went ok for never having practiced it. Second week of work...I never cried at all, so things are getting better even quicker than I had hoped. My mom came to town for like a day and a half this weekend, and it was SO good to see her. Nothing like having your mommy around to make you feel better! Tomorrow I am teaching Sunday School and singing in a quartet in Sacrament meeting. We are singing Candlelight Carol, and I am singing second soprano which will be interesting because I haven't sang anything but alto in a VERY long time. I'll keep you posted on that.

Brock is getting up on his hands and knees now. He is such a boy already, and it just cracks me up. He is so happy and wild. Bradlee is talking more all the time. She says some weird things that catch me off guard like, "Who's at the door?" or "I'll do it!". She also says her own name now whenever she sees a picture of herself. It sounds more like, "raree", but it is still cute. Oh yeah, she has also been in the habit lately of calling me Tory.

Today our doorknob broke and we couldn't get in our house. Tyler had to use a credit card and break in through the garage door. Good to know that it would be so easy for an amature to break in to our house. Well, sorry, I wish I had more exciting stuff to say. I should have some good pictures to post after Christmas.

WHAT A DAY!

First of all, today was my first day going back to work. After some painful and prayerful consideration...Tyler and I decided I needed to go back to work for a little while. After days of crying (and throwing up), we had a really neat experience that let us know that everything was going to be ok, and for the most part I have been at peace about our decision ever since. I work with the Wyoming Department of Health, which coincidentally is in the same building Tyler works in. It works out pretty nicely. A lady from our stake is watching the kids, and they did really well today. Funny how things don't always work out how we want, but they always work out.

On a lighter note, we made a gingerbread house tonight for FHE. Bradlee was suprisingly involved with the building process. I was actually pretty surprised!

Thanksgiving in St. George

Where do I even begin? First of all, I need to apologize in advance for having like zero pictures of the whole trip due to our camera being "lost" the majority of the time. You will have to check out my mom's or Molly's blog to see more pictures and videos. We left Wednesday night for Salt Lake where we stayed the night with my parents. Jamie and Amy stayed with them that night as well. Thursday morning we all headed off to St. George to meet Molly and Craig who were already there. We stayed in some brand new condos that my dad manages. He was working on this project back when I was still working at VRI, and clearly he finished strong! Anyway, Thursday we cooked dinner and played a dice game (with presents) that my mom brought. Every game is better with presents. Bradlee won some My Little Pony fruit snacks; she was pretty pumped. Mom also provided the entire Thanksgiving dinner.
Friday we went shopping at the outlet mall, while Jamie, Amy and Craig stayed to swim with all the kids at the resort. We all met up later at Cafe Rio and then we went to walk around the St. George Temple and watched a short film at the visitors center. We came back and had a great dinner (thanks again to my wonderful mother). The kids spent the night playing Wii, and the guys played some basketball.

Saturday we went to Zion's National Park and took a kid/stroller friendly hike. We packed some leftover ham...that is relevant because it is what sparked my favorite conversation of the trip. This is what Jaiden told Chase about the ham..."You know, this comes from a pig's butt!" It was super funny because no one in our family is even allowed to say the word butt. That afternoon Molly and I went back to the outlet mall. We went out to dinner that night after driving around for about an hour we just decided to eat at the mall food court. Turns out the mall doesn't really have a food court, but we all had good attitudes about our two choices anyhow! After dinner we went back to the condos to celebrate Christa's first birthday! Everybody loved the yummy cupcakes. Happy birthday Christa, Christa!!! Also Friday night we played Bunko and Molly provided some AWESOME prizes! I won some slim jims for having the most zeros. What can I say? I am amazing. Tyler must be pretty amazing too because he won a prize for having the lowest score! Dad rocked it, and won the most bunkos and highest score. Apparently still amped from our wild and crazy game of bunko, we had a family dance competition. The kids were the judges, and well, they were less than impressed by our choice of dance moves, but in the end Molly was the winner (because she practiced her dance moves beforehand in the mirror)! Jamie's dance was by far the most original and unexpected, and mine was just plain awesome. Dad performed a family favorite with some sweet jumps, Tyler rocked the grave digger, Craig belly danced for us, and watching Mom dance is ALWAYS a good time!

Jamie and Amy left early Sunday morning. The rest of us went to Sacrament meeting at a local chapel. After that we went to play on some rocks that Tyler knew about from when he went to Dixie. They were pretty neat rocks. I was too big of a weenie to crawl through the slot canyon. I knew I would regret it, and I do.

All in all it was a fantastic trip. I already miss my family. The last day with them is always hard because I am already starting to get sad about leaving them. Bradlee LOVED spending time with her cousins. She also loves her grandparents. Apparently, she would wait for Tyler and I to fall asleep at night and then sneak out of our room to enjoy some midnight treats and TV with her Papa. From what I understand she did it a couple nights in a row. We had a lot of fun, and we are trying not to be too sad about being alone here in Cheyenne because Christmas is just a few weeks away!

Our Crazy Weekend

Friday night was the elders quorum party. I was super stressed out about the whole thing because Tyler told me that the entire dinner and everything to make gingerbread houses was being provided. Well, since Tyler works all day, who do you think had to make the dinner and get everything ready for the gingerbread houses? I did! Well, it didn't end up being that big of a deal. For dinner we just had ham, green beans, salad and rolls (that was the easiest thing I could think of), and then I ended up just buying a bunch of gingerbread house kits (because it was much easier and almost the same price). Then all I had to do was mix the frosting while everyone was eating. I think everything turned out pretty good. A few people told Tyler that they had a really good time. SUCCESS!!

Saturday was the BYU vs. Utah game. We went to watch it at the Wacaser's house. Tyler had on all his Utah stuff, and Bradlee and I had on our BYU gear. Bradlee and I were the only BYU fans there, but we can hold our own. No matter who wins, I come out on top. If BYU wins, I win. If Utah wins, then Tyler is in a good mood for the next month and a half. Some "people" say they are going to send Bradlee a Utah shirt, well, at the end of the day I am still the mom, and I am the one who dresses her!

* * *

Sunday, Tyler and I both had to teach lessons, but most importantly....the nursery kids sang in sacrament meeting! Oh my goodness, it was so cute! They sang "A Song of Thanks" out of the Children's Songbook. Bradlee didn't sing (she was too busy looking at us), but she was very well behaved, and she looked adorable up there.

Yes, this is the best picture I could get of her!

One of Those Moments

Today as I was laying on my bed watching a movie with Bradlee, I had one of those moments of realization. One of those moments when something you have always known in the back of your mind actually becomes an integral part of your conscious understanding. I really don't know how else to explain it, but everyone has these, so I know you know what I am talking about. Anyways, we were just laying there and as I looked at her, it just hit me in an instant that she is mine, that we are SO much alike, and that we will ALWAYS have that special relationship that only a parent and child can have. The type of bond where everything that hurts her will hurt me twice as bad, and her safety and happiness is essential to my own. Just as these thoughts were materializing all at once, Bradlee looked over at me, crinkled up her nose and laughed. Then just as quickly she was back to watching her movie. It was a testimony builder for me that Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.

Brock Update

He is sitting up! I just set him on the floor today and kinda let go, and it turns out he can sit up on his own...kinda. Who knew? He is getting so big!

For Kicks and Giggles...

So, yesterday Jamie and Amy came over to visit us for a little while. Well, just as Jamie was getting up to leave, Thaiya full on karate kicked him right smack dab in the crotch, and dropped him to his knees right there in the living room. Oh my goodness, it was one of the funniest things I have seen in quite a while! I laugh everytime I think about it. Classic!

I've Been Tagged...Again

Eights!!!

I've received this same tag a couple of times now, so I figure it is about time I get around to doing it. I never did it the first time because I am not all that exciting, and well, nothing has changed!

8 Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office
2. The King of Queens
3. Americas Best Dance Crew
4. What I Like About You
5. George Lopez
6. That 70's Show
7. Home Improvement
8. Just Shoot Me

8 Favorite Movies:
1. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
2. Tommy Boy
3. Karate Kid I, II, III
4. Rocky Balboa (that's the one that just came out a couple years ago, in case you were wondering)
5. Step Up 2 (Don't Laugh!)
6. Singin' in the Rain
7. Hello Dolly
8. SWAT

8 Quirks about you
1. I never ever ever check our voice mail.
2. I hate the phone, which is probably why I never check the voice mail.
3. When in a confrontation, I have been told that I cut right to the nasty. There is no middle ground, I say the meanest thing I can possibly think of right from the get go.
4. I have been called "a real fireball" probably a dozen times (usually at church).
5. When I get overwhelmed I just walk around the house all day accomplishing nothing. That really helps the cause.
6. I wear jeans and a white t-shirt six days out of the week.
7. Unfortunately, no one would notice if I never wore a bra. I can say that because anyone who reads this is either a girl or related to me (and he is pretty much a girl anyway, he said so himself).
8. I trip and fall down probably once a month.

8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Watched a few episodes from the fourth season of The Office. We got it for Tyler's birthday.
2. Did laundry.
3. Vacuumed.
4. Transcribed a discharge summary.
5. Blogged (Surprise! Surprise!)
6. Window shopped online.
7. Colored with Bradlee.
8. I don't know, I probably made fun of Tyler at some point.

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1. Thanksgiving.
2. Christmas.
3. I can't wait for Tyler to only have one job.
4. Having grass and automated sprinklers.
5. Little Buddy sitting up.
6. Bradlee speaking in complete sentences.
7. Watching my kids grow up together. I never had a sibling close to my age, so I am excited to watch how that plays out.
8. Finishing my school work.

8 Favorite Places to Eat Out
1. Red Lobster
2. Texas Roadhouse
3. Cafe Rio
4. Olive Garden
5. Mongolian Grill
6. McGraths
7. Market Street Grill
8. Any place I can have good pizza

8 Things on my wish list
1. Tyler only having one job.
2. Grass and sprinklers.
3. I would love for Tyler to have all the guns and cars he wants, so I can stop hearing about them. Then I'll just have to look at them... a lot.
4. A new wardrobe.
5. Um...I guess a new laptop for my school work.
6. I wish for all our baby hospital bills to disappear.
7. I wish my floors never had crumbs on them.
8. I wish my whole family lived in our cul de sac.

WOW! That was tough. Eight is a lot.

The Birthday Weekend

This weekend Tyler's parents came up to surprise him for his birthday. He had no idea they were coming. It was the best kept secret ever. We had lots of fun...well, most of the time. Unfortunately, while they were here they both caught what our family had the week before (it turns out our family wasn't completely over it either). It was so sad. However, we were still able to do lots of fun stuff (when proximity to a bathroom was not an issue). We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse on Saturday night for Tyler's birthday dinner, watched lots of movies, played outside with Bradleee and even did a craft project. Sorry, pictures are limited due to no one really feeling like taking any, and in the few that we did take my kids just look trashed. I think these two are the best ones!

Happy 27th Birthday!

It has been said that I can be very independent and strong willed (who knew?), and Tyler is always telling me that I would be just fine without him. So, as a birthday tribute I thought I would name the top ten reasons why I wouldn't be able to survive without him.

10. When putting furniture together, and when something inevitably is not working the way it is supposed to, I never even have to get concerned because I know I can just get up and walk away and somehow Tyler will fix it.

9. He has mad dance skills. I particularly enjoy his running man and a new jewel of a move that we refer to as "the prance".

8. Every girl needs someone to tell her she's beautiful and thin.

7. He sincerely cares about and considers the things I have to say. Anytime I come to him with a concern he always makes a diligent effort to fix it.

6. He is compassionate. That is a necessity because someone in this house needs to have some compassion, and we all know it isn't me!

5. He is an excellent musician. His forte is the drums, but he is WAY above average at playing the guitar and singing as well. Oh yeah, and he can play the piano and the bass also, and probably any instrument that he felt like playing.

4. He gets the hair out of the shower drain for me because he knows I will gag if I ever see it!

3. He's the only reason we have friends. He sincerely likes EVERYONE! He can find something in common with anybody.

2. He is ALWAYS the one to initiate FHE. Even when he has to work Monday nights (which is usually the case), he always asks me to please have family home evening with the kids. He is always willing to give us blessings if we need it, and he always makes sure to pray with the kids before they go to bed.

1. He is always worried about us. Are the doors locked? Did you lock all the windows? Do you have lots of lights on in the house? Honestly, the poor guy probably has an ulcer, but at least we know he must love us a lot.

He is also super funny and attractive! Happy Birthday, Babe. We love you! Way to be THREE years older than me! (I know, it's two and a half!)

The Sweetest Thing...

This week our family has been SUPER sick. It started with Bradlee throwing up on Monday night, and by Wednesday the rest of us all had the same thing. So, on Wednesday I am laying on the floor in the bathroom, and Bradlee, who is better by this time, comes to sit by me and just starts rubbing my back. I had done the same thing for her all day Tuesday, and apparently, she picked up on it. Anyways, it was very sweet. I need to keep track of things like this, so during her more "challenging" moments, I can remember that she really is a sweetheart.

Just Because

I don't have much to say about these pictures, except I think they are cute.

More Halloween

Halloween night we took the kids to the trunk-or-treat in the church parking lot. The weather was amazing. It was the perfect night for the kids. We met up with the Bangerters at the the church and headed over to their house once it was over for pizza and hanging out. The Cuppys were also kind enough to grace us with their presence.


The Bangerters made these awesome Halloween tie-dyed shirts for our kids. I think they are so cute. Of course, I had to take a picture! Can you tell the kids are ridiculously tired?!

Little Buddy Laughing!

Here is a little video for everyone who hasn't seen Brock in a while.

Leelou Blogs

You are not gonna want to miss this!

Pumpkin Carving

Stake Halloween Party

Saturday night we took Bradlee and Brock to the stake Halloween party. They had a ton of cool booths, games and food. It was Tyler's job to take Bradlee around to the games, but I guess just one game was enough. As soon as she won one piece of candy off a fishing pool, Tyler said she was so excited to come show it to me that she didn't care about anything else, and sure enough she ran straight to me screaming to show me her candy! We saw Jamie and Amy's family there. Of course, Bradlee as super excited to see them. After the party, we picked up some pies from Sheri's and had Heather, Jack, Mandy, Jed and Michael over. At about 10:00 PM the guys all decided they were going to go see "Dark Knight" at the dollar theater even though they had all already seen it. I am lovin' me some Halloween! Plus, how cute are my kids?!

Bradlee and Michael

Heather was "Super Stylin'" and Jack was "Super Sized"...Larger than your average sized hero. I thought their costumes were "super cute"!

Jetrin and Brock

The Briccos and the McLachlans

Progress?

Well, she's learned a couple of things from speech therapy, but how to talk isn't one of them...

Pumpkin Pickin'

Today we all got up and got ready early to go pick out a pumpkin! It was a lot of fun. I LOVE the fall and the crisp air! Anyway, there was a ton of pumpkins to pick from, but I think the one we got was the best! Sorry the pictures aren't that great, we definitely are not photographers!

Good Times

I spent some time going through our pictures today. I decided it would be a good idea to make a few more scrapbook pages. I didn't get too fancy, but it was fun nonetheless.

Spatula Shots!

We're passing on the family tradition...

In Other News...

Brock had his first experience with rice cereal this last week, and he hated it. He also hated fuits and vegetables. We'll keep trying...

Fun with my Mommy

Jamie and Amy went to Kansas City this weekend for Amy to run the marathon (where she took first in her age group and qualified for the Boston Marathon). So, my mom came to town to stay with Jaiden and Thaiya. We had lots of fun. We went to the park (a couple times), Olive Garden, some sick chinese restuarant, watched lots of movies, and played lots of Wii. Here are some pictures...

THE PARK

OLIVE GARDEN

Tyler and Tory Update

Well, I guess it has been a while since I have said what we are really up to...

Tyler is still struggling to juggle taking care of all his elders quorum duties, building his business at Wyoming Financial and working most nights at Sears. He is getting really burned out, but he sure does take good care of us. I just wish I got to see him from time to time.

I LOVE my new calling at church. I recently was released from young womens (if you know me, you know I really struggled with that one), and now I teach Sunday school. I love it so much. Teaching out of the scriptures is so awesome. I hope I never get another calling! I am still working on my medical transcription course. It is taking A LOT longer than I would like, but hopefully it will pay off in the long run.

Bradlee...

...has started her speech therapy. No improvements yet, but I guess that is not a surprise. Sometimes when the therapist is working with her she will come out and say some words I didn't even know she knew. I am becoming more convinced that it is all in there, and she is just holding out on us. Either way, I sure would like to drag it all out of her!

4 Months!

Here is Brock all tuckered out from his four month checkup and shots. He is now 15 lbs. 5 oz., which is just a little below the 50th percentile, and he is 26 1/4 inches long, which is the 75th percentile for height. He did really well with his shots. He only cried for a second, and started smiling again as soon as I picked him up. He is such a happy baby now. It is so easy to make him smile and laugh. What a sweetheart!

Murder for Dinner

Saturday night we went to a murder mystery with some friends. It was a ton of fun! The actors did a great job and were super funny! Jamie and Amy watched B.Rad and B.Rock for us. It is so nice to have family close. Jamie and Amy take care of us. Anyway, it was nice to go out and not have to worry about babies being too loud and such.

Raising Minimum Wage

A major component of the Obama/Biden economic strategy is to raise the minimum wage (don't take my word for it, it is clearly stated on the Obama website). Let's take a moment to digest just how exactly an increase in minimum wage would affect our economy.

How will employers pay for an increase in the minimum wage? Do we honestly think that businesses such as Wal-Mart, Target and all our grocery stores will just eat those added payroll expenses out of their own pockets? Of course they won't! They will either need to lay off employees, cut back hours or RAISE PRICES to compensate for a higher minimum wage. The alternative for most small businesses would mean going out of business completely. Meanwhile, there are those Americans who get paid a salary. Americans earning a salary will not benefit from a minimum wage increase whatsoever. Higher prices and inflation will make a $50,000 a year salary seem like much less. As for those who will be receiving higher wages due to this increase, well their budget won't get any better either. Higher pay doesn't matter much if you just have to spend more!

I just don't see how fewer jobs, higher prices and a decrease in the value of our dollar is going to help anybody.

Speech Therapy for Bradlee

So, as most of you know, Bradlee has no desire to speak. I have been doing my best, but it hasn't been working. I took her in to have her development evaluated, and sure enough, she is 1.34 months delayed in her speech (I actually thought she was farther behind than that). Anyway, I went in today to talk to the speech therapist to set up some goals and what not. The therapist will come to our house every Tuesday to work with her for half an hour, and then she will attend a playgroup with her peers on Fridays. I hope it helps!

Thumb Sucker!

I have been trying to get a picture of Brock sucking his thumb all week, and I finally got it! Most people know that I sucked my thumb until I was like six. Hopefully, we will be able to break him of it a few years before that, but in the meantime...I think it is super cute.

I Got Tagged!

KEEPIN' IT REAL!

So, here's how it works...You are supposed to take pictures of all these items or places in your house AS IS! That is why this is called "KEEPIN' IT REAL". No cleaning or tidying...JUST TAKE THE PICTURES.

Favorite Pair of Shoes: These are my favorites, but I probably wear them the least. Bradlee is too freakin' fast!

Kitchen Sink:
Nothing to report.


Refrigerator:
Not that exciting, but still kinda gross all at the same time.


Laundry Room:

I made sure I took a close up of just the washer and dryer. We use this room for storage too, so it is pretty, um....let's just say...busy!


Any Bathroom in the House:

This is Bradlee and Brock's bathroom. It is also the only bathroom that you can really get a decent picture of.


What your child is doing right now:

Let me break this down for you. Apparently, while in the process of getting undressed, she decided she was going to get into something in the kitchen. Once she saw that she was caught, she just stopped where she was and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. Good thing I caught her!


My Side of the Closet:

YIKES! These are all my fat and pregnancy clothes still. I haven't brought all my regular clothes up from the basement yet.


Favorite Room in the House:

I used to hate being downstairs, but after spending a lot of time down there this summer, I have come to appreciate it. I know having the treadmill out in the open like that is ghetto, but I like to watch movies while I run, so get off my fat back!

I tag: Hannah, Lindsey, Megan and Jennifer.