Fourth of July

My goodness, where do I even begin? We went camping with the McLachlans over the Fourth of July weekend in South Dakota. We left Thursday after work and got to the campground at about midnight. Bradlee spend the majority of that night puking, and I spent the majority of that night cleaning her up and holding a bowl. The next day we headed up to Mount Rushmore to see some awesome fireworks. We knew there was going to be about 20 to 30 thousand people there, and we thought we were prepared for that. By the time we got there, Tyler and I had to walk about three miles uphill with the kids. Luckily, we had a stroller for Brock. I almost forgot to mention that is was a torrential down pour this whole time, and that mountain is steep. We were determined to wait out the storm. Even when it wasn't raining it was impossible to dry off because of the thick humidity, but it did clear up and we did have some fun waiting about twelve hours for the fireworks to start.

Here's Buddy workin' it with the ladies. What girl doesn't like a water bottle to the face?

A typical Bradlee face. She is generally annoyed. "Seriously, dad, why are you still looking at me?"



Handsome devil.

Miss America.

Here's what they look like wet. I know you were curious.

The whole day had been a struggle, but we all tried our hardest to stay in a good mood because this fireworks show was supposed to be one of the top five in the nation. But, alas, when the time came....this was all we could see.

I kid you not, after all that, WE DIDN'T SEE ONE FREAKIN' FIREWORK, and I love fireworks! The fog was way too thick. About ten minutes into the fireworks display, that we couldn't see, we decided to walk down the mountain back to our car. The walk down was much more enjoyable.

That night we drove through Custer State Park back to our campground. The drive was awesome. They had these crazy tunnels cut straight through the rock.

Saturday we just took our time in the morning, and then went to have lunch at Sylvan Lake (where the end of National Treasure 2 was filmed). After that we went on a tour of Jewel Cave. That was super cool. That cave is seriously ginormous (that means super huge).

I was camping. Don't judge me.

They also have a spelunking cave tour. You have to be able to fit through this hole in order to go on that tour. FYI, Collin made it!

Sunday we went back to the Mount Rushmore Memorial because it was such a nice day, and I wanted to get a better look at it before we left. It was a much more enjoyable experience. That is definitely something everybody needs to see. Very cool!

Well, I cleaned up puke, walked three miles uphill in rain, used an outhouse and showered in a public shower. It was awesome! No, I am just kidding. I am sure I was a little high strung the whole time, but I was really glad to be able to see Mount Rushmore and spend time together as a family. I am just not a good camper, but I guess that's not a surprise! Even though I'm a little traumatized, we made some great memories, and Bradlee's new favorite word is Rushmore.

My Birthday Weekend

My mom and dad came to town to celebrate my birthday with us. On Thursday night we went to Pizza Hut, on Friday night we went to Red Lobster and on Saturday Jamie and Amy's family came up to be with us too. We had pumpkin pie (as you saw on Molly's blog, I thoroughly enjoy my pumpkin pie) and ham. Jamie, Amy and the kids all stayed the night. Bradlee snuck out of her room that night to get in bed with them. Pretty sure Jamie lost his spot to her. We didn't take many pictures that weekend because we were having too much fun, but here you can see Bradlee and Thaiya sleeping in on Sunday morning. We all went to church together, and my mom got to watch me teach Sunday School and Relief Society. I was pretty nervous to have her there. I don't care what most people think of me, but I wanted her to be impressed. I loved having my family here. It made for a spectacular birthday.

Bradlee's Wrath

The following is a product of Bradlee's anger. As you can see, it wore her out! FYI...she cleaned it up the next day.

Brock is ONE!

My Little Buddy is one. I can hardly believe it. Well, it has been a while since he turned one on May 22nd, so let me try to catch you up to speed. At his 12-month wellness check-up Brock weighed 22 lbs, was 30-inches long, and his head was 18-inches in circumference. His percentiles are pretty average, if anything, maybe a tad small. He took three steps the day before he turned one. He definitely did not care for walking for a few weeks, but now he doesn't stop! He has four big teeth, and he just sprouted a fifth one this week.

My little boy is just so handsome, I can hardly handle it. He is such a blessing, and he just melts my heart. He still sucks his thumb, and I love that too. He has this super low little man laugh that is 100% irresistable and contagious. We love him so much. Sometimes we get him out of his crib in middle of the night just 'cause we miss him!

Brock's First Birthday

Well, Brocks first birthday was originally supposed to be in SLC at my parent's house. However, my Granny's funeral ended up being on the same day (May 23, 2009), so we had to regroup. We decided to head to SLC and have his party at the McLachlan's house instead. We had a good time celebrating and eating. Our friends the Healeys and the Jensens came to celebrate with us. It was so good to see them. It is so hard to visit our friends in Utah with both of our families living there, so we were really glad they made the effort to stop by! We had his party outside with lots of food, cake and presents. I think Brock enjoyed himself.

Bradlee is such a good sister, she was by his side the whole time to help him open his presents!

Pretty sure his favorite present was a pair of shoes. Atta boy, Brockers!

Of course we sang to him and let him play in some cake. What would a first birthday party be without a huge mess?! He was a little unsure at first, but he got the hang of it...obviously! Maybe we helped him a little....

They each had a little taste.

If I remember correctly, he was a huge fan of this little maneuver.

Seriously, a boy needs to take a rest every once in a while.

How is this not the best picture ever? He loves it!

However, he HATED getting cleaned off in the sink afterwards. I am surprised the neighbors didn't call DFS.

On Saturday night my parents called and said they were going to hurry home first thing the next morning, so we met them at their house as soon as they pulled in the driveway. I was so excited that they made the effort to make sure we got to spend some time with them. Bradlee wasn't super fun for them because she had started puking Sunday morning, and incidentally, they both puked the whole way home to Cheyenne on Monday. That was super....unpleasant. All in all, a fun weekend. Thanks to the McLachlans for letting us party at their house on such short notice!

Happy Birthday, Rowdy!

As of May 21st, my oldest brother is OLD! All of us siblings think that you are by far the most generous and sincere. You never forget to tell me you love me when we get off the phone. If I don't really want to know what you think...I won't ask you for an opinion. You're the smartest and most adventurous. Just thought you might want to know what people are saying behind your back! I love you! Happy birthday, brother!

Missing My Granny

Just wanted to jot down a few random things I'll always remember about Granny.

Whenever I stayed the night at her house, she always let me sleep right next to her in her bed.
She used to sit at my desk at the office and tap out songs with a pen and make me guess them.
She refused to ever wear the color gray.
She and Walt were the only grandparents (on either side) at our sealing in Bountiful.
She always told me that I looked just like her when she was my age, and she would dig out pictures to prove it.
She was tough. Just like my mom and every other woman in this family.
She bought Bradlee's blessing dress for her.
She and Walt used to get in fights at the office and they would just yell at each other from their separate offices. SO FUNNY!
She always used to tell me stories about how she used to love to go dancing with her brother Jack.
The candy drawer, dresser and closet. OBVIOUSLY!
I love how everyone called her Granny, even if they weren't related.
She once said, "Tan cellulite looks better than white cellulite."
The last time I said goodbye to her was Christmas of 2007 at the movie theater in Klamath after National Treasure 2.

The hardest part is worrying about my mom and Molly. I hate for my mom to be sad, and Molly has spent so much time with Granny these last few years, I know it must be harder on her than the rest of us kids. It makes me sad that she never got to meet Brock, but I know she'll be watching out for us, and I know she'll meet him one day.

Mommy's Helper

...or more like mommy's nightmare. He is in everything...ALWAYS. Plus, he is crazy quick!

Salt Lake Weekend #1

This weekend we took a trip to SLC to see the McLachlans. It was a long awaited trip, and was jam packed with tons of stuff. I hope you enjoy ALL of the ten thousand pictures I have posted!

Tracy Aviary & Liberty Park

Saturday morning we went to Tracy Aviary and looked at all the birds. Bradlee loved it. Every time she saw a new bird she would say, "it's a baby bird!" Apparently they were all babies. Who knew?

Here's Brock in the wagon. How is that not the cutest face ever?

This guy thinks facial hair makes him look tough!

After we looked at all the birds, we rode rides at Liberty Park. Bradlee is a regular Dare Devil. She loved all the rides and was never scared at all. Good thing, 'cause we won't be having any pansy babies in this family!

The Eagles Concert

Saturday night we went to The Eagles concert. It was a ton of fun. I was super excited because Michelle Branch opened for them, and I love her too! What a nice surprise. Joe Walsh rocks, and he is officially my favorite Eagle.

This was the stage during Hotel California.

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day we got to be lazy. We got up early for church, and then just lazed around. Tyler did everything for the kids...I even got to take an uninterrupted nap! We had a BBQ outside and watched a movie.

Here's a mother's day picture of me with my babies.

Wendy with all of her babies.

Since I was in town, I decided I would make a surprise my mom on Mother's Day. I was so glad I was there to be with her!

The Zoo

Monday morning before we left, we made a quick trip to the zoo. All the animals were sleeping, but Bradlee still had fun. She especially liked seeing Melman and Marty!

We had a really great time this weekend being with the McLachlans. It is so nice to have such good family. We miss living close to them, but we will be back for Salt Lake Weekend #2 in just a couple weeks, so stay posted!

Saturday

It was raining on Saturday, so we played at the library instead.