Busy, Busy, Busy

(I have been computerless since my last post- gasp! So I have a lot of catching up to do. Since I am using my blog as my journal this is going to be a long post.)

What a busy couple of weeks. At the American West Heritage Center they have a Corn Maze and Fright Lights. Sean and I thought it would be fun to take the girls to the light section. We picked a cold night to go, but we had a fun time anyway!

Every year over UEA the girls head down to Park City. This is a tradition that started with my grandma and Uunt Venice and has continued on. When I was little, my mom left us kids home with my dad and just the adult ladies got to go, but now we take the kids and have a blast. My mom, sister, aunt, cousins, and good friends come. This year we rented a townhouse that was 5 bedroom 3.5 baths so we had plenty of room. We had a blast. Lots of eating, shopping, laughing, and talking. Sadly, we were having so much fun I didn't even take on picture. I did get this one from my sister. Poor Gracie.

Shopping til' you drop ( I lined the bottom of the cart with clothes I was going to buy and covered her up with the rest.)

Another fun tradition my family has this time of year is the Deer Hunt. Every year the 3rd weekend in October the deer hunt opens. The guys head up Franklin Basin and set up camp. Although, I don't know if I really consider it camping. They have 2 huge army type tents. One is for cooking with 2 long picnic tables, 2 camp chefs, a big grill, and a big food box. The other tent is for sleeping- it is lined with cots with thick foam pads and even air mattresses. In both of these tents there are heaters so there is no going cold. There is even a shower tent. (Sad to say I didn't even get a picture of any of this). We went up 2 nights this year for dinner. (We didn't dare stay with the girls.) We had a BLAST. I must say the women are treated like royalty up there. The men make dinner AND do the dishes- it is super nice. We got to ride horses and 4-wheelers- Brooklyn was in Heaven. Gracie did well although she wanted to be on the ground crawling. Thank you so much pops and the other guys who treated us so nicely up there- we love you!

Then to top things off, our 2 nieces Lauren and Celina were baptized on saturday. It has been awhile since I attended a baptism. It is really a neat experience to see someone baptized and then receive the Holy Ghost. We are so proud of the decision they made to get baptized and love

them very much!

One of the more exciting days of Brooklyn's life happened on Oct. 24. High School Musical 3 came out. I have mentioned before how Brooklyn is OBSESSED with HSM. She tells people Troy is her husband and she is Gabriella and on and on. Us, my aunt, and cousins all went to the show. We had a blast and Brooklyn loved it. We asked her what her favorite part was and she said, "The Boys are Bad (instead of Back), being Gabriella (she really thinks she is), and of course seeing Troy." That night when I was tucking her in she said, "Mom I need to tell you a secret- Troy is sure a cutie!"

Another month has passed and my little Gracie is 10 months. She has reached many milestones in this past month. She says 3 words, "Mama, Dada, and baba." She waves "Bye-Bye." She started giving kisses- I love her slobbery kisses. And she started taking her first steps. Doesn't she realize she is my baby and is supposed to hold off on this? It is sure amazing watching her grow and develop and seeing her reach these milestones.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Today, October 12th, is my wonderful hubby's birthday. I wanted to take a minute and tell him HAPPY BIRTHDAY! He he such a great dad and husband. He works so hard for our little family! Between us, work, and school his is a busy man and we love and appreciate all he does for us! Brooklyn and Gracie can't get enough of their daddy. Brooklyn and Sean are "best buds" you will frequently find her with him outside playing, running errands together, or rough-housing in the house (not my favorite). Gracie gets so excited when Sean walks into the room- her eyes light up. Happy birthday babe- I love you! (Due to the fact that our new computer decided to have a few issues and we had to send it in- these are the best pictures I had loaded onto this computer)

Past 2 weeks...

We have had a few computer issues since my last post. So I am a bit behind in my posting. On September 20th Sean and I took the girls to the Utah State vs. Idaho football game. The Ags even came through with a victory so it was an added bonus. I had not been to a football game for a couple years. My dad (Pops) had bought Brooklyn and Gracie the "A" Game shirts and I must say they looked way cute in their USU gear. I am such a dork and didn't get a picture with them and my dad together- next time. We had a blast- my dad, us, Brett and Chels, and our good friends Norval and Dodie were at the game. I even ate a hotdog. That only happens at ball parks- there is just something about the atmosphere. Anyway, Brooklyn was SO excited to meet Big Blue. Sean and her chased Big Blue through the Stadium and finally got a picture and then he worked his way back to us- Sean took her 2 more times, me once, and Brett twice to see him. She was THRILLED! And then a couple weeks after it was Mountain Crest's Homecoming- so we went up to the parade and I looked down the street and there was Big Blue. I thought Brooklyn was going to die. I wish I would have had my video camera because it was hilarious- she had her eyes fixed on his every move and was running in place saying over and over, "Big Blue- Big Blue." When he got close enough she went running to him and hugged hiim. It was really cute.


On saturday the 27th I went down to Salt Lake with my mom, Nat, Chels, Kami, Jan, and we met Sher for shopping, eating, and attending the Relief Society Broadcast. It was a FABULOUS day! Being in the Conference Center is always amazing to me. What an awesome building. I loved the meeting and the talks. I walked away from the meeting feeling proud to be a woman in this church and a member of the Relief Society. I also walked away with more determination to attend the temple regularly. We are so blessed to have a Temple 20 minutes away- in a talk I can't remember her last name, but her first is Silvia- talked about how a group of them traveled from I believe Costa Rica and at the time the closest temple was in Mesa, Arizona. They drove in very uncomfortable buses for 5 days straight. A lot of the people going to the temple made great sacrifices to get there and didn't have hardly any food to eat on the way and while they were there. My mom pointed out to me that our ancestors made too many great sacrifices on our behalf to help build the Logan and Nauvoo Temple- and I will be doing better in making it to the temple. I will also be a stronger woman in the Relief Society. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the broadcast, I would highly reccomend reading the talks- they were very uplifting.

Brooklyn meeting Big Blue.

Go Aggies!

They even won 42-17

Girl's Day in SLC. My mom, Sher, Me, Jan, Chels, Nat, and Kami.

9 Months!

I cannot believe that my Gracie is 9 Months old. Can someone please slow down time? She is such a sweet baby. Her smile with her dimples and her laugh melt my heart. She is a BIG mama's girl. She will let someone else hold her for a minute and then she gets miserable and needs me. As soon as she is in my arms she will look at whoever was holding her and give them a BIG smile. It does make me feel good to me so loved. She is crawling ALL over the place and pulls herself up. She is barely starting to be able to walk when she is pulled up. She got her first tooth last week. She is on quite a schedule that I didn't put her on- she did it herself and I must say it is SUPER nice. She loves to sit in her highchair and eat her Cheerio's. She loves all food and has to try what we are eating. She loves her sister! She thinks everything Brooklyn does is hilarious. Even when Brooklyn is holding her by the neck walking her around. She is my sweetheart and I love her so much!

High School Musical

For anyone who does not know- Brooklyn is OBSESSED with High School Musical. She is in love with Troy she tells people all the time how Troy is her husband, when people ask her name she tells them it is Gabriella, and when I was pregnant- when people would ask her what we were going to name the baby she would tell them Sharpay. The local theater company did the show and our good friend Maggie was in it. Of course- we needed to take Brooklyn. Maggie had told me to bring the camera and after the show Brooklyn could meet Troy and get her picture taken with him. You should have seen the look on her face when I told her this, she was thrilled!! She got this sassy little smile and told me that Troy was going to hold her and that she was going to give him a kiss. (I am in BIG trouble with this boy crazy girl.) It was a way cute production- they did a SUPER job! Brooklyn was dancing at our seats and in the aisles- she loved it. After the show we made our way through all the crowd until we found "Troy" and Brooklyn dove right into his arms. He was way cute about it and a good sport. She was thrilled to get her picture with Troy and Gabriella, our cute friend Maggie, and Sharpay. We had such a fun girls outing.
On a side note, this past Firday, I discovered Gracie had her first tooth. She is such a sweet and happy baby and through the first tooth continued to be her happy self- I am crossing my fingers that they will all go this smoothly!

Brooklyn diving to Troy


Gabriella, Brooklyn, and Troy

Our cute friend Maggie

Brooklyn and Sharpay

LOTOJA

On Saturday, my brother Brian participated in the LOTOJA bike race. They ride from Logan to Jackson in one day. Quite impressive. This is his 5th year doing this race. We decided that we would ride up- we see him along the way and then wait for him at the finish line. My sister-in-law Chelsea had got bucked off her horse and kicked in the head the night before and we weren't sure who would end up being able to go. She ended up being okay- besides a goose-egg the size of a baseball on the back of her head and so her and Brett decided they would come. Me and the gals, my mom, dad, Nat and Garrett all went up. We had a blast. Brian was doing way awesome up until Montpelier and then he got very sick to his stomach. We heard later that there were quite a few racers that had to pull out because they were sick, but he perservered through it and finished. I have got to say I can't even ride a bike 1 mile- so to be able to ride 180+ miles in one day is quite amazing to me. Good job B- We are so proud of you. (Besides seeing Brian cross the finishline, the highlight of the day is when we got stuck in a real life cattle drive.)

The Mullet

I have been debating over whether or not to post this- but decided I wanted to have it documented. The other day I was changing Garrett's diaper and Brooklyn came over and was really checking things out. This is how our conversation went.
Brooklyn: "I really like his mullet."
(Me thinking His What?")
I explain to her that it is his privates- since I HATE the real word.
Brooklyn: "I know. I really like the way it is smashed."
At this point I am trying very HARD not to lose it and die laughing.
And from then on out, every time I change his diaper she is right by my side and tells me she likes his privats. The word "mullet" has a WHOLE new meaning for me.