Our Christmas

I hope everyone had as good of a Christmas as we did! It was really peaceful this year. We weren't overly rushed and had time to enjoy our Christmas weekend! What a change!
A few years ago Clayton and I decided that rushing around, trying to make it to both of our parents homes for every holiday was too hard. We had Courtni and wanted to enjoy some of the holiday at home as our little family too. As our family grew, this was even more important so we decided that we would switch off every other year. (This year was my parents for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and Clayton's parents for Chrsitmas day). We always feel really guilty no matter who's holiday it is because we love our families and we all get along so well that we want to spend time with both. We are HUGE people pleasers, and worry about hurting feelings, but this is so much better!
Courtni spent her Christmas break with walking pnemonia. I have to admit, when the Dr said the word pnemonia I kind of panicked a little inside. She explained that it isn't as scary as it sounds, it would heal itself in 5 months even without antibiotics. Dr Marvasti cracks me up. She is so relaxed about things, and was just trying to explain that it wasn't worth beating myself up for not getting her in sooner. I know it isn't as bad as regular pnemonia, but as if 5 months of coughing and feeling miserable would be any fun!
I am not sad to see 2009 go, I must say. I hope that 2010 is a great year! I have high expectations. Ok, not super high. Just if we could avoid getting sick every other day or getting hit by cars that would be great! ;) Don't they look so cute in their new clothes?

Courtni loved everything about Christmas! She had so much fun!



Brayden was a little excited about his new bike!

Brayden and Britnee love each other so much!

Bryson was so excited to unwrap the gifts. He was so fun to watch!

Bryson and his best buddy Brandon

Courtni, Madi and Ashlee showing off their cuddly new pjs! I want a pair!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Family pics

My heck, as much as I am on the computer you would think my blog would be updated! I am too busy reading everyone elses, I guess! This fall my wonderful sister Betsy took our family pictures. We haven't had them done since Brayden was a baby. A little baby. We're talking like just a couple of months old so I figured it was time to get some again! It was such a good day for them too! It was a little overcast (which is perfect if you are a squinter like me) and just a little cool. The next day the temps dropped and it was so cold! Our timing was perfect.
Betsy took us to some spots by her new place in Meridian which were absolutley gorgeous! I fell in love with the rock wall with the windows! She doesn't give herself enough credit, but she is so good! I will let her practice on my family any time! Thanks for the great pics Bets!

This was at the end, and Bryson has had enough!

Brayden is so difficult to photograph, because he gets stubborn and won't smile, I was so glad that he did. Even if his fingers are STILL in his mouth!

Bryson did not like being held on to !

Brayden is doing his best Dr Evil impression!

Brayden is doing what Clayton and I would both like to be doing! I hate getting my picture taken!

I love the coloring of everything in this one. Brayden and his blasted finger again! I am glad Courtni likes getting her picture taken, it makes it easier for her to stay focused on the camera while we try to position the boys

Seriously, she is so gorgeous! I love her so much!

I tell you, these kids are my life! Seriously, I am such a proud Mama!

1st one and everyone is smiling. Well, I am not sure if Bryson is smiling or wondering what crazy aunt Betsy is doing making those faces!

Brayden's 1st preschool fieldtrip

Brayden started preschool a couple of weeks ago. Some of the moms in my new ward do a coop and I am so glad that they let me join even though very few of them even know me yet. He is doing pretty well, once I actually get him there! Well, on Wednesday the group of us (10 in all) went to Petco. I had never been there. (Don't really have a need to when you don't have a pet!) Apparently they do group tours where they get the animals out and let you pet them and they tell you a little about each animal. It was pretty neat. Brayden wouldn't actually touch any of the animals, but he did get close to them and looked at them. Hey, I will take any improvement I can get! I couldn't resist taking some pics. Brayden said his favorite part was the cat (I guess he doesn't get to see enough of those wandering the street around our house)! I was surprised, I thought for sure it would be the snakes and lizards!

He did really well, but he is a typical 4 year old and got distracted from all the animal talk. I guess spinning around the pole is more exciting then listening to how big all the lizards will get!

Brayden's fav part... the cats name was marmalade

Bryson getting ready to pet the baby boa

Our new home!!!!!!

Hey everyone! So I kind of disappeared for the summer, sorry about that! We had to move to a house that we thought we were only going to be in for a month so we didn't hook up the internet. Well, our month turned in to four! It was a really long summer with no ac and miserable kids who wanted their stuff unpacked! I was to stubborn to do it though, cause I figured as soon as I did one of our home offers would actually get accepted and then I would have to pack it all up again!

Well, we finally got into our new home! I am so happy I can't even begin to express it. We are so lucky to be able to get in on a great buying market and find a home at a reasonable price. Courtni started 1st grade and gets to go with her cousin Ashlee. She is so happy about that and they seem to be loving seeing each other every day!

Brayden just started preschool with a group from the ward. He has only gone once so far but he didn't cry! That is a big accomplishment for him (he has been pretty attached to me since I was hit by a car this summer.)!

Bryson turned one and is a handful! My mom jokes that he is as bad as twins. At least I think she is joking. He really keeps me on my toes. He loves to jump off anything he can. I'm pretty sure he is going to be my first one to break a bone. I don't know where he gets all of his energy!

I guess I should explain about getting hit since I referenced that earlier. On July 3rd the kids and I were going to Albertsons to get stuff for the 4th. We were crossing the parking lot and the kids had just stepped up on the sidewalk when a little old man ran into me with the back of his car. He wasn't going very fast I am sure since he was trying to park, but it was fast enough to cause some damage! He threw me into the wall of the store where I was luckily able to keep myself from falling with Bryson in my arms. I was hurt but all I could think about was my kids and how close he had come to hitting them. I still get sick to my stomach when I think about it because he got me in the hip which happens to be head level for them. We were so lucky that I was the one hit! The guy apparently didn't know that he hit me and tried to go in the store to get his groceries. Luckily for me there were two nice old ladies who helped us out. One went in and caught him and the other stood with me and held Bryson. I have been suffering from a lot of neck pain but mostly some terrible migraines from the whole thing. My chiropractor is awesome and has been doing some acupuncture for the headaches. I am now a believer! That has helped so much! I'm not in bed several times a week because of the headaches anymore!

That is a little bit of an update since last time, I just wanted to post some pics of our new home. We've had a lot of people ask for them.

the boys' room.

the kitchen

Courtni's room. Its hard to get the whole thing because of the way the wall angles when you walk in her door.

the office is actually a little loft at the top of the stairs that worked out well. I just realized that I didn't get a pic of the living room or our room! Gosh, here I thought I was doing so good. I plan on painting in the next couple of months anyway so I will definitley do it then since I will probably forget again!

courtni's artwork

If there is one thing my little Courtni loves to do, it is draw. She can sit for hours and color, draw, paint, anything crafty and artistic. I can see her being one of those women that I wish I was someday and be able to make the most beautiful crafts to display around her home. I love to watch what she comes up with when she is given just a simple white sheet of paper. She is so patient and has been trying to perfect her coloring skills so that she doesn't go outside the lines. I don't think I even knew that you weren't supposed to go out of the lines when I was her age, let alone care that I was! It is amazing how patient she is when she is coloring. This little girl who can't seem to sit still long enough to brush her hair literally sits for hours when she has something she is drawing or coloring.

It is so funny to see the difference between her and Brayden; she loves to color and do crafts, Brayden would rather play the wii. She takes her time and picks her colors carefully, Brayden colors everything the same color just to get it done! Brayden just doesn't have the patience to sit around and color, he needs the action of making Shrek beat someone up on his wii game. (I hope that isn't going to backfire on me someday!) Me, I just love to see them happy and watch their little personalities form. Not that I am going to let Brayden play the wii all day (much to his dismay), but it is nice to be able to know what they enjoy. Unfortunatley, the Easter Bunny didn't think that one through when he brought a new box of crayons for Courtni and Brayden. Oops, can't win them all I guess!

Anyway, I just thought I would post this one picture Courtni drew me the other day because it makes me laugh every time I see it. She lost two teeth on Easter this year leaving her with 5 1/2 holes in her mouth. (The one is only 1/2 because the tooth has begun to grow in). So that night she drew a picture of herself and taped a piece of floss to the mouth. You can't see it, but it is there and is part of the humor of the whole thing to me. Next to it she wrote, "Yor dodr Courtni pullng owt hr tooth" translation: "your daughter Courtni pulling out her tooth". What can I say, she is good at art, but hasn't quite grasped the spelling thing yet;)!

Growing like a weed!

I have a few minutes alone, aahh, sigh of relief! Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than spending time with my kids, but as the saying goes, "silence is golden"! Clayton and I had a date (does it count as a date if you don't actually leave the house and you still have a ten month old with you?) and took the opportunity to catch up on Lost so that we can join the rest of the world and watch it tonight! WooHoo! So, he went to get the kids and took Bryson leaving me with a few minutes of silence.
I got the cutest picture of Bryson yesterday. He has been sitting on his knees a lot lately and I wanted to capture it. I didn't think he would notice me, but he looked up at just the right moment and flashed one of his adorable grins at me! His new favorite game is pulling all the toys from his toy box and then leaving them. Just like his big brother and sister! He is getting so big! I can't believe that he is 10 months old already, where did it go? I think I forgot how fast they look like big kids, you know? I swear he shouldn't look this grown up already!