Thanksgiving with a puppy

Thanksgiving this year was wonderful, as usual. You can't go wrong when you eat all day and get to hang out with family! This year we were with Bryce's mom's side of the family to eat. Before that we (me, Bryce, and Brig) went down to Red Mt. highschool for the annual turkey trot that we do every year. I wanted to give it a little try and just see how much I could run/walk in my pregnant state:) I knew Brig would love to try it too as he is a true runner at heart! I'll have to post a video because it's so cute but Brig literally ran a MILE of the race! I kept asking him if he wanted to stop and rest but he just kept saying, "NO, big rock" and pointed to Red mt. indicating that he won't stop until he reaches the mountain! I tell ya, this kid has more energy than a jackrabbit!

I literally had to convince him to stop because I was starting to get some strong braxten hicks contractions and felt pretty uncomfortable. We walked back to the park and waited for dada to finish, which he did and in a good time. I miss running the whole thing! Next year I'll be there in full spirit AND body!

At Thanksgiving dinner, one of the family members brought their new little puppy and of course Brig was in HEAVEN. He played with it forever and it was the cutest thing as you can tell from the pictures (taken by the talented Brad Burnham!). I know I'm biased, but this is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life!

There was some other cute little boys there that liked Brig's shoes!!!

Cool sideways smile

After dinner we met up with my family and played sports and ate some more. We ended the night with a movie and had a wonderful day. I am so THANKFUL for all my blessings!

A little boy and his "Baby Shamu"

Some of you may remember that we went to SanDiego this year with Bryce's and my own family. We went to Sea World both times which is where Brigham developed his love for Shamu. Brig talks about Shamu more than he talks about me or Bryce! When he wakes up from his naps I always ask him what he dreamt about and he always answers "Shamu, jump high, acqua" (he says acqua for water...it's Italian and that's all Bryce speaks to him). Anyways, it's the cutest thing how much of an impact the Shamu show had on him. My mom got him this little Shamu toy and he calls it his "Baby Shamu" . I've heard of kids having blankets or teddy bears that they sleep with, but a rubber whale?? Seriously odd:)

Whatever makes my little guy happy!

My studious child

Brigham takes after his dad. He is so studious that he reads all the classics in the car until he falls asleep! (in this case it was the timeless "Snow White")....so much for one little brain to absorb!!

Mother Nature's Pumpkin Patch

I decided to try out Mother Nature's Farm this year and see what it was all about. I took Brig the Monday before Halloween. We went in the morning when it opened and the weather was beautiful! It was a little pricey but made for a fun morning away (and Brig LOVED it!). We went on a little hayride, stopped and fed some animals (cow, sheep, goats), did a little haystack maze, played on a bouncy blowup trampoline, picked out a little pumpkin and decorated it with tons of stickers! I will probably do it again next year:)


Here is Brig tackling the huge pumpkins they had in front They have a cute measuring stick so you can see how much you grow each year

My cute little pumpkin:)

He is such a ham sometimes when I tell him to smile!

Feeding the goats some pumpkins

Piggy Briggy

Halloween at the mall with Dewper

This year Brig and I have gone out to the Superstition Mall on many Thursdays to attend a little singing time they have with Dewper (a big ground hog type character:). They do really cute songs and activities for the kids and then you can ride on the carousel for FREE (usually like $2!!). The Thurs. before Halloween, they had the kids dress up in their costumes which Brigham LOVED! We met Afton and Sadie out there and had a great time.Lil miss Sadie on her royal pony:)

I love Afton's excitement in this picture:)

This pregnancy

It's weird to say that this pregnancy has gone by fast but it has. I realized I really haven't posted anything about my progress, etc. Maybe it makes it go by faster that way:) Anyways, I am 30 weeks along and the 10 week countdown has begun! We took these pictures a few weeks ago so I am bigger now for sure:) I hope the last 10 weeks are good to me! I have had such a great pregnancy and can't wait to meet our new little boy.

Here is me and my honey:)

Halloween Party at Albrecht's!

Every year we look forward to the fun costume party at my aunt Judy and uncle David's house. This year our little family decided to be a pirate family! I found this awesome costume for Brig at a big church rummage sale for way cheap (it looks like it was never worn!) and then me and Bryce gathered what we could to make our costumes. It turned out real cute, I mean scary:) Have you ever seen a happier pirate? (This was right before we left to come to the party)Here is me and me matee BrigMy scary sidekick Captain Bryce (yes he has an earring!)Oh, we are nice pirates tooA family shot which Brig wanted no part ofBrig and captain Bryce with their weapons (guns)Ok, here is one shot of the annual donut eating contest. I will post one of me and Bryce when I get it. You have to get the entire donut in your mouth without using your hands Bryce and I have done this every year AND I WIN EVERY YEAR (Bryce disputes this). This year was actually pretty close and some even called it a tie but I think I still beat him:) Brig wanted a turn after watching mommy and daddy go.

Here are some of the cute costumes of the night...Alyssa and Keith as the MOrton salt girl and Mr. Peanut!

How clever and cute it this costume?

Olivia as TinkerbellPretty Jennie as a 1940's assassin and little Sadie as a cute thing:)

And last but not least my cute mom as a scary nurse/patient who just got her blood drawn!

Happy Halloween!!!

Safford Pumpkin Patch and fair

Each year my family goes to Safford (where my dad grew up and where a lot of his family is) for the annual county fair. Along with that, there is a big pumpkin patch in Wilcox where we take a hayride to pick a pumpkin and eat all sorts of yummy things (ex: for lunch this year I had apple crumb pie with a huge scoop of icecream!!!.....my baby LOVED it).

The trip always falls mid semester which is crunch time for Bryce in law school so he wasn't able to come this year....NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE HOME FREE!! Me and Brig drove up with my mom and dad and Olivia on Friday night and just visited with family that evening. The next morning we headed up to the pumpkin patch and began the festivities!

This picture captures it all....

While waiting in line for the hayride, there is a huge bin of corn kernals for kids to play in and of course Brig loved it:)Here is Brig and cousin Afton waiting patiently for the ride (choo choo as Brig called it)Me, Livy, and Brigsy on the hayrideMom, dad, Alyssa and Keith on the rideNow we are out in the fields....here is Papa helping Brig cut a pumpkin he found ALL BY HIMSELF! He was so proud. It was a cute little one and he called it "baby punkin"Here we are after he cut his prize....check out the cool green part on top of the pumpkin...that is not vines..it is actually part of the pumpkin that hadn't turned orange yet and made the coolest shape on top! Brig picked a winner:)Here is Alyssa and Keith picking their pumpkin. I happened to snap the shot right when Alyssa was apparently about to fall down! Those vines are pretty tricky, Lyss...it could happen to anyone....NOT!Here is the whole gang with our cut pumpkins! My mom and dad got a huge one this year!Here is papa with two of his three grandkidsBrig and Afton getting along:)There is a beautiful sunflower field near the patch. Perfect for taking pictures. If Brig would have not wanted to run off, I would have got more of him:(That night we went to the fair and our favorite Mexican restaurant. Here is Brig eating ranch dressing with lettuce (his favorite)

My dad thought it would be a fun idea to take Brig on this huge slide at the fair. They hiked all the way to the top and layed out their potato sack to slide down on. I watched as my dad picked up Brig and he began to scream and scream. I thought, uh oh, he is scared to death to come down. He cried the whole way down. I went over to console him after he came down and found out the real story...up at the top, he thought he was going to get to ride down all by himself! He was all ready to go so when my dad put him on his lap he WAS MAD! That little kid has no fear and is so full of adventure (just like his dad I suppose:)

Brig LOVED all the animals at the fair. His favorites were the pigs and rabbits, I think

Grammy, Papa and Brig at the fair

Good bye to another fun fall adventure!

Tigger Brigger

Since it finally dropped below 100 degrees today, I decided it was fall and time to try on one of Brig's Halloween costumes:). I found this Tigger costume for a great deal and one other "surprise costume" that I think I'll have him wear to our big Hatch party. He looked so cuddly and cute in this get-up....and LOVED having his picture taken in it. He wanted to act like a scary tiger sometimes which is why it looks like he is growling in some of them! Happy Halloween!!

Happy Birthday to Brig and his special present!

Two weeks ago, our little guy turned two!! He's getting so big and tall but still has those wonderful, chubby cheeks that I can't kiss enough! He is the most energetic boy you will ever meet, and being pregnant and tired has been an excellent challenge, but I wouldn't trade his little personality for the world:) He runs so hard core in the day that he always takes a great nap and usually sleeps through the night. He loves loves loves being outside....

Bryce always says he's like our little puppy dog because right when he wakes up in the morning (bright and early like 6 AM!) he immediately needs to go outside and run around and he also needs a night time jog to release some energy. He usually asks me or Bryce to "set, go!" with him which means to race across our lawn. That kid could race forever! I guess that's what I get for taking him jogging with me for these two years of his life:)

His birthday was fun and I let him help me make the cakes that morning. Of course, being the chocolate lover that he is, he had to lick the spoon and bowl!

I made two cakes so he could dig into one and we could all eat the other one. I attempted a dragon cake and it turned out fairly cute:

Then I made a chocolate M&M cake because Brig LOVES M&M's!!! (Sorry it's turned)We had the party at my mom's and had the Burnham's over too so Brig could be with all the people he loves. We went swimming first and then ate some pizza.

We tried again this year to let Brig "dig into" his cake (last year he had no desire to) and this year it was about the same. He wants to be messy on every other occasion but his bday:) He DID, however, want to dig into his icecream with full force...that boy LOVES icecream!Finally, we let him open his presents and he got so excited with each one. He loves dinosaurs lately and got TWO of them! He also got one more very special surprise....
He is going to have A LITTLE BROTHER!!! Yes, I'm sure most of you knew by now anyways, but just in case.... we are going to have another little boy! We are thrilled that Brig gets a "bash buddy" and know he will love his little brother so much (I hope he knows they can't wrestle right away). The way we told him and our family was simply to wrap a blue poster that said "It's a boy" on it. Brig had no idea what was going on and why everyone was so excited at a simple poster for a present, but he laughed and we tried to explain:) It was a fun party. Happy birthday to my happy boy!

Christmas in July

One of my most favorite traditions occurred a few months ago at my parents house...Christmas in July! (I know I'm behind on posting). We've had this tradition for many years now and it has been so fun adding new members to the family (husbands, kids, etc.). My parents get their house nice and cool to make it feel like we are entering the holiday season, they burn Christmas incense, and decorate their house just a little (mostly by the fire place). Here is cute little Brigsy by a Christmas tree, ready to start the festivities! Here's me and Brig hugging Santa Me and my honey:)

My mom and Sadie helping with the decor We start the evening off by eating a big "breakfast for dinner" that my dad always cooks...so yummy! Then we move into the living room, read the Christmas story from the bible, sing some Christmas songs, enjoy each other's memories and the little kids get to open a present or two! (My parents were so generous and gave us presents too!). Here is Brig opening his Elmo vacuum!

Here is Brig wrestling my mom to the ground like he does with EVERYONE who dares lay on the ground near him!

One thing I forgot to mention is the beebee gun. Not so Christmasy when you see this picture but if you saw what Bryce was aiming at you'd laugh. It's a Christmas tree my dad sets up and places those cheap glass ornaments on it. Then we all take turns trying to shoot the bulbs to break them and see if there is any money in them!!! Ha, I love my dad's way of doing Christmas (and the boys in the family especially love it too!)

We had so much fun this year. It always ties us over so we can make it to Christmas without missing it too much:)

Big shoes to fill...

Well, here goes nothing!! Bryce started his third and final year of lawschool this past week....HOORAY! Our first year started with just Bryce and I (Brig came a few days later), our second year was all with Briggy and this third year will finish off with a new baby! I can't believe we are nearing the finish line. Brigham is so proud of his daddy and decided he wanted to be just like him so...he walked in with THESE on today (Bryce's tennis shoes)! Someday he'll be just like his dad and I will be so proud:)

What a little stud