Burnham Bliss

Meet Curtis Ron Burnham!

2011-07-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

My sweet little guy is here! He is a week old today ( I know I am behind on posting but it's pretty tricky adjusting to three little ones:). I went in to be induced last Thurs. morning at about 10 AM and ended up being in labor anyways with contractions two minutes apart!
They had me labor on my own for a while and then started some pitocin (sp?) at about 1:00PM (I was dilated to about a 3 1/2 at that point) At three o' clock the nurse checked me again and I was just a five...I thought I would be more by then so I was bummed thinking we would be there for a while. By the way, at this point I had my epidural so I was feeling great! The nurse noticed some big activity in the next seven minutes on the monitor and when she checked me again at 3:07 I was at an 8!!! I couldn't believe how fast it was going! then 8 min later at 3:15 I was at a ten- woo hoo! She called the dr. and I pushed for about 15 or so min, and he was here! My little Curtis : 7lbs 15 oz 21 1/2 in long..........long toes and fingers!

I love that he already has a double chin!

The boys came to see their new bro. and we couldn't quite get a pict. all together...mmmm...sign of things to come! :)

Brig LOVES his baby Curtis and is very sweet to him and helps hold him and feed him.Sterling just doesn't quite get it yet and wonders what the baby is and why he moves and cries the way he does. At the hospital, he just wanted some normal-cy back in his life :(He used to be my baby....now he looks GINORMOUS!!Here is me and Brig the night before I delivered. He is saying goodbye to the big tummy forever and getting ready to welcome baby Curtis!

He got a special surprise when he stayed with grammy....a two headed dragon....what more could a boy want? Here is Curtis Ron, safe and sound at our home
His hair is mostly a light blonde/brown...I think it will be blonde like Brigsy'sHere are two handsome boys...my big helper Brig will be so awesome!

Fathers and Sons 2011

2011-07-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Bryce and Brig had a short but sweet Father's and Sons this year:) Bryce had work until a little later so they were going to just try to meet up with the ward but ended up not finding them! Being the camping gurus they are, they set up their own camp and had a wonderful time! Brig talked about two things for WEEKS before the actual campout: Roasting marshmallows and fishing...his two favorite things. Well, Bryce made sure he checked off both of those dreams!Here is Brig roasting marshmallows over the camp stove because no fires were allowed!They slept pretty well from what I understand (I never sleep well while camping!) Here are some fresh early morning faces:)Brig LOVES finding tracks of any sortHikingAnd finally fishing! They tried their luck at a little stream/river and had no luck. So Bryce took Brig to a fish farm place (where they stock them) and sure enough they caught a decent size trout!

So Exciting!!

Brig loves to help his dad cook, especially when he caught the meal himself! They came straight home and cooked up the lovely fish

Sterling wanted to help too!

And eating the fish finally!! I couldn't believe he ate it, but he loved it! Until next year!

Easter 2011

2011-07-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Just playing catch up people!!

Here is a handsome crew on Easter morning ready to go to church!

Here is Brig eating some lettuce from our garden...he's always been a good vegetable eater

I was so sugared out from Easter parties we had been to all week, that I decided I would have a little talk with the Easter bunny and tell him to bring very little candy:) So the boys got fun crafty things...Hee hee:)

Little Sterling peeking through

I love Brig's half smile and sleepy face

Mornings can't officially begin without Ster's bottle o milk

It was a wonderful Easter and I always have so much to think about and be grateful for on this day. It's fun to try and explain it to Brig too (about Jesus coming back alive).

Outside fun and in the GARDEN!!!

2011-06-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

The weather stayed soooooo nice during April and May! I couldn't believe it was Arizona! This meant a lot of playing outside and enjoying our garden that Bryce has worked so hard on.

My aunt Karen gave me the great idea to use an old water jug as a "T" for the boys to hit a baseball off of.....they loved it!

This little guy is such a cheeser! Here he is in the wheel barrow

Brotherly love...at least on Brigham's part:)

Dada working with the boys

This is me eating a quesadilla with fresh tomatoes, onions and cilantro from our garden....Bryce made it for me and it was HEAVENLY!

Brig with a bean on his head and some of the haul from our garden

Crazy dirty boys!!!

I told you Sterling was a cheeser....this pict. makes me laugh every time I see it!

It looks like I painted his eyebrow

The boys love to eat snacks in their fort

Here is a zuchinni we didn't even know was in there and it grew as HUGE as Brig!

I love that the boys can play well together now...they wrestle an awful lot too, but they truly love each other and get bored without each other

Dada and his three loves....the two boys and the garden...hey what about ME!!!

My favorite part about the garden is that the boys will just graze all day long on vegetables. Brig will pick carrots for Sterling, peas, green beans, and especially tomatoes! Brig will eat them like apples. Sterling picks our egg plant before it's fully grown and just munches away on them!! It cracks me up.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-06-14T19:43:00.000-07:00

Just an overall nice, relaxing Mother's Day:) Bryce let me sleep in while he and Brig made waffles!

We went to my mom's for dinner that night and the guys did ALL the cooking and cleaning up! It was awesome. Here is Bryce being so helpful:)

Yes, we had hot dogs and chicken and hamburgers. I had snacked too much before dinner so Bryce laughed at my small dinner!Little Sterling cozied right up to Jordan later that night and we thought that was so cute

Brig's last day of preschool :(

2011-06-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Brig had such a fun year in preschool! Bryce's cousin-in-law, Julie, was his teacher and she was amazing. Brig loved her so much, he decided he wanted to give her a special gift on his last day. He chose one of his favorite plastic animals (a cheetah) and just knew she would LOVE it! If you know Brig at all, this was a true sacrifice for him because he loves his animals soooo much, but I guess he loved Miss Julie more! Such a sweet thing.

Here is Brig with his sweet teacher

Here is Brig with his two good friends (who are actually second cousins also!)

One day they learned about the seven dwarfs and each got to choose a dwarf to be....funnily enough, Brig chose GRUMPY!

Grumpy is happy after eating chocolate!

It actually happened....

2011-05-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

I TURNED 30 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's be honest...
I had some major plans for my 30th bday. I was going to do something great like hike a big mountain or run a marathon or do something physically I had never done before, just so I could prove that my body was not falling apart:) Being 6 mos pregnant was definitely NOT in my plans! I guess, though, in a way I AM doing something physically I have never done before (carry a child and have a 16 month old to pick up ALL THE TIME! ) It's funny the things that life throws at ya:)
Anyways, I am fortunate enough to have lots of family around to help me with my boys, so Bryce and I took advantage of that help and spent my bday weekend in SanDiego! We did lots of fun things in two days like.... going to fun restaraunts walking along the watervisiting Balboa Park and a way cool museumand even taking a bike ride near the ocean....Um, by the way, don't ever take a bike ride when you are six months pregnant...I think I am damaged for life:)

It ended too quick but we got to come home to these cute faces!

Even though my 30th bday was different than how I imagined, it was still wonderful. I got to be with my honey and my amazing family watched my boys. Maybe I will do something amazing on my 31st...?

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

These guys make me smile every day......

They also wear me out more than I ever thought possible!!

Here's to all you great women out there who raise or help to raise these little crazies everyday!

Sterling with Santa

2011-04-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Just remembering when we introduced Sterling to good ol Santa for the first time....I thought he would freak out, but he just sat on Santa's lap and took it all in! He looked him over lots and lots and touched his beard a little and was happy to be there! So cute:)

Bryce ran Ragnar Relay!

2011-04-10T16:51:00.001-07:00

So, this happened about a month or so ago, but I'm behind:) Bryce joined a team of guys who all drove in one car and did a relay race from Wickenberg to Tempe! They took turns running different mileages and it took them about 28 hours to finish...AMAZING! Bryce had fun getting to know the different guys who were in the group and even though he was a bit sleep deprived:) he had a great time!

Mom of Boys:)

2011-03-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

You know, life is pretty funny. It always throws you curve balls you never expect:) I grew up with all sisters and no brothers. I always thought to myself that it would be funny if I got married and had boys instead of girls....I mean, I know what to do with girls and had no clue about bringing up boys! Well, for now, it looks like I am a mom of boys...with number THREE BOY on the way!

My two boys (Brigham and Sterling) have taught me so many things already that I NEEDED to learn. They have really allowed me to stretch and grow and be more creative. It's so funny to me to see how truly different little boys are from little girls. These guys want to wrestle ALL THE TIME! They LOVE dirt..Sterling just rolls in it out back and runs it through his hair like it's Pantene Pro V!! ( we don't have grass yet). They both can melt my heart when they are cuddle bugs. I love my little crew and can't wait to meet the next little guy. Bring on the BOYS!

I mean, check out these two cute bathtime puppies!

And you can't beat a little guy with his dad in handsome church clothes:)Here is me in a dress I bought before I realized I was pregnant (hee hee) so I squeezed into for a few times and then put it in safekeeping til I lose the baby weight The brothers...what will number three look like?

Happy one year to Sterling!!

2011-02-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

My baby is one year old!!! When you are at those beginning stages of newborn life and getting no sleep you really don't think you will make it to the one year mark (at least being sane)! Then all of a sudden you are here and alive and your baby is eating with a fork (he thinks he is such a big guy:)

We broke in our new house by having his first bday here with the Burnhams and my family. The house held up quite well! The theme was circus so I got a bunch of balloons and colorful candies and we ate pizza and popped popcorn on my fun little old fashioned popper.

The funniest part was Sterling eating his cake. On Brig's first, we gave him a little cake to dive into thinking for sure he would, and he didn't really care to get his hand all messy! Then this little guy (Sterling) surprises us all and goes to town on his cake and loved every second of it! It was so funny...he eats a ton so he was chowing down on his cake AFTER 2 slices of pizza, bread, veggies and something else (can't remember). I think Bryce and I will be needing a special savings account started now to feed these boys when they are teenagers!!

Of course presents! Ster got some nice things including this little Toy story bike that he loves to push around (helped a lot with his walking skills!)

Brigham was more excited than Sterling for some of the presents

I made a little poster/collage all about Sterling

Some of the party-goers....

We had a great time...happy bday baby boy!

Little happenings around our house

2011-02-11T15:04:00.000-08:00

Say hello to Sterling...

Say hello to Brigham.

These boys are what make up the little adventures in my days:) Just a quick update on each:

Brigsy

He is the most energetic, sweetest little three year old I know.

He loves to be in motion, make new friends, read, and eat chocolate. He is pretty good at eating carrots and broccoli too which keeps me happy. Anyway, he is getting to a fun age where we have funny/sweet conversations and I hope to record more of them in the future. A few nights ago I made a broccoli, chicken, rice dish and really wanted him to eat it (we have been trying to get him to eat more of what I make each night instead of chicken nuggets, etc.). He said no for a long time and then had a change of heart suddenly. He said, "ok mom, I'll eat it" . I dished it up quickly before he could change his mind and he began eating. After a few bites he said, "Mom, thanks so much for making this good food for us!" My heart melted. Then, to make it better he said, "This is the best food I ever had!" and finished it all! Will someone please remind me of this incident when he won't eat my food??

Sterling

This little mister just celebrated his first birthday! (I will post this soon). He hadn't started walking yet (on his bday-Jan 13th) but just about a week or two later took some steps! Now- Feb. 13- he is walking across the room and looking so cute:)

He loves Barney, he loves to give cheesy smiles, loves to EAT-spaghetti and lasagna and pizza mostly...he is Italian, just like his father:)

He screams SO LOUD lately because he can't communicate and so I am trying desparately to teach him sign language before my eardrums BURST! Other than that, he is a little angel

He can say mama, dada, duck, and wow!

Love these little guys

Changes, changes, changes

2011-01-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

Boy, I have been a terrible blogger later...but I have a few GOOD excuses! I never really blogged about this, but in Sept. we moved from our beloved Orange st. house onto Date st into my inlaws little rental house. We had to leave the Orange house because Bryce's aunt and uncle came back from their mission and we still hadn't found a house to buy yet! So the little Date house rental opened up at the exact time we needed it and we figured we would just be there for a few weeks, maybe a few months (it's about 800 sq. ft!!). I kept searching and searching for a good house in our price range, with a backyard (hard combo, people), and could not find anything. Little did I know there was a house meant for us in Gilbert! We found it in Nov. right around Bryce's bday and closed by the very last of Dec.!!

Here is some of the crew that helped us move (Orange st house)

So we just moved in two weekends ago and I'm still unpacking things...one of the things being my cord to upload my picts to the computer...still can't find it..uggghh. Anyways, i love this house and the layout and the location and the backyard!! It fits us all nicely which is a good thing because we are about to expand again...

That's right, i am prego with number three! That puts Sterling and this baby at 18 mos apart (he or she will be born in July). It's going to be crazy but at least I won't be moving at the same time:) We just celebrated Ster's first bday last night and had a great time breaking in our new house with all our family. I am exiting the nauseous phase (I hope) so maybe I will feel like blogging more! I will post picts of the new house and Ster's bday soon. Happy 2011! If I thought 2010 brought a lot of changes, I guess 2011 will not disappoint either!

October in pictures

2010-11-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

Brig was the Tazmanian devil...he looked awesome! (My dad's real name is Taz so it was very appropriate) Hot mama and dad

Alyssa and Keith were Avatars (they had tails and everything!)

County Fair in Safford...the kids always love to go down the HUGE slide with poppa

There's two turkeys:)

Here is many of my Evans side of the family...it was so fun to get together with them all for the pumpkin patch!

Eating the most delicious apple pie and ice cream EVER at the pumpkin patch

Poppa and all of his grandkids that number the sands of the sea....wait...

Sadie buried in the kernals!

Poppa trying to tease the kids by eating two grasshoppers (one is escaping)...Brig still talks about that- GROSS!

Me and the boys with our giant pumpkin

Brig was sad about something....

The Evans clan..minus Bryce and mom...we missed you guys!

Keith and wassy

Olivia is Sterling's buddy

Brigsy found himself a cute little pumpkin

on the hayride

Justin Bieber hair anyone?

2010-11-16T11:09:00.001-08:00

Just goofin around!

2010-10-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

I take so long in between posts, I'm always playing catchup:) Here are a bunch of fun picts from the summer...I'm so happy it's fall now! I can actually buckle my boys in their carseats without breaking into a huge sweat!!

Silly Brigsy:)The cutest boys EVER!Brig just learned how to give a "thumbs up"

Helping me bake something chocolate
Playing on my bed

Goofing around with his favorite people in the world...Afton and Sadie (cousins)

My little Ster

2010-09-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

I realize that I don't post enough about my baby (who is now eight months!) Poor second children...Brig had a post for just about every month of his life! The good news is that I love Sterling just as much as Brig, I just have less time to post these days:)

Here are some facts about Ster-fry:

1) He was my angel "bar" baby: sounds funny but he truly was the best and most mellow baby which was so wonderful to have while Bryce studied for and took the bar this summer. Now his little personality is coming out more and he's a little less mellow!

2) He is a huge baby! He is off the charts in height and pretty high up in weight. He grew out of his bassinett way before Brig did and I seriously have the strongest left bicep from holding him! Lots of chub...just like I like it

3) He started teething right off the bat (and drooling tons!) Way more than Brig drooled. His first two teeth popped up while we were in Sandiego with mi familia making him about six and a half months. His top teeth just popped through too...those seemed more painful for him...he was about eight months.

4) He started crawling earlier than Brig too at about almost seven months old (Brig was about eight months.) He has even pulled himself up to things a few times...LOOK OUT!

5) He already knows how to defend himself when Brig wrestles with him. I swear he had to have practiced in heaven to be ready to take on the Brigster! All Brig wants to do is wrestle so Sterling just grabs onto his hair and holds on for dear life as they go rolling across the floor...it is so funny to watch. Ster has even got so mad at Brig one time that he actually bit him! Brig started crying and all I could do was laugh. I knew Ster got his teeth early for a reason!

6) Sterling has never had a bedroom! He slept in our bathroom when he was firstborn, then the living room in the Orange st. house and now the living room in this house...at least he's a good sleeper:)

7) I love his sweet little smile and reddish hair. He is such a darling boy

Camping in the kitchen!

2010-09-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Aren't these boys so stinkin cute? My little Brigham is an outdoorsman, just like his father:) He loves being outside and everything that goes along with that. He heard his friend Kate was going camping and started telling Bryce that he wanted to go camping too. We couldn't break away over labor day weekend so Bryce set up the tent in our kitchen (it filled up the whole place!!). I came home from setting up a wedding cake and they had had their little campout all evening. They even roasted marshmallows over a candle! How fun is that? Sterling joined the fun for a while and then went to sleep in his own play pen.

Snowflake escape

2010-08-11T18:04:00.000-07:00

I love to escape the heat and go to Snowflake for a few days at a time every summer. My mom and I and the boys went up a month or so ago to let Bryce study for the bar and to let Brig have some outside time (Poor kid needs it)! We had a wonderful time as usual. I always get spoiled there because I get to eat home cookin that I don't have to make!!

Here is Brig OUTSIDE!!! He found some fun "swords" to play with

Goof ball

In the fort

Doing flips over the ball

Sweet grandma and grandpa Hatch

With grammy Evans in the fort

Sterling gets some cuddle time too!

Another wedding cake

2010-08-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the cake decorating mode!! I made this one a month or two ago for a family friend and had a lot of fun doing it. Sterling is sleeping through the night now so I feel like I can get back to things like this and be a functioning person again!!

My husband done gradiated law school!

2010-07-01T11:50:00.000-07:00

Well, it actually happened...Bryce graduated from lawschool after three long years! It still hasn't sunk in yet...probably because I still never see him because he is studying for the BAR now!! Graduation is kind of a cruel joke because the hardest test is yet to come. Enough complaining, he's done and we are soooo proud of him. He has been working so hard to prepare for the bar and also working parttime at his job....crazy, as usual! Graduation was held at Gammage Auditorium and was really special. They "hood" the graduates which is a neat tradition. Congratulations to my hubby....we did it!!
P.S. My bro in law Brad took some great picts. but I can't seem to find the folder I put them in...so here are some washed out ones from my camera:(

Mother's Day

2010-06-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

How special mother's day was because I have TWO little guys now! I'm so lucky to be their momma:)

Father's and Sons campout

2010-06-07T15:06:00.000-07:00

Our ward did their annual Father's and Sons campout over Mother's Day weekend which was a fun little break for the boys and the MOMS!! I was worried Brig wouldn't be able to go because he had been sick for a few days leading up to the weekend. He still didn't feel his self on the day of but was so excited to go with dada, that nothing could stop him!

In the car ready to go but still not feeling well enough to smile :(

He started feeling better when they got there so he and dada set up camp and took this cute picture in their tent

The next day Brig acted a little sick but not too bad. He surprised Bryce when he threwup a little at breakfast:( Poor guy, but then he felt better and could have a lot more fun. Here he is on a little hike

Here is the main event....the TUG OF WAR!

Brig has a bug of some sort in his hands....I can't believe boys can smile and hold bugs at the same time!

The Big event in Brigham's mind was the fishing! Bryce had told him they would stop to fish on the way home. He talked about it for the entire camping trip! Bryce was getting a little nervous that they wouldn't catch anything and Brig would be so disappointed, but the faith of a child is GREAT! Bryce made Brig a little fishing pole and then threw in his own line and after just a little while caught a beautiful rainbow trout!!

This is Brig with his homemade fishing pole

Here is Brig with the catch of the day (he was a little wary of the squirmy fish at first, and kept his distance)

The fisherman himself

Brig got a little closer....

And then really close!!

Then he even held it up to show the camera

They had so much fun together and Brig still talks about the fish he caught. They came home and Grandma Burnham gave Brig a nice haircut then Brig took a lOOOOOOOOng nap! That night Bryce cooked up the fish and I have to say, it was tasty (and I am not a fish fan). When Brig saw the cooked fish he started saying, "Poor fishy, poor poor fishy" ....too funny:) Brig LOVED eating the fish and still looks in our fridge and says...mom where's my fishy? These two guys have a lot of fun camping trips ahead and Sterling will join them!!

Pat's Run 2010

2010-05-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

I thought it was high time I got fully back into running and participating in Fun run's like these again, so I have been running (mostly with the boys) and training a little bit for Pat's Run. Pat's run is in memorial of a man named Pat Tilman who played for ASU football but went to war and sadly, was killed at such a young age. His number at ASU was 42 so we run 4.2 miles (thankgoodness it's not 42 miles!). It's a HUGE race with tons of support. Over 15,000 people ran it this year...CRAZY! You get to cross the finish line in the stadium on the field which is a cool feeling. My number just happened to be 4224.. Here we are at the beginning of the race with little Sterling. Brigham was at my folks house for this one because he wouldn't want to sit in the stroller...he would want to run along with us!

My friend Charity was kind enough to push Sterling in the jogger while me and Bryce ran it as hardcore as we could:)

We finished! I don't remember our times...I will have to come back and log them in.

Bryce and I are part of a running club at the Mesa YMCA which we love. We are the lightning bolts and our coach is "The Cheetah". It was our coaches 1000th race which is quite an accomplishment! Our team had our tent set up after the race and Chrissie (our sweet team captain), brought the cutest decorations and food! We ate little cream puffs, which were awesome:) Here are Chrissie and I after the race

Here's our coach (the Cheetah, Chris) after his 1000th race!

And Sterling made it too! It was a great way to kick off my running career again:)

My 29th BDAY!!!

2010-05-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am the type of person who is going to embrace my age fully every year. I will not dread it or whine about how old I am until I hit 50:) I think 29 will be a great year. I hope to run another marathon, enjoy Bryce being out of lawschool and home with us more, enjoy a new house with new friends and new experiences, and of course enjoy watching my sweet boys grow up a little more! Now, what's not to celebrate?! Celebrate I did:) My bday was on Sunday this year so that means it's a whole weekend party! My parents took Brig on Fri. night so Bryce and I could go out to eat and to the mall (Bryce bought me a dress!). We went to my favorite place to eat...the cheesecake factory! It was such a fun evening and Sterling went along with us...he's so easy to take along at this age.

Brig slept over at my parents house so Bryce and I could wake up early and go run Pat's run at ASU. I will do a separate post about that. It turned out great, though. Then we went to Joe's BBQ: delicious, especially after a race, and then we watched the movie Alice in Wonderland. Unfortunately, Sterling had a hard time in the theater and Bryce had to take him out for a lot of it. It was still nice to be at the movies:)

After that Bryce needed to get his work done so I went to pick up Brig at my folks house and my mom and sister ended up taking me out to dinner at Paradise Bakery (another fav of mine)! What a party...and my bday hadn't even come yet! Finally, on Sunday, it was a wonderful peaceful day and we went and had a family party that night (plus Nicole and Jaron...they are practically family!) My mom made my favorite shredded beef tacos and they were delicious. Man, my bday really is all about food:) It was a great party weekend....now, bring on the year!!

Me and my honey at Joe's BBQ

Family party

Best bud Nicole...her baby Brenna is just 10 days younger than Sterling...I see a matchmaking in the works!!

Moot Court Reception

2010-05-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

Bryce is involved in something called Moot Court at lawschool. He is a co-leader of the moot court board and has been heavily involved with it during these past couple of years. The moot court board hosts competitions where law students present opening and closing arguments in front of host judges to get "graded" and placed. Bryce actually entered in a big competition this year and did VERY well, almost making it to the finals in New York! Anyways, moot court competitions are a wonderful way for law students to practice what they will be doing in court when they leave school and enter their profession. The board which Bryce heads, organizes those and other events. We had a fancy moot court dinner this year at a fancy hotel where they honored the board and the winners of the various competitions. It is so fun to dress up and go out! We took Sterling but he was a good boy.

Friends of Bryce from moot court

Nicole and Lauren headed up the moot court board last year and came back for the dinner. We love them (and they love Sterling!)

BBQ with our friends

2010-05-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Our neighbors the Barrs came over a few weeks ago for a nice BBQ. The weather was so cold that night so it was perfect to have a little fire! The kids ate a ton of marshmallows and loved setting them on fire, of course:) It was a lovely evening.

Michael Buble' Concert

2010-05-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so although I am not a huge fan of Michael Buble' as a person...I ADORE his music. He is probably my favorite singer of all time. That being said, I was thrilled when my parents gave me and my sisters (minus Olivia who was away at school:( ) tickets to go to his concert! I could hardly wait. His voice is just as great live as it is on the CD. When me and my sisters get together it's always a fun time. Right at the beginning, a lady in front of us shushed us really meanly...her face was so venomous:) We couldn't believe she shushed us in a loud, party concert! We held our tongues and guess what....Michael Buble' took over for us! During the concert he said, "This is a party so I want you all to make some noise and dance and sing and if anyone in front of you tells you to be quiet you can tell them....(I won't repeat what he said). We couldn't believe it! We laughed so hard to ourselves because he sure told that lady for us! We had such a fun time and he sang every one of my favorite songs. Until next time, Michael.. He came pretty close to us on a stage in the middle of the crowd

My dad got to join in the girl fun...he's always a good sport to party with his daughters

Easter clothes

2010-05-04T08:17:00.000-07:00

Since Easter was on conference weekend (which I loved), we wore our Easter clothes the following Sunday to church. I finally bought Brig a nice white shirt and tie and shoes. He loved that he looked just like his dada:) At the shoe store when he was trying on the black sunday shoes he kept saying "me just like dada!" We gave Brig a little Book of Mormon to carry to church with him since dada always has one too. Boy did he love that and he looked like a little missionary! The cutest guys in the whole world

This one was taken that night after a clothing change for Brig.... and apparently Brig wanted a bandaid on his forehead

Goldfield Ghosttown

2010-04-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

My sweet mom takes me and my kids and Jennie and her kids for a "big" outing usually once a week. A few weeks ago we went to Goldfield Ghost town and it was so much fun! The weather was so beautiful and there was just enough for the kids to see to make it worth the drive.

Here we are starting our adventure

My two cute boys...look at that double chin on Sterling!

Jennie and her kids and my mom and Brig

They had a little room where they kept reptiles and spiders (tarantulas)...perfect for Brig.

This picture is hilarious because both of the kids are smiling and also looking totally away from the camera

Me and Brig ready to eat lunch

We got to ride on a train and the kids loved it except for the LOUD whistle, so they just learned to cover their ears!

This picture is classic. I love the way Brig's hat is turned and his chill face and Afton's cute smile

Renaissance Festival 2010

2010-04-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

My family has gone to the Renaissance Festival faithfully every year for at least ten years. We mainly go for the food! Now that three of us girls have husbands, it's fun for my dad to challenge them in things like axe and knife throwing and the sledge hammer hit. He finally has sons to compete with!!! We enjoyed the beautiful day outside and ate a lot of food and had a great time:)

The cute cousin trio (Sterling can join them soon!)

Poppa, Brig and Afton

My dad took me and Brig and Afton on the elephant ride this year...Wow...it was more amazing than I thought it would be! Yes, they go slow but just being on the back of that huge animal was really neat.

Here is the sledge hammer hit I was talking about. Brig did it first with dada's help and did a great job!

Then Bryce took a swing (actually 5) at the big daddy one and hit the bell almost every time!

This picture says it all! Brig had a fun but TIRING day! We all did I guess...until next year!, Renaissance Festival!

Sterling's baby blessing

2010-03-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Bryce blessed Sterling on Sunday, March 7 and it was beautiful. The funny part came earlier that morning when we were dressing Sterling. Earlier in the week I looked everywhere for Brig's while blessing outfit. I could not find it ANYWHERE but I found this cute little suit that Brig had worn a few times when he was a baby. It was Sat. night and I didn't have the energy to go out and buy a blessing outfit so I decided the suit would have to do. Sunday morning we were trying to be early to save some seats for our family members so I was rushing to get myself and the boys ready (Bryce has a meeting every Sunday morning before church). Bryce finally made it home and started to get STerling dressed in his little suit only to realize the button up white shirt was WAY too small for his fat little belly! It was so funny, we had to laugh even though we didn't know what to do. We ended up finding one of Brig's vests to cover up the small shirt and just went with it:) Note to self: Be more prepared on Sat. night.

Sterling hates baths and LOVES sleeping!

2010-03-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

My sweet little Sterling is nine weeks old now. He still sleeps a lot during the day and does well at night except for this new born congestion that won't seem to clear up...so frusterating. The bath pictures were actually taken quite a few weeks ago and since then he has learned to like baths a little better:) I am so lucky to be him mom!

Backyard cookout

2010-03-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Right before I had Sterling, me and Bryce and Brig had a little family BBQ outback and roasted marshmallows in our little firepit. It was so much fun...I don't know why we don't do it more often...Oh yeah, Bryce is in his final semester of law school and has to study every night!! Our time will come!

Brig, Buzz, and Broccolli

2010-03-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

Two of Brigham's favorite things are Buzz lightyear and Broccolli (with Ranch of course). He can seriously go through a HUGE head of broccoli in a few days (makes for interesting diapers!). His favorite movie is Toy Story and so my mom bought him this little figurine of Buzz Lightyear. He leaps off of everything with that toy and says "To infinity and beyond!" except it sounds like: "to ifitti an beyo!!! It's so funny. He's such a cute little boy and always says "Ok, mom, two minutes!" I must tell him to wait for two minutes alot.

To infinity and beyond!!

Brigham's other best buddies!

2010-03-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

Our next door neighbors have two grandkids around Brigham's age who come over quite often and we LOVE it! They are such a fun trio and can play and play for hours without fighting:) They love to jump on the trampoline, visit neighbor dogs, ride bikes, play in the little tent we have, swing, slide and pick oranges off the trees and make big piles!

Brigham, Rock, and Reagan

Here is Brigham trying to smile...it makes me laugh every time I see it.

Best buddy brothers!

2010-03-04T06:39:00.000-08:00

Are they not the cutest guys ever?!Brigham loves to rub his head and face...and mom keeps a close watch!

Sterling is a rock star

Dada and the boys

2010-03-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

You know you're sleep deprived when.....

2010-02-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

1) You can't remember anyone's name
2) You can't carry on a decent conversation with anyone
3) You microwave a cheesecrisp with no cheese on it
4) You wish you were your new baby all snug in his bed and sleeping all of the time!
5) You laugh hysterically at stupid things and burst out crying for no reason
6) You feel like you can't get ANYTHING done
7) Your eyes go crossed sometimes
8) You hope you don't type something stupid that you will regret later:)

Yes, I am a little sleep deprived BUT it is getting better! Sterling is totally worth it. Thanks so much for all the encouraging comments on my last post...it helps to hear from people who have been there done that!

Two is better than one...(but it sure is a lot more work!)

2010-01-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, adjusting to being a mom of two takes some time! How do people leave the house with more than two?? I must say though, Sterling is such an easy baby. The big adjusting part comes from Brig adjusting to the new baby. He loves "baby Sterling" so much and always wants to hold him, but he is still trying to figure me out and where his place is now that I am mothering Sterling too. He adjusts more and more everyday and I hope he knows how much I love him!!

(I told him to strike a fierce dinosaur pose with me and of course, he smiled instead!)Here is my handsome angel baby. You can't tell here, but in the sun his hair is brown with some copper in it. I wonder if it will stay or fall out like Brig's did and grow in blonde! Only time will tell. At his two week check up he had gained a whole pound!! (Yeah, in one week). He now weighs 8lbs 8 oz. and is getting a little double chin:) Are they not adorable?? They don't look like brothers to me (yet)

My happy little Brig , who doesn't seem so little anymore:(

All of my handsome boys....as I said before, I am wonderfully outnumbered!

Life is good. I am surviving day by day and trying to go to sleep early when I can! I know everything just takes time and I will adjust to having two kids just like I adjusted to having Brig. I would love to hear any counsel or stories on how YOU adjusted!

ANNOUNCING: Sterling Evans Burnham!!!!

2010-01-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

He has arrived!! Our sweet little boy is here and is doing great. I don't have the energy to write my labor and delivery story yet, but here are some picts of the day...

This is me the night before I delivered. Yes, it says "BRIG" above my head, but I didn't have any name blocks for Sterling and I wanted to take this picture in the same spot I took the one right before I went in to deliver Brig. Me and Bryce after my epidural....I was sure a happy camper!

Here he is...weighing in at 7 lbs. and 13 oz. (Pretty good size for 5 days early!)

Proud new grandparents

Proud, handsome dada

The nurse who delivered me...she was nice.

Brigham's first encounter with his new brother!! (I will write about this later too)

He loves him soooooooooooo much!

Our first family shot

We wanted to show off Sterling's hair..he has more than Brig did at birth, but it's the same darkness that Brig's was I think. Weird to think Brig turned out so blonde...I don't know if that will happen to Sterling or if he'll look more like his dada with dark hair.

Auntie Annie

Uncle Wesley

Poppa Evans

Bringing him home....Brig loves to hold him whenever he gets a chance!

So cute

Lindsey, Tanner, and baby

I realize that I don't have a closeup of his cute little face in any of these shots so I will get that posted next time. He is just the sweetest thing and has been my "angel baby". I am so grateful this sweet boy made his way into our family. I am really getting outnumbered by boys here!!!

Getting ready for baby

2010-01-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well the big day is tomorrow! Our precious little boy will hopefully arrive safe and sound by tomorrow afternoon (or evening). I am going in at 5:00AM to be induced. I am nervous and excited (but more excited) and can't wait to meet this sweet little boy! I can't wait to show him to Brigsy. I wonder how Brig will react? It has just been us for 2 1/2 years! I will hopefully update the blog as soon as I can to announce the birth and show some picts. I feel good and ready. It has been a great pregnancy and I have been so blessed. I can't wait to go running again!! Wish me luck for tomorrow!!!!

Christmas day in picts

2010-01-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Here is our wonderful Christmas day in pictures. It started at 5:30AM and went all day! Brigsy woke up at 8:00AM which was awesome because then he wasn't so grumpy. These picts. aren't in order at all...in fact, this first one was the last one taken of the day. Bryce and I turned on a Christmas show (The santa Clause) and Brig got into it. It was funny to see him ditch his new trike that Bryce and I gave him and settle in on a show:) Here he is opening his new trike!

This is a remote control car that Brad gave him. He chased it for so long and just laughed and laughed at it.

Another present given to Brig that was obviously just as fun for older kids as for younger:)

Me and Brig right when he woke up to go see what Santa brought..we both look so funny!

Gumballs............. Pure Joy

This car race track is his favorite toy from Christmas

Big family breakfast my dad cooks every year. Oh so yummy!

Brig is pushing dada on a fun little riding toy that even adults can ride!

There is that pure joy face
Here is a tired but glad to be awake face

What a fun day. I'm tired out just thinking about it again! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Eve 2009

2010-01-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve is the best. It was as wonderful as usual this year. We started off the morning by baking cookies (Bryce and Brig actually baked them!)
We delivered the cookies and played outside. That day Brig dressed up in his beanie and looked AWESOME!! Here is his tough guy face again....

Followed by his goofy face...I laugh every time I see this picture...can't he just smile NORMAL for the camera???!!

Then we played our annual game of football with the Burnhams. There was some additional friends this year which made for a fun game for the boys. I couldn't play this year because I was too pregnant but next year will be my year!

Here is our Christmas tree. Lest you think all of these presents are mine and Bryce's... they are not:) These are all the presents we gave our families but it was fun to put them under our tree and make it look like a BIG Christmas!

We ate chinese food after football and visited and played games at the Burnhams and then headed over to my family's house to finish the night. My parents are moving so this was our last Christmas in the house we spent so much time in. Me and the girls decided to give my parents some memories of the house for Christmas. I compiled a little photo book to go along with the memories and we all read them aloud before we went to bed. It was really special for my parents and they loved it (we all did). We went to bed at about 12:00AM which is typical for us on Christmas Eve (why shorten such a wonderful night?)

Christmas decor

2010-01-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

There are only a few spots in my house (Bryce's aunt and uncle's house while their on a mission), that I can decorate. So here they are....I kinda got carried away with pink and green this year...probably because I am surrounded by boys and needed it! I made that ornament wreath which was fun. You just take a hanger and untwist it and shape it into a circle and then "string" the ornaments on. Fun times. Merry Christmas!

Burnham family Christmas party

2010-01-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

We had our Burnham Christmas party on the Tues. night before Christmas at our church building (so close compared to where we usually have it!). We always have delicious food and the kids act out the nativity. I think Brig has acted out the nativity several times this year and he LOVES it every time:) This time he got to be a wise man and boy was he handsome!There he is on the far right....he loved the audience and even bowed at the end!! It was so funny. Dad and the wise man

Lately when I have told Brig to smile for a picture he does just the opposite and gives a little grunt with this face....such a BOY!

Here is uncle Wesley helping Brig in a fun cupcake walk the kids did. Uncle Wesley is one of Brig's favorite people.

Bowling Party

2010-01-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Keith and Alyssa were kind enough to invite us to a free bowling night with them (and Keith's sister and bro. in law). We had so much fun! It's so great that lyssa married such a fun guy that we all love:) I am hiding a second bowling ball in my shirt!

Hatch family party

2009-12-21T18:17:00.000-08:00

It can't be a year since I posted about this from 2008!! How the year has flown. I love this Hatch family Christmas party and it has been a tradition for my ENTIRE life! Everyone made it this year, happy and healthy. We eat, share talents, perform the nativity story, Santa makes an appearance, we exchange gifts and eat more food! It makes Christmas truly arrive for me:)

My mom starts us off every year...it's a tradition!

(This year she had little elf helpers)

The talents begin!!Alyssa and Keith...so fun to have him in our family and for Alyssa to have a singing partner!Me and Jen helped Brig and Afton do the actions to the 12 days of Christmas (starting at day 12 so we didn't have to stand up there forever making fools of ourselves!) The kids did really well!Santa made his appearance! Mom and dad with Santa and Mrs. Clause!

Grandma and Grandpa Hatch

Brig LOVES Santa this year...we've seen him at least 6 times at the stores and malls already!

Here's the live nativity participants

Mary (Olivia) rode in on the donkey who is played every year by my father (very appropriate:)

Here is me in all my pregnant glory narrating Luke II (I have about 3 weeks to go!!)

Brigham played the cutest little shepherd of all!

The kids did an object lesson with candles, talking about how Christ is the light of the world.

Thanksgiving with a puppy

2009-12-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

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"

2009-11-28T20:46:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-28T20:41:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-30T09:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-08-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

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

Camping is a dirty job...

2009-08-20T21:06:00.000-07:00

But so much fun at the same time!! We went up to the cooler weather for a Richardson family reunion (Bryce's mom's side). My in laws even got Brig a mini sleeping bag! Brig LOVES being outdoors so we knew he would have a great time.
Now, I knew he would get dirty but I had no idea how dirty. People, this is Brig after HALF OF AN HOUR!!!Dirty, dirty, dirty!
Here's Brig putting some pine cones in a bucketHere he is roasting his own hotdog!!! He did such a great job:)There's something about a campfire...you just can't stay away

Delicious, right off the stick!
And finally we ended the night with smores (Brigham preferred just the marshmallows)

It was a great day and night. We even slept fairly well and Brigham stayed in his sleeping bag the whole night...AMAZING!

Brigham and Chocolate

2009-08-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

My cute little boy is a huge fan of chocolate...I wonder where he got that from????

He LOVES M&M's so I buy the

mini ones for him and give him

one for when he does good things.

I try not to give him bigger pieces of

choc. because for some reason, he can

make a HUGE mess out of something really small:)

The other day Bryce was going to

eat a chocolate cupcake I had made for dessert. Brigham happened to

see his dad get it and of course wanted one. I said "NO, please don't give him any...it will make a mess!" Bryce said "I'll just give him ONE bite."

This, ladies and gentlemen is what Brig looks like after ONE bite of a chocolate cupcake:)
How did it get all the way up his arm?

My little Charlie Chaplin:)

Snowflake 24th celebration

2009-08-07T21:29:00.000-07:00

Ah, wonderful Snowflake. So many of my favorite childhood memories are there. I'm so grateful my own child gets to start making memories there also. We had such a fun but short trip this year. We left Fri. afternoon, got there in time for a backyard BBQ dinner (weather was gorgeous as usual), then had a dance party with all the cousins. Here is Brig and Afton doing a conga line!! Did I ever mention how much a dancer Brig is? He can't stop movin when the music starts!

Here is Bryce and Olivia (pictured above) holding Brig

at the annual 24th parade on Sat.

morning. They threw out lots of

candy this year which was fun for

Bugsy.
And here we have my favorite part of the whole day of celebration...the early morning races. I did these every year as a kid and they inspired me to go into sprinting in highschool track..no joke! I wanted Brig to have the same experience I did with these races. For the last six months when he and I go on our jogs, we usually end up at the track where we have races with each other on the football field. He waits for me to say "on your mark get set go!" and then we run to a destination that he has picked out. That kid can run! He can run forever and not get tired:) Anyways, I thought all of our training would help in these races but as soon as they said "go" here, Brig got nervous and started crying...POOR GUY! He cried the whole way to me:(

He walked across the finish line totally defeated and sad. I scooped him up and tried to make him feel better.

There was a mother/son race later on that he and I did (but have no picts). Boy was he ready to redeem himself this time! He lined up on the start line in the "athlete starting position" (kind of leaning forward, with a serious look on his face). The problem was that because it was a mother/son race, we had to either hold hands or I carry him. Little did I know he was set on doing it himself! He cried and threw a huge fit when I tried to hold his hand during the race.

Poor guy, two bad races in one day! Luckily he felt better when they gave him some candy for participating. Bryce and I did a couples race and I was kind of "dragged screaming" for a while!! I guess I'm not as fast when I'm prego:)

The icecream parlor is always a must to visit!Here is Brig and Olivia having tons of fun blowing bubbles...can't you tell???

Brig loves to do things by himself these days...very independant!

He does love when grandma blows bubbles for him!

It's so great to play outside all day long:)

Aspen Grove and an ANNOUNCEMENT!

2009-07-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a busy and wonderful couple of weeks! Especially wonderful because I got to escape this horrid heat and be with my family outdoors in 75 degree weather! You just can't beat that:)
Let's start with my announcement (which many of you already know)....I am PREGNANT!
Yes it's true (my bulging belly proves it). I am about three months along and exiting the "sick phase" of my pregnancy. I truly have it easy compared to most. I just get sick for the first three months and then it's over (I never even threw up). I feel really tired but who doesn't??? Keeping up with my little Brigsy is the hardest part....he has more energy than a jackrabbit!
Now to Aspen Grove (AG). AG is a family camp in Utah (near Prov0). Families stay for a week at a time and do TONS of outdoor fun activities. There are racquetball, tennis, badminton, wallyball, volleyball, and basketball courts. There is a huge field to play games on (they organize a family game day), and a full size swimming pool to party in. At the beginning of the week they place sign up sheets by the dining hall so the guests can challenge each other in any sport and do tournaments all week. Now that we have Keith in our family, we have three tall brother in laws (Bryce, Jordan, and Keith) who can dominate in volleyball, basketball, and other sports. (And I have to say, me and my sistas can hold our own when it comes to athletics!! So we signed up for every event we could and actually won the wallyball tournament as a family!
To begin our trip, Bryce and I loaded up Brig and took off to our half way point in Vegas! We stopped in Vegas on the way there and back (we got a great rate on a hotel) and checked out the strip each time. Here is Brig at the start of the long drive....And here is Brig after the whole trip was over....WE WORE HIM OUT!!

This is Brig's face while he watched his favorite part of the whole trip...the water show at the Bellagio hotel. It is an incredible hotel and they do a huge fountain water show every half hour. Brig dreams about that show. He talks about it all the time. He loved it so much that we watched it four times in a row one night!!

Inside the Bellagio are incredible floral decorations. This snail is made of roses, REAL roses! Brig loved all the colors

Then of course there were the buffets in Las Vegas. We ate at one on the way to Utah and on the way back (breakfast the first and dinner the second). Here is Brig at the dinner buffet. He has a corndog in one hand and pizza in the other. Can life get any better?

We finally arrived at Aspen Grove on Sat. evening (July fourth). Since we were nestled in the canyon, we couldn't see any fireworks, but they put on a nice opening program for us in the beautiful outdoors (we were so glad to be out of the car!!).

The nice thing about Aspen Grove is that for several hours of the day your children can go with their certain age group and counselor and do different fun activities. Brig sometimes has a hard time going away from me but he latched on to one nice counselor in particular and did well then. It was so nice to have a "babysitter" so Bryce and I could play play play (or take a nap!). Here are some kids performing in the program.

Brig LOVED the billiards table and could've stayed there all day!

So, I signed up for the women's racquetball tournament hoping to get a good few games....NOBODY challenged me! I was so sad. I wrote my name across the whole tournament paper as the winner since nobody played me. The funny thing was that they announced my name in front of everybody as the winner and gave me an award! That was the easiest award I ever won:)

Bryce and Brig with our moose friend

We played badminton several times which was really fun. My sister Olivia was on the highschool team and did well in her tournament:)

My niece Afton had a "pirate day" with her age group and dressed up for the occasion! Here she is saying "AAAAARRRR Matey"!!So, Bryce and my bro in law Jordan did an AMAZING hike on Wed. It took them most of the day and it was to Mt. Timpanogas. I can't do the details justice cause they really had some daring and amazing experiences, but let's just say they crossed glaciers, slid down glaciers, rock climbed with no gear, saw mountain goat, and physically challenged themselves for at least 10 hours! Here are some photos from the trip...if you ever want a good story, ask Bryce about it! At the top I guess you sign in to show you've been there. (That marry me sign isn't for me:)

Bryce and Jordan at the summit

Here are my parents playing with Brig. They really are such fun grandparents and help me so much with the Bugsy. He could throw rocks in the water all day and they just let him!

Here is Bryce doing the "rock wall" at Aspen Grove. He got to repel down afterwards.

I don't know who took this picture of Brig but I think it is HILARIOUS!! My little silly. Here's Bryce in all his gear for rock wall climbing

Even though I didn't go on the Mt. Timpanogas hike, Bryce and I hiked to Stewart falls (shown below) which was a beautiful and fun hike. Jennie and Jordan met us down there and hiked out with us which was fun. This is us at the start of the hike

The food at the dining hall was actually always really good! How nice it was to have three meals prepared and waiting for you EVERYDAY!! I was spoiled.

I found Brigham's very own road!!

Here we are in Vegas again at the Paris hotel

Here is Brig with his favorite person in the whole world...Elmo

Here is a shot of the water show I was talking about at the Bellagio (Brig's most favorite thing)

It was a long and wonderful trip and it was so fun to be with my boys and my sistas and parents and Albrecht family (mom's side).

Wedding cakes

2009-07-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been doing more wedding cakes which is good practice for me! My sister Alyssa tied the knot a few weeks ago and I got to do her wedding cake. I have wanted to try a cascading rose cake for a long time and I finally got my chance! I was so nervous about how it would turn out but it ended up being my favorite cake and I was really excited about it:) It was a beautiful reception and I will post another blog about the wedding when I get back in town (my family's going to Aspen grove!!)

My friend Charity got married a month or so ago and requested a chocolate fondant cake with purple pinstripes!!! With such a different request, I was really curious as to how it would turn out and....I liked it! It was unique and the colors actually went well together. It was fun to try something out of my comfort zone:)

Vacationing in San Diego!

2009-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

Every year in June, we get to have a Robinson family reunion in San Diego at the beach cottages (Mission Beach). They are right on the beach which you can't beat! We went from Monday to Friday this year and I didn't want to leave, of course :) The weather is PERFECT and Bryce and I could jog at whatever time of day we wanted and not die of heat stroke.

Here's a quick rundown:

Mon: Arrived, unpacked, ate HUGE LUIGI'S PIZZAS, went down to 711 to get hot chocolate or slushee (depending on if you were hot or cold that night), I took an evening jog.

Tues: Went to Sea World all day and Brig LOVED it (especially Shamu). He hasn't stopped saying "Shamu" ever since!

Wed: Beach day, I got in the freezing cold water, had a fun BBQ with all the family that night

Thurs. Beach day, Bryce went snorkeling, I boogy boarded, went to Belmont Park (amusement park) at night and Brig got to ride on some rides. Ate rolled tacos with guacamole and was in pure heaven!!!

Fri.: Sad day...pack up and leave...pick up hitchhiker....ask me about it sometime if you want a good laugh!

Memorial day weekend

2009-06-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

Always so fun:) Last year we went up towards Heber/Snowflake and there was snow on the ground (at the fish hatchery)...I couldn't believe it was May! This year we didn't have snow but it was sure cold in Heber! We drove up Sunday morning and went to church with Bryce's family (they have a cabin up there) and then relaxed all day in the nice weather. It even got to 55 degrees, mid-day! It rained a couple of times and was just beautiful. I love being there because Brig can just play outside all day long. This trip, his favorite thing was the big swing out front of the cabin. Actually, that was EVERYONE'S favorite part I think! Monday we just had fun and then left around two to visit my grandparents and some cousins in Snowflake. We visited and then ate dinner with them and then headed home at about 7:30PM. It was a great, short trip. Perfect to get out of this heat!

Here is Bryce pushing my father in law and getting some serious air!! Here's Austin trying and taking a spill:)

I tried to capture Brig's happiness on this swing (sorry it's blurry)

Lindsey-sister graduated!

2009-06-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my sister in law Lindsey for completing her degree! She is now going to be an official teacher and hopefully find a job with this LOVELY economy! Bryce had to represent me at the graduation because I was delivering two wedding cakes that night! Crazy. I met them afterwards for a delicious mexican meal.

RED HOT DATE

2009-06-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

On Fri. night Bryce and I bottled tomatoes from our garden for our date...talk about RED hot!! Brig went to bed so we cranked out 17 Kerr jars full! And we still have a whole other load of tomatoes that are ready to be picked! Anybody need tomatoes? We will use them this year for various things but mostly spaghetti sauces.

Aren't summer days great?! (Except for the heat part)

2009-05-15T14:48:00.001-07:00

Playing in the irrigation (I try not to think of the germs too much) Going shirtless all day:)

Helping mom make brownies and making huge chocolate mess!!!

Picking tomatoes from our garden (Bryce did an excellent job on it this year and it's producing like crazy now!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2009-04-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last Sat. I turned 28! I love when my bday is on a weekend cause you can have a three day celebration!! I partied on Friday with my parents (long, fun story). Then on Saturday we had the Stake conference adult session, which was awesome, and then Lindsey and Tanner were kind enough to come watch Brig so that Bryce could take me to my favorite place...The Cheesecake Factory:) We ate great food and of course ordered cheesecake! I had never tried their triple chocolate delicious delightful death cheesecake (I just made that name up cause I forgot what it's really called:), but I ordered it that night and it was probably the best dessert I've ever had in my whole life!! I seriously ate on it for three days and each time I did, I never got tired of it. THAT IS SCARY, PEOPLE!!

My mom hosted a nice dinner/dessert party for me with all of the Hatch side of the family last Sunday. I love those parties:) These are pictures of the little cousins blowing bubbles and playing outside in the nice evening weather.

Brig, Megan, and Afton

Brig and cousin Afton

I got such thoughtful, cute presents for my bday. My sister Jennie made me this darling apron so that I could feel cute when I cook! My aunt Karen gave me a big package of toilet paper, which I thought was AWESOME!! Brig thought it was even more awesome and jumped on it all night long!! Me and my hubby:)
Brig got pooped out by the end of the night....he partied way too hard.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Safford for Easter weekend where my Evans side of the family lives. It was nice to be with them all and catch up! I went up on Thurs. afternoon with my mom and Brig so I could teach a nutrition class that night for a group of women my aunt Rebecca pulled together. It was fun and I hope to do more of it!

We went to church on Sunday and Brig tried out the nursery there...he loved it! They learned about the Lamanites and made Indian head dresses:)

This is my dad holding a picture of himself when he was a young man. His father is in the picture above him AT THE EXACT SAME AGE MY DAD IS NOW!! That's crazy to me. My grandpa passed away several years ago and it's fun to remember what I can about him.

The Easter Bunny found us in Safford and Brig got some good treats:)

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL!!!

Relief Society & Young Women

2009-04-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

I really love my ward. I am in Young women's but still love to go to the Relief Society enrichment activities. A month or so ago they asked me to decorate some cakes to celebrate theRelief Society's bday. Thanks to my friend Stacy, they turned out pretty cute!

I love my YW!! I am over the miamaids and a few weeks ago we went to my friend Jennie Jefferies house where she showed us how to make the yummiest cinnamon rolls. We had a great time....thanks Jennie!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO MY LITTLE SIS!!!

2009-04-13T15:34:00.000-07:00

Alyssa is engaged!! I am late in posting because it happened over a week ago! The lucky man is Keith Monahan and they make the cutest couple! He is a great guy and fits right in with our family already. He still needs to play me racquetball so he can OFFICIALLY join the family (and if he wants to stay on my good side, I better WIN!!!

The wedding date is June 6th so it's coming fast! It will be so much fun and I am soooooo happy for them. CONGRATULATIONS!!

My little mountain man:)

2009-04-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

The pictures speak for themselves!

Brig and "Nonno"....that's Italian for Grandpa

OUR TRIATHALON TALES!

2009-03-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back from another adventure! Bryce and I decided we needed to try a triathalon (to mix up the running routine a little), so we signed up a few months ago to do the Lake Havasu Triathalon. I feel like I need to get in as many athletic events as I can before I get pregnant again (in the next year?) and it's been a fun year of events:)

My sister Olivia wanted to give it a try too so she signed up and we planned to do it together. She and I signed up for the "sprint" triathalon which is a 500m swim (about 1/3 mile), a 12.5 mile bike ride, and a 3.2 mile run. Bryce signed up for the "Olympic" triathalon which includes a 1500 m swim (almost a mile), a 25 mile bike ride, and a 6.4 mile run.....CRAZY!! Then again we're talking about BRYCE here:)

We drove to Lake Havasu on Friday afternoon and arrived at a friend-of-the family's house, went and checked in/registered, got our t-shirts, found out a little info. and went to Chili's to eat our pre-race meal! The registration process was a lot more scattered than at the St. George Marathon and we weren't too impressed with the whole registration set-up but that's another story:)

My mother and father in law and sister in law Annie came up in a separate car to cheer us on and watch Brig while we raced...they are SO AWESOME!! After we all ate together, we put Brig to bed and talked, and put out our stuff for the race (we had to get up so early). One thing I must note is that Me, Bryce, and Olivia all planned to wear wetsuits to swim in the freezing cold Lake Havasu at 7:30 in the morning....somehow, and I won't mention any names....BRAD...we got talked out of it and decided to go brave the lake without our wetsuits....yes, it was a stupid decision!!! The reasoning in my brain was that I didn't want the thick arms of the suit to restrict my swimming....I'm not a great swimmer at all anyway.

The next morning (Sat.) we arrived at the starting line and racked our bikes and layed out our clothes and shoes in the "transition" area. There was probably about 500-600 people racing so it was exciting. You may be asking the question...."so, did any one else go without a wet suit?" The answer is NO. Ok, actually out of about 500 people there were probably 5 or 6 without a wetsuit...one was me, one was Olivia, one was Bryce, one was a weird guy in a speedo, and one was a 300-400 pound man who had enough insulation:) Yes, we felt scared stupid!

Olivia had to start with her age group (16-19 year olds) at 7:30AM and I started at 7:45 AM so our plan was to have her wait in the transition area for me when she was done swimming so at least we could bike and run together. Poor Olivia had to be the first one in the bitter cold water! I watched her ease in and I shuddered. I am so proud of her for being so brave and not backing out! Finally my turn came and I about died when I got in the water! I stayed back so I wouldn't get trampled on by better swimmers. We basically did a big triangle in the water and on the first stretch I had a small panic attack 1) Because the cold sucked the air right out of me 2) I am in OPEN WATER where I can't put my feet down!! I could die! I mentally talked myself out of my panic attack and then got my stride going. I wasn't fast, mind you, but at least I wasn't going to die! The only other scary thing after that was that the next heat of men followed me and overtook me and almost drown me to death.

Bryce was a champion! He did triple distance what me and liv did in the water and finished! His goal in the future is to train more to improve his time but overall, he did well on the swim.

When I got out of the water I went to the transition area and found livvy waiting for me- YEA! We dried off and got on our bikes and headed out. Now, I have to say that I didn't train very well for the biking and Olivia basically didn't train at all....she borrowed a bike from a friend and actually tried it out for the first time THAT MORNING!! She's nuts! The bike course was extremeley difficult, as you can see in the picture here.

Lots of steep hills. It was hardcore. I think it's one of the most challenging bike courses in a triathalon! Me and livvy finished! Our legs burned and poor Olivia' bum hurt soooooooo bad because she was on the hardest, littlest seat EVER! I, on the other hand, borrowed my mother in law's mountain bike, and although it make riding a little more difficult up and down the hills, my seat was cushy and HUGE so I didn't get too saddle sore:)

Bryce had double the ride we did with some WAY STEEPER hills! I was so glad I wasn't doing the Olympic race:) He finished in a really great time and didn't crash (like some others he saw). It was amazing.

Finally me and Livvy hit the running portion of the race and did our 3.2 miles. The only sad part was that poor Liv's foot "felt like it was going to explode" (her words). Her foot/ankle muscles kept cramping up and we had to stop a few times to stretch it out. Other than that, she did great and finished strong! I couldn't believe she did it all with how little training she did:)

Bryce ran his 6.4 miles and looked GOOD! He was a little slower than he wanted to run, but he had never put swimming and biking in front of it, so he did great considering that. We all celebrated when we finished and went to PIZZA HUT to replace all the calories we burned:)

It was a beautiful sunny day and we couldn't have asked for better conditions. We all had a good time and no one was injured! It was a great weekend overall....will I ever swim in lake water again at 7:45 in the morning?.....NO NO NO NO NO NO.

Hooper's Wedding Cake:)

2009-03-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was my friend Ryan Hooper's wedding reception. He asked me to do their cake so, I did! They gave me a picture to go off of and I think the cake was a success:) I am getting to practice more and more with fondant which is good for me (I need all the practice I can get!)

Congratulations to the happy couple!!

PARTY WITH THE LAYTONS!

2009-03-05T06:58:00.000-08:00

A month ago we went to visit our friends Jen and Emery and little Max out in Maricopa. Their house is beautiful and Jen ALMOST convinced us to move there:) Little Max and Brig reunited in their twin PJ's and were so dang cute! We love the Laytons!

AND THE WINNER IS.....

2009-02-24T19:23:00.000-08:00

BECCA BROCKBANK!!!!

Congratulations! I can send you your Chipotle gift card through the mail if you email me your address (karlieandbryce@gmail.com)! Thanks for all the comments and sympathy for my eye...it feels much better now:)

HAPPY 100th POST: GIVEAWAY AND CELEBRATING VALENTINES DAY WITH A BANG (LITERALLY!)

2009-02-17T10:08:00.000-08:00

I have reached the 100th post mark!!! I feel like we should celebrate so I am doing a little giveaway!! I have a $10 Chipotle card I would like to give to one of YOU! Just leave a comment on this post before next Tues. (Feb. 24th) and I will randomly select a winner in exactly one week from today and announce it on the blog! Good luck to everyone and HAPPY 100th BDAY! Here's how my Valentines Day went down.....

It started off innocent enough...Bryce and I decided to go down to the YMCA to play a little romantic racquetball game. I've recently gotten him into the game so it's been fun:) We played for about 40 min. and then IT HAPPENED! He was going for the ball and I was trying to get out of the way....we collided and his raqcuet somehow hit my cheekbone right under my eye! Boy did that hurt! It swelled up huge and it looked like I had botox done:) Bryce felt soooo bad! What a sad way to start off the day of love...but we had to laugh about it:) The swelling went down and it's a nice purpurly color now! Oh, you should hear the comments I get!

The next adventure that day was pretty funny. I had heard that 98.7 the peak was trying to break a guiness record for the most kisses given at one time. I thought it would be fun for me and Bryce to go down to help break the record and also try to win a trip they were giving away:) Alyssa and her boyfriend Keith came along too which was fun. It was at Tempe marketplace and we arrived just as they were about to start so I signed us up really quick and then they hurried us into a long line so we could begin. We raced over and they said "ready, set, go!" Bryce and I realized something was wrong....no one was kissing each other...they were kissing this ONE GUY who was sitting on a chair trying to break the record for the most kisses received in under a minute BY ALL DIFFERENT PEOPLE! We thought the record involved kissing each other!!! So we were at the end of the line and we watched as people ran by this guy in a chair and kissed his cheek as fast as they could...there was two lines...one for each cheek! Well, as Bryce puts it, we "expanded our cultural horizons" and kissed this man on the cheek!!! It was so funny and we broke the record I guess. We just knew we were going to be on the front cover of the newspaper kissing this stranger:)

We actually did get to kiss each other in what they called "The Big Smooch" but we didn't break a record for it.

Cute couple Keith and Alyssa

Can you see my swollen right cheek? That was before it turned purple:)

My parents were kind enough to take Brig for the night so Bryce and I had dinner with some friends and then went to see two movies (with our movie money from Christmas)!! We didn't pick up Brig until 12:30AM and then got to bed by 2AM! We are such little party animals (yeah right). It ended up to be quite an eventful and memorable Valentine's day! Hope you enjoyed the read:)

My little Charlie Brown....

2009-02-10T09:28:00.000-08:00

Likes to brush his teeth and wear his dada's boots! He and his dad are great buds:)

ATTENTION: BETHANY JONES!!!!

2009-02-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

WE HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU!!!!!
This is me and Jen trying to be as angry as we can:)

We have not heard from you in MONTHS!!! Did you fall off the earth?? We miss our long lost friend! We have decided that if you do not respond to this post within ONE WEEK we will have someone kidnap Nathan and take him back to India!!! Yeah, it's that serious.
We love you girl....hope to hear from you soon!
Love, Karlie and Jen

Backpacking the Grand Canyon: A Grand Adventure!

2009-01-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

****WARNING: THIS IS A VERY LONG POST...I DO IT FOR JOURNALING PURPOSES SO FEEL FREE TO READ IF YOU LIKE, OR JUST LOOK AT PICTURES!*********

For our last Hurrah before Bryce went back to school, we decided to hike the Grand Canyon. I am a Native to Arizona and had never been there before! Shame on me:(

For Christmas I asked my sisters Olivia and Alyssa to give me one day of babysitting each so Bryce and I could go somewhere. We didn't think we could get into the Grand Canyon's "Phantom Ranch" on such short notice but because it is their off season, I was able to reserve us a place in little male/female bunk houses at the bottom of the canyon. This, for the record, was not Bryce's first choice as he would rather carry his own tent and sleeping bag to the bottom and camp in the freezing cold and cook his own food...not my idea of fun!!! He was kind enough to let us sleep in the warm dorms and eat a hot meal they had ready for us:)

We left on Thursday afternoon and drove to Williams, AZ to eat before driving one more hour to just outside the Grand Canyon where our hotel was. I have to say, Williams is a cute little town! It feels like it's Christmas there all of the time. There was snow on the ground and it was cold but we ate THE BEST PIZZA I have ever eaten in my entire life at this little "mom and pop's place" called Pizza Factory (a chain, I know, but it tasted better here because they tweaked the recipe a little!)

We made it to our hotel near the Grand Canyon and went to sleep to get a good night's rest for the upcoming day!

We woke up on Fri. morning, packed our backpacks, and entered the canyon. We stopped at the top of the South Rim first to check out some visitors centers and see the view from the top. It was breathtaking! I was so glad we didn't just look out and say "ok, let's go home!" We knew we were going to know that canyon well by the time we were done:)

Near one of the visitors centers, we happened upon some beautiful deer just walking around. Bryce couldn't believe he hikes and hunts for days at a time and never finds deer and here they were not 10 yards from us! Crazy.

Did I mention it was soooooooooo cold up at the top?

There are two trails to take to the bottom of the grand canyon: We began our descent down the South Kaibab trail which was a shorter but steeper trail. It was a little over 7 miles. The scary part was that it was snowy and icy for the first little bit. I wasn't prepared for that with my tennis shoes that had no grip. We ran into a fun young group from Texas who were just climbing out. They were pulling "crampons" off their shoes which are like snow chains for shoes instead of tires. They realized we didn't have any and they offered us theirs. I was so grateful because they really did give us better traction (especially on the way up!)

Hiking down is harder for me than hiking up. I know that sounds funny but my muscles feel so jolted as I go down a steep mountain:) When we did the Bryce Canyon 1/2 marathon, it was almost all downhill and I have never been more sore in my entire life. This hike down was not hard on the lungs but on the body and I'm feeling the effects today!

I wasn't sure if we'd be lucky enough to see any wildlife on the trail, but sure enough, at a little stop we made, three mountain goat came right up behind us and weren't even afraid! We were amazed!

Here's me at about the half way point down.

Here is Bryce about to fall off the into the canyon! Here is me on the straight and narrow And here is me off the straight and narrow....a good visual for my young women!!

Here is Bryce being his crazy self
Here we are about to cross over the Colorado River on a long bridge (scary to look over at)to enter Phantom Ranch

So, we made it to the bottom of the canyon and entered Phantom Ranch at about 4:30PM. We checked in and put our stuff in our bunk houses and then went exploring. I forgot to mention that when we got to the bottom we met a father/daughter pair from Australia who had also just gotten to the bottom and were staying at Phantom Ranch. We talked with them for a while and they became our good friends for the rest of the trip. Beth or Andrew, if you ever get to read this, leave me a comment and let me know how you're doing!
Our friends from Australia: Beth, Andrew, Bryce, Me!
Here's the cute little bunk houses!

Under the table is a cool ringtail that we caught on camera just before dinner!

At 6:00PM we ate a big dinner at the little dining lodge they had. We had to reserve the dinner in advance. It was yummy stew, corn bread, salad, and chocolate cake! Perfect for our hungry appetites. The great thing was all the people we met at dinner. We sat at a big long table and met people from Spain, Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the East coast. Such nice people and so fun to talk to them. We asked the girl from sweden (a little older than me) if she was having a good time and in her cute accent she said," Yeah, today was the best day of my life" How cute is that! We stuffed ourselves and then went to our bunk houses for the night. It was only 8:00PM but we were so tired we went to sleep! (After Beth and I talked for a while).

The next morning we started our hike out at about 7:30AM. I felt sore but ready for some uphill (in my opinion, it's way better than downhill!). We ate some muffins I brought with us and headed up the Bright Angel Trail (about 10 miles up!). It started off not too cold but as we trudged on and got into higher elevation and the shady side of the canyon, it got really cold! At our half way point (Indian Gardens) the thermometer read 30 degrees! When we were moving it was fine, but when we stopped for lunch I nearly froze! Bryce basically gave me all his extra warm clothing which was so nice of him.

An awesome shot!

The icy journey in the shade

I must say, it was a difficult road up and excluding lunch, it took us between 5-51/2 hours to climb out. The end was a killer with all of the steep switchbacks! Bryce and I love a good challenge though and that's exactly what this was. After the half way point, we ran into a friend we had made up at the top the day before. His name is Dick and he was hiking down the trail we were hiking up! It was fun to see him again and report on our trip.

We made it out of the canyon between 1 and 2 PM and rejoiced at the top! We immediately got in our car, found a bathroom and changed clothes and cleaned up a bit, and then drove to Flagstaff to eat at Chili's. Food has never tasted so good:) Here are a few random pictures to end on. Hope you enjoyed our journey! Here I am at the end, excited that I made it out alive! The Colorado river

Bryce's school break

2009-01-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

I'm so sad that Bryce starts back to law school tomorrow :( We've had so much fun over the past month on his break. I have to become a school widow again:) By May he will be finishing up his second year and then just one more to go!

We did alot of fun things over this break. For those of you who don't know I am a HUGE racquetball fan. I love playing for my exercise. Believe it or not, Bryce and I have NEVER played together because he has never really gotten into the sport. Finally, I got him to play with me! We went down to the YMCA and had at it. He did pretty well for his first time in years, but I still CRUSHED him!!! We have played several times in the last week and he gets better and better, which is fun.

We also went bowling for the first time in years and had SO MUCH FUN! I forgot how bad I was :) We had so much fun that we convinced the Burnham family AND the Evans family to do it for family night (Burnham's last Monday and my family tonight). Bowl on everybody!

We got to "spring clean" our house which was good. It was nice to have Bryce help me with it while he was on break.

Bryce also went hunting for deer (bow and arrow) with my dad and bro in law Jordan. They went out near Safford at my uncle Ken's ranch. Unfortunately, I did not exercise enough faith (as Bryce tells me) and no one got a deer. Hee Hee:0 Bryce is hooked now and won't give up til he gets one!

This is what Bryce WISHED he killed!

We did one final thing this past weekend that I will blog about soon and BOY WAS IT AN ADVENTURE!!!

New Years Eve 2008

2009-01-19T08:22:00.000-08:00

Me and my bearded man Drinking our sparkling cider (alcohol-free, mind you!) Grandma and Grandpa Hatch partying like youngins! Some of the gang including Alyssa and her boyfriend Keith

My crazy man Bryce

We spent the first part of the evening with the Burnhams. They had invited over families from our ward (Vineyard ward) and we all played games and ate yummy food. We had so much fun getting to know everybody better and seeing their COMPETITIVE sides come out!

Then we put Brig down at my inlaws house and headed over to my family house to bring in 2009. We played a DVD game (movie trivia) and then played the Wii for a while (which I love). Before we knew it , it was 11:59 and so we got our hats on and our noise makers ready and counted down with N.Y. and the sparkly ball that dropped at midnight! We drank sparkling cider and blew our horns:) I was especially excited because Bryce stayed awake AGAIN this year! That makes two years in a row that he has been awake to bring in the new year! (Don't ask me about the other years:). It's exciting to think what 2009 will bring for our family...BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!

Zoo with the Lundahls on New Year's Eve day

2009-01-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

We are so glad that our friends Shiloh and Kirstin Lundahl moved to AZ! They have been living in Utah for the past long while and recently moved here to party with us:) They were kind enough to take us to the zoo and we had so much fun with them on a perfect-weather day! The kids LOVED it all and ran around (Brig totally wore himself out!). Thanks guys!

Here is Ezra, Eliza and Brig all taking a look at a Bear (I think) Here is the whole gang!Here is Brig in the monkey pen...looking up to see monkeys swinging all around him! Here is Kirstie and little Ezra. Poor little guy tripped and skinned up his forehead and nose pretty bad...he was such a tough little guy though and never complained about it!

Christmas Day

2009-01-19T07:22:00.000-08:00

I don't have many pictures of Christmas day, unfortunately but for my journaling purposes here is how it went down:

1)Wake up at 5:30AM with my family

2)Open presents together....so fun!

3)Ate a BIG breakfast that my dad makes each year (so delicious)

4)Played with air soft guns (shot bulbs off the tree...my dad loves to do that!)

5)Went to the Burnham's Brunch to eat and visit some more!

6)Went to grandpa Robinson's house...ate and visited:)

7)Went to Aunt Judy's house to eat and play"outdoor Wii games" (I almost beat Bryce in a sprint game!)

8)Went to Grandma Thomas' house to eat some more (anyone seeing a pattern here?)

9)Went to Burnham's house to open presents to each other

My gift from Bryce was AMAZING! My friend Adele has a beautiful 4 foot by 6 foot frame that HER HUSBAND MADE!! Inside the frame is ribbon and fabric so you can place pictures all around. (Adele did the fabric and ribbon part:) I just KNEW Bryce could build me a frame with his amazing skills (otherwise those frames can be hundreds of dollars!). So I told him that was all I wanted for Christmas. I didn't really know if he would follow through or not and he never really mentioned it again so I thought he had forgotten. Then at mom and dad Burnham's house he told me he had a surprise for me in the garage. He led me out with my eyes closed and then.....

HE BUILT ME THAT HUGE FRAME!! I was so excited! My brother Brad captured a surprised look on my face that I will post once I get the picture from him. I was so surprised that he found time to do it when I was with him a lot on his school break. I guess when he said he was going running or taking Brig out for an adventure, he would go to my inlaws to work on it...AMAZING! It was one of the best presents I have ever received and such a fun surprise.

We ended the day at our house and put Brig to sleep after a LONG DAY (so fun). I gave my presents to Bryce which included a book (Man's Search for Meaning), a little LED flashlight for his keychain, a water bottle that purifies water (for backpacking trips) and a cool plaque I had made of all of our times for the races we did together starting with Gilbert Days 5K in 2007 and ending with the same race in 2008! It turned out pretty cool:) My gifts to him weren't nearly as cool as my gift but he seemed to like them:) It was a wonderful and exhausting Christmas day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Christmas Eve

2009-01-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Oh how I miss Christmas Eve already. We had a very eventful day. I started it off by playing racquetball with my dad which I love doing and rarely get to anymore (Bryce watched Brig for me!). Then Olivia and I went shopping AT WALMART ON CHRISTMAS EVE!! You might ask why we would be so brainless to do so. Well, my parents give each of their kids some money in the beginning of Dec. and tell us to "spread it out to those in need", so Bryce and I and Olivia adopted a family for Christmas through an organization called Head Start. We found all the clothes and toys they needed at Walmart and went to my house to wrap them with Bryce and Brig. There was SO MUCH STUFF!! We wrapped all afternoon and then delivered it. It was so fun to see the kids faces when they saw all the presents coming out of the car:)

Bryce and Brig and I then headed to Carson Junior High's field to play football and frisbee with the Burnham's (a tradition I love). Then we went back to Burnham's house to eat Chinese food. We did the best thing ever after that....WE WATCHED A DISNEY CHANNEL CHRISTMAS.! That little show from the 1980's is basically no where to be found, but my bro in law Tanner had it on VHS because his mom taped it back in the day. Oh the joy that filled my heart! After that, we headed over to my family's house to play and spend the night. Bryce went to sleep with Brig (they were both exhausted) so I partied with my sisters and parents for a while:) We watched "A Family Circus Christmas" another blast from the 80's that I found on Amazon this year! Finally I went to bed a little after midnight! Here are some picts from the day/evening:

Annie and Wesley playing in the living roomAll of the Burnham's eating and visiting
Lindsey and Tanner gave Brig this singing frog that he LOVED! He kept kissing it and it was so stinkin cute!

Here is the van full of presents for the needy family

Here is us with OliviaOur living room where we wrapped and wrapped! Me and liv amongst the presents