4th of July!

We had such an awesome 4th of July! My Dad was in town from St George and stayed at our house. We started out our day with our traditional red, white and blue pancakes! They turned out so yummy! We then went to the nature park and walked around the pond and fed the ducks. Braelyn loves doing this. Then we hung out at home preparing for our BBQ. At 5:00 the rest of my family came over for the BBQ. We had such a great time. We put up the kiddie pool and slip-n-slide and the kids (10 grand kids total) had a blast! We also played lasco golf, dodge ball, and soccer. We ended the evening with some fireworks in the front yard. Braelyn was pretty scared of the loud ones, so we thought it was better not to go to the city fireworks display. Thanks to all of my family for making this a memorable holiday and all your help with the yummy food!

They didn't turn out quite as pretty as I'd hoped.

It is impossible to get a picture with

all three of us smiling. Oh well.

Swimming time!

They were standing right over the sprayers and were

more interested in that than the picture.

Great Family!

Bubbles! Can keep them entertained for hours!

Braelyn was interested yet cautious of the sparklers.

Grandma enjoying cuddles from Braelyn.

She still isn't sure about all of this.

Our House

Well, I am finally posting pictures of our new house! We just finished the yard a few weeks ago, and are now enjoying the fruits of our labor! Jake and I put the sprinklers in together. It actually went very smooth and only took 5 days (so much faster than the month it took us at our last house). And with all the help of my wonderful family, we laid the 10 pallets of sod in a record 3 hours. We are so happy in our new home and feel so blessed! Here are a few pictures of the before and after.

Beginning Stages

Jake leveling the yard

Backyard

Backyard patio

Living Room/ Great Room

Kitchen

Dining Room

Entry

Master Bedroom

Braelyn's Room

Fashion Statement

Braelyn is a very busy kid and just can't resist getting into any drawer that is in her reach. Our morning routine always includes picking up lotions, hair ties, makeup, and anything else she can get her hands on, up off the floor. I have become used to it and no longer fight to keep her out of things. I just let her have a good time then pick it up as soon as I'm done getting ready. This morning she surprised me with this awesome new hair style! I thought it was pretty cute!

A day at the Zoo

Over Memorial Day weekend, my best friend Michelle flew out from Texas to visit. She was here for 4 days, and we had a blast! We took Braelyn to the Zoo, went shopping, watched movies, and ate out A LOT. It was Michelle's first time meeting Braelyn, and they became friends very quickly! Braelyn had so much fun with the extra attention she was getting. Braelyn loved the Zoo. She especially liked the monkeys! It was a perfect day for the zoo because it was slightly overcast and not too hot. We had such a great time! Thanks so much for coming to visit Michelle!!!

It is almost impossible to get Braelyn to look at a camera

if she doesn't want to. She obviously wasn't having it this day.

Day at the Park

Now that the weather is warm we love taking Braelyn to the park! She loves the slide and will go down it time after time. We were catching her at the end since it was a bit fast. Finally she got tired of it and started to explore a few other playground toys and Jake and I sat on the bench for just a second. The next thing we knew she was at the top of the slide with no one there to catch her. Jake and I both looked at each other like Oh No! Before we even moved, Braelyn was already coming down the slide without any hesitation. She flew right off the end and landed in the sand. We weren't sure what her reaction was going to be. She just stood right up, patted her bum and said "Ouch" and continued on playing. We laughed so hard. We love watching her grow and play and learn. This is my favorite stage so far (I think I always say that though, I guess they really are all my favorite at the time). What would we do without this precious little angel in our lives!

Easter

I am a little late posting these Easter pictures, but better late than never right?

Anyways, we had a great Easter this year! We had dinner and an Easter egg hunt at my Aunt's house. It was so fun watching the kids hunt for eggs. Braelyn picked up a few, but soon realized that there was candy inside and it was over from there! I bet she had 20 jellybeans in her mouth at once. The next weekend we were together with even more of the cousins and thought it would be fun for them to have another egg hunt. I have to admit this was mostly my idea, due to our video camera accidentally getting switched off after about 30 seconds of the real Easter egg hunt. All in all the kids loved it both times and who can resist more pictures of Easter dresses!

We couldn't get Braelyn to put the cookies down for the picture.

Cutie Pie Cousins

Braelyn and her cousin Ryleigh are so adorable together. Every time they get to see each other they just squeal and jump around with delight. If I even mention Ryleigh's name, Braelyn is saying shoes, Bye Bye, Ryleigh! This particular day I was watching Ryleigh and the girls ended up in my closet, where the pushed all the shoes off the shoe shelf and sat there eating their raisins. It was the cutest thing ever!