Surprise!

Last weekend we went to St. George to surprise my Dad for his 60th birthday!
We had the plans in the making for months. We rented a house (all of us siblings and our families) and set up for the party. He was so surprised!!! He really didn't have a clue, so
that was the best part! We were so excited to throw him this party and it turned out so
great! Happy Birthday Dad!

He doesn't look 60, does he?

Limbo! How low can you go!

The house had an awesome view, a pool and a park right

behind it. It was the perfect place! We spent all day the

next day just hanging out at the pool!



I just can't get over these 2 together! So cute!!!

Jake had fun throwing the boys in the air into the pool.

At one point he threw Keynan, and he belly flopped.

He was pretty mad at Jake, so Jake belly flopped too

to make him feel better! What a great Uncle!



Jake's Belly Flop!

Wrapping up Summer

Here are a few pictures of some fun things we did this summer that didn't get posted.

Braelyn loved swimming in her pool!

We went hiking one morning and then

ate at The Oaks, our favorite summer place.


We went to the Zoo!

This is the baby Giraffe. They were Braelyn's favorite!


This was cool, the bears were play fighting!

Braelyn wasn't crazy about sitting on the elephant trunk.


Dad invited us for a weekend trip to Duck Creek. We had

a great time. Braelyn, being the busy kid she is, started

pushing this chair around the wrap around porch. It turned

into a parade of all the kids pushing chairs around the porch

for hours (literally about 3 hours). What ever makes them

happy!



Ryleigh and Braelyn being silly. These 2 are so cute together!


There was also a few lava caves there that we explored.

For Labor Day, we took a bike ride down Bridal Veil falls.

We went with all my siblings and all of the kids. This is

Ryleigh and Braelyn in the bike trailer. They both loved it.

It was so beautiful and so relaxing! Unfortunately this is the

only picture I got since we left the camera in the car.



This was just this morning, I was folding

laundry and Braelyn put on Daddy's socks.

My sweet little girl!!!

Braelyn's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my baby is already 2!!! Time really does fly when your having fun! Braelyn had so much fun at her little birthday party. She had all of her cousins come over for the fun! She was so funny when she was opening presents, she had such a scowl on her face, she just couldn't understand why she couldn't open up all these fun new toys and play with them right away. We feel so blessed to have this little angel in our lives! We can't even remember life without her. I can't wait for the next 20 years and all the amazing memories it will bring!




Birthday Girl!

The Flower cake!

She needed a little help getting the candles blown out

Mmm.. That's good cake!

Her favorite part of the party.. Ring Around the Rosies!


She Really didn't want to take a group picture!

Braelyn and Daddy with the new xylophone.

Braelyn on her new Trike!

This puppy was a big hit. No pants due to potty training!

Illinois Trip!

Jon and Braelyn

Braelyn, Nate, and Jon

Check out the huge lilypads in the water!

PaPa, Grandma and Braelyn


Our little family!

Crown of thorns. Look at the stem!

August 6th, Jake, Braelyn and I flew out to Illinois to see his family! We were (or I should say, I was) so worried about how Braelyn would do on the plane. To my surprise, she was an angel both ways! We got so lucky and got the only extra seat for her to sit in, rather than having her on our lap. Jake took the extra seat, and Braelyn and I sat together. Jake and I traded off about half way both times. It was so nice! As we were landing on the flight home, Braelyn was quite excited and said really loud "Woooow!" Everyone laughed and thought she was pretty cute! We flew into St Louis Missouri. Jake's parents met us there and we stayed the night in a really nice hotel! The next day, we went to the St Louis Botanical Gardens. It was so neat! There was so much to see and it was so beautiful and peaceful there. Then we headed for Quincy. Over the next few days, we went swimming, did some shopping, did lots of eating, and hung out with friends and family! Nate and Jon, Jake's nephews, had so much fun playing with Braelyn. They were so sweet to her. Braelyn also became very attached to Grandma and PaPa. She is still saying "Grandma, PaPa, ByeBye." She has found a picture of them and has been carrying it around for days. The last day, Carol took me to a holistic spa. It was so cool! It was a string of sitting in the aromatherapy hot tub, reflexology, massage, and a foot detox. It was so relaxing, just what I needed. Thanks so much Carol and Donny for such a great trip, we had a blast!

Family Pictures!

So, I was in desperate need of family pictures since it has been over a year. I was absolutely dreading it due to the fact that Braelyn is almost impossible to get to stay still and smile. I asked my sister if she would give it a shot (as if she doesn't have enough on her plate). Braelyn knows her well and I thought that might help. She is really good at photography but doesn't do it professionally. She was so sweet to put so much time and energy into it! I was absolutely thrilled with all the cute pictures we got! Thanks a million Tammy, your the best!

Braelyn's melt down at the end of shooting!


Finally free to Run!