Lucky #25

I know it has been a couple of months since I have updated but I have really good reasons. First of all, I lost my camera in California somewhere months ago :( Secondly, we had 25 days to get into our house, so we were in hyper move mode. I forgot how stressful and overwhelmingly tiring and exhausting moving is!!! You need help from so many people between juggling kids around, cleaning, packing, moving, loading and unloading. We could have NEVER done it without all the help from our family, friends, and our amazing ward who we are so sad to have left. boo-hoo. But we are loving our new house and are so happy here.

This house was our lucky twenty-fifth offer finally accepted. Yay! We had waited so long to hear back from a pile of offers that were made, and after more months than I can count, our 25th was accepted, not countered, just nicely accepted. They wanted us to move in within 25 days, so we put ourselves into gear and I spent weeks cleaning, organizing, and packing. Whew! I was probably running off adrenaline because I was so excited the whole time and covering every little detail of organizing and cleaning that I possibly could- Jason was amazed at my over-achieving efforts, I think.

Brooklyn recently turned 3, but all the pictures are on my mother-in-law's camera, so I will post them when I get them. I can't believe she is 3... well, 3 going on 13 that is. This year we made a fairy cake and Brooklyn wore her fairy wings around all night- I'll post pics later. We're getting a camera soon so I can start updating.

Family Pictures

We finally got family pictures taken for the first time. We kept meaning to get them done since Brooklyn was born....but hey better late than never. We have tons more that we absolutely love, but that I don't have time to post.

Our photographer was Ciera Boyd, who is dating Jason's brother. She has been trained by the best of the best and is awesome with her camera. She is offering a discount off of her already amazing prices for any of my friends, family, etc. so if you are interested in having single or group pictures done, you can visit her blog at cieraboydphotography.blogspot.com

Thanks Ciera!!

An Up-To Update...

What are Brooklyn and Beckam UP TO?

They of course continue to amaze me everyday with the things they say and especially the things they pick up on!

Brooklyn:

Grandma asked Brooklyn the other day if she needed to go number 2. She responded by saying, "No, I'm turning 3 on my next birthday party."

I always sing her a song or two when I put her to bed. Keep in mind, Brooklyn has fetish with the color pink. I asked her what song she wanted me to sing her and she said, "Pink Pink God" in the tune of I am A Child Of God. She then did the same thing to Grandma who had no idea what song that was!

I was helping her brush her teeth and I told her she had beautiful pearly white teeth. She said, "No, mom- they're pink!"

"Hey Brooklyn, what movie should we watch?" drum roll.... "the pink one." (but of course)

She has been saying:
"You're bugging me!"
"don't talk to me like that"
We were singing a hymn at church and the introduction played and it was time to start singing and Brooklyn leaned on Jason's shoulder and said, "Go for it!"
"I'm just so tired"
"I'm heading to pilates"
"Hey mom, is the A/C on?"
"Mom, Jesus got the monsters for me!" (so applicable in so many ways)

She is more and more fun and more and more independent as the days go by. She LOVES her brother and especially loves that she is bigger than him...which won't last long.

Beckam:

Beckam mimicks everything we say. He now says Mama, Dada, Sis, what's that?,Amen (at the end of a prayer),the number 2 (when we count 1, 2, 3...), up, yes, this, that, coke (which is funny because we don't even like Coke and have never bought it -or any other soda for that matter) and anything else we tell him to say. He'll mimick any animal sound he hears or even a horn that drives by and honks. Funny kid.

He has walked since he was 10 months old but we did not encourage it. Finally at 11 months we knew there was nothing we could do to stop him and he's been on the go ever since. He's still my snuggle bug and is the perfect size for snugglin'.

He laughs at everything Brooklyn does and copies everything she does as well. He'll laugh, scream, yell, talk, and jump like her (although his screams are about 2 octaves lower than Brooklyn's so it's manageable for the ears).

The other day Brooklyn was crying so Beckam went up to her and wrapped his arms around her, put his cheek right up against hers and just held her. He's only 13 months old and has already developed a compassionate little heart. It was the most precious moment to see him giving and her accepting. She stopped crying and started smiling- oh, the power of love!

4th of July!!

The pictures are backwards starting with the end of the night. oops.

I kept forgetting to take pictures so the ones I do have are pretty lame and don't illustrate the day very well. But such is life.

This was Beckam and I watching the fireworks together. This is his first time seeing fireworks and he loved them. He kept saying "wow" at the fireworks and then laughing at himself, so even though it was pitch black, we tried snapping a picture anyway...and we actually got him laughing at himself like we were hoping to get.
Before the fireworks started. Beckam did not want to sit down and take a picture, but I made him anyway.
Our little Brooklyn was not with us tonight. She has been in California for a couple of days with her grandma and grandpa. It is so wierd how much you can miss and even crave to be with your children! With her gone, I kept feeling like so much was missing. No matter how much I prepared for the day, I kept feeling like I was forgetting something. I know she is having fun and getting spoiled from her grandparents, but I can't wait to see her again soon.

On our way to fireworks- which were really good this year! The grand finale had the whole sky lit up bright white almost like mid-day

Brooklyn watched the fireworks with Mike and Julie and loved it so much she asked if they could do it again.

Yvette, me, Treva, and Aliah

We all hung out at Yvette's pool all day and had a barbeque. Marcus cooked up some amazing hamburgers. Good food and good fun go hand in hand right!

Beckam and Aunt Treva by the pool

Aunt Treva thought Beckam needed another little dip in the pool after his swimming suit was off.

Aunt Treva also had little Draden, my nephew, doing dangerous tricks running from the edge of the pool onto a blown up tube board in the deep end. Yvette yelled to Draden, "Hey don't do that anymore bud, you'll get hurt!" Then, you hear Treva yelling from behind, "Hey I taught him that trick!"

Aliah, the fish! She swam alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll day long.

Father's Day Outing

In honor of JASON for FATHER'S DAY, we went to Temple Square and hung out for most of the day. The sun and the clouds were fighting all day. It was burning hot and sunny one minute, then rainy and cold the next. It kept us guessing all day that's for sure. We had a picnic at Brigham Young Park. The kids loved it! The grass was all wet from the last rainstorm that took place five minutes earlier, but we didn't mind wet bottoms.

Jason is such an incredible father!! Brooklyn kept telling him all day how much she loved him and gave him big hugs all day long, which isn't unusual. Beckam and Jason can laugh and get each other going so easily. It's so fun to see the bond they have with each other.

Jason makes daily sacrifices to spend any possible extra time with the kids (and me :) He is a dedicated worker and thrives at everything he does- he is amazing. He is one of those guys who can excel at a job without ever compromising his integrity- and he won't! He's also the guy you always want on your side because he can battle it out with his words until the death!
I'm grateful for his wisdom beyond his years and his complete love and dedication to his family and the Gospel. He is a powerhouse. I get comments from strangers who have met him for the first time how sharp he is.

Not only is he all of that, but he helps me clean up everyday (he cleans like a champ), he takes good care of me when I'm sick, he changes diapers, gives baths, plays well, helps with housework, and runs a lot of errands for me. I tell him he would be a much better house-wife than I am. Too bad I would be a horrible provider though.

Anyway, happy father's day to a wonderful father and man!!

And to think this used to be a normal sight to see for children. Brooklyn thinks it's a ride!

The Visitor's Center was a lot of fun to spend some time at. We also toured the Beehive house and went through some other things at Temple Square that we haven't done in the longest time.

When Brooklyn saw the Temple, she said "Mom, that's where you wore your pretty dress!"

It's amazing how much they recognize and the details they pay attention to.

Then...it started raining again. I tried capture how big the raindrops were, but this picture doesn't quite do it justice. They were big plops, but it was still somewhat warm this time. I loved the rain!!! It was a perfect way to end the day.

Going, going...

Gone!

Brooklyn loves to smother her baby brother.

My angels! They gave daddy a card with their hands and foot prints on it. Then, I wrote a poem about their hands and toes and the way they love their dad. Brooklyn was so excited to give it to him, that the day we made it she ran up to Jason as soon as he got home from work and yelled "Daddy, we made you a card!" What a little taddle-tell. I can't keep secrets anymore.

Beckam's First Birthday Party!!!

Beckam's theme was Zoo Animals, so we partied like animals at the Hogle Zoo. We decided to make him a lion cake. He knows what sound a lion makes, so he looked at his cake and growled.

It's a tradition every year for each of my kids birthday's to home-make their cake. Julie and I partner up and have so much fun! She cut the cake out, and I frosted. Then we both added finishing touches to it. This year we got started on it late so we were up really late finishing it. The later it got, the more hysterically I was laughing at everything!! Julie even painted the number one backwards- we we're so slap happy. But she pulled out her magic tricks and you can't even tell.

Beckam and daddy enjoying the sunshine on this PERFECT day!

Tyler, Beckam, Amanda, Steele, Brooklyn

Beckam couldn't keep his chubby little hands off his cake!

Jason lighting the candle. The wind kept blowing it out, so Beckam didn't have to. But, that's okay it was a welcomed breeze.

Time for presents.

This is the handywork of Aunt Sue. So cute!

Beckam was getting very sleepy, but Brooklyn had fun with his presents anyway!

Beckam got a kick out of the airplane from Aunt Sue.

Uncle Tyler and Beckam

Dristin, Daidree, Triff, Bella, Chelsi, Brooklyn Aliah, Yvette, AManda, Mom, Treva

Jason and his twin brother, Tyler.

Nothing has changed in 28 years!

On the carousel...Beckam got a little winded, but Brooklyn (in her serious and cautious way) loved it!

This was her first choice- "the princess chair". But then we moved to a Hippo. The Hippo was so much faster :)

Chelsi, Treva, Yvette, Aliah, Triff, Daidree, and Baby Bella

Check out the newest little exhibit! He was so cute, I took him home with me.

Beckam was amazed by the giraffe's! He stared so intensely at them. He loved everything as he took it all in!

Yes! Brownie points for mommy choosing the zoo as the birthday location.

Still staring at the giraff's and playing with Papa at the same time.
Beckam ended up falling asleep up there on Papa's shoulders- how does that happen?

I love animal prints of every kind so I had to get a close up of the giraff. all the other animals sleep in bushes or behind rocks so you can never get close up enough for a good picture.

Taking a pit-stop

Squirrel!

Mike, Steele, Ty, Jason

What a handsome bunch!

Singing as she strolled along the park!

Thank you everyone who came, it was so fun. Everything was perfect (except family and friends who couldn't be with us of course!)

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little boy I know!