Swimming Fun

I recently realized that I have one of "those" kids. I have never had one of "those" kids before. You know - one of those kids that splashes uncontrollably in the pool with total disregard for his safety or well being. The kind of kid who is just wild in the pool and will fling himself around - not realizing that people are holding onto him in order to save his life!!! The kind of kid who doesn't care if there is water in his eyes or not - whether they are closed or open! My kids have all been the clingy - "I'm going to die at any moment in this vast wetness" type. So timid and safety oriented in the pool. Well, Brannen didn't get that gene at all. Summer swimming might be interesting. I'm getting many baby floating toys very soon!
Brady and Reese - the fish.
Happy Rae.

White Sands National Park

So, this was the best part of our trip! We really didn't know what to expect - and it turned out to be sooo fun! It was beautiful and cool and such clean, great sand. It looked like another planet! We had a fun time playing around and then eating a yummy picnic that Aunt Jennie packed. So much fun!

Aunt Jennie even found some sleds for us! AWESOME!
Can a girl have more fun than this?!? Without a horse - that is!
Brannen wasn't sure if he liked the sand or not. He wasn't feeling that great.
Kelly knows how to make his own kind of fun!
Those are the kids off in the distance. We finally hollered at them to not go too far. They had a great time exploring - and even wrote some big messages in the sand for us to see!
These guys really do like each other. They are both such nice kids!
Rolling in the sand proved to be great fun too. I think Brady and Rae rolled down an entire mountain of sand! Time to dump out the undies!

Space Museum

The kids had a great time exploring the Space Museum. Drew and Luke were great tour guides- they have been there before!
What awesome smiles!
Blast off!
Blast off!
Our motley crew!
Hey guys, hey guys, turn me around! I wanna see too! That looks cool! No fair!!
Very Cool!
We also went to the IMAX theater there and saw "Sharks". Reese thought they looked too close. I think she was a little nervous.

More Fun!

Brannen's favorite thing of the trip - playing outside! He always headed for the door - anytime it was open. He got so dirty! So fun!
The wonderful world of Chuck E. Cheeses! Oh how much fun a baby can have here!
Okay, Okay - not so much fun! Get me off of this death ride!
Brady the high-score basket-baller! Oh wait, no, Brady was the second high-scorer. Because Uncle Bingo had to steal all the kids tokens - and play over and over until HE broke the 11 year old's high score. Way to go - Uncle Bingo!!! : )

Fun trip.

So we made it! We had a very fun trip!
Here was Kelly's first resting spot in the brother's house. I'm surprised that the twins weren't in the fetal position.
Cool picture - huh!? We went to the Alamogordo zoo - and Reese, Rae and Luke tried to jump as far as a bullfrog. I caught quite a leap on camera!!
Having fun at the zoo. The rest of the group was, of course, GOLFING!

New Mexico --Here We Come!

Watchin' some Wiggles - oh he loves those silly men!
Pretty Reesie
Rae the Navigator - and Kelly the most excellent driver!
Chillin' Brady
Don't show this picture to the authorities! It was a long drive! Once in a while we had to have some "save the baby time". What good entertainers I have. For the record - he was not out of his seat a lot. He did soooo well.

Our Sled Dog Team!

The latest and greatest Star Valley Winter Sport! Move over Hill-Climbers! We have a great way to spend a Saturday in good 'ole SV!




Once again, Rae gets points for creativity. I'm always worried when she gets some idea in her brain - but I have to admit - it usually turns out really well. The kids had so much fun with her and the dogs - and Brannen laughed and laughed. It entertained him for at least an hour - which is such a good thing!!

Reese just finished reading "Little House on the Prairie" - she really loved this book. She has been working hard to finish it - it is a long one! After she finished it I got her the movie to watch and started tivo-ing the series on tv. She has been entranced! She had no idea such a great series existed! She thought kids tv was "iCarly" and "The Suite Life . . .". No no my girl! Many were the days that we raced home off of the bus to see what that Ingals family was up to!! Oh that Nellie Olsen! What a meanie! I'm glad Reese has enjoyed it - she's broadened her horizons a bit!

Horses Horses Horses!

This winter, Rae has been having a great time riding with Grampa Barry at the indoor arena near Alpine. They go almost every saturday - and if it is an "off" Saturday, Rae is most definitely bored. She would rather be riding than anywhere. A few weekends ago, Kelly, Brannen, Reese and I went to watch Rae ride a bit. Reesie and Bran got rides too - so everyone was happy. Rae is quite the horse girl (there's some new news! - NOT)!

My Snowsuit!

Brannen LOVES his snowsuit! In this wonderful land where we live, I have to put him in this snowsuit whenever we go anywhere - post office, grocery store, school, etc. He loves to put on his snowsuit! When I put it on him, he always tucks his head way up into the top of the hood - to "hide" as best he can. He is such a squishy marshmallow when it is on. So snuggly. I just had to post a picture to remember how much he loves this thing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRANNEN!!!

Good morning Birthday boy!

We had a birthday! They boy is officially one year old! I cannot wrap my brain around that fact. This year has really gone so fast. We had a great day with our little one. I couldn't quit taking pictures of the kid! I think I'm kind of frantic to remember him being little - and I take entirely too many pictures.
Reese made him this great party hat. Rae made one for her when she turned 1 - so she was just returning the favor!
Isn't this picture great?!? He LOVED playing with all of his balloons. What a silly one!
Hugging on Grandpa
Party! Party! Party! Party! Just not too close to my face.
He loved this present! Balls flying everywhere, lots of fun music! Great!
Getting a little help with the opening!
Oooooo - Pretty!
Yummy cake. He didn't eat much - just poked at it and rubbed it in his hair - pretty typical for a first birthday.

Oh how we love our Brannen! We had so much fun with him on his birthday!

Tyler the Basketballer

My friend Kenna has an awesome son - Tyler (well, she has four awesome kids, but this blog is for Ty). Ty is a great basketball player and my kids think he is pretty cool - mostly Brady. Brady loves to go to Tyler's games, sit with Seth (Brady's buddy and Tyler's littlest brother) and keep stats of the game. Ty is pretty much a hero to Brady. He is an old boy now too - graduating this May and finishing up his senior year season of basketball. And he used to be one of my primary kids! I'm old! Anyway, our high school just had senior night at the last game and Kenna and her hubby Vance got to escort Tyler as a senior. I got a few pictures, and had to post one. I'm so proud of Kenna! She didn't sob the entire time. A little teary maybe, but no sobbage! Way to go Ken! What a grown up, great, son you have!

Rae has been having a great time playing church ball this year with the most awesome Grover Growlers! We have some really fun girls in our ward, and they make church ball really fun to play. She is one of only two beehives that are on the team - and the laurels have really been teaching them how to have fun playing church ball. This year they got together and bought striped socks to match their awesome pink and black outfits, and awesome sweatshirts they all bought last year. The great laurel girls are really big into unity, and have left an awesome example for the younger girls. Oh yea! I almost forgot the best part! They were an undefeated team this year, and just won the championship! Go Grover Growlers!