Murray Family Fun

Ridge's Big Day

2012-01-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

Ridge got to go on his first official hunting trip with Brady! They were both super excited!
Ridge couldn't stop grinning! He felt so privileged to get some alone time with dad.

He loved being outdoors and riding the four-wheeler even if it was freezing cold!

He never whinned or complained. Brady is so happy to have another little hunting buddy!

They saw one coyote and an amazing sunset!

And they had a fantastic time!

Nash's Love Note

2012-01-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

As I was putting Nash's coat on him I could hear some paper crumpling in his pocket. I reached in and pulled out this little note with a colored picture on the inside. I asked Brynlee what it was and she said to put it back in his pocket because its just a note for him so he remembers she loves him when he's away from her. She is one sweet girl!

My Three Little Pigs

2012-01-09T16:03:00.000-08:00

Never knew we could have so much fun with tape!

Starting the New Year

2012-01-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Wahoo! 2012 is here! Out with the old, in with the new!

I love the promise of a fresh start that the new year holds!

We are hoping our kids will be a little more reverent during scripture study this year. Usually the boys try wrestling everyone or at least each other while we read, it can get a little wild. They've also been known to actually ripe pages out of the scriptures. So we decided to give the boys each a brand new copy of the Book of Mormon and made a big deal about it being their own, hoping that maybe they would take some ownership and maybe...eventually...even sit quietly and follow along. =) We can always dream right?!
Well we're a good week into it and they haven't really sat quietly yet unless their asleep, but they sure are proud of their scriptures! While they were having their snack earlier this week Ridge climbed down from his bar stool ran off and came running back with their scriptures. He handed one to Nash climbed back up and started flipping through it. It was adorable. They've been packing their scriptures around like they do their toys. I find them in the crib, in the toy box and in the bathtub. I am glad they love their scriptures. I hope they always do!

That's right boys, feast upon those words and you'll never hunger!

Allens Visit

2011-12-31T18:22:00.000-08:00

Adam and Amber's family and Ryan came to visit after Christmas. It was a lot of the fun! Nash, Ridge and Ashlyn made quite the little threesome!
We went to Zoo Boise one of the days. The monkeys were great, they really put on a show. Maybe they have to move a lot in the winter to keep warm or something, anyway they were very entertaining.

Sweet baby Trey stayed warm!

Lots of monkeys

The kids loved the statues around the zoo just as much as the real animals

Fun times!

For not talking, this little guy sure has a lot to say!

Nash went crazy over these elephant statues

He kept giving this one kisses on its trunk

The lions were lazy and wouldn't even look up to see who was growling at them.

Punky pretending to be on a camping safari

Ridge was memorized by this bird and kept running back to look at it again

Miemie with her bird twin. See they both have fancy fur around their neck.

The bird was pretty excited to find her long lost twin and did a little celebration dance.

It was a beautiful day at the zoo and it felt great to be outside, even if it was little chilly.

They splashed in everything that even resembled a puddle. =)

How many kids do you know that have rode a tiger?

Now you know two.

The birth of Venus

All of the kids were wild about the real and the fake kamoto dragon

Alice the camel was quite popular too

Of course Brynlee wanted a shot of her with the butterfly collection

Can't remember what that was but its cute

More monkeys

Maybe monkeys just really like Ryan. I know my little monkeys are wild about him.

A stop at the zoo just wouldn't be complete without a slide down the giraffe's neck.

What a fun day! Thanks for coming to visit guys!

More Holiday Fun

2011-12-28T17:53:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Christmas but I don't know what I was thinking on Christmas day; I didn't take a single picture! Oh well, Brady was video taping so at least we can watch it. I did get the above picture of them opening presents on Christmas Eve. I'll write more about Christmas later, but for now I at least just want to a few pictures posted.

This was so funny Brynlee came running saying, "Quick mom, get your camera dad is in the crib!"

Oh they have a funny dad!

And it gets even funnier...

Brady was so happy to finally get a pair of onesie jammas like the boys!

It always makes me laugh when Brynlee wears her eye mask to bed!
And since I took picture of Bryn sleeping I couldn't pass up one of Nash.

Holiday Fun

2011-12-27T15:45:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun over the break playing hide-n-seek! It's one of our favorite games right now. I thought it was hilarious how the boys kept "hiding" in the pillows on our bed.
Bryn is pretty sneaky when it comes to hiding!

Two little cheesers

We had so much fun getting to see family over the holidays. The kids adore their cousins! I wish I had taken pictures at all of the family parties we went to but at least I got a few!

Nash and Grandpa Doug

Ridge and Grandpa Read

Grandma Whitmore

Nana has the magic touch

All the cute cousins on the Murray side

Uncle Ed has the magic touch too! It was great to see you all!

Preschool Christmas Party

2011-12-23T15:40:00.000-08:00

Nash really hasn't been happy with Santa this year...until the preschool party. Somehow this Santa was different and Nash was a huge fan!

Ridge was still a little hesitant to sit on Santa's lap, but the candy cane convinced to try!

We always look forward to the preschool parties!

Nash's teachers and class are awesome!

Nash shared his party with Brynlee so it could be her party too since we missed her class party while we were in Utah.

Gingerbread houses are one of our favorite holiday activities!

They boys made one together and Brynlee made her own! They did a great job!

After the last day of school we had a party, read Christmas books and the kids slept under the tree! I am so excited to have the kids home for awhile!

Christmas Fun

2011-12-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! Time certainly does fly when your having fun! And the holidays are always packed with fun! We have really been enjoying this holiday season. The kids are at such fun ages it really makes the holidays exciting and magical! At the ward Christmas party the primary kids stood up front and sang a couple songs for us. Brynlee and Nash were singing with them and Ridge was sitting on Brady's lap watching. At the end of the first song Nash came running back to us calling for Ridge. He took his little brother by the hand and lead him up front, showed him wear to stand right next to him, whispered sssshhhh very loudly and started to sing the next song. It was so sweet! They were so proud of themselves! The primary kids were definitely the highlight of the night they did an awesome job!
Ridge and Brynlee were pretty excited about their first visit with Santa, but not Nash. He didn't want anything to do with him! He wouldn't even look at him. He just screamed buried his head in my neck and hung on for dear life. It was pretty funny since Nash usually loves every man with a beard that he sees. It must be the suit!

Such a sweet girl! She has certainly been beyond good this year!

Brynlee had been talking non-stop about her friend that visited the "North Pole." She probably asked us a thousand questions about the North Pole. Enough that we decided we better take her there too. We weren't sure if she was up for all that traveling but she assured us she was! So on the 2nd Saturday in December we set out on a North Pole adventure! We had to ride a real train to get there. It was pretty amazing! Brynlee knew it was going to be a long ride so she got busy coloring right away.

The boys had fun relaxing and talking about Nashie's Christmas sweater.

Everything was wonderful until Santa showed up! Nash wasn't happy about that! But Santa was very friendly and patient like usual and he stuck around until Nash started warming up to him. By the time we got off the train they were high fiving!

Getting braver

and braver!

The "North Pole" was freezing but amazingly enough there was no snow! We decided it must be due to global warming.

The elf houses looked bigger than we thought they would...Brynlee was starting to get suspicious.

What cute boys!

Who knew there was hula-hooping in the North Pole?

Santa was there but the reindeer must have been out flying around.

On the way home Brynlee said, "Alaska looks just like Idaho." Maybe it wasn't the real North Pole, but we had a fantastic time pretending!

Another of our favorites this month was attending the live nativity. Ridge was especially excited about this. It was freezing cold but we loved it! I'm pretty sure his favorite part was listening to the beautiful heavenly angels sing. He had his most excited face plastered on!

Jump Start (Nash's therapy) also put on a great party for the family. They even had good ice-fishing which is hard to come by in Meridian!

The boys were a little weary about sitting on Santa's lap again but agreed to be in the picture if I would hold them.

We're glad there are 31 days in December and plan to enjoy them all! Hopefully you are doing same!

To All A Good-Night!

Two Little Monkeys

2011-11-22T05:05:00.000-08:00

I love these two little monkeys. They make me smile!

November Pictures

2011-11-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

Ridge the roll maker

Where are Swee and Nash?

There they are!

Ridge crawls into bed with Nash every night just hoping that I'll let him stay there.

Nash's preschool class did a little music for us at the Thanksgiving Feast

Bryn and Ridge got to play some music and dance too.

The feast

After the feast everyone but these two did crafts...I guess they ate too much and just needed to find a quiet corner to relax.

Brynlee loves to help her brothers get breakfast

Ridge almost always has either his puppy or his sippy cup tucked under his arm

Silly Girl

Nash and I were playing hide and seek and I could tell he was very tired so I tried not to find him for awhile even though I could see this adorable little foot sticking out...

After a few minutes I heard snoring and sure enough, Nash was napping right in the middle of Hide and Seek!

The kids are so excited for the holidays! Brynlee got her tree out this weekend but couldn't find the decorations so she came up with her own. The jump rope and picture of our family were my favorite. It looks pretty awesome!

The time change was pretty hard for Ridge to adjust too

but don't worry he has finally got the hang of it!

I am

so thankful

for these sweet kids!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bruno Mars - Just the Way You Are (Cover by MattyBRaps ft. Tyler Ward)

2011-11-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

I love this video! It is so sweet! Thanks for sharing it with me Aubrey!

Miemie Is Six!

2011-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

She's had a Birthday shout hurray!
Our MieMie girl is six!

Brynlee was so excited to have her first "friend" birthday party on the Saturday before her real birthday. She wanted a Halloween costume party with lots of games...

and a pinata!

Brynlee and her friends were so sweet to include the boys in their games. Nash and Ridge loved playing Ghost Ghost Goblin with them. When Brynlee opened the gifts and everyone sat down, Nash thought it was time to play again. He kept saying ghost and touching everyone on the head. They were all so sweet with him and thought he was pretty funny!

Bryn had so much fun at the party she wished it didn't have to end! She loved playing games and laughing with her friends. They were so silly and crazy and great little monster mash dancers!
Right after her party we had the ward trunk-r-treat, the chili cookoff and the yw cake auction. It felt like a marathon birthday party! Bryn loved every minute of it and was still so excited when we finally put her to bed that she couldn't sleep. She kept getting out of bed to come and talk to me about all of the fun she had. It was a fantastic day!

Brynlee eating her birthday breakfast on her real b-day, the 1st of November!
She was excited to get to go to school on her birthday for the first time!

Nash and Ridge are always happy to celebrate too! They love Miemie!

It's amazing that Brynlee is 6! In a way she seems much older to me because

a) it feels like I have known her forever

b)she so responsible

c)she is very smart

d)she isn't just the sister, but the other mother to her brothers

Just to illustrate: A couple of weeks ago the kids and I went to Nash's doctor appointment. The doctor started asking me some questions about Nash and before I could reply Brynlee was answering them. She told the Dr all about how Nash has been doing, the colds he's had, that he got new tubes in his ears, that he eats lots of yogurt, and that he still snores a little at night. The doctor just looked at her and said, "You sure know a lot about your brother." She said, "Ummhum, that's because he shares my room with me."

I love the way her mind works! She doesn't miss a beat! She certainly keeps me on my toes. We so blessed to have her in our family!

Some of Brynlee's favorites are:

Color: Pink

Activity: Playing with friends

Song: I Love to See the Temple

Candy: Kit-Kat

Food: Plums

Dessert: Peanutbutter bars

Subject in school: P.E.

What do you want to be when you grow up? A mom

We sure love you Brynlee girl!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

Picking pumpkins from the patch is just like trick-0r-treating for us! The kids love it!
Nash picked one as big as himself

Ridge had to be rescued a few times from all the vines

Brynlee inspected almost every pumpkin in the patch before she made her choice. She even found a "golden" pumpkin and won a prize!

We had a fun filled Halloween weekend with parties at school, Bryn's b-day party, the trunk-r-treat and trick-r-treating around the neighborhood.

Nash loved being Mr. Incredible. He thought he was pretty awesome. A friend let us borrow his costume. I wasn't sure it he would wear it so when I got home I put on him and set him on the bathroom counter so he could see himself. He was captivated! He couldn't stop looking at himself! He wouldn't get down, he just sat there looking at himself and pointing and saying Nash. When we did finally get him down there was no way he was going to get out of his costume!

The princess pirate loved the trunk-r-treat and did some trick-r-treating at houses that weren't too spooky!

The boys made it too a few of the neighbors houses then went home and had 10 times more fun handing out candy with dad!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!

Random Pictures

2011-10-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

These are a bunch of random pictures from early fall/late summer that I never posted. So I'm posting them now. Better late than never right? That reminds me. This morning as we were driving Nash to Jump Start I was explaining to Brynlee why we need to be early. I finished by saying, "The early bird gets the worm you know." "Yeah," she said, "and you know what happens to the late bird?" "What?" I asked. "It gets shot by hunters!" she said. I had to look in my review mirror to see if she was really serious. She was! I had a good laugh! Whatever you do, do not be the late bird around our house!

It's always amusing to see where the kids decided to fall asleep
The boys enjoying the last days of summer in the sandbox

and preparing for winter

and wrestling

Brynlee had a fun little Books and Breakfast Back to School Party

Ridge helped himself to the Cool Whip

He is way too cute!

Everyone came in their pj's and brought their favorite book

we read them all and some even read their own! It was a fun way to start the school year!

I posted the pictures from Hawaii but I put them on the days that they actually happened so you"ll have to look back in the beginning of October to see them. I'll try and get pictures from Halloween and Brynlee's birthday posted soon!

Another B&B Trip

2011-10-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from Brynlee and Brady's latest hunting/camping trip. I know I have already posted some like this from their other ones recently but they are still cute and they have so much fun!
Since it is getting dark so early now they took the computer so they could watch a movie before bed...Brynlee informed me that dad was really tired he fell asleep during the movie but not her she watched the whole thing!

They didn't find the deer they were looking for, but they had a great time anyway and they took some cute pictures!

She is wrapped around her dads finger! But who can blame him?!

Ridge is Two!

2011-10-12T14:13:00.000-07:00

This how Ridge spent the last few hours of his second year of life, peacfully sleeping on my lap like the sweet little boy that he is as we took the red-eye home from Hawaii. He is so adorable I couldn't sleep, I just watched in amazement as he silently turned another year older and waited for him to wake up so I could smooch his darling little cheeks!

Here he is, Ridge Casper Murray the big two year old!

He has such a fun personality, so full of spirit! He isn't talking yet but with all his awesome facial expressions, body language and grunts, it isn't hard to know what he's trying to say.

He was pretty excited about the candles

Ridge absolutely adores his brother and sister. He still cries every morning when we drop them off at Jump Start and school. He is Nash's shadow and is perfectly happy when he can follow his big brother around doing everything and I mean everything he sees Nash do. If Nash coughs, needs a drink, takes a bite of his dinner, says hi to someone, goes outside, gets excited or mad (you get the picture) so does Ridge! They are great litte buddies, so entertaining!

Some of Ridge's other favorites are: wrestling, swinging, running cars across the piano keys, splashing in the tub, playing chase, poking people he likes (that's his way of teasing), pulling Cassies tail, jumping off of furniture, and snuggling (he gives fantastic hugs)!

He really is our doughnut of joy! Brynlee came up with that one =)

All the partying wore these two right out!

Happy Birthday Ridge!

We love you!

PS- Thank you for the cards and gifts, he loves them!

Valcanos and Lava

2011-10-11T10:39:00.000-07:00

The lava tube was amazing, its hard to comprehend how hot that lava must have been!

We took a short little hike up to a lookout point. The kids had fun getting rides and having Grandpa hide behind trees and jump out at them.

We found this cool tree that had fallen down and just kept right on growing!

The lava fields were full of lava hot and black!

The active valcano wasn't supper active while we were there, we could see steam and a nice lava glow in the sky when it got dark. We also went and walked out on the road that had been covered in lava earlier this year and saw all of the little houses that just live out in the middle of black lava fields now.

One funny thing about the big island it that they have wild donkeys, this wasn't one of them, it was just a friendly one trying to give Brady a kiss.

On our last night there, we celebrated all of the kids birthdays with Grandpa and Grandma. We had such a great time visiting, it was so much fun! Thanks mom and dad! We love you!

Things in Hawaii

2011-10-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Bryn, Grandma and Ridge by a banana tree in the yard

Mom and dad's bamboo forest

their sweet hawaiian wagon

Entrance to their house

Brynlee got really good at catching geckos while we were there. This is her making Ridge hold a baby one...

Obviously he wasn't too thrilled about it!

But he did love the tractor rides!

All of the kids loved the tractor and were happy to go to work with Grandpa!

Kona Ironman

2011-10-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

On our way home from the beach we passed this Ironman landmark and quickly pulled over for a picture...then we drove down the energy lab road, it was for sure the ugliest part of the course.

The morning of the Ironman we went down to the swim bright and early so we could watch all of the action and feel the anticipation!

Here are all of the pros at the starting line

Here they are swimming out to the start (the pics got mixed)

And they're off!

Andy Potts was the first one out. He is fast! He patterned his swim stroke after our friend Derek Morris.

Chris Lieto was first to come in off the bike.

It was so fun watching the racers and all of the people watching the race.

Craig Alexander

Julie Dibbens flew on the bike

but ended up having to quit on the run because of her fractured foot.

Two of the very first Ironmen triathletes

Chrissie Wellington

Heather Wurtele. We saw her win the St. George Ironman earlier in the year.

Craig Alexander again

Chrissie again

Mirinda Carfrae

Craig Alexander won for the men and set a new course record

Brady and the finish line

Chrissy won for the women

My favorite part of the day was watching everyone when they finished. Some were elated, some collapsed, some were crying, some were high fiving, some even threw up but all of them were inspiring. They all worked so hard!
Way to go Ironmen!

Mirinda had another incredible performance and took 2nd place

All of the winners were so gracious and kind to each other when they would give their interviews at the end of the race. It was sweet.

We were sitting by some of Chrissie's family at the finish line which was so fun. They were sweating bullets watching the big screen show Mirinda starting to gain on Chrissie in the last few miles of the race but she kept her pace and did it! They went wild!

Simply Amazing

Loving the Beach

2011-10-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

I can't remember the name of this beach, it was somewhere over on the Kona side and it was awesome! The waves were perfect for boogie boarding, which we did. Bryn loved it! She had so much fun catching the waves and riding to shore. My dad got a great video I'll have to try and get so I can post it.

Nash was a wild man! He went absolutely crazy rolling around in the sand yelling and jumping in the waves. He had the time of his life and completely wore himself out! By the time we left he was covered from head to toe in sand.

Ridge also had a great time playing in the sand!

What a fun beautiful day!

Ookala and Lapahoihoi

2011-10-05T12:14:00.000-07:00

I love these amazing trees, they are so beautiful, big, old and fun to play in!

The vine swing

The girls at Lapahoihoi

Nash and Grandpa

The big strong waves

Tsunami memorial

Worn out kids

And a napping sea turtle

Zoo, Waterfall and the Dairy

2011-10-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Even the Big Island has a zoo...we thought this white tiger was pretty awesome

Not every zoo can grow its own pineapples!

Bryn is such a ham, she wanted her picture by every beautiful flower she found and they certainly weren't hard to find!

One awesome thing about down syndrome is that you have this whole family of people connected by downs and you never know where or when you will get to meet them

but its always exciting when you do...we met this awesome man who was visiting his brother in Hawaii and had fun talking to him and his mom

There are so many beautiful things to see in Hawaii!

(Notice how nicely Bryn is displaying her ukulele, she was a little excited about that too!)

It's not bad waking up to a beautiful sunrise every morning!
No wonder mom and dad haven't come home yet!

Brady was excited to get to go pig hunting on the farm

Gross

Nash had fun scaring the cows

It is such a beautiful place to farm, those cows have it good! Poor cows who have to live in the snow!

Coconut Island

2011-10-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to Coconut Island which is a perfect spot for kids to play in the ocean

Nash wasn't too big on swimming this summer, but he loved the ocean! He thought the sand and waves were amazing! Bryn getting chased by her shark daddy!

It took Ridge a little while to warm up the the ocean

One thing I love about Brynlee is her ability to quickly make friends everywhere she goes

The boys loved this ginormous sand box

fun times!!

Back at "home" Grandpa wowed kids with coconut opening skills

they were very impressed! (Side note: I love when Ridge press his face against the door, he always does it as home when he wants to come in from the backyard, it makes me laugh every time!)

Visiting Hawaii

2011-10-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

The kids have been so excited to visit Grandpa and Grandma Allen in Hawaii! Brynlee could hardly handle the excitement, we tried to get the kids to bed early the night before we left since we knew we would be getting up really early to be at the airport by 4:30 am but Brynlee was just too excited to sleep. She finally fell asleep around 10:30. At 2:30 in the morning she was at the side of my bed asking if it was time to go yet. I let her crawl in bed with us hoping to get a little more sleep but she couldn't hold still and had too many questions about the airplane and Hawaii so we got up and got ready! Here they are bright eyed and bushy tailed waiting to get the show on the road!

Does she look excited? She gave a detailed narration of everything that was happening as we took off, it was pretty good and made it way more exciting than it actually was but I made her stop the first time we hit a little turbulence because then she started saying the captain wasn't holding onto the wheel anymore and maybe we would go straight down for awhile and it seemed to make some of the people around us nervous. =) Luckily it was a great ride all the way to San Francisco!

The boys had a great time playing at the airport while we waited for the next flight

Bryn was just anxious to keep moving

The kids were fantastic on the flight, eating snacks, playing with their toys and making friends with the people behind us.

I think the kids were a little shocked by the humidity when we stepped off the plane in Kona! They were super excited to see Grandpa and Grandma and happy to be in Hawaii!

Brynlee put Grandpa to work reading her Charolet's Web almost as soon as we got to their house

She didn't waste any time getting started on her list of things she wanted to do in Hawaii which included...

see the ocean

make lei's

pick a banana

catch a gecko

smell all of the beatuiful flowers

and most importantly, be with Grandma and Grandpa!

Bike-Riding Brynlee

2011-09-30T06:49:00.000-07:00

Brynlee was so excited to ride this little two-wheeler bike her friend gave her, she thought she would just hop right on and go like her friend so she was a little frustrated when she realized it wasn't that easy. We taught her about learning to balance, practicing and looking where you want to go (she kept looking at things she was afriad of riding into and somehow that would make her run right into them!) She kept trying and practicing for a couple days until she finally got the hang of it. It was so fun watching her stuggle, be so frustrated, keep trying and then the pay off triumph and freedom of riding!

Brady's Wyoming Deer

2011-09-30T06:47:00.000-07:00

The handsome hunter

The happy hunter

The homebound hunter

Brady has quite the story to go with these pictures...does anyone know why I can't cut and paste onto Blogger anymore?

1st Time Canning

2011-09-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom and Grandpa Merrill...this post is for you! Thought you would be happy to know that Brynlee and I made it through our first canning experience on our own! You must have taught us well because it worked! We missed you but we still had a lot of fun and we'll be sure to save some peaches for you!
Brynlee is a fantastic helper, she even found a cute little bottle that she canned for herself!

Tubes All Around

2011-09-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

"This will change your life!" is what Dr. Beck told Brady and I today when she put tubes in all three of the kids ears. All three of them have had ear problems going on for quite some time now...Brynlee got a note sent home from the school nurse this week saying she failed her hearing test in both ears. We already knew she couldn't hear, trust me its been super frustrating for all of us but hopefully tubes will help solve all of the ear related problems we've been having. Nash had tubes before but they came out and his ears had filled back up with fluid, so this was his second time getting them. Ridge had at least 7 ear infections in the last year and always has fluid in his ears too. Dr. Beck thinks that Ridge will probably start talking soon now that he can actually hear. She diagnosed all three of them with what she calls "glue-ear" which is what happens when the fluid is in the middle ear so long that it sets up and becomes thick and gluey then it can't drain out.
Thank goodness for modern medicine and fantastic doctors!

Brynlee was super excited about getting to hear well again!

We got to read books while we waited

and they also got to decorate their gas masks with stickers

Brynlee was the first to have the surgery, here she is peacefully sleeping when they brought her back out to us. Dr. Beck said she will be hearing at least 50 decibels better when she wakes up, and she was! She had so much stringy snot built up in her ears they had a hard time even cleaning them out! They gave us some strong antibiotic drops to keep in her ears for the next week to help make sure the rest of the junk comes out and stays out. When we got in the car to come home she was complaining about how loud the boys and the car were! Yeah! It's such a blessing to be able to hear!

Nash went next and Ridge patiently waited for his turn while he played with dad.

Nash's surgery went smoother than last time, he still has such tiny ear canals that Dr. Beck can't see what she is doing when she tries to place the tube in the ear drum but today she said her hand was guided right into the perfect spot when she blindly placed it in, and they were able to clean the glue out of his ears too! We are seriously blessed with so many little miracles like clean hospitals, doctors and nurses that are smart and skilled, and simple procedures like putting tubes in ears that can help kids (and parents) in more ways than one. Brady was thinking of a kid on his mission in Peru who was a lot like Ridge, he made similar sounds and gestures and he probably needed tubes in his ears but there in Peru it wasn't even an option for him. It makes us so thankful to live where we do.

And its all so comfortable for the kids, they don't even know what's happening!

Bryn woke up with a big smile on her face

and couldn't wait to have a drink!

Nash had a good long nap, woke up hungry and was immediately satisfied with the box of Lucky Charms they gave him. Ridge's surgery also went well, they got all of the build up out of his ears and hopefully the tubes will help them stay as clean as they are right now. I held him while he was coming out of the anesthesia so I didn't get a picture of him sleeping...he woke up so quickly it made us all laugh, he just popped right up like he had never been asleep and guzzled two cans of apple juice.

We are a very happy and thankful to be hearing family!

Thank you Dr. Beck!

Happy Birthday Brady!

2011-09-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Another year older and wiser too! We had fun celebrating Brady's birthday over Labor Day weekend! On the kids b-days I like to write some of the fun things they do so I thought I'd write some things that Brady does that I love...

Sings while he gets ready

Is always making plans and setting goals

Looks so handsome in his shirt and tie when he goes to work

Drives with his left foot on the dash

Takes cat naps on the couch and says that he's not sleeping but he is

Is crazy about the kids and loves to play with them as much as they love to play with him

Isn't great at fixing things but always tries anyway

Has a bridled passion for hunting and the outdoors

Lives what he believes and always tries to be his best self

Is always optimistic

I'm just getting started, the list could really get going from here but I better stop so I don't embarrass him.

I had to post this picture of Brady inspecting his gift...is it written in a dad manual somewhere that when your kids give you a gift you whistle and wow and act really impressed? I remember my dad doing the same. =)
We sang Happy Birthday and had pie if you ask Brynlee, cupcakes if you ask Nash, nothing if you ask Ridge, and cheesecake if you ask me, either way it was good. =)

Happy Birthday Honey! We love you!

Bus Boy

2011-08-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

"Yeah! Alright!" was what Nash said when I told him it was finally time to catch the bus again! He is a boy who loves the bus!
This year he gets on pretty much by himself!

He is such a big smart handsome preschooler, he is growing way too fast!

Ridge waving good-bye. (This was the first day he didn't cry and throw a big fit when Nash got on the bus without him! I think he's finding that its not so bad being home with mom!)

Time for Kindergarten!

2011-08-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

This has been a big week for us! Brynlee's long awaited turn to go to kindergarten finally came today! On Sunday we had a wonderful Back to School Dinner where Brady and I shared memories of when we were in kindergarten, Brynlee asked a million questions, and we talked about small and simple things like learning the letters of the alphabet that help us do great things like read. It was so nice having a quiet afternoon to spend together preparing for school.

First day of school 2011!

It was so sweet when Brynlee said her prayers last night, she prayed that Nash and Ridge and Mom won't miss me too much and that they will know what to do while I'm gone!

She was so excited to ride the bus

I was way more nervous than she was! She was ready to go!

All smiles after her first bus ride, it was so fun!

Brady and I met her at school.

She is an official Mary McPherson Wildcat

Mrs. Graceson is her teacher

Lining up for class

and listening for roll call. She had a spectacular first day, I still can't talk her into staying home for another year. =) She is going to have a fabulous school year!

State Fair

2011-08-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

We always look forward to the petting zoo part of the fair, the kids were so excited to see the animals! Brynlee loved feeding them grain. Nash loved feeding them grain, grass or whatever he could find, if he couldn't find anything he just let them suck his fingers. Ridge loved the idea of feeding them until they got too close to his hands.
Nash was ecstatic about the cow I think it was his favorite because he kept talking about it over and over, "Mom, cow mooo!! Moooo!!" And every time we tried to leave he would run back over to it.

It's so fun to see how excited the kids are about the animals, they are pretty cute (both the kids and the animals). Ridge was so excited he really wanted to pet them but he was very cautious.

We also enjoyed the Ham Bone racing, great red-neck entertainment!

Brynlee's favorite was the sea lion show

And just like with every other animal she sees, now she would really like to have a sea lion someday!

I told her she could take as many pictures of the sea lions as she wanted instead of actually having one, she got some good pictures!

Nash loves animals and they love him!

Brynlee showed us how responsible she would be if she had a pony, she'd comb its hair just like this everyday!

Hip hip hooray for the Idaho State Fair!

Summer Swim Lessons

2011-08-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

Brynlee enjoyed a couple weeks of swimming lessons again this year and had no hesitations about going down the slide of jumping off the diving board! She loved it and was quite proud that she could do it on her own. She really made a lot of improvement this summer.

Last year she didn't love the slide, but this year it was her favorite!

Brady and I are proud of her for being brave and working so hard!

Bryn's First "Scouting" Camp

2011-08-05T20:19:00.000-07:00

Bryn had been looking forward to her first overnighter scouting trip with dad all week, and she wasn't disappointed! She had so much fun riding the four-wheeler, hiking (even though she got tired and dad had to carry her), looking at deer, and sleeping in the tent.
They made a fire pit and had hot dogs for dinner

They only took one air mattress...can you guess who got it? Every time she would roll over she'd slide off of it and start crying that the rocks were too bumpy! Brady loved it even though he had a rough night in more ways than one!

They got up super early so they could hike back up to the top before sunrise. Brynlee said her favorite part of the trip was watching the sun come up out of the ground. =)

The happy camper and a brand new day

They had a great adventure together! They did find deer and an old abandoned mine shaft too.

When all the excitement was over it didn't take long for dad's princess to fall fast asleep, dreaming of deer I'm sure!

Camping at Willow Flats

2011-07-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

While my parents were here we were able to go on a little camping trip at Wilow Flats. It was great to get to see them and to spend some time together! Brynlee had been planning for weeks to take water balloons to camp. Ashlyn ended up being the wettest mostly because she kept popping them on herself!
Rya and sweet baby Trey

Ridge and his Grandpa Allen

In some ways Ridge reminds me of my dad,don't you think they look similar?

Grandma reading books to the kids

5 little monkeys jumping in the truck

My handsome marshmallow roaster

My good boys

And my beautiful sticky girl!

Brynlee found an inch wormShe named him Inchy Bump, you can see why

but then she changed it to just Inchy because Ryan was teasing him and calling him Itchy Bum =)

Very cute dirty little camp faces

Relaxing around the fire if it can be called that with little kids

Inchy Bump aka Itchy Bum provided endless entertainment

inching his way all over everyone

Meme and Grandma

Arica and Garrett

The best hike of Brynlee's life (that's what she kept telling me over and over)

Jordan and Arica's cute family at the springs

Adam and Amber's cute family

My joyful girl and I

Grandpa and Ashlyn (who by the way is the cutest trail singer I know)

Grandpa and the girls

Grandma and the girls

DancingOn TheBridge

Watermelon always tastes best when camping!

We had so much fun being with everyone! Baby Trey looks like he had a blast too!

Rodeo Weekend

2011-07-28T09:09:00.000-07:00

For our first stop in Cache Valley we went with the Eddie and Lindee's family, Grandpa Murray and Keaton out to Johnson reservoir for a little fishing and rock throwing. The boys had a blast throwing rocks with Jaxson, they had some close calls but luckily never hit each other.

Cute little Karlee is growing so fast!

It never gets old!

The cropie were biting like crazy!

Later that night we watched the bats swoop down out of the chimney and over the trampoline it was pretty amazing!

The next day we went to the Famous Preston Night Rodeo parade which of course was a hit...

Brynlee practiced the beauty queen wave and got really good at it. In fact she was doing it again yesterday at Costco while she sat on top of two boxes of diapers and I pushed the flat around, she got a lot of compliments from older people, they ate it up...younger people would have loved it too if she had been throwing candy.

Ridge was cracking us up he was so excited about the candy! Every time a handful would come flying his way he would do his little excited dance hoping from one foot to the other trying to decide which piece to pick up first. Usually by the time he decided which piece to go after the older kids had already snatched them up. You have to be quick in the candy collecting business.

Thank goodness for his speedy sharing sister!

Grandpa Murray with the grandkids minus Hadlee who was back at the house.

Trampolines are so fun, especially when you are a kid and jumping doesn't make you need to use the bathroom. =)

Of course it wouldn't be the Famous Preston Night Rodeo without the carnaval
Meme and Nash got to test their strengh

and then it was on to the rides which were way more fun with cousins!

Nash made us all a little nervous when he tried to bail out of the spaceship, we quickly found out that carnaval rides aren't really his thing.

Ridge on the other hand absolutely loved the rides and was determined to go again and again. I got dizzy just watching him.

Nash was happy to hang out by the rodeo bulls.

We had great time! Glad we could get together!

Colorado Springs

2011-07-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

Brynlee couldn't wait to go on vacation to Colorado Springs because she knew there would be a pool there and she couldn't wait to swim!Bryn and Ridge had a lot of fun in the pool with dad.

They both loved jumping off the side to him.

Nash on the other hand liked lounging better than swimming

Garden of the Gods

Very beautiful cool rock formations

The boys with their indian headbands and dream catchers

Meme displaying hers

Bryn next to a bald eagle

One America had some great parties with lots of fun entertainment for the kids

Bryn picked out masks for everyone. Nash's was a Tiger but he didn't want to wear it.

Bryn's beautiful bird face painting

More swimming

and lounging and relaxing

and a little napping too

We visited the Cheyenne Zoo (in Colorado Springs)

and had so much fun on the ski lift looking at the zoo from the air that we had to do it a couple times.

It's a cool zoo built right into the side of the mountian

The giraffe's were super friendly

and actually let us feed and pet them

Nash liked feeling its super long tongue

Bryn made friends with a chipmunk

And got to pet a baby walabee

Nash made himself right at home watching the otters, he thought they were really cool.

The kids and I got separated from Brady for awhile but we finally found him in the Grizzly bear viewing area with his face up against the glass, mesmerized by the bears fighting in the water 3 feet in from of him. He was totally enchanted and literally glued to the spot during all of the action. It was pretty awesome, they are incredible animals!

It was neat to feel like you could just reach out and touch the bears and fun that they put on sure a show fighting over a fish in the water

Nash was happy to keep his distance

Finally the bears got tired and climbed out of the water

The kids crawled through a "wolf den"

Bryn took this picture of a turtle and you can probably guess...she would really like us to get a pet turtle now.

Stylin' Ridge!

Just hangin' around

at the playground

some sliding

some exploring

Brynlee was still and quiet and patient enough to befriend a butterfly

The fountains were a hit with the kids We had a great time exploring the resort grounds and even enjoyed a little summer rain storm

Brynlee really wanted to see the insect museum we had read about on the Internet when we were looking for things to do in Colorado Springs so we made the 40 minute drive outside of town to this tiny little museum in the woods. The boys fell asleep so Brady stayed out in the car with them and Brynlee and I went into this little museum. You pay your money and then they let you walk behind this curtain into a maze lined on both sides with cases of dead bugs. As soon as we got behind the curtain Brynlee saw a big case of spiders and imediately started crying and wanted to go back out. I carried her past the spiders and once we got to all of the butterflies she was fine, she kind of liked the beetles and stick bugs but certainly preferred the butterflies.

After touring the "museum" we hiked up to the giant beetle they have next to the highway to draw people in.

Next we hit the Olympic Training Center in downtown Colorado Springs. Our little olympians look great on the podium!

They had some fun things to look at and an inspiring little film about the Olympics

Nash loved the bobsled and didn't want to get out

Brady and I saw that middle torch when we went to the Olympics in SLC right after we had started dating...so romantic to see it again.

We took a tour of all of their lovely facilities...I loved the inspiring quotes they had hanging everywhere.

In this pool they can hook you up to a harness that will pull you through the water so you can see what it feels like to swim at the speed of Michael Phelps...that would have been cool to try!

On our last night in Colorado Springs we went to a very entertaining ranch that I can't remember the name of something like the Double R ranch but anyway it was fun!

We went on a little train ride

Brynlee and Nash learned how to rope a steer

Nash thought it was best just to wrestle it We had a fantastic time being together in Colorado Springs!

Kemmerer

2011-07-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

To begin our summer vacation we had a wonderful visit at Nana and Grandpa Doug's in Kemmerer. They threw a fun birthday party for Nash, all of the kids loved it! And they had so much fun playing with Hadlee!
Bryn took charge of making sure Nash got his presents unwrapped!

The boys are both crazy about the singing card Granny Great gave him. We still hear "You've got a friend in me!" at least a few times everyday.

Aunt Paige's cupcakes were a hit he was pretty excited to blow out the candles!

It was so fun to see you all!

Some Days Are Like That

2011-07-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Nash has a not so lovely habit of pulling his business out of his diaper and playing with it if it happens before I go in his room in the morning. Well, this morning

I must have been really slow. By the time I opened the door he had it smeared all over himself, his bed, the wall and a book he was looking at. This was the third day in a row. I bathed him, dressed him, got Ridge up stuck them both outside to play while I threw the bedding in the wash and cleaned off the other stuff. 10 minutes too long was I gone! When I went back out Nash was playing in Cassies poo and Ridge was wet from head to toe!
I threw them in the tub for Nash's second bath of the day. Twenty minutes later this is what I had:

I'll take the markers over the poo any day!

Nash Is 4!

2011-07-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Nash! Our little Nashie Boy has grown into a big boy four year old!

Brynlee has been looking forward to Nash's birthday all summer...she pretty much planned it all, the cake we would make, the things we would do, and what we would give him. She really wanted him to get a swing set because she just knew he would share it! =)

Nash loves Toy Story and asks to watch is almost everyday.

Some of Nash's best pals showed up for the party

I had to take a close up of Woody to show how dearly he is loved. All of these poor little toys get some tough lovin everyday. They fly downstairs, get drug all over the house and yard, take swims in Cassies water, hide in the bushes, slide down tubs and chairs and beds, ride all over in the car, and snuggle with Nash at night. I love watching Nash talk to and interact with these guys, most of what he says is "ready set jump", "ready set slide", or "ready set go." I also love when they play hid and seek. He comes to me and says, "Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom (seriously he says it at least 8 times) where Woody, oh no!?" And then he runs and pulls him out from behind the pillows or the box where he's hidden him and just laughs and laughs like its the most hilarious thing ever. As sad as these toys look with their broken ears hands and heads, I think we'll keep them forever because they just have Nash written all over them.

We love this little boy to infinity and beyond!

With Meme's help he blew out all the candles!

He didn't quite get enough frosting off the candlesLuckily there was more on his piece of cake

It's hard to eat it fast enough when it tastes so good!

Mmmmm yum!

After opening his gifts

we read books

played with Woody, Jess, Buzz and "Horse"

and chased around his crazy rocket balloons! I think he had a great day! He is such a good smart boy! Its so fun to watch him grow, he has learned so much in the past year. He knows just how to get us all laughing at the dinner table...he makes sure he has our attention then he does these crazy little things with his arms before he folds them for prayer. Or if he's really feeling silly he says "Watch this!" then he throws his arms up and yells "Nachooooo!" What a fun four year old!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!

We love the United States! What an amazing place, Happy Birthday!

Our 9th/70.3 Anniversary

2011-06-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

For several years I have wanted to do a triathlon (I had to learn to swim first which took me quite awhile) and in the last few years Brady has done some triathlons so in December we came up with this great plan that we would train and get ready and then do the half Ironman in Boise together which happened to be on our 9th anniversary (see it was meant to be). I was quite a bit nervous about the distance and the time commitment of training but it really turned out to be an awesome experience! For the first couple months we did most of our swims together a couple times a week at the YMCA so Brady could coach me a little, I had a lot to learn still. By March I was getting the hang of it and Brynlee was getting tired of going to the YMCA to "play"... one time when we were going there she told me she was glad that I don't have a job because she wouldn't want to have to go there all day =) So then we just started doing as much of our training as we could in the mornings before the kids were up, one of us would go swim while the other ran on the treadmill or rode on the trainer. It was really fun and motivating to be doing it together (well not always together together but at least at the same time). Sometimes we had to push each other out of bed, or stop in the middle of a workout if the kids got up early. Brady also had to make breakfast a lot which was nice. We had to change things up a little and work a little harder on our team effort. I am glad we did because it was positive in more ways than I thought it could be. It was fun and I'm glad we were able to do it. Enough of the novel, on to the pictures...

Our friends but some sweet signs in our yard the night before. Go Bammer! Too Ligit To Quit! And my total motivation dream sign, You've worked so hard! Go!

Brady and I before the race, dropping off our bags off at the bike to run transition just down the street from the capitol building.

This is Brady 40 minutes before the race began and right as he's realizing he'd left his bike shoes home. Not so good! Luckily his friend Dave saved the day and made it through all of the road closures and up the dam and somehow got Brady's shoes to his bike before he got done swimming.

Our favorite little cheerleader, she is such a champ she stuck it out all day with Grandpa.

Friends that did the race and all of these pictures were taken by a very nice friend

The 1.2 mile swim was at Lucky Peak the water was a nice chilly 53 degrees. You start in waves according to age and gender. Brady's wave began 22 minutes before mine. There were 85 people in my wave, 100 people in Brady's and 1420 people who began the race.

Brady running into the swim to bike transition, he was super excited to find out Dave made it with his shoes so he could keep going!

Me getting out of the swim with frozen hands, feet and face.

Swim to bike transition

I had my numbers pinned to my shirt before the swim but when I took off my wetsuit I ripped the number off my back and my hands were so cold I couldn't work the safely pins

so I had to recruit help from a friend

We are so thankful for our sweet friends and all of the help and encouragement they gave us along the way!

And thanks to Aunt Mardee for letting me use her bike!
The bike ride made a 56 mile loop ending in downtown Boise. Brady and I saw each other for a second on the bike when we passed. He was headed in and I was still heading out but it was fun to wave to each other!

Brady beginning the 13.1 mile run

Looking good

And finishing the race! Wahoo!

Transition bags

Oh yeah, and here I come still running

and super happy to finish! It was a great race, perfect conditions, tons of fun, and a very memorable way to spend our 9th anniversary! Maybe we'll have to do it again for our 10th!

The best prize, taking home our sweet little chicks!

Here Fishy Fishy

2011-06-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

More fishing at our favorite pond...Nash is the official thrower-back-in-the-waterer

Brynlee caught and landed this fish all by herself while the rest of us were on the other side of the pond. Her dad was so proud I thought he would pop!

They all wanted to sit in the tree, these pictures make me laugh!

Great cheese kids

Read set jump!

Night at the Boise Temple

2011-06-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

We had a visit to the temple for family night and got some fun pictures to share...

This little girl is such a good example to us. When we were telling everyone to get in the car so we could go to the temple she ran upstairs and put on her dress, tights and nice shoes. When I saw her I thought I had better put on my skirt too!

The kids were all smiles and laughter, so happy to be exploring the temple grounds.

I love

these

kids!

Handsome boys!

Did I mention I love these kids?

And I love their dad!

Nash found a puddle with just enough water to splash

A beautiful evening at a beautiful place!

Idaho Black Bear Hunt 2011

2011-06-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

Brynlee Singing

2011-06-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

Brynlee is such a sweet girl! She loves the to watch this (click here and then on the I Am A Child of God video) and she came up with the great idea that she should make one of her own for our blog. Hope you love it as much as we do!

Nashimus

2011-06-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

The kids had a blast bouncing at Nash's preschool class end of year party!

Nash loves his teachers and we're excited he'll get them again next year!

Nash will miss his Miss Ma-knee (Molly) this summer.

Ridge has super funny scowls

This little man loves to slide, when he gets bored he comes to me and says Mom about 9 or 10 times and after I've said what 9 or 10 times he says "ground, slide" while signing playground and slide. I have to be careful how I respond because if say oh you want to go slide at the playground he says OKAY! and thinks that means we're on our way.

Brynlee can't wait to play at this playground everyday while she's in kindergarten

It cracks me up how Nash tries so hard to get Ridge to slide with him...he says Swee, Swee over and over and when he doesn't come he finally yells Widge and as soon as Widge gets close Nash starts bossing him "sit, sit"

He tries to grab his hand but Swee won't have it he's a little too independent

Nash says the "Ready, Set, Go!"

And their off!

So fun!

These next pictures are from Nash's Friday therapy group, they invited the families to come watch their circle time since it was the last time these four little boys will do their friday therapy together. They have been together for over a year now and are the best sweetest little friends. Nash gets so excited every Friday when we drive to therapy, he says Hunter Caleb and Weston over and over the whole way there and when we walk into the waiting room they yell (lots of loud noises but no discernible words) and hug each other its pretty adorable!

In circle time they sing lots of songs with actions and signs

then they put their pictures on the board and take turns saying who they are

They did Old McDonald for us and told us what the animals are and what they say

They have tummy time while they listen to a story being read

And they love their therapists, so do I! These ladies are amazing, you can tell they love their job by the way they all go the extra mile with these boys! We really appreciate them they do such a fantastic job!

Our Little Loves

2011-06-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

The kids have really been missing Ashlyn and Trey this week, they had so much fun with them.

Trey is well loved! Poor little guy he sure is patient!

Some friends let Brynlee barrow their bike while she earns her own...she has been in heaven, riding it all around is her new favorite thing to do. The above picture was right after her first crash, she popped right up started waving her arms and yelled back at us "Did you see that?! Don't worry I'm alright!"

I'm a little afraid of these birds and was quite nervous about feeding a whole swarm of them, luckily no ones eyes got pecked out!

How can you not love those little faces!

My kids really wanted to pet babies...um no that's how you get your eyes pecked out.

Do not try this at home. Kids and dryers should not mix but sometimes they do.

Nash got to celebrate his 4th Birthday at school last week since he has a summer birthday.

Ta-da our proud preschool grad! (Just FYI its Nash's sippy!)

I get a laugh out of this little boy trying to wear his dad's shoes all over the house, they really only slow him down on the stairs.

Brynlee wanted this picture to show how she decorated her bed. She really has a nack for decorating I should have her do the whole house!

Too much fun for Nash! Good night everyone hope you had a happy day!

Celebrating 30!

2011-06-02T12:06:00.001-07:00

It's true, I'm 30! 30 used to sound old but not anymore, its actually pretty great! To celebrate the big birthday Brady took me on a horseback ride at a beautiful ranch up in the mountains behind Bends.

It was so green and beautiful and had rained the night before so everything was fresh and crisp, perfect for a horseback ride.

I know the helmet looks awesome but when your 30 does it really matter? After the ride I had last time we went horseback riding I just thought it would be best. =)

Brady looks pretty good on a horse, maybe we should get one someday.

Being in the mountains so green and steep and cool with little patches of clouds rolling by we kind of felt like we were in the mountains of Peru.

It was super fun, thanks honey!

Adam and Amber and their family came to celebrate with us and made me a delicious cake.

I had lots of good happy birthday singers and helpers to blow out the candles

It was a great birthday! I am thankful for the 30 years I've been blessed with and can't wait to find out what the next 30 hold!

Our First Preschool Grad!

2011-05-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

Graduation was great, but first let me back up a little...

These first few pictures are from different field trips that Brynlee's class went on this year. She loved the field trip to Albertson's where they learned all about grocery shopping and healthy eating.

They even got to scan their own cheese sticks which was the most exciting part for Brynlee.

They also visited a dentist's office where Brynlee volunteered to be the patient.

their pizza picnic

visiting the Nature Center

And now...the graduation

They said the Pledge of Allegiance, did the days of the week, the weather, sang songs, unscrambled each others names, shared pictures they had drawn of what they want to be when they grow up, and then they were graduated from preschool! It was very sweet and very exciting, Brynlee had been talking about it non stop and practicing her songs all week. She has loved every minute of preschool. Everyday she would either be saying I'm so excited for school or I wish it was school today. She loved her class and her teacher and will be missing them this summer but now she is ready for kindergarten.

Brynlee and her teacher Mrs Hart

It was an awesome school year for Brynlee. It has been fun to see all of the new things she has learned she is such a great girl! We love you little preschool graduate!

Learn wisdom in thy youth!

Meet Sim

2011-05-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is Sim the bear, named by Brynlee harvested by Brady. He got it on Friday just an hour from our house. Brynlee is a very excited girl, we all went bear hunting with Brady a couple weekends ago and didn't see anything. She was so disappointed. This time when Brady went out she told him she wanted him to bring her home a great big cinnamon bear and he was very happy to be able too!

Silly Kids

2011-05-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

One of the nice things about having your kids get a little older is that they become a little more independent. Brynlee has been doing such a great job at pouring her own cereal and milk for breakfast...of course when Nash sees her do it he wants to try too. He has definitely got the pouring part down, he just hasn't figured out when to stop.

It always cracks me up how Nash falls asleep with his little legs propped up.

Brynlee is seriously such a great helper with her brothers. This is her out waiting for Nash's bus with him trying to get him to wear his glasses. He just got them last month and isn't too hip on wearing them unless Brynlee does it first and shows him how exciting it is to wear glasses! I guess it works goes both ways though because when we went to Brynlee's kindergarten registration she was a little nervous and shy but after we had been there awhile she commented that she wasn't even afraid anymore because she knew Nash was there at the school. She is so glad that they will get to go to the same school this fall and so am I!

Ridge loves hiding behind this dish towel that hangs on the oven door. He is pretty much invisible when he's behind it, we can hear his giggles but we can't ever find him!

I don't know what happened to this picture it looks like it somehow got mixed with some other ones but you get the idea, its Ridge and Brady sleeping at the dinner table. Ridge will never fall asleep while I am holding him, only Brady has the magic touch which is great because then he always gets to hold the little wiggle worm at church.

These three have been so great at playing together...they are always finding new ways to entertain themselves!

Easter Pictures

2011-05-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

We lost our camera for awhile but we did get some pictures on Bradys phone of some of the Easter events. These are of the kids at the community Easter egg hunt...the boys had a lot of fun collecting eggs, Brynlee was a little disappointed that they weren't hidden very well.

The Sunday before Easter we had fun painting some eggs.

For some reason all of Ridges eggs cracked but he didn't seem to mind

Bryn is quite the little artist...she must get it from Brady. They both made some beautiful eggs and I forgot to take pictures of them when they were done oh well maybe next year!

Welcome Trey

2011-04-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

Adam and Amber had their sweet baby boy, Trey Adam Allen on April 27th! Ashlyn looks like a proud big sis! Congrats! Love you all! Can't wait to meet him!

Spring Camping

2011-04-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Before Picture

Brynlee really really wanted to go camping for Spring Break so her sweet dad did all the work to get everything ready and found us a nice warm place only about an hour away at a reservoir state park in Huntington Oregon, it was a great little spot!

The kids were so excited and so were we!

We had been saving the giant strawberry and vanilla marshmallows G & G Whitmore gave us for our first camp of the season! They were delicious!

After

Camping

2011-04-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

spring break 2011

2011-04-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

A Temple In Meridian!

2011-04-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

Conference weekend has been fantastic! Like always it was uplifting motivating and inspiring! We are so blessed to have a prophet and apostles to follow. We love them and are thankful for their examples and for all they do. We are especially excited about the announcement of a new temple to be built right here in Meridian! We can't wait we know it will be a blessing for everyone in our little city! There are so many wonderful things to say about the temple, if you want to know more go here if you want to see beautiful pictures of temples go here.

Ice Fishing 12/2010

2011-03-26T12:25:00.000-07:00