Monday, September 26, 2011

a shout out to my brothers


this picture made me tear up when i saw it. 
doesn't my brother look so happy! {no question mark because i know he is.}
and a very hansom missionary if i say so myself;)

yesterday he happened to go to the same ward as my aunt joann!
my aunt and uncle live in nyc but have a home in orlando.
she was traveling with my cousin and happen to go to that ward!
this picture was sent to my dad who then sent it to us, quickly making all of our day.
they got to shoot a few text messages to him. i know my mom was just thrilled.
love my brother.soooo.much.


then there is my other brother. 
to clarify he is really brett's brother, 
but he is my brother too. 
i love him like he is my own brother. 

zach is in mexico. i pray for zach a lot. 
the thought of him in mexico kind of scares me
{i should have never watched the history channel's drug cartel documentary...} 
 but i know he is in the Lords hands. 

he is such a sincere missionary. 
he has a glow about him in each picture he sends.
i know the people he teaches can see that he genuinely cares.
i also know the little kids love him. 
he plays soccer with them and says they all kick his butt.

i love you zach!
 i'm so proud of you and the work you are doing for your brothers and sisters.
 keep up the hard work! 

Thursday, September 22, 2011

today


look at that hair. 
the static gets his hair standing up 
the second he starts jumping. 



{below left}i'm trying to put a stop to these two fingers. 
over the last two days she is has started to really find them. 
steele found his thumb at 4 months after taking a binki.
how does this keep happening to me?!

{below middle} best little buds. they wanted to play in the sprinklers together.

{below right} my dad in his softball uniform, ready for his game.



tonight steele went through a mid toddler crisis.
i guess he wanted to be a baby again.
he got in and said "buckle me!"
then he wanted to be carried outside 
but we said the living room would have to do.


and last....
steele and perry's first bath together.
what a good big brother.
and a very cute brother if i say so myself.
look at that face. he is just adorable.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

on a sunday afternoon


sunday has become a much appreciated day for me.  
i've learned to really enjoy sunday's. 

when i was younger it was always a day that i had to go to church,
  couldn't play with my friends, go swimming or watch tv.
now i'm grateful for the spiritual enlightenment & mellow leisure sunday brings. 
anyone would swoon over our 75 degree stress free september day.
 spending time with family & enjoying the sabath is a blessing. 

now as for my own home things have changed a bit. 
i know many would disagree but i think a little football on sunday isn't too shabby.
as long as your together as a family, right?

football season is in full swing.
it's just one more thing ushering fall in.  
brett is weeks into his flag football on monday's. 
sunday's are also filled with NFL games 
{we're more pro than college fans but always love a good close game. 
...which last night's cougar vs ute game was not. lame.} 
we enjoy watching a good game together & steele is starting to get into it too.

so the boys decided to play a little 500 out front tonight.

good ol' rivalry here. 

the kids watched.....
& steele obviously was really bummed he wasn't included in the action.

this was the best shot of the game.
it's over erics head, 
brandon can't get his hands on it in time,
& and then there is brett....
oh he is ready for that ball! haha. 
this makes everyone look completely uncoordinated.

love a good sunday

Monday, September 12, 2011

a little S&P


steele was eating this watermelon today and i thought it looked like pure summer.
a shirtless little boy devouring ripe watermelon, quintessential july.
i wish we were in the heart of summer, but in reality fall is sneaking up on us day by day.

as i've posted before steele is becoming very spirited.
he really is just as sweet as he's always been but has an added amount of energy theses days.
his latest is jumping off everything. and i mean everything. couches, stairs, chairs, laundry baskets....
i believe the cause for this is his crazy obsession with the movie "rio".
as he jumps he shouts "fly like a bird!" and flaps his arms.

he'll be two and half in only a few weeks.
i love having my boy. and is he all boy!
any chance he gets he is outside, preferably on the "jumpoline".
he loves dirt but doesn't like his hands messy.
he is a great eater. he especially loves breakfast.
he loves vegetables especially asparagus, green beans and zucchini.

because the summer has been so busy i haven't been able to
read with steele as regularly as i'd like to. at night we always sing
so in the day i've tried to read more the past few weeks.
a few days ago he said that he wanted to read one of the books.
we hadn't read this one in a while so i was curious as to what he'd say.
he took the book and turned the pages one by one.
the majority of the story was almost perfectly recited. it was adorable!
he doesn't get his memory from his mom, that is for sure.

.........................................

and then there is this little ray of sunshine.
she has slept through the night 3 nights in a row now!!
fingers crossed but i think this might be it! it has been amazing.

she is now 3 months old and i just can't wrap my brain around how this happened.


all of you mother's know that there are certain things that only a mother knows.
{why some women choose not to have children is beyond me and simply sad}
something i know very well is the feeling that i get when my little perry looks up at me with
her sparkling eyes and smiles as if she's saying "i love you". i always reply with "i love you too".
when ever i get this heart swelling feeling the words "joy and rejoicing in your posterity" comes to my mind.
there is so much joy in motherhood. i truly am privileged to be a mother to my children.

i try to write the positive things about being a mom.
some people find this obnoxious but i have to stay positive.
obviously there are many MANY times that i feel
discouraged, drained, anxious, doubtful and inpatient as a mother.
i try not to focus on these things or compare myself with other mom's.
although it is hard, i try to focus my thoughts on what i am doing right.
one thing i know i do well is love my kids with all i have.

little perry is growing so quickly. each stage gets better and better.
life is busy with two kids but i love it and couldn't imagine not being able to have my baby girl.
she loves to sit on the couch with steele. he'll put his arm around her every once and while.
smiles are her specialty. that and eating. and sleeping.  ok so she is a triple major student.

she doesn't mind tummy time but doesn't love it either.
she has a very strong neck and back.
perry and i enjoy bath time together. i did this with steele too.
it is so much easier to bathe with her since our tub is so deep.
whenever she has a tummy ache i get in the bath with her and she calms right down.
she still loves to have her hair washed and closes her eyes with pure satisfaction.

all around i have been very lucky with both my babies.
i don't know what i ever did to deserve it.
i guess you get what you pay for.....haha.

Friday, September 9, 2011

a weekend with the brady's












 i was just going to let the pictures do the talking but i had to tell you about brett and eric's little accident. we had a lot of fun with the four wheelers this past labor day weekend. unfortunately a few of the boys had too much fun. to be specific brett and eric. well really let's just say brett because he was driving. they were trying to nail teej with paint balls from a sling shot. brett swerved to avoid hitting a tree stump and hit a little dirt woop and bam they flew straight into tree! my dear husband was NOT wearing a helmet but luckily eric was. they both were ejected into the air over the handle bars. the tree grazed brett's head but he took most of the brunt to his shoulder and eric went head first into the tree. like i said he was very lucky he was wearing a helmet. he blacked out for minute and couldn't move when he woke up. other than some minor concussions, scrapes and bruises, i'm happy to say both of them ended up being just fine.

other than that little miss-hap....{well a car load on the way up hit a deer, but it didn't do any damage} we had a fabulous little get away at my grandparents cabin. we hope to do it again!

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Day Seven- One Last Stop





So there you have it.
We made it back home safe and sound.
Thanks for a very fun memorable trip J&J.
Till next year....

Day Five & Six- A little bit of everything

Day five we started off with a good breakfast at our favorite Carmel cafe.

Little Swiss is a must when visiting Carmel. 
Their eggs benedict is to die for. 
That hollandaise sauce is perfection. 


I dont' have a lot of pictures from this day because
Jenn and I went to the Gillroy Outlets and did some shopping. 

We cooked some delicious meals at Grandmas. 
One of my favorites this year was our hamburgers.
Really one of the best I've ever had.

Day six was our last day so we relaxed most of the day on the porch.
Even though the weather was misty and a little chilly we still enjoyed the view.



Jenn's beloved Crown Royal cup....



Then we went to Bird Rock but the tide was in.
This is normally one of our favorite spots to explore the tide pools with all the sea creatures. 
We would have still walked down to the beach but it smelled down right awful 
and there were two or three bus loads of "tourists". 

{We couldn't even breathe as we took this picture. Literally we were holding our breath!}


   
Point Lobos was next and it was worth the hike. 
It is one of the most beautiful state reserves.

{Had to post the pic of steele with his finger up his nose}





I miss it already....