Flaherty Fam

New Horse

2015-01-29T15:06:00.001-07:00

My Aunt Sue was talking to my mom the other day and my mom mentioned that Brett and I have our own little farm with chickens, a dog and horse. My Aunt Sue then asked my mom if we would be willing to take in another horse. Apparently my cousin Danny is in prison and will most likely be there for 5-10years so My Aunt Sue has been boarding Danny's horse. To save on the cost of boarding her, Sue, was hoping the horse could stay with us. So our new horse, Rita, has now joined our girl, Mimmi. These two mares have sure become best friends and attached at the hip because Brett has had a hard time seperating them. They throw a fit if they aren't together so Brett is determined to break them of that:)

Brace Face 1.16.15

2015-01-29T14:50:00.001-07:00

After a couple years of nagging from the hubs I finally agreed to get braces. Brett's cousin, Ben McDowell, whose orthodontic office is conveniently located next to Brett's office was the lucky dr to put them on. I got the clear color done on top and the metal on bottom. Ben estimates that I will probably have to wear them 8-9 months. I'm crossing my fingers for sooner:) The first day wasn't so bad but the second day a few of my teeth were super tender, especially around my canines. They were tender doe about 4 days. I ended up breaking off one of my brackets twice in that first day so Ben had to insert 2 bite blockers on my back teeth. Eating is so annoying and I'm so paranoid about food in my teeth. Thank goodness Brett bought me a water pic which cleans them out pretty good before I brush. It was pretty amazing but my overlapping front teeth have already shifted. I can't wait to see what the end result.

The Big 1! ||1.14.15||

2015-01-29T14:34:00.001-07:00

And just like that a year has gone by. What?!!! The kids actually had no school on Riggy's bday so we decided to use our Pogo passes and head to the Phoenix Zoo. I had to teach class that morning so we planned to leave right after. Our crazy weather decided to throw us a curve ball and start snowing that morning. I was worried what the weather would be like down in the valley. Luckily when we for to the zoo it was sunny and in the 60s...absolutely perfect! My mom met us there and brought Vada with her. Poor McKai was sick so her and Sarah stayed home. Rachel also brought her 3 kids so we had a fun little group. It was seriously the best, most perfect day. Rig was in heaven being outside and everyone was just soaking up the sunshine and all the fun animals. Rig must have known it was his special day because he just a had a perma-grin all day. Love this little boy so so much. He has 7 teeth (3 on bottom, 4 on top), loves being outside, loves animals especially his dog, Rut and horses. Riggy has the biggest, most adorable smile and loves to smile at strangers. He waves bye bye, pants like a dog, says mom and dada frequently, loves food and would constantly eat if I let him. He likes to grunt for whatever it is he wants. He can sign more but we are working on please and thank you. His walking is getting faster almost running and he loves to play tag. His favorite book is his animal book and he loves all his brother's toys. I can't believe it's been a year and we just can't imagine life without this scrumptious, lovable little boy.

Fairness Award

2015-01-22T14:29:00.001-07:00

Man my kids are on a roll this year. First Ray and now Bradock receiving student of the month award. He received his award for Fairness. So proud of this sweet boy of mine.

Winter Baby!

2015-01-22T14:26:00.001-07:00

This kid could careless if it's raining, snowing or freezing outside he just wants to play. He is such an outdoors boy. He's also getting really good at walking on the uneven terrain. You kind of have to learn how to hike before you learn to walk around here.

Love his cheesy grin!

Nothing like getting tackled by a bare bottom. Only when you are that little is it that cute.

Happy 2015!!!

2015-01-07T21:50:00.001-07:00

New Year's Day didn't quite go as I had planned. I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst stomach flu. I got little sleep and just felt absolutely awful. Brett and Chance left early that morning to go glass. Those guys really are crazy. Especially when I got this picture in a text...brrrrr! When the guys came home later that morning I was still feeling awful so I spent most of the day either on the couch or in my bed. The kids had fun playing in the snow again. We got even more snow over the night and ended up with about a foot.

These three brown bears are more like polar bears because they could play in the snow all day long.

Miss Ray is one awesome little snowboarder. She seriously tore it up. Brett and I were teasing that Bradock might be a Ninja Turtle but Ray is the SHREDDER.

My 3 little boot lovers braving the cold outside. Brett's leggings just kill me:)

The next day and feeling tons better we ventured off to a sledding spot Brett had found. Sarah and Chance had gone home New Years evening but Camille and her fam and The Schaub family came up Friday to play so we took them to our little secret spot. The kids had a blast and ended up sledding for hours. They had so much fun that we turned around and went back again on Saturday. This time Noah and Jill Tyler and their fam joined us along with Meegan, her kids and some of their friends. It was a fun snow-filled weekend and the perfect ending to our Christmas break.

Riggy even got in on the sledding action and loved it. He was giggling and smiling the whole time. He went down a few times with Brett and then with Bradock. That kid sure loves crazy, fast things.

New Years Eve 2014

2015-01-02T20:59:00.001-07:00

We didn't really have any plans for NYE but when it started to snow that morning we figured we were probably going to be stuck inside for the evening. We convinced Sarah and Chance to drive up and play in the snow with us. They got a late start getting up here so we ended up getting a few groceries from Walmart so we were ready to party. Bad idea! First of all I hate Walmart anyways but going to Walmart with the whole fam in the snow was one of the stupidest things we have ever done. After we got home we all put on our snow gear and headed outside to play. Miss Ray is a little snow playing machine. She just couldn't get enough. She especially loved sledding behind the quad. She kept yelling "Go faster! Go faster!" She is a little daredevil that's not scared of anything. Ben and Jen ended up coming over to enjoy the snow with us too. Later that night Sarah and Chance finally arrived and we hung out until Sarah and I were too tired to stay awake anymore. I know we were total party poopers but that's what happens when I try to party at home.

Christmas Eve/Day/Weekend

2015-01-01T18:14:00.001-07:00

This year my mom and dad and the Mcdowells joined us for Christmas Eve. We had a yummy dinner which included cooking my very first ham. Brett and I had bought a 4-H pig at the high school fair auction so we had two smoked bone-in ham butts that we needed to cook up. I found a couple recipes on Pinterest and decided to go with a yummy honey mustard glaze.it actually turned out really tasty. We also had veggies, salad, rolls and dessert. Later that evening we gave away our annual Christmas jar to a family in need. Ben and Brett had thought of a patient they both treat that could really use it. It was a perfect evening.

Our funny, little tree all ready for Santa to visit.

Christmas morning was a success. Ray ended up getting the ultimate easy bake oven, cowgirl boots, jamberry nails, tennis shoes, sparkly pink boots, a comforter for her new room and a few other fun, little things.

Mr. B scored in the clothes dept. and not just any clothes but cool athletic shorts, shirts, shoes and socks like his cousins Grady and Carson. He also for some fun teenage mutant ninja turtle toys and the new TMNT movie. Him and Rig also got comforters for their new room and a new DVD/blue Ray player.

Riggy got a fun, red quad that he can ride anytime. He loved it and was making this vroom vroom noises as he pushed it around. He also got a few other new toys.

He kind of got disinterested in all the presents and just wanted to eat breakfast. He was so hungry he just bit out of an orange: peel and all. He quickly realized that didn't taste too good.

Later that afternoon we headed down to the Flaherty's to spend Christmas evening with them. Rig was having fun riding around in the wagon.

Terri had been dying to get her new 2014 grandbabies in a pic together. She got them these cute shirts so they could all make 2014. It was a little bit challenging trying to get them all to sit still (well rig and Landry) but we managed to get a cute one. Rig wasn't clapping and waving his hands around but then quickly tried to attack Landry.

That night Bradock spent the night with the rest of the boy cousins at grandma and grandpas while Ray went to Stella's for a sleepover. Brett headed down south to hunt with chance so Rig and I stayed at my parents condo with them. The next day Tanner took the boys for a game at Top Golf. They had a blast. Then Grandma Debby, the kids and I went over to Sarah's to have lunch and exchange cousin gifts.

Later that evening we played outside at the condo before Brett got home and we headed to the annual Flaherty Cousin game night. We played the right, center, left game and the name game. Both were super fun. Brett went out hunting again late that night and the kids and I headed back to Payson on Saturday. It was a super fun week full of family and friends.

Sneaky Little Fella

2015-01-01T15:37:00.001-07:00

The other night Brett was wrestling with all the kids after dinner so I decided to start getting the bath ready. I had taken rigs clothes off but left him in his diaper and went to start the bath water. I walked from the bathroom to rigs room to put his dirty clothes in the laundry. As I came back in the bathroom I look up to see Rig sitting in the tub, diaper on and all just having a good ol time. I couldn't believe he had climbed in there by himself. I guess from now on I won't be running the bath water unless im sitting right there.

Christmas Break Shenanigans

2015-01-01T15:23:00.001-07:00

The Flaherty's decided to make a drive up to Payson to go on a fun family hike since Heidi, Tanner and Pace were in town from Iowa. Brett had taken the kids and I on this hike not too ago to Scout Cave so we thought it would be fun to take the Flaherty crew there. Brett had to work so I was in charge of getting us to the spot. Luckily with Brett's directions and my memory from going there before we found it with no problem. All the kids had a blast exploring the cave tunnels with their flashlights while a few of us stayed up top with the babies. Rig loves to just play in the woods eating sticks and rocks. Of course he was having a blast riding in his hiking pack on Grandpa's back.

Grandma Terri was so excited to have all her new 2014 babies all together for the first time. Rig kept trying to steal baby Pace's binky and Landry just wanted out of there. These 4 are going to be too much fun.

Payson Elementary School Christmas Concert

2015-01-01T15:09:00.001-07:00

12.16.14

Tuesday night was the kids' first grade Christmas Concert. They did such a good job. I look at this pic and can't believe how big they have gotten. Love these two so much!

11 Months Old ||12.14.14

2015-01-01T14:58:00.001-07:00

This kid is such a ham. He has been giving us his "cheese" smile a lot lately. He loves waving and saying "bye bye". If you ask him what a doggy does he sticks his tongue out and starts panting. His horse sound is putting his lips together and blowing. He absolutely loves food. He will eat almost anything and never seems to be full. He is still nursing 3x a day and gets one bottle of breastmilk before bed. He is walking like crazy now and is a climbing machine. I can't turn my back for a second before he's climbing up and over something. He loves his brother and even tries saying Bradock's name. He will shake his head yes or no when answering you. I can't believe that he will be a year old in a month! Where has this last year gone?!!!

Coyote Down

2015-01-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

The other morning Brett came running in the house all excited, yelling "I got him!" Apparently he heard Rut barking (which he only does now if he sees coyotes) so he grabbed his .22 and went outside. Sure enough there was a coyote out by the chicken coop. He shot it but didn't have enough time to run after him. So he asked me if I would go look for it later when I had time. My mom and dad happen to be in town so we all went for a little walk up to the Santana property where Brett thought the coyote might be. I decided to follow Rut because it was highly likely he would find it before me. Sure enough Rut led me right to him. The coyote had such a pretty cost that we decided to have the taxidermist up the road skin it for us so we could hang the coat in the boys' new room. Sometimes I still can't believe where I live and what some of my daily activities include.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2014-12-22T17:59:00.001-07:00

A couple weekends ago we decided to hop in the truck and go Christmas tree shopping. We actually have a couple fake trees but with our house in total chaos we needed something smaller. Brett was certain he had a spot to look for one but after a lot of 4-wheeling and bumpy terrain we ended up jut taking pics of the kids. On our way back from Pine we saw all these cars parked with trees on top. We pulled over and sure enough we found what we were looking for. We ended up with two trees because we weren't sure which one we wanted. We decided to go with the small, rounder one. It made for an adventurous Saturday. We through some lights on it and voila we now have at least a little bit of Christmas decor in the house.

Later that might we all bundled up and headed to Payson's Annual Electric Light Parade on Main St. It was freezing but luckily we had a warm, cozy fire to sit by. The kids had fun getting candy and with everything going on Rig was most interested in a lady standing behind us. He was copying everything she was doing. She would dance and he would dance, she would jump and he would jump. It was hilarious and was sure making the lady laugh. She thought he was the cutest thing.

Sick Baby

2014-12-18T20:48:00.001-07:00

Poor Rig wasn't feeling good and just crying, grabbing his ears and not sleeping well. It was so unlike him that I got him to the doctor pronto. He ended up having ear infections so we for him on a 3 day antibiotic and lots of ibuprofen. He was already feeling much better within the next day or two. Thank goodness!

Miss Good Student

2014-12-17T21:52:00.001-07:00

So proud of Miss Ray for receiving the "Responsible" Good Student Award this month at her school assembly. She has actually had a substitute for the last month or so and her sub has had the nicest things to say about Ray. She even gave Raylee a book thanking her for being such a great helper. She was so excited about her award. I love her smile in this first pic. Way to go girl!

Santa Came to Town

2014-12-17T21:46:00.001-07:00

Nothing like going to Bob's Western Wear to get our traditional Santa Claus pic. Rig was quite mesmerized by him.

Mr. Climber

2014-12-17T21:44:00.001-07:00

Oh man this little guy sure loves to climb anything and everything he can. Luckily we don't have anything too high because I'm sure he would find it and climb it. The other day he was begging to go for a quad ride. We haven't been back on that thing since our accident. I felt so bad that I decided to put his helmet on and just went for a slow little ride around the yard.

Helping me feed the chickens. This boy could play outside all day if you let him.

Of course the dishwasher is his fave inside. He was just chucking those dirty dishes right on to the floor. Such a big helper.

Thanksgiving 2014

2014-12-14T16:16:00.001-07:00

Our Thanksgiving break started off with Kiley finally going to the hospital and delivering a 6lb 6.5oz 20inch little peanut named Gwen. She's so itty bitty and perfect. She was born the day before Thanksgiving 11.26.14 so the Gonzalez kids got to stay at the Flaherty's with all of us. It was a full house but that always make for fun times.

Mindi posted this pic collage on Thanksgiving of the 4 in 2014. The Flaherty fam sure has been blessed this year. Top left is Rig, top right is Landry, bottom left is Gwen and bottom right is baby Pace. Such adorable little babies.

We decided to participate in the Kimball Stake Turkey Trot. We got my mom, Sarah, Justin and Jerry to join us this year. Grady smoked everyone and came in 4th overall. Bradock did awesome and kept up with Carson, Justin and Jerry and Ray and I did our fun run/walk. So proud of all those runners! We then enjoyed Thanksgiving with both the Flaherty's and my fam. It was a fun day.

Rig having fun with Grandpa and some Pom Poms.

Black Frisay started early with my mom, Justin, Jerry and Meggan hitting up Target Thanksgiving evening. Brett and I scored a new tv for our new master bedroom and Meggan was kind enough to haul it and me home.

The day after Thanksgiving I got to go to the Gilbert Temple to see Brian and Camille be sealed to their sweet baby Haiden. I just love this family and am so so happy for them.

All week I had had a terrible headache and felt as if my head was swimming. That Friday I was feeling awful. In the temple my head was really swimming and I began feeling nauseous. I thankfully was able to sit through the sealing but afterwards I drove back to the Flaherty's to lay down. Grandpa decided to take the boys golfing so I took that time to take a nap so I could drive the kids back home. Brett had left the night before to go hunting with Chance. I wasn't too thrilled at the thought of having to drive home but I was ready to be back home and in my own bed. Bradock ended up winning at goofy golf and afterwards I felt good enough to drive home. It was a super fun weekend and I actually started feeling better after taking it easy the rest of the weekend. Ray decided to do my hair and well she sure knows how to do some small ponytails:)

Family Hike

2014-12-12T16:12:00.001-07:00

Brett had a scout campout recently where they hiked into these underground caves. He said it was so cool that he wanted to take us there. So on Saturday Nov 22nd we took a little drive and hiked back to the underground caves. It was pretty cool but not the best place for a baby. It was dark and cold in the caves so Brett took the kids down lower while rig and I enjoyed playing out in the woods. It was a fun little adventure.

Little Climber

2014-12-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

Rig sure is a climbing machine lately. His favorite is the dishwasher when the door is open and that little brown step stool we have in the kitchen. Thank goodness that's about all we have for him to climb inside because I'm sure he would be all over it.

Outdoors Boy

2014-12-11T13:04:00.001-07:00

Rain or shine, warm or cold this boy wants to be outside. Nothing makes him happier and well that makes me happy.

Basketball Camp

2014-12-07T14:51:00.001-07:00

Raylee and Bradock completed their fun basketball clinic that they have been going to on Wednesday nights for several weeks. Of course I never got any pics so their certification of completion works right?:)

Rash of all Rashes

2014-12-07T14:50:00.001-07:00

So painful, on fire and so itchy. I went to a dermatologist and he was so rude and arrogant. He said it was my perfume but wouldn't really listen to anything else I had to say. He put me on some medication and prescribed a steroid cream but nothing was helping. My rash then began to become one big welting blister. It then began to spread out towards my shoulders, around the back of my neck up to my hairline, up to my jawline down my chest and stomach, down my right arm to my right hand. So weird and random. No steroid creams worked and so I would lay ice packs all over my body to ease the itching a little. I went to another dermotologist who said it definitely wasn't my perfume. He took a culture of it from the back of my neck right before thanksgiving to send to a pathologist. A few days later it actually started to feel better. The blistering and welting had gone down but I still have red bumps down my arms and stomach. Not as painful as the welting (thank goodness) but still sure itchy. Anyways I saw the dermatologist again on Monday and he said the pathologist said it looks like I have vasculitis which is an inflammation of the blood vessels. It's usually caused by an autoimmune disease. Anyways they have ordered blood tests that I had done yesterday. After seeing me on mon and seeing that the worst of the rash had gone down he is now skeptical that it might be vasculitis but wants to make sure I don't really have anything serious going on. I have no idea what's going on with me but I'm kind of over it! Ain't nobody got time for that!!!

Bed head

2014-12-07T14:31:00.001-07:00

Riggy woke up the other day with the funniest looking bed head so of course I had to snap a pic. I just love pics of sleeping babes too.