Sledding Fun

Our Christmas break has been wonderful! The kids got spoiled rotten and have loved playing with all their new toys. Scott has been in seventh heaven because "Santa" got a Motor Workshop thing for Brayden, and it has all these power tools on one side and then you turn it over and there is an engine on the other side that they can unscrew things and there is even a little Jeff Gordon "24" Nascar car that they can take the wheels off and the engine screws out...plus all of the screwdrivers, power drill, hammer, and lots of other things. Perfect to help his daddy out in the garage! McKenzie has been enjoying it just as much as Brayden has to! Daddy has his garage buddies...that's for sure!
My sisters came over the other day after it snowed...and they decided to make a snowman....the snow wasn't ideal snowman making snow, but they did their best...McKenzie was rather excited to put the carrot in! Great job guys!

For Christmas one of the things we got McKenzie and Brayden were snowpants and sleds...so this morning, we ventured out and enjoyed a morning of sledding! The kids loved it and Brayden was just laughing the whole way down the hill.



Lexie is getting so big! I can't believe she is almost 4 months! She is such a happy baby. Always smiling and pleasant to be around!
My sister took this picture, and it turned out really cute, but had really bad Red-eye...and for some reason, the eye on the left didn't "fix" normal...but it is still cute!

A Sharing Family

So, we have always been taught to share...but I think we are a little too good at sharing lately!!! We have seriously had someone sick for the last 5 weeks or so and it is really getting old!!! It has just been colds...but I decided to take Brayden to the doctor yesterday afternoon because he has had a rash looking/rough patches on his back for the last several weeks, but he has eczema, and so I have just been putting stuff on it...but yesterday when he got up from his nap, his whole back and stomach were all red and had welts...so I decided to take him in to get it checked and it turns out he has strep! Oh joy! So, he is on antibiotics for the first time in his life...which don't get me wrong..I am grateful for that since McKenzie has only been on them once as well! It was kind of funny though cause while we were waiting for his perscription, the pharmacist was joking around asking if I was sure Brayden was even sick because him and Kenzie were just playing, laughing, and having a grand old time. So at least it doesn't seem to be bugging him much! Then, Kenzie woke up at 3:00 this morning throwing up, and has been throwing up about every 30-45 min! The poor girl! Needless to say, she and I didn't get much sleep last night. Apparently one of the kids in pre-school had the flu on Wednesday, so I am guessing that this is where it came from, but I am just hoping it is a fast one and that no one else gets it...especially since we all got our flu shots (well everyone except Lexie obviously since she is too young). So, now to try to keep them apart enough that the flu doesn't get passed around....Wish me luck.....

Lexie's Blessing...Better Late than Never

So, I know it has been awhile....but life has been kind of hectic...and when I do have a moment, I just haven't felt like doing this...but I will try to be better! The beginning of November, we blessed Lexie. It was such a sweet experience for me as it has been with each of my children. There is, in my opinion, nothing sweeter than watching the person you love bless the lives of our children. Here are a couple of pictures to document the day!

Scott's Parents

Our Little Family

Kim's Family

A sweet picture of Scott and Lexie before Church

My Adorable children

Talented Grandmas

My children have some very talented grandmas!!! My mom is an amazing seamstress and has sewn all my children's blessing outfits....but, I like to do it the hard way, so for all three of the outfits, I have just looked online and found a picture of an outfit/dress I like, and print out the picture and give it to her....and she is able to make it!!! We were debating with Lexie on just using the same dress we used for McKenzie, but Scott and I decided that since my mom made it.....we wanted each child to have their own so they could have it when they got older and hopefully treasure the "specialness" of their blessing outfits. This is Lexie's dress. We are blessing her on Sunday and I am so excited to see her all dolled up!!! Dont' worry...I'll post pictures of her actually in the dress!! I love the simple elegance this dress has....That is one of the things I liked most about it! It looks just like the picture I gave her!

Scott's mom has made quilts for all of my kids when they were born. We love all of their quilts and it is so much fun helping to decide which quilt to do and pick out the fabrics! Scott's aunt Sherrie did the quilting and quilted her name on the top border and her birthday on the bottom border! It turned out so dang cute and I am so excited for our kids to have these quilts made specially for them!!! Here is Lexie's....

Spiders, Ponies and Craziness

Brayden and McKenzie were having a ball playing with these spiders they made! They loved running around the house and putting them on their head....although you wouldn't be able to tell that from the picture...he was just pulling a face! The funniest part was when he would chase McKenzie around the house with a bigger spider and she would SCREAM her head off.....Scott and I laughed so hard! We are so mean!

For Pre-School, a Shetland Pony came and all the kids and their siblings got to ride all they wanted for 3 hours. The kids had a BALL! Brayden wasn't too sure at first, but it only took a second and he was loving it!! He even got to help guide the pony!

This last week has been insane for us. Scott has had to work tons, McKenzie had practice for our wards Primary Program on last Sunday,a dance recital on Saturday, so with it goes dress rehersal, Brayden is teething and is now sick with a cold or something, so he has been cranky, Lexie has decided she doesn't really need to sleep much during the day unless she is in her swing or being held (at least she hasn't been cranky though) so, ya, with Scott working all weekend, It was a long weekend with cranky kids...but we made it! It's a good thing our kids are so dang cute!!!

Miracles never cease.....

I am still getting over the shock of the week, but Monday, Scott got the Flu Shot!!!! It just goes to show that miracles never cease!!! For those that don't know, Scott is TERRIFIED of needles and I have bugged him every year for 6 years now to get the flu shot (especially since he can get them at work for FREE), but every year he always says that he would rather have the flu 100 times than get the shot (although he sings a different tune when he actually gets sick)...but this year, he was so nice and got it once I begged him to since McKenzie is in Pre-School, Brayden is in Nursery, and he is at work...I figured we needed a little extra protection for the kids sake...especially Lexie since I can't get her one. He didn't even cry, but a guy at his work stayed back and watched him get it because they ALL know how much he hates needles! Thanks babe! We really appreciate it!! For being such a big boy, he even got a new laptop this week and has spent ALL week playing with it and getting it set up! Okay, so he didn't really get it for getting the flu shot, it just happened to be on sale, and it was just a coincidence that he got it on the same day..but he can pretend he got it for getting the shot! Lexie started smiling this week, but is pretty hard at the moment to get to smile. She has only done it for me and my grandma...but she can do it! It is hard to believe she is 6 weeks already! She is getting bigger finally and stronger by the day! She is such a good baby and she is getting loved to pieces!!
My little sister turns 16 tomorrow...so here's a shout out to her! Happy Birthday Ashley! Thanks for all you do and all the help you give us with the kids! We love you! (this picture was just taken on Thursday)

A Field Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

McKenzie's preschool class is on their transportation unit, so far they have been talking about feet and walking and cars, so today, we took a field trip to the Pumpkin Farm so they could look for stop signs and stop lights and talk about things they have learned about driving, and then they could use their feet for walking to go pick out a pumpkin that they get to paint in a week or so. Anyway, they loved it. Someone read them a story about pumpkins, and then they got to go wander and pick out their very own pumpkin, and then they have a little hay maze that the kids could go play in. They had a ball because it was only 3 bales of hay high, so it was high enough that it was fun for the kids, but low enough that us parents could see their heads from the outside, so we could keep track of them and help them find their way out when they got stuck. This will be a fun filled month for field trips with trips to West Bountiful Airport, Hill Air Force Museum, a trip to Arctic Circle via UTA bus (it is just down the street), a bike/trike parade, and Pony Haven is coming, so the kids get to have pony rides on Shetland ponies if they would like....Stay tuned for pictures....

I know....I have been slacking. There hasn't been too much out of the ordinary going on lately. We are just living life and enjoying each day....although depending on the mood of the kids, we enjoy some days more than others!!! It is crazy to think that Lexie is 1 month old today!!! She is growing and starting to chunk up a little bit. She is such a sweet baby!! She is so easy going and patient, doesn't cry much, only gets up once at night, just all around such a GOOD baby! I have joked around to some people that we couldn't have "mail ordered" a more perfect baby! The kids just love her to pieces.....just some days almost too much as the other day Brayden was playing with a plastic hammer at my mom's house when I was helping her do pears and all the sudden Lexie starts screaming....I run in the other room and Brayden was standing next to her with his hammer. I asked him what happened and he just says "Lexie, Hammer," so we are assuming he hammered her....but not too hard since Lexie stopped crying the second I picked her up....so ya, I am loving the whole having to watch the kids around Lexie 24/7. Last night, I had to fix this hat for McKenzie (there is a crown that was glued to the front that came off, so I just had to hot glue it back on). Well, Brayden loves hats and "helmets" (from 4-wheeling with Scott), so he picked up the hat last night and put it on. I thought it was too cute not to take a picture.....but Scott wasn't too pleased that I was letting him wear a pink cowgirl hat (especially with the dolls and Little Mermaid game in the picture too)....but hey, this is just the Crandall side of the family kicking in (Scott's mom's side of the family are cattle ranchers for those that didn't know). So, I guess we will need to find a boy hat.....but these pictures are still cute.....

It is crazy to think that Lexie is already two weeks old!!!! She is such a sweet baby and is so good! She sleeps very good at night and is so happy and pleasant! Last week we went to my sister Ashley's volleyball game at the High School and Brayden was playing on the bleachers, well, he fell forward and knocked his mouth. We looked and his bottom front tooth was laying horizontal in his mouth instead of being vertical!!! He was of course crying and so Scott took him out in the foyer and I followed. We had a burp cloth, so we got it wet and my mom kind of pushed the tooth back up so it was vertical again. This happened at 5:00 pm, so the dentist's office was already closed, but it seemed to "set" itself back in place (it is more crooked though...doh) and I called the dentist in the morning. He said we did the right thing by pushing it back up, and that we could take him to a Pediatric Dentist, but all they would do is X-ray it to see if the "fibers" or something like that were still intact or if they had been broken. If they were still intact, the tooth would be fine, if they weren't the tooth would die and would have to be pulled out. We didn't take him anywhere because we figured what was the point. There isn't anything they can do, and time will tell if the tooth was damaged or not. We are just grateful that it wasn't knocked all the way out so he would have to spend the next 5 or so years without a front bottom tooth. He is ALL boy and won't stop jumping off of things and being a little dare devil. Scott took him 4-Wheeling twice last week and the kid is a maniac! He LOVED it! Scott had so much fun taking him for some boy bonding time!!! I am just curious to see what happens next time McKenzie wants to go...how he reacts to being left behind....but I guess he has to learn sometime!! Scott had to re-enter the real world today. He has enjoyed these last two weeks off of work, and we have loved having him home. It has been so much fun to spend so much time as a family and just be together. He has been such a huge help these last two weeks....I am sad he has to go back...but what do you do!! I just hope I can keep my sanity. It was cute last week though, we were getting the kids ready for bed and McKenzie looked at me and then looked at my stomach, then back at me and said "Mom, does it feel so good to have the baby out of your tummy?" I of course said "Yes McKenzie, it feels very good to have Lexie out of my tummy", and her response was "well, then why is your belly still so big." It was so funny to hear her ask that....here I was thinking I was doing pretty good since it had only been a week since giving birth...by C-Section none the less...but in her eyes, my stomach was still big!!! The things she picks up on....

We're Home

Well, we got to come home yesterday morning and it is good to be home! We are all adjusting to our new life and Scott has been AMAZING!!! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. He takes such good care of us! He has been doing everything for us just so I don't "over-do it" and is just as exhausted as I am, but never complains and has been great with the kids...even though they are exhausted and haven't been the most pleasant at all times. McKenzie and Brayden are adjusting pretty well to having us home. Brayden is kind of acting out by being angry at weird things occasionally, but today was better than yesterday, so we hope it continues to get better....but he is also really tired, so we don't know how much of it because of our new addition or just being tired.
McKenzie seriously wouldn't let Lexie out of her sight yesterday. It was so cute. She would just watch her sleep and want to hold her all day. It was so funny though cause Lexie was in her playpen downstairs in the living room and Brayden got his "night night" (his blanket...don't ask us where he got that name from) and put it in the playpen for Lexie to use. Then McKenzie got her baby and put it in the playpen for Lexie. Then Brayden ran over and grabbed McKenzie's WALL-E robot and tried putting that in the playpen for Lexie. We were laughing so dang hard...which wasn't that much fun with just having my gut cut open, but we realized just how closely we need to watch our little kiddo's when the show their love to their new sibling...and we might need to invest in a helmet for Lexie's safety. They are so cute with Lexie and just love her to pieces and we are just excited to begin the next chapter of our adventure.

Lexie is Here!!!!

Alexis was born September 2 at 9:54 a.m. She was 6 lbs 12 oz and 19 inches long. She is adorable and we are just loving every minute of her being here! She NEVER cries and we are REALLY hoping that it continues!!! McKenzie and Brayden just love their little sister and Brayden is starting to get to the point that he throws a fit if he is "holding" her and you take her away from him. We are so grateful that she is healthy and strong and we are 100% completely in love with our new addition!!

It Wasn't Me....I Promise

So Sunday we were sitting in Sacrament Meeting, and McKenzie wanted to sit on my lap during the Sacrament. So we are sitting there being reverent and quiet, just waiting, and I put my arms around McKenzie's waist and squeeze to give her a little hug. Well, when I gave her that squeeze, SHE FARTED. And it wasn't some quiet little thing either. Everyone around us looks at us and starts chuckling. Scott and I about died. So a few minutes later, she takes my arms and put them around her again. I gave her another little squeeze because I thought what are the chances that she would do it again......well, she did. I was so embarrassed. Luckily it was most of our friends around us....but still.....man did she let them rip....and it just happened to be during the quietest part of the Sacrament. The lady on the other side of the bench from us came up to me afterwards and put her arm around me and said "I sure am glad that we aren't the only ones that pass gas during church." I said "just for the record, it was totally McKenzie!!!" She just laughed and said, "isn't it also great what we can pass off on our kids at this age." Of course she was just kidding......IT WASN'T ME I promise. Anyway, we laughed our head off....but it was so embarrassing!

Scott borrowed his parents 4-Wheeler to go up above the "B" here is Bountiful while I am out of commission since he is taking 2 weeks off...so yesterday, he took McKenzie up for a test. They were both in 7th Heaven when they got home. It was so cute because she went on forever about what they did and how they both found treasures (Scott found a screwdriver and she found a golf ball) and saw 9 squirrels and Scott said she was a little dare devil. They are planning on going again on Thursday which is the only night we don't have anything. Scott is LOVING the fact that McKenzie just loves being on that 4-wheeler and informed me that he sees 4-wheelers in our future!!! I told him that was fine, as long as it was the distant future!!! Money needs to go elsewhere at the moment!!! He is also going to attempt to take her to our ward campout on Friday night......she has never been camping, so we will see how that goes!!!

And the picture.....my parents gave us their old Original Nintendo and all their old games, and McKenzie enjoy's playing some Sesame Street games (letter recognition, shape and color matching, those type of things). Anyway, every time she plays, Brayden thinks he is "playing" too.....I just thought it was too cute!!!

We have a date.....

Well....I am VERY happy to finally have a date set. To my disappointment, my doctor is actually on call at a LDS Hospital next weekend, so we couldn't do Aug. 29th like I wanted, but we are set for Tuesday, September 2nd at 7:00a.m. I am the first of the morning, so hopefully we will get in and out fast! He told me I could have chosen any day that week (from the 1st-5th) but we didn't want to make him do it on Labor Day (even though he said it wasn't a big deal since he was on call anyway) so we decided to do it the next day because I was afraid if I scheduled it on the 5th like it "should" have been, that would have made for the LONGEST week. I am so ready to be done, and if the doctor said I can do it on the 2nd, I am taking it!!! It is so nice to finally have a set date for sure. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have to have C-Sections and get to schedule my births. The waiting game would seriously drive me INSANE. So anyway....11 more days til we meet our little girl......

We are having the baby......

We still don't know. My doctor said we were going to schedule it last Monday...if my blood pressure was high, we would do it on the 29th at 38 weeks, if it was lower, we would look at Sept 5th at 39 weeks. My blood pressure was 110/66 (or something close to that) which is one of the lowest it has been all pregnancy, which shocked me cause it was DEFINITELY not a low stress week since we moved McKenzie into Brayden's room...and that adjustment took some time, the kids got sick, we'll just say, it wasn't stress free. Anyway, the doctor said that we would probably look at Sept 5th as long as my blood pressure stays low but he would do an internal check at this weeks appointment and if I was dialated at all then he would consider taking me on the 29th. I have been having a TON of pain this pregnancy and have been very uncomfortable and to top it off, the position she was in was very painful, so I asked the doctor if he could tell what position she was in so I could know what it was that was killing me (she was breech last time he checked). He took us back and did a quick ultrasound and we found out it was her butt that was killing me. She was stretching or something and her butt was under my ribs. Anyway, I asked if there was anything we could do for the pain I have been having and he told me I would just have to deliver. He did tell me that depending on what happens this week, if I am dialated at all, how my blood pressure is, we will talk about my "comfort level" and if I would like, we could cheat a little and have her the 29th (she has also been measuring a week ahead all pregnancy). That is such a hard decision because while I am uncomfortable and would like her out, I don't want her to come too soon, but it also decides what happens with school and other things. Since Sept 1st is the school cutoff, if I have her the 29th, she could go to school a year earlier than if I wait until Sept 5th. So, we could get to choose whether she is the youngest in her class or the oldest. It is a hard decision since I am the young end of my class and I didn't like it (well, only my sophmore year....everything else was fine). Also, if I have her Aug 29th, that would give me an extra week of help, which I will need. Plus my swelling is getting pretty bad.....so I have to keep an eye on that. It got so bad that Scott even gave me a foot massage last night without me even asking......and that says A LOT since he hates feet. Man it was heaven!!!! So basically...we don't know when this baby will come for sure. It could be as early as next Friday, or as late as a week later! We'll find out Friday afternoon!

Happy Birthday McKenzie

McKenzie's 4th Birthday was yesterday. She has been so excited! She found her presents in our room Sunday morning (we just put them on our dresser...so they weren't hidden) and I didn't think she was going to make it until the boys were ready for church (us girls were ready and the boys were still getting ready so we told her she had to wait til they were ready). Finally Scott was ready and she got to open them up! She played for a little while and then we had to head off to my parents church because my little brother was being ordained an Elder and receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood. After church, we went to my parents house and had a little lunch and birthday celebrations so some of my family that had to leave to get home before our party that night could still participate in some celebrations! After that, we went home and let McKenzie try her new bike and helmet. She did AWESOME!!! She has had a big wheel type bike and has long since mastered that.....and she did great on a two wheeler!! She took right off cruising all over the neighborhood! Later that night family came over and we had a fun night celebrating. She got spoiled....as always...but I guess we can return the favor when there are other neices and nephews to spoil! She got some Wall-E toys (she is way into Wall-E), lots of fun books, clothes, a backpack, candy, dolls.....you name it. I made her a princess cake and she was so funny about it. She was VERY particular about how she wanted it. She watched me decorate it, told me where to put the white dots, then afterwards, she kept "checking on it" in the fridge to make sure it was still good. She liked it, so I was happy! Happy Birthday McKenzie! We love you!

My Sweet Husband

Just to brag a little.....for the last couple of years Scott has taken my birthday off and does whatever chores I want him to do. So this year, since we still hadn't gotten around to painting the doors upstairs and we moved here 2 1/2 years ago, that is what I wanted. So, Scott spent all day painting 15 doors for me!!!! It is so nice to have them all painted since we totally painted the whole house when we moved in, and those were the only thing left and so the doors looked a little dingy against the door jams and everything else! Such a nice birthday present!!! A whole day of "Honey-Do's". Does it get any better. McKenzie was so excited to help me blow out the candles on my cake, so me and the kids made a cake (yes I made my own birthday cake since Scott was painting the doors.....and how hard is it to throw oil, eggs and water into a mixer).
I LOVE having them "help" me make things cause they are so dang cute and get so excited to "taste" what we made. "I think I need one more taste mommy!"

What were we thinking????

Let me first start out by saying I love my children more than I can ever express, but this whole pregnancy thing is so hard!!! I am kind of to the breakdown point where some days I just cry and don't know how I can finish my last 2.5-4.5 weeks (depending on my blood pressure). It is just so hard to be in constant pain between my lower back and my crotch (sorry.....TMI), not sleeping well because it hurts so bad to roll over, which I have to do constantly because after a while of sleeping on each side, my hip starts to hurt so I have to change sides, my heartburn is in full force, I am still throwing up and it is getting worse and worse every day it seems, I am swelling, my feet are huge, and my blood pressure was up last week. I know I will be fine and will be able to get through the next month, but it is harder some days and eventually takes quite a toll on me emotionally! It will be worth it when she is here in our arms!! I was telling Scott that one blessing is the fact that all the doctors and nurses were surprised with how I didn't need much pain medication after both C-Sections, and I decided that the reason that my recoveries have seemed easy and not too painful is the fact that I have been in so much pain for so long before the actual C-Section that by that time, the pain isn't that much worse than what I have already been experiencing. So there is a silver lining! We will find out next Monday just how much longer we have to wait to meet our little one since that is when we will schedule the C-Section. My blood pressure was up at my appointment last week (like 130's/90), so if the bottom number is still up next Monday (Aug 11th) then my doctor will consider doing it at 38 weeks, possibly even 37 weeks (but I don't think it will be high enough to make him do it at 37 weeks, and I don't want to do it that early if at all possible) If my numbers go down again, then we will schedule it for 39 weeks which will be Sept. 5th. So, 4 1/2 more weeks at the most!!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel........

Introducing the newest member of our Family.......

No I haven't given birth yet.....if all goes well, it will still be another 6 1/2 weeks until that happens....but we have made another addition to our family.....Drum roll please......


Yes....a leather recliner!!!! Scott has been waiting for six long years....and now, he can rest peacefully in a comfy leather recliner after a hard days work......and with my blood pressure and swelling, the doctor told me to relax, try to take it easy and put my feet up.....and who am I to disobey the doctor!!!! With our Anniversary last week and my birthday in a week and a half....we decided to splurge and go all out!!! This thing is a BEAST. I don't know if the picture does it justice, but it is huge. We could probably fit on there with one of us adults and both kids! We just picked it up today, and so we are still trying to figure out where to put it, since it is just smaller than our love seat....but Scott already tested it out while the kids were taking naps and is one very happy man!!! Brayden also thinks it makes a great jungle gym!!!!

The Cuteness of Kids

McKenzie LOVES music and dancing and Brayden is starting to learn quite a few sweet moves as well.....Well, the other day, McKenzie wanted to dance, so she asked Scott to turn on some music. Scott went over to our Zune (Microsoft's version of the Ipod) and found something for her. "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice. So she starts dancing and just loving it. Brayden can't miss out on the fun, so he starts dancing as well. Well, Scott and I have to leave to go to the Bee's game, so we left. The next morning, McKenzie asks to dance to "Ice Ice Baby." I turn it on and she starts singing and dancing to it. Next thing I know, Brayden starts dancing and I hear someone saying "ice ice" over and over, and then I would hear "baby." I stopped what I was doing (I was in the kitchen) and came into the living room because it didn't really sound like McKenzie...and sure enough, It was Brayden, just singing along!!! I was laughing so hard!! It was the cutest thing to see him just dancing and singing Vanilla Ice!!! I attempted to pull out the video camera to get it on tape, but like every other time I try to get anything on video, as soon as the kids see the camera, they come running over and have to see themselves on the screen. Needless to say, I didn't get it on camera. We'll keep trying though! One of these days we'll get it!

4th of July Festivities.......

Another HOT 4th of July, but we survived!!! We started off with a breakfast with the 3 wards in our building. Later that night, we went up to my parents house and had a BBQ and let the kids do sparklers and Pop-It's that were left over from last year (we would have gotten more......but McKenzie HATES loud noises and we didn't know if Brayden would really care.....so we just decided to call it good with what we had from last year). We decided not to wait til it was dark since both our kids were very tired.....so we started doing fireworks at like 6:45. McKenzie had been so excited all week for the sparklers, but as soon as we lit one up, she started freaking out. So then we pull out the Pop-It's and start doing those, and then she starts freaking out because they are "too loud". Brayden loved putting them on the ground and then stepping on them! It was cute watching him do a little dance on them trying to pop them. As soon as some neighbor girls saw the fireworks, they came running and did most of our sparklers, but luckily McKenzie decided they were okay and tried them and really had a ball....I just wish it happened a little sooner since they were practically gone by the time she wanted to try them. I think she got to do like 4 of them....so I guess that is better than nothing. She even got over the noise of the pop-its and had fun doing those as well. So after that, we has ice cream and came home, put the kids to bed and we enjoyed a nice quiet night finishing the second season of "24". Last night Scott and I decided to try something new as well........we took McKenzie to see Wall-E.....(the movie). This was the first time she has gone to a theater and we were curious to see how well she would do.......since she doesn't necessarily have the biggest attention span for movies and TV. But, we enjoyed it and she did better than I thought she would do! She has been telling everyone about the Robot movie all day and was so excited to go to something with mom and dad and not Brayden, because he was too little. She felt like such a big girl!! We had a lot of fun with her and enjoyed the time together!!

What a week......

This has been one crazy week that I am sure glad to get behind me!!! Between dress rehersals for McKenzie's dance recital, the actual dance recital, my grandma passing away, her viewing and funeral, our city's Independence Day celebrations, a block party, the heat and being 30 weeks pregnant......I am pooped. It has been a good week though. McKenzie had her first dance recital, and she was awesome!!! She did so well and we all loved seeing her up on stage! My grandma passed away on Sunday June 22nd. She was 87 years old and had lived a wonderful life. She was an amazing woman and I will truly miss her! I knew I would cry at her viewing, because I HATE viewings.....I don't know what it is, I just have a really hard time at viewings. And I knew I would cry at her funeral, but man....I was a boob! I would just compose myself during the talks, and then they would do another musical number and I would just start bawling. More because of the words in the songs and the new meaning that had taken on, as this is my first grandparent that has died and the only other real experience I have had with death was when Scott's grandma passed away almost 5 years ago, and so we had only been married for just over a year when that happened. So it has been a new experience for me, but it has been a precious experience as I have been able to have some wonderful talks with McKenzie about what has happened and how wonderful eternal families are! Kids say the sweetest things and I have been truly amazed at some of her comments and thoughts!
This morning our city started off the Independence Day celebrations by having a parade. The West Bountiful Parade is also known as the "Candy Parade" and we will just say it lived up to it's nickname!!! Brayden loved the fire engines and police cars that started the parade off and loved a "Noah's Ark" float because of the animals. We thought he would love all the horses and everything, but no, the highlight of the parade for him was the candy! He got SO excited when they would throw the candy and would run out and pick it up and come running back with a candy in each hand with a huge grin on his face so proud of himself! It was really cute to see him get so excited!!! McKenzie had a ball collecting candy as well and was so proud of the stash she collected. Tonight was also a block party for our neighborhood. We had a BBQ, a live band, and just visited with people. It was a lot of fun....as long as you were in the shade! McKenzie and Brayden and a couple of the other kids were the life of the party once the band started. They were out dancing and head banging and McKenzie was "shakin' her bootie" (a phrase she learned from a cheer watching my little sister play Jr. High sports). It was really cute to see the kids out there having a ball! The night will finish with fireworks.....if McKenzie lasts that long....otherwise it will end when she crashes!!
I am just trying to "take it easy" as the doctor advised me...since I have borderline high blood pressure while pregnant, and with the heat and everything, but those that have kids know that that is kind of a difficult task with an almost 4 year old and a 17 month old...but we are trying! He also told me to not spend too much time outside, but that is also difficult since my kids LOVE being outside. Yes, I do have a fully fenced backyard, but I am not to the point I am comfortable just letting my kids outside by themselves. So, I just find the shade and try to sit down and watch them enjoy themselves! I am just grateful for central air!!!
Sorry to make this a novel.....there was a lot going on and not much time to split it out this week!!! They won't all be this long....I promise!

I took the plunge......

I finally caved into the pressure by many people to start a blog......so we are taking the plunge and giving it a whirl.

Last week we took the kids to Lagoon for my sisters work party. It was a lot of fun to have my mom and sisters and Scott's dad there (my dad and brother were in Hawaii). McKenzie had a ball. She was much more daring than she has ever been before and tried many new rides and just couldn't get enough! She even tried the Terror Ride!!! Brayden on the other hand, was whole other story. We started off with Buldgy the Whale, and he was not too sure about it and cried most of the first ride. He seemed to want to go again after the first ride, so Scott put him back on, and the second time was better, but he still wasn't too sure about things. His first time on the Merry-Go-Round, he was really nervous until it started, then he ended up really enjoying it. He loved the airplane ride and kept saying "choo-choo" the whole ride (he loves trains right now and from the ride he could see and hear the train go by). By the time we left, he would get a little nervous at the start of a ride, but by the end, he was at least not crying....so we did make progress. We had a blast and the kids were great. I was shocked when McKenzie, Scott, and Papa Wayne (Scott's dad) didn't get in til about 10:30 pm!!! Needless to say, McKenzie slept really good that night. She was ready to go back the next day!!!