The Thompsons

Mitten- Prayers are Answered

2012-02-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure about everyone else, but it's hard for me to get in all the things that I'm "supposed" to with my little family. I've been trying extra hard to get family home evening in every week, but we often do it on either Sunday or Tuesday nights since I have those days off. It is so hard to come up with something to engage everyone from the 32 year old in our house on down to the almost 2 year old (jury is still out on which one is harder... lol). I think it's paying off, though, because Brandt is starting to ask for family night many nights out of the week and becoming more willing to participate. Last night we talked about prayers and Brandt was able to tell his own story about prayers being answered. The other night he couldn't find Mitten, his little stuffed kitty from Arctic Circle. It was a seemingly insignificant thing and one would think that it would suffice to just go to bed and look again the next day, but not for Buddy. Once he gets something on his mind, there is no changing it. Finally, he agreed to kneel down with me and say a prayer of help. Within minutes we found Mitten in a quite unlikely place and he was so happy. We then knelt in another prayer of thanks. Such a simple thing, but one that I hope he'll remember since it actually meant something to him. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who answers prayers, especially those of a little boy, and daily helps me in my efforts to teach him about making good choices.

Kids and Baby Calves 1/12

2012-02-01T06:47:00.000-08:00

We love living close to my mom and dad's and helping out with the cows. A family favorite is the new baby calves and the fact that most of my dad's cows are gentle enough to let us right in with them and even pet them at times.

This is "blackie"-the pet bottle-fed calf from last year and another calf. I love the rest of these pictures and the smiles on Brandt and Kylie's faces that are evidence of their love for the farm and the animals.

Fun times! Reminds me of my childhood and my grandparents... Oh, how I miss them and those days, but wouldn't trade them for my kids.

Sleigh riding 1/12

2012-01-24T07:04:00.000-08:00

My kids love the snow-just like their dad. Unfortunately, there isn't much of it this winter, so they've resorted to sleigh riding on the grass/icy snow.

They enjoy it anyway. :)

Watching out for sister

2012-01-24T06:40:00.000-08:00

Guess what mom?!? Buddy thought I was hungry, so he gave me pudding!

Please, please don't be mad at him; I really did enjoy it. Besides, it could have been much worse...

It could have been chocolate like he got for himself!

I love it when Brandt watches out for his sister, even if it does mean big messes sometimes. Hopefully he will continue to be her protector and good example as they get older.

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-23T06:45:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas was on a Sunday this year, I made the kids get out of bed early so we would have time to open presents and still make it to church. That was no easy task and it took them a bit to be ok with being up already.

Too tired to be excited yet

Starting to wake up a little; buddy's always happy for art supplies

Yay! A purse of my very own so I can stop trying to take over mommy's

Our favorite! How the Grinch Stole Christmas! We've only watched it about 500 times this month already, maybe we can make it 1,ooo!

Scooby-dooby-doo! A game based on my best imaginary friend!

And jammies too!

Brandt's so proud of his re-gifted play phone to his sister that he wrapped himself and put under the tree 2 wks before Christmas; she loved it of course!

"Look! It's just what I asked Santa for!!!"

Papa Lloyd and grandma granny enjoying the show like every year

My own toilet cleaner! Now I don't have to use Brandt's!

Brandt loved his gift from his sister, so all was forgiven for Bryce and Kylie way exceeding the set amount to spend...

Hmmmm, Santa maybe should have brought a snow shovel for Kylie, too

Enjoying the afternoon after we got home from church...

Let the commercial-free show (Grinch) begin!
Christmas Day ended with a trip to Liberty to Grandma Hemmert's to visit with all the cousins there. All in all, a great day and we were sad when it was over! For me (and the kids too, I hope) this was the best Christmas because I took the couple weeks prior to it off of work and so we were able to spend a lot more time together than usual. To me, that's what the holidays are all about-spending time with those we love.

Christmas Eve at Thompson's 2011

2012-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve night was spent at the Thompson's with Bryce's parents and all his siblings and their families. Brandt and Kylie loved playing with all the cousins. One of the highlights was the art projects that grandma Shellie had for them.

Brandt was too hard at work to ever look up for a picture, but Kylie is never too busy for a pose or two.

Christmas Eve at the Pugmire's 2011

2012-01-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

As expected this year, Christmas was different and difficult without any grandparents for the first time. We tried to make the best of it, though, and ended up having a great time. We started out the day at my mom and dad's where we had our traditional breakfast and then opened presents. We then moved on to activities for everyone-games and making a gingerbread house for the kids, and shooting clay pigeons for the adults who enjoy that.

Kylie is getting the funnest little personality these days and makes everyone smile.

And she loves posing and saying cheese for pictures.

Brandt, Rylie, and Amanda Jean had fun playing Don't Eat Pete

All the kids, including the "big kids" (AKA the parents) had fun entertaining everyone with Snowball Races.

All of my parents' grandkids- Mckenzie, Brandt, Amanda Jean, Rylie, and Kylie.

Brandt-armed and ready to spray the snow with colored water, one of his favorite activities for the day.

Impromptu Christmas Pictures

2011-12-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

There was a Sunday this month when we were actually ready for church early, so I seized the opportunity, and this is what I got....

Painting Faces

2011-12-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

So, I added a butterfly to her face...

We started out painting rocks, but it wasn't long until Kylie decided to start painting her face.

and a pair of ladybugs to Brandt's face. Simple, but so much fun!

Snowmen Pizza

2011-12-27T07:07:00.000-08:00

Brandt and Kylie had fun making snowmen (and a stocking) pizzas at grandma granny's.
Brandt decorated and Kylie ate the toppings.

Ta-da!!

Santa

2011-12-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

Santa at King's

Kylie was ok with Santa as long as she was sitting on her brother's lap,

Not so much when she was on her own.

Brandt on the other hand was happy to talk to him this year and let him know what he wanted-"a hunting game that shoots the TV"

O CHRISTMAS TREE

2011-12-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to lots of allergies at our house, we now get our tree out of a box-not as fun as a real one, but so much easier!

Kylie and Brandt both loved decorating this year; Kylie has also enjoyed undecorating and has broken a couple ornaments the little turkey,

GINGERBREAD HOUSES AT GRANDMA GRANNY'S 2011

2011-12-22T15:18:00.000-08:00

I have never made gingerbread houses at Christmas before, so my mom and I decided to go for it this year (in a simplified manner, of course :) The kids had so much fun and so did we!

As independent as Kylie is, I couldn't believe she let me help her with the icing.

That was where the helping ended, though.

Brandt had it figured out from the beginning and did a great job decorating without any help.

All finished-time to have a little sample...

Sugar Cookies December 2011

2011-12-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

Bryce loves sugar cookies. His mom makes them for every holiday, but he never seems to get his fill of them- especially now that Brandt has also discovered a love for them and fights him for every cookie. I rarely make them, and now I remember why-what a HUGE project!

What concentration Kylie displayed!

Notice the not-so-kitchen tool Brandt is using to frost with lol

Yummy! Don't worry, he happily ate all the ones he frosted.

And a sample of the finished product. The kids had fun and their daddy is certainly enjoying the fruits of my labor, so we may attempt this again another time...

PUGMIRE REUNION 2010-only 1 yr 2 mo late, captions to follow if I ever get around to it... lol

2010-08-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Thompson Reunion 2010

2010-08-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

This year's Thompson reunion was the weekend of July 30th-Aug. 1st, which just happened to be at the same time as the Pugmire reunion. So...we compromised and went with the Thompson's the first day and then Bryce stayed to help his parents, who were in charge this year, and I took the kids to mine for the 2nd and 3rd days. The first day ended up being an eventful one before we even got there. We awoke to find that a skunk had decided to dig a hole and take up residency under our house; thankfully it didn't spray. Then once we got to Montpelier, we went to get Brandt's hair cut, which was quite the fiasco. Finally, my sister talked him into "cleaning" one of the chairs in the salon with a squirty bottle and Kwinnae followed him around the chair, cutting as fast as she could. As you can see in the first couple pictures, he needed it desperately! Then we headed over to the hospital because Curtis was in the ER with a nail stuck in his thigh. He was there for most of the afternoon and evening before the anesthesiologist could get out of surgery and sedate him so they could get it out. How blessed he was that it wasn't in the bone, but was embedded right by it. FINALLY, we were able to head to Bennington to the wonderful place we were using this year.

While we were finishing the last of the packing and getting ready to head out, Brandt decided it would be fun for Kylie and him to try on the Mr. Potato Head glasses.

Kylie's face is getting so chubby that it left imprints.I love that he tries to include her when he plays; wonder how long that will last as she gets older...

Brandt had a great time playing with all the cousins. One of the favorite activities was the teeter-totter.

Not sure what the "legal limit" for the teeter-totter is, but pretty sure this exceeds it! :)

Kicken' back...

The pictures of Kylie in this stroller crack me up 'cause her hair blends in with Diego's so it looks like she has even more than she really does.

She was so good all day and enjoyed all the attention she got.

Brandt loved playing with the big boys; wrestling, roping, runing, rough housing... and then just hanging out... Actually, I'm pretty sure this is the only time he held still the entire time.

Entertainment Center

2010-08-11T12:16:00.000-07:00

For a few years now Bryce has toyed with the idea of building an entertainment center out of some of his grandpa Thompson's barn wood. He finally decided to make it happen a few months ago. He recruited his dad and they went to work.

Just doing some finishing touches.
And the final product...

BEAUTIFUL!! I think he did a FANTASTIC job! I don't think I've ever seen one in a store that I liked better and it means a whole lot more, too.

Papa's Puppies

2010-08-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Brandt's best friends are papa's dogs (and his own imaginary puppy, Scooby, of course.) He loves to run and roll and play with them for hours at a time. So...imagine his excitement when Midge (or Midgie as he calls her) had 6 puppies of her own a couple weeks ago.

He had the biggest smile ever, but kept putting the puppy in front of it. I love how his eyes sparkle, though.
This little one was crying when he picked it up, so he started swinging it in the air and singing the song my mom always sings to him when he's upset, "rock-a-bye, and don't you cry, and we shall go to granny's. Over the hill, and through the dell, and we shall go to granny's."

My parents ended up putting locks on the dog runs a few months ago because Brandt kept letting them out when he wasn't supposed to. These have come in handy with the new puppies since he constantly wants them out and isn't always as gentle as he should be. Now there is a new problem as he has figured out how to thread the garden hose through the pen and use it to nudge the puppies over close enough to reach them and then pulls them through the crack of the door. Good thing Midge is a very patient little momma and doesn't mind having Brandt mess with her and her babies. He's definitely mischievous as well as creative!Oh, and just as cute as the new little puppies!

Summer Fun- July 2010

2010-07-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

We've spent the majority of my days off and weekends outside this summer and it's been so fun! Brandt loves filling up his wading pool and playing in the water and also on the trampoline. So far we haven't combined the two, but I'm sure he'll try it sooner or later. :)
Unfortunately, he hasn't let me get many good pictures...

After playing for awhile, he decided he wanted to "rest and lay out" and wanted sister to join him.

It was next to impossible to get a picture with them both looking at me at the same time, but I was so happy to get a couple of Brandt smiling at me and not hiding from the camera like he had been.

Don't worry, they had tons of sun screen on and the "laying out" really didn't last long since Brandt can't hold still for more than a minute at a time.

Kylie enjoyed the sun and soon fell asleep...that is until Brandt grabbed the hose and soaked us both. Talk about a rude awaking! She was not a happy little girl, but she got over it pretty fast. What a fun day, though!

Princess Kylie- 4 months

2010-07-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, how time flies! Kylie turned 4 months old this week. She is quickly growing and changing. She is talking and squealing a lot more, especially in the evenings. She rolls over to her tummy and then scoots herself in circles from there. I tried to give her a little rice cereal a few times to try and help with her spitting up, but she just gags and spits it back out. She continues to be the sweetest, calmest baby and is loved by everyone so much.
This is the dress we got her for Easter, and of course, Brandt calls her a princess when she wears it.

Brandt still loves her and also loves to torment her. Sometimes she starts crying and squawking when she sees him coming before he even has a chance to bug her. He can also make her laugh harder than anyone else. He often has conversations with her. Sometimes when he's in trouble he'll go over to her and hug her and cry and say something like "oh sister, what am I gonna do?" At times I'll catch him whispering something to her like "let's do something, what should we do sister?" I have a feeling I may be in for it when she gets a little bigger and he's whispering to her to get her to be his sidekick. For now, it's so dang cute! I especially love it when he continues a conversation with her and then tells me what she's saying with him.

Campin' In

2010-07-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Brandt kept trying to make a tent out of the couch and his blankets, so finally he talked Bryce into putting up his little tent in the living room.
He was so excited and wanted his sister to sleep in it with him.

She wasn't quite as excited to have him drag her around in there, so it didn't last long.

Brandt is often putting his face by Kylie's and saying, "look mom, we match!", so I love the pictures of them side by side. And... they do indeed match, at least in looks. Just a side note, this little night gown was mine as a baby; I'm so sad that she is outgrowing it so quickly.

Bear Lake- July 2010

2010-07-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

Last summer Brandt and I didn't get in much time in the sun thanks to it raining for the entire month of June and me being pregnant and sick after that. So this summer we're trying to make up for it. We've already been to the lake a few times and hope to get in a few more trips before the snow flies. A couple weeks ago we met my sister's down there. It was a cold and windy day, but the kids still had a great time.
Rylie and Brandt...

Amanda Jean, Rylie, and Brandt...

Kelli trying to get Mckenzie to go to sleep

Jana and mom...

Trying to keep Kylie out of the cold wind.

Mckenzie...so cute!

Brandt was happy to just dig and play on his own.

Poor Rylie was freezing, but he got some good cuddle time in with grandma.

It's hard to tell, but Brandt was absolutely covered in sand from head to toe- and LOVED it!

Happy 80th Grandma!

2010-07-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

My grandma LuWana Pope Pugmire turned 80 on May 29th. We had a family dinner in her honor and decided to surprise her with a Hawaiian Luau theme since she always wanted to go to Hawaii. Brandt was one of the first to greet her when she and grandpa arrived and he helped her down the hall and into the gym.

He was so cute and careful with her and didn't leave her side until she was safely seated.

My mom and Mckenzie...

Kelli and Kylie...

My dad's family plus an extra cousin who was still sitting on grandpa's lap and we didn't realize it until afterward-oops :)

And finally a shot with grandpa's eyes open. :)

Van and Cindy with Kylie; she is one loved baby and doesn't spend much time not being held.

Cute sisters!!

Brandt had been so good and patient all morning while I was helping my parents and Jan and Dennis get ready for the party and then by the time it got started he was sound asleep.

My dad looks pretty good in a necklace! :)

"Happy birthday to you!" One of my projects for the party was a book of memories from the grandkids that we then gave to grandma to keep. The following is what I put in it:

My favorite memories include going with grandma to clean the church and either helping her or rollerskating while she worked. I always loved to spend the night and she would lie by me in bed and tickle my arm and “write” names on my arm to help me fall asleep. That’s something that I do with Brandt now. Just like most of her other grandkids, a lot of my memories of grandma are associated with food. I have many favorites, including her bread, doughnuts, shrimp salad, apple salad, and carrot pudding. I think the only thing I don’t like is potato salad, but Bryce does and everyone else I know praises it as the best around. I have always enjoyed spending time with grandma no matter what she was doing; baking, cleaning, washing her car, planting the garden or flowers, splitting wood, among many other things. I’ve always admired how hard of a worker she is and that she never complains even when she has every right to. She is always more concerned about how we are doing whenever she calls or we go for a visit. Brandt loves going to visit and always raids their fridge for any open cans of pop with a straw in it, steals her cough drops by the bed, and loves to give her “rides” up and down in her recliner. So far, Kylie is just content to be held and talked to. I’ve been impressed by the way she always makes me feel like she’s doing something special just for me and I think that’s how she’s always been with all the cousins, such as making sure she remembered and fixed our favorite foods. How blessed we are to call you our Grandma! We love you!

Kylie at 2 months old

2010-07-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind, so this post is about 6 wks behind... At 2 months old, Kylie was just as sweet as ever. She finally started sleeping more during the night instead of the day and would sometimes sleep for 7-8hrs at a time. She wasn't rolling over yet or talking a whole lot, but seemed content to just watch everyone. In the evenings especially, she started cooing in a soft, sweet voice that is so adorable. One day Brandt wanted to take pictures of her so here's what we got between the two of us.

These last two are ones that Brandt took all by himself and was so proud of them.

Nostalgia

2010-07-02T09:21:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite parts of having a little girl has been the things that were mine and my mom has handed down to me to use. This little pink dress is one that was a favorite of her's on me and I think Kylie looks pretty darn cute in it as well. My parents both just keep saying how much she looks like me as a baby, but I think she's much more beautiful!

This blanket was also one that was made for me as a baby.

These were taken when Kylie was 6 wks old. She's definitely gotten chunkier since then.

It makes me so sad that she is growing out of her cute newborn outfits, but I look forward to one day passing some of them on to her as my mom has to me.

Mommy-buddy Date

2010-06-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

Brandt had to go to the dentist for his first fillings yesterday, so I decided to get a little one-on-one time in and make a date of it. He's been really struggling with his behavior in the past week or so and we thought maybe he just needed some extra attention. He was so excited for our date and called my mom and dad the night before to see if we could "borrow papa's tractor to drive to our date." :) Date day dawned early as we had to be there at 8 am for his appointment, but he was up bright and early and ready to roll. Once we got there he decided that he didn't need to see Dr. Weston because he "already swallowed the sugar bugs and they went down to mine tummy and down mine leg." After finally talking him into going in, Dr. Weston numbed him up. He did so great for the shot and I was so proud of him! And then.... he refused to let them fix his cavity. I was so bummed that he made it through the hard part and then wouldn't let Dr. Weston do anything after that. Then we went to get his hair cut so he could look handsome for our date. Bombed out on that one as well! Only got a half a cut in before he was ready to be done and was even throwing hair at the girl trying to cut it. That doesn't make for a very happy mommy! I almost called it quits at that point and took him home, but thankfully I stuck it out because the remainder of the day was wonderful! After a good talk about how to behave, he had almost perfect behavior in the grocery store with only one reminder. Then we hit the library. They have the funnest computers for little ones with touch screens so he could play the games without having to work the mouse. We saved the best for last and went to Studebaker's for cheesy sticks- a favorite for both of us. It was so much fun! As we were pulling out he said, "that was a fun date mom, let's do it again!" I agree buddy, minus the dentist and haircut. And the rest of the day was wonderful as well. He napped, was nice to baby, kept his underwear dry, and mostly minded me, which were some of the things we'd been having problems with, so I'm so thankful we continued with our date despite the mishaps in the beginning. I think we'll definitely be making mommy-buddy dates a regular habit!

Family Pictures

2010-06-07T13:10:00.000-07:00

Bryce's grandma Leah Thompson passed away on Mother's Day this year and her funeral was on May 15th. She was always so sweet to us and Brandt especially loved going to visit her. She often didn't know his name and I'm not so sure she knew who we were, but always seemed happy to see us and loved Brandt's hugs. When we got to her viewing, Brandt was asking questions about her of course, but it made me feel like I must be teaching something right when he said she's in Heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus now. He was so, so good during the funeral, which isn't typical of him, so we were pretty proud of him. At the cemetary he stood right by Rylie and never ran around once like he usually would. Afterwards all of the great-grandkids let go of balloons. Brandt was fine with that until late the next night when he cried and wanted his balloon back. Um, oops, too late buddy! :) Since we were all dressed up, we asked Maleri to do a couple pictures of the kids and our family.
I love the ones of Brandt and Kylie. They're both way more photogenic than I am, that's for sure.

It was windy and freezing cold, but neither one of them complained about it. Thank goodness Mal's a quick picture taker. :)

I think this is my favorite family pic.

Poor Kylie's dress was coming up in front of her face more and more and we never realized it until we were done.

I love all of Brandt's different smiles and faces he pulls. He loves Maleri and would probably cheese it for her all day. Thanks Mal!

Happy Birthday Buddy

2010-06-04T08:37:00.001-07:00

Brandt turned 3 on May 4th. Just like every other mother out there I'm sure, I just keep wondering where the time has gone. It seems like he has grown up so fast (and not just because he's so huge for his age.)
For months and months Brandt said that he wanted to have a Curious George cake like last year. He couldn't be persuaded so I just planned on doing that and figured that would be easy since I already had everything to do it with. Then...about 4 days before his birthday he decided he wanted a Buzz and Woody (or Moody as Brandt says) cake. After a couple days of panic, Bryce ended up in Logan with a friend and found these toy story figures that I could use. It then took me 2 tries to get a cake made that would work (yes, I struggle) and then it still didn't end up perfect like I wanted it, but it was worth all the stress cause buddy loved it.

Brandt also wanted a pizza party at the park, so we braved the cold winds in order to grant his birthday wish.

My grandparents even insisted on coming instead of us going to visit them afterward. I think they froze but they didn't complain too much.

Kylie peeking out at Amanda Jean, who had lots of fun even though her little nose and hands were bright red and ice cold.

Patiently waiting for pizza. Adrie, Kaylen, Riley, Brandt, and Emmalea peeking over her car seat in the back.

Brandt's favorite food; cheesy sticks from Studebaker's. He can down 1/2 an order of them by himself!

The Thompson family (at least some of them.)

And the Pugmire side.

Brandt insisted on putting his own candles on his cake.

What a cutie!

Make a wish!

Then on to all the presents. It took a lot longer this year 'cause he wanted to stop and play with everything he opened instead of moving on to the next one.

Yay for new boots!

Another favorite, Buzz Lightyear from Gma and Gpa Thompson.

It's so much fun to watch his facial expressions and excitement when he's opening stuff.

He is obsessed with taking pictures so we found him his own camera. ($3 at Family Dollar, gotta love that!)

After he opened it, I had a hard time getting any pictures of him without it.

He had so much fun playing at the park and didn't care about how cold it was one bit.

Entertaining himself with his new birthday toys while I fed sister and we waited with Jana to get her car broken into by the cops (accidentally locked keys in car with Amanda Jean; oops:)

And one more shot with his camera...

Brandt was a typical 3 yr old all day and naughty, naughty clear until his party and then he was so good. He ended up having a great time playing with his cousins and eating pizza. What an amazing, funny, busy, and cute boy he is and we're so blessed to have him in our family. Happy birthday Brandt buddy! I love you this much!!

Princess Kylie

2010-06-03T12:45:00.001-07:00

The first time I got Kylie all dressed up in a dress, Brandt said "Aw mom, she looks like a princess!" He now calls her Princess Kylie whenever she's in a dress.

Kylie at 1 mo old.

The beautiful blankie that she's on was made for her by a friend who cleaned the Dr office.

This cream dress is beautiful and fancy enough to be a blessing dress; Bryce's sister Tara and her family gave it to her. It's going to be a sad day when she outgrows it, and I'm afraid that day is coming soon.

BIG yawns. That's how I feel after church and pictures, too!

Almost 6 wks old. This was taken at Mckenzie's baby blessing. Wish you could see all her curls behind the huge flower. :)

She's always right at home in grandma's arms, thank goodness since that's where she spends most of her days while I'm working.

Grandma and grandpa with Kylie.

Brandt picked the perfect name for her when he calls her Princess Kylie. She is such a good baby!

Brandt at almost 3 yrs old and Kylie at almost 1 mo old and after her first church experience. Both kids were hungry and ready to be done

She rarely cries unless she's starving and being bugged by her brother; most of the time only when both happen at the same time. She's so patient and will wait for a long time to eat if I can't get to her right away. She already puts up with a lot from Brandt and only screams at him sometimes. She's finally getting her sleep schedule adjusted so that she sleeps more at night and less during the day and will sometimes even sleep 8-9 hours. I could spend all day holding her, looking at her beautiful little face, and watching her different facial expressions, especially now that she's starting to coo and smile a lot more.

Baby Kenzie's Blessing

2010-06-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Kelli had their baby blessed and given the name Mckenzie Payne on May 2nd at their home in Cokeville. It was a gathering of immediate family and was a special day.
Kelli and baby Kenzie. She wore Kelli's baby blessing dress and used the blankie that my Grandma Bodily made for Kelli.

Amanda Jean with one of her many "looks." So dang cute!

The boys (Brandt and Rylie) had fun playing with Rylie's toys.

Easter 2010

2010-05-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

I was determined not to do easter eggs this year because I didn't think I could handle new baby, Brandt (whom I was potty-training at the time, thus the naked pictures), and a great big mess. My mom talked me into it and came to watch baby so I could just focus on Brandt. I can't thank her enough for it now because he had the best time and it was totally worth the mess!

Brandt of course had to do it "by myself" as much as I could let him.

He thought it was so fun to make the eggs different colors and kept trying to dip each egg in every color.

We also did some of the "shrink-wrap" ones and he was determined to do those by himself as well.

He was so proud of himself every time he finished an egg and would hold it up for grandma and daddy to see.

Brandt's favorite part ended up being putting the stickers on the dyed eggs with his dad.

They had fun making silly faces on the eggs...

and then showing them off.

As you can tell, Kylie was pretty excited to see what the Easter Rabbit (as Brandt says) brought her. Just a side-note, the Strawberry Shortcake blankie is one that my aunt Dolores made for me when I was a baby and is now one of my favorite ones to use.

Brandt was only half awake when we finally talked him into going and looking at his stuff. He just wanted to snuggle in bed with his dad instead.

Excited that "his Easter Rabbit" brought him cowboys and indians.

Daddy helped him load his PEZ. This was always one of my favorite things when I was growing up.

Thanks to the yucky weather we were stuck inside for the Easter egg hunt at my mom and dad's, but the kids seemed to have just as much fun and that way my grandparent's were able to watch them easier.

I think Brandt was the one who did all the climbing for the higher eggs, big surprise there. :)
My mom and dad with all their grandkids. My mom has Mckenzie, my dad has Kylie and Amanda Jean, and Brandt and Rylie are sitting in front. So sad that it turned out blurry.

Grandma and grandpa Pugmire with the great-grandkids in my dad's line. Grandma is holding Kylie and grandpa has Mckenzie. Brandt, Rylie, and Amanda Jean are in front.

Nice photagraphy in this one...but I still liked it because of how my grandpa is kissing Kenzie.

Introducing Kylie Thompson

2010-04-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

FINALLY, I am able to get to a computer to get our exciting news officially documented :) Kylie Thompson was born at 12:23 am on Mon. March 22 after a bit of a scary delivery. I can't even put into words the relief and emotions that go along with getting such a precious little one here safely.

Brandt couldn't love her more. This is the first time he got to meet her and was beyond excited. He couldn't stop loving on her and was upset to say the least when it was time for him to leave. He screamed all the way down the hall and to the car that he needed his mommy and his baby sister.

Proud new daddy; sorta looks more like a mug shot, but I think that's due to lack of sleep not lack of loving his new little girl.

All dressed and ready to go home...

Bryce, Brandt, and Kylie spent the first evening at home doing exactly what Bryce and Brandt did the night we brought him home from the hospital; cuddling on the couch watching the Jazz game.

Brandt is getting used to having her around and doesn't let her out of his sight. There have been plenty of hugs and kisses along with some displays of jealousy as were expected. He's very quick at picking her up and taking off with her if I'm not quite close enough to get there first. So far she's very patient with him and actually sleeps through a lot of it.

Grandma and grandpa Pugmire with Brandt and Kylie.

Awww, so cute!

Showing off her cute curls. Wouldn't open her eyes for a picture no matter what I did.

Such a great sleeper...during the day! Getting better at night as long as her mom can stay awake long enough to finish feeding her.

She had her first real bath this morning...

AND HATED IT!! I still think she's pretty cute, though!

Never Eat your Friends

2010-03-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

Whenever we take Brandt anywhere (nursery, family gatherings, friend's houses...) we always go through "the list" of how to be nice with him. It didn't take him long to start going through the items on "the list" on his own and every once in awhile he adds one of his own thoughts. Last week when I took him to a friend's house it went something like this; "no hitting Ammon, no pushing Ammon, no spitting on Ammon, no biting Ammon, no EATING Ammon." I have no idea where he got the no eating him thing, but it cracks me up. He repeated it again when he went to the Hillier's Saturday, church Sunday, and again this morning when he was going to Lily and Anna's. I swear he is the funniest kid I know! :)

Brandt's Calf

2010-02-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

Just as he did last year, Brandt LOVES going out to help with chores at my mom and dad's. As they started getting more and more calves and pointed out to him which ones were papa's or daddy's, he started asking which one was his. Well, not too long after that one of the mom's wouldn't take her calf, so they started to bottle feed it. Brandt gets to go out and help with at least one of the feedings each day usually and has claimed it as his.

Right after I took this picture the calf nudged him and he about fell over. He still talks about how the calf is too big for him and pushes him over. And then he sometimes adds that it pushed over mamaw, too. (not too sure that part really happened :)

The calf is now big enough that he's out in the corral. When Brandt goes out to help with mid-day chores my mom lets him and the calf play together in the corral. Brandt loves that the calf follows him all around and nudges and licks him. Brandt puts his arms around him and gives him loves and pets him. The other day he came home and was so excited to tell me that the calf had slobbered all over his coat and had started to get his face as well when "mamaw" stopped him. He constantly tells us that it's his calf and he's going to bring it home. I love that he gets to experience what were some of my favorite things growing up, but it's going to be a sad day when he has to say goodbye to it for good...

My Little Comedian

2010-01-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

Brandt has always had the funnest personality. Now that he is getting older and talking a lot better, he says the most hilarious things. For example, the other day I was on the floor playing with blocks with him. We were stacking them up and suddenly he puts his hand out in front of him and says, "stand back ladies!" to my mom and me. He then proceeded in knocking over the blocks. If he doesn't think we're giving him the attention he deserves, he will emphatically say something like "guys, listen to me!" or "pay attention!" This is often done with hands on hips like a miniature adult. Monday when I got home from work I went to give him a kiss and he moved, so I said "buddy, didn't you miss me today?" He answered with, "no, I was at mamaw's. Then daddy came to get me." I inquired a little further with, "daddy came and got you, huh?" He held his hands out and very dramatically answered, "you were at work and the grocery store!" It was as if he was saying, "duh, mom, of course daddy came and got me since you obviously weren't going to." I actually hadn't even gone to the store that day, so not sure where he got that from, but it was funny anyway. He is such a tease, a trait I'm pretty sure he got from Bryce, and is constantly tickling us or taking something (like Bryce's hat or the remote) and running away with it hollering to come and try and get him. Often when I get to my mom's to pick him up he has locked the front door and is standing at the window watching me try to open the door and totally cracking up. His new favorite thing is when we ask him what we should name baby sister he almost always answers first with "papa Lloyd." Then I tell him that's already grandpa's name and he goes on down the list naming everyone he knows, giggling the entire time. He is definitely all boy, and thinks it's the funniest thing in the world if he toots, especially if he's sitting on your lap, and always makes a point to announce it. When he has a messy diaper he will say "oooh, I smell like dog poop, I smell like skunk poop, I smell like cow poop..." and the list goes on. My favorite is when he says "I smell like T poop." T is what he calls my little brother. :) Not only is he a tease, but he is also the biggest ham. He loves to entertain anyone who comes for a visit, especially his cousins, and the more he gets a reaction, the more he shows off. When we were at my mom and dad's for Christmas, he thought it was so fun to make Amanda Jean laugh. She's very dramatic and would cover her mouth with her hand and laugh hysterically at every little thing he did. This of course pleased him to no end, encouraged him to continue his antics, and made the rest of us laugh as well. Now Brandt copies the way she covered her mouth and laughed at him when he thinks something is funny. Oh how I wish I could spend every day watching him and enjoying all the fun things he does, but I guess for now I just have to try my hardest to take advantage of the time I do have with him and keep laughing at the small stuff. I hope I will still be able to do that when there is another little addition at our house to keep up with.

Christmas Morning 2009

2010-01-07T09:02:00.001-08:00

After waiting patiently (sorta) all month, and Brandt only finding and opening a couple presents, Santa finally made his stop at our house. What an exciting morning it was!
Before the fun got started...Brandt woke up before my parents got there, so we had blocked off that part of the living room so he wouldn't see everything on his way to our room to wake us up. We kept him busy playing in our room til mamaw and bampa came.

Seeing everything waiting for him for the first time wearing his new Christmas jammies from mamaw Ellen and bampa Lloyd.

The biggest and most exciting "Santa present", which Brandt ran to first of course.

Since we live the closest, my parents and Curtis come to watch us open presents.

Brandt was excited to see his new rope (one of the only things he asked for) to go along with his roping steer.

Couldnt' wait to try it out. That's a pretty serious cowboy face!

Got it!!

Close-up shot of his new cowboy hat (the other thing he asked for since his has been too small for months but has still insisted on wearing it).

Trying to figure out how to get his loop back. I loved that this one thing could have kept him entertained half the day and he didn't even care that he still had more stuff to open. Wish we could all be so easily satisfied.

He was so excited about every new thing he opened and made sure to check it out good and play with it before moving on to the next present.

Bampa's job was to try to open all of the very child and adult proof toys.Brandt helped decorate the tree this year, and he had so much fun doing it. Every couple days he would move a few of the decorations around, but he was so careful with them and didn't break one of them. Of course, I forgot to take pictures, so this will have to do. He gets an ornament from us every year and was excited to put it on the tree after he opened it.

We decided to stay home for Christmas day this year since we had things scheduled with both of our families before and after Christmas. Brandt loved to be able to take time to play with all of his new stuff.

We gave him a set of bucking bulls with shutes and rodeo clowns. This bull was bucking extra high.

What a cutie!! He made Christmas so much fun this year and helped me remember what the important things in life really are at this time of year.

Seeing Santa 2009

2010-01-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

Brandt anticipated Santa coming for the entire month of December. Everytime we heard a noise outside he would get all excited and run to either the window or door and holler "Santa's here; Santa's on our house, or Santa's on the roof!" Needless to say, he couldn't wait to sit on Santa's lap at our ward Christmas party. The part he wasn't excited for was sitting at the table with all of us for the dinner and program prior to the long-awaited guest's arrival. So...we spent a lot of time wandering the halls and playing in the nursery (it didn't help that he skipped his nap that day.) As the time approached and we were making yet another lap around the hall, we happened to run into none other than Mrs. Claus (she was filling in for Santa this year). Brandt was so excited and got to talk to "Santa" before the other kids even knew she was there. It was hard to peel him away to go back in, but finally talked him into it. When she came in she made the rounds talking to people and hollering "ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas", and made a special stop at our table to talk to Brandt and let him ring her sleigh bells.
The pictures don't show how excited he was to sit on her lap and ring the sleigh bells again.

It ended up being a really fun night for Brandt and Mrs. Claus was the best Santa we've had for a long time!

Halloween Hee-yaw!

2009-11-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

It has become our ward's tradition to have trunk-or-treat inside our gym every halloween. WE LOVE IT!!!! It's warm, the kids can play together, the adults can socialize, we get to see all the kids in costume without snowsuits, and no dragging little ones in and out of the car to go door to door. The costume parade was lead by the scariest guy there...
Jared, the dracula.

Brandt loves playing cowboy, riding his stick horse, and using his toy gun, so he was quite comfortable in his costume. (I know, not very creative on my part, but he loved it)

Notice the bull in the top left corner. Brandt spent the majority of the evening chasing him (Brayden) around hollering "hee-yaw" at the top of his lungs. It was hilarious! Bryce had a hard time getting him to stop long enough to go around and get his treats.

What a fun night!

Busy day, but worth it

2009-10-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Last Friday marked the day to sell calves. I was actually able to take the day off and go this year. My mom, Brandt, and I drove in early so we could pick up my grandparents at the manor and then meet the guys at the stockyards. It was good to have them there. I think my grandpa enjoyed being able to get out and BS with the other guys there just like he used to.

My sis and Kevin came over and helped haul a load, so Rylie and Brandt got to hang out and watch everything.

I know it's hard to tell in this picture, but they both really did have fun; Rylie just didn't want his picture taken. My camera batt. died before I got pictures of my grandparents and everyone, but I was happy that I at least got a couple.

After we were done at the stockyards and dropped my granparents back off, we were off to run our errands and then get Brandt's H1N1 shot. Let me just tell you how excited he was! Thank goodness the line was mostly gone when we got there cause he was fighting me and screaming the second we got in the door.

We were able to spend the afternoon at my mom's, and Brandt and Rylie got to play (and fight.) Rylie doubled up his fist and popped Brandt in the nose twice; well-deserved I might add. Then we (Brandt and I) were off to Bev's wedding. Everything was beautiful and I was glad we were able to make it. Afterward's we went and visited my grandparents so they could see Brandt in his cute new suit. He had fun playing with all their toys, getting into their candy stashes, and giving them "rides" in their recliners. It was an exhausting day, but a fun one, too!

Brandt's Secret

2009-10-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

Brandt has loved telling his "secret" for the past few months. He constantly tells all who will listen that he's having a baby. He then will usually say that it's a baby sister. This is something he's stuck to despite his dad's diligent efforts in teaching him to say it's a brother since that's what our ultrasound 3 wks looked like (not %100 for sure keep in mind). He will argue that it is a sister no matter how many times we tell him it may be a brother. Well, he's right for today at least. We had another U/S this afternoon, and while it was mostly wiggling and crossing it's legs again, the few good glimpses we did get looked like a girl. Either way, it's VERY active and so darn cute. It was even sucking it's thumb today (I really need to get one of our pics of it on here). Guess we'll see if we can see a gender for sure when we have our next one in a couple weeks. But for now, we'll just have to be ok with Brandt saying that he's having a baby sister.

Pizza for Breakfast

2009-10-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

Since I've been pregnant and sick, Brandt and Bryce have been neglected to say the least. Thankfully my mom often takes care of meals for us, and while Bryce isn't always the most resourceful, Brandt is. For example, this morning when I was just finishing getting ready for work, I heard his bedroom door open, pitter-patter footsteps to the fridge, and then the sound of him getting out his sippy of milk. Or so I thought. A few minutes later when I finally peaked out to check on him this is what I found.
He found some leftover pizza in the fridge and was helping himself. He got the lid off the dip by himself (he has to have dip for everything) and was going to town on the cold pizza (yuck!)

He spilled some sauce on the floor, but by the time I got my car started and back in the house to clean it up he'd already taken care of it. He looked up at me and said "licked it, mom!" Such a good little helper!!

Family Reunions 2009 continued (Pugmire version)

2009-09-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in the previous post, the Pugmire campout is always my favorite event of the summer. This year I wasn't so sure that I was going to have much fun since I was pregnant and sick and Bryce wasn't going with us so I wouldn't have his help with my little wild man. Thankfully I also knew that I have the best family ever and that I really wouldn't be on my own. I was right. My parents were a lot of help, and Jared, Lisa and family went above and beyond, from helping me set up my tent next door to theirs (and by next door I mean about 2 feet away) to helping me chase Brandt numerous times. Kelli and Rylie got to camp out the whole weekend and Jana and Amanda were able to stay part of the time as well. Curtis was there,too, although I don't think he did much "camping" since I think he spent most of the night playing cards and such. My cousin Amy and her daughter got to spend one night with us and a lot of my Aunt Jan's family was able to come for one day. My grandparent's even made it for a day, and I think they enjoyed visiting with everyone even if it did completely wear them out. Overall, the William Pugmire part of the family was pretty well represented. My biggest regret of the weekend was that I forgot my camera and was unable to take any pictures. Thankfully I was able to "borrow" a few from a very kind cousin (Thanks Jesi!). Brandt is very social and had a great time playing with the other cousins. One of his favorite things was dancing with Kylie who so cute to take time out from her own fun to dance with him. The following pictures were all taken during the testimony meeting while he was playing with the farm animals and tractors that my mom so wisely packed. It was so nice to have something capture his attention enough that I could listen to what has always been my favorite part of the reunion.

I can't figure out how to rotate this one, but maybe one day I'll figure it out.

Don't my parents look thrilled? Maybe they're just really intently listening...

I love that Brandt got to play with some of his 3rd (or whatever generation :) cousins as well as had the chance to play with Rylie. In the background are the Hillier's with poor Gabe who met some bees/wasps.

Brandt was so into playing that he never did look up for any of the pictures, little booger.

Cute shot of the other cousins, though. Overall it ended up being a great weekend and I'm glad we were able to go. It always makes me stop and think about how rich my heritage is and how very blessed I am. Thanks to all who help make it a huge success every year. NO EMPTY CHAIRS!!

Family Reunions 2009

2009-09-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

The focal point of my every summer since childhood is the Pugmire family reunion/campout. The past 2 yrs I have been blessed to also have a Thompson family reunion/campout as well. Brandt especially had so much fun at both of them. Our Thompson reunion was the first weekend in August and was attended by almost everyone this year, minus Lisa's family. I was able to get some pictures of a few of Brandt's favorite activities. Riley Wells' roping steer was a hit.

Look at that concentration...

Getting a little help untangling himself from the rope from Adam.

Brandt's wagon was very popular again this year. Here he is with Emmett and Tommy, Adam and Erin's boys.

Whitney spent a lot of time pulling them around, as did some of the other older cousins- yay for me!

Most of Brandt's time was spent following the big boys around. He thought he was just as big as they were and they were good to humor him.

"Stick 'em up!"

He also had fun playing in the dirt with his trucks. In this one he's with Adrie. He also had his big Tonka trucks with him and before long the kids were pushing them (and riding them) down the hill. There were only a few crashes, but no broken bones or stitches, so it was all good.

Doug, Shellie, Kaylen, Tara, and Kevin kicken' back in the shade.

Bryce, Angela, Matt, and Tiffany. Thanks, love you, too, Brycie! And now for my very favorite pictures...

Brandt discovered that it was lots of fun to hang out under the picnic table and play in the dirt.

I finally talked him into coming out so I could try to get a couple good pictures to show off just how dirty he was.

They still don't do the filth justice- he was covered from head to toe, inside and out!!
And loved every minute of it!!!!

To be continued...

Christmas in August and The Naked Cowboy Rides Again

2009-08-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Brandt's cousin Riley (Wells) handed down some of his toys, including a big red barn that Santa made for him a few years ago, horses, tools and tool belt, lego dumptruck and loader, and a basketball game. Brandt was so excited and told my parents to come see his "Christmas."
He wanted his picture taken with his new stuff. In this one he really is excited and saying cheese, not constipated...

The horse also had to have his picture taken and even said cheese.

Posing with his tool belt. And now for the really fun poses...

Brandt doesn't always feel there's a need for clothes and tends to strip down whenever I'm not paying attention for a minute.

He was bucking in circles on his bucking bull, and then it got a little wild and he bucked off...

No worries, he got up and right back on again...
And off he rides into the sunset...

Every now and again Brandt will bring my camera to me and want his picture taken. I thought these ones were pretty cute.

Don't you agree???

BRANDT HAVE BABY, TOO!

2009-08-12T08:20:00.000-07:00

For about the past month or so Brandt's been saying "Brandt have baby, too." Everyone laughed and chalked it up to some of his aunts having babies in the next few months and thinking he was just copying his cousins. Guess everyone should have payed a little better attention to him cause he was right! Don't ask me how he knew cause it was a shock to us! It took us 4 yrs and fertility drugs to get Brandt and this one wasn't even close to planned. Bryce says it's maybe a good thing since otherwise it may not have happened again anytime soon since I was so miserable with the last pregnancy. I still don't know how I'm going to survive this time and try to chase my little wild man and work, but I'm trying to remember that it must be meant to be. Thankfully my parents are close by and so supportive and helpful! I know for sure I couldn't do it without them. I'm due in March and will be just a few weeks behind my sister, so it should be fun to have babies so close together, as long as we can both survive being sick up until then. As for now, we'll see how many people believe Brandt buddy when he tells them "Brandt have baby, too!"

24th of July Jr. Rodeo

2009-08-05T11:46:00.000-07:00

My sister Kelli lives in Cokeville and they always have a huge 24th of July celebration. Rylie was finally old enough this year to ride a sheep in the Jr. rodeo, so Brandt and I went over with my parents to watch. It was the funnest little rodeo I've ever been to! Brandt even sat still to watch a lot of it. I signed him up to do the stick horse race and while he was excited for that, he really wanted to ride a sheep like Rylie.

Anxiously awaiting their events with grandma, grandpa, and Kelli.

Braydee was also in the stick horse race and was nice enough to let Brandt borrow her stick horse in order to "warm up" in the stands. :)

Rylie was the youngest (and best if I might add) little sheep rider there, and rode his sheep to the other end of the arena where he finally went off and then did about 4 back flips! He landed on his behind and was holding his head crying. Of course we all thought he was hurt, but come to find out he was just upset cause his cowboy had fell off and he didn't know where it was!
Soon it was Brandt's turn to shine. He was so excited that he left the starting line before they even told him to and headed for the first barrel.

He got a little confused in which way he should go after the first barrel, so Ashley's husband Cody was nice enough to help him through it. He had so much fun that when he crossed the finish line and I was trying to give him a high five, he turned around and ran for the first barrel again. I had to go after him and carry him back kicking and screaming so the next little kid could go. After both boys were done "competing" bampa gave them each a 5$ bill. Brandt has been pretending to ride sheep and buck off as well as riding his stick horse around the barrels ever since.

Splish-Splash

2009-07-28T09:45:00.001-07:00

I obviously still have the same problem with uploading pictures from my phone, so these are way small pictures. Sure wish they were bigger so you could get the full effect of the cute faces Brandt pulls. He loves water and especially loves the bubbles that grandma Thompson gave him. He says they're bampa's bubbles cause she told him that grandpa likes bubble baths, too.

Isn't he so cute???

It's hard to believe it, but when he lies down in our tub now he almost goes from one end to the other! He's grown so much!

This particular day he decided to give his cows and horses a bath in a bucket in the kitchen sink. I swear I only turned around for a few seconds and next thing I knew he had his diaper off and was in the bucket. He said he was taking a bath with his "manimals." What a silly kid!

Family, Fun, and Freedom

2009-07-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

I failed to take any pictures on the 4th this year; not sure what I was thinking. So, I guess I can just tell about the highlights. The day started with our traditional not-so-early-in -the-morning family breakfast at my house. We thought about not having it this year since my grandparents weren't going to be able to be there now that they are at the manor and my sisters couldn't come either. Since I have always been a lover of tradition, my mom and I decided to carry on no matter how few in number we were. We ended up having a nice, quiet time with my parents and Van and Cindy. Well, sorta quiet I guess; Brandt was still there and there isn't much quietness about him! After that we were off to the Paris Parade. It was pretty good this year with quite a few interesting entries. I especially liked the old tractors and truck entered by the Glenn Rich family. Brandt like the fire engine with Smokey Bear. He was actually more interested in playing with the black lab next to us than he was watching the parade or trying to catch candy. Later in the afternoon we headed to Georgetown to have dinner with Bryce's family. Brandt had a great time playing in the little swimming pool with Jolie and the other cousins. After dinner we went to Montpelier to watch the fireworks; unfortunately Brandt fell asleep on the way there and wouldn't wake up for them. I'm not so sure he would have liked them much anyway since he doesn't like any type of loud noises.

Bryce's family tradition used to be to either go to the east side of the lake with the Hemmerts for a picnic and swimming or go to their house in Liberty to celebrate, but they haven't really done that since Bryce's grandpa passed away. The 4th of July was Don's favorite holiday I think and he loved making a big deal out of it with all of his family. He always made sure that we had a memorable day, especially with all the big fireworks that were set off at the ball diamond at the end of the evening. He was a very patriotic man, and there is even a flag painted on the roof of the mill by their house courtesy of Bryce's uncle Jeff. We all are reminded of him and miss him even more around holidays like this.

My growing up memories of the fourth include doing fireworks at our house prior to the 4th for Kelli's b-day, which is on the 3rd. The celebration on the 4th would start with the Lewiston parade, which was beyond huge! The day continued with vendors and free entertainment at the park, softball games across the street, and the rodeo. It was always the funnest day hanging out with my Bodily cousins. The finale was the Lewiston fireworks which were always amazing, and then the long drive (at least for my dad) back to Bear Lake. It's really not a long drive, but since the rest of us slept I bet it was a long drive for my dad who had to be exhausted from the day's events. Amazing the sacrifices our parents make that we never think about til later. I sure do miss the time spent in Lewiston with my family and am thankful for the memories I have. I hope that Brandt will be able to enjoy our little holiday traditions that we've started, especially on the 4th when we celebrate our gift of freedom, so that one day he can appreciate his memories of our family as well.

Rope 'n Run

2009-07-09T12:44:00.000-07:00

The Wells cousins participate in Rope 'n Run at the fairgrounds all summer and Brandt has decided that he loves going to watch. Mostly because uncle Kevin spoils him and lets him ride their horses with them in between events.
Kaylen is the oldest cousin and also the most patient with him. She has such a calm, mothering way about her and Brandt adores her. Of course it didn't hurt that she let him ride with her all over...

Adrie also let him hang out on Skip with her a couple different times. He loves her, too, and is constantly asking to go play with her.

He didn't have a chance to ride with Riley this time, but maybe one day. I'm sure we'll be going to more of their rodeos this summer since they have them on Monday nights and it's a cheap and fun family home evening. Besides, I love being an aunt and being able to stay involved with their lives and watching them grow and develop their skills. I couldn't ask to be related to better kids!

Willow Park June 09

2009-07-08T12:26:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Brandt and I went to Logan with my parents for the day. Usually we do the marathon shopping day since we hardly ever go down that way, but this time I talked them into having lunch at Willow Park and spending some time there. Bryce and I took Brandt there last year and he loved it, especially feeding the ducks. Brandt was so excited to see the "manimals" that he wouldn't eat a thing, so the picnic part didn't work out so great since I ended up chasing him and trying to hold him on my lap while we ate (anyone who has seen me at church with him knows this isn't an easy task!) Finally, it was time to walk through the zoo part and he loved it.

He loved the monkeys
and this huge turtle that crawled right over to him, which he thought was pretty awesome.

One of the most awaited parts was the place where he got to feed the ducks. My dad was so cute with him. He spent a lot of time with him buying duck food and then helping him throw it through to the ducks. I think they both enjoyed it, and my mom and I enjoyed watching them.It didn't take long for Brandt to figure out that in order to get the food he had to turn the little knob on the vending machine.

Brandt kept sticking his fingers through the fence to feed the ducks and thought it was hilarious everytime one of them would bite his finger.This same little mallard duck kept coming back over and over and Brandt just kept letting him bite his fingers and looking up at me with the funniest looks. Of course, I never got a good picture of that part.

Buddy and me by the duck pond. Somehow my mom once again escaped without having her picture taken. As soon as we got home, Brandt started rattling off all the animals we had seen to his dad, plus a few that he must have imagined including bears. Some of his favorites were of course the monkeys, turtles and ducks, but also the snake, elk ("melk"), baby deer, coyotes, "lions" (actually bobcats) and all the millions of birds. What a fun, quiet, shady place to hang out in the summer and we can't wait to go again.

Things to do while riding in a car...

2009-07-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

Brandt is usually pretty good in the car, especially when he has something to entertain him. He loves to go places and knows multiple important landmarks along the way to wherever we're going. For example, on the way to Green Canyon, he knows where Joslyn's house is and which road goes to Van and Cindy's. He knows where to "get mail" and always begs to "go in" when we drive by. He knows where every cow, horse, tractor, and donkey is along the way to Montpelier, and always makes sure to point out "Mammon's house" (Ammon's house) and the choo-choo train.
A couple weeks ago when we went to town we stopped to get the mail first. He always gets a sucker there and opens it before we get back to the car. He tried to stay awake long enough to eat it, but was asleep before we got out of St. Charles. So cute! Love the crazy hat hair!

If he doesn't fall asleep, he usually comes up with some crazy thing to entertain himself. This particular day we were coming home from visiting my grandparents at the Manor and he was acting like a puppy (he does this a lot lately). He started out barking and panting and soon moved on to licking his legs.

As if that's not bad enough, he then worked his way to his nasty dirty feet (he'd been playing outside in water shoes all day).

He got a pretty big kick out of himself, and I had to agree that he was pretty funny, too.

Family Fun

2009-07-03T08:20:00.000-07:00

After we moved the cows up to the forest, we stopped at Van and Cindy's to see Aunt Darlene, Debbie Cornia, and her daughters Shay and Colette who were here visiting. Good luck seeing the pictures since I still haven't figured out how to make them bigger. (please, please help someone!)

Debbie, Cindy, and Aunt Darlene

Aunt Darlene, Shay, and my parents in the background
Jana holding Amanda Jean, Colette, and Shay

Kelli talking to Aunt Darlene

Brandt found a new favorite friend in Colette. He absolutely loved playing with her!
Bryson, my dad, and Van
Brandt kept escaping out the doors to go outside, so this time I let him go. He headed straight to his favorite place, the garage, and was soon pounding nails in this board with bampa Van.

I've always loved spending time visiting with family, and this was no exeption. Although, seeing Aunt Darlene reminds me how much I miss Uncle Dale being with her as well as Geeg and Duane. Whenever we used to go visit in Garden City it seemed like the 4 of them were there together playing cards or trying to "one up" each other. In more recent years it was just Dale and Darlene at Aunt Geeg's, and now just down to Aunt Darlene. Makes me sad but also thankful for the fun memories that I do have.

Moving Cows Again?!?

2009-07-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

First of all, I don't know what the heck I did, but I can't figure out how to get these pictures that I uploaded from my phone back to the regular size. If anyone has any ideas, please give me a clue! On Sat. June 27th we were able to move the cows up on the forest, so we loaded up the kids and followed the "guys" on horses and cows up the canyon.

Rylie and Brandt enjoyed watching out the window while Bryce, Kevin, bampa, and T were trying to round up the cows.
My mom and dad's favorite little people: Rylie, Brandt, and Amanda Jean.

Jana, Amanda, Kelli, grandma, Brandt, Rylie. It was such a nice day that we let the kids play outside while we waited for the cows and cowboys to catch up.And here they come-(looks a lot better in the "normal size version" )

Rylie got to ride for awhile with his dad. He's quite the little cowboy.

Cool shades Amanda Jean! She loves her aunt Kelli who swears that she's the favorite aunt.

Amanda also got a turn to ride with grandpa for a bit.

Must have worn her right out! She was tired all morning but wouldn't go to sleep for the rest of us. Within a minute or two of my dad holding her she was out. Guess he's the one with the magic touch!When we got back to my parent's Brandt apparantly didn't think the work was done cause he put on T's boots, bampa's gloves and tried heading out the door to go "fix fence."

He cracks me up every day! Hope he's still so willing to work as he gets older...

Moving Cows

2009-06-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

2 days ago we brought the cows down from dry canyon to get them ready to go back up on the forest. Brandt got to ride with bampa on Dunny for part of the time and loved it!!
He didn't even seem to mind the millions of mosquitoes too much (they were getting him even though we sprayed him.) When we got closer to the highway Brandt got off (unwillingly, if you can imagine that) and helped me keep the cows from going in people's yards. Then we walked behind them for part of the time and he thought that was pretty fun, too. Oh how I love summer evenings!

Riding Rock

2009-06-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, my Brandt is all boy and all cowboy. Last week Van got a new horse named Rock, and Brandt got to sit on him. He thought it was so fun and didn't want to get off.

He also spoiled him with pellets and kept wanting to give him more and more til Van finally had to hide them and say they were gone. He wasn't afraid of Rock at all and kept just running up to him and trying to pet him and hug him. Thankfully the horse seems to be a patient one and didn't kick him or anything.

Brandt and daddy...
After we were done seeing the horse, he had to go check on the puppies of course. Can't believe how grown up he's starting to look!

PB & J

2009-06-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

Brandt has definitely reached a point of independence. A couple days ago I apparently didn't feed him lunch when he was ready for it because he climbed up and started making his own PB&J sandwich. He actually didn't do too bad and the mess was minimal compared to what I thought it would be! :)
First the jelly,

then the peanut butter,

Ta-da!!

He sorta didn't get it put together in a sandwich, so he just enjoyed the 2 pieces one at a time,

licking the jelly off first, then working on the bread.

"Wash hands, mommy, wash hands!" Oh how I love my little guy even if he does make messes! I wouldn't change it for the cleanest house in the world!

Riding the stick horse to grandma's

2009-06-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

This morning when I was trying to get Brandt ready to go to my mom's for the day, he decided that he was riding there on his stick horse instead of going in the car. So he grabbed his hat, horse, and an apple and out the door he went, still in his jammies of course.

I had to chase him around the deck a few times before I could get him to come with me, but he was so cute I had to laugh about it.

Then he had to stop and let the horse eat the apple...
Getting closer; finally worked his way down the steps where I just had to grab him and put him in the car before he ran again. What a fun morning!

Missing Grandma

2009-06-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

My Grandma Bodily passed away 2 yrs ago today. At the time it was hard for me because I had just had Brandt, but one of the highlights was that I got to take him to see her a couple times before she died. Because she'd had a stroke it was difficult for her to talk, but she made it very clear that she how happy she was to see him and kept saying that he was a "sweet baby" and a "cute baby." Thankfully I had my camera with me at one of the visits, so we were able to get a 4 generation picture with Brandt, me, my mom, and my grandma. What a treasure now!! There are so many things that I miss about my grandma that I never really even thought of when I was younger. I miss her calls on my birthday, I miss staying with her in the summer and over Christmas break, I miss her honesty (never thought I would miss having someone tell me exactly what they thought about my new hair or weight, good or bad...), I miss being able to find just about anything you could imagine in the freezer (potato chips for example :), I miss the licorice drawer, I miss her flower and veggie gardens, especially since she used to save some things like green peppers just for me cause she knows I love them, etc. Grandma was always a very hard worker and I strive to make that one of my traits as well. One thing that I always admired about my grandma was her ability to make beautiful things with her hands; she made quilts, doilies, afghans, dish towels, and more for all of her grandkids as well as a temple apron for each of us when we had our temple weddings. It is one of my most treasured possessions and I love how it reminds me of my grandma and her love for temple work whenever I have the opportunity to wear it. My mom tries hard to hide her emotions, but I know she misses her even more than I do. They used to talk on the phone almost every day and especially when anything big or exciting happened with the grandkids. I think it was one way that she and my mom could really connect. I'm sure that my mom would have lots of entertaining stories to tell her now since she watches Brandt every day, which would have cracked her up, but I'm also sure that grandma is still keeping track of us and gets to see a lot of the crazy things her grandkids and great grandkids do first hand. And she probably says what good kids they are even when they're naughty sometimes since that's the sort of thing she would say when she was here.

Fixen' Fence, Getten' Muddy

2009-06-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Brandt and I got to go help the bampa's (bampa Lloyd and bampa Van) fence. Van brought an extra hammer for Brandt to use so he was seriously in 7th heaven. He pounded away at the staples and also the barbed wire (oh well, he had fun) and thought it was the greatest thing he'd ever done. He got to ride around in the ranger with bampa Van half the day and thought he was just as big as the adults. He shared bampa Van's sandwich, chips, and coke and while bampa Lloyd was away from the ranger he drank most of his Dr. Pepper. When my dad got back and tried to take a drink finding that it was mostly gone, he looked at Brandt and asked him what happened to his pop. With pure innocence and a shrug of his shoulders, Brandt answered "I dunno." Hilarious!!
So Tuesday as soon as the rain cleared up, Brandt put on his boots, hat, and gloves, grabbed his play hammer and screwdriver, and was ready to go to work. When I asked him where he was going he answered "fixen' fence."

Look at that concentration...

After his work was done it was time to play. This was the only big mud puddle left from the storm earlier, and of course it was the only place Brandt wanted to ride his bike.

Another one of those "innocent" looks, sorta like "who me? play in the mud?" By the time we went in the house he was covered from head to toe and ready for a bubble bath. What a fun day!

Might as Well Laugh About it Now

2009-06-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

My parents gave me Marie Osmond's book for Mother's Day and it has really made me try to recommit to not stressing the small stuff. Her theory is if you're going to laugh about it one day, might as well not waste time getting upset about it now. It's a lot easier to get through the tough times, which are plentiful these days, with humor and optimism. I'm finding this is so true as the mom of a very busy 2 yr old. It took so long to get him here that I'm trying hard to enjoy every minute I have with him. Sometimes that's not easy after a stressful day of work when I'm exhausted and he wants to push every button I have, but I'm learning that we both get along a lot better if we laugh more. For example, last Sunday after a not-so-pleasant church experience since Brandt really didn't want to be there, we went home where he very quickly started to get into mischief.

He loves grapes and grabbed a whole bunch of them to eat instead of just a couple at a time like usual. He then proceeded to put them down on the floor, pant like a puppy, and pick them from the vine with his teeth. I maybe should have gotten after him, but instead I think I said "oh brother" and started to laugh. Of course that only made him be more dramatic about it, but I figured I could either start off the afternoon yelling or we could laugh about it and hopefully change the mood of the day into a happier one. Besides....

just look at that innocent face!!

PS I eventually did take the grapes away (after we'd had a good giggle over the whole thing), washed them again, and gave him a few in a little bowl to eat, so maybe I'm not a completely neglectful mother...

Memorial Sunday (be prepared for a million pictures)

2009-06-03T11:09:00.000-07:00

Getting together with extended family has always been my favorite part of holidays. Unfortunately my mom's side hasn't gotten together much since my grandma passed away 2 yrs ago. She would be so ashamed!! So my aunt Vicki decided to take it upon herself to remedy the problem and planned a get together for Memorial Sunday. It was so, so nice to see everyone. Brandt wasn't so sure about it at first because it had been raining so we were all inside the house, but then he found a new friend who took pity on him and took him outside...
Uncle Eddie took him out to see all the animals and he loved it! Somehow he even got Brandt to hold his hand without running away.Brandt is telling bampa all about the dogs he saw outside. Love the hands on the hips pose.

Lauren (Mandy's little one) kept wanting her picture taken, but I could never get one with her eyes open. Check out that beautiful red hair!

Mandy and Megan...

Aaron, Jana, Amanda, and Katie... Aaron must be in deep thought or something. :)

Love this one of Sharon- cracks me up!

It's a small, small world. In this picture are cousins from each side of my family; Tony Bodily and his girlfriend Melissa Pugmire. Isn't she a cutie???

Amber is so photogenic- I was trying to get everyone else in the room to smile for me, too, but none of the others got it down quite as well as she did.

Like my brother for example who kept either ducking his head or closing his eyes.

Some things never change, like BSing around the dinner table long after the food is gone. In theis picture we have 1/2 of Uncle Eddie, my dad, Uncle Ted, and Bart. In the background my mom and Uncle Steve are looking up grave sites on his computer.

Brandt was obsessed with going upstairs and playing and especially loved playing with the big ball on the stairs.

Steve, Vicki, Amanda Jean, and Eddie

I love the variety of poses in this one-cracks me up!

Bart's wife Katie and their baby Heidi- such a cutie!

Brandt loved the hippety-hop thing (anyone have a better name?). I remember playing with the same one when I stayed there as a kid.

Amanda Jean with a mouth full of my cookie.

Brandt showing off, I'm sure. Actually I think he was probably showing them how bulls or horses buck or something.

More BSing, this time in the kitchen. :)

Brandt also made new friends in Uncle Steve and Bart and Katie's Brindley. They went all over outside checking out the animals and playing.
Haven't seen this forever! This was my great-grandma's (Gram) car. Cracks me up cause she was so insistant on driving it when she really shouldn't have been driving it that they finally took the tires off and put it up on blocks.

Brindley and Brandt had a lot of fun playing together. From the pictures you'd never guess she's almost a yr older, would ya?

Brandt's other new friend "Snoopers". They shared many hugs and kisses. Thank heavens for patient animals when Brandt is around. Brindley asked to have their picture taken with the puppy. She's so dang cute!

All in all, it was such a fun day to get together and get reaquainted, especially with the little ones who are growing up so fast! Hopefully we won't wait another two years to do it again. Thanks so much to Aunt Vicki for arranging everything; you're the best!!

Moving Cows

2009-06-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

Memorial weekend marked that it was time to put the cows up to range. Saturday was moving day and came pretty early at our house. Brandt had been excited to move cows all week, but when the time came he wasn't quite as excited to get up at 6:30 am. So...I let him go in his favorite monkey jammies and of course his cowboy boots and hat.
Bryce let us ride on the wheeler with him for part of the time and it was a ton of fun.

This was the moving crew: my mom, my dad, Rylie, Brandt, and bampa Van.

Not a great picture of Bryce, but shows off Brandt's moving cows outfit.

Bampa, Brandt, and Rylie. My dad's so patient with them and spoils them way more than he ever did us! :D

When we got back to the house, Uncle Jaren was moving his cows so the two boys went out on the step to watch. I know Brandt looks a bit under dressed for the occasion, but he actually prefers it this way.

What a cute cowboy I have!!

Cokeville Trip (only like 2 wks ago...)

2009-05-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

Um, so ya, I'm just a little behind. A couple weekends ago we went to visit Kelli, Kevin, and Rylie in Cokeville.

When we got there Kevin and some of their friends were getting ready to go for a ride, so they let the kids ride around on Kelli's horse, Chile, first.

Rylie and Brandt rode around for quite a while. Brandt wanted to wear his hat, too, but it kept hitting Rylie in the face so he had to leave it off.

After a few rounds, they had Braydee (Brandt's cousin on Bryce's side and Rylie's friend in Cokeville) get on with them. It was definitely a cozy ride! Good thing Chile is so patient with them.

Of course, I could never get them all to look at me and smile at the same time.

Just the boys again (and Kelli I guess.)

So dang cute!

Just a little squishy is all!

Brandt was not ready to get off when the time came, but he got over it pretty fast since Rylie has so many fun toys to check out. (Ashley, Braydee, Rylie, Brandt, Kelli, oh and can't forget Chile)

This "toy" was a huge hit. Brandt figured out how to drive it on his own and before any of us could catch him he ran into the garage and went over the steering wheel. Of course, I didn't have my camera handy. He wanted to get right back on it, but since we didn't really feel like heading to the ER on a nice Sunday afternoon, we talked him into sitting in the trailor and letting Rylie drive him around. Not sure if that was really a safer option or not... :)

They made quite a few trips up and down the lane, giggling and having fun the entire time.

For some reason Brandt decided to bail out! Rylie didn't skip a beat, just kept right on going. Brandt got up laughing and wanted right back in.
In this one the wild little driver was laughing like crazy and trying to run me over. What a goof!

We had a lot of fun. Brandt was so covered with dirt we had to throw him in Kelli's tub so grandpa would let him back in his truck for the ride home. He sobbed when we left cause he wanted to stay with Rylie. Not for long though, he was worn out and slept most of the way home. Obviously Bryce was worn out, too. Once again, how could I resist the daddy and son sleeping pictures?

Camping Out- Sorta

2009-05-22T13:27:00.000-07:00

My dad gave Brandt this tent, and he loves it!! Loves playing in it, loves sleeping in it, loves hiding in it when he's in trouble...loves it!

I think these were actually in the middle of the day, but Brandt was pretending to go "night-night" and wanted his dad to join him, so Bryce humored him. The butt up in the air position actually is how Brandt usually sleeps. So cute!

So, he's been sleeping in the tent almost every night for the last week now. Kinda like camping out only with all the comforts of home (other than the floor really is hard.) For a few nights, his favorite sleeping partner was a baby doll from my mom's that he calls Amanda Jean's baby.

This particular morning I found the baby in the tent by herself...

and Brandt soundly sleeping on the couch. The kid seriously does not hold still- even in his sleep!

"Green Acres is the place to be..."

2009-05-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

Farm liven' is the life for Brandt! He loves every minute of it! He's already caught on to the fact that if he asks grandpa, he gets to ride in the tractor everyday and feed every living animal on the place.

My dad put a seat belt in the little side seat, so he can strap the grandkids in and go. This is especially handy for the busiest one of all, which would be mine.

Brandt could sit and play in the tractor for hours even though he isn't going anywhere. We have to watch him pretty close cause he already knows how to turn on the key and then tries to shift gears and go.

Sure looks like he knows what he's doing, huh?

When my dad tried to take over the driver's seat again he had a battle on his hands. He heard the ever famous "go away, Brandt do it!! " from my adoreable little one.

Proof that my dad and brother really can work together without killing each other...sometimes. This time they had to put the fence back together thanks to a neighbor's bulls breaking through and getting in with ours. Brandt thought it was pretty fun to watch them fighting (the bulls that is, not my dad and Curtis).

He had fun playing with "T" and being thrown in the air.

Trying to get a better view of daddy and T riding the 4-wheeler through the field and splashing in the water. Brandt thought it was hilarious and is still talking about it. He especially thought it was funny when Bandit (the dog) was on the back of the wheeler trying to hold on and getting covered with water and mud.

Feeding the cows...

Visiting the horses...

Love that grin.

"Brandt do it!" My dad was trying to hold his hand, but no... he's holding his own hand. Not sure where he got that from, but he's been doing it for a few weeks. How do they come up with these things?
Getting grass to feed the bunnies. Notice in the far left corner my dad pulling more grass.
Feeding the "bop-bops" AKA hop-hops.
Loving on the kitty and then he fed it soon after. Before all was said and done he fed the horses, cows, bunnies, puppy (only one, my dad had to put poor Roo down :( ), kitties, and fish. My dad says he wears him out just trying to watch him cause he's so busy, and I'm pretty sure he's right, but also pretty sure he loves it. How blessed we are to live where we do and have the opportunities that we do. I love that Brandt can learn valueable lessons in caring for animals, being responsible, and working hard on a farm, not to mention appreciating the great outdoors. So, as far as Brandt and I are concerned, "Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside."

Brandt's Belated Birthday Party

2009-05-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

Since Brandt was sick for his birthday, we decided to combine his party with mother's day a week later. While Bryce and Brandt were hanging out waiting for the party to get started, Brandt decided to get out one of his very favorite b-day presents from G&G Pugmire- tape. He loves the stuff, so they gave him 2 rolls of his very own.
He did a pretty good job of getting it wrapped all around himself.

This isn't a great pic, but it's clear down around his leg and ankle, and he's now trying to get it off and yelling "help mom, help mom."

This time he went to dad for help to get untangled.

Then he stood there willingly and let Bryce tape him all up again. Such a good helper dad is!

Finally it was time for pizza. Everyone was able to come exept Kelli, Kevin, and Rylie.

Of course, Amanda Jean was one of the most anticipated party guests for Brandt and he gave her plenty of loves when she got there. He even let her wear his cowboy hat and ride his bull.

We were even able to bring my grandparents home from Bear Lake Manor for the evening, and although I think it completely wore them out, it was nice to have them there.

Brandt decided to boycott his highchair for the night and proceeded to give assigned seats to bampa and mamaw- one on each side of him. Guess he deserves to be the boss for the day for his birthday, right?

I just missed it with the camera, but I think that my dad and Brandt had just been sticking their tongues out at each other, with a mouth full of food no less. So mature....

Brandt buddy started sneaking frosting before we could even get a picture of him with his Curious George cake (take 2- since he had one last w/e too).

He looked up at me like "who me? Did I do something wrong?"

Decided to let him blow out candles on his own piece of cake so we for sure wouldn't share any germs with great grandma and grandpa. He had it down a lot better than last week this time and didn't even have to have any help.

I think this one is actually out of order, but who has time to fix it :) He was trying to wait patiently to blow while we sang to him, but was still blowing, so Bryce held it away from him til we finished.

Who needs a fork to eat cake? Brandt's been on this kick lately where he acts like a puppy, including when it comes to eating. It may be messier, but I think it's so cute and hilarious.

Don't they look so grown up already sitting up to the table by each other eating birthday cake and ice cream? Just kills me that Amanda just turned one and Brandt two.

Ahh, there we go, finally the fork...

or not...

oh, and who needs napkins? Brandt just licks himself clean. Also hilarious! He actually cleaned up most of his drips with his own tongue; now that's talent!

Look at that adorable little messy face posing for me!!

All in all, we had a fun night! Brandt loved all the food, presents, and the family that came over to spend his day with him, and we appreciate all the support our family gives us. Sure wish that the Payne's could have been here, but I'm sure we'll catch up with them again soon. Still trying to adjust to the fact that my baby's 2! Oh how I love him!

Fencing Fun

2009-05-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when there's lots of outside work to be done on a farm, including fencing. Brandt thinks it's the best, even if he's just watching from the car, but this time he got to ride in the "tractor with bampa ban" AKA grandpa Van.
Bryce only looks like he's working hard...

This tractor has a little seat with a seat belt in it, so it works great for Brandt. He loves Van and he loves riding in the tractor, so he couldn't be happier!

I love this face! He always does this and says a really excited "oh" whenever he sees something he likes. I think when I caught this picture he was looking at either his dad or a baby calf. When the fencing was done, Van let him ride with him up to his house so he could go in and see "mamaw Ban" AKA Cindy. He loves going to their house and going up and down their stairs, playing on the keyboard, eating whatever goodies happen to be on the bar, and just being spoiled with their attention. Of course it didn't hurt that this time they gave him a Mr. Potato Head for his b-day, which he loves! The next morning when I took him to my mom's, he told me that bampa ban was going to come take him in the tractor again. I don't think he ever forgets things like that...

Happy Birthday Brandt Baby

2009-05-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

Brandt turned 2 on Mon, May 4th. Poor little guy ended up being sick and throwing up for his birthday, but perked up enough by that night to at least be able to open presents.
As soon as he would open something he would take it over to show it off to "bampa and mamaw and T" before moving on to the next one.

He was so excited to get his Curious George movies, as were we, since that now means we can watch something other than the same few episodes we have saved on the DVR over and over and over and over...

And for the big finale...his very own guitar. Whenever he goes to the Hillier's he loves playing with Gabe's and really loves music, so we thought it's a good talent to encourage. That night he sobbed when I finally made him put it away so he could go to bed. He wanted to sleep with it. So, it ended up being a pretty good day, but can't wait to have the other part of his birthday when we do pizza and cake this weekend.

2 yr Well Child Check

2009-05-06T16:53:00.000-07:00

Brandt loves Dr. Campbell and loves to have check ups. He's so good to sit and let him listen to his heart and look in his ears and everything. He does get bored in the little room and tries to escape, but as long as doc strategically places his chair in front of the door, Brandt's pretty much stuck. As usual, his weight is toward the top of the growth chart and his height is clear above it; imagine that!!! Overall, he's doing really well. How thankful I am for a happy, healthy little boy.

Birthday Sleepover

2009-05-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Brandt loves playing with his Well's cousins, and since it's been awhile since they've been over for a sleepover, we decided to have them come over the Friday before Brandt's birthday. He was so dang excited to see them!

Adrie was trying to give him horse rides, but notice that his feet hit the ground. Also, he's so heavy she doesn't usually make it very far with him, but they sure have fun trying.

Brandt made everyone watch Curious George while they were getting ready for bed.

He was excited to be able to sleep out in the living room with them and carried out some of his stuffed animals to spend the night with him.

This picture was at about 11:30 pm; notice that Brandt and Adrie were both still wide awake. Brandt decided he wanted to sleep in Adrie's sleeping bag, so she was nice and traded him and slept with his blankies instead. He actually spent most of the night on the floor above the other kids' heads. Then toward morning he crawled across the living room and kitchen to his room and then back out into the hallway and slept there for a little while (I don't think he was really awake when he moved). Then he came back in on the couch, where he insisted on watching "George" again til he fell asleep. Before morning came, he fell off the couch on his head and finished out the night sleeping on the floor above the kids, just where he started. What a funny kid!

Midnight; Kaylen's been sound asleep for over an hour, Brandt and Adrie are still wide awake.

About 12:20, Riley's been out since before Kaylen, and Brandt and Adrie finally, finally shut their tired little eyes.

I didn't really get pictures of Saturday, but they had a lot of fun playing, watching more "George" of course, and just hanging out. Riley and Adrie kept Brandt occupied long enough that Kaylen and I could make lunch and get Brandt's Curious George cake decorated.

We had to hide the cake from him until we took it over to the Thompson's that night cause he wanted to play with the stuff on top.

He was so tired from staying up way past his bed time and not getting a nap that he was a little bear all night. My first attempt at a picture got the above response.

Then he cheered up a little when he saw that we were going to light candles for him and started trying to blow them out before they were even lit.
He wasn't quite getting it well enough, so Riley was trying to help him.

He decided to give up on the candles and start sneaking the frosting instead. Finally we got them blown out and had some cake and ice cream and he opened presents. He was excited for his Tonka Loader from grandma and grandpa T. and for bubbles and animal cookies from Matt and Tiffany. The Well's family gave him a cute book and animal flashcards that are also puzzles matching baby animals to their moms. Of course, I neglected to get any pictures of the presents part...
Another picture for Kevin's benefit- ha-ha!! :) Adrie's dang cute in this one anyway. All in all it was a fun weekend and we can't wait to have them come over again soon.

Helping Bampa

2009-04-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Brandt loves animals and especially likes grandpa's puppies. While my mom and I were filling Easter eggs (ya, this one's a little behind, oh well) he decided that they needed some food.
So, the smart little monkey went into the garage, found a bucket and a can, put a little dog food in each, and took them to the dogs. Then he was picking up food one piece at a time and feeding it to Bandit.

He made at least a dozen trips back and forth, but it was ok, cause it gave us time to fill our eggs and it meant that "bampa" didn't have to feed them when he got home. What a good boy! :)

Rub-a-dub-dub, 3 cousins in a tub...

2009-04-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

After the branding was taken care of, my sisters decided it was time to hit the hot tub. Of course the grandkids can't be left out and had to rinse off first, so when one got to get in the tub, they all had to. I wasn't in there, but my sister said Brandt was headed in diaper and all, so she hurried and at least stripped him down the rest of the way. They had so much fun and didn't want to get out until we told them that they got to go get in bampa's big tub.

Kelli, Brandt, Rylie, and Jana. Brandt wanted to be by or on Kelli most of the time, but Rylie got a little jealous about him hogging his mommy.

As usual, Curtis had Amanda Jean most of the time. She seemed to love it!

Notice how full the hot tub was by the time that many people piled into it; they had a lot of fun, though.

Brandt looks like he's trying to climb out here, but he actually wasn't ready to get out at all and threw a holy fit when I tried to get him.

The Circus That was Branding...

2009-04-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite family activities is the yearly branding of the calves. This year it was more like a circus!! It started snowing just as they were getting everything set up, but my dad decided to go for it anyway. Everything went pretty smoothly at first other than the crew was getting completely drenched! Then towards the end, one little calf caused all kinds of chaos when it slipped out before being branded. Oh how I wish I would have had my camera to catch all the action! The ground was snow-covered and slippery and wasn't all too condusive to running or making sharp corners and several people biffed it good! It started with a very impressive slide/splits move by Jared as he tried to cut off the calf going one direction and was soon followed with Kelli going down as well. Before they caught the little booger, Van did a belly-flop and my dad tried dismounting the 4-wheeler through the front handle bars, but didn't clear them and landed on them instead. Kelli also steer-wrestled a calf because it came too far through the chute and needed to be pushed back in. Finally Bryce and Jared realized what was going on and tried to help her. By the time they finished, everyone was sopping wet and muddy from head to toe. Well, except for my mom, Jana, Amanda Jean, Brandt, and me since we stayed in the van and watched the madness from there. Has to be the most hilarious branding day we've had to date.

Finally, a color other than gray!

2009-04-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

I have had to reschedule appointments for my hair to get done about a thousand times in the past couple months, but finally was able to get in this week. I decided to get some lighter colors back in it since it's been a couple years since I've had highlights and I got a little braver with the cut this time.

Can't guarantee that I'll actually fix it this good everyday and not sure how it's going to look when I wash it and leave it curly, but guess we'll see. For now it's definitely a fun change.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

2009-04-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

I am actually posting this one at the request of Bryce. Brandt has his sense of humor and teasing, and I never know what the two of them are going to come up with next. All I can say is, if one picture's worth a thousand words, wonder how many words the following are worth...

Easter Weekend

2009-04-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

Our Easter weekend was so great. Brandt got totally spoiled with all the easter egg hunts. We had already practiced at home during the week, so he had it down by the time the real thing came.

We went to the Montpelier city easter egg hunt for the first time this year, and Brandt loved it. It was indoors, which was nice since it was so cold outside, and although I felt clausterphobic with so many people, Brandt loved that part, too. He was giving the other little kids hugs even though he didn't know any of them. He got some candy, but also got some books and coupons to Subway, which I thought was way better than candy. And the best part is it only cost $1!!

Sunday morning Brandt was excited to see his basket filled with his very first baseball mitt, a Thomas the Train bouncy ball, and glow-in-the-dark stars for his bedroom. Apparantly when Bryce was growing up his Easter Bunny hid their eggs every year, so that's what our Easter bunny did this year.

It sure didn't take him very long to find the eggs hidden around the living room, and it took him even less time to start opening them and eating the candy inside.

Then it was off to church. Testimony meeting was so good and uplifting, something that I was in desperate need of, and Brandt actually made it through most of it. He probably would have made it except he could see "bampa Van" clear up toward the front of the chapel and threw a huge fit when I wouldn't let him down to go up there. He did great in Nursery. Tara does such a good job with them every week. Whenever I peeked in he seemed to be having a good time. One time when I looked in he was hugging Lily and tipped over on her so Tara was rescueing her.

After church we were off to my mom and dad's for Easter dinner and another Easter egg hunt with Rylie and Amanda Jean. Curtis pretty much hogged Amanda Jean the whole time! :)
We were all actually able to be there for the first time in a long time, and I think my parents especially liked standing back and watching their grandkids have so much fun.

Brandt grabbed one basket for himself and one for Rylie, but Rylie was using a bag so he could fit more in it, so Brandt just kept both baskets. It worked out ok until they started to get full. We tried emptying them into a bag for him, but he thought we were stealing them from him and wouldn't let us take them. So... he spent a good share of the time picking up the same eggs he had already picked up and was just dropping out of his basket as he went. He wasn't the only one who was afraid of losing his eggs; Amanda Jean didn't even want her mom to take them out of her hands to put them in her basket.

Since Rylie is the oldest, he was able to find some of the trickier ones pretty much on his own.

JACKPOT!! Bryce and Curtis hid the eggs for us, and by the time they got to these they were sick of it, so they very creatively dumped them on the ground in one pile and turned a plastic tote upside down on them. The kids thought it was the best!

Next on the list for our marathon day was Grandma Hemmert's for yet another Easter egg hunt. Brandt took Doug over to see the dog and even though it's dark (I'm not a great photographer) I thought this was so cute.

Most of the family was there other than the Hanke's, and it was fun to see all the Sleight cousins with their kids who are about Brandt's age. He had fun playing with them.

This picture is here purely for Kevin's sake since he was teasing me about not taking any pictures of him. Well, here ya go Kevin. You are officially on my blog now!! :)

Riley and Uncle Dan were playing football, and Brandt wanted to be a part of the action.

Brandt and Alexander, just hanging out. I promise I didn't make them pose like this, just sorta happened.

This is one of my most treasured pictures of the day; four generations- Grandma Jennie, Shellie, Bryce, and Brandt. What a fun way to remember the reason for Easter spending it with family. As I look around me, especially at my own little one, how deep my feelings of gratitude are for my Savior's atonement for me. I know that He lives and loves me. I hope that I can show that type of love to other's, once again, especially to my little Brandt buddy so he'll have a desire to build his own testimony.

It's a Miracle!!!

2009-04-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last Friday some really great friends gave us tickets to the Dodge finals rodeo in Pocatello. They were on the 3rd row so we had a perfect view! We weren't sure how Brandt would do because as I've mentioned about a million times he doesn't hold still-ever!! Not even when he's sleeping. Anyway, he loved the rodeo! Sat on our laps the entire 2 1/2 hours and never asked to get down once. AMAZING!!!!!! The only part he didn't like so much was when the clown set off a loud firecracker. He bawled for a minute, but then he was good to go again. He clapped and cheered for the cowboys, cowgirls, and the calves. He especially loved the rough stock events, muttin' bustin', and steer wrestling. Every time a roper would miss a calf he would clap and holler "run baby run!" It was so cute. I didn't get any good pictures of the rodeo itself, but I got these ones of Brandt and Bryce watching the horses afterwards.

As we were leaving, Brandt saw the horse trailers and begged to see the horses again. We told him the rodeo was over and it was time to go home. So, he said "hees done, hees night-night?". Over the weekend every time we saw a horse trailer he would repeat it again; "hees done, hees night-night." Saturday we noticed that instead of just riding his rocking bull and then bucking off as usual, he was also steer wrestling it. So dang cute!! Funny how they remember and connect things like that.

That's more like it!!

2009-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

No playing with barbies this weekend at grandma Thompson's (well, at least not caught on camera anyway!). Instead I captured much more masculine shots of Brandt playing with tractors with Adrie and Riley. (you're welcome, Bryce!)

Notice the Curious George shirt-oh so fitting of our little mischevious monkey! And he loves George- begs to watch "George toons" and eat "George snacks."

Riley and Brandt spent a good time of their time at grandma's playing together and wrestling.

I think these ones are so cute cause it was more like Brandt was hugging him instead of wrestling him and I love how they are grinning at each other.

Down for the count! 1..2..3....

Jolie doesn't usually want to hug Brandt much or play with him much for that matter, but guess the wrestling looked like fun and eventially she was joining in on the action. They climbed all over Kaylen and she's so patient she didn't seem to mind.

Brandt's Favorites

2009-04-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of those days when I don't feel all too positive about anything, so thought I'd try to think of fun things to help improve my mood. Here's what I came up with; a list of some of Brandt's current favorites.

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES:

1-Pretty much anything outside especially if there are animals involved. The following are obviously not current pictures-just wishful thinking for sunshine and green grass on my part.

2- Playing with cousins.
3- Whatever mommy is doing- he's my little shadow and helps with everything.
4. Watching the babies (calves) out the window from his favorite place at my mom's house.
5- Wrestling with his daddy, or anyone else who happens to be sitting on the floor.

6- Reading books. I'm really hoping that this habit sticks since reading has always been a love of mine.

7- Basically anything that involves running, jumping, moving...

FAVORITE COLORS:

1- Blue- he always asks for a "blue one" of whatever we're handing out.
2- Green- if he can't have a blue one he usually asks for a green one next.

FAVORITE SAYINGS:

1- "Brandt do it!" ya, pretty much hear this one about a thousand times a day; yesterday he was trying to push the grocery cart on his own-while he was in it!

2- "Brandt toot, Brandt stinky!" (thank you Bryce! This is also one of his favorite games because he then goes through the list of everyone he knows repeating the same phrase and giggling. "Daddy toot, daddy stinky", "bampa toot, bampa stinky" and so on; he's such a tease!!)
3- "Puppy, be quiet!" Sometimes Brandt will turn his head and make a barking noise first and then holler it toward the dog like it was really him making the noise.

4- "Go Jazz!"

5- "Love you too" He mostly does this one with his daddy-they say it back and forth trying to see who can say it in the silliest most sing-song voice.

FAVORITE PLACES TO SLEEP:

1- Lately it's been on his floor about 2 ft from his perfectly good bed; he gathers up his pillow, blanket, and stuffed animals and makes himself a bed on the floor every night.

2- Near or on his daddy. He always begs to go "night night with daddy" but we're trying to cut down on his time in our bed since none of us sleep that way. He doesn't slow down long enough to cuddle very often, so when he does we definitely enjoy it.
Ok, so got a little carried away with the sleeping with daddy pictures, but they are my favorites! Feeling a little better already, so maybe I'll save some of Brandt's other "favorites" for another day.

Barbies are for Girls!!

2009-03-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Brandt obviously didn't get that memo! He looks quite at home playing barbies with Jolie, Allee, and Adrie and G&G Thompson's. Guess that's what happens when you're surrounded by girl cousins.
I actually snapped these shots as a joke for Bryce's benefit, but I think I may hold onto them for blackmail purposes. Can't wait to pull them out on Brandt's first date!! :)

Much to Grandma Thompson's dismay, the kids wouldn't leave the wagon alone this Sunday, and Brandt was the ring leader.

Brandt's very favorite thing at G&G Thompson's house is "Bampa's bird." Actually, it's Tiffany's, but it sorta stayed when she moved out. He loves to "tweet" at it as loud as he can and spin it's cage around (not sure if the bird enjoys it as much as he does.) He begs us to get it out, but since it freaks out both Bryce and me, he has to find someone else to humor him, which they do. He knows how to open the cage door, and I'm sure it won't be long before he's getting it out on his own when we're not looking.

Riley is already quite the computer wiz-he oughta be, it seems like that's all he wants to do. I thought this was so cute when Brandt climbed up on the chair by him and put his arm around him. Riley's always so patient with him.

A Visit from London

2009-03-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday my cousin Amy brought her daughter London up to visit my grandparents in the hospital. On their way through, they stopped to visit for a minute and to see the baby calves. Brandt was way excited to see her and have her play with him for awhile.
Bryce was kind enough to drive us out through the cows in his truck so we wouldn't get mucky in the 10 feet of soft crud in the field and the kids loved it. Brandt was the perfect little tour guide pointing out all the baby calves and their mommies and made sure to show London which ones were drinking milk.

The highlight was when Bryce found my dad's pet calf. It's mom died so it became pretty attached to my dad when he was bottle feeding it. Now it follows him all over the field and nudges him and plays with him.

The kids had fun petting him and I think he enjoyed all the attention as well. He even let London sit on his back for a second, but of course I missed it with the camera.

Sure do dread the day when it's time to sell him...

A Day at Grandma's with Amanda Jean

2009-03-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

Jana and I spent last Tues. afternoon at my mom's going through some stuff and Brandt found this giant blue cup. He took it straight to the tub and climbed in. He knew it belongs there since there's a matching red cup already there. He insisted on taking it home, and of course grandma let him, and he now calls it "bampa's cup" and has to have it everytime he takes a bath.

This is his "who me?" face. Looks innocent as usual! :)

This is his determined look; cracks me up! I've never caught it on camera before, though.

It was such a nice afternoon, we decided to take Brandt and Mandy for a walk. As you can tell, they were pretty excited to get outside.

Amanda Jean (or ThereyagoJean as Brandt calls her lately) looks so dang cute in this hat!

"Enough pictures already! Let's keep walking for crying out loud!"

Battle Wounds and Birthday Cake

2009-03-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

As far as I can tell, Brandt loves nursery, although a couple Sundays ago he came home with some battle wounds. Actually these pics are after we got home and for some reason he wasn't loving the camera as much as usual.
The pictures really don't do the scratches justice, but they were pretty nasty ones on his cheek and neck.

Not sure if he was an innocent party in the whole thing or if he started it, but I'm sure he'll come home with more wounds than this as he gets older.

See, he looks pretty innocent in this picture...

Also got his hand pretty bad; I'm guessing they're "defense wounds" since he didn't have any scratches on his face on that side. Aren't boys fun???

Later that day we headed to the Topham's to celebrate Ammon's 2nd B-day. Seems like just yesterday that LouCin and I were pregnant together, of course, and now look at them..

It's hard to tell, but his cake was Thomas the Train and so cute (and actually yummy; I'm not usually a big cake eater.) Chey had to light the candles over and over for the boys to blow out, so I wonder how many little germs were on it by the time we ate it. Oh well!

Ammon got legos just like Brandt's and they both had fun trying them out. They play really well together and get along great for the most part.

Cruisin' in Ammon's car. Won't be able to fit in it together for much longer. They are both curious little creatures and it's fun to watch them and see what kind of mischief they'll come up with next.