Family Vacation

Okay, so there are a TONNNNNN of pictures on this post...I will try to keep explainations short and sweet. My bro got married in AZ last week. It was AWESOME! His wife Suzanne and him met at Picacho Peak and decided to have their wedding there in the beautiful desert. It was so great to see most of my family there...I miss them already!
Sooo, here's me and my beautiful mother in front of a beautiful Arizona sunset after the wedding...
Here is the bride taking her walk down the aisle...

I love this picture of my brother watching his bride-to-be coming...I can tell from behind that he is smiling...Love it!

Here they are right after the ceremony walking to the sides to greet everyone (or shall I say have everyone greet them!)

The Just Married Sweethearts walking...

Okay, so we left two days after the wedding and headed to California! Our first stop was Legoland. It was so great because they had a lot to do for little kids (our kids are not just young, they are short for their ages, so they wouldnt be able to ride much at Disneyland.) They had a blast and lets just say they both fell asleep many times in the car on our vacation in-between stops...
So this is Brayden and me playing around but he would not put his head up for a picture!

Cortney and Kyler on a helicopter ride...

Kyler racing a car...so much fun!

Keaton did a lot of watching from the shade of the car-seat, as well as in the stroller or snugglie...

Brayden raced a car too...

Day 2 was Sea World! It was awesome. The kids walked through the gates and were greeted by a penguin.

Shamu- What a great show! We saw the dolphin/seal show and the Shamu show and a bunch of others too, but there is just nothing like Shamu!!

Cort and the boys looking at stingrays and starfish, etc.

Another great Shamu action shot!

Stingray up close, you can touch them....

Day 3- the Beach! Okay, so day 3 was the coolest temperature wise of all the days, so I wished we could have had a cooler day at Sea World and a warmer day for the beach, but it was still incredibly beautiful!! We loved it!

Cort and his big boy Kyler!

This was seriously the best time to take a baby on a trip, cause he just slept and ate and played a little and looked around and slept some more!! I thought this pic was adorable because his neck was sooooo kinked- I could not believe it could be comfortable...he sure was out!

Another beautiful beach shot...

Va-Va-Voom...look at that sexy couple! We took this pic ourselves because there wasn't anyone around!

We stopped in Vegas for one night on our way home and stayed at the Rio in a super nice suite. The Rio has the most beautiful swimming pools and spas- we went there that night and the next morning and it was amazing. So much fun! Then we stopped in St. George to eat at our favorite resteraunt from Boise (Mongolian BBQ) and then made our way home last night. It was so fun and exhausting and exciting. And I am actually kinda sad to be back in the real world now...

Dear Utah

Dear Utah,
I am leaving early in the morning, driving all day to get to my family town of Chandler, AZ. I will NOT be missing you while I am gone because of all the teasing you have done to me and my kids lately. One day you are beautiful sunshine and happiness where the kids can play in the street and mom's can talk about our day. But then the next day you will drop 20 degrees and SNOW...in the middle of Spring. I can't take all the teasing...my kids are going crazy.
I will not miss putting on our coats, socks, shoes and sometimes even hats to go outside. I will not miss turning on the heater or warming up the car...I will not miss my kids whining and fighting because they have been cooped up in the house too long...
I am going to be in beautiful Sunny Arizona having a great time...and when I get back...I fully it expect it to be sunny and to stay sunny for longer than a few days. Please, please Utah. I am pleading with you to provide me with decent weather when I come back in a week. I want to miss you when I am gone (I will miss my bed :)) but I just can't miss you when you treat me this way...
Signed,
Leaving in the morning and can't wait to see the Sunshine again...

Gratefuls...

I am grateful for....

My family, near and far. My hubby who is supportive of me, works hard for our family and is a great father for our crazy boys. Our crazy boys- I am so grateful for them and even though I want to pull my hair out sometimes, or maybe just their hair out...they are so wonderful and help me realize what's really important in life. My family in AZ- My mom, my sisters, my Dad, my brothers- I love them all. And even though it is really hard living so far away from them, I feel like they are always so supportive of me and are always doing everything they can for me! And along the lines of family...my in-laws have really always been great, but my mother in-law especially has been a great support to me lately with help we have needed.

My friends- I have so many great friends! Great neighbors, a great ward, a great e-mail support from those who live farther away. I am so lucky to have so many people who are always there for me. And not to mention, girls night outs with my friends always give me the much needed break after a long month :)

Doctors, Nurses, Medical Workers, all of the above! These are people who take the extra time to go to school for a long time to help others. They have to sacrafice time away from their families and friends to be at the hospital or doctors office to help others. My two younger children are alive today because of the doctors, nurses, facilities they have been in the care of. And now I have had thyroid surgery, (not my first surgery, probably not my last), and once again, I am feeling grateful for other people taking the time to help something necessary for my life to long and healthy. I am grateful.

And of course, my Heavely Father. I am grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I truly believe I would not be where I am in my life today without this church. And I am grateful for the sacrafices that my Savior has made for me. I am lucky. I am blessed. Happy Easter to everyone. I hope you are feeling as loved and blessed as I am! :)

Hey Sicko...This is a novel...

Okay, so we are a family of sicko's this past weekend...going on into this week. It started with Brayden getting a cold the middle of last week. He had basically one bad day where I thought it was going to turn into more than the running nose, but he magically got better. Then Kyler started acting like he wasnt feeling well, but he had no symptoms other than being tired, so I brushed it off thinking he was just overtired. Then Saturday in the middle of the night he woke up with a fever of 102.7 and was sick most of the day Sunday. He slept almost the entire day, and when he wasn't asleep, he was laying on the couch. Sunday night his spirits perked up, so we went to Cort's parents house for dinner. Kyler was fine the entire time and has been fine since. Cortney, however, has not been. He traveled to Vegas last week for work and came back saying he think his ear popped on the plane on the way home. He said he had only around 20% hearing in his left ear and it was steadily getting worse. Sunday at his parents house, he started to stand up and the room started spinning. He had to be held up on both sides just to make it to the couch to lay down. When he was finally down, he didn't really feel much different and after a little while we decided it was best to take him to urgent care.
He asked his Dad to help walk him to the bathroom before leaving, and so he did, and he ended up throwing up everything he's ever eaten in the bathtub (gross, I know, but it would have overflowed the toilet and the tub sits lower to the ground, therefore easier to reach). Poor Cortney. We went to urgent care and he has a bad inner ear infection (VERTIGO) that causes major dizziness and vommitting. Sad, I know. I feel so terrible for him. He has to go to a hearing and balance specialist because his ear is swollen on the inside and they need to see how bad things are.
Meanwhile, I have my thyroid surgery tomorrow, so Cort's parents are coming over to take me in and watch not just my little boys, but my hubby as well while I am at the hospital. (My mom in law will stay with me though :)) I am glad to finally have this large cyst off my neck and not pushing against my throat anymore...It will be nice not having 3 pokes in my neck every 2 weeks...Yeah, you don't want to know...
ANYHOW! The timing is crazy, but I am hoping by the end of the week, we will all be healthy, well, recovered and ready for some normalness...just in time to go to AZ next week for my brothers wedding! I'm so excited!!!

March of Dimes Walk 2009

It's that time of year again...time for the March of Dimes walk. This year, it is even more important to me than the years past because I have had my second premature baby.

My second and third sons were born at over 3 months early, and 2 1/2 months early. Both were in the hospital for a combination of 22 weeks!! I have learned so much about the March of Dimes and their cause to help cause awareness and even prevent premature births. This will be my fourth year walking and raising money for the March of Dimes.

This year, I am starting late in asking for donations. I know that many out there are struggling with what the economy has done for them. So please don't feel obligated to donate. If you can, even a small donation of $5 would make a huge difference to the March of Dimes.

I am very excited to be a part of March for Babies, please support my participation by doing what you can. You can even walk with me!!
Why do I March for Babies? Because the March of Dimes champions the needs of moms and babies in our community and across the nation. The money we raise for March for Babies will help:
- support all-important research offering preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with birth defects - educate women on things they can do to increase their chances of having a healthy baby - provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care - push for newborn screening and health insurance for all pregnant women and children
Won't you please help me in this worthy cause? Contributing to my walk online is fast, easy and secure. You can donate directly from my personal webpage with a credit card or PayPal. If you prefer, I can also accept cash or check. Just click the appropriate box on my webpage.
My personal Web page address for donations is...http://www.marchforbabies.org/braydensmommy06

I love you all, thank you for your support!

5 Boys

So earlier this week I had my friends 2 youngest boys come to play (who are close in age to Kyler and Brayden) while she had her carpets cleaned. The boys were actually really good...however...I did leave the refrigerator unlocked (by accident of course) while I was upstairs feeding the baby...and guess who got into the freezer and got the ice cream out??? So as I listened to the sound of sweet laughter and playing...then the sound of silence...I knew they were into something...and it wasn't hard to figure it out because I know Brayden too well.

What's that Mom? We can't all sit around and eat ice cream at 9:30 in the morning?

The boys actually were all VERY good for me, and it was a surprisingly easy day for me...so we all had push up pops in the car on the way to their house...so this is the picture of me with 5 boys in my car. Luckily they are 5 very cute boys!