The Brough*s

A New Year, with New Resolutions!!!

2012-01-16T14:53:00.000-08:00

I'm so grateful for the New Year. A chance to start fresh and to set goals to becoming a better person, perfecting our family life, and just taking the chance to always improve, making the new year better than the last one. I'll admit, this past year had it's ups and downs. But I'm always excited for this time of year to reflect on my blessings and to look forward to the future. I usually set a few goals each year but never usually write them down. This year I've decided to post a few, though not all for some are very personal...as they should be.
~I really want to do better at holding regular FHE. My children are so smart and I want to take advantage of this time to really enrich their knowledge of the gospel and the importance of Christ and His gospel in our lives, as well as use this time to really spend some good quality time together as a family.
~Organize, Organize, Organize!!! Enough said.
~ Work harder on having and using our yearly food storage. My parents are always so great to give us cool gadgets or unique and important things to have in our storage. Now I just need to get it all together and make sure we're completely prepared with what we need. I can't imaging coming upon some sort of disaster where my children would suffer because of my inadequate planning and procrastination. And, like I said, get it organized!
Well that should be a good enough start for now. Along with others I'm working on. I feel making resolutions is a great way for us to see how we can improve our lives. I know this new year is going to be great, 'cause we're going to make it AMAZING!!!!

Christmas Day 2011

2012-01-16T13:56:00.001-08:00

Wahooo!!! We couldn't believe Christmas had finally come! We had been anxiously waiting this year and couldn't wait to see what Santa would bring. Austin took the girls out into the yard Christmas Eve and let them sprinkle reindeer dust on the grass. The dust was made of glitter so that Santa wouldn't miss our house, and oats for the deer to eat. Oops! I mean, for the reidneer to eat:o)

The bounty of gifts Santa left this year!

Chanel loved the new feeding/crying babydoll and buggie she recieved. The baby would drink her bottle but as soon as you took out the bottle, the baby would cry. Chanel's reaction was always first, a suprised face, then a sad face, saying "Ooohh, baby sad!" She has such good motherly instincts already and love to feed and snuggle her baby.

The girls and their goodies!!!

Poor Bug, she wasn't feeling so well on Christmas. When she saw her huge lion she said, without ANY enthusiasm, "Wow, that's a big lion" then went and laid on it for a while until she had more energy to open other presents.

We went to church where I participated in a musical number then we drove to Nephi to see the Brough family gang. I did take my camera but for some reason didn't get it out for a single picture...what!? I guess it was just that crazy/busy.

Elena's never been one for fancy dress-up unless it's an animal costume but Chanel has loved the Tinker Bell dress-up chest Santa brought. She even falls asleep in her costumes:o) Elena has even enjoyed dressing up as a fairy to play with C. They've been so cute together!

Austin bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I have LOVED it!!! Sadly, Austins Christmas was quite mediocre this year. I just bought him a few things he needed and a DVD or two. What?! We had decided not to give major gifts to each other this year- Next year, Gust...next year you're really going to get it!!!

Daley Christmas Party 2011

2012-01-16T13:36:00.001-08:00

We're always so excited for the Daley Christmas party, and especially this year since EVERYONE was going to be there. We spent the entire day together, eating, crafting, partying, eating, giving, going crazy, oh did I mention we ate really good food? My parents always now how to serve the best holiday comfort food. This year my dad made his special carmel potatoes and pickled cabbage. It's a traditional Danish dish from when he served his mission. I love it so much , Aus and I served it for our wedding dinner. I didn't get pictures cause I was too busy eating! When it was finally time to open presents, the kids about went crazy trying to wait patiently.

Rusty, Dallen, and Charity. Elena and Randy in the back, and only half of Ruger's face. Sorry dude...

Dad, Aus, Myself, and the newly engaged Andrea and Daric.

Natalie & Seth, Josh & Jess, and all the grandkids, minus Chanel since she was sleeping, and half of Dallen's face, ahem...Sorry dude.

Mom, Des, and Ryan

Elena and her jewelery making kit. Chanel had FINALLY fallen asleep for a nap so she wasn't present to open presents but she got a baby doll that she LOVED!

I love it when we all can get together. It really doesn't happen that often but it's always crazy and wonderful when it does.

Elena's Christmas Program

2012-01-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Elena's Kindergarten class put on a Christmas program. It was so cute because they had practiced several songs and each class member had a part to memorize. They each told a Christmas joke. The kids were so funny telling and responding to the jokes each other would tell.

Elena's joke was "How do you get into Rudolph's house? You ring the "deer" bell!"

It was so funny and she did so well in front of everyone. Good job bug!

Austin left work for an hour to come to the program. Elena was so happy he was there. Nona, Boompa, and Uncle Fred were there, too!

Chanel couldn't wait to try on Elena's reindeer antlers. Just like big sis!

A Night for Christ

2012-01-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

The singing group I participate in gave a Christmas concert called "A Night for Christ." It was so fun to perform the songs we had been working on. It was a great night, although I kept giving everyone pep talks about not being nervous but then on camera I looked like I was scared to death! Haha, oh well, it was still a great experience! I love singing in this group and I'm so grateful for the friendships I've made...love you ladies!!!

Coming Up!

2011-11-29T07:47:00.000-08:00

It's our Christmas Concert! Everyone is welcome so please come!

Protect This House...

2011-11-29T07:17:00.000-08:00

One of the vendor's from Austin's work gave him tickets to the Ute Blackout game. We were so excited to go, and it was even better that the Utes had a good win...
It was a great night with my UTAH man!;)

I am a Utah Man, sir, and I live across the green, Our gang it is the jolliest that you have ever seen. Our coeds are the fairest and each one's a shining star, Our yell, you'll hear it ringing through the mountains near and far! Who am I, sir, A Utah Man am I! A Utah Man, sir, Will be 'til I die. Ki-yi! We're up to snuff, we never bluff, we're game for any fuss. No other gang of college men dare meet us in a muss. So fill your lungs and sing it out and shout it to the sky, We'll fight for dear old crimson for a Utah Man am I...

GO UTES!!!!

BOO!!!

2011-11-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

We had a fun and spooky Halloween this year...

We got all dressed up and met up at the park with the neighbors for hot chocolate and doughnuts. Then headed out for trick or treating.

Austin was a dapper skeleton, Elena a wolf, Chanel a witch, and I was Austin's mortal date:)

Elena-The Big, Bad, Wolf!

This is C in her pre-Halloween getup...

The whole gang ready to spook-ify!

Pumpkin Patch and Carving

2011-11-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

We took the girls to a pumpkin patch this year to pick out a pumpkin each for carving.
I love this picture because C looks so bored:)

Elena had a hard time deciding which one she wanted...

Of course, we needed to take the opportunity for a photo sesh on the tractor.

We took them home and cleaned them up to start carving right away. Elena chose a spider and Chanel's was a classic jack-o-lantern.

The girls loved the whole experience. Austin, on the other hand, was a little annoyed with me for making him do all the work. But good job, hunny!

Florida 2011

2011-11-28T12:05:00.000-08:00

We planned a fun trip to FL with the girls and planned on taking them to Disney while we were there, too. We were excited to go visit and spend time with family and enjoy a nice long, warm vacation. The hardest part of the trip was the flight there, for sure! It was Chanel's first time on a plane so we made sure the break the flight up pretty evenly with just one stop. I didn't want to drug her with benadryl but we did take some melatonin just in case we needed it. AND WE DID! She was so restless the whole time and hated being confined to our tiny little row. Once we got her to sleep it was great, until we were decending into FL and the captain announced our decention. It woke Chanel up and then her ears were bothering her pretty bad so she screamed the last 20 min. of the flight. Luckily everyone around us was pretty understanding. We were so glad to finally be there. We had to have Krystal's for dinner and Elena ate 3 burgers, she loved them:) Our first evening there we went to friendship park down by the water and walked around. It was actually pretty chilly, but luckily the weather warmed up while we were there.

The girls in front of the fountain...

This is in front of one of the many bridges in downtown Jacksonville. I love how it's all lit up.

We were going to take a ferry ride over to the landing but we arrived just a tad late and would've ended up being there pretty late to make the next ride. But it was still fun to see!

Florida 2011 {Day trip down the coast}

2011-11-28T10:11:00.001-08:00

Austin and I decided to head off down the coast to see a few places and then meet up with Josh and Jillian later that night in Orlando. Our first stop was in St. Augustine, of course!

We loved all the old fashion shops. Here is Austin and Elena just out side the Scarlett O'Hara Bar (Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn) hehe... and Rhett's Piano Bar.

We took a tour at this really cool Pirates Museum. They had all sorts of authentic Pirate artifacts, and different interactive things for the kids to do. It was little scary for Elena cause they had a cannon you could shoot off, but she thought it was too loud and didn't like it. They also had skeletons in cages and a talking be-headed Blackbeard that freaked her out a little bit too. But other than that it was pretty neat to sea...I'm mean see:)

We then walked across the street to the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. I've talked about this before in this post.

We headed off on down the road to Daytona. We were running behind on schedule so we didn't have much time to stop and look much but we had time to get a few pictures...

The Daytona Speedway Stadium

Then we headed out to Cape Canaveral to the Kennedy Space Station. We didn't take a tour since the tickets were around $60 ea. But we were still glad to be able to ride out and see it.

This is the NASA launch pad from across the water. I had to really zoom to get a decent shot.

Then of course while we were there, we had to visit Cocoa Beach and the Ron Jon Surf Shop...:)

These photos are a little out of order, but the last night we were in FL we went with the whole fam to Clark's Fish Camp. It's this amazing seafood restaurant that is so yummy and has such an exciting atmosphere. It's right on the water so we got to see live turtles and baby crocs. They had the place all decorated for Halloween and they recently added a tank with a live gator in it...SO COOL!!!

The whole Florida fam:)

The kids were so cute together:0

Florida 2011 {Disney World}

2011-11-04T09:28:00.001-07:00

We spent a day in FL at Disney World. Elena said she was most excited to see Mickey.

She did get to see and meet alot of characters like Terrance and Tinker Bell from the Tinker Bell Movies although I don't actually have the picture of us with her.

Elena and Emmett got to meet "Pirate Goofy" just outside the Pirates of the Carribean ride.

And Elena saw The White Rabbit and Buzz Lightyear...are we bad parents since we didn't want to have to wait in line for their picture? We just cheated for a picture anyway.

The kids loved riding the carousel...

...and pirates of the carribean...

...and especially "It's a Small World". Other favorite rides were Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and Space Mountain. Yes, Elena was brave enough to even do Space Mountain!! She's a girl after my own heart:)

It took alot of convincing to get Elena to go inside the Haunted Mansion, but once we did, she was glad and said it was cool!

We had to do some shopping! The girls each chose something they really wanted. Since we first arrived, Elena knew she wanted a stuffed Pluto dog. We used it as a bribe to keep her well behaved and she was so happy to get one. Chanel's first choice was a Goofy doll that was as big as she was but we convinced her to scale down a bit. Here are the girls in some silly hats we found:)

There were several parades throughout the day and we were right on the corner for the afternoon parade and Mickey waved at Elena...she was sooooo excited!

The parades were fun since we were able to see more of the characters.

Elena in front of Minnie holding a Disney jack-o-lantern.

At night after the lights parade, they shoot of fireworks and have a slideshow ON the castle of all the pictures taken at the park that day. It was sooo cool! We stayed super late so that we could see everything. We were all so tired once we left, but we definately made the day worth it!

Florida 2011 {The Lake}

2011-11-04T08:30:00.001-07:00

Austins grandma and uncle each have a house at Star Lake- the same place Aus and I honeymooned nearly 7 years ago--yikes! We left Disney super late and drove to the lake and stayed with his uncle Brett and aunt Sandy while we were there. This was the first time I'd ever met them and I'm so glad I had the chance to get to know them. They are such great people and alway so generous. Austin was glad to have a chance to spend time with them as well. He hasn't seen them in over a decade.

While we were getting ready to grill for lunch, Elena and Sandy found a tree frog. He was so cute. Chanel had to get in close to get a good look at him. She even wanted to hold him, but we kept him in the net until everyone had a chance to see him, then Elena let him go. Not without naming him "Froggy" first.

We rode around the lake and uncle Brett even let Elena drive the boat. She looks so big in this picture.

Everyone having a good time on the lake:) We had to watch Chanel really close on the boat. She would lean over so far and even tried climbing the gate to get into the water. Silly girl:)

Elena and the boys wanted to play in the water, even though the water level was pretty low and it wasn't ideal swimming conditions, they didn't let that keep them from getting in...

Elena and Emmett playing so cute together. They were such good friends the whole trip!

Bug showing off what she has been learning in swim lessons.

These next pictures are really dark and I'm kinda bummed but it shows how pretty the lake is and how silly the kids (and adults) can be:)

I'm glad we had a chance to spend a few days at the lake and show the girls. We took Elena back when she was around Chanels age and she didn't really remember it so it was fun to spend the time there.

Florida 2011{The Beach}

2011-11-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Florida was the warmest one yet so we decided to make a trip out to the beach. Elena had been asking "When do we get to go to the beach?" pretty much the whole trip. This would be Chanel's first time at the beach and in the ocean. She was a little hesitant at first but then didn't mind the water...

...then she decided she just wanted to chill on the blanket or in the sand the rest of the time.

The cutest dog came over and wanted to play fetch with the ball he brought with him. Elena was in heaven throwing the ball and watching the dog get all excited about it. She is a natural born beach-goer. She even tried to ride a wave with the body board. I'm bummed I didn't get pictures of that:(

It was such a great trip. We were able to do and see pretty much everything we wanted to. We are so glad we were able to spend time with family. Especially since we only see them every few years or so. Thanks to all the fam in FL for great memories!

Catching Up!~

2011-11-01T15:43:00.001-07:00

We were really lucky this year and won free tickets to the Circus! I've never been, and Elena loves tigers so much that this was a great opportunity for us:) We (the huge Brough clan, including Nona, Boompa, Mike, Karla, Jackson, and Fred) had Dallen go with us too! We met up with Seth and Natalie who happened to score some tickets the same day. We were able to get there early to see the animals before the show.

Poor Chanel was cut out of this picture... But this was {most} our group.

The show was awesome. The tigers and elephants were my favorite, I think Elena's, too. The music was pretty cheesy and would leave Austin singing the songs for weeks after {driving me crazy!} Fire it up!

Even Chanellie had a good time. :o)

Elena started swim lessons in September and LLLOOOVVVVVEEEEES IT! She goes two days a week and has learned so much already. She is such a doll, and the cutest fish you've ever seen...

I was invited to join some friends and go to the General Relief Society Meeting at the Conference Center. We left early so that we could get an early dinner at The Garden Resturaunt. It was yummy and so fun to be out with friends, especially in this setting. I really enjoyed listening to the talks given and to feel the spirit in that live atmosphere. Thanks ladies!

I came home that night to find a tent set up in the backyard with sleeping bags, pillows, and a TV set up. Austin and Elena decided to have one more camp out befor the weather got cold. Chanel thought it was the coolest thing EVER! We watched Harry Potter and had popcorn. I opted to sleep inside with Chanel where we were safe and warm, while Aus and Elena slept outside.

Chanel pretty much ate most the popcorn...she can't get enough snacks, that girl:o)

Just a random photo of my silly girls!

Summer's End

2011-09-15T12:07:00.001-07:00

Sadly, our summer has officially ended. We tried to make it last as long as we could. We spent every free day at the pool...

...and had a back-to-school campout in Nona and Boompa's yard. We set up a tent and the kids had a blast roasting marshmallows and hanging out by the fire. We ended the weekend with horseshoes. I am NOT very good. We had a tournament and I lost every round I was in...oh well!

My beautiful Elena Bug just started Kindergarten(*tear). She was so excited to go and has been loving it ever since. We set everything out the night before so that she would be ready to catch the bus--that is what she was most excited for:o) I went with some of the other moms and followed the bus to school. We were all there with our little entourage taking pictures of the kids while they played on the playground until the bell rang to line up for class. The night before I felt the most anxiety but the first day of school was more fun than anything. Seeing how excited Elena was and how grown up she has become made it more of a proud moment than a sad one.

We spent Labor Day weekend with my parents and Dallen camping (well not really camping, we stayed in a friend's cabin). We did lots of four-wheeling, in my dad's new RZR, which Austin couldn't get enough of, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. The girls had so much fun. Chanel has never really been before, so she learned to love the speed and wind in her face. Elena's favorite part was seeing some of the animals on the farm (typically, my dad couldn't get away from work completely, so we enjoyed going on rounds with him:) We met the dog, the cat and her kittens, and then, while on a hike, Austin and the kids found a few horney toads. A large one and a few teeny tiny ones. They were pretty cute and Chanel couldn't get enough of them. She loved petting them but I didn't allow her to actually hold one. Who knew what she would do...put it in her mouth, maybe?!?

We took a ride up to the red cliffs, this is where Austin had proposed to me so we wanted to show the girls and find the tree we had carved our initials in. That was almost 7 years ago! Holy Crow! You can read more about that story here. The tree says:

KD
+
ACB
10/9/04

Last weekend, Austin and I enoyed a weekend alone in Park City. We stayed at the Westgate Resort and thoroughly enjoyed the amenities:) We got up early Saturday morning and hitched a ride on a hot air balloon. SO MUCH FUN!!! And the views were gorgeous! Austin helped unload the balloon and get it into the air. It was alot of work...but obviously so worth it:) We spent the rest of the weekend eating lots of yummy food, fun shopping, and plenty of pool time;)

FHE @ Herriman Beach

2011-08-29T11:56:00.001-07:00

For FHE two weeks ago we went with a bunch of our friends/neighbors out to Herriman Beach. We had dinner and let the kids (young and old-er) play in the sand and water.

What is everyone looking at?

Austin and some of the others who swam out past the buoy.

The group. Pretty much...

Pirate Party } Aaargh!

2011-08-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Our primary had a pirate party a few weeks ago. Austin is Elena's primary teacher so they both dressed up to participate.

Chanel wanted her picture taken too! She kept saying "cheese!"

They broke into groups and were sent on a treasure hunt. The missionaries had the treasure in their possesion and talked to the children about what type of treasure it could be. (The treasure was meant to be the scriptures)

There was a treasure box full of goodies and jewels. Elena opted for the ring pop. :0)

Mila, Abi, Abby, Elena, and Brooks enjoying their treasures!

Austin is always so good to get involved and have a good time with the kids. (Regardless of whose kids they are:)

Elena "walking the plank". I don't quite understand her strategy in her body contortion...

My "eye-patch baby"!

On the treasure hunt they met Alma and some others from the scriptures but then some theifs came in and stole their treasure. But the righteous were able to take it back from the theifs. It was such a fun party for all of the kids. Good job Primary Leaders!

Yay for a Yard!

2011-08-29T09:54:00.001-07:00

In mid-July we finished putting our grass in the backyard and decided to use the remaining soil to re-vamp our front flower bed...

We hauled in some large boulders to make our border and picked out a few plants and decided where to place them. We still have a lot we want to add but this update definately helped the curb appeal:)

The girls kept plenty busy playing with the hose and in the water. Chanel thought the mud was delicious!

24th of July

2011-07-31T11:38:00.001-07:00

For the 24th weekend we met up with my parents and Dallen and went to the Bee's game on Saturday. It was hot and sunny, but lots of fun. The kids were excited to catch some of the toss-outs. And they got to see Bumble the Bee (he was quite the celebrity so we didn't get any pictures).

After the game we went out on the field to watch the fireworks. I think it was one of the best fireworks shows I've seen in a long time. The kids had so much fun and it was a great way to kick of the weekend.

Then Monday the 24th we hung out and had our friends--the Larson's--over for dinner. Didn't get pictures but we met up at the park with our neighbors and attempted more fireworks, we eventually got rained out. At least we some some good ones at the games:)

Ute Stampede & Lamb Days

2011-07-27T21:54:00.001-07:00

We were fortunate enough to have Ute Stampede and Lamb Days on the same weekend again this year. It worked out perfectly for us since it is the one time of year our families get together for our hometown celebrations. This year we partied at Ute Stampede Thursday and Fridaythen hit up Lamb Days on Friday and Saturday. It was perfect.

The girls really enjoyed the rodeo. Chanel did remarkably well for sitting that long and loved watching all of the horses.

Me and my cowboy...

(he would hate it if he new I just called him that--oh well, he never reads this anyway:o)

Elena couldn't wait to ride the carnival rides. She was most excited for the ferris wheel. So we stood in line (even though it was the longest *sigh*) and Austin rode it with her...she LOVED it!!!

At Austin's parent's house (which used to be his grandma's before she passed) there is a huge hedge out front that has grown much bigger than it used to be. When he was younger they used to jump it all the time to see who could clear it. Karla (Austin's sister) challenged him to jump it and try to clear it being as big as it was...

Here it is --

It may not seem that big in the picture but it is huge!!! It was probably 4 ft. by 4ft. (I don't really know the dimensions, but it was really big--)

Of course he took on the challenge and this is the result...

READY, SET, GO!

He TOTALLY cleared it like it was nothing:) I'm so proud(and happy we weren't headed to the hospital).

We spent the rest of our night lighting fireworks, club dancing with our glow sticks, and rocking out to music. Tons of fun!

Friday the kids waited patiently at the Mammoth parade for candy...they don't look too thrilled do they? I think they were worn out.

At Lamb Days, we enjoyed the mutton dinner and fireworks, the fun run, and another parade. Then our whole family went up the Nebo loop and had lunch by the river where the weather was cooler. It was so nice. We also had our family pictures taken, but I will post those later after they are finished being edited.

We ended the busy weekend with the final Harry Potter--it did NOT dissapoint! So Good:o)

Stay tuned for the rest of our Summer adventures...

Playing Catch~up

2011-07-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Whew!!! It's been a while and I have some catching up to do...I'm afraid I probably won't cover everything that has been going on...it's been insanely busy around here.

JUNE:

We celebrated Father's Day with a good old fashioned breakfast~in~bed. Then the next weekend Austin and I went to the Lucas-Oil Off-Road Races at LHM Motorsports Park. We missed these raced last year so we made sure to go this year. Austin was in HEAVEN:o)

My Birthday was celebrated with a BANG! (Sarcasm) I spent my entire 25th birthday hauling topsoil and spreading it in the backyard. My whole body was in major pain...but Austin brought me some beautiful flowers and a big fat cupcake home from work and I had some awesome friends deliver gifts and help with the yard work and that all made my day.

I'm grateful we're finally getting our yard put in...every free weekend since has been used to finish it up. I didn't take very many "BEFORE" pictures but I do have a few that I'll save for a later post, when everything is finished:o)

Next up: GIRLS CAMP!!!!

We went to Heber Valley Camp. It was my first time being there and it was so fun! Our camp was 5. Days. Long. Yes that is a very long time to be at Girls Camp but luckily we had an awesome group of girls that were mostly drama~free.

We were constantly playing games...

...and pulling pranks. Our cabin pulled off the most pranks but nobody knew it was us since we played totally innocent and everyone thought we were their allies. Then just before any pranks could be pulled on us...the stake leaders announced "NO MORE PRANKS!" Where's the fun in that? They were perfectly harmless, anyway.

We did some hiking around the lake and up the mountain...

...and did the challenge course and zip line. So fun:)

We did some canoeing and paddle boating on the lake. Gorgeous~but cold!

And our awesome Bishopric came to join in the festivities of our Hoedown. We did barrell racing with stick horses and some awesome line-dancing. Then had a full out dance party...So fun!!!

I'm so glad I got to spend the week with these girls. It was Ahhh~mazing:o)

Fourth of July/Austin's Birthday:

We spent the 4th of July in Nephi having a BBQ for Austin's 28th Birthday. I made him his favorite black forest cake (cupcakes) and topped it with a festive sparkler instead of a candle...hey, that's what you get when your birthday is a national holiday:o)

Then, keeping tradition, we rode up by the shooting range (the perfect spot) and watched the Nephi fireworks. The girls loved it. Hope you had an great birthday, Daddy! We love you!!!

Race for the Cure~Mother's Day

2011-06-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

Yes this post is WAY past due, but...I did it!!! Ran my first 5k and did it in a little over 36 min. No, that's not a very good time. But it's awesome for me since I've never been a runner and my goal was to run it under 40 min. and to not finish last in our group. I accomplished both and I am psyched!!! Here we all are before the race.
At the starting line...

I know I look like a total idiot, but I was elated to finish and it wasn't even as bad as I thought it would be:)

In all of our post-race glory. Ali kicked our butts!
Since it was Mother's Day weekend, my sisters and I had planned to suprise my mom and take her to luch and shopping. It has been quite a while since we were all together like this so she was very suprised that all of my sisters showed up at her house the night before. They told her the plan was to watch me finish my race, then we would all do lunch and some shopping. She was so suprised and excited:) I loved have my family there to support me, it meant sooooo much. Thanks you guys! Love you all!

It's T-Ball Time!

2011-05-24T14:23:00.000-07:00

Elena has been playing T-ball this Spring. It took her a while to get used to it. In fact, she kept asking why she was playing this instead of soccer, since she LOVED soccer, even though it took her a while to get used to that, as well. But now that she has played several games, she loves it too! The first few games she had to hit off the Tee, but now she is able to hit the coach's pitch. And she doesn't get as distracted by playing in the dirt out field as she did at first, either:) Her team's name is "The Bee's" since that's what it says on their jersey (even though that's what every team's uniform says...Ha!) Thursday is her last game, and she already recieved her baseball mitt trophy...it is her newest prized possesion:)

Our Easter Weekend 2011

2011-05-18T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Friday of Easter weekend I had the chance to participate with some friends in the Good Friday service at the K2 church downtown. Their worship services include rocking out with a live band...pretty interesting:) We particiapted in the choir. It was a pretty neat experience. There were different monologues from people who were there during the time of Christ's death including Mary Magdelene and Judas. The whole experience made me appreciate having the gospel in my life and the knowledge of the magnitude and importance of this historic event in Christ's life. This service seemed to focus on the negative points of the event, whereas it is supposed to be such a significant and humbling part of His life...the reason He came. But I was still glad to have the opportunity to participate.
Friday night we took the girls to a flashlight Easter egg hunt. It was so much fun for the girls even though it was pretty cold. They both ended up with a ton of eggs. Then Saturday we went to our own neighborhood egg hunt. Since the girls had a lot of eggs already, we made them take it easy this time around :)

It ended up being a beautiful morning, and the girls had a blast!

Then Easter morning we woke to find that the Easter Bunny had visited.

All ready for church in our pretty dresses from Grandma and Grandpa!

Off The Road Again

2011-05-09T16:20:00.001-07:00

The weekend before Easter we were invited by Austin's friend from work to join them in their annual Moab Jeepin' trip. We were so excited to go! We stayed in the "Needles" area. There was so much beautiful scenery. We stayed at "Wooden Shoe Arch" campground. The picture below is of the Needles, Wooden Shoe Arch, and some cool Indian petroglyphs:)

The trail Austin was most excited about was the Elephant Hill Trail. The first few miles were the roughest and it definately tested our Jeeps off-roading capabilities. Needles to say, she was a champ!!! (And I should mention that Austin's off-road driving skills were pretty impressive;)

This part of the trail was known as the "Silver Staircase"

Along the trail we were able to stop at several places that had inter-twining cave for the kids (and adults) to climb through...they LOVED it! Elena had so much fun hiking with the other kids and being outdoors.

Towards the end of the trail it lead to the Colorado/Green River Confluence, where both rivers meet. It was neat to see this and to see how different each river is just by the color of the water.

We had a blast!!!! Now we (especially Aus) have the Jeepin' bug:o) Austin can't wait to fine tune a few things with the Jeep then get her out on the trails again. So...

...until next year.

A Healthy Dose Of Intimidation

2011-04-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

I dedicate this post to my awesome friends and neighbors who have encouraged me to do something I've always wanted to do but never have tried for. I have never been a runner. NEVER. Even when I was in school at my most physically fit, I COULD NOT run, and HATED it! Regardless of my daily required mile-long run, it took everything I had to finish it. Then I was pretty much useless the rest of the day:) My body was built to lift, lunge, squat, and press. But running, nope. I could get on a bike and ride forever, but to run down the street is asking a lot! So, here I am, training for my first 5k EVER! What!?!? I have been running pretty much daily for almost 3 months now. Regretfully, I am not even close to running a 5k (which I blame on my horrific running history, hence, the backround story) and partially due to a running injury which I sustained in my first few weeks of training. I haven't been able to run to my full capacity because of the injury and it has since gotten worse. Meanwhile, I'm icing, elevating, and finding other means of cardio to help in my training. I have 3 weeks left to train and come race day, I hope it's not the first time I actually run a 5 k...wish me luck!

Road Trip Across the Country!

2011-03-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to help my SIL Jillian move back to Florida, and since I didn't want her to have to drive across the country by herself, I offered to go with. It was SO MUCH FUN!!! 3 whole days of nothing but girl talk and being kid-free (on my part anyway) was way better than I could've imagined. I don't have any pictures of the actual road trip because I kept forgetting:/ But I have pictures of the cool sight-seeing we did once we got there! One place I'll never forget is a resturant we stopped at in Louisiana called PreJeans's. They are known for their crawfish and since I'd never had crawfish before, I definately had to try some...It was AMAZING! I'm craving it right now:) Once we got to FL we unpacked a bit then went to St. Augustine, toured downtown, went to the beach, and got some much needed sun! This is the old army fort in the oldest city in the nation, with cute little Emmett, of course!

I love this picture with the boats and the awesome lighthouse in the backround.

This is the White Lion Bridge they just re-built and I'm glad I got to see it!

Me and Jillian in front of the white lions.

Thanks for all the fun and the much needed getaway...Love you!!!

Thankful

2011-03-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

This is just another ramling post of feelings I need to express, so if you don't like to read the mushy...don't continue. Sometimes it takes not only our own trials but the observation of others during theirs to help us realize what's truly important in our lives. As we experienced one of the final blizzards of the season last week it brought with it a terrible tradgedy in our community. A young couple in our ward were hit in a head-on collision just outside our neighborhood, killing the husband. He was only 28. They had just started coming to church so not many of us personally knew them. But the ward was still completely affected. As I participated in his funeral service today, it made me realize how grateful I am for the gospel and the knowledge that families can be together forever. I can't imagine the heartbreak and sorrow his family is suffering through right now. Our Bishop, in his closing remarks, commented on a few of the things this young man did in his final week of his life that were actually preparing for this tradgedy. He obviously didn't realize why he was doing these things, just that he knew he should...which in turn helped ease the burden of his family. I believe Heavenly Father puts us all in certain places for reasons we don't understand but I know there are people we are meant to meet, help, and learn from. I'm so greatful for all of my close friends and neighbors who I feel I can count on in any time of need. I cannot express my gratitude for my wonderful husband and all that he does for me. My beautiful daughters are my whole world and I cannot imagine my life without them. I know that when the time comes for me or any member of my family to move on that it will only be a temporary seperation. However difficult the situation might be, I find comfort in the knowledge of being sealed to them for eternity. I'm so grateful for the life I have been given, the people who I have been blessed to share it with, and for the gospel and all the comfort and happiness it gives. May we all try to live our life to the fullest, giving service to others, and doing the things the Lord would want us to use our talents and abilities and the precious life He's given us for.

~More Kite Flying~

2011-03-09T11:14:00.000-08:00

After the party, while Chanel took a nap, we all went outside to fly kites. It was really cold but everyone had fun getting the kites in the air. Even Natalie participated:)

They guys had a hard time getting the Avatar kite up and stay up...

The kids had a blast just being able to play outside for a bit and run around with their kites:o)

Chanel's First Birthday: The Party

2011-03-09T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Cupcake
The Presents

The GuestsChanel had so much fun at her party...and was so worn out from all of the excitement she had the best nap:) Thanks to all who came or sent gifts...your thoughts and love were greatly appreciated!

Chanel's First Birthday: {I am 1} Photos

2011-03-02T11:50:00.001-08:00

I CANNOT BELIEVE MY BABY IS GOING TO BE 1 YEAR OLD TOMORROW!!!

Honestly where has the time gone?!? She is growing into such a fun-loving, beautiful little girl

and her personality is coming our more and more every day. She loves to play hide-n-seek, dancing, and doing anything with Elena. She tries to talk, can wave bye-bye, and is starting to walk all over the place.

She just had her 1 year old pictures taken by our AWESOME neighbor, Kandis.

I think they turned out soooo cute!

The Day of L~O~V~E

2011-02-16T19:04:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Valentine's Day this year. Austin worked the weekend and then had Monday off so we had the whole day to spend together. Elena had a preschool party, then afterward we gave the girls their Valentin's gifts.

Then we had some great babysitters (thanks Nona and Boompa) so that Austin and I could spend a few hours alone. We had planned to race at FastKarts but didn't realize that they open later on Mondays, so we opted for a movie instead. Then later we all met up for dinner at Red Lobster. Mmmm...and then we went home for dessert:)

I loved spending they day with ALL of my Valentines!!!

Cupcakes are courtesy of Sprinklebelle Cakes:o)

Ahhh...

2011-01-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

...I think I'd rather be anywhere but in freezing cold right now, with my favorite people in the world! Is anyone else craving weather and a vacation like this?

Elena's 5th Birthday

2011-01-13T12:56:00.001-08:00

Elena just celebrated her 5th Birthday on January 5th! We had preschool at our house that day so we threw her a birthday party with her school friends.

Then the following Saturday we had a family party at Chuck-E-Cheese. Elena had known she wanted to party here for a whole year (since her last birthday:) She got to meet Chuck-E, play games, eat pizza and cupcakes, and hang out with family and friends! (It was hard to get a picture with all of the kids looking at the same time).

Elena is so important in our family and she has become so independant, but in a good way. She is such a big helper with C and they have so much fun together. Elena usually always makes her bed on her own, gets herself dressed and turns on her own cartoons without even waking me up:) she carries Chanel around and helps keep her out of trouble.

Bug,

We love you so much and you continue to enrich our lives every single day! We are so amazed at the beautiful young lady you are growing into. You're incredibly smart, and consistantly make us laugh. Thank you for helping us remember to say prayers every night and for the amazing person you are and will always be.
We love you, your family

10 Months

2011-01-13T12:49:00.001-08:00

This happy little girl just turned 10 months old! She is so smart and is always laughing, smiling, dancing, EATING, or sleeping. She has 3 teeth, one on top and two on the bottom. She eats 3 full meals a day (plus snacks) and if you eat anything in front of her, you better plan on sharing...she'll smack her lips until you give her some:o) She WILL NOT keep on her socks or her headbands. She loves dancing to music or to daddy's attempt at beat-boxing. She is definately a cuddler and I hope she never grows out of that. We love her so much!

A Wonderful Christmas

2010-12-28T15:09:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Santa sent Elena a letter telling her he knew she had been good, that his elves had made something special for her, and that she needed to remind Chanel to be good, too.

The Eve of Christmas Eve we went with our friends, The Olsen's to the Grand America to see the ABC's of Christmas window displays and at the end they gave us a cookie from La Bonne Vie. Then we went to Temple Square and dinner...thanks guys!

Then Christmas Eve we made gingerbread cookies for Santa and read the story of The Nativity.

The girls just before bed!

This is what Santa brought!

Christmas morning...Bug woke us up at 7! Then she woke up Chanellie and she could tell something excited was going on cause they both were very giddy for that early in the am.

On their way to see what Santa left:)

After playing with toys and opening presents, we visited family and opened more gifts. It was a wonderful Christmas. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, too!

The Lights

2010-12-23T08:38:00.001-08:00

For Family Home Evening we went to see the lights at Temple Square. I love this time of year and this is one of the traditions we have to keep. I am so excited that Elena is old enough to understand the reason that we celebrate Christmas is to remember the birth of Christ. Of course she is still so excited for Santa but while we were at Temple Square I was able to realize how much she really knew and understood about the birth of the Savior. I'm a proud momma!
(my photoshop knowledge isn't advanced enough to fix a poorly taken picture...so this is the pic you get:)

We had a fun Christmas party at my parents last weekend kicking it off with a birthday party for my dad. He turned 50! Not all of my sisters could be there and we missed them but we still had a good time with yummy food and great company!

A few quick family shots before opening presents.

Josh, Jess, and Kaden

The Nearly Empty Nesters-- Mom, Dad, and Dallen

Every year my hometown puts on a live Nativity. It is so neat because it takes place outside of town on a farm. They have Ceasar Agustus, Taxpayers, Merchants, Inns with the Innkeeper, Wisemen, Shepherds, and live animals. And of course a real little baby representing the Baby Jesus in a tiny stall. This year my dad was a Shepherd. It was fun to take the kids out and show them what it was really like that special night.

It's a Love Story

2010-12-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

I've had a few friends post their love story on their blog and it's been fun to read how their happily ever after began, and since Austin and I just celebrated our 6th Anniversary on December 4th, I've decided now would be a good time to blog about our love story...
(Warning: This is a LONG Post!)

In July of 2004, Austin's brother and my cousin had just started dating and they both had talked about setting us up to double with them. I was a little hesitant to go on another "blind date" since the few previous ones had been a disaster and I wanted to take a break from the dating scene. I was finishing up work for the week and was getting ready to head out to meet my family for our annual Flaming Gorge trip the next day when my cousin called and asked if I wanted to go out with this guy and double with them that night. I was home alone by myself, had everything packed, and had nothing else to do the rest of the night, so I agreed. I met up with her at her sister's house in Nephi and waited for the guys to show up. They walked in the door and right away I thought this guy was good looking. He introduced himself to me and I could tell he was really shy. We then went over to his grandma's where he had been living (he had just moved to Nephi from AZ a few weeks prior so that he could work and get ready to start school at the U)and I was able to meet his sister, brother-in-law, and of course his grandma Lois. I have to point out that just as we arrived, I quickly told my cousin that I didn't even know this guys last name, she said "It's Brough, Austin Brough" and as soon as she said that I felt this tiny spark inside...sounds incredibly cheesy, I know, but little did I know that it was confirmation that this little "blind date" was a pretty big deal...anyway, back to the story. We all hung around just talking and setting off fireworks. Then we hung out in the garage playing music and the guys played their guitars. It was so much fun. All the recent dates I had been on, the guy had tried hard to impress, but being around Austin just totally being himself and laid back had won me over imediately. He was shy so I had to work hard to get him to talk much so I could get to know him but what I did learn was that there was something about him I already felt like I had known forever. We gave each other a hug at the end of the night and I tried to assure him that I had a fun time so that he would eventually ask me out again. He went on to tell his brother that he felt like he didn't have a chance with me, which I thought was so funny since he had already won me over. I went on my vacation the next few days and he was all I could think about. When I got home he called me up so that we could go out again. We were pretty much inseperable after that. Then on October 9th, we took a four-wheeler ride up the red cliffs near Nephi where he had laid out a blanket with his guitar and some sparkling cider and brownies. At first when I saw it set up I thought some hunter had left their crap lying around until I realized what it was. I was so impressed...and then, it happened...he pulled out his guitar and sang to me a song he had written to propose. The lyrics went like this:

Goodbye Gilbert Arizona

Hello Nephi Utah,

I think it's the best thing I've done

since I first yelled "Yee-haw:

I'll have to say lots has gone down

Since I moved to this hick town

I met a little country chick

And boy, what a pick

I was a nerd in high school

And never missed a math class

She was the head cheerleader

And she has a really nice butt

She has the most beautiful hazel eyes

That anyone has ever seen

Sometimes they match the blue of the sky

Other times they can be green

When she got back from Flaming Gorge

We hit it off just straight

It only took me two more dates

To know it had to be fate

Every night I thank the Lord

For sending me someone so perfect and sweet

Now I know the one of my dreams

Is a girl from North Sanpete

We've been dating for two months now

And there are some things I gotta say

Kara, I love you with all of my heart

Will you marry me someday?

So obviously I swooned and it took me a minute to say yes, but I did! We set the date for December 4, 2004. We were married in the Manti LDS Temple and it was one of the best days of my life!

Love you Gust-can't wait for eternity!

-A Tale of a Holiday Headache-

2010-11-27T21:24:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving Holiday was very relaxing and stress-free (at least for me anyway). We went to my parents for dinner and enjoyed visiting with family and eating really yummy food! Then we stopped by to visit Austin's parents. We decided to have them spend the night at our house so Austin and his dad could get up super early and hit up the Home Depot for Black Friday. After we put the girls to bed, we stayed up looking through all the Black Friday ads that had come in the paper. I really needed a new computer and Austin found an amazing deal at Best Buy. So he and his dad decided they better head out to get in line. They left at 12:30 since the store hands out tickets for items two hours prior to opening. Austin was worried that he wouldn't make it to Home Depot in time so his mom and I decided to load up the girls, drive by Best Buy to check on the guys, then headed to Home Depot at 3 am...yeah crazy, I know. I've NEVER been a fan of the Black Friday crowd or cared to stand in line in the freezing cold for a sale, but since Austin was doing that exact thing for me, I figured I could do it for him. When we got to home depot, there wasn't ANYONE around--including employees. The parking lot was empty. So we made sure we had enough gas to just idle for a few hours. The line started to form so I joined the 'too perky for that early in the morning shoppers' and waited for the store to open. Austin got the ticket for the computer we wanted and joined us at home depot since he wouldn't need to pick it up until later that morning. I guess the most stressful part was that I was in charge of getting what Austin needed and was worried I wouldn't be bold enough to put up a fight for what I needed...luckily it didn't come down to that. I'm soooo suprised at how nice and calm everyone was, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. And my wonderful children slept through the WHOLE thing! I'm just shocked we were even there in the first place!!! Later in the day after we rested up, Elena got to see santa at Tai Pan!

Family Photos-Fall 2010

2010-11-16T20:06:00.001-08:00

We just recently had our family pictures taken...it was SOOOO windy, therefore; red cheeks, blue lips, and runny noses(and of course uncooperative hair!:) We still got some good ones! Thanks Jill!

~Lady A~

2010-11-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

Austin's good friend B Jay hooked us up with some free tickets to see Lady Antebellum at the Rail Events Center. We have never been there...and it was SO FUN!!! The place was packed-standing room only. And of course I didn't wear comfortable shoes, so after dancing and standing for 3 hours, my feet were KILLING me...but it was so worth it! The opening act was a new country artist- David Nail. He was really good and his voice was soooo good live. I LOVED his opening song "Clouds". Beautiful.

Lady A definately know how to put on a good show. And I can't belive how good they were live, as well. They really interacted with the crowd and seemed to get so excited that the crowd new all the lyrics to their songs. Austin's favorite part was the encore when they sang several cover songs. It was an awesome show and a fun date night!

This is a video of "Need You Now". The crowd was singing louder than Lady A but you can still kind of hear them. Enjoy!

Eeek!!!

2010-11-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

Our Halloween was so much fun and very eventful this year. Our Trick-or-Treating was rained out so we only stopped by a few houses but the girls were just excited to be able to wear their costumes. This year Austin and I had totally been occupied by other things and completely forgot to get a pumpkin to carve...I know, I know, we are terrible parents! So the night before Halloween at 9pm we drove around frantically looking to buy a pumpkin and the ONLY place that wasn't sold out of them was Harmon's(probablay cause they were charging .79 a pound!!!!) What!?! Our pumpkin ended up costing $13! Seriously. Then- when we got home to carve it, it was hard as a rock and our only option was to paint a face. Never again will we procrastinate getting a pumpkin! Elena still thought the face was cool!Then, since our theme this year was spiders, Elena helped me make spider-web cupcakes. We used food coloring to turn the cake batter orange, then used sparkly gel to create the webs. They turned out pretty yummy!

Our house was full of cobwebs and spider decorations!

Austin and I were punk rockers. I don't know why Austin didn't paint his face...he was planning on it but I guess he just didn't get around to it?:) Elena was a dragon and Chanel a spider.

We were visited by some VERY interesting creatures. Witches, Dracula, Frankenstein, Elmo, a Fireman, and a very energetic man with a cane. (Not sure what your official name was, Boompa:)

We also had a mummy friend stop by, but for some reason, he kept trying to get out the window!

A photo of our house on All Hallows Eve and some of our very dedicated Trick-or-Treaters braving the rain and cold.

The girls in their cute costumes. Even Chanel liked to wear hers!

I love this one because of Chanels face, hehe.We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

I Love...

2010-10-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking alot lately about how blessed I am and some of the things that I love in my life right now...

~A beautiful sunset.

~When I can hear the girls giggling at each other in the next room.

~Laughing for an hour when Austin makes up his own lyrics to a song.

~The excitement of starting a new DIY project and the relief of finally finishing it.

~Getting cozy during a thunderstorm.

~When my children discover something new, seeing their faces and experiencing it with them.

~The change of the seasons and decorating the house with the girls for each upcoming holiday.

~Creative craft ideas that come to me and actually turn out cute!

~ The sound of the ocean and the feeling of sand in my feet on a much needed getaway.

~The look Austin gives me when he knows exactly what I'm thinking...at any given moment.

~All of our "inside jokes" and never forgetting a single one.

~The feeling of how truly blessed I am.

What do you love?

-It's FALL!!!-

2010-10-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

For Conference weekend, Austin had to work the first part so we weren't able to plan a getaway. Instead, after he got off work saturday night, we headed to Nephi to spend time with Nona and Boompa. Sunday we took a drive up Levan canyon. I was hoping to get some pictures of the girls in the fall leaves but we didn't really find a good spot...

...until four hours later when we made it all the way down Wales canyon and on our way back decided to ride up the loop a little way. The leaves were gorgeous!!!

The Brough family has a cabin up the Nebo Loop so we had to stop and check it out! It was little and quaint, perfect for fun get-togethers and family parties. And of course the surroundings were BEAUTIFUL!

Of course we had to look for some deer! Elena was just excited to use the binoculars. She had to use them to watch the fish jump in the pond.

Since the beginning of October, Nephi has turned into Halloween Town. All of the Businesses on Main have added ghostly gouls, witches, and other fun characters to the Main Street decor adding a fun spooky feel to the towns atmosphere. Elena was pretty nervous to sit and get pictures at first but obviously she warmed up pretty quick to the spooky townfolk:o)

It was a nice relaxing weekend being spiritually uplifted by conference and getting to spend time with family and seeing things we haven't been able to see for a while.

First Word

2010-09-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

Chanel decided to suprises us on Sunday by just blurting out her first word...which of course was DADA!!! We had all taken a nap (to recover from the weekends wedding bliss) and when we woke up, I took Chanel to lay next to Austin on the couch, where she then said "Dadadada, Dada". We were so excited, and of course, I had to get a picture!

Since then she has added a few words like "Boo" and "La La". And she likes to whisper "Dada" sometimes, too:) Okay, time can slow down now, she's getting big way too fast!!!!

Congratulations...

2010-09-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

...to the Mr. and Mrs.!!!

Natalie and Seth were married this past weekend in the Manti Temple.

It was the perfect day.

The children waiting VERY patiently for pictures:o)

The girls were such good sports during the long eventful day.

Labor Day Lux

2010-09-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Our Labor Day weekend came without anything planned for it. So at the last minute, we decided to spend part of the weekend in Heber/Midway. Midway was having Swiss Days so we thought it would be fun to check out the festivities. We bought tickets to take the girls on the Heber Valley Railroad. Both Austin and I went when we were kids and remebered that it seemed pretty boring...and it still was, at least for us. Elena LOVED it but Chanel would scream everytime the train whistle blew. We had to sit in the very last car, as far away from the whistle that we could, but she could still hear it and would cry.

Elena loved meeting the Conductor!

We spent the night at the Lodge on Jordanelle then hung out at the lakes beach the next morning. It was a little breezy and the water was cold but it was still fun to hang out near the water under the sun.

Then we drove down Provo canyon and stopped by Bridal Veil Falls(sp?) to let the girls play in the water.

On the 3rd Chanel turned 6 months old! And all in the same day she sat up on her own, figured out how to drink through a straw, and we discovered she had her first tooth!!! I can't belive how fast she is growing!

Everyday, Elena seems to be getting bigger, too! She just started her last year of preschool and is in a group with her friends from the neighborhood who she will be going to kindergarten with. She is having a blast!

Primary Bike Parade

2010-09-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Elena participated in the Primary Bike Parade promoting the theme "Riding the Straight and Narrow." It was so cute how excited she was decorating her bike the night before. They rode around several blocks in the neighborhood then had popcicles afterwards.

~My little beams of SUNSHINE~

2010-08-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Just a few cute updated pictures of the girlies!

Church History Roadtrip

2010-08-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

We have been planning this trip with my family for years, I guess you could say. We've wanted to go before now but due to everyones busy schedules it hasn't worked out until now. I'm so glad we were able to go. It was such a spiritual uplift and it was even better being able to experience it together. Historic Nauvoo was beautiful nestled on the banks of the Mississippi.

The first place we visited was the Family Living Center. There we were able to learn about all the things the pioneers had to make from scratch(quilts, rope, clay pots, barrels, candles, etc.) Elena thought this was pretty cool. Especially making rope. She got to keep some!

Next we visited Carthage Jail where Joseph, Hyrum, and others were kept until the day they were killed. The spirit was very strong, there. It was neat to see and now be able to visualize this place when we learn about Joseph's final days.

The window where Joseph was shot and fell from.

We watched the sun set on the Mississippi. The kids (including Austin:) skipped rocks and played in the water.

I love this picture of Chanle and Grandma Jacobson.

We were able to go through a beautiful session at the Nauvoo temple. It was neat to be able to see the beautiful work done inside the temple and what it supposedly looked like when it was first built.

Mom and Dad after our session at the temple.

Our next stop was the valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman. It was a beautiful place. It's amazing to think of all the incredible things that have happened here and will take place in the near future.

This was one of our in-depth family discussions of church history at Far West. (I love these!:)

One of our final stops was at the Liberty Jail where Joseph and several others were held prisoner for several months. It was heartbreaking to see the reality of the conditions in whick they were kept.This trip was such a neat experience and definately strengthened my testimony of all the sacrafices the pioneers made for us. Especially Joseph, Emma, and their families.

Oh, and while we were there...These two got engaged!!!

Congratulations, Natalie and Seth!!!

Days of Summer

2010-07-19T09:03:00.000-07:00

Our summer has been filled with tons of fun so far. We kicked it off with camping at San Rafael with the Daley fam. We went on lots of fun rides and visited Copper Globe Mines.

Hiking for crystals.

We had lots of fun miniature golfing in 90 degree weather. Elena thought it was a blast and did amazingly well for her first time:o)

Elena got some new pets!!! Three fish: Stewart, Stella, and Maverick. She does very well to remember to feed them everyday and keeps a good eye on them, even though Maverick seems to disappear for days at a time, we haven't seen him for quit a while now. We're not sure if he has found a really good hiding place, if he's been sucked up into the filter, or if Stewart and Stella ate him. He isn't floating though! ;o) (Update: We found Maverick. He must've been stuck under one of the decoration rocks cause when Austin picked it up we could tell he'd been there a while. Yuck! R.I.P Mav)

We enjoyed the 4th of July by celebrating Austin's 27th birthday with a party with his entire family. We also were able to watch the fireworks all over the valley. Check out that view!

Another fun neighborhood outing was to the local fire dept. The kids had a blast touring the fire house, climbing through the fire truck, listening to the sirens, and spraying the fire hose. Elena kept wondering where the Dalmation was, but the fire chief explained that they didn't have a dog at their station.

We've also been keeping cool and enjoying ourselves at the pool. Chanel LOVES the water and doesn't seem to tire of it too quickly. She constantly kicks her feet in the water and loves watching all the kids splash around her. Suprisingly, she doesn't mind getting splashed on, herself.

Elena bug is a natural born fish! She won't get out of the pool unless forced and would live in the water if she could. Same goes with bathtime:o)

We've just recently started feeding Chanel infant cereal. She was disgusted the first time. She was so mad at us for making her eat the nasty stuff! It has taken MANY attempts to convince her it isn't half bad and she is now finally getting a little down at a time.

We've spent this past weekend in Nephi and Fountain Green visiting family and enjoying our hometown celebrations. There were parades, carnivals, good food, fireworks, and a really fun rodeo. We LOVE this time of year.

Yay for Summer!

Doubt

2010-07-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

There are days were I feel I am the luckiest person in the world. Days when I feel like there isn't possibly anything more I could want from life. I have a beautiful family, two girls who adore each other, adapt easily to anything and everything, are very independant, and are very well mannered (most of the time). I have a husband who is very attentive, treats me like a queen, and is very patient and understanding of my needs and the needs of our children. We are all healthy and doing pretty well for ourselves in several areas of life. There are those individulas that I have to look to for guidance and support who are always there for me, even when it isn't convenient. I get to be a stay at home mom, which is something I now many women would kill for...Then there are days when I feel like I'm not even myself. Like I've completely forgotten who I am. Sometimes I feel as if motherhood is the only thing that has defined me. After a particularly frustrating day, my fortune from the fortune cookie read " It is never too late to change your path in life" When I read this to Austin, he laughed and said, "What would your path be if you could change it?" I honestly couldn't answer. The only thing I could think about was what I needed to accomplish today; baths, cleanup, bedtime, the constant attention my 4 month old insists on demanding lately...I realized that is how I run my life, getting through one day at a time. Rarely finding a moment for myself and not realizing it until the day is done and there is no time left and I'm getting in bed. This is why my blogging is usually done after ten. My baby is nursing this very moment as I type. I am not jotting this down for sypmathy or regret, just simply for self realization. I may even regret posting this later. But I feel that if I just write my feelings on paper, I'll eventually just throw the paper away as if these feelings never existed. I don't keep a journal. Blogging is the closest thing I have to one. Therefore, my thoughts and feelings end up here. I don't doubt myself as a mother. I'm very comfortable in this role. My children are happy, healthy, and thiriving with every new day. I just need a new challenge, something to keep me on my toes and help me be able to mentally keep up with life. Something to help me feel like I'm contributing to this world. What I really should be doing is throwing myself into service and doing things for others. I need a new hobby, find something I'm good at. Truth is, I'm scared to death. I feel like I've been doing the same thing for so long that whatever I attempt to do, I would completely fail. Since I've become a mother I've realized I never do anything without being fairly confident about it first. When Austin and I were dating, he could ask me to go skateboarding with him and I'd do it in a heartbeat even though I'd never been on one. He knows better than to ask now. I wouldn't even come close to doing something so wreckless. What has happened to the young, vivacious, glamorous woman I used to be? I really don't believe being a mom is the complete contributing factor. I am to blame for this loss. I allow myself to be completely overcome by the demands of motherhood that I am no longer who I wanted to be. But I'm the only one that can change that. I am truly grateful for EVERYTHING Heavenly Father has given me. I do have an amazing life. I do, however, hope to become the women I alway thought I'd be. A women who gladly accepts any challenge without self-doubt and conquers all she can. Hopefully this post will help me realize it's in my own hands to find joy in all things, make the changes that need to be made, and accept the things that can't be changed.

June Update

2010-06-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

(Note: All of the following pics were taken with my camera phone...Not the highest quality)

Soccer is over now. Elena's team (the Tiger Sharks:) played their last game saturday. They scored three points, two of which Elena scored!!! She did so good and really got the hang of it. We are so proud of her! She got a medal and some cool team pictures.

We have been going on summer fun activities with all the moms and kids in our neighborhood each week. Last week we went to Wheeler Farm. The kids had fun feeding the ducks, petting the animals, and going on a wagon ride.

We spent a rainy weekend in Park City with my family doing some shopping and having dinner downtown. Elena met a new friend. (She makes friends with just about anyone and anything these days)

We ate at the Blue Iguana where Austin ordered the Burrito Grande...it was the biggest burrito I've ever seen. If you finished it dessert was free! Unfortunately the burrito won and we didn't get dessert, although Austin did put up a pretty good fight:o)

Elena LOVES to play the ukulele we brought her from Hawaii. She's never taken much interest into it until recently. Now she makes up her own songs to play and sing and puts a show on for us several times day.

For Father's Day weekend we went to my grandparents for a BBQ. It was fun to see all the family and watch everyone fuss over the girls. Then Sunday morning, Elena and I made Daddy breakfast in bed.

Monday was my birthday. I turned 24. Nona and Boompa joined us for dinner at the Cheescake Factory. It was sooo good! I got lots of really great gifts. Thanks everyone!

Fragile Mom

2010-06-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Elena likes to rub lotion on my arms when I'm reading or on the computer. Well, today she came in and wanted to put lotion on me, so I helpled put some in her hands and away she went... a few seconds later I noticed she had paused and had a worried look on her face...this is how the next few seconds went:
E: "Uh, Mom?"
M: " What's wrong?"
E: "I think there's a crack in your arm"
I look down and it was just a long hair that she had rubbed over with lotion so it looked like it was part of my arm. I pulled it off and she laughed. I'm glad she knows I'm not starting to fall apart. :o)

Just Jeepin' Around

2010-05-16T20:19:00.001-07:00

There are alot of hills and trails around our house. And since there is alot of construction going on, they have a spot to dump the remaining concrete. Well, it has formed and awesome hill climb that Austin had to attempt. He didn't think anyone would believe he climbed it unless we caught it on camera:) It's almost a 45 degree angle.

I'm an official soccer mom!

2010-05-16T20:06:00.001-07:00

We just recently signed Elena up for soccer. She's on a team with all of the 4 yr old boys and girls from our neighborhood. She loves it! We bought her some cleats and soccer socks and when she came home with her uniform she couldn't wait to wear it. (And then, of course, wouldn't take it off).

Yesterday was her first game. It took a lot of encouragement to get her to chase after the ball, but once she got the hang of it she was actually pretty good:o)

Here she is dominating against all the boys! (You go, girl!)

Kite Weather

2010-05-16T18:38:00.001-07:00

Lately it has been perfect kite flying weather at our house. Especially with the light canyon breeze we're getting. Elena loves it and asks to fly her kite almost every day.

Vegas Getaway

2010-05-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

We went down and spent a week in Vegas for a little vacation. We went to the Mirage to see the White Tigers and Dolphins. They don't have actual shows where the dolphins perform, but you get to watch them interact with the trainers all day. It was pretty cool.

Hangin' out poolside:o)

Went to M&M World and met Red!

Chanel being really cute at 5am

Dinner at the Rainforest Cafe
Botannical Gardens at Bellagio (pretty awesome!)
Funny story: While we were at the Gardens, there were tons of tourists, including a group of older asian people getting lots of pictures. One of the older asian women saw Chanel in the infant backpack I was carrying her in. Chanel was wearing a fluffy pink beanie to keep the wind from her ears. The women immediatley ran up to us and was saying something I couldn't understand. I think it was about Chanel's pink hat (which kind of looked like hair...see picture above). She motioned for the other tourists to join her. They all gathered around us talking quickly in their own language and pointing and Chanel. When I realized they didn't understand what she was wearing, I removed the hat so they could see her REAL hair. I couldn't believe the shock and amazement on their faces as they laughed and realized it was just a beanie. Then, Elena, seeing all of this and wanting attention, too, came over and said "hi' to everyone. All the women gushed over her and picked her up, wanting a picture with her! What!? It was like a scene from a movie. Every other tourist looked at us wondering what was so special about us with this group of asian grandparents flocking around us. The best part was when one of the men just walked up to Austin and wanted a picture with him since everyone else was taking pictures with the girls! After all the comotion, we finally just walked away from the large crowd that had gathered even though a few continued to follow us and take pictures. I hope we won't be featured in some foreign film!

The Fountains at Bellagio

All in all we had a good time...enjoyed the warm weather and got some sun, Elena was able to play with her cute little cousin Emmett, and we were able to see some fun things...but we don't think we'll be taking the girls back to vegas, at least until they're alot older;o)

Chanel's Blessing

2010-05-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Chanel's blessing was on May 2, 2010. She was blessed by Austin with all of her uncles and grandfathers in the circle.

My sister Des' little girl, Charity, was born just 5 days before Chanel so we decided to have a combined blessing for the two cousins. It was really special.

All of our family and friends at the luncheon at the cabin.

Girlies

2010-04-18T22:22:00.001-07:00

This beautiful young lady is the best big sister you'll ever meet. She loves Chanel so much and is always so eager to help with her, whether it's checking on her, singing her a song, wanting to hold her, or helping mommy with minor details. Whatever it is, Elena is so willing to play her part in our family.

Lately, she has been getting out of her "tom-boy" phase and is becoming a little more girly. She enjoys playing dress up now, especially when daddy joins her and wears her clip-on earrings.

She has an incredible love and devotion to all things living. We wouldn't be suprised if she grew up to become a vet. She isn't scared of anything. These were some of the cool things she encountered in FL, as well as some jellyfish and crabs.

Our Sugar Cookie, Chanel, adores her big sis. She loves it when Elena gives her loves and pays attention to her. She adds such joy and happiness to our family.

One of Chanel's most favorite things (besides all the attention she gets) are ceiling fans...that's right...ceiling fans!!! We have two in our house and as soon as one catches her eye, she'll stare at it forever and smile and make faces at it. It's the cutest thing! Earlier tonight she had fallen asleep in my arms, so I carried her in to the bedroom and laid her down. She stirred a bit, but didn't fully wake, so I assumed she'd fall right back to sleep. I didn't hear anything from her so I didn't check on her until ten min. later. I walked into the room to find her wide eyed, grinning at the ceiling fan:) She seemed as if she was trying to tell it something. I'm sure she's having beautiful conversations with angels. She's definately our little angel!

I am so grateful Heavenly Father has blessed me and trusted me to be the mother of these two beautiful girls. I can't imagine my life without either of them and I'm so lucky to have them and the most handsome, thoughtful, incredible-in-every-way husband to be my partner in crime as we attempt to raise these little ladies:)

Fun in Florida

2010-04-18T21:58:00.001-07:00

This past week, Austin and Bug were able to head out to FL for Josh's graduation and for some fun in the sun. Elena was most excited for the plane ride.

Having fun on the beach in St. Augustine!

Then they were able to visit a really cool lighthouse.

Elena had so much fun eating lots of seafood, making friends with the locals, and visiting with family that hasn't seen her since she was a baby.

Congratulations, Dr. Brough!!!

Musical Inspiration

2010-04-18T21:46:00.001-07:00

When Elena was a baby and would get fussy, we were always able to calm her down by singing to her, especially when daddy sang, and especially when it was the ABC's...

...Four years later he still has the touch. Chanel loves to be sang to as well, but her choice song is "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Whenever she gets fussy, Elena says "Just sing her a song, mom"

They both still love the music. Even though these days, Elena prefers Lady Gaga:o)

Just like D-A-D

2010-04-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Elena LOVES spending time with her Dad, especially outside, or in the garage working on something. Well the other day, Austin found his old riding goggles, and of course, had to try them on. They didn't fit at all, so Elena put them on...

...And wore them the rest of the day.

Easter Goodness

2010-04-18T21:13:00.001-07:00

Easter weekend was filled with so much fun for us this year! Elena was able to go to the city easter egg hunt in Nephi this year with Nona and Boompa. She met the easter bunny and told him what she wanted him to bring her. (She expects the same treatment she gets from Santa!) She came home and said "The Easter Bunny had to keep holding his head so the wind didn't blow it off!" Nothing gets past her:o)

Then we had a fun and eventful easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's in FG.Of course, Sunday morning, Elena woke up before anyone else to check out what the EB had brought! She did promise not to get into anything until everyone was able to see it.
She kept that promise.

The girls with their goodies:o)

-Chanel's Newborn Pics-

2010-03-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

We had Chanel's newborn pictures taken this week by Jill. I thought it was going to be pretty easy and that Chanel would just sleep through the whole thing. Nope. Jill was very patient as we dealt with feedings, messy diapers, fussiness, and an older sister who wasn't very interested in participating:) All in all we did get some pretty cute pictures!

We'd like to introduce...

2010-03-10T09:42:00.001-08:00

Chanel Brough
Born March 3, 2010 5:30 pm 8lbs. 21 inches

Lifting her head to look around at just 2 hours old.
Sisters meeting for the first time.

She already loves bathtime!

So I didn't have to wait til Friday. I went in for a checkup on the 3rd when my Dr. realized my heart rate was through the roof. She was worried my body was just so worn out from being pregnant (trust me, she had good cause, I was a PLANET! Not posting pics of that!) so she said time was up and induced me right away. Everything went great since I recieved the epidural right away:o) Chanel was born 7 hours later!

Bug's Room & Baby Update

2010-03-02T10:29:00.001-08:00

We finished painting and "dotting" Elena's room. She LOVES it and spends so much time in there. We've had it done for a while, this is just the first chance I've had to post.

Before

After

*BABY UPDATE*

You've probably noticed our baby ticker is slowly counting down to the end, even though we were hoping she would've been here by now. Guess I've been a pretty good host for nine months and she's just not quite ready for change. However, I went to my 38 week Dr. apt. last wednesday and found out I have really high blood pressure. This concerned the Dr. and she was almost ready to immediately induce my labor. But she decided to send me home and have me come back in 24 hrs to check my BP again. I was hoping it would still be a little high so that they would induce but it had actually gone down a bit, so they sent me home:( I've just had to take it easy since then and play the waiting game, watching for every sign of labor and nearly going out of my mind in the process!!! My Dr. did suggest to schedule for an indicated induction since the baby is pretty big and she doesn't want to risk a c-section. So if this baby doesn't decide to make her own apperance by Friday the 5th, we're just going to have to give her a little push:o)

The Nursery Project

2010-01-25T21:59:00.001-08:00

We've been taking all the time that Austin has off from work and putting it to good use:o) Our latest project has been the baby's room. Austin and his dad put up beadboard and a chair rail/shelf along the wall and then we painted the rest. I'm so glad it all went well together with the cute bumblebee bedding I ordered. I'm so excited this room is finished (other than some decorating needed). It's a huge weight off my shoulders since the baby's arrival is getting closer. Tomorrow we are starting on Elena's room:0) We'll keep you posted!

Elena's Birthday and Photos

2010-01-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so this post is WAY overdue... Elena celebrated her 4th birthday (can you believe it?!?! I can't) on Jan. 5th. We had a fun birthday party for her that Friday with family and then some of her friends came over for a party on Saturday. She was definately spoiled with gifts and LOTS of attention, which she can never seem to get enough of:o)

We also had our good friend, Jill, take some pictures of her for her 4th birthday. It's been a while since we had Elena's pics taken so we were grateful Jill took them on such short notice, especially since the weather was bad. She made a great little studio in her house to do this for us:) These are just a few of my faves:o)

Long awaited pics

2010-01-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

We've been promising pictures of the house for a month now

so here they are. There is a lot we still want to do but we are

definately enjoying what we have:0) We didn't post pics of the nursery

because it is currently a project in progression.

Happy, Happy Holidays

2010-01-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

ONCE THERE WAS A SNOWMAN
One of the first sundays in Dec. we were driving around looking at all the christmas lights when we noticed all the snowmen in people's front yards. Elena kept saying "Oooh look at that one!" every time we would pass a snowman. Even though it was pretty late and freezing outside, we decided to take her home and build one in our front yard. We were pretty scarce on items for a face, so we used holiday m&m's and gave him a green and red face. The m&m's didn't last long of course and ended up making the snowmans face look bloody and gruesome but Elena was completely content with her cool new friend:0)

PARTY AND TEMPLE SQUARE
The next few weekends, we had family Christmas parties. Everyone came to SLC to see the new house, have dinner, and see the lights at Temple Square. It was fun to get together and take the kids out to see the lights, even though it was pretty cold!

CHRISTMAS MORNING
This was Elena's face when she woke up and saw what Santa had brought her.

And this is what she saw.

This was the first thing she ran to since she had been asking for it for months. It's the toy dog Bolt from the disney movie. She's a huge fan! She also asked santa for a computer and a sleeping bag, all of which she got, plus a few more cool toys like an art easle, rocking horse, camera, and clothes!

A CARPENTER FOR CHRISTMAS
Austin had wanted a new saw from santa, so thats what he got. However, he did know that by asking for such a gift, he would be entitled to a super long honey-do list of projects from me to keep him busy when he had time off. He was pretty willing, especially since he and his dad got started right away on a BEAUTIFUL mantel for the fireplace. We priced them online, ranging from $600-$1000 for one. Austin was able to make our for under $100! Thank You Santa!!!

As of recent...

2009-12-10T21:22:00.000-08:00

We are currently the proud owners of a new home! We finally closed on the 2nd of December and have spent the last week moving in and getting settled. We've been having fun setting up house and decorating for Christmas. Elena loves her new room and any time we go somewhere she asks when we're going home. Luckily the transition was very easy for her. We had a great Thanksgiving, getting to spend time with both of our familes. Also, on the 4th of December, Austin and I celebrated our 5th anniversary!!! It's really been 5 years, wow, time flies:o) It really has been the best 5 years, how can it not be when you spend it with your best friend. We didn't do anything specific to mark the event since we were still moving into our house, but it was great anyway. Love you Gust!! Well I don't quite have pics of the finished house but will post some soon.

Disney on Ice - Princesses

2009-11-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we suprised Elena by taking her to Disney on Ice - Princesses. She was really excited once we got there and found out why we made her wear her crown and walk a block in the freezing cold.

2009-11-16T11:14:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Almost Done!!!

2009-11-11T21:19:00.001-08:00

Just adding a few finishing touches and getting ready to move in!!!(These are just a few quick pics I snapped today with my phone...more to come when completed:o)

Name Suggestions?

2009-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

We are right back where we started when we were trying to name Elena. Once again, nothing seems to work. We settled on Elena cause that was the only name we both agreed on. Now we have no idea what to name baby girl #2. We're looking for something elegant and poised like Elena but not too old fashioned or too common. Any suggestions? Anything and everything will help!

-Halloween Fun-

2009-11-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

For months Elena has been telling everyone that she wanted to be a "tiger for a king" for Halloween(who know what she meant by that...so we just assumed she meant a tiger:o) But I couldn't find a Tiger costume that I liked and was willing to pay for, so I convinced her to be a kitty. While we were shopping for cat ears and a tail, she saw a set of tiger ears, tail, and bowtie and remembered how bad she wanted to be a tiger. Needless to say, she went as a tiger with a bowtie:o)We went with our friends to Jordan Landing for some early trick-or-treating since Austin had to be to work by 630. Here is our tiger and her friend, Kaden the monkey. She kept asking him if he was going to eat his banana:)
Friday, Elena went to a costume party at school and had fun with all of her friends in their costumes!

Witches Night Out

2009-10-26T11:39:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago we went to Gardner Village to Witches Night Out. It was so much fun to see all the women and men who went all out and dressed up for this occasion. While we were there Elena got her picture taken with one of the celebrity witches:) She was so scared of some of the witches than when we told her to stand by one, she refused. That is until one of them personally asked her to pose for a picture. Elena didn't dare tell a witch no! So that is why Elena looks scared to death standing next to this witch:o) It was so funny!!! We also had Elena ride one of the ponies at the petting zoo. This was her first time on one and she LOVED it!

More House Pics

2009-10-26T11:20:00.001-07:00

Front Entrance

Kitchen

Living Room

Nursery

Elena's Room

Master Suite

In case you were wondering...

2009-10-17T10:02:00.001-07:00

Change

2009-10-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Most of the time I hate it. It causes stress, takes time to adjust, and makes you miss those good old days. It's denfinately been happening at our house.

Austin:

A recent promotion had us all thrilled when we learned of the awesome pay raise, benefits, and a pretty decent looking schedule when he would be working 3 out of the 4 weeks of the month and have a whole week off. That was until we experienced his turn on the night shift. Seriously thought I was more independant than I really am. Even though it's just a few nights in a row I have to sleep by myself, it's harder than I thought it would be. You see, Aus and I are still in a relationship where the only thing that gets us through a work day is that we get to be together in the evenings, cheesy I know, but it's true. Needless to say when Austin isn't with me at night I can't sleep, I hear EVERYTHING, and I end up calling him at 3am just so we can talk for a bit. This change is definately going to take some getting used to.

Kara:

This is how I feet right now...

When we first got pregnant I thought it was going to be a lot like my first pregnancy with Elena. Not a chance. First of all my immune system is pretty weak right now. I seem to be catching whatever is going around! I feel exhausted all the time and can't wait until I don't have to get up for work anymore. And I seemed to have ballooned out just in the last week. Nothing fits!!! It's not a good day when even your fat pants don't fit. In the end though this type of change will be worth it!!!(fingers crossed)

Elena:

She has recently been having a hard time at school lately with bullying. Meaning, she's the bully!!! It doesn't make it any easier that I was her teacher and she thought she could get away with it. We changed that. She has a new teacher now thats trying to crack down on her and get it under control. Elena definately doesn't look like the type to just randomly walk up to the biggest kid in the class and deck him for no reason! But that's her. She really is a good girl at home but the class brat at school. Isn't is supposed to be the other way around? Any suggestions to tame her rough behavior? Hopefully this baby will be rough and tough with her so she has someone to wrestle and can take it!

House Update

2009-10-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

Now that things are rolling along it seems like it's going so fast!(Definately a good thing:) The roof is on and windows in, just in time for the bad weather, with plumbing and electrical on it's way. Before you know it, we'll have insulation and dry wall up! Yay!!!

First Photo

2009-09-26T09:17:00.000-07:00

First photo, 12 wksSecond photo, 14 wks

Our house

2009-09-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

The foundation has been set. Nestled in the foothills of the Oquirrhs. Scheduled to be fininshed begining of November...Can't wait!!!

End of Summer

2009-09-26T08:57:00.001-07:00

Onion days...

The time has come...

2009-08-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

...to let you all in on our little secret...

We're having

Baby!!!

I am 12 weeks and due on March 11, 2010. We can't wait and Elena is so excited to be a big sister!

Sweet child 'o mine

2009-07-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

Seriously, so cute! Just can't get enough of this:o)

A bit of humor...

2009-07-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Craziness!!!

2009-07-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, so much going on there is hardly time to blog about it...But here we go:) Our 4th weekend was celebrated in Nephi with family and friends. It started Friday at the Payson pool which was pretty fun except Austin jumped off the diving board and snagged his toe on the bottom of it which cut out a huge chunk of skin(I have pics but it's pretty gross so I don't plan to post 'em) then later that night with a birthday party for Aus (whose b-day is actually the 4th of July!) We just bbq'd and hung out. Saturday the 4th we ended up at the gun range shooting at clay pigeons...I was pretty good if I do say so myself! Everyone was hitting pretty good once we got the hang of it:o) Then that night we sat in the car up on the hill for an hour waiting for fireworks, only to find out they're canceled last minute because of the rain and lightning...Boo, we were totally bumed.

Then this past weekend we ended up in Nephi again for the UTE STAMPEDE! It was so much fun...it seems the rodeo gets better every year. Elena loved watching the riders and horses and all the stunt acts!

Next weekend...LAMB DAYS!!!!

Midnight Madness

2009-06-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend was incredibly relaxing for us since it wasn't plagued by a crazy schedule like all of our recent weekends have been. It all started friday night with dinner and movie celebrating mine and Karla's Birthdays. We went to see this...

It was AWESOME!!! Then Saturday Karla and I got a pedicure. Austin, Elena and I hung out by the pool and got a nice little burn :o) Then Austin felt like he needed to hit a few balls so we went to the driving range and Elena couldn't wait to participate.

We ended up at the Midnight Madness Beach Party at Gardner Village where they had food, music, dancers, entertainment, and great specials in all their shops!!! It was a great, stress-free, way to enjoy the warm weather and relax. :o)

-Air Show 2009-

2009-06-09T17:49:00.000-07:00

About three years ago we went to the Hill AFB Air Show. It was my first airshow and Austin was excited to take me since he had been to several at Miramar and LOVE them. I had so much fun and was looking forward to the next show in two years, however, it ended up being three years before they hosted another show. So this past weekend had been planned, i guess you could say, years in advance. It was so fun cause this time Elena was older and was excited to see the jets even though she would scream every time a loud one would fly by. She was such a trooper since we were there literally ALL day and she kept getting sunscreen in her eyes. All in all I think she had fun. They had all different types of planes/jets and some stunt performances. My favorite part (it seems to be everyone's favorite part, you'll see why in the video clip) is the stunts of the Thunderbird show, which they save for the very end, of course! It's the highlight of the day and was so fun to watch. They were really loud so Elena pretty much threw a fit til the end but we did the best we could to keep ear plugs in her 'lil ears.

Anyway, here are some pics and a clip of the awesome show! Enjoy:o)

Silly Bug

Mike and Austin

I thought this was a pretty good one myself:)

Elena was wiped out half way through the day

Mom and Nat gettin' a tan

Dallen loved every minute

Check this out!!!

-Lake Tahoe-

2009-06-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

Work, school, work, school, work, work, school, work...This is what our life has been like lately, so Austin and I decided to take a much needed holiday to Lake Tahoe. Neither of us have been before so we were stoked to go! We left Elena with my parents and headed out early Thursday morning(5/28). A long 8 hours later we checked in to the hotel in South Lake Tahoe.

Our weekend was filled with walks on the beach, kayaking, rollerblading, parasailing, shopping, an exciting dinner/dance cruise on the Tahoe Queen (a river boat brought up from the Mississippi), and endless sleeping in. It was great!!! The only downfall was that just before we got there I got this HUGE cold sore that was a total bumer for all the pictures:( We had a blast but couldn't wait to get back to be with our little bug:o) Here are just a few of the hundreds of pics taken over the weekend

Preschool Graduation

2009-05-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

Okay so lots of graduating going on in this family this spring:o) And no Elena isn't old enough to be graduating preschool just yet. But my preschool class that I teach at Young Explorers just graduated tonight! It was so fun to have them perform the songs they prepared in front of their parents and to see how excited the children were to show their parents what they have done. The parents were great sports for our ending activity when everyone had to sing 'A-tootie-ta'. Then we had delicious ice cream cupcakes from coldstone...Yum! I am so proud of all my students!!!

-Cookie Cutter Haircut-

2009-05-26T20:47:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was the fairest in the land. She had a beautiful complexion and long curly hair. Everyone in the kingdom was jealous of her beauty. What no one knew was that it took alot to look this pretty, every morning she battled with the hairbrush to get it through her golden locks (you see, she moved around a lot in her sleep, therefore causing a huge mess in her hair) The Queen finally convinced the King to let the princess get her first professional haircut at Cookie Cutter Haircuts for Kids. The princess was so excited. The date was set and the appointment kept. The princess chose the airplane to sit in and a Barney movie to watch while she got her hair cut. She only had an inch taken off the bottom and her bangs trimmed. Then the hairdresser put a beautiful braid in the princess' hair. The princess was so excited and can't wait to do it again! The End

NSH Graduation

2009-05-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was Natalie's graduation so we went to North Sanpete for the ceremony. Being there made me feel like it was only yesterday when I graduated. Everything was exactly the same including the small graduating class. It was fun to be there for Natalie, Congratulations Nat we love you!

Enlisted

2009-05-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

We are all enlisted til the conflict is o'er...Okay I'll stop:) So Austin wanted his hair cut really short since the weather was finally getting warmer, so I agreed to cut it shorter than normal. While I was getting things ready, Austin decided to get started. He put on what he thought was the 3/4 clip when really it was 3/8...Yeah I was shocked by how much hair fell to the floor! So needless to say I had to take the sides extremely short so that it wasn't all the same length(I hate that look!) Anyway we decided to take pics of his new do since he looks like he just joined the Army...Needless to say it's going to be a while til we can get our family pictures done:o) Happy are we, Happy are we!!!

A Day at the Zoo

2009-05-16T17:24:00.000-07:00

Our friends Chris and Jill invited us to take the kids to the Zoo for the day. It was a beautiful day and perfect for our planned outing. Elena had been sick the last few days so it was fun for her to finally get out and get some sun:) The day ended on kind of a sad note...Someone walked off with our cool red wagon:( We left it outside one of the exhibits and when we went back for it, it was gone. Poor Elena kept asking for her red wagon, and of course no one in customer service had seen it. We just trusted people too much to leave it there but we definately learned our lesson. It's too bad someone would walk off with some kids wagon...Have a heart!!! Anyway we still had a good time and got some fun pics:o)

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend that we were able to enjoy once the graduation festivities were over. Austin's parents were staying with us so we took them out for brunch at Mimi's Cafe. Then we drove around Salt Lake City showing them the different sites. It was a nice relaxing day. I want to thank not only my own wonderful mother but all the great women who have influenced my life greatly. Thank you for showing me how to be a great wife and mother. It's the best job in the world and it takes everything I have to do it right but I wouldn't change it for anything. Happy Mother's Day!!!

Austin's Graduation

2009-05-10T18:59:00.001-07:00

Yay!!!! Austin graduated on Friday and we are so excited that he's done! It was a great event that started Thursday night when John (Austin's dad) flew in for the occasion, followed by a late night surprise when Josh (Austin's brother) flew in from Florida to be here as well. It was soooo fun to see the look on Austin's face when I told him we needed to go for a late night ride and ended up at the airport to pick up Josh:) Friday we all piled into the Huntsman Center for the graduation ceremony then had a cold yet fun party at the park with family and friends. Thank you to everyone who came and helped make the party a success. Austin, we are so proud of you and your amazing accomplishments. You made it through even with a family, working full time, and still received a 3.2 GPA!!! WE LOVE YOU & CONGRATULATIONS!