Memorial Day Weekend

I love long weekends!!!

Friday night my mom tended Brandon while Jared and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was cheesy but still a lot of fun, and a little scary!

Saturday was the big project day!

When we moved into our home nearly 2 years ago we inherited a very ugly green house/shed with the house, on the side of it there was an even uglier compost heap (which Maggie loved to climb on top of to peek out at the world). Well last winter we sold the shed, and at the beginning of the month after a day of hard work I was able to fill our garbage can, and flower beds with soil and compost, and now the compost heap is no more! Then began the debate of what to do with the space. Some of the options included, a play set for Brandon, a new shed, a second vegetable garden or a stone patio with a dining set. We decided on the stone patio. So for my birthday present I got 72 beautiful 12" square red stones. I know you think that is a strange birthday present, but it is what I really wanted! On Saturday Jared helped me install our new patio. We spent the day buying and hauling stones and sand, clearing away sod, dirt and mulch so that the area was 3" deep, then we filled the area with 8 bags of paving sand, then we very carefully placed the stones, and the finishing touch was filling in all the cracks with more paving sand. Jared and I are still very sore, but it was worth it and I love the way it turned out, I can not wait to get a table, and some plants to finish it completely!

Sunday was truly a day of rest, which allowed us to jump into our Monday with energy.

You are all probably very aware of our love for animals. For years Jared and I would give each other a zoo membership for our anniversary. When we found out we were expecting Brandon one of the things we looked forward to the most was taking him to the zoo. We love animals so much we even decorated Brandon's room in a safari animal theme. Well we could wait no longer, so despite rainy, windy weather we embarked on our adventure (an ill planned expedition!). It turned out to be a terrific outing! We enjoyed seeing the animals being more active because of the weather, and we loved watching Brandon observe the animals, but my favorite part was watching Jared get so excited about Brandon. Brandon seemed to enjoy to Giraffes and the Monkeys the most! My favorite animals were the Bears and Elephants. Jared liked the Red Panda, and Brandon the best.

We had a great time at the zoo, we loved the animals, we even enjoyed the rain, although it made me a little home sick for Portland, Oregon. To ease my yearning for Oregon Jared took me to Starbucks to get blueberry coffee cake (unfortunately they did not have merrion-berry muffins) and a peppermint hot chocolate, it was great.

Thanks Jared for a great weekend, and for your help with the patio!

Maggie got away!

Well yesterday while I was teaching piano lessons one of my piano students accidentally let Maggie out the front door and was too afraid to tell me. I did not realize that she was gone until a few minutes into the piano lesson, so I went calling for her around the house and the back yard. She is usually very good to come running to me when I call her, so when she did not come I started to get even more worried. My gut feeling was that she had gotten out of the front door, which has always been a fear of mine (she has a flight problem). When I asked my student about it he just said "I don't know". So as soon as his lesson was over I cancelled the next lesson,(which happened to be his little sister) and went to look for her. I was driving around the neighborhood crying (okay, sobbing was more like it) and calling for her to no avail. I drove back to my house and my next student was there, and informed me that Maggie went into her house, where they caught her, and she was now safe in my back yard. I cried some more and then taught her lesson. I thought it was ironic that Maggie went to the students house who accidentally let her out. What is it about dogs that make you love them so much? Maggie is like a second child, I was devastated at the thought of no longer having her around. I have always loved my pets, and always been sad when they go, but Maggie is different, she has wrapped her little paw around my finger so tight I embarrassed at how much I adore her, and how attached I am to her. Thank goodness she is back and safe!

Look what Brandon can do!

Well Brandon is an active 8 month old little boy. He has been learning how to army crawl, (still working on getting the knees up) and he has been practicing standing and sitting. He can get into a sitting position all by himself, and the other day he surprised me when, after his nap I went in to get him and he was peeking over the crib, yes he can now pull himself up to a stand.

I am so proud of my little guy! I am totally undecided on whether I want him to slow down and not grow up so fast, or keep going and progress to the next level, good thing it is not up to me!

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a wonderful day! Wyn and DeeAnn (Jared's parents) were in town so they took me out to lunch with Jared. That night all of my family came up to celebrate. We had a BBQ and we watched American Idol. It was also Chandlers 6 month birthday so we bought balloons for him to play with, Brandon and Maggie had a great time joining in on the fun! Thanks to my family for making the journey and for the wonderful gifts! Thanks to my sweet husband for ordering a tasty cake, for the beautiful flowers and for the great gift, soon to come! :)

Random

I had a great week with lost of fun things happening and then I lost my camera and could not show you all of the fun little occurrences, but I found my camera today while I was cleaning, (YEAH!) so here are all the random pictures.

How do you keep a baby happy, put him in front of a mirror and sing, You're So Vain. It works for Brandon every time! Dana invited me to go with her to take pictures of the kids in a field of flowers that is just a few blocks down the road from our house. It was a beautiful day even with all the wind. Brandon and McKell are great buddies! They smile and get excited every time they see each other, although McKell did not care for the wind in her face.
This is my favorite, and yes it is because it has me in it, not because I look wonderful but because I am never in the pictures, this makes two pictures of just me and Brandon, thanks Dana for letting me get out from behind the camera!
When Natalie and I were teaching together one of our students moms gave us these matching cowboy outfits, well Brandon and Chandler are finally big enough to fit into them. Nat and I had a lot of fun taking the pictures while our husbands felt that we were tormenting our kids, but I ask you, does this look like torment, I mean babies love to have their faces covered up with hats, right? :)
Jared's parents Wyn and DeeAnn have this huge motor home that they are traveling the country with. We have been blessed with a home that has a large (UGLY) side yard that the motor home fits perfectly in. We installed a large outlet so that the motor home can have electricity and now when they come they have a place to stay (our three bedroom home is just too tiny). We had a great time with their visit!
While DeeAnn was here she bought flowers for me to plant in pots to go in front of my house, then she showed me how to plant them so they would actually look nice. I love them, now we can only hope that my brown thumb wont kill them!My sister Natalie and I have two cousins (Jennifer and Carolyn, they are also sisters) who we grew up with. We are each just one year apart so the dynamics were great. Well a little over a year ago we each took our turn announcing that we were pregnant. This pictures shows the different stages of our pregnancies.(it is frightening our huge I was!) Moving right to left is me, (due in September) Natalie, (November) Jennifer, (February) and Carolyn (due with her second child in April). We were each two months apart. It was so exciting as we each found out that we were going to have boys, (except for Carolyn who already had her boy so she got lucky and had a girl). Now all the babies have been born so we took the opportunity to get a picture of all of them, It was tricky but we did it, and it looks cute!The children are left to right Jordan, Brandon, Chandler, Logan, and Cassandra.

I love this picture because it looks like Chandler is telling Brandon a really interesting secret. Brandon loves to put everything in his mouth, even his cousin Chandler. Pour Chandler!
Natalie and I think this picture looks like Brandon just made a stink and Chandler is disgusted.
Yes now I am finished, I hope you were able to endure this random post.

Happy Mother's Day part two

The Relief Society President in my ward is a wonderful lady. She arranged for all the women in the ward to attend Relief Society together, it was wonderful! I typically spend every Sunday teaching the children in the ward primary music, which is wonderful but I do miss being with the women, so it was fun to be able to meet with the other women in my ward. I feel so blessed to be one of many thousands of women who are proud to be mother's. I am privileged to be part of an army of women who strive to raise good, righteous children, and who understand their divine role as mother's. I am a member of the largest women's organization in the world, and together we share the same values, ideals, and goals. That is so cool!!!! I know I am weird, but I have always wanted to be part of a large group of people who are unified in a cause, and then march together up over a hill singing a song. (Can you see the musical? :)) Well today I feel like I am part of that large group and we are unified in the cause for good in the world, and we stand together lifting each other up and supporting each other. We even sang a song today about how we are sisters in Zion and we all work together, now we just need to march over a hill. :) I know it is cheesy, but it makes me happy! I am a mom, and I am proud of it!

The best mother's day gift came today when we came home from church and Brandon snuggled with me while he went to sleep. It is a great gift, because it is so unusual for Brandon to snuggle. (he is such a busy body) He rested his little head in my arms and wrapped is little arms around me and fell asleep, and I got to listen to him breath. It was wonderful!

Happy Mother's Day

I have been thinking a lot about mother's, particularly those who have influenced my life. I thought I would tell you about them.

There of course is my own Mother, I hope I can be organized, faithful in the gospel, and cherish good books, like my mom. She is a great homemaker, and a great sounding board, and a wonderful friend!


Then there is Dee Ann , Jared's mom. I am so grateful to her for raising such a wonderful son! I hope that I can be patient in trails, like she is. I hope I can learn grace and poise from her, she is such a lady. I am very happy she is teaching me how to garden, my flower pots look beautiful!

Then there are my two wonderful grandmas. My Grandma Johnson is terrific! She is an amazing cook, and she has a great love for books, movies and music. I hope that I can gain her appreciation for good media, and I hope that through practice I can learn to cook like her. She is also very thrifty, her favorite store is the DI, I hope I will be thrifty.

My Grandma Osborn amazes me. She is 88 years old, and sometimes I think she is younger than me. She is still working in real estate, she can still drive (and it is not scary), and she still does her morning exercises. She has also endured many trails with patience and faith. I hope I can be active and faithful like she is. My Grandma Osborn is also an amazing piano player, I am thankful she encouraged me to learn and play, that is one attribute I feel like I have down (one down many to go).

I can not fail to mention my Grandmother's -in -law. I have had the privilege of knowing Grandma Bowman. She is so kind and thoughtful. We get letters in the mail from her on a regular basis, and it always makes you feel so special and loved. Grandma Bowman is very good about her personal histories, and she cherishes her ancestors. I hope I can learn to love my ancestors the way she does. I wish I knew Jared's other Grandma, Grandma Ward, she passed away many years ago, but what I have heard I have loved, and I am sure I would have learned a great deal from her.
Mother's are wonderful! This has been one of my favorite posts to write. I am so grateful to have a wonderful mother, two fantastic grandmothers, a great mother-in-law, and two terrific grandmother's-in-law. I am so happy to know that Brandon, and my other children will be able to know there grandma's and their great grandma's. They have left us with great examples and a great heritage. I hope I can be a great mother like they have been to me. Happy Mother's Day!! I love Mom, Dee Ann, Grandma Osborn, Grandma Johnson, and Grandma Bowman.

Funny Pictures

A friend in my moms ward offered to take pictures of Brandon and Chandler for us. I think they turned out very well. I love this one of their little bums. This is my favorite. Maybe I am a bad mother but I think it is hilarious when Brandon cries, it is s o cute!


Chandler is adorable! Mom is such a great grandma!

Happy Anniversary

Well seven years ago on May 4th Jared and I got married! It was a wonderful day!! So how did we celebrate our anniversary you ask, well Jared has the flu, Brandon has a cold, and I am coming down with it myself, so we enjoyed a roast dinner with Jared's parents who were in town, and then we went to bed. So, Happy Anniversary Sweetie!!! I love you more and more every day!!! I hope you get better quickly, and we can celebrate a belated anniversary!

Here are some reasons why I love my husband

1. He has a strong testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

2. He honors his priesthood.

3. He is goal oriented and a very hard worker.

4. He loves animals, and knows everything about them. We go to every zoo whenever we go on vacation.

5. He supports me teaching piano, staying home with Brandon, and with many of my wild ideas.

6. He is a great dad to Brandon, he can make Brandon laugh so easily.

7. He has a great sense of humor.

8. He is protective, safe, careful, and law abiding.

9. He is a good flirt, and a fun tease.

10. He makes me feel beautiful.

11. He is complimentary, of me and my talents. (or things I am not so talented at)

12. He is really smart, I am always amazed by everything he knows.

13. He is a good example.

14. He likes to have fun, and he is outgoing.

15. He is a great chef. He fixes dinners on a regular basis.

16. He takes great care of me especially when I am sick, and yucky!

17. He is very kind to his family, especially his mother.

18. He is patient through trials.

19. He is wise with his money, and he saves well.

20. He is supper handsome!! Tall, dark skin, dark thick hair, and beautiful long legs!

I am so lucky to have a great husband! I love you Jared!!