{Scrub-A-Dub-Dub! Bergens In A Tub!...}

If ever Brady is missing, we know where to look!

Our shower of course!

So finally, I stopped fighting the fact that he loves it and threw both kids in to shower opposed to bathing. To my astonishment, "bath time" became much easier!

I gained a good half hour of them being entertained this way...

They are fascinated with how the water runs down the drain!

Drip-Drip...

We could probably all shower this way, though Ryan and myself are water hogs.

No sharing.

Our children love to shower together though!


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They were sad to get out.
I have pictures of me and my brothers sitting like this, all bundled in towels!

***** And, what else do they love at bedtime?****
Brushing their teeth, or 'stinkys' as we call them.

Yes, my son is finally getting hair!!!!
He also has 9 teeth, in case you were wondering why I make my baby brush his teeth...


Don't get me wrong, Ryan being home has been a huge help. But I love when he leaves, that sounds so bad, I feel like I can be a better mother.
This night, he was at class, and I got the babies all to myself!
Yum, I love when they are all sweetly smelling of the bath.
Favorite smell....

{Time Out & Breathe...}

Posting some small things I grateful for, (why we only acknowledge gratitude once a year is beyond me.)

{The greatest husband and best friend I ever could have asked for, no matter how bad things are, at least our relationship is something always going great.}

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{Healthy beautiful children who are smart and healthy, they can always make me smile!}

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{I live in an area where the church is strong, the safety we have through the Gospel}

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{The priesthood in my home, a priesthood leader who respects it as much as I do}

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{Good Renters x2!}

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{Ryan's ambition, his success in school, his perfect grades}

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{Cars, that at the moment, run great}

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{A healthy pregnancy, never learned to truly appreciate that until the "scare" with this one}

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{A husband who stands for what he thinks is right and doesn't just go along with the crowd}

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{A brilliant husband who does what it takes to make our family, and our finances work, being brave, "man"ing up and not taking the easy road.}

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{A husband who deals well with my craziness, and OCD stress}

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{Good friends}

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{Family who is local}

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{CELL PHONE & INTERNET!}

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{A husband who inspires me to become better, makes me laugh and makes me dream}

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{I'm also grateful for this little guy. His sweet little smile can always brighten my day!}

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And because it's my blog and I can do what I want, some fantastic quotes pertaining to, the most important topic of our lifetime, our freedom.

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not themselves, and under a just God cannot long retain it." -Abraham Lincoln

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin

"When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

{R.I.P. Dorothy}

Guess all I had to do was blog about it before it actaully happened, but believe it or not, Alenna's beloved 10 cent goldfish Dorothy has passed away.

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Dorothy lived longer than any goldfish I have ever heard of living for.

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She is survived by no one and will quickly be forgotten.

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Good bye Dorothy, thanks for the years.

{You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round...}

week 7/23/09

'You spin me right around, Brady, right round like a record baby...'

Couldn't ya just bite him?? He's so round and yummy.

They're hypnotized...you're getting sleepy....(I should be so lucky right?)

Brady loves watching the washer. Loves it. Loves it.

I think it's adorable!

(Brady that is, not the washer...)

Ok, I know not the cutest picture in the world, he is breaking 4 teeth on top. You can see them.

Alenna learned to swim by herself this week.

Yeah Alenna!

She's also doing well with her colors and shapes. She talks non stop, its hard to believe she's only 2 sometimes with what comes out of her mouth!

This hat reminds me if the one Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets arrested for being a pimp.

'I'm not a pimp!'

Actually its Alenna's, Brady hates it.

Gotta tease my boy though, right??

Naughty baby up way past his bed time.

I'm playing with his "hair," its curly like Alenna's. Yeah!

(and no I'm not making a plug for Cox, as a matter of fact I think they're awful!)

Not much going on this week, same old same old...ho-hum...

Hopefully some exciting and fun news next week.

{In Need Of Mommy Advice!}

I usually don't post about things like this, mostly because we really could not have asked for a more perfect child than Alenna but...
We have the hardest time keeping her in her room! She refuses to sleep until 1030pm or so (when she sees that Ryan and I have gone to bed), than she crashes on our floor around 2 or 3am and stays there until around 5am when she runs in Brady's room and decides he has to be awake too. (though if we catch her in our room, we bring her back to her's, but than she's right back into our room...)

AAAAHHH!!! We're going nuts!

And if that's not enough, she will run in and wake Brady up during his naps too.

So, we are thinking we will lock Brady's room, but that still doesn't solve the problem with Alenna. We could lock her in her room I guess, except that doesn't really teach her anything.

Punishing hasn't worked. Bribing hasn't worked. Spanking hasn't worked. We've even given her little projects she could do, like books or puzzles but she just destroys them.

We're at a loss.

Ryan thinks that its not a huge deal, as long as we can keep her out of Brady's room, but than I reminded him that we will have a newborn in our room with us in a couple of months and I don't want to deal with 2 kids waking me up(and each other) in the middle of the night.

Not to mention, when school starts full time for Ry, things are going to be crazy hectic, and Alenna is perfectly old enough to stay in her own room.

I'm far from the perfect parent and just need my sleep! Any ideas???

I don't know, advice???

{For Any Afflicted...}

I LOVE quotes. In fact, I think I have about 30 on my facebook.

I have been collecting them all year to keep my head up. I figured I would post a few of my favorites seeing as how things are so bleak everywhere right now :)

"It will all work out" -President Gordon B. Hinckley

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"The Heights by Great Men reached and kept were not achieved by sudden flight, but they, while they're companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

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“Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.”

(By far my favorite!)

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"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

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"No matter how dim the light at the end of the tunnel seems, it is still a light. Each day is an opportunity for that light of hope to get closer and closer, until eventually the clouds above your head part and you feel the forgotten sunshine on you again. Overcoming pain makes you stronger and better equipped to handle the next valley."

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And there's always Dori in "Finding Nemo"....'Just keep swimmin, just keep swimmin...'

{The First Family Who Made You Feel Better About Your Own!}

In going through everything we have as of late, (skipping over it all, trying to be postive...)

I have turned to my 'ole standby, an oldy but a goody:

Roseanne.

Ry can't stand her, I think its a funny show and probably have seen every episode 100 times.

No matter how bad things seem in my life, Roseanne always is relatable.

And the more Ry and I go through the funnier (and more true!) the show becomes!

Thanks for the laughs...

{Anticipating The Storm...}

Have I mentioned I LOVE Arizona during monsoon season?? Well, I do.

Totally makes the heat bearable...Alenna and I enjoyed the storm together tonight.

Kind of gross I know. I had to share so I'd remember.

She had a ball of cookie dough in her mouth and was gazing in awe at the clouds.

The dough falls from her mouth onto her chest and she exclaims happily,

"Look mommy! A cookie fell on my boobies!"
(like it just fell randomly from the sky and landed there...)
Ah. Girls...



Alenna thinks these clouds are sheep. She was bahhh-ing the whole time we were outside.



How beautiful is that??
Be jealous all you non-Arizonians...be very jealous. JK

A view from the studio.

On our way back downstairs. The studio (which is upstairs) was moaning and groaning and howling because of the wind outside. Crazy strong winds!

We decided we needed to go out front and see the excitment out there too!
Alenna was a little thrilled...

Gorgeous.

Alenna being blown away by the storm.

She was frustrated becuase the leaves she was gathering were being blown away by the wind. HA!

{Just For Fun...}

I always find these things interesting, not all that accurate but sometimes they are!

I checked all that apply, lets put these 'Old Wives' Tales' to the test!

It's a boy if:
You didn't experience morning sickness in early pregnancy (CHECK)
Your baby's heart rate is less than 140 beats per minute
You are carrying the extra weight out front (CHECK)
Your belly looks like a basketball (CHECK)
Your areolas have darkened considerably (?)
You are carrying low (DOUBLE CHECK!!)
You are craving salty or sour foods (FAST FOOD??? HECK YES)
You are craving protein -- meats and cheese
Your feet are colder than they were before pregnancy (NO IDEA)
The hair on your legs has grown faster during pregnancy (UM GROSS, NO IDEA)
Your hands are very dry
Your pillow faces north when you sleep
Dad-to-be is gaining weight, right along with you (DON'T I WISH??)
Pregnancy has you looking better than ever (UMM, DEPENDS ON THE DAY I THINK)
Your urine is bright yellow in color (YUCK)
Your nose is spreading (WHAT??)
You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves in circles
You are having headaches (DOUBLE TRIPLE CHECK!!!)
You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an even number (YUP, 22 PLUS 2 (FEB) EQUALS 24!)

It's a girl if:
You had morning sickness early in pregnancy
Your baby's heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute (CHECK)
You are carrying the weight in your hips and rear
Your left breast is larger than your right breast (EEEW!)
Your hair develops red highlights
You are carrying high
Your belly looks like a watermelon
You are craving sweets (WHO DOESN'T??)
You are craving fruit
You crave orange juice
You don't look quite as good as normal during pregnancy (HAHA CHECK!)
You are moodier than usual during pregnancy (DOUBLE CHECK!!!)
Your face breaks out more than usual (YUP YUP CHECK!)
You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread
Your breasts have really blossomed! (UGH, I'M CURSED THAT WAY)
Your pillow faces south when you sleep
Your urine is a dull yellow color
You hang your wedding ring over your belly and it moves from side to side
You add your age at the time of conception and the number for the month you conceived and the sum is an odd number

You can find the Chinese Gender Predictor here: http://parenting.ivillage.com/ttc/ttcsigns/0,,j736,00.html

It predicts BOY for me...(It was right with Alenna but wrong with Brady)

hope to find out in 6 weeks...

{My Sister, My Savior...}

I was just wanted to start out by saying how extremely proud we are of Alenna today! Alenna, I love you and your big personality, but I especially love how concerned you are with Brady's well being. Daddy and I couldn't have asked for a better daughter.

The kids went swimming with Ryan today, Brady was in this floaty thing that we always put him in so he can be off on his own. Alenna, as always, had water wings on. Things have always been fine. But today, while Ryan had his back turned (literally 10 seconds or less) Brady flops head first out of his floaty and into the water! Without hesitation, Alenna reaches out and grabs him before he sinks to the bottom of the pool. Ryan turns around to find Alenna holding Brady, head first out of the water. She totally saved him!

Ryan and I were shaken and very grateful we have such an attentive daughter and that she knew what to do! Alenna, you are such a wonderful sister, thank you for being our eyes and ears!

{I Love To See The Temple...}

Ryan and I decided that it was pretty darn pathetic that we live so close to the Temple

(within 10 min) and never take the kids to walk the grounds.

This is us packing up the kids and going.


And, of course, when do we come to this realization?

On a hot, 115 degree weather Sunday afternoon.

Good thing kids are resilient to things like weather!


I went alone a couple months ago to take in a session and I told Alenna I woulds bring her back.

It totally slipped my mind! Mommy-guilt ed, we took her and she loved it!

We walk into the Visitor's Center (hello wonderful a/c!!!) and Alenna, seeing the Chritis, yells,

"Look mommy!! My Jesus is HUGE!"

(yes, I was allowed to take pics, I checked!)

Ryan was explaining to Alenna that she can talk to Jesus whenever she wants, she just needs to pray...and so she says,

"Hi Jesus....um how are you?... ok bye Jesus."

haha, its a start.

Ry looks royally ticked at me here, haha, he's actually just really over heated.

We explained to Alenna this is where mommy & daddy were married and because we got married there that our family can be together forever.

She was happy.

And, of course, she insisted on pushing the Brady-man.

Poor guy...he gets pushed into more bushes... haha

Such a great big sister!

Us leaving.

Alenna wants to go back soon.

{I Think We Are Going To Be Friends...}

So...I hear Brady crying in his room, he was suppose to be napping, and what do I find??

Alenna GIRL! Ah! She went in there,waking him up, and decided to just climb on in!

She crawls into bed with us too in the mornings and we hate it. Never sleep well with her in there. They were being really cute though. Had to capture it.

I love this one, even though she's being naughty and playing with the binky she's not allowed.
How sweet are they?

He's waiting for me to chase him down the hall. How in the world he crawls around on travertine all day is beyond me. Sounds painful!

And a 3rd play mate is well under way. 21 weeks...

THIS is how you use the phone mommy! Boy was he upset when I took it away from him.

Must be callin' his honeys.

I was trying to get him playing with her hair. I think its cute how he cracks up at her curls.

Daddy came home from class early and took us by surprise. Could Alenna's hair be more curly??

Oh yes, he tackled her. Hope Brady has a brother some day...

You'll notice how happy she is here? Its because she has TWO binkies and I'm not taking them from her.

I just love how my kids play together. So sweet. Seriously, I have no idea how we got along without Brady.

I'm sure I'll say that about all my babies! I just love how a baby bonds a family!