For the 24th of July we decided to head on down to Bountiful for Handcart Days and join up with some friends for the parade....I was very hesitant about going, for any of you from the Bountiful area you know what I mean.....parade people are just CRAZY, and it can be complete chaos, plus the fact that is was like 100 degrees outside, but I decided to put that all aside and take the kids, because after all isn't that why we go to parades?? Well, I'm glad we went, the kids had a blast and even though it was completely crazy and crowded we had a lot of fun, and of course the company was great....Thanks Viv for convincing me to go, we had a blast with you guys! So of course...I again was terrible with taking pictures...but here are a few I did take...and of course I had to take a picture of the Army guys as they walked by....(can you tell I'm proud of my hubby??)

my attempt to get a pictures with the kids.....we take what we can get!


before I even pulled out of my parking spot...she was out like a light!

so after the parade I'm walking to my car with both kids...chairs, strollers, diaper bags, and whole bunch of other stuff and by myself may I add and I find this when I get to my car.....the car in front of me and behind me parked inches from my bumper....literally inches! Seriously people.....I was even parked by a driveway..so the person behind me was blocking half of someones driveway and blocked me in....I was just fuming....I had no idea what I was going to do...I couldn't even walk behind my car to get the stroller and all my other stuff in the trunk....so as I sat there pacing back and forth wondering what on earth I was going to do and how I was going to get my car out...and may I add that at this point I had 2 screaming kids, and of course me a 27 year adult throwing a tantrum because I just wanted to get home and feel the comfort of air conditioning! Honestly people....has all common sense gone out the door? But I think I was being watched over because just when I was about to call the police or Bountiful City to get these people parked behind me towed or something the "wonderful" people parked in front of me came strolling to there car....and of course they give me this dumb founded look like "what", seriously I wanted to strangle them. But I kept my cool, and handled it like an adult, although I really didn't want to, I kept my mouth shut and just preceded to get my kids in the car and shimmy my stroller in the trunk and then finally got on my way.....now that I look back I know its probably not that big of a deal, but after being in 100 degree weather for hours and sitting through a parade with a 3 year old and 1 year old and walking to and from the car with all our stuff by myself, I just was not in any mood to find myself stuck....and not being able to go home! But thankfully those "wonderful" people came that parked in front of me....because I don't know what would have happended if they didn't.......lets just say it wouldn't have been a pleasant sight.

Last weekend me and the kids met up with my good friend Viv and her cute little family up at Lagoon.....oh my gosh...we had a blast! I was shocked at how much fun we actually had....I was very skeptical about taking the kids, but once again to my surprise it was a great day and Daniel had a blast riding the rides! Thanks Van Leeuwens for a GREAT day!

yes.....it was a VERY HOT day! But they were almost perfect....I honestly couldn't ask for better kids! I'm probably a little bias on this...but I got pretty lucky with these two and how well behaved they are...and plus the fact that they are so stinkin cute! I just adore these 2!!

okay...funny story about this picture....so for most of the rides the parents can go and help there kids get on and off the ride and get them buckled in and such...well I decided I would help Daniel get in his little boat instead of the person working the ride....well, that was a mistake, as I was going to lift Daniel in the boat I lost my footing and ended up dropping Daniel in the water......ooops, so part of his body is in the water and his torso and up are hanging over the boat, needless to say I felt terrible! Yes, I know I deserve mom of the year award....but really, who drops there kid in the water??? I don't know if you can tell, but his shorts were soaked and luckily we had waterproof shoes on and lucky for me this boy loves water, so he really could cared less about it...he just wanted to ride the ride. What can I say he's a trooper!

and once again...asleep before we even left the parking lot!

and even after a long day at Lagoon and no nap.....still smiling!

Brielle turns 1!!!

July 15th my sweet Brielle turned 1! That day was special in so many ways.....she turned one and we got to see Jason for the first time in 10 weeks. Talk about the best present I could give my little girl....her daddy! But really.....I adore this little girl so much and even though one minute she can be happy, and laughing, then in the blink of an eye be a little drama queen screaming and throwing a tantrum, I love her more than anything and to think she is already one makes me sad.....honestly they grow up way to fast! But she has developed into this sweet little girl with such a personality, she knows exactly what she wants and she's not afraid to let you know either.....so to document some milestones for her, here is what Brielle is doing at one years old, and some other fun facts about my baby girl

-walking (about 10-12 steps at a time before she plops down)

-will wave bye bye
-she loves her binky and minky blanket, they go everywhere with us and she CAN'T sleep without them!

-will eat just about anything and everything (except baby food!)

-says ma ma, da da, na na, and while on our trip she would point to Jason and say Dad

-she loves to crawl up the stairs

-she has 6 teeth and 2 more just about to break through

-she screams when I try and do her hair, and will instantly rip out anything I try to put in it

-she is still quite the mama's girl ( i guess I shouldn't complain....its nice to feel loved! or at least I should enjoy it while it last!)

-she is still not sleeping through the night....I can't figure this one out...but she still wakes up 1-2 times a night.

-she has me wrapped around her little finger...she knows if she screams loud enough I'll give in, and if she pouts enough I'll let her have it, and if she gives me that puppy dog look I'll do just about anything for her.....so yes, I adore her and she is the princess in the house!

and with that here are her stats at one years old

-22 lbs 2 oz (75th percentile)

-31.2 inches....yes she is very tall....she is not even on the charts for her height!

she wasn't quite sure what to think of her cake....I thought she would tear right into it...but I was wrong...she would poke at it and then she finally just tipped it over. She really didn't want anything to do with it.

She still LOVES her binky.....simply a lifesaver! I don't know who its going to be harder on when we decide to give it up.....her or me!

oh and sorry about the poor selection of pictures.....but I told you....I have been terrible at taking pictures lately. Hopefully I can finally get with the program and start taking pictures of my kids again....

Happy Birthday Brielle! We love you so much and you are such a blessing in our family!

Jason Graduates from BCT

The day finally came and we finally got to fly down to Georgia for Jasons Graduation from BCT! It was honestly the best week of my life! I have to admit though I was scared out of my mind at first......traveling by myself to Atlanta with two kids, getting the rental car, driving down to Columbus, getting checked in the hotel...I had no idea how I was going to do, but all I knew is that either way it was going to happen. But to my surprise the trip went without a hitch and I have to say I love the Southern hospitality....I don't know what it is, but there is something about the south that people just know how to treat people and when they saw me coming with my stroller and two little ones, people were jumping through hoops for me to make sure I had everything I needed! The first couple of days I just spent hanging out in Columbus, trying to get to know the area, figure out how to get to Post and just familiarize myself with Columbus, but then Wednesday finally came and I got to see JASON! You know that feeling you got when you were getting married, or back when you were dating, that was exactly how I felt, I had butterflies, I was nervous, I was anxious....I mean you name it and I felt it. But Wednsday and Thursday were absolutely perfect, we got to spend the entire day together just hanging out, lounging and eating at all our favorite places, but sadly he still had to report back at night.....but hey after 10 weeks being apart getting to spend an entire day together was PERFECT! Then the weekend came and we didn't know at that point if we were going to get to see him again before we headed back to Utah, but we decided we would just follow Jason to Fort Gordon and cross our fingers that they would give him a weekend pass....and yes, our prayers were answered, Jason got the weekend off and I mean the whole weekend, he didn't have to report back at night....I got him all to myself Friday and Saturday night! But of course the weekend went by way to fast, and before we knew it Sunday came and we were getting ready to head back to Fort Gordon :( And I wish I could say that each time gets easier to say goodbye....but it doesn't, I think honestly I cried more this time than I did the first time. But at least now we can talk on the phone everynight.....and now I'm just praying that these next 22 weeks go by fast! So warning....I posted quite a few pictures, but even with all these I realized after we got home that I didn't take near the ammount of pictures I wanted too, I guess I was just so caught up in enjoying my time with Jason that I didn't always think to take out the camera.

Family Day....Jason is in the 2nd row


Jasons Company




Family Day

behind us is the building where Jason spent the last 10 weeks

Jason and his Battle buddy......they were basically glued at the hip to each other, they had to go everywhere with each other....

Jason is right behind his drill sgt....I had perfect seats, but of course the drill sgt had to stand right in front of him....go figure

jason, his battle buddy, and their drill sgts

us with Kary and Ryan......these 2 are amazing, they made the 10 hour drive from Virginia to see Jason and they were only here for like 10 hours! Thanks again for coming, we miss you already!

not quite sure what to think of those limes

please excuse the scary picture of me.....the dark circle, red eyes, and major lack of sleep! and yes it was all worth it to see my man!

PFC Carroll

My 2 favorite boys!

jason and his parents (thanks again for coming!)

on our way out to take Jason to Fort Gordon....sad day!

More to come......

Its been a crazy week and a half and I'm just trying to get back in the swing of things....we had an amazing week with Jason and are sad to be home....but we are so proud of him and look forward to seeing him again....hopefully sooner than later.....but for now here is a little peek of a few posts I should have up soon!

our Clinic visit up at Primary Childrens

Brielle's 1st Birthday!

Jason graduates from BCT!

so stay tuned.....I have lots of fun pics and posts coming soon!

A day at the pool

This is how we have been spending our summer days lately now that the rain has finally gone away! You can't beat spending hours at the pool followed by nice 2 hr naps......doesn't get any better than that.

He LOVES the water.....seriously everytime we leave I have to drag him away!

will she just walk already....she hates crawling on the cement or any hard surface, so she does this crawl where she sticks her butt in the air and walk on her feet and hands....she's so close to walking too....she's been taking step for about a week now, but I wouldn't consider her walking yet.

Happy 4th of July!

I guess when you have a 3 year old and an 11 month old you take what you can get when it comes to pictures.....I tried my hardest to get these 2 coopoerate to get some pictures of them on the 4th....and this is what I got! Oh well....what do you do....but we had a great 4th, we had a bbq, lounged around and Jason got to call not once, not twice, but 3 times! Yes, it was an amazing day. Those phone calls are priceless! Happy 4th of July and Thank you to all the Men and Women who are serving and have served to protect our Freedom!

notice anything different???

We took him to the Ophthalmologist last Friday up at Primary Childrens and come to find out.....my little boy needs glasses! And I know I'm probably bias because I'm his mother....but I think he looks pretty handsome with them, now the hard part.....getting him to keep them on! Right now he thinks its a game.....but thank goodness I got the frames that can bend in every which direction, because we just got them today and if I hadn't they would already be broken.

sneak peek

Yesterday my amazing friend Viv took some pictures for me....with Brielle turning one soon, I needed some cute shots of her, plus I wanted to get some pictures to surprise Jason with when we go out to see him in two weeks....so here is a little sneak peek at some of her shots! I'm sure I'll have more to post soon....

also you can check out her website here:

http://www.vivienvanleeuwenphotography.blogspot.com/

Now normally I would NEVER do this.... a shot of me all by myself. But Jason has been begging me for a picture of me by myself for him to have while he is away....so I caved! Talk about awkward....I don't know what it is but standing there posing by yourself just felt a little strange...but I did it for my hubby!