Brody ate a penny!

Yup you read that right. Brody ate a penny on Saturday night right before we had a party at our house with all our med school friends. So we called Scott and he said make him eat something so it for sure goes down into his stomach and is not stuck in his throat. Check. Then he said to look in his poop to make sure it comes out. Yuck but okay. Check. But how long do I have to do this for because it still hasnt come out. Maybe I am not a good poop checker!

Great Stroller

Look at this amazing stroller. My friend and sister in law entered this giveaway for this stroller and I thought what the heck, I will too. What mom wouldn't love to have a stroller like this. Watch the video at Bumbleride.com It is seriously amazing. Also for all my mommy friends you can enter to win it too at http://inevergrewup.net/giveaway-25-bumbleride-indie-stroller/

When you get behind...

I hate when you get behind in blogging. It is a nagging feeling that keeps bugging you until you get caught up and when you finally do it is a relief. At least for me. I know that if I don't post pictures of the kids I will get yelled at by family soon. I supposedly don't post enough pictures of them. I feel like that is all I ever post or talk about. So for my family's delight here are just pictures of the kids from the past week.
Here is our update from the last week and a half or so. As you read from the previous post Karen and Tyler came into town. And oh what fun we had. We did so many things. But for some reason when Karen and Tyler are both here I have this inability to take pictures. Probably because we are having too much fun and I just forget. But seriously I need to be better because Tyler is Brody's favorite person in the whole world and visa versa. These two are just two peas in a pod. They love each other and they love being together.
While they were here we went to the Virginia Beach Aquarium for the first time. A lot of it was under construction but I still thought that it was pretty cool. Brody loved seeing the sharks. And their were these cute old men that volunteer there and they kept telling us neat things about all the animals we were watching so closely. It was a lot of fun. We took Tyler to Norfolk to Josh's school and there he got to see the brains. He didn't bare hand it though...chicken! Also Tyler likes my fashion advice so we took him shopping and got him a lot of clothes. I really don't think he likes my advice so much as he just gets bored at our house and wants to do something and he knows that we will do that. But oh well it was still fun and I can keep trying to convince myself that I still am a cool young mom that thinks she is somewhat good and in the know with fashion. We also ate out at Ruby Tuesdays. Josh went there for the first time after finals were done and he has wanted to take me there ever since. I think that it was okay but he talked it up like it was amazing! We of course had our date night. And we had Stake Conference. Oh yeah....we went to the movies. We took Brody to see Bedtime Stories. Cute movie! I liked it. It wasn't at cheesy as I thought it would be. Brody was a little scared but he loved the popcorn kids meal that Grandma bought him. That about sums up the time we had with them. We had a wonderful time with them and we love it when they come to town. We laugh, play games, watch too many movies, and eat way too much popcorn. All because of Tyler.
Brody and Brooklyn have been sick since Christmas. They both have this nasty cold that just wont go away. Brody coughs so hard he throws up. YUCK! I just feel so bad for my poor babies. I want them to get better so they are their happy little selves. We have been hanging around the house this week, resting a lot and catching up on some much needed cleaning. The kids have needed lots of hugs and kisses. And a lot of cuddling...my favorite!
As far as the tutus go. I did end up selling them to a boutique. I took them in to the owner and she loved them. She ordered 7 that day. She said she would give me till the end of February to finish them. Well then she called me last Saturday and said can I have them done by the end of next week. AHHH!!! I said I will try my best. I did finally get them done and sold them to her yesterday. A nice check in hand and a smile on my face. I walked out the door in amazement as I thought I cant believe that somebody would want to by something that I made. Crazy! Now we have a little bit of cash flow coming in that we can put towards 4th year applications and interviews...just what I want! I love ya babe!

Our Night Out!

As you can see from the title Josh and I got a night ALL TO OURSELVES!!! This was our Christmas gift from Josh's parents this year. Although I don't know how fair it was for Karen to do all the babysitting and Scott to stay home....just kidding. We know you had to work Scott. Anyways, Karen and Tyler watched the kids all night long. Josh and I got all fancied up and hit the town. We ate at an amazing seafood restaurant on the beachfront called Catch 31. Then we headed back to our hotel room for some time alone and a almost restful night sleep. (I still woke up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep...boohoo). It was so nice to be able to sit down at dinner and just talk to each other. We haven't done that in soooo long. We had such a wonderful time. THANK YOU Tyler and Karen for giving us this special gift.

The morning after our date night. You would think they would have a blow dryer. They didnt. Oh well. Wet hair and 28 degrees outside dont mesh!

The view from our room.

A picture right before we left for dinner.

A picture at the house right before we left the kids. The next morning I couldnt wait to get back home to see them. I missed them so much. Silly how moms get.

New Fave

So every once in awhile you come across a new product that you absolutely LOVE whether it be a household cleaner, food, a new pair of jeans, etc. For me my new fave is this Time Balm Concealer by the Balm. It is a little more than amazing. It is a concealer and an anti-wrinkle cream all in one. It is not thick at all (I hate wearing really thick heavy makeup so I always look for something that is light and natural). Yet at the same time it has great coverage that lasts all day long and then some. I have been looking for a new concealer for awhile and all the major make up brands that I usually love were just to heavy for me. I found this one at Sephora and I love it! I am so happy it has the anti-wrinkle cream in it as well since I am starting to show those fine lines and wrinkles around my eyes. I hate getting OLD!

Zumba

I decided to try another new class this week. Yesterday I went to Zumba and oh my gosh...it was so much fun. I couldn't help smiling the whole class while at the same time looking totally goofy as I tried to do the dance/workout. I am so glad other people besides the instructor looked like me. Some of the steps I couldn't do so I would just laugh at myself. It was really so much fun. If you don't know what it is there is a video on YouTube you can see for yourself. But honestly I was shocked with the workout I got. I was sweating like crazy. It works your abs and hips till they hurt. My whole body is sore. You should try it if you never have. Honestly loved it and will be going back for sure!

Little Girl Tutus

For Christmas this year I decided to make my nieces and Brooklyn tutus. I made them matching head bands to go along with them as well. They turned out to be so adorable...at least I think so but I am biased. I hope the girls all loved them and will love them in the future as they play make believe in them. Anyways, Alyssa told me that I should try and sell them at a baby boutique. I had so much fun making them that I seriously thought about doing it. Well yesterday I decided to go look at this boutique that is right by my house to see if they even had anything like the ones that I make. One thing led to another and I was talking to the owner of the store and she said that she would love to see the tutus. She was very interested and of course I was ECSTATIC!!! I am so excited to have something of my own to do. I don't know if it will all work out in the end but it is still so much fun to have my own little business of sorts. If you want one just let me know. I would be happy to make one for you.

My First SPIN Class!

So after looking around at all of my options for about a month we decided to join the YMCA. Not necessarily for working out more for Brody to have something to do. I looked into just about everything...swim classes, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, preschools, etc. There is so much for a three year old to do but you cant do it until they are three. Brody just has so much pent up energy that he needs to release and he gets so bored sitting at home and playing with his toys. He tells me everyday, "Mommy I wanna go bu-bye!" So today was our first day we were able to go after getting over all of our sicknesses. I went early so Brody could get used to the play area and the caretakers before I went to my class. He did alright for his first time. He didn't love it but he was a big boy and tried his hardest not to cry. I have to say that this is so good for both of us. Brody has always been very attached to his mommy and daddy. So now is the time to start to break that before we do put him in preschool. I know it is good for him but at the same time I hate it because I know he is growing up and I love that he loves me so much. Anyways, enough about that, I went to my first spin class and Ouch! My gluteus maximus hurts!!!! It was such a good workout though. I will definitely go again. Brody got a treat for being a good boy and Brooklyn was an angel. I am excited that I have something I can do everyday now with the kids if I want. No more scrambling my brain to keep Brody busy and entertained all day lone! YEAH!!!

Our Christmas Vacation

Wow, so many things happened this Christmas vacation where do I begin?! It all started out three weeks ago when I left on an 8 hour plane ride to Washington with the kids all by myself. Brody and Brooklyn were amazing , they couldnt have been any better. The flight attendant on my last leg of the day was awful to me and the kids. She was seriously sooo rude that it ruined my day and to make matters worse they lost our luggage. But those are just little hiccups to the trip. The first week was rather uneventful as I just relaxed with my parents and Taylor and Jessie at home. We did last minute Christmas shopping and Beach house stuff. The whole gang was supposed to arrive on Saturday but the weather was like anything I had ever seen before growing up in Washington. Alyssa and Mason and their family made it into PDX just before they closed it. Chris and Tiffany's flight was cancelled and so they decided to drive home. Josh was mid flight and would stop in Vegas before I could talk to him again. When he arrived there I told him that PDX was closed and that he probably wasnt going to make it. He soon found out that they were not continuing the flight because of weather. Well we got him on a flight to Seattle for that night where Chris and Tiffany would pick him up and bring him home. Only problem was Chris and Tiffany didnt make it. They got stuck in the pass and then they closed the pass so they had to turn around. They ended up staying the night at some hotel in some city and went another way the next day. They finally did make it home. Josh 's flight took off for Seattle but it didnt land there. After flying around Seattle for 45 minutes they flew all the way back to Oakland to land. By this time it was 1 am in the morning and Josh had been flying since 6 am Eastern Time. They told them on the flight that they were going to try again to fly back to Seattle and land. Well after waiting 2 hours on the plane they finally terminated that flight. So now Josh was stuck in Oakland. He slept (not really) in the airport that night on hard tile floor and got on the soonest flight he could to Seattle the next morning. He was the last flight that landed in Seattle before they closed it again. He rented a car and drove home. It took him a lot longer because of the weather but he finally did make it. We were finally all there to celebrate Christmas. Once everyone was there we could start our vacation which included...
Feeding Frenzy's (lots of them!)

The Dreaded Family Photo Session

Christmas Eve in our pjs

More pictures

Cousins battling for toys, attention, etc. It was way too much fun!

Silly Family Time

Brooklyn with my cousin Tayah

Brody on Christmas Eve

My Cousin Shayne (he is single and looking! let me know if you are interested)

and even more family pictures

pictures of the snow that we got stuck in twice. once with tiffany and me and the other time with josh and me. Oh the fun of it all. good memories though.

picture of our house covered in snow...we were really snowed in for a long time. my big outing one day was to the gas station with my dad in his truck. yipee!

josh reading stories to the boys

grandpa ruff housing with the boys

lots of tickling, all laying on top of each other, us girls trying to wrestle my dad

indoor "snowball" fights

this is and indoor "snowball" you take white tights and stuff it with batting and tie both ends shut

Jessie enjoying everyone home. all the people she loves were there.

Brooklyn's cuteness!

Chase--my sisters boy--is such a doll. He is so big now and so fun to talk to. He says the funniest things and he loves baby Brookie.

My superstar little sister Taylor got recognized for her amazing athletic ability one night over the break. She is a freshman that played on her school varsity volleyball team and rocked it! I think she gets her athletic ability from our dad but she learned how to play from me. (okay maybe not all from me but I like to think so)

Before we left we made a gingerbread house and Brody loved tasting all the candy

Santa brought Brody a basketball hoop among many other gifts

Our trip ended with going to the Beach House and staying there for the first time. All I have to say is that it is AMAZING! I am looking forward to all the times that we will spend there as a family and all the memories that will be created. Thank you mom and dad for helping us do that. In the middle of all of it we had so much fun just being together. We shopped, played games, watched movies, ate out, ate in, got sick of each other, loved each other, got sick, got better, got sick again, and most of all we loved every second of it. A special thank you to my mom and dad for all of it and a congratulations to Chris and Tiff for there wonderful new that they are expecting baby number two. We love our family and are so blessed.