Tiaras and T-Tops

Private

2014-05-22T21:02:00.000-06:00

I'm not even sure if anyone still reads this thing, but I'm going to make it private! Instagram seems to be where I keep things more up to date! If anyone still wants to read please leave your email address or email/FB/text, etc. me!

August Little Things

2013-08-31T20:43:00.000-06:00

August was packed full of fun and exciting things!

Zaylie was at Sama's for a couple weeks, Avalynn was in heaven!

Brennen and I went with the youth to the temple

Rawson is turning into an independant little thing

How we do hair cuts

Lots of days at the swimming pool

Waiting and waiting for baby to arrive

Once Myla arrived we all took a strong liking to her!

Avalynn is starting to love the scriptures

Three kids in a tub!

Avalynn and Brennen did a soccer clinic

We are blessed with amazing friends who have taken Avalynn on playdates since Myla was born

Myla's first trip to the pool

Avalynn and I went on a little date to her choice of Dairy Queen

Papa came to visit and help while Brennen was in TX for work

Evenings on the front porch

Lots of bike rides

August was a great month, one we won't forget!

Myla's Birth Story

2013-08-20T21:20:00.000-06:00

Myla Mae Ames joined our family on August 13, 2013, her Uncle Devin's birthday! She weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 20.5 in long born at 8:43pm. Her birth story is about as text book, uneventful, induction as they come. Dr. Priebe was on call at the hospital I was delivering at 2 days before her due date, since I was ready to be done and really wanted him to deliver I opted to be induced. There aren't really too many details! Got to the hospital, hooked up to an antibiotic because I was Group B strep positive (didn't have that with the other 2) and then piticon. I got an epidural at a 4, those things are always amazing! With all 3 kids I have taken a while to progress, getting to a 5 takes around 6-7 hrs but then I go from a 5-10 in less than an hour. This one was no different! Around 7:30 Dr. Priebe checked me and I was a 5. Then around 8:15 I started to feel a lot of pressure, I knew it was time! From beginning of pushing until she was born was 12 min and 3 contractions! It was neat to have my sister Cami be able to be there, and my friend Kim taking pictures.

I love those first couple days in the hospital, nothing to do but snuggle a brand new baby!

Aunt Cami came to stay with us a week and she was an angel!!!

Myla and Mollie!

July Recap

2013-08-02T22:01:00.000-06:00

Rawson thought it was fun to get into the baby's bassinet

Lots of days at the pool

Painting projects

Brennen caught a frog for Avalynn, who then needed a home ;)

What happens when you put Avalynn in charge of packing the bag for church

Dentist Visit

2013-07-30T21:43:00.000-06:00

By some miracle both kids had dentist appointments at the same time and we left without a single tear from anyone! They were champs!

Painting

2013-07-19T20:05:00.000-06:00

I pulled out some paint for the kids one day and it kept them occupied for quite some time. I need to do this more often!

Utah Trip

2013-07-09T21:32:00.000-06:00

We had to make a stop to see Uncle Phe on our way to St. George

Traveling during nap time is bliss!

Avalynn and Rawson loved playing in Mimi and Papa's backyard in the mornings before it got too hot.

One thing about driving our smaller car is they get to sit closer which means hand holding!

Lots of play means good naps

We went to Tuachan to see Mary Poppins

It was really hot even at 10pm, this is how Avalynn watched the show to stay cool!

The splash pad and carrousel are a must when we are in St. George

Avalynn experienced her first bee sting while we were there. Poor thing!

Rawson took over my In-N-Out burger. They don't call him Hawson for nothing!

We went back to Provo for the 4th of July! Every year since we have been married I have dreamed of being in Provo for the 4th, and this was finally the first year it worked out. Brennen had to be at work events in Colorado so he wasn't with us.

Whenever we are at the Brooks' this is where you will find Avalynn with all the stuffed animals

Uncle Jim brought out the hose and started spraying the kids

Sparklers while we waited for the Stadium of Fire fireworks to start

We had such a fun trip and love the time we get to spend with all our family in Utah!

Salt Lake Temple

2013-07-03T22:20:00.000-06:00

On our way to St. George we stopped in Salt Lake to spend the night at my grandma's house. Before we headed out the next day I wanted to take the kids to Temple Square to walk around and see the temple. I love these pictures of them on the temple grounds!

June

2013-07-02T22:10:00.000-06:00

$1 kid movie day

Sadly with their parents eye genes this is probably their future!

We eat red peppers like apples around here

A donut date with my little man

Vacation Bible School

2013-06-30T23:00:00.000-06:00

Avalynn attended a week long Vacation Bible School with the Seyboldt kids. She loved making crafts everyday and came home sining new songs. She was a little obsessed with the music CD and wanted to listen to it whenever we got in the car!

I love the difference in their pottery.... Tate's is totally boy, and plain, Avalynn has hers decked out in color and glitter!

Family Camping Trip

2013-06-23T22:48:00.000-06:00

We set off up the Poudre Canyon for our first family camping trip! We hadn't reserved a camping spot in a camp site so we drove to each camp site but everything was full. The kids were starting to get restless so we pull off into this little parking area to let them run around for a bit. There was a little trail we started to hike on and came across what people had used as a camp site. Brennen decided we should just camp there, because camping in a camp ground isn't "real camping"! I wasn't too keen on the idea of being in the middle of no where camping with kids, but ended up giving in and agreeing to camp there. Long story short, we ended up leaving to go home at 1:00 am because Avalynn was the only one sleeping! The kids had lots of fun though, Avalynn was totally in her element being able to explore!

He wasn't too sure about the tall grass!

Father's Day

2013-06-17T21:40:00.000-06:00

I'm so thankful for such an amazing daddy for my kids! Brennen is so involved with the kids, loves playing with them {especially "Mean Monster"}, is always willing to help, and is so in tune with the kids' needs. The love is mutual because Avalynn and Rawson think he is the greatest thing to walk this earth!

Making a banner for Brennen

Swim Lessons

2013-06-13T21:14:00.000-06:00

Avalynn did a session of swim lessons and the progress she made was amazing! When she started she wouldn't even put her face in the water, by the end of the two weeks she was holding her breath going all the way under. It was so awesome to see such a confidence develop in her, you could tell she was so proud of herself for getting so brave!

Kooyenga's

2013-06-10T21:29:00.000-06:00

When I was in 4th grade my family moved from Colorado to California. We happened to move next door to an amazing family who we are still really close to. Darin and her family were driving to CA, so I jumped on the chance to see them in Cheyenne like I did 2 years ago! We met at Denny's at 6:30am, had breakfast, let the girls run around and play and talked! It's always so fun to catch up with friends you haven't seen in a while.

Good Guys Car Show

2013-06-07T21:58:00.000-06:00

Brennen had a booth at the Good Guys Car Show for New York Life, and of course we couldn't pass up the opportunity to go see him. Avalynn and Rawson loved looking at all the cars, and Daddy even bought them each a toy car!

Rockies Game

2013-06-07T20:38:00.000-06:00

Brennen got Rockies tickets through his work by winning a team competition. The kids had lots of fun, and of course loved playing on the playground more than watching the game!

Brennen's boss was super nice and bought this for Avalynn

May Snapshots

2013-06-01T21:20:00.000-06:00

Aunt Coley sent Avalynn this horse dress and she was over the moon excited about it. Let's just say she wants to wear it everyday plus sleep in it!

Rawson and I run errands while Sis is at school

He loves my homemade yogurt!

We went on a walk and she picked all these flowers along the way, she said

"these are for I can get married"

An outing to the library, I believe we have an animal lover on our hands

Avalynn gave the prayer for the first time in primary

Some unnamed child threw a bottle of nail polish on the tile!

We had a garage sale and to earn some money Avalynn and Rawson sold donuts and pop. The concept of not eating everything was a hard one!

This is what she bought with the money she earned

Someone was excited about our food storage shipment!

I sure do love this girl!

I caught them dancing before bed!

Mimi and Papa Visit

2013-05-28T22:32:00.000-06:00

For my Mother's Day gift my parents came out to visit over Memorial Day weekend! We love having Mimi and Papa come and the fun things we do when they are here.

After picking them up from the airport while waiting for Brennen who was in a meeting we stopped at Heritage Square

Avalynn has been dying to ride a horse so we went to Lee Martinez Farm where she got to ride "Sam". She was on cloud 9!

Opening day of the swimming pool!

Thanks Mimi and Papa for coming to visit! We can't wait to have you come back soon.

Avalynn's Room Re-do

2013-05-28T14:13:00.000-06:00

Avalynn's room, well actually our whole upstairs, has needed some serious attention ever since we moved in. I finally got the drive to just buckle down and get her room done. I love how it turned out, and magically after it was complete she started sleeping in her own room all night. Now why didn't I do this sooner?!

Mother's Day

2013-05-20T22:07:00.000-06:00

I had a perfect Mother's Day this year! The kids and Brennen made me breakfast in bed, we went on a bike ride around the lake then let the kids play at the park, laid on the couch and read stories with the kids, church, and got to skype with Devin in the Philippines.

Being a mom is the hardest, most tiring, yet beyond rewarding thing I have ever done. I love these two kiddos more than life itself and feel so blessed to be their mother. They each have such fun and spirited personalities that bring such joy to our family!

Summer Kick Off

2013-05-13T20:31:00.000-06:00

The kids thought they had died and gone to heaven when I let them run through the sprinklers one of the first warm days of the summer! These two love the water and are going to love going to the pool this summer.

April

2013-05-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

May Day Snow Storm

2013-05-01T21:30:00.000-06:00

We got a big snow storm May 1, just when I thought we were hitting warmer weather! The kids weren't complaining though since they love to play in the snow.

8 Years

2013-04-30T21:04:00.000-06:00

Brennen and I went on an overnighter in Denver for our. We did a session at the temple, had dinner at Red Robin (we were starving by the time it was time to eat and went to the closest place possible!), walked around Park Meadows mall, and then got cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. It was fun to spend time just us and talk about all the last 8 years has held for us!

We stopped at Deseret Book and got each of the kids a little gift. Avalynn got a CTR ring and Rawson got a "Future Missionary" tag.

Best of Friends

2013-04-25T22:21:00.000-06:00

Tate and Avalynn are two peas in a pod. They play so well together that Kim and I often say it's easier to have them together than not because they keep each other occupied and entertained. Tate was over one afternoon so I snapped these pictures of them and am in love with how they turned out!