Day's End

Lately I've been feeling particularly sWaMpEd. We just bought this company and it is really kickin' Kent's butt! He is easily putting in 60 hours and this week has been at our office in Tempe pretty late. He left this morning at 7...it's after 8 in the evening and he still hasn't left yet. :(

So while he is doing that, I'm doing the magazine all by myself and entertaining Braelynn. These past few weeks, the latter of the 2 has really, REALLY become "fun."

So, for record keeping and a little entertainment, here is Braelynn and mommy's day:

6 am- Wake up and eat!

7 am- Start playing and pull out as many toys as we can (a girl has got to have her options!)

8:30 am- Braelynn's 1st naptime after a little snack. I then have 1 hour to shower (if I'm so lucky), get cleaned up, sell magazine ads/work on the magazine, do laundry, unload the dishwasher, and pay bills.

10 am- Braelynn is ready to eat again. She likes her oatmeal and some fruit. Then it's time for the real fun to begin! This week we are so fascinated with the cabinets. One day she opened all the cabinets in the kitchen, my bathroom, and the linen closet!

12 noon- Lunchtime! Braelynn usually eats some meat and a veggie mixed together and has a little more mama milk. I get a little more laundry done, make lunch for Kent (when he's home), clean up the house a little, check in with the magazine and emails. Braelynn and I also play until she's ready for nap #2.

1:30 pm- We're getting sleepy! We have a little "rock-a-bye" and Braelynn goes down for another hour or so. I get back to the magazine and try to make more sales or do some ads. I also finish up any laundry and work on any "errands" Kent needs to get done. I usually also start putting dinner together.

3 pm- Braelynn is up and ready to play! She loves to be chased, tickled, and rough-house. We also have a little snack. Lately she has been a fan of goldfish crackers, but also likes yogurt with some fruit. She is also getting eager to play with daddy and constantly crawls to the office and cries for him- it's so cute!

5 pm- Last check-in with the magazine. I also finish up with dinner and get the table set. Braelynn is also pretty cranky, so I feed her dinner as well. She finishes up whatever she had for lunch plus some more fruit.

6 pm- Kent usually sits down for dinner and we chat about our days. After dinner he usually plays with her and I clean up.

7 pm- Braelynn loves her baths! We put her in our tub cause it's nice and big. She goes nuts splashing and crawling around. She squeals and howls to her heart's content. I usually get her dressed and hand her off to Kent for story time. She loves "Pat the Bunny," and "Where's my Teddy Bear?" I usually clean up from her bath and pick-up around the house as well.

8 pm- We have a little mama-snuggle and tuck her in. I usually can't resist checking in with the magazine. If it's ad deadline week I'll usually work on the magazine for a few hours. It's so nice to not have any interrupted work :)

10 pm- Off to bed! Woo hoo!

So maybe I am whining just a little about life right now. It's hard. I hired 2 interns for the magazine and they will be starting in August. Kent hired a guy for the sign company and I think is getting ready to hire another person as well.

We are really excited about life right now though. It is full of good things and good opportunities. Braelynn is such a joy in our home and I wouldn't want it any other way.

The Diego

I don't know if I am happy or sad to be posting about our trip to San Diego. We had been planning this trip since last year and it finally CAME and WENT. Big Bummer that it's over :(

We weren't sure if we were going to make it this time though. Our new company has been quite the project, one of the Texas properties caught fire, and we're just feeling a tad overwhelmed. Thursday arrived and we decided that we really should go though.

We arrived around 8 o'clock and were greeted by some pretty chilly weather. My parents made us some dinner and we just relaxed after the long drive.

Friday was even cooler, so much to my dismay we stayed away from the the beach. We did go to Seaport Village and enjoyed roaming through the stores though.

We thought for sure that we'd have better weather on Saturday, but alas, no sun. Kent and I decided to go to Old Town and see the Mormon Battalion site. Wow! I had no idea it would be that cool. I was expecting a little museum with some artifacts and you were done. We first watched a little video and then went from room to room (Iowa to Santa Fe to San Diego).

Afterwards there was an area where you could pan for "gold," make bricks, play with a well. Kent was able to find a few pieces of gold, so we are looking into an early retirement. :) Braelynn just loved all the water and had a blast!

That night my brother Eddie also arrived. He had flown in from Georgia and I am so glad he did!

Then finally Sunday came with some beautiful weather! We headed to the beach! I finally got to go Boogy Boarding (yes

I am still bitter that I couldn't go last summer) and we just soaked up the sun. That night we played Ghetto Golf, a bean bag toss game, had a bbq, roasted marshmallows, and just enjoyed the last few moments of San Diego.

Unfortunately Monday came too quickly and it was time to go home. Braelynn slept from San Diego to Yuma and then cried from Yuma to Chandler. We couldn't

help but watch the temperature creep up to 110 as we pulled into the driveway.

We are already counting down the days to our trip next year. Shawn is due any day with Granddaughter #3 and we are so excited for them to join us next year...my parents may need to get some type of extension to their 5th wheel now!

She's All Mine!

July 2010...I never thought this month would come.

5 years ago around this time I was living out of my mom's van. While I was tempted to go park at Tempe Town Lake (in a van down by the river...hahaha), I never reached that low with many thanks to McKenzie, Jeanette, "he who shall be called 'nameless,' " and the LDS Institute parking lot.

While living the hermit crab lifestyle was good fun in a weird way, that could have truly only been enjoyed during that year of my life, it was coming to an end. I was getting a NEW car.

I only wanted something simple. I was thinking perhaps a used, 2000 Nissan Sentra.

BUT the boys said, "Oh no! Bad car."

Gib said, "Oh no! Used car."

My mom said, "Ok. Pick a car." So I did. I knew what I wanted. She was Silver and cute, and had fun lights, and called me! My mom chimed in and said "No. Pick another car."

Well, if I couldn't have what I wanted, I let the boys pick.

A Toyota Corolla!

So, I picked the color and the model and the features (I had my fill of boy problems, so my car also needed to be a girl) and I waited.

Then one day I got the call...she was ready! . I went to Tucson and picked her up! She was perfect :)

My life then changed...I found a permanent place to rest my head, I flushed the boy toilet, and had 38 mpg!

Now, she is 100% mine! No more car payments :) I love you Starla!