Keeping Up with the Burtons

Christmas and Beyond

2012-01-02T20:30:00.006-07:00

I don't even know where the holiday season went. We tried to do so many Christmas activities, and we have all been sick...it just flew by!

One of our favorite activities was McCormick park. They do the whole train park up in Christmas lights. We got to ride the train and Braelynn loved her 1st ride on the carousel. While Elmo is her favorite "person," the real one walkingaround the park was another story. We finally got her to say hi to him, from about 10 feet away.

We also went to San Tan Village and took a Carriage ride, watched the light show, and and took in the busy, last minute shopping energy.

Then there was my birthday. Sick. End of story :(

Finally, it was Christmas! Braelynn really wasn't sure about the whole thing. The idea of Santa terrified her- she would growl every time we talked about him. Seriously, she would growl. She loved the Grinch though!

We woke up in a time crunch, since we GOT to go to church that morning, so I was a little hurried and stressed. Braelynn loved her Tickle Me Elmo...and then took the next 3 days to open the rest of her presents. Unfortunately she figured it out at the tail end :(

After church we went to Tucson and spent the night with my family. Braelynn loves her big cousin Chloe, and the 2 of them ran around together 'till they had nothing left in them.

I still can't believe it's over. I guess I should finally pack everything up tomorrow :(

We spent New Year's and Kent's birthday in Sedona with my parents. It was a lot of fun, in spite of us all being sick STILL/AGAIN. It's never ending...however Brooke's explosive diapers really made the weekend interesting!

2012 holds a lot of mystery for us. Hopefully things will pick up for Kent in the Business Brokerage world, since everyone has been on Holiday mode since September. It would be really nice to have a company again!

We Get "Snow" and Santa...Even in Arizona! :)

2011-12-14T12:15:00.005-07:00

Not So Traditional

2011-11-26T15:13:00.006-07:00

Our Thanksgiving this year was a little out of the ordinary, but boy did we love it!

Last year we had gone to Utah and froze for 3 days...it was that trip where we decided we were done with winter holidays anywhere north. Why would we leave a paradise of 72 degrees?

My brother had come the 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, so we already did a turkey with him, since he hadn't been home for Thanksgiving in 8 years! My step-dad, Ken, had back surgery the week before, so my parents were in no condition to travel or host.

What were we to do???

Play outside, watch movies, go to the park, go shopping, and decorate for Christmas! The weather was beautiful making it just perfect!

Here's Brooke helping me in the kitchen

Kent and Braelynn watching Megamind

Let's eat! Steak, baked potato, roasted pesto veggies, and yummy sourdough with butter, garlic, and cheese

Kent definitely approves of the new holiday menu!

More bread Braelynn?

Brooke barely made it through the prayer!

Peek-a-boo Brooke!

Ahh- get a load of that sunset!

I love my little sweethearts!

How's the view from up there?

Yes ma'am! Flip-flops in November :)

And now onto Christmas!

So in Love...

2011-11-08T21:22:00.003-07:00

I know, you are probably thinking that this post is about Kent and the last 4 blissful years. Well, that post is coming in a couple of days, but in the meantime I just gotta tell you how much in love with Braelynn I am!

She drives me absolutely crazy many days, but there are so many days that I could just eat her up!

Sunday. She was just so cute! All of a sudden, our little mess-of-a-girl has discovered how much fun it is to get girly. We do ponytails and now we're even getting into curlers.

Call my crazy, but I'm even obsessed with the peach fuzz on her arms. She's not a baby anymore!

She's never been one to "crash" anywhere...until she decided she was too big for naps!

She was definitely a fan of the Halloween candy!

Silly girl! Daddy doesn't need curlers :)

It's so fun counting with her, and singing the alphabet.

San Diego, Baby Showers, Halloween and Other Stuff

2011-11-06T19:59:00.007-07:00

Our "little dancer" in San Diego. Photo courtesy of Carly.

Nothing like a nice warm bath.

Braelynn's first trick-or-treatin' halloween.

Brae wearing the outfit Carly wore when she was a little girl (she's a clown, without the makeup)

Messy Girl! Cupcakes!

Carly throws one heck of party (Jeanette's baby shower).

Brooke at our hotel room

Our little princess...

Brae! Stop dragging Brooke across the floor!

Braelynn's first experience with curlers - she wore them all night for church today.

Some Notes from my Journal dated April 12, 2010:

When Moses first communicated with Jehovah on Mount Sinai, he was commanded to remove his shoes, for he stood on holy ground. Taking off one's shoes was custom in those days for anyone with the status of being a slave. For slaves were to stay fairly close by and give strict heed to their master's call.

In the telestial, fallen world we find ourselves in, we too are slaves, brought up like the children of Israel in captivity to sin and the influences of evil.

Like the ancient Israelites brought up in bondage to Egypt, we wrestle with the realities of scarcity, competition, and the harshness of living in a sometimes fierce and cruel and unfair world.

However, the Lord has shown us a better way, a way out. We can live in the world without living of the world.

The night the children of Israel were delivered from the Egyptians, they were commanded to keep their shoes on in preparation for the speedy and quick deliverance the next morning.

As the children of Israel were delivered from bondage, first through the red sea (representing the first ordinance of baptism) and later by the cloud of light (representing the Holy Ghost) they found themselves wanderers in the wilderness for 40 years. They learned to depend upon the Lord for daily bread from heaven (manna, representing the word of God), and healing from the effects of poisonous serpents (representing the effects of sin).

In a sense, they were introduced to a new world, with new challenges and struggles... but at least they were free from slavery. They had the Lord to guide them. It was a time of purging and purification and preparation for the Israelites. Only after they were truly purged could Moses as the Lord's prophet and messenger introduce them to the promised land, though he himself did not enter.

To the extent we live in this fallen world, yet remain faithful to our baptismal and temple covenants, and we continue to walk in faith and partake of the sacrament worthily each week, we find ourselves living in a different world - a terrestrial world, perhaps - where we trust in and depend upon the Lord and His chosen representatives and fellow Saints for our nourishment and survival.

We work and we're diligent. We live in the world, but not of the world. We live, no longer captive to sin, but also not realizing our final destination just yet...knowing that this life we find ourselves in is not our final destination.

And so, we hold on. We trust in the Lord. We keep the commandments. We strive to purify our hearts, our words, our actions. We follow the prophets. Until the final day when the promised land is introduced to our view, and the veil is parted, and we see clearly then...and we return home to our true home, our heavenly home where our Father in Heaven dwells.

My prayer is that each and every one of our family members may live worthy to enter the Lord's presence at that great and final day. That we may all be one.

Notes from EQ Lesson: "As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten”

2011-10-24T16:31:00.002-07:00

Me: “Do you want to go to time out?”

Braelynn: “Yes” and she’ll sometimes willingly get up and put herself in timeout. Other times she has to be compelled to go. Much of her learning and development is attempting to find out the boundaries of what is or isn’t acceptable, and trying to become (though oft times with tears and frustration), obedient.

How do you usually feel during or after general conference? Uplifted? Inspired? Comforted? I usually feel a deep sense of urgency and inadequacy – as though I’m not doing enough to measure up. Perhaps this is because I’m usually a little complacent or too comfortable in my life situation.

“The purpose of the church is to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.”

What does this scripture mean to you: “Woh unto them that are at ease in Zion” (Amos 6:1)

If we truly trust in the Lord, and we’re keeping the commandments, we can know with assurance that any affliction we’re suffering through is for our well being – and is a GIFT – therefore, we ought to rejoice in the gift by 1) searching out the lesson to be learned, and 2) trusting in the Lord that this present suffering serves some greater purpose.

If we feel our burden is too heavy to carry, it is because 1) we haven’t developed a deep enough love and gratitude for our Savior, or 2) we haven’t learned to trust Him fully or both.

If our love for the Savior is strong enough, no trial is too great & every sacrifice is an honor to bear. If our faith in the Lord is strong enough, we trust in Him fully and we know He can and will deliver us from it and that the trial serves some purpose.

Trials aren’t meant to punish us so much as they are meant to change us.

Alma 62:41:

41 But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their ^aafflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.

Do we receive chastisement from the Lord as a gift?

D&C 88:33

33 For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.

Scriptures:

Hebrews 12: 1,5-7, 9-11-

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the ^asin which doth so easily ^bbeset us, and let us run with ^cpatience the race that is set before us,

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth he ^achasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye ^aendure ^bchastening, God dealeth with you as with ^csons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

9 Furthermore we have had ^afathers of our flesh which ^bcorrected us, and we gave them ^creverence: shall we not much rather be in ^dsubjection unto the ^eFather of ^fspirits, and live?

10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his ^aholiness.

11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the ^apeaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are ^bexercised thereby.

2 Tim 3:16-17 (esp 16): 16 ^aAll ^bscripture is given by ^cinspiration of God, and is ^dprofitable for ^edoctrine, for ^freproof, for correction, for ^ginstruction in ^hrighteousness:

17 That the man of God may be ^aperfect, throughly furnished unto all ^bgood works.

On the Move

2011-10-16T19:42:00.002-07:00

She might not be able to sit on her own yet, but she can definitely move. Let the fun begin!

Gimme More!

2011-10-09T14:53:00.002-07:00

Yeah! Brooke not only started eating oatmeal this past week, she loves it too! It's so nice to have a little break from breast feeding (not that she is so into it like Braelynn was).

She gets so excited for it now. Whenever she sees the box, she grabs at it and squeals. I am so excited to start with some other foods in the next few weeks too.

wEiRd

2011-09-27T12:17:00.001-07:00

The Tantrum-atic Twos

2011-09-25T20:57:00.003-07:00

As I sat here tonight listening to the blood curdling screams for 61 minutes of a very tired 2 year old, who felt it was not her bedtime, I realized I hadn't posted anything about her birthday!

Braelynn turned 2 on Wednesday, the 21st. I cannot believe how fast this past year went. She just turned 1 yesterday!

Let me tell you, she is definitely 2!

Braelynn's energy could easily be bottled and sold to NASA for rocket fuel. She loves running, jumping, and dancing. Her laugh is hilarious, a true from-the-gut laugh. She loves to tell stories, that nobody understands, but is very aware of what she is saying. She is full of animal sounds and many other sound effects that she strategically puts in the middle of her sentences.

Some of our favorite "words" are:

Peash- Please

Monk- Blanket

Yeah Kay- Ok or Yes

Tick a Tick a Tick a- Tickle, Tickle, Tickle

Reece- Rice

Sigh- Outside

Tie- Tired

Moo- Movies (TV)

Mo- Elmo

Elcome- You're Welcome

Tank-oo- Thank You

Bwook- Brooke

All babies are "Bwook," and all cats are "Mar" (Marley, my Aunt's cat in NY).

She absolutely loves Nursery at church. She knows what room to go to, and when to go. She cries whenever we pick her up to go home.

We have nicknamed her "The Wedge." She has to be right in the middle of whatever is going on. She has a way of worming her way between Kent and I, or if we are holding Brooke.

She loves to give kisses to the grocery store clerks. When they say "Bye," she replies with "Byyyee," followed with a smooch!

In the past 2 years, I have been able to trim her nails maybe 10 times, and have yet to be able to get her hair up in any way. I managed to get a barrette in it today. She is not a girly-girl at all.

Her temper comes straight from her daddy. Watch out when she is mad!

We love every bit of her...even if we just put her to bed for the 13th time tonight! I couldn't imagine life without her. She exhausts me everyday, yet makes me laugh over the silliest things!

Happy 2nd Birthday Braelynn, we love you!

New York and THE New York

2011-09-15T20:56:00.003-07:00

The trip that I've been counting down to has come and gone. 3 years ago, when we got our Credit Card with an amazing points package, we started "saving" for our trip to New York.

We 1st headed upstate to visit my family. My Uncle Lance's house is probably my most favorite spot in the entire world and I finally got to share it with Kent. Nothing beats the view or the quietness of this place!

The main purpose of our trip was to spread my dad's ashes at Vroman's nose in Middleburgh. However, thanks to Hurricane Irene, the roads and town were closed. My Uncle is building a family cemetery on his property though, so we decided to spread the ashes there. My dad was very close to Uncle Lance and I know that he is enjoying his spot there. It was a very special experience...after I got over the grossness of the ashes (it might as well have been blood!).

We mostly just relaxed and visited with family, but on Saturday we went to Hick's Orchards and picked apples.

On Sunday, my cousin Tyler and his wife Heather came down from Vermont and we got to spend the day with them.

Braelynn's favorite part of the trip was Marley the cat, and the cat's food...she just didn't see anything wrong with getting a little extra protein!

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On Monday we got up early and took the train to New York City. I was dreading this part of the trip, and was expecting absolute chaos with the girls, especially going the day after 9/11.

It wasn't so bad. We looked a TAD ridiculous. I was just amazed at how nice everyone there was! Seriously, people were helping us left and right with directions, suggestions for stuff to do, and loading all of our stupid crap on and off the busses, up the stairs, and everywhere.

We went to Arthur Avenue and had the most delicious calzones.

The next day we went to Wall Street and Times Square.

On the last day we went to Central Park. I have always had this fetish for Central Park and it was just as magical as I dreamed it would be. If only the train station didn't have 3 flights of stairs though!

Customize your own picture slideshow

Then we flew back home that night. Frontier Airlines is AMAZING, but flying at night with 2 tired little girls SUCKS.

It is nice to be home now. Every muscle in my body hurts. I can't wait to go back though. Unfortunately the person who begged me to go to NYC now despises the place :( Kent is now reevaluating his plans for retirement...no more condo in the city for him!

Vacation Part Uno

2011-09-06T12:27:00.006-07:00

We spent this past week up in Utah with Kent's family and had an absolute blast!

Kent and his brother Chad hiked the Narrows to start out the trip, while Natalie, the kids, and I perused the streets of St. George.

Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Kent and I then went to BYU so he could showme aroundhis old stompin' grounds. That campus is just so pretty!

Then we headed up to AF to stay a few days at Hotel Dr. Burton (congrats again Chad!). Kent's mom flew in from Houston so we could spend some time with her as well.

The next morning Kent and I got up at 4:15 and went to the SLC temple, which was just great!

That afternoon we spent the day at the lake with Kent's sister Lanae...wakeboarding, tubing, and just chilling.

This slideshow made with Smilebox

In the evening we headed to Kent's dad's house and had a very yummy dinner.

In the morning we headed to church, and then spent the day getting ready for dinner that night. Kent and I tried to count everyone, and I thinkthere were about 34 people that came! It was so fun to see everyone.

The next morning we packed up and headed back to AZ without any problems. We stopped in to see my Aunt April for a little visit.

We are completely exhausted!

I am doing laundry today, packing tomorrow, and then heading to NY for another fun-filled week!

Notes from Kent's EQ Lesson on Sunday

2011-08-17T15:06:00.003-07:00

List: Challenges to Marriage Today

“What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” – Mark 10:9

Marriage = Miracle.

Birth & early childhood – dependence

Teenage years and young adulthood – independence

Marriage/Parenthood – interdependence

It takes an independent person or persons to be in an interdepedent relationship.

5 Big Needs of Women:

1. Affection

2. Conversation

3. Honesty & Openness

4. Financial Support

5. Family Commitment

Movie: “Fireproof” – 1^st presidency endorsed. For the Lord’s sake, if we’re truly contrite and humble and broken hearted, we’ll do whatever the Lord would have us do. In this state, we’re able to love our wife with a pure heart as the Lord would have us love her.

Y.E.A.R.S.

You’re responsible for your own happiness – you can’t ‘get’ your happiness ‘from’ your wife – you can only share your happiness, peace, joy, and love with your wife.

Express your love often – demonstrate love through service, spending quality time together, physical affection, or telling your spouse of your love for her.

Appreciation – similar to expressing it (outward), appreciation goes deeper to what’s going on inside your own heart and head – really, truly treasure your wife as your most precious of all assets.

Rituals and family traditions strengthen marriage and family – FHE, date night, family dinners, church worship, family scripture study and family prayer, etc.

Self-LESS-ness – The marriage comes first, the family second. Church callings, career, finances, etc. come later, but the SELF comes last. We must put wife, and children ahead of self. We’re holders of the priesthood after all, - we’re on the Lord’s errand and are representative of Him as if He were here. Love as He loved, serve as He served.

“Love is an adventure, not an investment” – Gordon B. Hinkley

Phoenix Art Museum

2011-08-14T19:35:00.007-07:00

This weekend we went on a family date to the Phoenix Art Museum and Tempe Town Lake.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Art Museum...I wasn't expecting much, but got a lot out of it. Each exhibit had explanations about art in the given time period and geographic location. We soon found ourselves looking a little more deeply into the art as opposed to the usual "scan and don't stop moving" style.

It had fun fountain at the entrance:

Not to get political...but here comes China!

Did this one scare anyone else? It talked and everything. Its voice reminded me of Hannibal Lecter.

Some of my favorites:

I love how the photographer combined old photos and new photos together. What a novel idea!

This one made me laugh!

Speaking of laughing, I was hysterical walking through this one the 1st time. It was a dark room, with multi-colored lights and mirrors. I recorded it the 2nd time. I don't know why I thought it was so funny. Maybe it was because the 1st time, it was just me and this old lady.

After the museum we went to the Splashpark at Tempe Town Lake to play. Braelynn had a lot of fun. It was so hot though, so we didn't stay long.

We are so excited that Brooke is starting to roll over. She liked to practice in her crib at night, but finally got the hang of it at a more feasible hour ;)

Kent and I also got callings in our new ward. He is a teacher in the Elder's Quorum, which he is pretty excited about. He taught today about marriage and successfully started a brawl in the meeting...The EQP called tonight to see if he was still interested in teaching. His lesson next week is on the Law of Chastity. I'm not sure if he's still excited about this calling!

Get ready for this...I was called to be Cubmaster. Never in my life did I ever expect to do this one! My Patriarchal Blessing says that I will do a lot of work with the RS and YW. I must not be right with the Lord ;) So far it has been an adventure. I get to go get my uniform next week. As soon as they told me it involved buying new clothes I got a little excited!

Our house is pretty much all set-up. I'll have to get photos of it all up soon. We still want wood floors and new carpet...but that's well down the road! The backyard is starting to get the grass back in, and I've been pulling 4 foot weeds like crazy! It will be nice to have it when it cools off.

Well, I think that's about it. Have a great week!

It Was an AJ Sorta Day

2011-07-30T15:49:00.002-07:00

Do people ever do things that make you look at them and think, "what planet do you come from where that's oKaY?" Then do you ask yourself, "what's wrong with me if I'm in the same place as them?"

I had that moment today.

If you can get over 100 barefoot, germy kids running around together, the play areas at malls can be a lot of fun. Today, not so much.

As we walked in, a 10 year old (?) girl grabbed Braelynn and tried to run off with her. Braelynn looked back with those "save me" eyes, and we explained to the little girl that we needed to get a place and take Braelynn's shoes off. We "conveniently" found a place to sit right next to this girl's mom...I am no longer surprised it was the only open spot.

Kent, Braelynn, and our new little friend ran off to go play. I was bouncing Brooke on my lap, watching Braelynn, and I feel Brooke being pulled from my lap. The 8 year old (?) personal space intruder told me she wanted to hold the baby. I told her the baby was spitting up, so I was going to hold her. She turns to her mom and says "I wanna hold the baby." The mom (without looking up from her intense text-conversation) tells her to ask me again. The little girl tells her mom that I said no, and the mother's reply was for her to ask me "why". Seriously??? As the little girl continued to poke and prod at Brooke we inched our way to the left.

When she finally got up to go play, her older (12?) sister swoops in to continue to pester me. "Can I hold the baby?" Before I even tell her "NO WAY!!!" her mom informs me that this daughter is really good with babies. I then tell the girl "I don't think so."

Apparently this annoyed the text messaging-Apache Junction-slit wristed (I tried to not judge, everyone has problems, but it needed to be noted)-mother to the point that she decided it was time to go. Her 10 year old was not listening, and she sent her 12 year old to go get her. Upon their return, she SMACKED THE GIRL ACROSS THE FACE, and said it was time to go.

Yes, yes it was.

#1- You tell your children it is not polite to touch other people's babies.

#2- If it's not polite to touch other people's babies, it might be a little more wrong to hold them.

#3- Don't encourage your child to ask "WHY?" when an adult says "NO."

#4- Spanking is one thing...smacking your child on the face is just wrong, end of story.

We're sticking to San Tan or Chandler mall from now on.

Here Comes Trouble!

2011-07-24T20:27:00.004-07:00

I am so super excited to the point that I am about to bust!

There is a special lady in my life...we'll call her "Jeanette." She is my sunshine! Not only does she make me happy when skies are gray, so lets me whine and complain about 'em too! She is perfect in every way, except for the fact that she's been living on the other side of the country for far too long.

Well, guess who's baaack?!

For those of you who know us, you know how wonderfully bad this is! Never in my life have I known someone who can get me in as much innocent trouble as this girl.

You may not see me for awhile.

Kent and Bryan should probably find some hobbies. We've got alotta catching up to do ;) CODE- shopping, hair, nails, laughing, shopping, a smidge of gossip (just to keep it interesting), putting things into our language so they make sense, eating in our favorite "I'm so hungry, this is going to be disgusting to watch, but I know you won't say anything" form, and maybe some more shopping...we gotta find some new outfits that are "a good kinda tight!"

But don't worry, guess who's joining us in September?

Then we'll really be painting the town red!

4th, Chik-free-a, and the Diego 2011

2011-07-15T12:52:00.005-07:00

I love July. It feels so summery, so fun, and so American!

We didn't do anything for the 4th which is unusual, but nice. We did drag everyone out for ice cream and fireworks at 9:30. Big mistake. After sitting in our prized spot for an hour in 100 degree weather before everything started, Braelynn was ready to go home. We packed up and while carrying Braelynn up the stairs to her room, we found out that we can see the fireworks from our windows! Next year we will definitely take advantage of that!

Who doesn't love Chik-fil-a? Such good food and an awesome company all around. They had cow appreciation day last week! If you dressed from head to hoof as a cow, you got a free meal! Kent was mortified...it isn't very often I can't bribe him to doing something for free food! Luckily I got the days mixed up so we got to do a dress rehearsal the night before! By Friday morning Kent was much more willing. While eating lunch at our nearest location we thought how fun it would be to drive around and see how many free meals we could get. Yes, we need real jobs...or a hobby.

After 5 stops we decided we had enough food and decided it was time to go home. Just so you know...their nuggets and fries freeze beautifully!

The next day we loaded up the car and headed to our annual San Diego trip with my family. This year Shawn and her family, and Kenny were able to come. We really missed Eddie- hopefully he can make it next year. The weather was beautiful, the beach was perfect, and we were finally able to have a campfire and roast some marshmallows! Braelynn had a blast with Chloe, and definitely loves the beach. Now we are counting down the days until next year!

Pictures!

2011-07-03T22:01:00.004-07:00

I know blog posts without photos are o-so-boring...so here are oodles of pictures. We're still just busy painting, unpacking, and working on other odds & ends around here. More adventures to come. In the meantime...

Braelynn has finally decided she likes to hold her baby sister. She has really become quite the helper!

Whenever she wants to hold her she does the sign for "more" and repeats it over and over. I have no idea why she associates this word with it.

We've been getting to spend A LOT of time in our Jammies. When mommy & daddy are painting for hours and hours all time is lost. Less laundry :)

Here's our sweet girl, Brooke.

Her personality is really starting to show. The past few days she has started to smile quite a bit, and just seems to be so happy to be here. Yeah!

When we 1st bought paint for our house, we thought we bought too much so we decided to get a little creative and do 2 colors in the formal dining and formal family rooms with a chair rail...17 gallons of paint later we finally got to the chair rail. We really enjoyed doing this project together, and are really pleased with the results.

Can't wait to start on curtains! Actually, I can...we didn't budget for 17 gallons of paint.

***Disclaimer*** Behr Paint & Primer-in-one doesn't do so well with 1 coat like they say.

Shooter McGavin

2011-06-27T14:29:00.002-07:00

Things around here have been crazy since...well, for a while I'd say. We've been so busy I feel like I've barely gotten to spend any time with Brooke. I feel this way until I remember that she still sleeps 18-20 hours a day. I've tried to slow down a little though and learn a little more about her.

She is just so precious. An absolute sweetheart. She barely makes a peep. She lets Braelynn poke, prod, and knock her around with a shoe without so much as a little cry for help. She definitely has a "little sister" scream though. If she loses something like a binky or food, she lets you know how she feels!

She may be little, but she's mighty. So much so, that we've affectionately nicknamed her "Shooter McGavin" (Happy Gilmore). Stuff flies out of both ends with such speed, force, and distance!

She has started to smile in the past few weeks. It's a very shy smile though, and I have yet to capture it on camera.

Braelynn is probably her favorite person. She watches her every move, and seems to be learning from her. Braelynn is also very loving and protective of her. She is the official "Binky Replacer."

Her 2 month mark was on Sunday, and yesterday she went in for a check-up. She tips the scale at 10lbs 7 oz (38th), and is 22 inches (17th).

I'll try to get some photos this week of her...key word, try.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T11:51:00.002-07:00

Kent should be having an extra-nice Father's Day as he is toast after moving all day yesterday...it was 106 in the shade. I say "in the shade" because I dared not to venture out into the sun yesterday. I have no room to complain about the move.

We had 8 guys from church show up, and it took them less than 2 hours to clear out our old house and get everything into our new house. I don't know if I should be appreciative or insulted that they got us out that quickly ;)

We are absolutely loving our new house. Every time we turn a corner, we shout "Oh my gosh! Look at this! This is my new favorite!"

So my new, and final favorite is the treat up in the loft. We live in South Chandler with lots of fields, farms, and livestock of all sorts. We've considered buying land on the county island, and play the "what if we lived on a ranch?" game. Way too much work though. So, living down here is a great compromise! We get to look at everything, and enjoy the slow-paced lifestyle.

Ok...back to my favorite spot...Our new house overlooks some fields, or pastures, or whatever they are called. Yesterday I plopped myself down on the couch in the loft, right under the A/C vent, and looked out the window. And, that's it! A/C, horses, mountain views. LOVING IT!

It gets better though, and it ties into Father's Day. When I was a little girl, my dad would wake me up really early on the weekends, get donuts, and we would go "chase balloons." A company would send off Hot Air Balloons and we would go watch them take off, follow them, and watch them land. It is one of my most favorite memories.

This morning Brooke woke up at 5:30. I sat on the couch in the loft with her, and gazed out the window. The sun was rising over the mountains, the horses were out, and a Hot Air Balloon was taking off from the field just behind us. It was like a little visit from my Dad. What a way to start a new day, in my new house, in my new favorite spot. It's now my favorite spot for 2 reasons.

Happy Father's Day!

"Wallowing" In Show Low

2011-06-12T13:04:00.006-07:00

My parents have started this family tradition of leaving for the summer...something about it being too hot here and since they are old (I mean retired), they can just up and leave. They must realize how boring life can be without kids, granddaughters, and grandpuppies because they invite us along!

Last year they wanted to start having everyone meet up in the white mountains. It was a lot of fun and we were so excited to go again this year.

We were planning to go to Hawley Lake, but for some reason they changed their mind and settled on Fools Hollow. Good thing they did, because the Wallow Fire was in that area and it was evacuated the same weekend we would've been there.

The temperature was nice and cool, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with everyone. It was way too windy to go boating or kayaking though, and way to dry to have a fire...luckily Kenny had his Droid with a fire App and we all sat around it one night pretending it was a nice cozy fire!

While Chloe and Braelynn liked playing in the dirt, all the little girls decided sleeping outside is NOT for them...the 2nd night, 10 of us + 2 pack & plays ended up in my parents 5th wheel...nice and cozy!

Can't wait to do it again next year! Hopefully we'll be able to have a campfire though :)

A New Addition...

2011-06-07T21:11:00.004-07:00

Our family just seems to keep growing- we bought a new house!

wHaT???

We LOVE our current home, but we were starting to feel a little like sardines in here. It was a great starter home, but we needed another bedroom. Our 3 bedrooms, is cut short because of the office. Braelynn and Brooke would be sharing a room, which isn't a problem...but can get a little too cozy.

For about a month we were putting bids on homes at the foreclosure auction. It was a lot of fun. We would get a list, drive around and pick our favorites, and then put in the bids. We came close on some, but one day our bidder called and told us it was between us and another guy and the auctioneer was still quite aways from our limit. All of a sudden it was ours! That's when the drama began as you have 24 hours to PAY FULL PRICE...I'll save you the gore, swear words, and blood...just know that it all worked out :)

So what are the stats?

It's still here in South Chandler...about 2 miles from where we are currently at (a new ward though).

3,330 sqft

5 Bedrooms + Loft

3 Bathrooms

Formal Family and Dining Rooms

3 Car Garage

AmAzInG Backyard with a huge playset, 2 vegetable gardens, 6 fruit trees, a rose garden, grass, and extended patio...right now it's all dead and covered with weeds, but give it time.

Here is the "before" video. I'll be sure to post the "after" video when we get a little more settled.

I had to do it in 2 parts, so you'll see the downstairs and then upstairs.

Visitation

2011-05-15T09:53:00.004-07:00

One of my BFFs, Sara, and her husband are getting ready for a BIG move (don't ask me how I feel about this), and they stopped by to say hi and bye :(

We had lots of fun and Braelynn was really not happy to see them leave.

Thanks Sara for the cute monkey suit! It will keep Brooke nice and warm when we come visit you guys at the North Pole ;)

How It's Supposed to Be!

2011-05-15T09:37:00.004-07:00

When we told my parents that we were expecting again, my mom said that this one would be Satan's Spawn because Braelynn was such a perfect baby and the universe needed to be balanced. Well, Braelynn was the perfect baby...until Brooke came along! (Braelynn, we love you to pieces and enjoy you immensely).

Many times Kent and I look at each other and ask, "is this how it's supposed to be?"

Braelynn had colic (6:30 pm to about 4 am).

Brooke does not.

You wouldn't believe the difference that one piece makes!

We can lay her down, she sleeps, she only eats for 20 minutes at a time, she sleeps, she barely cries, and let me tell you that she sleeps!

We are all enjoying her so much. Braelynn was ecstatic when we brought Brooke home. She's starting to realize that we are keeping her and has started a little sibling jealousy. I feel bad for her, because she is so used to having 100% of our attention. She is learning a new word..."wait." She doesn't like it! But, it is what it is.

Love is just wonderful with these 2 little girls!

The LONG Labor

2011-04-28T19:45:00.006-07:00

We finally got to deliver our baby girl!

My mom came up on Tuesday night to help out with Braelynn, and Kent and I headed to the hospital for our 5:30 appointment on Wednesday morning. I told Kent that this must be what being on Death Row feels like...there was no surprise and I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I was really dragging my feet!

When I told the nurse at the desk that I was there to be induced she gave me this look and asked, "have they even checked to see if you are dilated?" Yep- I was really excited to be delivering at Chandler Regional again!

So when we got past Lil Miss Attitude at the gate, I got hooked up to the Pitocin at 6:30...not only was I dilated, I had gone from a 2 to a 3 since the previous morning :) Right on! I knew I was in for a LONG day.

The 1st half of the day was incredibly boring. I watched Food Network and Kent napped. Around 11 though things started to pick up their pace and intensity. At 12 noon I had to brace myself for the contractions...Kent and I also had a discussion at this point that I didn't find it appropriate that he was negotiating a deal via text messages at this time. Seriously. So, he went and got some ice cream. He's lucky he can still walk...

At 12:50, I was in the throws of alotta contractions- the nurses weren't going to check me again until 1:30 though. For the next 40 minutes I talked myself through each contraction that were about a minute apart. I knew I could make it to 1:30, but at that point I wasn't sure if I would take the Epi or be able to make it through again.

Bad news. I was only at a 7. WTF?! I asked nurse Carla (do you remember her? She was my most amazing and fabulous nurse when Braelynn was born. I GOT HER AGAIN!!!), what she thought the timeline was. If anyone was gonna talk me outta the Epi, it was gonna be her! She smiled and said it would probably be about 2 more hours. She then said she would call Dr. Lei for the Epi :) This is why I love her! She can read my innermost thoughts.

I sat up and they prepped me for the Epi. They told me that it would kick-in in about 3-4 contractions and that my feet would tingle to start. Nope. It didn't get any better and I could still feel my feet. I don't know who was more frustrated, me or the nurses. I didn't get any relief :(

At this point Dr. Karabinas came in (love her too!) and the whole team of nurses. The baby's heart rate was dropping and so was my blood pressure. They gave me the good ol' Oxygen and broke my water. They also checked me and I was ready to go! The nurses think that just the movement from me getting the Epi must've been enough to finish things off. Still no explanation why it didn't kick in...but it was decided that I get credit for natural birth still :)

So, 2 good pushes later she was out! She looked a lot bigger than I was bracing myself for, but even better, she was perfect! There was nothing wrong with her. She got to stay there with me. What more could I have asked for?

We had been kicking around a few different names: Brooke, Brielle, and Bethany. We had 2 nurses named Brooke, which kinda sealed the deal. I've always loved the name Renee and I thought it fit with Brooke just beautifully. We had also been considering Nicole and Elise.

There was no contest from either of the nurses :)

She weighed in at 5 lbs. 15 oz...about a pound bigger than what was estimated the week prior to. She is 19 inches, and was born at 2:45 pm on 4/26/11. She has straight brown hair on the sides, and some blonde curlies on the top. My favorite feature is the little patch of straight brown hair on the top that sticks straight up! She looks like a little bird.

She is just a sweetheart of a baby. She sleeps A LOT, doesn't cry, and just has this sweet disposition. This may sound rEALlY wEiRd, but the little voice in my head for her is Buddy the elf, from "Elf." She just has this look on her face that everything is so exciting. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you gotta watch "Elf"!

Braelynn loves to pat her head and throw away her diapers. She carries around this mantle of big-sisterhood like it is her biggest duty. She takes it very responsibly. She wanted nothing to do with me for a few days, but has come around.

We are loving being a family of 4 and this week has just been so wonderful! We are looking forward to the new adventures that await us...hopefully colic is not one of them!

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T13:09:00.004-07:00

Friday evening was marked with an emotional meltdown...I was NOT supposed to be pregnant on Friday still. But, there I was carrying a butterball around my mid-section. The only thing that could save me from myself was a good plate of Mexican Food.

Usually Kent drags his feet when we head out for dinner, but that night he was in the car with Braelynn before I could even figure out where I wanted to go. I was still balling my eyes out (remember Chipotle 2 years ago?), when he made a sharp turn into Casa Blanca. It was packed, but we waited until we could get a seat on the side that we like. I was a basket case, there was no messing around with bad seating and ugly decor on the backside!

Dinner was fabulous! Then we headed to Tempe for a concert under the stars. The music was ok, but it was just nice to be out with the family and enjoy a cool breeze. It was the perfect start to our weekend.

Saturday we planned to go to the city of Chandler's Easter Egg hunt. Braelynn took a 3 hour nap before it started at 10:30, but I figured it was just from being out late on Friday. Boy was I wrong. She once again got sick! I felt so bad dragging her out there. She ended up sleeping for most of the rest of the day. That night we went to our friends/neighbors, the Jacksons, for a BBQ. It's so fun to have friends 3 doors down!

I stayed home with Braelynn on Easter, but Kent was able to go to church and had been asked to speak. I was so bummed that we couldn't go and that Braelynn missed out on the rest of Easter fun. We had been invited to a friend's for dinner, since I had to cancel my get together (something about being told I would have my baby by then...grrr...), but she was sweet enough to bring dinner to us!

So, I guess Easter was a quiet day, but altogether it was a beautiful weekend!

This morning I went in for an appointment and we scheduled me to be induced tomorrow morning at 5:30. Now I'm hysterical because I'm getting induced! I'm sure it'll be ok, I was just looking forward a repeat of my delivery with Braelynn. Who knows, maybe it'll go quickly.

Well, next time I get on here I'm sure I'll have a much more exciting story for you! Until then, goodbye from our family of 3 for the last time!

Just Putting This Out There

2011-04-19T18:23:00.002-07:00

I am so done being pregnant!!!

This pregnancy has been awful:

I didn't have any morning sickness with Braelynn.

I had morning sickness until Christmas with this one.

At about 20 weeks, this baby slowed down growing.

Since then, I have had 16 Ultrasounds, 9 OB appointments (at 3 different OB offices), 7 NSTs, 6 colds, and an Appendectomy.

At first I was in love with my OB office. Everyone was just so nice, I liked the doctors, and the office was super cute. There are a few offices around the valley with many doctors under the 2 that own the show. I'm now seeing the head-honcho. This guy has been practicing for 40 years. Today I realized that I think he's losing his mind...I found out that I was supposed to be induced by tomorrow (39 weeks). I have seen this doctor twice since the specialist sent his report over with the recommendation, and it was never brought up.

My upper back hurts from always slouching from the weight of my stomach. My ribs hurt because there are 2 feet kicking them. My lower back hurts because of the belly. My belly hurts because the skin is stretched. My hips hurt because I have a head burrowed in the middle of them. My legs hurt from carrying around an extra 20 pounds. My feet hurt from all of the above.

So, the baby is 5 pounds now- yeah! But she hasn't really grown in the last 2 weeks, so the specialist is advising it's go time and is sending another report to my doctor. For some reason it takes 1-2 days for it to arrive at the doctor's office across the street. But anyway, I will probably be induced on Thursday or Friday.

I can't do it tomorrow, because I have laundry, grocery shopping, and a casserole to make for the Ronald McDonald house.

IT BETTER BE THURSDAY!!!

Feed the Baby

2011-04-10T20:06:00.002-07:00

Tonight we were chatting with Kent's mom and Braelynn was feeding her baby doll with a little bottle. She then lifted my shirt and began to "feed" my baby.

She's so stinkin' cute!!!!

Rainy Saturday

2011-04-09T18:58:00.006-07:00

It's funny to think that today was 50 degrees colder than it was last Saturday!

Last Saturday was General Conference and we positioned ourselves comfortably underneath the A/C vent for 2 days straight. We love conference weekend. We always make yummy snacks, and pile up our couch cushions and pillows on the floor to be nice and comfy. What made it really special was seeing Braelynn excited for it. She already knows her "spot" after a few times...what will be interesting is in 6 months to see who gets the spot :) She is NOT a pushover!

Braelynn has had this nasty cold this past week, with a fever. We had a few plans for the weekend- movie in the park on Friday night, and Gilbert Village Festival today. The weather rained on our parade and with Braelynn not feeling so great, we made some changes.

On Friday we tried to take advantage of the wind and go fly some kites. The finesse of the $1 kites was no match for the power of the wind though, and Braelynn was much more amused by the playground. It was good to get out though.

I won mother-of-the-year award by taking my sick baby to the Arizona Museum for Youth today. She survived and hopefully none of the other kids will die after being exposed to her fountains of goop.

Kent and I had a ton of fun though! The areas were sectioned off into different fairy tales and had corresponding activities. Then on the other side of the museum, there was a ton of stuff for the littlest visitors to climb on and explore. Braelynn was pretty much toast by the end of the day, but we will definitely be going back again! It was a perfect rainy day activity.

A Little Bit of Everything

2011-03-27T19:13:00.007-07:00

Today I realized how many fun things we've done since the new year that we've never posted photos from. We definitely want to remember all the fun times (well, at least the ones we remember to bring our camera to).

One of our goals for the year was to get out of the house more. We are both home all week and then Saturday comes and we say, "I'm just going to check my email real quick." Soon, the day goes by and we're both working, stressed, tired, and it feels like every other day of the week. So, Saturday has become our "get out of the house" day. It has made a world of a difference in our family, marriage, and work as well.

I'm also sneaking in a few other photos as well...

Cupid brought Braelynn a new doll for Valentine's Day. It cries and laughs, and came with all the necessities. She's going to be a really good helper :)

We love going to Fountain Hills and playing Disc Golf. They also do a few street fairs. We usually get some Subway, have a picnic, play at the park, and then walk the fair. This year it was really cold and windy, but it was such a fun day!

Kent went running one morning and found this huge inflatable toy in one of the greenways. When he got home he convinced to help him go pick it up. It wouldn't fit in our car, so I drove while he held onto it outside the window. He hoped we wouldn't see any cops and I said, "It's a Thursday morning in our neighborhood...why would there be any cops?" You can imagine how hard we laughed as we turned onto our street and a police officer looked at us like we were complete idiots! What were the odds???

I got 2 more colds this past month and decided it was time to teach Kent how to cook dinner. I taught him how to make Red Beans & Rice...he did a fantastic job!

This past weekend there was another Street fair in Tempe. We were expecting to see a lot of the same stuff from Fountain Hills, but were pleasantly surprised!

After the Street fair, we stopped off at a fountain for Braelynn to cool off a little. People were just amazed at how fearless she was as she ventured all the way in.

We had such a beautiful winter, so it was so nice to take advantage of the weather and get outdoors. We also ventured up to Sedona, and have gone to Tucson a handful of times. Now we're hunkering down for Summer :(

NON-stress Test

2011-03-09T16:10:00.002-07:00

On Tuesday I went in for my 1st Non-Stress Test. I was NOT looking forward to it at all. I hate wasting time driving to the Doctor's office, sitting at the Doctor's office, WAITING at the Doctor's office, seeing the Doctor for 5 minutes, and then driving home. I have too much other stuff to do...like blogging ;)

I was especially NOT excited, because I would be doing this twice a week for the next 6 weeks. Yuck!

So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into the dimly-lit room, with nothing but a monitor and over-stuffed, leather recliner...in complete solitude.

This is definitely something I can get used to :)

The Low Down

2011-02-23T21:31:00.003-07:00

This past weekend we were talking with Kent's mom and I realized what a horrible job I've been doing with posting updates about the pregnancy and our baby.

Since the start of the new year, I've been going into a specialist to get an Ultrasound and Doppler testing done every 2 weeks. Now that I've been a handful of times, it is clear that the baby is growing at a steady rate.

The good news is that she's consistent and she hasn't just dropped off her curve or anything. The "bad" news is that she is on the 1st percentile curve. This means that 99% of babies at her "age" are bigger than her.

Right now, she is weighing in at about 2.41 pounds. "Average" is about 3 pounds at this point.

My biggest concern a few weeks ago was wondering if my doctor would induce me if I go late. Wouldn't it be best to just let the baby cook until she's big enough to come out?

I found out that I will more than likely be induced, and it will more than likely be BEFORE my due date. Apparently babies that are IUGR tend to just stop growing or in some cases even digress. If this happens, it is important to get the baby out, so that further complications don't arise and we can better manipulate the baby's environment to help her grow. This doesn't happen all the time, but in most cases.

While I am glad I asked and I do feel comfortable with the reasoning...I really do not want to be induced! I had the most perfect labor and delivery with Braelynn, and I want this one to go exactly the same way! Bummer!

So now, I'll be gearing up to go in to the specialist 2 times a week for a stress test. The doctor will monitor the baby for about 20 minutes. If he notices anything lagging or any changes, he will consult with my doctor and decide if it would be best to get the baby out at that point.

Through everything it has been a relief to know that the baby is more than likely, just small. I'm not worried about any chromosomal disorders that are typically linked with IUGR, and the doctors are not either. All her body parts also seem to be developing normally and all her doppler testing is coming back normal as well.

I think the more "critical" point will be right when she's born and the few weeks following. If she's anything like Braelynn, she'll fatten right up though!

So, everyone should be up to speed now with the details. I don't think I know anything else. I go to my regular OB on Friday and she'll let me know if I should start the stress test this upcoming week, or week 32 which is typical.

I'll try to keep you posted!

Big Sister

2011-02-05T08:17:00.003-07:00

Braelynn's new favorite toy is a "Boo" doll, from Monster's Inc. She carries this doll all around the house with her, pretends to feed her, dances with her, etc.

On Day 1 she put her down for a nap, on her very own makeshift bed. What makes it so cute is that I never once showed her how to do any of this...she's just picked up I guess.

I think she's going to make a great big sister!

And in Other Belly News...

2011-01-09T19:08:00.002-07:00

Things got a little hectic after my appointment last week. To sum up my last post...baby is fine, and along with continued monitoring, we are just going to accept that I'm not going to have a very big baby. Darn!

On Friday though I had a stomach ache come on in the afternoon. By that night I was pretty uncomfortable, but headed to bed. Around 2 am I woke up and felt like I had been punched in the side. By morning time I couldn't pick Braelynn up. I started thinking about my appendix and did a little Googling. The pain was pretty much in the location of the appendix, but I was still in denial.

I went ahead with my day, and around noon decided it would probably be best to go to the doctor. I did NOT want to be THAT pregnant lady, in the ER with gas pains...so we went to Urgent Care 1st. They immediately sent me to the ER, who let me "Pass Go" and sent me up the Triage.

After they confirmed I was NOT in labor, they ran some labs and sent me for an ultrasound. I went back to Triage and waited and waited some more. The nurse came in and said it was a good thing we came in, because I definitely needed to have my appendix out!

Ok, then I paniced. Surgery on a pregnant lady? Are you sure that's a good idea? The doctor came in and assured me that if I have to have surgery while being pregnant, now is a good time. All my organs are still in the right place, right shape, etc. Just to play it safe, they had a Labor & Delivery nurse in the OR with me ready to rock and roll if need be.

I went in for surgery at 7:30 and my family was able to see me by 10 o'clock. Luckily my parents were already half way here, visiting Ken's mom in the hospital in Casa Grande! The surgeon was able to do it Laproscopic, minimizing the scarring and whatnot.

I spent the night in the hospital and after a full day of monitoring me and the baby, I got to come home!

Pretty crazy weekend here, and I'm sure Kent is going to find the next 2 weeks even more crazy. Luckily we have some amazing friends and family bringing us dinner and helping watch Braelynn. She has yet to understand that I can't pick her up and she can't climb all over me, so I'm sure the extra play-pals will be a nice treat :)

Thank you to everyone keeping us in your prayers...we definitely felt them and know the Lord took good care of us!

Concerned to Very Concerned

2011-01-05T12:11:00.003-07:00

This morning I had my monthly check-up and ultrasound. I went on my own thinking it would just be the usual...until the doctor walked in and announced, "I'm very concerened about your baby." (For the record, I DO appreciate blunt doctors and was not at all offeneded).

Last month when I went in the baby was measuring 2 weeks too small and then went to a specialist for more ultrasounds. The specialist wasn't too concerened as the baby is proportionatly small (as opposed to a small head, or arm, or leg, etc.). She said she would check back with me in a month just to be sure things were moving forward and not looking any worse.

Well, now the baby is measuring 3 weeks too small...so we've moved from being concerned to being very concerned. I'm going back to the specialist in the morning for more ultrasounds and doppler testing. The elevated concern comes from the baby's growth slowing even further and not stabilizing at 2 weeks...or catching up.

So hopefully tomorrow we can get some more answers. I guess we just didn't eat enough fudge over the holidays ;)

Chicago!

2010-12-31T21:16:00.008-07:00

There once was a magical townhouse with 2 princesses...Jeanette and Carly. While things were just about perfect, they needed a 3rd roomate. Alas...princess Cassie joined the 2 and things became more and more perfect.

One day an evil man stole princess Carly away and moved him into his castle. Princess Carly begged and begged for him to marry Jeanette and Cassie but he believed they would find true love one day as well.

Soon another evil man stole Jeanette away from Cassie! Cassie was heartbroken and moved to Boston...clear on the complete opposite side of the country!

In spite of the distances between them, the 3 remained BFFs. It would only seem natural that 2 desert rats would jump at the chance to go to Chicago for Cassie's Decemeber wedding with her Prince Charming, James.

In short...we had a total blast!!! Manis & Pedis, dinner out, hair, make-up, late nights, talking, 2 new friends, no husbands or babies...what more could a girl ask for? I would do it ALL over again...well, minus the mean shuttle bus driver who yelled at us (we won't EVER rent from Alamo because they are mean, or Enterprise because they made things difficult).

We just hope Cassie and James don't mind us joining them for their 1 year anniversary, because it's gonna be a party!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T21:02:00.005-07:00

Wow! Christmas was fabulous this year!!! We had so much fun having it with Braelynn. Last year she was just too little to get it, but this year she was somewhat into it!

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve morning, just the 3 of us. The night before Kent and I put out her gifts and stocking from Santa and impatiently waited for her to wake up the next morning. We got up early and waited for her to let out a breath of "I'm awake!" We brought her out and she was just so excited to see her farm and guitar and all the other toys.

The "big one" was from Ama and Apa though- her very own swing set in the backyard! We bundled her up and took her outside and she loved every minute of it! Kent must have played with her for an hour before they came in for breakfast.

That afternoon we headed down to Tucson to spend the rest of the day with my family. My little brother, Eddie, was in town too. We had a great dinner, watched movies, and just hung out.

My mom got her cast off and was so excited to be in her boot! She didn't sit down once on Christmas...in spite of all our pleading (she is supposed to be on 2 crutches for a week and not put any weight on her toe).

We had a great time and can't wait 'till next year!

28 Big Ones

2010-12-31T20:52:00.005-07:00

This year I turned what I thought would be the dreaded 28. It was just getting a little too close to 30 for comfort. Surprisingly though, it feels pretty good. I'm NOT 30 yet...I'm still in my 20s! I'm married, pregnant with kiddo #2, live in my own house, own my own car, sold my magazine...not too bad for 28 eh? AND I have no problem bragging about myself, showing that I can still pull of tacky :)

Kent and Braelynn made me breakfast in bed and then that night we went to Texas Road House for dinner. Even though I did 5 loads of laundry, packed, made mashed potatos and yams in between; it was still a great day!

The next day we went to Tucson and I got to celebrate my birthday all over again...this time turning 78 ;) (Thanks for the birthday candles mom!)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2010-12-17T20:26:00.005-07:00

Last night Kent and I went to a Christmas party, and came home around 8:45...nothing too unusual right?

We pulled into the driveway and I hopped out of the car to grab something in the garage. I heard this...sound?...it sounded like someone's garage door fell off. I looked over to the neighbors' (something that loud had to have been next door) and didn't see anything or hear anything more and quickly forgot about it. We went inside and put Braelynn to bed.

A few minutes later our house was a-glow with flashing red and blue lights. I look outside and see our entire neighborhood congregating outside. Kent was also out there, so I headed outside.

Our neighborhood "alley-cat" plowed his car through 2 neighbors' homes! He tunneled his way through the first home's garage and decided to "park" once he reached the living room of the 2nd home. Thank goodness know one was hurt or killed. The kid of course walked away without a scratch...I'm sure our neighbors will be ripping him a new one soon though.

There were 9 fire trucks, a HAZMAT team (due to the gas line that he also broke), and a helicopter.

It was quite eventful down here to say the least!

Double Your Pleasure; Double Your Fun!

2010-12-02T21:36:00.003-07:00

That's right...we're having another little girl! This is just what we were wanting and are so thrilled!

When the tech said "see these 3 little white lines..." Kent and I high-fived and yelled "it's a girl!"

After a few minutes of the Tech not saying anything, I doubled checked with her to make sure we knew what we were talking about. After all, 3 little white lines could mean anything right?

We didn't really get any good shots of the baby, because she was facing my back.

She is not measuring up to where she should be at this point, so I'm going in to get a better, more specialized Ultrasound next week. They just want to be sure that everything is okay. This will also give us the opportunity to see her little face and everything this time.

I am quite sure everything is okay...I'm tiny and I've thought that my due date was a little earlier than what it should be. BUT, we will be sure to keep the baby in our prayers just in case.

Well, like I said the photos didn't come out that great, but I still wanna get them up here.

Survey Says???

2010-12-01T05:30:00.002-07:00

Well tomorrow is the big day- we get to find out what we're having! Pregnancy is starting to feel a little more real now that I can feel the little bambino moving around, but hopefully once I know what we're having I can do a little planning and accept the fact that we're having another one.

Thanks to work related issues, I can't sleep. I thought NOW would be a good time to try out some of those old wives-tales to see if the "black magic" can prove anything before science (the ultrasound).

So, here are the results:

Chinese Gender Chart- Boy

Online Gender Quiz- Girl

Heart Rate- Girl

Wedding Ring- Boy

Drano- Um, too scary!

So, it looks like until I'm ready to pee into a cup of Drano and watch the chemical reaction...we're just gonna have to sit tight until Thursday afternoon.

I've become a strong supporter of the food craving test; however anything salty, sweet, sour, or even bland was enough to trigger my gag reflex this time around.

According to 1 article, a mother's gut-instinct is right about 70% of the time. I'm "feeling" boy.

Family Harvest Rodeo

2010-11-21T08:30:00.006-07:00

Yesterday was our Stake's annual Family Rodeo. We went last year when Braelynn was just an itty-bitty thing and couldn't wait to take her this year. She loves, LOVES farm animals...good thing we live out in South Chandler!

We had plenty of dinner, dessert, and dust...which we are feeling the effects of today...but it was worth it!

Braelynn got to run around with the goats and sheep, ooo and ahh at the bull, watch the horses, and run around with the bazillion other kids.

Earlier in the day we went for a picnic at Discovery Park and I have some photos of that as well. Enjoy!

What Makes for a Good Day?

2010-11-19T14:27:00.003-07:00

Holiday baking with mom

Finding a new way to play with the ginormous box after 2 weeks (yes, 2 weeks!)

Loves with daddy

3rd Anniversary

2010-11-12T08:46:00.002-07:00

This past Wednesday was Kent's and my 3rd Anniversary. We really lived it up this year! Last year Braelynn was just this little-itty-bitty thing and we managed to grab a quick bite to eat at the food court with her.

This year we got a sitter and everything! We went to the Temple 1st and then headed to the Asian Noodle Kitchen for dinner. I had been there a few times in college and raved about it to Kent all the time...the food was good, but the ambiance was a total let down. They used to have a Jazz band, dim lights, candles, the whole bit. Not this time. Bummer.

BUT we realized that was the 1st time we'd gone out to eat alone since Braelynn was born. Unfortunately we also realized that it was our 1st actual real date since she was born. We've gotten sitters before, but for lame stuff, not romantic stuff. We will definitely be doing this again!

I'm also excited, because Kent got me a bread knife. I know it sounds cheesy, but I've been wanting one for so long. I don't know how we didn't register for one, or how I let myself go 3 years without one, but we have one now! Woo hoo!

Kent likes that I'm practical, I like that he gets me exactly what I want :) I guess we'll "stick-it-out" another year! Haha!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

2010-11-05T20:32:00.003-07:00

Well, I did it. I chopped off my hair! 6 inches to be exact. It was quite exhilarating. I didn't realize just how much hair I had until I saw 3 people cutting it.

It comes just below my chin and I am loving this freedom!

The hairdresser at first refused to chop it off when I told her what I wanted. I then explained to her that I have a 1 year old and another on the way. She then accepted my wishes and everyone got to work!

After 2 1/2 hours, the cut was complete and I was a new woman! I've had short hair before, but I didn't cut off as much to get there...it's usually a gradual thing.

I'd post pictures, but I'll save you the horror of the pregnancy zits and 3 month flab that has taken over my body.

In other news Braelynn has joined a play group. There are 5 other little kids that meet every Thursday for 3 hours and all of us moms take turns watching them. It's nice to get that little break. It's amazing how much you can get done in 3 consecutive hours of uninterrupted work!

Kent has been really busy meeting with bankrupt companies and putting together deals. He's really enjoying this new direction in his "career."

Other than that we are just gearing up for the holidays. Halloween has never been big for either of us, but we did get Braelynn into a little sailor outfit for a few hours. I wanted her to be a ladybug, but I locked the 2 of us out of the house that day for a few hours and got a little behind. Whoops!

Baby Photos!

2010-10-21T10:01:00.008-07:00

Phew- I think I made it through my 1st trimester :) This one has been rough. With Braeylnn I was only sick once and that was more food poisoning than anything else. I kinda lost track of how many times I puked, but I think it was about 10 times.

What I did enjoy though, was the fact that I was NOT an emotional basket-case this time! No crying over Chipotle...didn't care about pepperoni touching my pizza...and I didn't lose it when I couldn't find anything to read in Border's :) The only time I have cried in the last 12 weeks was when Kent and I watched "Letters to God," a really sad movie, so it was justified.

I have gone to the doctor twice now. As cute as Dr. Eddy is, I decided that it wasn't fair to Kent to watch me get all googley-eyed at my OB. I found another doctor and the office is AMAZING! It is set up like a movie theater. Each room has a different movie theme (last week was Westerns, this week was The King and I). They play old classic musicals and Disney movies.

Today we went again and had an Ultrasound. It took some digging to find Braelynn, but this one was all set for the photo-op! As soon as they put the little wand on me the baby was there! This pregnancy has yet to feel real. We haven't "talked" to the baby or anything, but now that we've seen the little one that may change.

We also have an official due date! April 27th.

Everything looks good so far.

"Fall"

2010-09-28T15:01:00.003-07:00

My husband is so wonderful...blah blah blah.

Can I complain now? It is so hot!

At first I thought, "oh, it's because I'm pregnant." Then, I actually looked at the numbers. I'M NOT THE PROBLEM HERE!!!

Normal:

What the hell is this??? Thursday? Seriously 107?

I want to open my windows. I want to take a walk this weekend between sessions of conference. I don't want to kick myself for forgetting the ice packs for Braelynn's car seat. I want to wear a hoodie to the grocery store.

And ugh that reminds me. The grocery store...great. For the next 2 weeks Chandler schools are on fall break AND the snowbirds are back. These are my least 2 favorite weeks of the year even when it's in the 80s.

I'm going to go turn my A/C down and take a nap until it cools off...whenever that happens!

Can I Just Say...

2010-09-26T08:19:00.002-07:00

How wonderful my husband is?

This has not been a very fun pregnancy. I know I complained A LOT last time, but this time around has definitely given me something to complain about. I am actually relieved that I get to throw up this time :(

I've spent many days flat on my back, holding down the couch in case gravity fails, and Kent has been busy being super-dad to Braelynn and Mr. Mom to me.

Yesterday he cleaned the house! We've lived here almost 3 years, so I chuckled a little when he asked where we keep the mop. Underneath it all though I was so grateful for him.

He works hard all day, just to "come home" and NOT get dinner. I don't think I've cooked in 2 weeks and he hasn't complained once.

He understands when I say "don't touch me" and then when I get upset because he isn't rubbing my back he doesn't say a thing. He just starts rubbing.

Last night he took care of Braelynn so that I could go to Women's Conference at church. He took her to the park, gave her a bath, read her a story, fed her, and put her to bed. I know these are all things that should go without saying, but I just love that I have a husband who does these things without needing it to be explained. He just knows what to do. I don't have to worry that he's got the BYU game on, tuning the baby out, who has just given herself permanent marker tattoos or anything (you know the stories).

Thank you Kent and I love you so much!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2010-09-19T20:33:00.003-07:00

So Braelynn isn't officially 1 until Tuesday, but hey, we can celebrate for a few days right?

Saturday we had her 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun with family, yummy food, and of course the cake!

My parents came up and brought Chloe, and we had some long-time family friends come as well (Joan, and Debbie Martin), as well as Kent's business partner, John. Quite a few people couldn't make it, but I think I preferred the smaller crowd.

Braelynn got so many books, some bath toys, her very own cell phone (now she can stop calling people from my phone!), some clothes, and some more great toys. This girl is certainly taken care of!

I just cannot believe she is 1. She is such a fantabulous little girl and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. She brings a smile to everyone in a room. She knows what she wants and doesn't let anyone or anything distract her. She thinks she is 17 and in such a hurry to grow up.

She is just about walking and LOVES to climb up and down the furniture. She has ripped the locks off the cabinets, and will eat an entire turkey sandwich in 1 bite.

Social butterfly is an understatement for her and she makes friends everywhere she goes. She does seem to be happiest at home though. She loves playing and rough housing with her daddy and having a good story at night. She puts herself to sleep and will wave "bye" to you until you leave her crib and shut her door.

We couldn't ask for a more perfect little girl and my mom jokes that "Satan's Spawn" is on his way because it wouldn't be fair to have 2 in a row just like her!

I still haven't gone to the doctor yet, so am not too sure when I am due. I have been feeling super sick with this one and really haven't been in the mood to go to the doctor's office just to be told, "yes, you are pregnant." Maybe this week...

Well, I hope my little girl had such a happy birthday! We love you soooo much Braelynn!

Whoops! (Repeat)

2010-09-05T10:44:00.004-07:00

Kent and I are learning that we may be really good at NOT planning things. We are also learning that whenever we put a timeline together, the Lord beats us to it. We've also learned that sometimes is just best not to even think about things...because you may get what it is that you are wishing for a little earlier.

What am I getting at?

August 7th...ish

2010-08-18T12:25:00.003-07:00

Kent's and my 4th dating anniversary came and went this year.

The 1st year he proposed. The 2nd year he surprised me with dinner and a song. The 3rd year earings. The 4th year...he forgot.

So, after he was a jerk that whole day and I stopped talking to him the day was over without any celebrating. I went to bed and an hour later he came to bed and appologized as he had JUST received the Google Text reminder.

Our 4 year and 1 week anniversary was great though! We spent the whole week trading off "romantic days," and then we went out all day Saturday and played , got Bahama Bucks, and he gave me a new shirt and dress (my gift to him was the Bahama Bucks). We were going to go to Texas Roadhouse (our favorite!), but we were cooked. Literally. It was 111 on Saturday. So, we took a raincheck for that, and came home and watched a movie. Braelynn was nice enough to go to bed at 7 too.

It was the best day! Kent has been so super busy with this new business. We barely see each other and when we do, we are working. I am so proud of the accomplishments he has made as a business broker. I am so happy that he has found something that he really loves to do...while he doesn't love the Sign Company, he loves fixing it!

He is such a good daddy for Braelynn. She just beams when he comes home and does her little Arcenio grunt. The 3 of us are just having such a good time together!

San Diego Photos

2010-08-06T22:49:00.001-07:00

Customize a picture slideshow

Day's End

2010-07-22T20:10:00.003-07:00

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

2010-07-13T13:49:00.008-07:00

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!

2010-07-05T09:00:00.003-07:00

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!

For All Time and Eternity

2010-06-20T12:45:00.004-07:00

Well the big day finally came- Amy and Greg's wedding! We cannot believe Kent's little sister is now a Mrs. She is with such a wonderful guy and his family is just as great. They are so lucky to be with each other. Greg uses the word, "special" to describe her and she truly is.

The celebration began with Amy going to the Temple on Thursday. We were so happy to share that experience with her. Mom Burton was able to come a day early and share in Amy's day too, which made it even more special.

Friday was a bit more crazy. Greg's family was hosting a big dinner and EVERYONE came to town. The church building had been booked for the weekend a few months ago. When Greg's family got to the church they found the Cultural Hall closed with a padlock and a sign that the floors had been resurfaced and there is NO ADMITTANCE until Saturday. What?! The plan was to decorate after the dinner, so there was quite a bit of panic. All is well that ends well though, right? A lot of people helped out in the wee hours of Saturday morning and the reception turned out fabulous!

Another change of plans was when Kent's dad and his crew decided to stay at Hotel de la Kent and Carly Burton. We have learned that 10 people can fit quite comfortably in our home AND make it on time for pictures at the temple at 8:30 in the morning :)

After the sealing (which was beautiful by the way. I cried. I didn't even cry when Kent and I were sealed and made fun of HIM for shedding a few tears), EVERYONE came back to our place for lunch. We watched movies and visited, and made black bean salsa x 10 for the reception.

That night we were pooped! We ended up not having any company that night and really enjoyed the peace and quiet.

On top of all the wedding fun, Kent's brother Chad, mom, and sister Lanae stayed a few extra days. We lounged around by the pool, roasted marshmallows, celebrated Kent's mom's birthday, and had a great time visiting. Mrs. Amy Spencer even spent her last day off from work with us :)

I'm kinda sad that whole thing is over. We all talked about making this reunion a yearly thing, so hopefully I'll have another adventure to write about next year. Chad graduates from Residency, so we'll have

plenty to celebrate!

All In A Week

2010-05-31T09:07:00.003-07:00

So just how much damage can 1 husband do in a week?

Saturday, May 22nd.

Kent decides that he is going to "improve" our yard/home in at least one way each week.

Chandler is known for their Tumbleweeds and now I know why. Tumbleweed fighting is a yearly sport in our household. When they are tiny, it is easy to pull them up and you don't get too many thorns in your hand...but who thinks about the tumbleweeds when they are an inch or two tall?

We have this torch (don't ask why, just accept the fact that we have one) and Kent likes to use it to burn up the tumbleweeds, when they are just too big to pull up. It makes me nervous because sometimes I think the flames are just a little too big for our yard, but I've learned to stay inside and away from it all so that I can trust him (or stay oblivious to the whole thing).

Last Saturday I was cleaning up breakfast and I see Kent frantically running back in forth in the yard and my lawn on fire! So long to the grass and our tangelo and grapefruit trees :(

Ok Carly, just trust your husband- he made a mistake and nobody got hurt.

This is not an actual picture of Kent or our yard...I just wanted you to get a visual of the scenario :)

Fast forward 7 days later and Kent is once again torching some little weeds in the front yard. Next thing I hear is, "Carly! I need a bucket!!!" I run outside, grab the hose for Kent, and find that my Rosemary bush (I hate those bushes anyway) completely engulfed in flames. At this point Kent has attracted a small audience of neighbors due to the smoke and I tell him he is grounded from the torch.

But wait! There's more!

Ok, so this one doesn't deal with any actual flames aside from the ones I was shooting from my eyeballs.

We wanted to get some new office chairs. Just 2. So, we went to an auction in Mesa where a huge office supply warehouse was bankrupt. It was alotta fun watching everything and hearing the auctioneer rattle off prices.

It was a little warm and dusty so Braelynn and I found a comfy place to sit. Kent comes running up to me and announces that he bought something. Great! 2 office chairs? No. AN ENTIRE AISLE OF METAL CABINETS (38 TO BE EXACT at 150 pounds each), 167 CUBICLE PANELS, A LARGE BUCKET, AND 6 FILING CABINETS. I never should have let him out of my supervision.

Friday we went back to the warehouse to see just how much trouble we found ourselves in and fortunately for Kent we were able to sell off our lot to someone a little more prepared for these types of purchases.

So that my friends was our week!

Hopefully this week will be a little better...we are closing on a new business that we are really excited about and we will be going camping with my family. Kent, leave the torch at home please.

Daddy's Little Girl

2010-05-23T15:00:00.004-07:00

I cannot believe the dreaded May 24th is back. Well, I know it's not here quite yet, but I know tomorrow I'll be a mess so I'll just do this now.

Every year around this time I think a lot about my dad and how weird it is to not have him here. This year has been especially hard though. It was hard graduating college without

him there, getting married without him there, fixing our busted sprinkler line (he would've been SO proud of me). But none of that has been as hard as having my own little girl without him here. He would've loved her so much.

I know it sounds corny, but the minute I saw Braelynn for the 1st time, I knew my dad hand-picked her just for me.

Braelynn and I are so lucky to be able to have Kent home with us. I know sometimes (ok, most of the time) I take it for granted. When people find out, they say, "oh you are so lucky!" And I reply tongue-in-cheek, "yeah, but he's home ALL the time."

Yesterday though, he was gone all day. In the afternoon Braelynn raced all the way from the living room straight to the office, sat by his desk, and stared up at his chair. When I told her he wasn't home she gave me this look of "well...where is he?"

At that moment my heart broke. The only life she knows is that her mama AND dada are home with her. Anytime she wants to play with dada, she can. I learned my lesson and am truly so grateful that he's home ALL day :)

I miss my dad. I hope that Braelynn is just as close with Kent and that he will always be here to play with her.

Suns Fun

2010-05-23T14:48:00.004-07:00

The Phoenix Suns have made their way into the playoffs...and we have no TV :( Does anyone else find it odd that this troubles me more than my husband?

I really, really wanted to watch game 1 against the Lakers, so we headed to Tempe Marketplace last Monday for Family Home Evening, to watch the game! I was so excited and Kent was participating for my sake.

Well...it was super duper hot, I still felt nauseous (nope- NOT pregnant), and much to my dismay that gap in points was spreading a little too far to keep me interested. So, we decided to just walk around. I love that place. Not only do they have tons of shopping, there are fireplaces and fountains all over!

Luckily I had the camera, so we took some photos before heading home.

Idaho?

2010-05-18T18:13:00.002-07:00

Just as I was getting comfy in my uneventful life, we threw an unexpected road trip into the middle of it.

Kent's Grandma Burton had been battling a pretty fierce cancer and passed away on Mother's day morning. We kicked around the idea of Kent flying to Idaho for the funeral, but decided it would be more "fun" for us both to drive up and make a trip out of it.

We took a more scenic route up to Kanab, UT and spent the night in this cute little cabin. While I love driving through podunk towns, spending the night in one is a very different story! It was really nice to take a break from the road though.

The next morning we headed up to Draper to stay with Kent's sister Lanae. I am SO GLAD we decided to NOT camp on this trip, because we were greeted in Beaver with a Blizzard. Yes, I know it is the middle of May. 33 degrees and snowing and ice on the roads folks! I am not even exaggerating about the blizzard- it was so crazy!

Once we got up to Draper the weather was beautiful though- in the 50s with plenty of sun. We played with her boys, Chad, and the cat (no Braelynn- you cannot have a cat. Never.).

The funeral was at 9 am the next day in Blackfoot, ID. We planned to head out at 6 am. As we awoke in the morning we were greeted by some of their family friends and Chad (thank goodness he was on EST!) who had made everyone pancakes, eggs, fruit, yogurt, cereal, juice and plenty of food to keep us full. It was such a nice treat!

The drive to Idaho was pretty uneventful (well, maybe not for the Larsons- glad you guys were able to find your way!). I was excited as I had never been to Idaho, but quickly saw that it is a whole bunch of nothing! I won't even describe Blackfoot...mostly because there isn't much there to say about it ;)

The funeral was very nice. All of her 7 kids were there and a lot of Kent's cousins were able to make it too. It was nice to meet so much of his family that I had never seen. Some he hadn't even seen in 20+ years!

Then, the majority of the family headed to Star Valley, WY for the burial. We opted out because we weren't sure how Braelynn would handle even more time on the road before heading back to Arizona.

I am so glad we did because when Chad got back at 10:30 that night, he said the weather was pretty bad (more snow!) and it was a lot further than everyone had planned for.

The next morning we packed up and headed home. Braelynn is really such a pro at this whole traveling thing. I love that we can just take her anywhere...even on a 2000 mile roadtrip!

Our travels weren't done though and we headed to Tucson the next morning for my mom's birthday. We went to Mama's pizza with everyone and had so much fun visiting.

Finally on the way home the miles and the "road food" started getting to me. I'll spare you the details...let's just say it's nice to be stationary for a little while :)

I wish I coulda gotten more photos on this trip...I'm awaiting to stalk Lanae's blog for her photos :)

In the meantime here is a little video of Braelynn playing at Aunt Lanae's (she had so much fun on this thing we bought her one on the way home!)- sorry it's sideways.

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-05-10T12:27:00.007-07:00

Growing up I always through fits on Mother's day because it was a day not all about me. However, things have changed :) The day is now all about me and I love it. :) What? I'm just being honest!

Saturday Kent started getting into the motion of Mother's Day by cleaning the fridge. It wasn't that bad, but it had been quite a few months since it had a good scrub.

Then that night Kent took me out for Spaghetti Eis. Spaghetti Eis? Yes! It is the most amazing, delicious dessert ever created. I ate it just about everyday while I was in Germany. This is what I was expecting:

and this is what I got :(

Not only is it not nearly as pretty, the ice cream was absolutely disgusting.

We pretended to enjoy it though!

Then Mother's day morning I woke up to Breakfast in Bed with Daddy and Braelynn. Kent made me an omelet, bacon, OJ, and served it with a rose from our backyard.

I love being a mom (not just because of Mother's Day) and this weekend was such a special treat for me.

Small and Simple Things

2010-05-05T21:24:00.004-07:00

So nothing really very interesting has been going on around here. Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

The weather is really starting to heat up and for the first time I'm really not enjoying it. Somehow it feels hotter this year than last year when I was fat...I mean pregnant. Go figure.

A few weeks ago our Relief Society had an Expo for Enrichment. Ladies did demonstrations on wrapping gifts, bridal and baby showers, weddings, family reunions, etc. Since I have a degree in Special Events Management, it only seems fitting that I was asked...to bring the berry salad. It was beautiful if I do so say myself :)

We've really been upping our marketing for House Hunters, which has been somewhat productive, but not nearly as great as we were hoping. We've lost quite a few clients, just do to the market, so for every new client we get it seems to just fill in the gap as opposed to making the magazine any larger. Of the 3 that are in the area, ours is the smallest which can be a little discouraging. I've really enjoyed working with it and creating the magazine each month. I've definitely grown in my desktop publishing skills and have even gotten a little savvy with Photoshop.

Braelynn is just growing so much everyday and constantly keeps us smiling. She is into everything and LOVES to climb on the furniture and do laps around the coffee table. Her favorite toys at the moment are the vertical blinds, wooden nesting rings, and any body part she can pull on. Above all she loves to just be with people. She will sit and stare at you until you acknowledge her and then she just beams.

We've tried bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, and applesauce. While she mildly enjoys those, she screams for ice cream! Relax...we've only given her a lick or 2 but it's enough for her to know she likes it!

While things are pretty low key right now we definitely have some fun adventures coming our way. Hawley Lake for a long weekend, Amy's wedding and Burton Family Fun for the week after, San Diego for a week, and a few friends are having babies in the midst of all that! We are looking forward to all of it!

What are the Odds?

2010-04-25T12:46:00.004-07:00

This past December was such a super busy month for us. I didn't even start Christmas shopping until the Saturday before Christmas- Yikes!

In all the hustle and bustle, I misplaced my keys. I have ventured back to the mall a dozen of times asking security and all the stores I went to if they found my keys.

Nope. Gone forever right?

Well, this morning I went to the Library at church to make copies of the bulletin and THERE ARE MY KEYS!!!!! Sitting right there on the counter!

Apparently they had been in some drawer and no one claimed them, so the Librarian put 'em out this morning.

As excited as I was, I was also quite embarrassed by my keychain....not something you want the little old ladies at church to see :(

California

2010-03-30T14:54:00.004-07:00

This past week we headed out to California for some long overdue family and Jeanette time!

My cousin Todd and his wife, Leila, had a baby boy just before Christmas and planned his Christening on March 27th. My Aunt April and parents also headed out for it.

Kent and I stayed in Long Beach with my BFF, Jeanette and her husband, Bryan. We always have such a blast with them. Most nights we stayed up talking and laughing just like the good ol' days.

Friday we spent the day at Venice beach with my family and then we went out to dinner that night. I love Venice Beach with all the fun stores and entertaining boardwalk.

Saturday was the Baptism and my cousin Todd's birthday. Unfortunately Kent and I missed the Baptism! Can I just say that I hate LA freeways? Ugh- we were so frustrated by the time we got there! Afterwards we had a yummy brunch and then hung out at my parents' hotel. That night we headed back to Todd's for his birthday party.

We had so much fun seeing everyone, meeting baby Cale, and spending time at the beach.

Braelynn did FABULOUS! She barely cried and seemed to enjoy every moment as well!

Quote of the Weekend

2010-03-23T19:21:00.004-07:00

Driving through downtown Phoenix as we enter the Deck Park Tunnel:

Kent: "What if all the lights when out in the tunnel?"
Carly: "Then it would be like driving at night."
Kent: "Oh."

At least he has a six pack...wait, that's gone too :(

He will always make me laugh though!

My poor roses. The only thing I can grow...and they get massacred during dinner.

Hawaii baby! (Well, sort of)...

2010-03-14T16:22:00.014-07:00

Went to a Hawaiin festival.

don't know what to talk about - Carly put me in charge and I have no idea what she wants me to say....

So, I'm just going to upload some pictures and videos for memory's sake.

You can see from the videos that my wife and baby girl are loony-tunes...

As evidenced by the background logo created by the cartoon artist responsible for the Bugs Bunny - (we went to an art museum to see his exhibits - I think the girls liked the cartoons more than the art work though...

Braelynn eating her socks - nothing is off limits for her - we're thinking of putting her in the newest Life cereal commercial - she'll eat anything.

Swingers!

2010-03-05T15:12:00.007-07:00

This week we headed over to one of our neighborhood parks and let Braelynn take a test drive on the swings. She did so great! She even had a little audience as we had run into the Huishes while we were there.

Last weekend we took a little hike in Siphon Draw in the Superstitions. This hike didn't go so well. Our little chunker gets so heavy in the backpack carrier. She and I ended up having a picnic half way in while Kent ventured on a little further. He hopes to go all the way to the top when he has a little more time and a few of his buddies with him.

And with all this excitement she's gotta take a little breather!

Failed.

2010-03-03T19:45:00.002-07:00

A few months ago our Bishop announced that we would be having a ward garden in the springtime. Super exciting right? I even heard a rumor that we'd be getting a pig...hmmm...

Well, a few weeks ago it was announced that the committee was preparing the ground and they needed volunteers to sprout seeds. Of course I signed up.

I envisioned bringing pots of beautiful tomato sproutings to the ward garden and really contributing to this wonderful project.

I told Kent how excited I was about it, and he smiled as he gazed into our backyard with 3 DEAD citrus trees he had bought me. He then reminded me of the "garden" I attempted to grow when we got married.

Even better! I can prove him wrong too :)

So this weekend is the big planting weekend. Everyone is to bring their sproutings and putting them into the ground!

I drove myself down to the plant store and bought a beautiful tomato plant today. Who needs seeds right?

I FAILED :(

Rice Cereal...

2010-02-23T14:36:00.002-07:00

Wait, you want me to do what?

Hmmm...

Down the hatch!

Yeah, I don't think so.

I have to do it again???

Sittin' Pretty

2010-02-10T19:43:00.004-07:00

I am so bad at taking pictures and documenting Braelynn's life. She is surely going to hate me when she's older!

She cut her first teeth last week. It was hard to watch her suffer, and I don't know who is more relieved now that they are through. She did good though as she also had her 4 month shots and shared a cold with me all in the same week. She's a brave little girl.

She also had her 4 month check up. Everything looks good. She is about 25 inches (75th percentile) and 15.5 lbs (75th percentile again).

Now for the fun stuff! She rolls onto her back all the time, and has learned that screaming like a Taradactyl is the most efficient way to get back onto her stomach.

She has also discovered her feet and loves to pull her socks off. Most mornings I find her rolled over; out of her blankets; socks off; and ice cubes for feet; just babbling away.

She absolutely loves this toy animal-piano. She bangs on it and pulls on the bunnies and ducks all day, so that we all have "quack quack quack" to the tune of "London Bridge" in our heads.

To my mother's dismay, she is a thumb sucker. She'll usually only suck it for a few moments just to be sure that her thumb is still there and then she chills out. I think it's super cute (ask me again in 16 years when I have to pay for braces though).

Today my little baby became a little girl as she sat on her own for a few minutes. I'm loving it! I'm so proud of her (and I'm also so happy that I saw her sit before anyone else, unlike the rolling over).

I think she's pretty pleased with herself as well!

We've been so blessed with such a HAPPY baby. I always classified mellow babies as happy, but she is really happy. She loves to laugh and smile at you. She'll just sit there and stare at you, waiting for you to look at her. The second you turn to her, her whole face lights up and she lets out a coo and a giggle. She loves to play with her toys with anyone and loves to tell her stories. She babbles with such exertion and is so passionate about whatever it is that she's telling you. When you reply, she lights up again and seems to be so excited that you "understand" her.

She's going to be a great older sister and we cannot wait to have some more!...well, I think I can wait actually ;)

HOAs...

2010-01-27T15:16:00.001-07:00

To Whom It May Concern:

We received your Friendly Reminder concerning the Trash Container being in-sight on a non-collection day, 1/20/2010.

Please know that we had put out the container on that day, Wednesday, so that the trash would be collected the following morning, Thursday. I understand the unsightliness of leaving a container out for days following pick-up, however I do not see the issue with putting it on the curb less than 24 hours prior to pick up.

I understand that we are required to rectify this situation within 10 days of your letter dated 1/21/2010, please know that the container was removed 1/21/2010 (prior to receipt of the letter). I hope that suffices your request.

Please know that we will continue to put our Trash Container on the curb on Wednesdays, and I hope that this is not an issue.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kent Burton

Our Talks Given Today at Church

2010-01-24T16:55:00.005-07:00

A couple of friends from church asked us if we could share our talks that we gave today online or via email.

I've included my talk here, which was based somewhat on the talk given by Robert D. Hales in the last general conference, titled "Seeking To Know God, Our Heavenly Father, & His Son, Jesus Christ"

Seeking To Know God, Our Heavenly Father, & His Son, Jesus Christ

John 17: 3

3 And this is ^alife ^beternal, that they might ^cknow thee the only true ^dGod, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast ^esent.

Why do we need to know our Father in Heaven? How is knowing God connected with eternal life?

Joseph Smith taught:

1) It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another

2) To have faith unto salvation one needs a correct idea of God’s character, perfections, and attributes,

3) One needs to know that the course of life one is pursuing is according to God’s will.

To know another, in the scriptural sense, isn’t merely to know of them. “Hey have you met Jack? Oh yeah, we met once a long time ago, I know him.” Not the same thing.

In the scriptures, the word “know” means we embrace them, love them, and seek to be one with them. It means our thoughts and our minds are connected. Our will is the others’ will. Our eyes are single to one another.

And ^aAdam knew his wife, and she bare unto him ^bsons and ^cdaughters, and they began to ^dmultiply and to replenish the earth.

So a proper definition might be that life eternal is to be ONE with our Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

My objective today is to hopefully help each of you develop a desire to draw nearer to our Father in Heaven, and His Son Jesus Christ - to know Them better.

From their testimonies, recorded in holy scripture, we know that “[God] created man, male and female, after his own image and in his own likeness.”³ Some people may be surprised to learn that we look like God. One prominent religious scholar has even taught that imagining God in the form of man is creating a graven image and is idolatrous and blasphemous.⁴ But God Himself said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”⁵

In elders quorum last week, someone has mentioned that one of the arguments against the church and our beliefs is the doctrine that we’re created in God’s image. “What makes us so special above the other creatures that we think God has an image like that of man?” was the question brought up.

That’s a good question. Let’s look at it for a second. What makes man unique among other creatures? In Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he notes that man is uniquely equipped with FREEDOM to CHOOSE. That is to say, that when some stimulus presses upon any other creature, the creature automatically responds in it’s programmed way. Only humans have this freedom to choose, that allows us to have self awareness, imagination, conscience, and independent will. If you close your eyes and imagine yourself looking down upon your body sitting in the pew, that ability to imagine and to have an awareness of yourself – to WATCH yourself – is uniquely human. How empowering!

In Victor Frankl’s book, “Man’s search for meaning”, he noted that in the concentration camps he could tell immediately which ones would make it and which ones were going to die quite quickly. It was this ability to harness this God-given ability, what Frankl called “the last human freedom” that no solider, no prison, no amount of torture could possibly take away from those in the concentration camps. This freedom, this light, is that little piece of intelligence, or glory, or light, or knowledge, that God has given us – the Truth (for truth is light (D&C….) This spark of divinity is within each of us. For some, the space between stimulus and response is very small, and we’re very much like the natural man – reactive, carnal, animal-like. But for others, even in the midst of severe setbacks and personal challenges, they’ve overcome, and have been able to develop within them greater SPACE between stimulus and response.

So Man is equipped with some power, some light, some knowledge that other creatures lack. To the degree we develop this power within us, we become greater than the lower intelligences, and we’re more likely able, in time, to subject the elements to our will. A will that is congruent with God’s will.

The LDS doctrine of Heavenly Father has led one recent commentator to write, “The Mormons espouse a radical, anthropomorphic conception of God that sets them far apart from other religions.” 12 That concept includes the truth that man and woman are created in the image of God. (See Moses 6:9; Gen. 1:27.) These truths draw all men and women into a relationship with God built upon familial love, trust, feelings of self-worth, hope, and humility, all in proper balance.

This is the greatest, and most sacred of all the truths restored to us, according to D. Lee Tobler who served in the 70: that we are literal children of a Heavenly Father, and that we have a piece of divinity within us. And that we have potential to grow and become like Him.

How can we know God better? How do we deepen our relationship with Him on a daily basis?

What does the Lord mean when He said, “BE STILL, and KNOW that I AM GOD?”

Is being still, or creating space in our life, a pre-requisite to knowing God?

We talked about the space required between stimulus and response – that SPACE, that stillness that’s required to enlarge the gap between what happens to us, and how we choose to respond – being responsible, (response-able) people, is developed by choosing to watch, to be still, to allow whatever is to be – and to acknowledge that whatever crisis or circumstances we find ourselves in, that we’re here for a reason.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to me means that we’re acknowledging His hand in whatever challenges we’re facing – that our life’s journey, and the challenges we have before us, all these were created by a loving Father who knew exactly what we needed to progress to the next level

That space is a pre-requisite to creation.

For it says in the book of Abraham, “We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and ^bwe will make an earth whereon these may ^cdwell;

So space is a pre-requite to creation.

But how did the Lord get the elements to obey Him? Space was the prerequisite, but what came next?

We find the answer is Abraham chapter 4 verse 18

And the Gods watched those things which they had ^aordered until they obeyed.

Watching, allowing the elements to exersise their free agency. Letting them ‘figure out’ that obeying yields the blessings. Waiting for them patiently, to come and enjoy the blessings available to them that obey.

Just as God found space, commanded the elements to obey, and watched, and waited until they did obey – we too must take time each day to meditate, to watch ourselves, our thoughts and actions.

Mosiah 4:30

But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not ^awatch yourselves, and your ^bthoughts, and your ^cwords, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and ^dcontinue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish.

There are times at night, when I’m having trouble sleeping – usually because my mind is caught up in the trivial things of the world, the cares of this world which we know can so easily choke the word of the Lord from our hearts…and I have to situp and simply dwell upon the Love of God. In these moments of struggle, when my mind wants to swell with anger or fear, I have to force my attention to the Savior – I pray, I ponder, I plead. I put my attention on His love. It is in my times of greatest struggle and trial that I feel myself yearning more and more for a connection and relationship with our Father in Heaven.

Matt 11

28 ¶ ^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.

29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light

· D&C 84: 45

45 For the ^aword of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is ^blight, and whatsoever is light is ^cSpirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

1. John 8: 32

32 And ye shall ^aknow (develop a deeper relationship with) the ^btruth (the Savior), and the ^ctruth (again, the Lord) shall make you ^dfree. … what does the word free mean here? How does the truth, the spirit, make us free?

The spirit after all is truth, and the truth is what sets us free.

But what does that mean? The truth will set us free?

Alma 61: 15

the ^bSpirit of God, which is also the ^cspirit of freedom which is in them.

It is the Lord’s Spirit that, when activating or touching our spirit, sets ours on fire and we become stronger, committed, purposeful and alive.

Freedom means we’re free from habits that bind us or trap us in a destructive or damning loop. The spirit of God, empowers us to take on difficult challenges or assignments that may seem impossible at first. They’re hard. They’re fought for. They require stretch, sacrifice, pain, and purpose. If I simply go through the motions of life, without building upon what I’ve done in the past - my predecessor self if you will – if I’m doing the same thing yesterday or last month or last year, with no improvement whatsoever, then I’m living off borrowed light.

All we have to do is become a little bit better today than we were yesterday. Just a little.

Ways we can draw nearer to God:

1) Obedience

a. Sweat the small things – Saul going to make a great sacrifice, but was disobedient to the small things in the process.

b. Aston Call – didn’t leave Missouri when the prophet Joseph told him to – ended up getting severally beaten and was nearly killed as consequence of his disobedience.

c. Henry Eyring’s Dad – 80, bone cancer, could hardly move, working on the wrong weeds. “I wasn’t there for the weeds” (He was there for the Savior).

2) Sacrifice/Service

a. Aston Call – saving those in the Willie and Martin handcart companies. Going the extra mile.

b. 'Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin handcart company.'

· Mosiah 5: 13

13 For how ^aknoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

· Matt. 6: 24

24 ¶ ^aNo man can ^bserve two ^cmasters: for either he will ^dhate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and ^emammon.

In conclusion, I would like to outline 6 ways that we can draw nearer to God.

1.Desire a closer relationship with your Father in Heaven, think upon the Savior often throughout the day. Let your work and your energies be done with a heart working towards and for the Lord.

2.Seek to be one with your spouse. Love, serve, lift one another. Your spouse is a helpmeet for you, and was given to you by God for a purpose, to learn and grow.

3. Pray individually and as a family – daily, on your knees. Pray throughout the day.

4. Search, ponder, feast upon (don’t just ‘Read’) the scriptures (particularly the Book of Mormon) daily – individually for a set amount of time, and as a family.

5. Attend the temple as often as you’re able. Seek to understand God’s character and His attributes.

6. Strive to become a little bit better each and every day. (from this day forward I will no longer do X, and I will begin to do Y.)

Elder Hales:

Brothers and sisters, you may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with.

I testify that I know that God lives. He watches us continually. He loves us and is aware of our every need. He created this earth for our progression. We’re here for a purpose: to grow and to become more like Him. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Oh, and here's some videos of Braelynn. I just love these videos of her talking and laughing.

Bookworm

2010-01-15T12:50:00.004-07:00

For everyone who knows Kent, this statement may seem a little obvious to you. My Husband LOVES to read. I'm not saying that he picks out ONE book and reads for 30 minutes in the evening, or brings ONE book on vacation, or anything "normal" like that. He reads for about 2 hours in the morning, does a little catch-up reading in the afternoon, and is usually back at the books for an hour or 2 at night. Please don't think for 1 second that he breaks away from the books when we're in the car...because we always have plenty of books on CD (thank you City of Chandler libraries).

Reading is a good thing. Books taking over my house are NOT. We are both very clean people and do not like clutter. However, Kent also has a thing about germs, and therefore the Library books CANNOT touch his books. This is how they tend to spread.

We recently moved the book shelf from the office into our bedroom, only because he promised to move the books scattered around his night stand onto the bookshelf and we would no longer have the clutter.

Nice book shelf:

The books that have "wormed" their way back onto the night stand:

The "Germy" books:

He usually leaves a trail of books in the office, the bathroom, and my car as well.

As long as you're happy honey... and we love you!

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

2009-12-19T21:25:00.005-07:00

Oh my goodness gracious! Where have we been and what have we been doing over these last few weeks?

About a month ago, my dear friend, Christine, called asking if we would be able to watch her 5 month old son, Brody for a week. SURE! How hard could it be? 2 Babies...eat, poop, nap. Got it! Well, let's just cover what my days were like.

Christine would drop Brody off at about 7 am. Braelynn would cry to eat and wake up Brody. Brody would see me feeding Braelynn and start crying to eat. I would lay down Braelynn and she would assume her typical spit-up routine. I was back and forth between her and warming up Brody's bottle, but Brody would cry reminding me I was not fast enough with the bottle. I would feed him and then lay him down on the floor. I would then try to play with them- tickling Braelynn with the right hand and rattling the toy for Brody with the left. Well, Braelynn at 2 months already knows what is hers (even though she has never once touched nor acknowledged her toys). She would then cry, so I'd pick her up. Brody didn't like this and would then cry. I lay Braelynn down and pick up Brody, who would stop crying...but then Braelynn would start again...and back and forth and back and forth until one of them would tire out and nap. I would then repeat the routine at about 10 am and continue until about 6:30 when Christine would pick up Brody.

By Friday I was wiped out! Unfortunately this was just to beginning of a very busy month.

Around Thanksgiving we put an offer in on a Publishing company down in Tucson. After some due diligence, negotiating, and whatnot, we closed on it! Whod-a-thunk we'd ever end up in this industry, but here we are! We have spent a few weeks down in Tucson training with the owners and it has been quite a bit of fun. Our first magazine will be distributed in February. Quite exciting!

In the midst of our training we also went to Houston for Christmas to see Kent's family. We had so much fun! We stayed at his Uncle Sam's house and ventured out to College Station for the annual Attaya family get together. It was so good to see everyone. We hadn't been there since Thanksgiving 2 years ago. The week was filled with board games, Wii, and tons of yummy food!

Braelynn has been full of fun surprises over the last few weeks as well. She has rolled over, started to laugh, and has really gotten interested in some toys. She is even able to hold herself up on her feet. Everyday she is more and more fun!

To celebrate New Year's today, we went on our 1st family hike. We ventured to the Superstition Mountains and went on a nice 4 mile hike. Braelynn did really well in her little backpack carrier thing. Once again, I am a failure at motherhood...our little 3 month old looks like a lobster! Apparently babies can get sunburns too :( Oops.

This week we will head back to Tucson to finish our training, and then we will get to come home!!! For good!!!

Some More Pictures & Video of Braelynn

2009-12-05T13:01:00.004-07:00

Recent updates: Carly is sick with a stomach ache. Braelynn is smiling and happy and "talking" (in her mind she's talking at least). Went to a toastmasters Christmas dinner last night and passed out awards, enjoyed meeting many of the club members' families. Buying a publishing company - currently in escrow and closing on Dec 10th - Looking forward to a new industry and challenge. Settled dispute with the department of Real Estate, a relief to be done with it all. Spent Thanksgiving in Tuscon with Carly's parents - Ken and Mary - enjoyed seeing them. Dad Burton stopped in for a brief visit on his way to SLC, Braelynn seemed to enjoy his company, as evidenced by the pictures. :) There's some video clips of Braelynn below, and some with Mom Burton, Amy, Kenny, and me hiking in Sedona. Carly is a bit camera shy when it comes to video, I think...so maybe we'll get lucky some other time. I don't tell stories quite as well as Carly does, so there you have it.

An Alarming Night

2009-11-24T09:01:00.003-07:00

So Kent and I were down in Mexico, because I had a better chance of taking my Wrestling career to a professional level. I was up against this guy that had long, stringy, bleached-blond hair. He was about twice my height and his stomach alone weighed as much as I do.

I really didn't want to wrestle this guy, but Kent told me that if I could beat this guy I could take anyone and I'd be "in."

The lights in the arena were flashing and the alarm was sounding for us to start. Kent was nudging me saying "Go. Hey! Go NOW!"

Suddenly my conscience takes over my sub-conscience (just in the nick of time) and I wake-up, only to hear the alarm even louder and the lights even brighter with Kent yelling, "Hey Carly! What is that?"

We realize that it's the baby monitor (lights flash on it along with the sound), but we have no idea what is causing the alarm. I panic, but am too scared to go check it out (not as big of a chicken as Kent who didn't offer to go save his family though).

I head down the hallway and realize it's the fire alarm coming from the office, but there's no smoke or fire. We rip it off the wall and still hear the alarm. FINALLY we realize it's coming from Braelynn's room. We then proceed to rip that one off the wall as well.

Once again; no smoke, no fire.

The culprit?

So the morals of the story?

1.) I was never meant to be a professional wrestler.

2.) Check the batteries in your smoke detectors twice a year (and learn how to safely remove them from the wall to avoid any damages when they detect other non-smoke elements).

3.) Check your kid's room first! Okay, okay; I am sure everyone out there is thinking, "duh!" But it's good to have a reminder :)

Weekly Updates

2009-11-15T19:56:00.007-07:00

Carly, Braelynn and I went knocking on doors yesterday trying to get our neighbors to sign a petition to get our friend, Scott Taylor on the City of Chandler Council ballot - he's very accomplished in his business pursuits and church assignments and we feel he would bring a lot of much needed common business sense and work ethic to the city. Plus he'd be donating his entire salary to the city. Our stake president has asked us to get more involved in making a difference in our local politics, schools, cities, etc. We're not exactly in a position to be serving in the community full time, but hope to be able to step in a more active role in the coming years. For now, we can at least help people we trust get elected to serve.

This past week, Cassie was able to visit from Boston- it's always good to see her - she's one of Carly's best friends and they just really hit it off. Sounds like she might be pursuing her PhD after she finishes up her masters here soon.

Some good news - Bank of America/Countrywide has decided to work with us and lower our interest rate on our home to a point where we can actually afford to stay here. We were thinking we would have to move and might face foreclosure - but alas, we're able to stay! We're still upside down on the house, but with a 3% interest rate locked in for 28 years, I'm not going to complain.

Amy came over for dinner tonight and we enjoyed talking about dating, revelation, and decision making. Amy and Kenny broke up, which probably upset Carly and I more than Amy - we really liked Kenny and thought he was great for her. But I think Amy might have some other ... (better?) prospects coming up. We're impressed with the 3 guys Amy has dated the past year. We have no doubt she'll pick a quality guy when the time is right for her. No rush. (We told her she's not even allowed to marry until she's 22... or was it 23 or 24?)

We're so happy to be parents - Braelynn has become such a joy to be around - smiling, cooing, blabbing - love it!

2 Down, and an Infinity to Go!

2009-11-11T12:13:00.002-07:00

Our 2nd Anniversary certainly snuck up on us this year. The 1st year we went on a cruise, last year we went to San Diego, and this year...uh- well- the 3 of us grabbed some Chinese food at the food court and hung out at Barnes and Noble. Very romantic!

I just love being with Kent though. He is my best friend and my most favorite person to hang out with. He may think he falls behind a few others, but he is truly in 1st place!

When thinking back on this year of marriage, it seems that the majority of my memories are gobbled up by ELEAVA and the pregnancy, but so be it! Last year at this time we had big plans and this year we are looking to the future with a blank stare. It is amazing how life can get flipped upside down in an instant. I wouldn't change a thing though!

I love you Kent and I can't wait to see where we are next year, cause I have NO idea!!!

Blessed Day(s)

2009-11-01T16:41:00.004-07:00

We have had a FABULOUS week!

Last Saturday:

In the 3 Halloweens Kent and I have "celebrated" together, we haven't done anything for it. Well, this year we went to our friends', Brent and Anna's, for a party. We got dressed up and everything! I know "Togas" are a totally lame attempt at a costume, but when you have a 4 week old you are lucky to have a few minutes to wrap a sheet around you and put some ivy in your hair...or on your head in some people's case ;)

Wednesday:

Braelynn put herself to sleep; in her crib; for the entire night; in her own room all by herself!!! All 4 of these events were a first and they all occurred on the same night. The best part is that she has continued every night since. I was afraid that sleeping in her car seat in the living room was going to be the norm for a very long time. What a sigh of relief!

Thursday:

Our ward had a Chili cook off and of course I entered. I love food and I love a little friendly competition as well :) I really liked the part when I went to get my crockpot, only to find 3 boys fighting over the last scoops and to hear another lady yell, "hey! I only want a taste- just a spoonful!"

*On a sadder note, I found out today that I lost to someone else who had used canned chili (I'm not a sore loser...the son told me how his dad "made" the chili- it's the honest to goodness truth!).

Friday:

WE CLOSED ON THE SALE OF OUR COMPANY!!! Nothing more to be said here. :)

Sunday:

Braelynn was blessed by her daddy. It was so beautiful. She wore Kent's sister, Amy's, dress and looked absolutely beautiful. Amy and her adorable boyfriend, Kenny, came and so did our friend Mike, and Brenda and Trevor with Dashiel, and Christine and Brian with Brody. My parents were coming, but got a little turned around and just missed it- we got to hang out in the lobby during the rest of church and visit though.

Afterwards we had a luncheon at our place and got to visit with everyone.

It has truly been such a great week!

Month 1- phew!

2009-10-20T19:44:00.006-07:00

My oh my, our little girl will be 1 month old tomorrow. I have officially fallen off the face of the planet during that time!

Kent and I are AwFuL about taking pictures...I think all of these photos are the ONLY ones we have taken :( The majority of them are from this past week.

Kent's mom came to visit and we had an absolute blast. She flew in on Friday and we got lunch with Amy and then that night we went and watched "The Sandlot" at Tempe Diablo Stadium, where the Angels play baseball. We also enjoyed a picnic during the movie.

Saturday we got a little adventurous and headed up to Sedona. Congratulations to Braelynn for surviving her 1st roadtrip! It was a long one due to construction. Why are the freeways always closed on the weekends? Dumb. BUT, we had another picnic and everyone hiked up Cathedral Rock. Braelynn and I attempted to take a nap in our little shady spot, but she had so much to look around at. We then headed to Camp Verde to get a quick visit with my Aunt April. She made the most delicious fruit salad, snickerdoodle cookies, and iced tea. It was the perfect treat to hold us over on the drive home. Did I mention I really HATE the freeways here? There is NO REASON that drive needs to be 3 hours. Ugh!

Sunday Braelynn and I went to church with the family. She did such a great job. She slept, then ate, and then slept some more. It was really nice to get back to church. I have certainly missed it.

Then yesterday, we all went down to Tucson to visit my parents. The afternoon went by so fast, but we all had a great time!

We have absolutely fallen in love with our little girl.

We love all of her little Gremlin sounds.
We love the way she folds her arms to rest her head when she sleeps on your chest.

We love (or at least we crack up everytime) her farts. She is the GASSIEST baby! LOL She just farted 15 times in the last 4 minutes!
We love her smiles- her whole face lights up.

We love her little fat rolls that she's getting.

We are not so in love with:

Her Colic :(
That she only sleeps about 10 hours a day (including night time)...aren't newborns supposed to sleep 16-18 hours a day?

Well, I think that's about it for the 1st month. Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll start getting a little bit of my life back...just enough to update the blog at least!

The First Few Memories

2009-10-07T07:39:00.003-07:00

How nice is this? A quiet morning with my baby sleeping nor am I breastfeeding at the moment :)

I just wanted to express how awesome it is to be a mom. One of my life "goals" was to feel the maternal love for a child, and after just a few short weeks I can attest that it is the greatest feeling in the world.

For the record, Braelynn's head smells better than any other baby's head. I love her little Gremlin sounds she makes when she's content. Kent and I have never laughed so hard as we do when she does her little chicken dance to tell us she is hungry. It is also so cute that she roots away from me and is too stubborn to let me help her find the food!

She brings so much joy to our home and we are so lucky to have her.

Making Up For Lost Time

2009-09-27T16:43:00.004-07:00

*It will take you longer to read this post, than the amount of time I spent in Labor and Delivery*

I remember as a kid the following line...Our family would be running late for something and my mom would be on my dad about slowing the car down. My dad's reply was always, "Just trying to make up for lost time..."

So here we are WAITING for little miss Braelynn to show up, as she was running late...about 2 days late.

On Sunday night we had our friends Brian and Christine over for dinner and we played games into the evening. They headed out at about 9:30 and Christine suggested that I could try Jumping Jacks to help move the process along.

Kent and I decided to go for another walk and he teased me about the Jumping Jacks. I agreed to do 3 and felt like an absolute fool...9 months pregnant, 10 o'clock, and Jumping Jacks in the middle of the road. We had a good laugh, headed home and went to bed.

About an hour later I realized that this "I gotta go pee" feeling was a little rhythmic, so I started counting the time. Each sensation lasted about a minute and there was about 7-8 minutes in between each one. Hmmm...could these be contractions? I start poking Kent and say "I think I'm having contractions." He's a little dazed, but gives a smile. I then feel a little trickle, so I add in "And I think my water just broke!"

We start packing things up and I call my mom to let her know that we are heading to the hospital and to stay tuned. Kent made me some macaronni and cheese and I once again attempted to time the contractions. I started second guessing myself because one was 5 minutes apart and then another was 1.5, and then 3....it made no sense. I did know that they were quite strong though!

We pack the car full like we'll be gone for a week and head to Chandler Regional. We get into the hospital and let them know that we think we're going into labor. I'm still trying my pain management strategy of "it only lasts a minute and then you get a break. Suck it up and grin and bear it." The admission staff was quite impressed...that or they thought I was another faker.

We go into Triage and they hook me up to everything. The nurse still hasn't guaranteed that we would be admitted though, because she still needs to check my dilation. I'm at 5 1/2, so she says that we will be admitted, and that it usually takes about an hour/centimeter and then another 1-3 hours of pushing for first-timers. It was about 2 a.m., so I brace myself for a LONG morning.

At this point, I'm looking forward to the relief of my latest contraction, but no such luck! I immediately begin another contraction before the current one ends. This pattern continues and I start thinking, "okay, if there's no break between the contractions then I might want to go ahead with the Epidural. There's no way that I can handle this for a few hours before I even start pushing." I started to understand what the word, "hard" meant.

They take me to Labor and Delivery and I feel like I gotta push as they roll me into the room. I tell the nurses and they tell me that pushing time comes later. One nurse says, "you know, she's having a lot of contractions. We may just want to check her dilation."

Wouldn't you know it...I was at a 9! In 20 minutes I had gone from 5.5 to 9! The nurses then start moving a little more quickly and tell me if I feel like I have to push to go ahead and push.

They page the on-call Doctor and let me know that if I get an Epidural it would take about 15-20 minutes to get into my system OR I could have a baby in 15-20 minutes. I honestly had a hard time deciding and that's when my nurse pipes in "you don't want one and it's only going to make this last longer. You will have your baby in the next 15 minutes I promise." Okay then...here we go!

I give a practice push and on my gosh, there's the head! They then tell me to really dig deep and give another push. I wanted to watch in the mirror, but as I'm watching this I'm saying "there's no freaking way I can do this." The nurses are saying "yes you can!" The doctor puts on her coat, sits down, I give 3 more pushes...and out pops our baby girl!

I still cannot believe how fast it all went. I was a celebrity there that day. I had nurses coming to my recovery room because, "they had to see who this girl was...!"

So, to tie it all together...Braelynn certainly made up for lost time!

Here are her stats:

Braelynn Michelle Burton

Birthday: September 21st, 2009 3:35 am
Hair: Black
Weight: 6 lbs 15 oz
Length: 19 inches

"She's short and she's skinny - but she's strong" (comment and video upload courtesy of Kent)

Gettin' Busy

2009-09-18T13:05:00.003-07:00

D-day is officially here, and no baby yet! Bummer.

I've had lots of fun keeping myself busy though.

Project #1-

I MADE curtains for the nursery. For those of you that know my mom, she is a master seamstress. My idea of carrying on the family talent, is to call her and ask her to sew XYZ. However, now that I'm about to be a mom I am seeing the necessity for knowing how to sew.

Since I don't have a sewing machine, I had to improvise. Without getting too detailed, these curtains started out as a flat sheet and some ribbon. Wallah- you now have a pair of curtains. I still need to finish off the bows for the tie-backs, but other than that, they are done.

Project #2-

We already had set up the crib, but I needed to decide which bedding I would use. A friend of mine and her mom made a beautiful little blanket that sorta served as the inspiration for the room. I had been wanting to do a farm theme, but have decided on Pink, Yellow, and Green. I know that's not really a theme, but it is at least a color scheme :)

Project #3-

I haven't had very many contractions and so a friend of mine gave me some advice...get on your hands and knees and scrub the floor. It keeps your mind occupied for quite some time (especially with all of our tile) and the squatting position helps everyone get into position.

I decided to take this a step further and scrub the grout. I've never cleaned the grout specifically and now seemed like the perfect time. Oh my goodness...I didn't know that our grout was this color! Now that my grout is clean, I feel like I have been living in filth since the day we moved in. The grout had always been that darker color. Lemme tell ya...I am so glad I took this project on!

We had a doctor appointment yesterday. I only dilated another1/2 cm, but she's REALLY low and I'm quite ripe (thank you Evening Primrose Oil, and thank you Brenda!). I just need to have some contractions. I am trying to walk some more and apparently we can do other activities, but I'm not so excited to try that in my current state (sorry Kent)...we'll see what time brings though.

We'll keep everyone posted!

Woo Hoo!

2009-09-03T10:56:00.003-07:00

I just got back from my weekly doctor appointment and we could be holding our little girl any day now!

I am dilated 2 cm and he could feel her head (I think that is the coolest!). My doctor said that she is really, really low and in a good position.

We made an appointment for next week, but he said to be prepared to see him before then. I guess sometimes just checking is enough to stir things up. Yikes- I want just a few more days!

Somehow I made it through 9 months without getting sick and yesterday I woke up with a cold. That is the last thing I want while giving birth.

I have had a few little contractions here and there over the last few weeks, but nothing to really sneeze at. However, in the middle of last night I had 2 big ones, that literally woke me up and knocked me outta bed...I guess that's where the 2 cm came from!

It has been really nice to focus on baby stuff now that WE HAVE OUR COMPANY BACK!!!!!! I guess ADRE got sick of having a 9 month pregnant lady coming in every day. Tuesday afternoon I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. I am so glad that everything went so smoothly. It really could've gotten a lot uglier.

Sigh...it's nice to have a few nice stress free days before our world gets turned all around again :)

We'll keep you posted!