Bingham Family

New Blog

2011-01-19T00:44:00.002-07:00

Alright my blog is officially ''broken'' I started a new blog www.blissfulbinghams.blogspot.com. If you would like to view it and you have not already given me your email leave it in the comments. I am no longer allowed to upload photos to my blog without purchasing more space. There have been some changes I have wanted to make so now being the beginning of the year and making my blog private in the next week will be a great way to start off! Thank you to everyone for looking at our blog and keeping up on our lives!

Krew's Well Check

2011-01-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

Since My blog has decided to be lame I will just have to write my posts for now and not do any pictures until I figure out the problem. Today we had Krews 4 month check up which is technically a month and a half late because we didn't have insurance with Brandens job change until 4 days ago. I was really anxious to take him because I like to see how big he is getting. He is such a big boy and growing so much! He just barely had a lot of milestones happen. On the 23rd of December he rolled over and on Christmas day he sat up for the first time and the day after Christmas he cut his first tooth. He now has his 2 bottom teeth that have cut through. So he has had a lot happen just recently! His current stats for this visit are:

Weight 19.2 lbs 88 %ile
Length 27 in 83 %ile
Head 17.5 in 80 %ile

He is continuing to get his shots which is so sad because he cries but he didn't really cry as hard as I thought but then again he has a lot of padding on his cute chunky thighs!! He is so sweet and I feel like he has changed so much and I don't think he even looks like the same little baby that I had 5 months ago.

frustration....

2010-12-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

I ran into a problem the other night while blogging-It is telling me that I have run out of space when it comes time to uploading pictures. It asks if I would like to buy more space, It also said that you are only allowed 1GB of space(sadly I guess I've used up that much) my pictures are really big files. The weird thing is that it gave me that window the other day and tonight I was able to make one post and now it wont let me make any more because I am "out of space." Any one else had this problem before?

chubbers

2010-12-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

I was in Krews room the other day and he was being so cute so I grabbed this really cute hat Branden's grandma gave him and started taking pictures. He was so photogenic, had to post them....they were too cute

SANTA CAME

2010-12-25T22:44:00.001-07:00

This year was one that will NEVER be forgotten. Ryler was so much fun, he got to bed a little late so it was hard to wake him up so early. We got him up around 7 and took him downstairs to show him that Santa had come and brought him some presents. We had Santa get him a scooter and some Toy Story toys. He was so out of it, it took him a minute to warm up but once he did he was so excited. He kept saying "thanks Santa" He loved riding around the house on his scooter and we played with his Toy Story toys a little bit. We watched him open up his presents and sadly we didn't get one thing for Krew but he didn't need one single thing. He has everything from Ryler and we knew grandparents would spoil him so we decided the one time we can not spend any money on him we may as well save it. It was really fun to do the real "Santa" thing this year. We were so much more excited this year for Christmas because we got to make it magical for Ryler. We talked about Santa everyday and explained to him the story of the nativity, he started saying "Josuf" and Mary and Baby Jesus. He is so sweet and is understanding so much more this year. He kept saying to me "Santa coming nite?" meaning is Santa coming tonight? He was so excited and Christmas morning for him was a lot of fun.
We headed to my moms and wow did we have fun, We started this year a little later that we normally do. The kids are so young that they need their rest so we had to . We are always shocked by the look of the Christmas tree and after Santa has come. We got absolutely spoiled rotten from my family. Branden and I got things that we had been wanting for a really long time plus tons of other fun things. I got my LAPTOP that I have been wanting for months and Branden got his Kinect for his XBox. Those were our big gifts and we got lots of clothes and the kids got spoiled with very much needed clothes and lots of fun toys. My mom once again went overboard and including all of the fun and amazing gifts that we got she also taped money onto every single gift. There is always a catch though, we have to have every single bill. There have been a few years where we have to go back through the trash and find one missing dollar. This year we were right on! woohoo We got $150 to split between us that was a gift from my dads mom. Like I said there is always a catch....if we didn't have all of our money we had to give it back. Thank goodness we were right on. It takes some organizing though between opening all the gift and freaking out because of excitement and putting the money in a safe place. I just have to add speaking of freaking out that I was so pathetic that when I opened my laptop I started crying, don't know why. Must have been tired I guess but that is just how excited I was. One of the things I look forward to opening the most is my stocking and just like every other year it was filled with a lot of fun stuff. We had such a great time and my parents are so fun with the kids. We had to keep taking breaks because I had to feed the baby and we kept getting side tracked with all of our gifts.
We went home and unloaded the cars, put the kids down for naps and took one ourselves. It felt so nice to rest. We were all pooped from a late night and an early morning. That night SANTA came again. Branden's family came out and brought Madison with them. She was in town for literally 3 days, just for Christmas. We got to open our gifts from them and we got spoiled even more. We got the greatest family gift, they gave us a family home evening board with tags for all of our names to go on the pegs for the different assignments and a bag full of stuff to do family home evenings for the rest of our lives. It is equipped with everything. Branden got some new work attire that is so good looking, I cant wait to see him in it and I got my favorite Bath and Body works yumminess and money to go get a much needed diaper bag. The boys got some cute clothes and fun new toys! Gosh we had such a good time spending time with family. We have the greatest families, We both lucked out in that department. We had such a Merry Christmas and loved spending so much great time with the kids! I am so grateful that Ryler and Krew were so good that day! Really made it fun!

Christmas Eve Program

2010-12-24T22:19:00.002-07:00

For Christmas Eve every year we have two traditions that we do, first that morning we have everyone out for a brunch and secondly that night we get together at Branden's families house for a Christmas Eve program, a delicious dinner, the first gift of Christmas and a story. We all met and enjoyed hors d' oeuvres and revealed our "Secret Service" person. My in laws decided to start this new thing this year and I absolutely loved it. We drew names and we had to perform a service for that person without letting them know that you had their name. I had my father in law and Branden had my sister in law Lindsay. I wanted to do a couple of things for my father in law but only one was able to work out. I took him lunch on a day that he was not able to get out and get something to eat. I got him his favorite lunch Panda Express. It was so fun to do something nice for him on a random day, it kind of made me think that I need to do these things more often for people and not only because I was assigned to. Branden wanted to do something nice for Lindsay but had a difficult time deciding and then she ended up in the hospital so he sent her some flowers to brighten her day. From what we heard she absolutely loved them. She said they made her smile everyday. It was so great to make someone elses day for them but it was also fun to be the ones to receive the service. One day when I was dropping off the kids at my mother in laws house she had provided me with a lunch that day and sent some goodies for my clients and ALSO sent home dinner that night. She also took the kids early one day for me so I could get some Christmas shopping done. She went out of her way to serve me and I was so grateful for the lunch because it just so happened that I didn't take one that day. She serves me every week by taking my boys so I can work. My sweet brother in law Jared had Branden and he asked multiple times to take the kids so that we could go out on a date and spend some time together. The one day that we had planned to go out Branden got the flu, something always came up so we never got to go. He made a huge effort to serve Branden and was very persistent on trying. We thought it was a really fun way to give this Christmas season.
We continued the night with enjoying our wonderful turkey dinner with all the trimmings and the table scape that my mother in law set up was absolutely beautiful. It had the Christus in the center of the table which is the center of Christmas. It was wonderful, the food was so good. We decided this year since Lindsay was in the hospital it didn't feel right to have the whole Christmas program without her. Every year my in laws come up with a theme for the new year. We have post poned the theme revealing until a time when we can do it with Lindsay. We headed over to the hospital and watched a short film that was absolutely wonderful and had the opportunity to share our testimonies with the family. I love hearing the testimonies from the ones I love most. I love hearing how they feel about the Gospel and about our Savior. It was a very emotional night and one that will never be forgotten. I heard more than one family member say that this year they really learned the true meaning of Christmas. We learned a lot just from having Lindsay in the hospital, there are a lot of things that we needed to realize this season and we are thankful that we had the opportunity to realize them. We headed home and waited for SANTA to come!

Christmas Eve Brunch

2010-12-24T11:39:00.001-07:00

We started a tradition 3 years ago where we decided that we wanted to have a Christmas Eve Brunch as a family and 2 years ago we decided to extend the invitation to both of our families. It is something we love to do and it has fallen as one of the Christmas traditions that we love!

Had to take a picture because everyone kept asking if my mom and I meant to dress alike....and no we did not mean to. Great minds think alike thought!

We made Belgian waffles with one of those professional waffle irons-they are to die for! We also had fruit, bacon, sausage, juice and chocolate milk.....yummy!

Typical table set-up at our house. We have to make room for his "choo-choo's."

Ryler has today to be extra good so that Santa will come visit him!!

A lot to roll over

2010-12-23T20:57:00.002-07:00

So I was dropping Krew and Ryler off at my moms and I laid Krew on the floor just after feeding him and he was playing like crazy. He attempted to roll over a few times so I hung around until the point where I was almost late for work. I was sad that I couldn't see him do it but was sure that I would see him do it the next day. I didn't even get down the street and my mom sent me this picture.....He probably rolled over the second I shut the door to leave her house. I was really sad to have missed it but I bet it was fun for her to get to witness it for the first time. He is just barely 5 months so its about time. I've been told that it takes longer for bigger babies to do things and I think that holds true!

So Much Fun!

2010-12-19T23:14:00.001-07:00

We took rylers clothes off so he could take a bath and his little pull up was giving him a plumbers crack. He didn't even care or notice, he just liked running around without his clothes.

Ha ha this is bad to say about this sweet little boy but it looks like he has a good little wedgie! He doesn't even care-he is still playing.

now he's noticing....

I look like im hating this for two reasons...one it was one of those awkwardly looooong kisses and two he was drooling all over my mouth. I love kisses from my boys no matter what way they come!

Ho Ho Ho! Christmas is in one week!!!!

Highland Care Center

2010-12-18T21:56:00.001-07:00

Whoa I don't even know how to begin blogging about this fun family activity. I had to work so Branden met me with the kids and we drove in my car to the care center. Ha ha pathetically enough we got a flat tire as we were pulling in. One little stress to start off the fun evening. I had to remind myself that service isn't service unless it is a sacrifice. My amazing dad drove right up to fix it(of course the tools we needed to fix it aren't in my car) We got to go in and start the fun, this is one of my favorite Christmas traditions that we do. The family goes around to everyones rooms and asks them if they would like to participate in the Christmas festivities, the boys(Ryler and Turin) helped bring the people in, who can say no to two adorable little boys. We did so many fun thing including Christmas bingo, read a fun story that is the left and right story, read The Night Before Christmas and sang them some Christmas carols. My mother in law buys lots of little trinkets and treats for them to get a prize when they win bingo. It is such a great experience to see the look on those peoples faces, the joy that they have for someone to visit them is so great. It think some people never get visitors so I bet that they love these people that go in and do service for them. It really brings the true meaning of Christmas to do some service for someone and to make them feel good and give them the warm fuzzies for the season.
We had dinner reservations at P.F. Changs(everyones favorite) we had such a delicious dinner then decided to walk downtown to see the lights. It was a wonderful night and I am so grateful for family to get together to enjoy everyones company. We started our walk and took tons of fun pictures of Jared, Michelle, Sean and Branded doing really funny things. Sean carried Turin on his shoulders most of the walk and he loved it. We were walking and came upon the Marriot Hotel and suddenly my in laws decided that they needed to have my sister in law Lindsay take a rest. Well thank goodness they listened to the promptings of the spirit because as Lindsay was walking into the hotel her water broke. She is pregnant with twins and only 28 weeks along. It was so sad since her hubby wasn't with her, he was out of town. She had my in laws with her who took such good care of her and rushed her to the hospital. We(Lindsay and I) really married into a wonderful family. They took control and did everything that needed to happen that night to ensure that she was taken care of and gave her a lot of support when her husband wasn't with her. Overall it was wonderful to spend time together as a family and we had such a good time laughing and telling jokes and just being together. Thank you for a fun Christmas tradition that we look forward to every year!

Gingerbread Houses

2010-12-14T00:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Brandens parents we had these amazing gingerbread houses to make that were already put together when you buy them. We had a lot of fun laughing and eating while putting these together. Cute Turin ate more candy than actually went on his house, okay not really but he ate a ton! Ryler was so wrapped up in playing with Turin's toys that he didn't care about the candy. Now I am posting this the day after because Branden kept eating the frosting to the house, as you all know it turns to cement when it dries. Its not to be eaten, Branden insisted and because of it he was up throwing up all night last night. Poor guy, I guess it teaches him not to eat the frosting. Justin and Lindsay made delicious skookies for dessert and we had such a fun time hanging out with family. Ryler and Turin played so good. I love the picture of them with the basket on their heads with the handle in their mouths, perfect example of "monkey see-monkey do!" We played a fun game at the end of the night and laughed really hard. There is nothing better than family and the even better part is that we are neighbors! We sure love them and cant wait for our cute little nephews to come so they can get in on the fun too!

Hangin with my cuz

2010-12-10T23:51:00.000-07:00

What a fun night, we got to watch our nephew Turin for a few hours while his parents went to a Christmas Party and it was so fun. We went to McDonald's and played in the play place(they had so much fun, and I got to enjoy my greasy-fatty cheeseburger and fries) then we drove to this house in Pleasant Grove that has lights that go a long with a radio station that plays music. The boys were mesmerized. I don't think Rylers eyes left that house until we drove away. We came home and put them in the tub and they got to play and watch Cars in Rylers bed. Then his parents came home:( We wanted to play longer but it was bed time. We haven't had a chance to play much with them because they were sick and then we were. Now we are all better and can play all the time.

An Accomplishment

2010-12-10T00:11:00.000-07:00

Thirty days ago I accepted a challenge by our amazing Stake President, the challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days. I am proud to say it is a challenge that I took to heart and read my scriptures diligently every single day for 40 minutes. It is a total of 18 pages a day to read and it has been something that has changed my life for the better. I cannot believe the difference it has made. A few days after starting to read my loving husband came home with a bouquet of daisies,(they represent purity) he told me that since I had began reading he has noticed a change in me that I seem happier. It brought tears to my eyes that someone has noticed how I had been feeling. It was probably that single act that really kept the fire in me going. Now I don't mean to write this and sound boastful but it truly was an experience that will never be forgotten. This challenge came at the perfect time for me and I am so grateful for it because When I first started a month ago I was having a really hard time with Ryler. He was being really "naughty," now I don't think he all of the sudden was better as much as how I had the spirit with me to have more patience with him. That was one of the things that I noticed most. I am also grateful it came at the time of year that it did so I could really focus on the Savior and with it being Christmas in a few weeks I have such a love for our Savior and the sacrafice that he made for us. I really wanted to read in the morning but it never worked out that way so I would read at night when I would feed Krew before putting him to bed. I used this Book of Mormon my mother in law gave me just a few months ago and gave me the talk by Julie B. Beck about being the "Lioness at the gate of your home" and I wanted to read it with that talk in mind, which I tried to but I soon learned I wouldn't understand much reading it like I was. I cant wait to read it again and really have that talk in mind more so than I did this time. I am so grateful for my testimony that I have for this Gospel and that all the while reading the Book of Mormon I believe it to be true. During the duration of me reading it I would mention it to friends of mine and I noticed that every time I brought it up I would get emotional and I think it is because it was a challenge that I didn't know if I could ever do it and I had a feeling this time that I would finish and I would complete it. On my last day of reading it Branden went to the gym that morning and came home with a bouquet of balloons to let me know he was proud of me. He was so sweet the whole month of me putting him off to read. Hunny thanks once again for being a great cheerleader!

My little Ry-Guy

2010-12-07T00:41:00.000-07:00

My little sweet heart is being so adorable lately and the things he is doing and saying are hilarious! He said this a few weeks ago.
Me: Ryler what is Santa bringing you for Christmas?
Ry: Um...Crackers
Me: Really?
Ry: Yah

He says words so funny...
heeball-Football
tapot-Laptop
yunch-Lunch
sore-Store
dinch-Grinch
sour-Shower

He has this new thing where he puts everything in time out, including Branden and I. Thank goodness he hasn't put krew there yet. His Mana Bingham gave him this cloth Nativity that is made for kids and first thing he did when he opened it was put it in time out. He tries to be such a helper lately, if krew is crying and he needs a little attention I can ask him to play with krew for a minute and he goes over and makes him laugh and giggle. He is being such a good boy!

He has this new thing where he wants to take different toys to bed, one day its his grinch stuffed animal. Its usually his Mack truck from Cars, sometimes its his Choo-Choo.

I dont want to forget these things so I had to post them.

Hansen Family Christmas Party

2010-12-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

Ryler was picking his present for the kids White Elephant Game.

He got a stuffed animal, football, and a puzzle

The Greatest part of the whole party...When SANTA came(my father-in-law played Santa) He did such an amazing job, oh my. Ryler loved him, he had no clue it was papa, but wow Doug did one good job. He tried to do funny accents and that was hilarious. He was so so good with the kids, he walked in and gave almost every single one of them a hug and then he sang Christmas songs with them. He had a big sack of presents to give to every child that sat on his lap. He posed for pictures great and the kids just loved him.

My mom being hilarious-during the White Elephant game that I was involved in I got a gift card to coldstone for $15. I didn't want anyone to steal it but i had to step away from the party for a minute so I let her guard it and this is what she did with it. Silly mama

-Love this family-

My moms brothers and sisters from the left:

Garrett, Ryan, Brent, Welby, Deven, Corey, Shawna, Mommy, and kaye Lee

My amazing parents, my mom was in charge of the party this year and she did a great job!

My wonderful brother, love him to pieces

I would have taken a pic with the hubby but the kids were so tired that he took them home while I stayed a little longer. We had such a great time, we haven't been to a Hansen party in a really long time and it was really fun to see everyone and catch up a little. My moms side of the family is HUGE!!! I love that the Christmas season is here and we are doing these fun parties!!

Scrub a dub

2010-11-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

This was the first time that we have had the boys take a bath together and Ryler loved it. He loved being able to "play" with krew in the tub. Little or shall I say BIG Krew is too big for the infant bath tub that we put in the sink. So he has graduated to the big boy tub. I had so many cute pictures but little Ryler was covered as much as I would have liked him to be. Cutest darn boys!

Thanksgiving with the Castillo Family

2010-11-28T00:25:00.000-07:00

This year with Thanksgiving being in Logan and being an all day event we decided to do Thanksgiving at my parents the following Sunday. We made a delicious dinner and we have a fun tradition that we set the tree up and decorate it. The kids were both asleep so they didn't get to help and my brother was hanging out talking with my parents so it was mostly Branden and I that decorated it. We had a lot of fun!

Goes in, Comes Out

2010-11-27T00:18:00.000-07:00

Well the time has come that we are staritng rice cereal, It went okay. Its funny how much I have forgotten from when I had Ryler. I forgot how much they spit back out! Little Krew Boo is a champ, it will get better the more we do it!

Grateful...

2010-11-26T23:45:00.001-07:00

This Thanksgiving Season there are a lot of things for which I am grateful, too many to count in fact. We have been so blessed all year long but especially these last few months. We have the most beautiful children and they are happy and healthy, who could want anything more. My heart breaks for those who have health problems or are otherwise afflicted. We have experienced a lot of trials the past few years and it feels that those storms are passing. We all know that more storms will come but it just means we are ready to learn and grow more. I am grateful for a lot of things but the thing I feel I am most grateful for the Gospel in my life. I am grateful to know that families are forever and that our Savior died for us and felt every feeling we will have. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God and that he is the Lords mouthpiece to guide and direct us for us to be able to live with our Father in Heaven again. I am so grateful for my wonderful husband. He has worked so hard at looking for a job so that I can work less and be home with our kids more. I am grateful for both of our jobs that keep us going that we are able to afford the things that we need. With Brandens new job it has been such a blessing in our lives. I am grateful for that cold morning in January back in 2005 that we met and fell in love. We have had the opportunity to have beautiful little boys who are so fun and energetic. Ryler has been so sweet lately and Krew is becoming so much fun and he is getting so big. We have the most wonderful house, no its not huge and doesn't require a cleaning lady but it is just the perfect size for us. We have everything we could want and more. We have every reason to be grateful this Thanksgiving season, We both have wonderful families who support us in everything we do. We have THE greatest ward, I couldn't ask for better neighbors! To sum up everything I'm grateful!!!

All Aboard....

2010-11-26T00:06:00.001-07:00

A tradition that we have every year is on Thanksgiving night we watch The Polar Express, this year we were in Logan all day and couldn't watch it so we did it the following night. We got the kids into their matching pajamas that their Mana's gave to them and Branden and I got into our matching pajama pants and we made delicious hot chocolate and cookies just like on the real Polar Express. Ryler LOVED the movie and sat through most of it. I was actually surprised, he loves choo-choo's(trains) though. We had such a fun time kicking off the Christmas season with one of our favorite traditions. I love making and keeping the traditions for our little family because our families both do really fun things and I want to provide those same things for our kids.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T23:43:00.001-07:00

Wow what a fun day, we had Thanksgiving up in Logan with Brandens extended Hunsaker side of the family. It was so good to see everyone and boy was there a lot of people to see, I think the numbers of people got up to at least 70. I love big family gatherings like these. It was so good to see Brandens grandma, she is such a sweet woman. We had such a great time starting out the day with some sushi and shrimp(Branden was in heaven) I loved his cousin Becka's home made caramel dip...DELISH!! We went over to the Rock Haus(I believe that's what its called) and went rock climbing. Ive actually never been but Ryler and Branden went and they both did so good and Ryler especially was so adorable. We even got Turin to go, he was a little hesitant but he did it! Ryler eventually ended up running around with the other kids. Everyone came back and it was time to feast. The food was so good, Thanksgiving dinner is always so yummy. Especially with the great cooks that were in attendance. We had a program with some people sharing talents, or stories and we got the privilege of hearing my sister in laws experience of when she did a little service mission back in Fiji. We were supposed to do a service project and take blankets that everyone donated to the care center where Grandma lives but the time was running late so we decided to move on with the rest of the schedule. We always have an ice cream contest. There were 4 judges and Branden's brother Sean was one of them. I had to chuckle a little because he was so serious about it. There were 4 ice creams to taste-2 chocolate ones, a berry one and a dulce de leche(if I remember correctly) and the Chunky Chocolate one won! I actually didn't get one single scoop of ice cream so I couldn't give my professional ice cream eating opinion but they all looked really good. We did get to indulge in Aunt Sandy's pies....Best pies in the WORLD!!!! I had to step away to feed Krew and while I was they took a huge family picture, the sad part is not everyone was with us. I cant even imagine if they were, I love getting all the family together. Its so nice to see everyone. Branden's Aunt Sandy put this whole thing on and it was decorated so well and so well thought out, she did a great job. I was so glad we were able to attend. It was so good to see everyone! Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

4 months and still growing

2010-11-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

We just got back from the pediatrician for Krews 4 month weight check. Normally he would have gotten all his shots and a full well baby check but this time because we don't have insurance they just weighed him for us. Which they do at no cost. He is such a big boy! He is definitely healthy. His stats were:
Weight 17.7 lbs 93%ile
Length 25.25 in 65%ile
Head cir 17 in 76%ile
We had his clothes off the other day and we were joking about how he looks like the michellin man. He is such a sweet baby boy! I love the sounds he makes and he is such a happy baby. He absolutely loves ryler, he loves to watch him. He is doing amazing at holding his head up and on his tummy time. He is so precious, we love you "froo" that's what ry guy calls him!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Family Pictures...

2010-11-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

Wow Every year we get our pictures done, I just LOVE them!! We had my amazing sister in law Lindsay do them and she did a fabulous job! We were her first photo shoot! I am in love with them, they are already up on the wall and I cant believe how gorgeous they look. We had some drama getting these pictures done but boy I wouldn't have them any other way now! We were supposed to get them done a few weeks ago on a Sunday and it rained the whole day so we thought we could reschedule them for the following Wednesday night but Madis flight got moved up to Wednesday afternoon! I was having a panic attack. I knew the sun usually isn't good in the morning but we tried anyway and woke up that Wednesday morning to 3 inches of snow! It ended up being an absolutely beautiful scenery and I wouldn't have done it any other way. Had I known about the snow I wouldn't have put Madi and I in cream! Overall AMAZING!! Thanks so much Linds!

Privacy please!!!

2010-11-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

I think the time has come where I need to make the blog private. I have been feeling extra paranoid lately and I just want to follow the promptings I have been having. Hope everyone understands. Leave your email as a comment and I'll add you to the people who can view it.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sweet Heaven

2010-11-03T20:35:00.001-06:00

I just put ryler to bed and I layed krew on the floor with his little bear and out he went. Such a sweet little boy!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Horray...

2010-11-03T14:01:00.001-06:00

Well the storm we have been weathering is starting to pass....Branden got a phone call yesterday and got offered an amazing job. He will be the Campus Communications and Community Relations Coordinator for Broadview University Orem Campus. Broadview University used to be Utah Career College. We are very excited and very grateful for the huge blessing that has just been given to us. It isn't really sinking in yet but it will on the morning of November 15th when he starts his first day. We have fasted and prayed for months for something like this to come along and it finally has. Branden got offered a job a few months back working for Mayor Caroon, we felt it was not the right job so he turned it down. About 3 months ago he was interested in a job and it ended up not working out. Branden was so confused because we felt that it was the right job and didn't understand why he wouldn't get it. He found out a few weeks ago that the position was eliminated. Heavenly Fathers hand is in our lives and he has a plan for us. Every step we have gone through with this whole process has led us to this. We are so happy and can't wait for him to start. Thank you to both of our families who have fasted, prayed and wished for us to get this amazing blessing. We are so grateful for your support.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I'm doing it already...

2010-11-01T00:02:00.001-06:00

You know when Thanksgiving hits and you are glad its over because you can begin watching Christmas movies and listening to Christmas music. Well I am starting that early, we are watching "Fred Claus" right now and I love it. I actually watched "Santa Clause" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" last week. I think I am so anxious for christmas because I know how fast it goes so I want to start it early so I can really enjoy it and do everything I want. Can't wait for the festivities, here are the things on the agenda for this Christmas season:
1. Temple Square lights
2. Live Nativity
3. Polar Express (hopefully)
4. Sledding
5. Caroling
6. Make christmas treats
7. Family parties
8. Christmas Program and Christmas day

I'm sure there will be much more added to this list. I'm so excited. SANTA'S COMING!!!

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Snow...on the worst day

2010-10-27T06:57:00.001-06:00

I woke up extra early today to get ready for family pictures this morning and guess what I woke up to? SNOW!!!!! We were going to do pictures on sunday but it was raining and this morning is our only shot! Madi has been here for a week and a half and I truly haven't procrastinated. They moved up their flights and for this afternoon so we have no other chances but here in the next few hours!! I need to stay positive. I was really looking forward to pictures with fall leaves for our christmas card but I guess not, it really will look "christmasy" now. I know I will laugh about this tomorrow and it even makes me chuckle now but only because its so pathetic! He he
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Good Fun, Good Friends

2010-10-22T16:00:00.000-06:00

We got invited over to a sweet friends house for pumpkin shaped pizza and to let the kids play. My friend Tara had this good idea to make pizzas from those biscuits you buy in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, add your toppings and bake. They were so delicious! We let the kids all play together, tons of fun! i really have to laugh at Madison because she likes to be one of the adults now. She always says things like "silly kids, can you believe them?" We made some yummy Halloween cookies at the end too! Such a good night, with Branden working a lot it was nice to have actual plans with some friends!

Chubby Cheekers

2010-10-20T09:35:00.001-06:00

I absolutely love this picture. I took this while we were driving home from california. I was sitting in the back of the car with the kids so I sent it to branden so he could see cute Krew.
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Where Dreams Come True

2010-10-11T21:10:00.000-06:00

This was Madison's first time meeting her second baby brother Krew!! She loved to hold his hand and play with him. She would take care of him while I would shower and get ready, and he was so good with her. She is such a good big sister.

This was our fun bus that we had from the Holiday Inn. Ryler loved being in a car that didn't require him to be strapped in.

seriously love these boys!

I think little Ry guy was a little over-stimulated. The most amazing parade and this was the face he had the whole time. He didn't smile once. He was so funny, He watched and analyzed every minute of it but never got excited.

little Krew Boo happy as can be after being fed!

you can see my excited face, I love California screamin in California Adventure!

We had such a fun trip- it was truly exhausting! Here is a run down on our trip

Wednesday-drove 14 hours(stopping every time krew needed to eat) got to California around 7:30 went and got madi and checked into our room and got some zzzz's after a long day.

Thursday- We played at the beach for a little bit, went to lunch and headed to madi's to put ryler down for a nap. I did the dumbest thing EVER, Ryler had been sick for about 2 weeks so the Dr told me that if he takes regular naps to give him some benadryll before a nap so he will get some good sleep to recover. I did just that and he woke up just in time for pictures. He was ultra whinny. I figured out after him kicking and screaming all through pictures, screaming for Branden the whole time and crying every time his feet touched the sand that I shouldn't have given him benadryll. It hadn't worn off in time for pictures but it did just as we were getting to dinner. I was so mad at myself. I hated pictures, it couldn't have gone worse and so for that fact our little family pics didn't turn out so well. We went to the wonderful seafood restaurant for dinner that was right on the beach to celebrate Uncle Justin's birthday. We had such a fun night and drove an hour to our hotel in Anaheim.

Friday-DISNEYLAND!!! Wow fun day. We started off the day by getting in line to get World of Color fast passes and boy was it worth it. I pretty much described our Disney day up top. Both of the kids zonked out and Turin even layed on the ground because he was so tired.

Saturday- Got up and drove back to San Diego for the big day! MADI'S BAPTISM!! It was such a beautiful baptism. they did it as a stake so there were 3 at the same time. Madison's mom Shannon got up and said a few words about how amazing Madison is. We went into another part of the church for the actually baptism and went back into the chapel for the rest.

Our beautiful little family!

Madison we are so proud of you! You are a special daughter of our Father in Heaven. He is so proud of the decision you have made. You are such an example to your daddy and I. You have read the Book of Mormon in just 9 short months. I have never known anyone who is amazing and has such a beautiful as you! We love you sweetheart!

the look on Rylers face when his feet touched the sand

Cuddling his mommy

We went on a walk by the beach and got some hot chocolate and enjoyed listening to the waves!

Sunday- We went to church and had lunch at Madi's and drove home! ps I got smart and decided to pump on the way home and give him a bottle

We had such a fun trip! We loved spending time with our family and spending so much time with Madi! Made lots of memories that will never be forgotten!

Ahhh......

2010-09-29T08:07:00.001-06:00

Just had to post this-I come in krews room this morning 10 HOURS after his last feeding to find him laying like this in his bed. Normally he is laying straight in his sleep positioner. He was just laying there wide eyed. Such a sweet little guy! I can't believe I got a full nights rest, I woke up for the day before he woke up to eat at all. Horray!!
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My little cutie pie

2010-09-27T23:50:00.000-06:00

I wanted to post some pictures of the babe since I haven't blogged in a while. He is getting big and growing so fast. He is so good, he has been sleeping great and just being a champ for us. He sleeps anywhere from 8-9 hours at night. That makes mommy happy. Ryler slept this same way when he was a baby and it all started when he was around 2 months as well. Life is great, just wanted to post some pics!!!

2 months already!!!

2010-09-27T23:24:00.000-06:00

We were very anxious for this appointment because we were really curious to know how much this "little" guy weighed. He has grown so much we can hardly believe it. He has gotten to be so much fun, he is smiling and cooing all the time. My favorite thing he does is when he is sleeping or nursing and he will get this huge smile and laugh out loud. He is so precious, these little babies are just straight from heaven. There is just a piece of Heaven in our home. He is one of the happiest babies, Ryler cried all the time for the first 6 weeks. We really struggled at first with ryler because I had never done the baby thing before. Branden was around Madison when she was a baby, I was new to this and with a baby that cried all the time I wondered what I had done. With little krew it has been so much better. He is more peaceful. I know he will throw us a curveball, babies always do!

Here are the stats on our sweetie!!

Weight: 15.1 lbs 98%ile

Height 24 in 82 5ile

Head cir 16 in 77 %ile

I just checked rylers stats for when he was 2 months old and he was a full pound lighter and an inch smaller. This Krew of ours is one big dude! We love you Krew-Boo!!!

Cozy day

2010-09-27T17:51:00.001-06:00

My sweet hubby sent this picture to me the other day when I was working. Krew is so cute!! Sad I wasn't home to cuddle him!
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Absolutely Hilarious

2010-09-17T10:50:00.001-06:00

When I was getting ready just now ryler found some blush and started putting it all over his face. He looked so cute. I wanted to put a picture of him on here but branden wiped it off too fast. So this is ryler putting some on branden. Branden got jealous and wanted some.
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It Happened!!!!

2010-09-13T23:50:00.001-06:00

I remember when I was pregnant with ryler I couldn't wait for two specific things! I couldn't wait for the day that ryler could give me a kiss and tell me that he loves me. He got the kiss down a long time ago. I remember when I was nursing him as a newborn. I would put his face up to my cheek and because he would be ready to eat he Would open his mouth and give me an opened mouthed "kiss." Well I called it a kiss;) then as he got older we moved to the real opened mouth slobbery kiss and now we have graduated to the puckering up smooch sound when we kiss. Just about a week ago ryler finally started saying I LOVE YOU!!! Its quite a process. It usually starts with
Me: ryler say I....
Ryler: I....
Me: say love....
Ryler: you
Me:.....no ryler say love...
Ryler: wuv
Me: say you
Ryler: YOU!!!

There have been those times when he will say "wuv you" all on his own. He is so stinkin cute. I feel like I have been really frustrated with the "terrible two" stage and I get so caught up in that that I sometimes forget that everything is alright and he is just a little two year old. When he says those 3 words to me and gives me a kiss it makes everything okay! Love you little ry guy!
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My Boys

2010-09-11T23:22:00.001-06:00

Branden sent this picture to me the other day while I was working! I miss them so much while I am gone.

Ps I have so much blogging to do-no worries I will catch up!! Everything is going great, life is a little busier with two kiddies!
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Happy 92nd Birthday Grandma

2010-09-06T22:10:00.001-06:00

This is her telling the stories that we all loved hearing

The kids all sang a song to grandma!

What a fun afternoon we had spending time with grandma for her birthday. On this special Memorial Day we drove up to Logan to eat lunch at Hamilton's and had a birthday program entitled "Tell Me the Stories" It was beautiful, there were wrapped packages on the tables as centerpieces. Attached to the packages were pieces of paper that had a story she was supposed to tell us. It was so fun to hear her tell us these stories and to have such vivid memories. Her mind is still really sharp. She could recall these memories like it was yesterday. She looked beautiful, with her hair all done and a fresh new outfit.

It was sort of a hectic day because Branden couldn't get the day off work so Justin and Lindsay took Ryler to watch movies in the car with Turin. Michelle drove with Krew and I to keep us company. It went really well until we sat down to eat lunch and Ryler realized it was nap time. It was a little stressful but overall it was a really good day and a really good weekend to spend so much time with family!

We love you grandma and we are so thankful for the example that you have set for us and for the righteous woman that you are! You have taught your children, grandchildren and great grand children more that you will ever know!

Krew's Baby Blessing

2010-09-05T21:47:00.004-06:00

Papa is so much fun! He had quite a good time with these boys!

isn't my mom beautiful?? wow! I haven't got a picture of my parents like this in a long time! They both got all fancied up to come to church with the family!

I love these family photos. My mom and Sheri were making jokes that my brother and dad looked like they were from a mob!

These two women are the ones I look to most! What would I ever do without them to help us out with the kids. They are the best "Mana's" Ryler just loves to go see them. They are really working hard when they have both of them on their day to watch the kids. Thank you!

Brandens sweet family....

and all the Kids! We are a crazy bunch!

My sweet family, We were really sad we didn't have Madison in this photo. We sure missed her being a part of this special day. Branden gave our little krew the most beautiful blessing! I wish I could have recorded it. I just sat and sobbed. He is an amazing man and I am so grateful that I have the priesthood in my home to be able to bless our little baby. What a special day, I wish the spirit could have stayed as strong as it was forever. I got the opportunity to share my testimony in church and I got to hear the testimonies of close friends and family that day.I was spiritually fed by those that I love so much! It was a perfect day. We had family over for a lunch after the blessing and it was so fun to be able to visit with people. Branden made this wonderful video of Krews short 6 weeks here and it was so sweet! I wish we could put it on the blog! Thank you to all those who came and helped out with our perfect day! We love you!

This day was also special because it was my dads birthday! We got to celebrate 2 special people! Happy Birthday daddy! It was fun to celebrate with you!

Another Journey

2010-08-29T20:45:00.000-06:00

A new journey has once again come up. We were at Branden's parents house Sunday night and out of nowhere krew started crying and didn't really let up at all that night. I fed him at 10 and put him down and he was up every 2 hours after that. Yesterday around 4 I fed him and I thought he felt really warm so I decided to take his temperature and it said 101.4 F. I thought to myself that it wasn't really that high but stupid me was thinking of an older baby. Babies over 3 months can have a fever of 104 or 105 and still be okay. Babies under 3 months shouldn't have a fever over 100.3. Not knowing this I thought I would call the Dr and just see what they say. They told me to come right in and that It was a really high fever and that he could be hospitalized. I took krew by myself and left Branden and Ryler at home thinking I would be back in an hour. The Dr told me that the concern is the fever and that he could have a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections can be life threatening to babies this age. They sent me over to American Fork Hospital and admitted him right away. It was a lot to deal with all on my own. This is my sweet brand new little boy. He can't spend the night in the hospital-he just can't. Gosh I tear up as I write this thinking of the emotions I was feeling walking into the pediatric unit with my little baby all sick. I get all my stuff put down and around the corner walks my good friend Janice, she lives in my ward and has been my visiting teacher for 3 1/2 years. It was so comforting to see her knowing I could ask every stupid question I had. She was so informative, it was great. They got him all checked in and took all his vitals and they needed to give him an IV. They told us that sometimes parents won't go with because its really hard to watch. They told us there could be lots of blood and lots of pokes. Well they were right. After 2 hours of screaming and crying and poking every extremity 2+ times they decided to try the vein in his head. It worked great, the only problem was they couldn't secure it with tape because of his hair. So they used KY jelly as a glue, once it dries it turns hard like glue. They said it takes 2 hours to dry but didn't really stress how careful we really needed to be. We came back to our room and I fed him, my mother in law burped him and as she was standing there burping him the IV fell out and landed on the floor. She felt so bad, it was so sad. Like I said they never really stressed how important it was we don't let it move at all. It actually worked out okay that he didn't have the IV because they got all the blood drawn that they needed. It wasn't easy but they got it. He can take his antibiotics by a shot. They got all the labs back this morning and so far everything has come back negative. So it has to be a little virus that he has. He has been fighting this fever until this afternoon, it got back up to 101.2 around noon today and now the fever has been gone for a few hours. We are so grateful that he is doing good now. He is such a good little boy. His little body has been through a lot in the last 2 days. I was supposed to start back to work today so its interesting that all of this is happening. We are having faith that Heavenly Father is mindful of all that is going on and its all happening for a reason.

I started this post on the second day at the hospital and I am finishing it almost a week later to update that we got out of the hospital and all of the tests came back negative and that he must have had a silly little virus. They were concerned that he needed to have a spinal tap to rule out spinal meneigitis. I am so glad they never had to do that. The hospital stay really wasn't that bad after we got the first night out of the way. They took great care of me and him at American Fork hospital, because I am nursing they fed me the whole time we were there. We really had a great experience and had great nurses. We got out of the hospital on Wednesday afternoon around 3:00p.m. and we went to a follow up on Friday and the doctor said everything was fine. He has had a small fever ever since we left but it is not worrisome. Like I stated in my earlier post that I didn't know why all this was happening. Now that we have gotten out of the hospital and I am grateful that he is healthy and okay I am left wondering why all of this is happening. I know Heavenly Father has his reasons for everything that happens in our lives but this time I really am stumped. After taking 5 weeks off of work its no secret that we are struggling financially and then on my first day back to work I cant go and not only that we gained all of these medical bills. I am sure there was something to be learned or to test our faith but it still leaves me wondering. I am so grateful he is okay and doing good. I love my little guy and I am so grateful for him in my life. Life has been a little crazy since he was born but we are lovin life and trying to catch up to everything going on.

Krews Ultrasound

2010-08-22T22:34:00.000-06:00

At Krews two week appt his doctor was concerned that he had congenital hip disorder(I think that's what she called it.) There is a test they do on newborns where they move their legs to see if their hips click or not. Well our dr. Said she could feel his click! I was never worried about this when she told me but I went through with the whole process of getting the test. She said if he did have it that we would have to go to Primary Children's and go to an Orthopedic Dr. She told me all they do with this is put their hips in a harness sort of thing so their hips develop a little more in the right way. I was told if he did have it and we didn't take care if it he would have a live full of hip problems. We go the ultrasound done and he doesn't have it. Horray! He did so good during the ultrasound. Ryler was a little hard to tame during the whole thing. We did it though! So grateful nothing was wrong.
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I have a 2 year old? What??

2010-08-17T23:27:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of Ryler playing at the Dr's at his 2 year well check! I love to put the stats of them to remember later in life. Since my blog is my personal journal you all get to see:) Ryler is so sweet, he is at a stage when he is starting to talk a lot and is really starting to play with other kids well. We play with Turin most of the time and he just LOVES him. Almost every morning before he gets out of bed he asks for Turin. He has grown so much in the past year, I know when they are this small they grow so fast and before I know it he will be completely independent and wont need me:( We always joke about how Ryler has this huge head and I say its because he has such a big brain( he is smart) ;)

His stats are done differently now that he is 2, they do a BMI, weight and a stature chart for him

BMI 16.46 46%ile

weight 29lbs 62 %ile

Stature 35 78%ile

Silly that I don't really know what the BMI really says for a 2 year old. I know for an adult. Basically he is perfect, right? He is mine and I think so! I love you little ry guy! Thanks for being the best son!

Happy #2

2010-08-15T22:38:00.000-06:00

THE BIRTHDAY BOY

Uncle Justin (on my families side) gave him this cupcake for his birthday because he loves The Cookie Monster

Wow! 2 already!! My Handsome little stud is 2, where has the time gone? How did it happen that he is 2 and already has a little brother?! We had such a fun day with him, being that his birthday is on a Sunday we got to go to church. He got to dress nice for church and throw on some shades. We decorated the house all Handy Manny because he is obsessed with it! He is so sweet, he talks about Manny all the time. We watch his shows daily, pretty funny! I am learning a lot of words in Spanish too! We had my parents out on his actual day with my brother and we had so much fun.

I love you sweet little Ryler, 2 years ago today you made me the happiest person. You have made me so much more of a better person and for you I am so grateful! You do and say the cutest things, thank you for making me smile all of the time. You have been such a good little boy while we have had some big transitions in the home the past month. Your little brother is going to look up to you so much! Thank you for being such a bright spot in our lives! I love you little Ry-Guy!

Hop Up, Jump in, Si Vamanos!

2010-08-14T22:51:00.000-06:00

Ha ha doesn't look much like it but these two are best buddies in the whole world. Him and Turin have lots of fun playing!

Oh my doesn't this look so cute, they are both so serious

His friend Trent that he always talks about.

We had such a great time with Rylers party, He was so excited! you'll notice in a couple of pictures that he has a little ouchie by his eye. Well being that it is a few days before his birthday and wanting to take his 2 year old pictures he is doing circles in the living room and gets dizzy and knocks his head on the corner of the coffee table. It didn't bleed at first but because he hit it so hard it cracked the skin open. He was so sad and it looked so painful. He was sure a champ about it after 5 seconds.
We invited all the family and some of Ryler's neighborhood friends over and had the best time. We had Handy Manny playing on the TV the whole time and had a little table set up with crayons and Handy Manny pictures to color. We played some games, opened presents and watched Ryler dig his mouth into the side of the cake. We sang to him and after we were done I told him to put his hand or his finger in the cake, he put one little finger in and licked the frosting off. Well then what he did was so unexpected....he put his whole mouth on the side of the cake. It was hilarious, I was laughing so hard it hurt. He then let all his friends put their fingers in it and then we had a piece from the opposite side of the cake.
He got some really great gifts, he got this power tool toy from his Friend Bethanie(aka his girlfriend) and all the kids were going crazy about it. We ended up having to take it away so he would open up another one. He got some very much needed clothes, lots of Handy Manny stuff, a trike and a really fun slide for the backyard. We were so glad that he got to have some fun with his friends.

Help

2010-08-04T08:05:00.000-06:00

All you bloggers out there-I need help with my blog. I got roped into changing it at blogspots new design template thinger! boy am I ever angry I did that, you cant really customize the backgrounds and stuff like I used to. Does anyone know if there is a way to change it back? I want to use backgrounds from cutest blog on the blog and such. If anyone has any help please let me know!

Krew's 2 Week Well Check

2010-08-03T21:38:00.000-06:00

Wow do these boys grow fast! Krew had his 2 week well check that we had to do at a week and a half. He is one big boy just like his big brother! I checked back in my blog and when Ryler was 18 days old he weighed 8 lbs 7 oz which was really good because by their 2 week appt they like them to be back to their birth weight. Krew is growing fast just like little Ry guy except that he is passing him up real fast! Here are Krew's stats:

Weight 8lbs 10oz 53% ile

Height 20.25 inches 42% ile

Head Cir 14.75 inches 65% ile

Happy Birthday to me!!! 23!

2010-07-29T12:49:00.002-06:00

Wow what a fun birthday this year! I got the best present of all....My sweet Krew! He was born exactly a week before my birthday! Wow we are going to have a busy three weeks every summer with mine Branden's and Krew's Birthdays!! My sweet husband decorated the house really cute for me and gave me some treats with a card. Inside the card was money to go see the Eclipse(I havent seen it yet) and the treats were to take to go see it. He was so sweet and thoughtful this year! Thanks hunny!I started my day off so fun(I dont have any pictures though) Lindsay and Turin took me to breakfast. I took Ryler with so I could give Branden some one on one time with Krew. We took our little boys and it was so fun! We went to Kneaders and had their all you can eat french toast that is out of this world!! She brought me balloons and everything! I went home and relaxed all day with my cute family. Doug and Jolene came over and celebrated with me. They gave me a really cute ceramic birthday cake that is actually a piggy bank and they stuck money inside! Horray! I am going to buy some cute clothes with it. After they came my parents and brother came over and they brought us a meal....Steak dinner! It was so yummy! I got some really fun gifts from them, a new sweat outfit, or two:) I got an IPod player that you can set anywhere! I got so many fun things from them but the best gift was just spending time with them!

Thank you to everyone who celebrated my birthday with me. It is so funny because I was pregnant this year just prior to my birthday that I have been SO forgetful. I remember one day at work someone asked how old I was and I could not remember I wanted to say I was 23 but I wasnt sure if I was. I turned to Sara and asked her how old she was and she said she was 23. That meant I must have been 22.

Our greatest Gift

2010-07-27T12:11:00.000-06:00

My sweet in laws bought Krew a little gift (wait little isn't the right word) a huge gift. This great stroller is like a stretch limo! It is such a great stroller. We really did our research when it came to strollers. I took my empty carseat into babies r us and tried it in every stroller until I found the right fit. I was really debating between two of them and this is the one we loved. It is amazing and I was so excited to use it! We took it out as soon as I was up to it!

First Bath

2010-07-26T12:03:00.001-06:00

Goodness it feels like I was just doing the "first bath" post for Ryler, well I was 2 short years ago! I cant believe my sweetheart is 2 and we are doing this for his little brother! He doesn't look like he did well but he did better than I thought. With Ryler's first bath my mom did it and I just stood by and cried! I couldn't handle him screaming like that but Krew was pretty good once he had warm water back on him! I mostly did it myself while Branden took pictures. Gosh the 2nd baby is not so scary, you kinda feel like you know what your doing a little more.

Some of my favorite pictures

2010-07-26T11:41:00.000-06:00

This is my most favorite picture, it captures exactly how I feel

My hubby being a proud dad!

the best big brother in the world

oh how I love them

Sad how you still look way pregnant when you leave the hospital:(

His first outfit home was baby scrubs

the room we delivered in

the room we stayed in for 2 days

My in laws decorated our car-so so cute

Ryler wanted to help carry in his big brother

My Memories of it all

2010-07-25T11:37:00.003-06:00

Wow what a past few days we have had- I wanted to get it all out how the whole delivery went for my own memory because we all know we can become forgetful. Branden posted all the blog posts, so to recap everything.Last Tuesday July 20th was my due date. The day came and went....:( the Wednesday before I was finally dilated to a 1 1/2. And 50%effaced. I saw my Dr on Wednesday morning (the day after my due date)and he was going to strip my membranes but I was still only dilated to a 1 1/2. He said that I wasn't dilated enough to strip my membranes. So he asked what I wanted to do. I am pretty against inductions. I just feel that the baby will come when he is good and ready. Labor is a pretty big thing to force your body into. I told him my only worry was that each day that goes by was using up my precious maternity leave. I took 5 weeks off and used a half of a week waiting. He got an interesting look on his face and said it was important to get the baby out so that I have as much time with him as possible before I have to go back to work. So he asked all my worries of an induction and we talked about everything. We set up an induction for Thursday July 22nd. He said the hospital would call me that night and let me know when to come. They called that night and said call at 7 am and be ready to leave right then to be to the hospital by 7:30 if they can take me that early. That night I was craving a jamocha shake from arby's so Branden went and got me one. I have been told by many people that their shakes don't have caffeine. If it did I wouldn't have drank one. Well it must have because little Krew was up doing back flips in my belly all night. I woke up that next morning around 5 to get everything ready and I called at 7 and they told me to come in as soon as possible. We dropped ryler off at my parents and got checked in the hospital at 8:30. I was still a 1 1/2 when he checked me and broke my water. Ps breaking my water killed. My cervix was pretty high I guess. He started me on petocin and they said that normally people dilate a centimeter an hour. 6 hours after I got there I was only a 3 1/2. They started my epidural. The funny part was that I was having contractions about every 3 to 4 minutes when I got there but I didn't even know. After I looked at the monitors I realized what I had been feeling were contractions. I laid there a little while longer (starving.) All of the sudden they checked me and I was dilated to an 8! Woah what?? Holy crap, I'm having a baby in the next few hours!!! Little Krew's heart rate started dropping with every contraction and they thought the cord might be wrapped around his neck. The nurse I had really nice but had the kind of personality that was a little over anxious and a little intense! From the way she reacted it made me really scared so I started crying...a lot! I stared pushing around 4:20. My mom was in the room this time which was fun because she wasn't the first time. She was really helpful! Branden and the nurse each held a leg and my mom was in charge of keeping oxygen on me. She and Branden did a really good job of encouraging me and helping me through it. All anyone was saying when I was pushing was how they could see his long black hair. I pushed for about an hour and a half. I had him at 6:39. It didn't feel like I pushed that long. In between contractions I tried really hard to relax. I actually almost fell asleep twice in between contractions. I tried to focus really hard on what I was doing. They wouldn't have had me start pushing so early except for their worries of his heart rate dropping. His head came out and all the nurses kept saying how huge his head was. They put him on my belly and it was the most amazing feeling. He didn't cry just like ryler didn't cry. It was scary then too because they called in the respiratory team because he was having a hard time "transitioning" aka he was having a hard time breathing. I once again started crying because of how panicked the nurses were. They told me I could only hold him for a minute then they said they had to take him away. This was hard. They had to keep oxygen on him just so I could hold him. Oh I will never forget the feeling of having to hand him to the nurse knowing it could be hours before I could see him. The Dr sewed me up-i only had an episiotomy this time. A degree 2, so not as bad as last time of a 4 and tearing in two other spots. Our family came in after and ryler came up with Sheri and I just cried once I saw him. I had missed him so much in that one day. He looked at me lying in a hospital bed and I started crying when I saw him. He did not know what to think! He was weirded out for sure. He just stared at me!! They transferred me rooms and on the way they let me go see krew in the nursery. Ryler screamed for me. He was so precious, so protective of me. I got to touch Krew's little toes and rub his sweet face. I gave his feet some kisses and headed to my room to wait for him to come. He came into our room 3 hours later. I was able to nurse him great and we got to spend some good time with him. We had a few visitors in the hospital, ryler came to see us everyday and got to hold his baby brother everyday. He is so sweet to him! Just got home and we will see what the next few days bring!

On Our Way Home!

2010-07-24T18:18:00.001-06:00

Becoming A Man

2010-07-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

Krew's getting ready for "The Snip"!

Our "Special" Dinner

2010-07-23T17:43:00.000-06:00

So they've fancied things up a bit here since we had Ryler. They now offer a dinner for two with a number of delectable choices. We went with the steak, with steamed veggies, baked potato, italian rolls, and green salad with a creamy raspberry vinaigrette. For dessert an amaretto and chocolate moussecake. And trust me, it was even better than is sounds! Steak was marshmallow soft and potato was to die for! What a great idea and a fun first (and last for a long time) date night for the new mommy and daddy.

Krew's Television Debut

2010-07-23T16:40:00.002-06:00

Breastfeeding Class

2010-07-23T11:18:00.000-06:00

Yipee, we're taking a breastfeeding class! I just hope I'm not going to have to do a live demonstration in that empty chair! At least we get a cool free bag out of it. There was actually a ton of useful information that we didn't already know or was a nice refresher.

Good Morning World

2010-07-23T10:49:00.000-06:00

Little Krew is all ours! After some quality nursery time he's glad to be with his Mommy and Daddy today.

What A Day

2010-07-22T22:58:00.000-06:00

I think it's time to call it a night! What a wonderful and long day. Krew took his sweet time coming out but it was so worth the wait. The poor little guy had respiratory problems and was taken away from us and put on oxygen for the first few hours. They said he was just "transitioning" and not to worry but they weren't very convincing. He came out really white and pretty purple. They said he went from not breathing enough to breathing way too fast. After about 3 hours he had made a full recovery and I was able to wheel him back into our room where Mindy fed him for the first time. He latched right on and sucked down as much as he could handle before falling asleep for the night. What a rough day for our little Krew. He got to meet his brother briefly too which was so awesome! They're going to be best friends for sure! Poor Ryler was a little weirded out about his mommy being in a hospital bed and wheel chair though. All in all it was the most perfect day anyone could ask for. Surrounded by family and loved ones Krew Robert Bingham came into this world and into our lives and he could not be more of a perfect angel. Now that he's washed up and has some color and the swelling's gone down he looks EXACTLY like Ryler did as a newborn. It's crazy! Thank you family for your love and support and food! ;) Thank you Krew for bringing such an unimaginable peace and happiness into our lives. We love you little buddy and welcome to the family!

Krew Robert Bingham!

2010-07-22T19:15:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Buddy! Born 6:39pm July 22, 2010. 7 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long! What a STUD!!

Starting To Push!

2010-07-22T17:18:00.000-06:00

Should be about 30 minutes away!

Sterilized And Waiting

2010-07-22T16:47:00.000-06:00

The room's been sterilized and readied for delivery. Mindy's starting to feel pretty cruddy so we must be getting closer right?

I'm An 8!

2010-07-22T16:15:00.000-06:00

Dilated to an 8. Krew should be with us in less than 2 hours! Man we went from a 1 to a 3 in like 6 hours and from a 3 to an 8 in about an hour!

Technology

2010-07-22T14:32:00.000-06:00

Status update: Completely thinned out and dilated to about a 4. Nurse is estimating a possible early evening delivery. Maybe between 6 and 7 tonight. It's all fairly unpredictable though. We've been going from BlackBerry to blog to laptop to camera and back. What did we all do before technology? Enjoy each other's company? Yuck! ;)

More Visitors!

2010-07-22T14:27:00.001-06:00

Hooray, Mindy's mom and dad came by to hang out. We've been here about 6 hours now and it can get a little boring. Mindy's pretty excited to spend some time with her parents. We both just miss Ryler so bad right now. Come on Krew, let's get goin'!

Gonna Be A Bad Week

2010-07-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

My mom brought me some of my favorite things! A whole box of Zingers, a Butterfinger, a Reeses peanut butter cup, and a bag of Reeses pieces with some candy cigars to celebrate with! And I had hope to not start eating junk at least until the weekend. Oh well. How can you say no to a Zinger?

Grandma Stopped By

2010-07-22T14:21:00.001-06:00

Yeah! Grandma came by to visit with balloons and flowers, a card and all kinds of goodies! Mindy's been saying, when is your mom going to be here so I can have someone else to talk to? She was half kidding... I think.

Gathering Strength

2010-07-22T11:34:00.001-06:00

Resting up before the big "push". Which, by the way, shows no signs of being anytime soon.

Sweet Heaven

2010-07-22T11:23:00.002-06:00

Mindy's getting her epidural. She got so excited she curled up in a tiny ball. The best part is she doesn't have to get up to go to the bathroom anymore! Haha

All Juiced Up

2010-07-22T09:51:00.000-06:00

Got the petocin flowing now and contractions are pretty regular. Time to get the party started! Now if we could just dilate more than a 1+!

Looking "Fresh"

2010-07-22T08:51:00.000-06:00

When we got here the attendant said "You must be one of my inductions. You just look so fresh." It's a whole different ball game when it's scheduled like this. Mindy got all purtied up and we were so over prepared it got boring.

We're Here!

2010-07-22T08:42:00.000-06:00

Just checked in and the room is all ready for little Krew! This is where he will be born. They've got the little cart with the baby tray in here and the weigh machine and all that good stuff. It really didn't seem real until we got here and the smell immediately brought me back to when we were here for Ryler less than 2 years ago! So crazy and so exciting. Buckle up!

Leaving for the Hospital

2010-07-22T08:40:00.000-06:00

We have got ours and rylers bags packed to head to the hospital. It was so weird to be totally calm and getting ready. Last time I was in between contractions while showering and getting the stuff ready to go. Ryler is so excited! Oh he will be a big brother today! Horray!!!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Update

2010-07-21T11:35:00.000-06:00

I went to the Dr this morning and last week I was dilated to a 1 1/2 and 50% effaced and today I am still dilated to a 1 1/2 and 60% effaced. I was going to have him strip my membranes and hopefully get labor started but I wasn't dilated enough to do that. He scheduled me an induction for tomorrow. I am not a fan of being induced in any way whatsoever but I also only have a little time left before my maternity leave ends. I have to be back to work August 24th and I want as much time as possible to be with Little Krew. It brings tears to my eyes every time I think about the fact of only having today left with my little Ryler. I am making this short for that reason! We will update tomorrow to say when we are going in and whats going on! Wish us luck!

My Sweet Ryler

2010-07-20T21:44:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to write you a little letter telling you how much I have loved having just us time for the past almost two years. You are such a joy in my life and I will never forget all of the firsts and fun times that we have had. The bond between a mommy and her first born is amazing let alone her little boy! You are a momma's boy all the way. I love every little thing that you do. You bring me so much joy, you will never know how much. Maybe one day when you have your own kids you will know the joy I am talking about! You have such a sweetness to you, you make my heart melt every time you say "hi mom" The way your voice sounds when you talk to me is something that I will always remember. Little Krew is going to come into our home in a few days and that will change a lot of things for us. The attention wont always be on you but know that I will always try my hardest to give you everything you need. You are such a little angel in my life and I am so grateful your daddy and I have you! You have made me so proud in the short 2 years that you have been with us and I cant wait for all the other proud mom moments that I will have! My sweet son know that I love you so much and I am so grateful for all you have taught me, you are my pride and joy! I remember the first time I saw your sweet face, your eyes were wide open and you just looked around the room. You have such a curiosity about you that I love. You are such a perfect little boy. Your daddy was just telling me yesterday how he hopes that Little Krew is just like you but he said "we cant have two perfect kids" you are perfect. You are everything a parent would want. You are the most friendly outgoing little boy and I am so grateful you have such a fun personality! I have gained so much patience since having you, you have taught me a lot about being a mom and a lot about who I am as a person. You have given me the opportunity to have a greater relationship with my Heavenly Father and with my sweet husband. I love you to pieces. Thank you my sweet son!

40 Weeks and no baby

2010-07-20T21:33:00.000-06:00

Well here is the 40 week picture, I never got to take this picture last pregnancy. There has to be a first for everything. I was so bummed today because it seems that every time I go out running errands someone always says "when is your baby due?" I was sure someone would ask me today and I would get the opportunity to say "today." Well Ryler and I had a fun day playing and hanging out with Grandma. We met her at Costco and then headed home to relax and nap. We went out to dinner tonight for my birthday that is actually in 9 days. I better have Krew by then....We had a fun time, its been really good to have this time with Ryler because I will never ever get this back!!! I have a Dr apt tomorrow and I am going to have the Dr strip my membranes...oh lovely! Last time with Ryler I had them stripped Wednesday morning and I was starting into labor Thursday morning at 1am. I ended up having him that Friday night at 7:52 and I was due that Saturday! We'll see what happens!

Relaxing Sunday Fun

2010-07-18T21:22:00.000-06:00

Just waiting for baby krew to come we are relaxing before I'm due in two days! Ryler was being so fun, we introduced squirt guns and he LOVES them!!

Draper Days Parade

2010-07-17T20:59:00.002-06:00

My mom had this really fun idea to do the Draper Days Parade and boy am I glad she followed through with it. It was a BLAST. Ryler rode on the back of my moms bike, they attached his high chair to the bike and buckled him into the highchair. It was rigged perfectly thanks to my dad. Branden walked along side and threw candy. I couldn't participate being as close to my due date as I am. Ryler was waving the whole time and he kept saying "uh oh" when Branden would throw candy. The parade route was pretty long-it went from my parents street 13540 south to 12500 south. A long ways in the heat and with how how my parents bikes get it must have been miserable. They all said it was a lot of fun and I am so glad ryler was such a good sport. The person that was the spokesperson for the parade announced everyones name in the group and he would say Ryler James Bingham AGE 2!!!! Branden said a lot of people made comments about how cute it was that a 2 year old was riding a Harley! I got to sit by and take pictures and be a proud mom. My handsome husband and my son were in the parade and it was so fun to brag about. I sat with my aunt Shawna and we got to talk and watch all the cool floats!! Thanks for a fun morning mom and dad!

Maternity Leave

2010-07-16T21:21:00.000-06:00

Alright folks, the time has come where I have worked my last day and done all I could before having this baby! We will now start the waiting game....I don't like the waiting game. Anyone-I mean ANYONE who knows me knows that I am a planner. I need to know exacts with everything. I am not a fan at all of being induced so we will see how stubborn this little guy will be. I am due in 4 days and would really like to go in the next few days! Tomorrow we have some fun plans that I cant wait to do, such as the Draper Days Parade that Ryler and Branden will be in with my parents and all their Harley friends. I am so excited to see cute ryler wave and throw candy. After that I will probably get some lunch and then head over to the salon for some pamper time. I am getting a manicure and pedicure done by my sweet friend Whitney! Horray! My nails and toes look terrible! Cant wait for that part the most!
This pregnancy has been really easy, although I am really excited for it to be over. I have been to the Dr every week for the past 4 weeks and my last appt was on Wednesday and he said I was dilated to a 1 1/2 and that I am 50% effaced. I haven't been anything til this last week-I have been 0 and 0 so at least there is a start right?
okay so there are just a few things that have been way harder than the first. It is a lot harder to bend over and pick up Rylers toys(he isn't 2 yet so he doesn't grasp picking up ALL of the toys-he gets too distracted) I am good to pick up a few things but after that I am exhausted! I have had this really weird pain in my right foot that made it hard to walk and thank goodness it went away but now I have the same problem with my left foot and its not going away so much. I don't know if Krew is sitting on a nerve or the weight gain is affecting it but it kills me to walk. I have felt great the whole time, I had a few days where I felt nauseous and that's really all. Sleeping has sometimes been a challenge for me but I really shouldn't complain. Some women never get the opportunity to have children, I know I am so blessed to be able to. I am grateful for our cute little family and all will work out just fine and we will be great!

Things I am anxious for:
1. To meet Krew
2. To see what he will look like...Ryler?
3. To know exactly when I will go into labor
4. To know if I will make it in time or will I be sent home because I went to early
5. To see the look on Ryler's face when he meets his new little brother
6. To hold Krews little hand and count his fingers and toes
7. To Thank my Heavenly Father for the greatest blessing
8. To have my mom in the room when Krew is born(she wasn't in with Ry)
9. To be a proud mom of 2
10. To hear that first little cry of a newborn
11. To try out my new stroller
12. To breastfeed, its the most amazing bond
13. To see how the delivery goes

I could go on forever! lets just say I'M ANXIOUS! We are planning to keep the blog updated as I am in labor so everyone stay tuned!

A Great Day....

2010-07-12T07:42:00.001-06:00

Yesterday is the day that my sweet Father In Law has been called to be the new Bishop for the University 49th ward. Its a student ward and it was so special to be at church with him and sustain him and to be there for his setting apart. He is a great man and will do so well in leading and guiding the single people of his ward. Heavenly Father has put a lot of trust in him to do this calling and he will welcome it with open arms and magnify his calling to the highest degree! Him and his sweet wife Jolene do so much for this ward, they attend every single activity the ward has. He was the 2nd counselor in the ward before he was called to be Bishop! They do great in their ward and I am so excited for the both of them!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Maternity Photo Shoot!

2010-07-10T21:26:00.007-06:00

Oh my did we have such a good time! My adorable husband and my sweet Sis in law Michelle took these pictures! We had a ball, we went to this really cool place I have heard of by many people and I had never been there before or seen what they have but we decided to try it out! They have so many places to take pictures! It's call Osmond Designs in Lehi and It was awesome! I really wanted lots of pictures with Ryler AND Branden but Ryler was not in the mood. It was probably 90 degrees outside and we were all sweating, Rylers cheeks were really red and he has sweat everywhere...poor guy. We ended up taking a lot of just me but it was so fun. I am way sad I didn't do this when I was pregnant with Ryler. Branden is so sweet, he kept saying over and over how pretty I looked and he knows how much I complain about feeling fat or whatever. It was so great to have Michelle take pics too because she would notice if my hair looked muffed or if I needed more lip gloss, she did awesome! Branden did such a great job at being a cheerleader husband! I just love embracing these times and soaking it up. I am so anxious to meet little Krew Boo I can hardly stand it! I will always remember taking these photos. It was my favorite when Ry Guy would kiss my belly. He does it really often at home and its so cute to see his little hands on my big belly. He is so precious and has had so much fun getting ready for the baby! Thanks so much Michelle and B for doing these pics!

Um...WHAT

2010-07-07T22:44:00.001-06:00

I'm sitting here blogging and I look over and I see this number and I'm not even thinking-okay people I'm close. I'm excited. I'm freaking out. I'm not nervous. Wait...I'm nervous. Ugh I don't know, life just happens too fast! Hopefully the next time I sit down to blog I will be blogging about our new little Krew!!!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Happy 4th!

2010-07-04T22:12:00.000-06:00

We had my parents and brother over for a BBQ on the 4th and it was lots of fun, we had TONS of food! You would have thought we were having a party of 20 but there was just us 5 adults and Ryler. We had hamburgers and my parents brought so many goodies-her famous dip and lots of desserts! We got to sit and chat and watch Ryler be himself(a total goofball.) Branden got this Ipod mount that plays music from my parents and Ryler was so interested in it. As you can tell he is just fascinated by any gadget!They also got him a alignment for his car since I got him new tires for father's day/his birthday. Horray! He got so much fun stuff from them and my brother-thanks Mom Dad and Justin!!!

Michelle and Nate came over after my parents had left and we got to hang out and light some sparklers and throw some pop-its. Okay the sparklers were awesome, Rylers favorite part was for Branden or Michelle to light them and he wanted to put them in the bucket of water! At least he didn't try to eat it or something!! The pop its were fun but half of them were duds and he couldn't really throw them hard enough to make them pop! We had a fun day-It was a beautiful day. I got to go to church while Branden stayed home with Ryler-he had a runny nose and a cough and I know those nursery leaders were mighty glad I kept him home so we didn't infect everyone else. I haven't been to church in a while by myself or without any kids. Its amazing how much more you get out of it. I just got to listen to peoples testimonies and I read my Patriarchal Blessing and I just really enjoyed the spirit and got to reflect on the holiday that we had!

STADIUM OF FIRE!

2010-07-03T21:59:00.000-06:00

My adorable mother in law bought us these shirts for the 4th. We get them almost every year. They are so fun, I have them from 2005 from being with his family. I saw the little swim trunks that ry guy is wearing at walmart and I couldn't resist. They were $5...too cute! I know its a swim suit but nobody would have known(except for everyone now because Im telling all) My dad actually took these pictures-who knew he was a photographer. A new profession for him maybe? We went to my parents to drop Ryler off to have a sleep over because Jolene got us tickets to the Stadium of Fire and we knew it would be a late night! So we dropped him off and he had fun with Gama and Papa.

We headed to one of our favorites(especially in July) TUCANOS!! When its your birthday you get a buy one get one free meal and we both had one for both of our birthdays. We went with Doug, Jolene and Michelle. We had such a good time chatting and having Jolene hook Michelle up with our waiter Braden. We really got to know this guy and it was the plot of the whole dinner. We laughed a lot and we also got to tell Branden what we love about him and once again mine was that he is such a good dad! Thanks Doug and Jolene for dinner! Now lets see if Braden calls Michelle(yea, Branden gave him her digits!)???

Isn't she beautiful

Awesome awesome fireworks-its probably been at least 2 years since I have seen any fireworks and these were awesome!

We had such a good time at the Stadium of Fire! all of the performers were amazing! We got to hear from the Osmond 2nd Generation and they were great! but Carrie Underwood was just phenomenal! I have seen her perform once before but this was mouth dropping. She has such an amazing voice! Thank you Jolene for waiting on hold for 75 minutes to get these tickets and for treating us to a night of fun! It was a night to remember!

37 1/2 Weeks

2010-07-02T21:29:00.000-06:00

I keep meaning to take pictures and I keep forgetting! People probably think I never get ready but I really do. Im just getting bigger and comfies are just wonderful right now!

Happy Birthday B!!

2010-07-02T21:27:00.002-06:00

Today we are celebrating Branden's 32nd Birthday! How funny that he is now 32 and I'm 23 for a few more weeks. We had such a fun day, we started it off by making this really yummy breakfast they are cinnamon pull aparts and they are so yummy. They take 8 hours to make but so worth it. The part that was so awesome about this birthday is that Madison got to be here for it. She made him a really cute card and we opened a few little things-we did a lot for fathers day so we combined birthday and fathers day. We made a picnic and went to our favorite pool-the American Fork Rec pool. We played in the sun for a few hours and then came home and took a nap. We all needed one the sun had worn us out! We got up and got ready and headed down to Salt Lake to get this:

B had sold his old Xbox Elite and got the new slim that has a bigger hard drive-he was so excited and after we left Best Buy we went to dinner at Red Robin and he held it on his lap the whole drive to the restaurant. He wanted to put it in the trunk while we were in the restaurant because he said it was like the new Ipone and Ipad-he said people would most definitely break into our car if they could see it. He was just like a little boy which is what I love most about him! We stopped at my moms to get something for madi and then had to say goodbye to her. We had tons of fun while she was here! We ended the day with shakes from Arctic Circle! Delish!!

2010-06-30T11:28:00.000-06:00

MONICA BRUIN

Monica Lynn Bruin 1960 ~ 2010 Monica Lynn Bruin passed away peacefully and lovingly surrounded by her beautiful family and children holding her hand until she passed. Angels took her home to her Heavenly Father where she is now at peace.Born to Anita Riet and James Wright August 7, 1960. Married to Craig Bruin, February 4, 1982 and had three beautiful children. Sealed in the Salt Lake Temple for 24 years, later divorced. She battled breast cancer for 19 years and never gave up. Her disease never got in her way and to us she is a miracle at hand. She was a fighter! Monica truly lived each moment and accomplished so many things in her 49 years. Successful entrepreneur who has owned Color My Nails Salon for 26 years and opened the first accredited Nail School in Utah, Color My Nails School of Nail Technology. She worked so hard at what she loved to do, and lived life to its fullest. This powerful and strong woman touched many lives through her years. Her children were the love of her life. She created a beautiful connection with each child, as well as her relationship with her siblings. This was a unique and beautiful bond, one that will be cherished. Her gift was the many hearts she touched. Monica had a special way with people and made them feel so very loved and welcome. She was a true inspiration to the people around her and her advice was held high as many of us will miss it. Monica was a true angel on this earth, and heaven is so very lucky to have her presence again. She was a faithful member of the LDS church and was looked up to and genuinely loved by everyone. Survived by her two daughters, Erica (Maxine Plewe), Mika (Jason Fiack), and son Ryan. Father of her children, Craig Bruin. Grandchildren Kaden and Raegan Plewe. Mother, Anita Riet, six sisters, four brothers, many nieces and nephews who loved and looked up to her so dearly in this life. Preceded in death by stepfather Joel Riet, and father James Wright. Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 12:00 noon at the Granite South Stake Center, 2126 E. Gyrfalcon Dr. (10000 So). Viewing will be Wednesday, June 30th from 6-8:00 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe South Valley, 1007 W. South Jordan Pkwy. (10600 S) and from 10:30 -11:30 prior to the services at the church on Thursday. Interment Murray City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please donate to Huntsman Cancer Research at www.huntsmancancer.org/howYouCanHelp.jsp Online condolences may be shared at www.jenkins-soffe.com "We love you up to the sky, down to the ground and all around."

"We are Family"

2010-06-28T08:24:00.000-06:00

To one of the greatest women I have ever known!

Last night around 12:30 Monica Bruin Passed away. She is the Owner of Color My Nails Salon and School of Nail Technology! She has fought Breast Cancer since the young age of 29 and passed away at the age of 49. She has fought this battle for 20 long years, having been in remission 3 times this last time around has taken her away from us. We will see her again, and thank goodness we have her beautiful children around to remind us of her. She is one person in my life that no matter what I have been able to talk to. I started working at the salon when I was 17 and at that young age needed some guidance on how to do things with business and life. She was always there and made my problems hers. She would help in any way she could. She has touched so many lives and I know she will be greatly missed. She is a one of a kind person.

Some fun memories of her:
-Her dancing around the salon singing "we are family"
-She was scheduling an appt at the salon for me and forgot to take a name for the appt. ha ha
-Her love for Brighton stuff. We would always get her stuff from there for her birthday and Christmas.
-Showing up downtown every year for the past 7 years in front of Brighton to "Race for the Cure"
-How beautiful she was.
-How she loved to get things accomplished. She was a worker...a hard one!

Monica I will see you again, I am grateful for the time we have had here on this earth! Play with little Krew up there and teach him a few things! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work for you and to know you! You have made a difference in everyones life that you have ever met. Heavenly Father will take care of your kids. They are very strong like you, Mika is your twin-she makes the same faces, says the same phrases and shines just like you did. I love you Monica there is never a day that I wont think about the difference that you have made in my life. I'm glad you are free, I'm glad you don't have to be in any more pain, I'm glad you don't have to deal with treatments anymore. I'm not glad your not here but know I will see you again! till we meet again....
love Mindy

Father's Day Evening

2010-06-20T21:41:00.001-06:00

Oh we had such a good time with Branden's family! We had a wonderful dinner and got to spend some good time together. We had delicious steaks on Doug's new grill and enjoyed some laughs(mostly Branden makes everyone laugh....except me) We have such a fun time opening gifts because we all go around the room saying something we love about the person and it is so fun to see what people love about Branden and Doug! We gave Doug some of his favorite movies-the first and third Bourne movies. He was really excited. Branden got this really sweet book that fits him and ryler to the T and a good book on tape about Father's Blessings! We took some great pictures outside too-I've decided that has to be our new tradition or else when do you take pictures with each side of the family every year? Branden had fun taking pictures with little Krew.

Doug you Rock! I love the person that you are and the testimony that you have. You are such an example to your family and I am so glad that you raised such good kids-especially a certain one that is a good daddy just like you. We absolutely love spending time with you...you make us laugh all the time too! I love the world that you live in. I wish I could visit it more often. Branden really looks up to you and wants to be just like you. Well actually his own words are "if I could be half of what my dad is..." Your a great dad and a great grandpa! Thank you for being you!

Father's Day Morning

2010-06-20T21:30:00.002-06:00

What a beautiful day this day was, it was really nice weather. My wonderful mom made the most amazing breakfast. Seriously....she made a buffet of food and it was so delicious! We decided to set up breakfast out on the patio and I love eating outside when its perfect weather. It is so nice to take the time to honor our dads and spend quality time with them. We went inside and did gifts and Justin and Branden got such cute aprons-as you can see in the photo! Ryler tried to be so helpful by helping my dad open his gifts. We gave him a 1/2 dozen of doughnuts from beyond glazed and he was so excited. By the end of the day he had eaten almost half of them. We took some really great pictures after, Ryler has turned out to be this little boy who likes to pose for pictures. Ryler got a new picnic table for father's day and he loved sitting at it with "papa:" Ryler has this new obsession with "papa" he wakes up and wants papa right away!

My dad is such an amazing person-he has taught me so much over the years. I remember as a little girl helping him "build" his Model A and his 69' Camaro in the garage(how much help can a little girl be, but I remember it as if I practically built it myself...some kids) My dad would drop anything to do something for anyone-even a random stranger. I have always looked up to my dad and I will forever. He is such an example of what a dad is and should be. I have always been able to talk to him and go to him for advice on anything. I love how my dad wouldn't be caught dead wearing pink he is a hardcore Harley dude! We call him the Mexican Snoopdog! ha ha he totally looks like him. Dad I love you, thanks for all you do and thanks for just being you!

Happy Father's Day B

2010-06-19T21:09:00.001-06:00

Wow my hubby was sure excited when I got home from work today...I took his car to work today and put two new tires on it, got the oil changed, a full tank of gas, washed and detailed it. Boy let me tell you how it needed it. His little car needed some T-L-C. He came to me yesterday and told me that he could see the thread on his tires-how often do people really check their tires? I don't but I know I will from now on. They were pretty sad and for Father's day I was already going to get his oil changed and wash and clean his car but since they were so bad I took it really early and stopped on my way to work and got 2 pretty new tires on it. He was so happy(maybe it was because I came home with a 1/2 dozen of doughnuts from Beyond Glazed.) I loved how excited he got about it. It made it all worth it. I also stuck a car washing kit in the car too so he can keep up on it from now on!

Hunny I love you and thank you so much for being such a great dad. Ryler just loves you and looks up to you in such a way that I will never forget. Madi just thinks you are the greatest and I love how much fun you are with them. They are so lucky to have you as their daddy and I'm so grateful that I get to be the lucky lady to have babies with you-little Krew boo will be one lucky little guy too. I love how you will get down on the ground and play like a 2 year old just like Ryler and laugh your guts out with him. I think I love it too because I don't have the energy to right now;) I love you lots-thanks for all you do as a daddy and a hubby!

Fun in the Sun

2010-06-18T21:20:00.002-06:00

We went to this new pool and we are in LOVE! It is really sad because we have to pay to go to this pool and we have one in our community that we can go to for free. This one is SO worth it. We plan on going a lot. Ryler didn't love it at first because of all the splashing water but I think it will grow on him! I stayed off to the side of the pool and mostly got a tan-actually a burn but it was still fun! I am just too huge and fat to chase Ryler around!

I Did It Myself

2010-06-16T23:32:00.000-06:00

Apparently when Im pregnant I decide to paint and sew! Last pregnancy I decided to be a super mom and make all of Rylers bedding-NOT THIS TIME. This time I decided to make everything but that! My favorite has been to make the carseat canopy's and they are SO SO easy! My sweet friend Katie is also having a baby and we are due the same week and she was mentioning how she is all set and ready for the baby but she just wanted one more thing, a carseat canopy. She had said that she looked in boutiques and that they were priced around $50 to purchase. I had just finished mine and LOVED it, I told her to buy the fabric and I would make her one, I had a little extra fabric so I made matching burp cloths too. She bought her fabric for $10 and we made an adorable canopy out of it and even had left overs. She is having a girl(if you couldn't tell from the colors of the fabric) and I love how it turned out. Way cuter than mine;) I also made a double sided nursing cover aka "hooter hider," wipes case and burp cloths. All of my stuff matches which I thought I would love and now I am having second thoughts. We just ordered a new stroller and I think I want to make another canopy cover to match the stroller. We'll see! I am just loving this sewing, I have figured out that it is good therapy for me! It is something I really enjoy, I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I am done. I have decided to make a seperate blog on doing things yourself! Watch for my unveiling of that:)

BLOG UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2010-06-16T22:29:00.000-06:00

Once again I started messing with things and now I wish I wouldn't have even touched them. I started playing with the blog designer and I've pretty much destroyed everything. Bare with me while I try to fix it!

Little Krew-Boo's Nursery

2010-06-16T21:07:00.000-06:00

I love this picture, We changed the whole room around from how it was when Ryler was in this room. Sadly I like this much better, I remember when we did Rylers nursery I loved that just as much as I love this. I made the "Krew" on the wall with receiving blankets I bought that match the bedding. I made the valance out of receiving blankets too! So easy, I love how you can just piece things together.

My favorite part of the whole room! I absolutely love how the wall turned out! Pretty easy too

Where I will spend much of my time being a 24 hour diner!

I LOVE how it all turned out! I cant wait to bring him home and put him in his room. Ryler loves to run into the nursery and say "wooowww" he grabs the little newborn diapers and says "oh tute" aka oh cute! We cant wait to meet you little Krew Boo!

33 Weeks

2010-06-06T22:47:00.000-06:00

Just giving the usual update. This picture was supposed to be 32 weeks but life got busy and we never took a picture

This picture is from around the same time with ryler. I was huge, just look at the size of my arm! yuck!

Fun Day Together

2010-06-05T23:05:00.000-06:00

We went to the Zoo and had some fun....I take it back, I think the zoo that we have here in Utah is terrible. There were hardly any animals out and we thought it would take us hours to get through but we were there for an hour and fifteen minutes. We packed a fun picnic to eat there and we were done by 10:15-way too early for lunch! We had fun being together though and thats all that matters. The first animal we saw was in the primates building and as you can tell it scared Ryler to tears. The gorilla was right in the window and we strolled Ry right over to him and it freaked him out a little. It was kinda scary lookin, so sad. He just cried and said "bye bye" so everytime we came up on something he didn't like he knew to just say "bye bye."

We saw the new baby elephant that is 9 months old "Zuri" she weighs around 750lbs and the mom weighs 7500lbs. Wow!

Ryler just kept wanting to hold my hand. It was so cute he kept saying "hand."

Sadly I think his favorite part was riding on the carousel, he just sat and watched it go around and around. He is so sweet. He didn't really smile all that much on it either he just watched how it worked and how it went up and down!

say "Cheese"

After the Zoo and a picnic at a park by our house we headed to the pool. It was our first time back this year and Ryler LOVED it. In fact he loved it so much he just runs and jumps in the water regardless if anyone is in there. We decided we have to invest in a life jacket!!! I sat and caught some rays because I dont have a swim suit-thats on the list of things to buy! We had so much fun as a family, we dont get to do it often enough.

Bye Bye Binkie

2010-06-05T22:30:00.000-06:00

We finally did it, we have been talking about it for a while and now the binkie is GONE!!!! On Monday night we decided that maybe we should take the "bintie" away, so I put Ryler to bed without it. Normally he goes and gets it in his usual place in his bed next to the rail. He runs in his room and yells "bintie" he only had it at night so I was hoping it wouldn't be that difficult. At first I decided not to say anything about the binkie and just put him to bed. Its really sad because sometimes he would wake up in the middle of the nap and pull up every blanket(he sleeps with about 8-10of them) and he looks for his binkie, he usually says "I dunno, why....stop it" It is so sad and so finally I decided to go in and let him know exactly where it was and that it was broken and that we cant have it anymore. He was sad of course, he only cried for a few minutes and it was heart wrenching. It brought me to tears, it was so sad to see that he wanted something so bad. When he would yell "bintie" I would say 'here it is" and hand him his blankie because those words sound so simillar. He stayed up that night talking for an hour and a half. It was at that moment that I remembered why I encouraged the binkie in the first place, he was such a talker when he was a baby that I gave him the binkie to quiet him down so he would fall asleep. Well now I couln't get him to stop, he finally fell asleep and the next morning the first thing he wanted was his binkie. Well I played it off again and pretended that he wanted his blankie. He did great for the most part, he took an okay nap that day and we haven't had one single problem since we took it away. I don't know what it is about my child that makes him so easy going because I am the furthest thing from that. He just does amazing with everything. The transition to his big boy bed was great and now this was too. I text my mom telling her that we took it away and she asked why and said that he wasn't even two yet, I explained that I thought it might be easier to do it now and that when we have krew and he has a binkie it might be harder. We have once again been sucessfull. Thank heavens, I was praying for it:) My little Ryler is amazing! I love you sweetheart!!

Just a little bit of me being, well...ME

2010-05-12T16:02:00.000-06:00

TA-DA!!!

I dont know if any of you remember last time I was pregnant about a month before I was due we(well I) decided that we should paint the garage? Well folks I've done it again! I decided to take on another painting project, why is it always paing? Do I like the smell? Do I like to get high off of the fumes? I don't know but here we are at it again. I have a funny story about this because I was looking on the internet about how to do striped walls and I found this picture and it is exactly how I wanted my wall to turn out. I tried sketching on a paper to make it look like the one I found and I am just too much of a perfectionist that I needed it to turn out exactly how I wanted. I decided to be a freak and search where the picture came from. It came from this blog titled "team bentley" a blogspot account. PERFECT, I can blogstalk them! Well I did! I put a post on this sweet lady's blog about how I would love to do my wall just like hers(although hers were pinks and brown) I left my phone number and asked if she could call me because I had a few questions. She then made a post on my blog about how there was a document that tells inch for inch how to do it. She asked for my email and said she would send it. I sent it over right away and wa-la, it was the most perfect instructions I could have ever asked for. It is color, number, picture coded so there is no way you could mess up! I had to alter the document a little so that I could make it fit on my wall that was 118'' instead of her 132'' wall! oh I love it. We actually go the nursery all set up but guess what?? Ryler's crib that we are using for Krew got Recalled! What?? That never happens, not to me anyway. We ordered a new crib and just received it and another miracle happened. NOT one of the pieces is scratched so much we are having them send us a new piece. I'll post pics fo the nursery when it is complete!

Mother's Day Part B

2010-05-09T16:44:00.001-06:00

Well the Mother's Day fun continues....we went to Branden's parents to celebrate Mother's day and my father in laws birthday! We had a really delicious dinner and played outside once again because the weather was still beautiful. We gave the mom's this really yummy sugar scrub for their hands, we made it ourselves and it was really cool. It was super easy and we made it smell lemony! His parents gave me a little care package to just take care of me! I loved the pictures that we took, they turned out so good. We had a fun time celebrating Doug's birthday too. We love getting together with our families.

It is often said that I really lucked out when it comes to my in laws but I really really did. My mom always makes comments about it because my mom never really had in laws or great ones at that and she tells me I've got what she always wanted. I have a great Mother in Law! We never have any hic ups or any problems, its always been easy. We lived with them for 5 months and to be honest sometimes we still wish we did, we had so much fun. We love getting together because we have a lot of fun! Thanks to Jolene she raised a great son to be a great husband!! She does so much for us and is always there if we need her. She has a great spirit about her and is a great example! We love you Jolene!!!

Happy Birthday Doug! It is so fun to celebrate your 39th birthday, so funny it feels like we celebrated this one last year....its okay next year we can do it again!!