Three, Four, or Five??

So, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday visiting my dear college-friend Nicole, who was visiting her mom in Bonita Springs, FL. We went to the beach both days and the boys loved it. What Kalen loved the most was Nicole's little 6 month old baby girl, Taylor. The whole time we were there, he kept saying how much he wished he had a "cute little baby sister." Then, on the way home he professed that he thought Heavenly Father wants us to have FOUR kids in our family. I laughed, because as most of you know, Brian and I have agreed that three sounds just about perfect and we think we're done reproducing :-)

When we got home, I told Brian what Kalen had claimed. In an attempt to sway his thoughts, we asked Kalen, "What if mommy has a fourth baby, and Heavenly Father decides He wants it to be another boy AGAIN--we can't just choose to have a sister." Kalen looked so sweet as he thought for about 3 seconds, then he said, "Well, if that happened, I'd be happy, but then I think Heavenly Father would want us to have FIVE kids!"

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting

My brother Thomas is going on a mission...meaning he'll be gone for two years. So, before he leaves, he came to visit us in FL for three weeks and has been helping to watch the boys when Brian and I are both at work. Today when I got home, the boys were so excited because they were making a music video with Uncle Thomas. I thought it was awesome---so I wanted to put it on my blog. Enjoy!!

One big umbrella

Normally my blogging is dedicated to my boys...but at our family reunion last week my cousin snapped this picture because it was funny--however, I think it's really symbolic. Below you'll see my little brother, who actually isn't that little anymore. He's home from his first year of college and awaiting a mission call any week now. Behind him is my dad. On this particular day, it had been quite rainy, so there were many umbrellas around--Thomas thought it would be funny to use Kalen's little miniature umbrella since he stands at 6'9" tall. And it was funny, then dad covered him with my mom's gigantic umbrella (no normal sized umbrella's in my family, no).

Anyways, that's when I thought about this:

Isn't it funny that when we are little we think we know it all, we think we can fend for ourselves, and we think we can do just fine without any help from mom or dad. As we grow older, we become more independent, and I'm not sure when it happens, but there comes a time when we know we can do it ourself. Depending on the person, maybe it's when they move out, go away to college, get married, begin a career, or whatever...but how often do we stop to realize how much of an impact our parents still have on us--how we're not really ever alone--how dad is always there "holding the umbrella over us", just in case ours doesn't work.

I know this is just all a bunch of mumbo-jumbo coming out, but basically, I wanted to write to say that I am so grateful to know my dad's always watching out for me (and my family). He was when I was little, he was when I was a teen-ager, and he still is--he's got that umbrella, that I may not notice because it's not physically touching me at all, but he's got it right over my little family, just in case we need some help--so that if I dare put mine down, he'll still be there. How often do we realize how much our parents love us? I know sometimes I take it for granted...and I have an amazing father--one who is each of his children's best friend. --How did he do that? I don't even know...but I want to be my little boys' best friend as they grow. I do know he was always there to listen, to give advice, to give discipline when needed, and to be an example of charity for anyone less fortunate. My siblings and I all recognize and agree on that.

I know you read this on occasion dad, so I just wanted to say thanks, for having your gigantic umbrella, right from the start.

Isn't it funny how a simple picture can strike up so many thoughts and feelings?

And, here's a picture of my dad's family taken at the Reunion (none of us were super duper groomed for pictures--we were camping in the middle of woods).

Left to right: Brandon and Ashley (my sister and her new husband), 19 yr old Brother Thomas, Mom, 18 yr old brother Chris (in an awfully filthy shirt), Dad, and then us: Kalen-Me-Trace (top to bottom), Brady, and Brian.

Wedding day and funny story

First, a quick funny story: My friend Kacy watched the boys the other day and told me that during lunch Kalen was sitting at the table and announced that his dad speaks "Pork-a-cheese." She knew he meant "Portuguese," but it was so cute she smiled and asked him to repeat it. He was a little embarrassed and said, "I don't really know how to say it, but it ends in cheese." Isn't that cute?

Then the wedding things: I have some pictures from Ashley's wedding last month. My little guys were the ring bearer's and they were the cutest little ring bearer's I've ever seen. It was hilarious because they really had no idea why they were walking down the isle, but they made it to the end, and we even got a few laughs after Brady ran into the banister at the front.

This is a family photo taken after the reception

Here's the happy couple leaving after the wedding--they didn't let the rain ruin their day at all!

Me (the matron of honor) and my lil' sis. (not the best pic of me...)

Bride and ring boys--didn't Ash look beautiful?

Walking down the isle...

Brady, right before he ran into the banister at the end of the isle

This is a cute candid of Brady at the reception

I love this shot of Brian and Brady--getting the bubbles ready for the big exit

An amazing shot of Kalen, blowing bubbles for the bride and groom's exit

Just another picture I liked of Brady outside the church

Sorry, this one is out of order, but it's Kalen showing off the Bride's ring

Despite the rain, it was truly an amazing and beautiful day--and thank you Sarah for these pics!

Yay! Family Pictures

We got together with some great friends Sunday evening and had family photos taken. I wanted to show them off--I think they are just so fun and awesome--casual and not all "stuffy." We were there with 5 couples, and everyone got some great great shots...I think we had the least amount of good ones, but we were the only ones with three kids...have you ever tried a family photo with three kids aged 4 and under? ENJOY!! (ps, these were taken by Jon Oliver, for those of you who know him).

This was actually the last one taken--after trying for 30-45 minutes to get these guys to pose and smile in the others

This was our favority family picture out of all of them

Here's the winner out of the Kalen photos


This was an attempt to get mom and boys, and I ended up liking it a lot because it reminded me of my daily activities

Here's the best of Brady

And this was a great one of dad and boys

This would have been my favorite family photo, but Brady decided to act like a monkey and pick 'bugs' out of Kalen's hair as the flash went off

Aren't they adorable? Our only regret is that we somehow missed getting one of just me and Brian...that's so sad, but Sarah says there will be many more opportunities (she and Jon need to practice on someone) :-)

Rain Puddles and Brothers

Let's just say I've been inspired by my sisters-in-law. They are photography experts-in-training, and they make beautiful pictures. I wish I had an eye for it, really, and one day I hope to learn from them, but it's not a huge-priority right now. However, on this particular day I said to myself (as I was sitting on an upside down bucket watching my boys play in the puddles), "That would probably be a pretty cool picture." I ran inside, grabbed my camera and came up with these two shots, and I'm pretty proud of them...taken by me...the first one un-edited. The second one came out brighter than I had hoped, so on my dad's recommendation, we turned it black and white, but highlighted Brady's beautiful red hair.

I think they bring out the simplicity of life: children, with no worries or cares, doing what they do best--playing. Kalen and Brady love splashing in puddles...and sometimes, despite my inward mom-ness wanting to say, "No, guys, don't get dirty/don't get wet," sometimes I feel that I should just let them be boys and get dirty. You know? Those are the simple, sweet times that always turn out to be the ones I enjoy the most.

Yay for Brian

See the letter we got in the mail...

For those of you who may not be able to read it, it is a letter congratulating Brian for getting higher than a 3.5 GPA his first semester! He loves his schooling, and it makes me so happy that he's found a passion; he knows what he wants to do in the future, and it's going to be a job he'll really enjoy waking up for. He needs that, otherwise he'd be too tempted to stay home with his amazing and beautiful wife :-) I'm so proud of him.