May 28, 2009
May 27, 2009
Boating
We spent Memorial Day boating with our friends the Johnsons. It was SO much fun. We hadn't been for a while and Jace was super excited. Brooke was a little fussy because we passed up nap time but had a fun time too. They let us take the kids out on the tube and Jace was smiling and laughing the whole time . . Brooke actually fell asleep - ON THE TUBE. I thought it was pretty funny that she zonked right out in the middle of the water. We did tubing & wake boarding and just enjoyed the sunshine. It was gorgeous that day. Here are some pictures from our trip:
The whole family.
Mommy, Daddy, Jace & Brooke.
Big smiles from Jace riding on the "big boat".
The boys getting ready to tube.
Scott, Gavin, Jace, Craig
All of us on the tube. Brooke was so comfy she fell asleep.
Heather, Jace, Brooke, Craig
Scott & Craig on the left and Genevieve & Heather on the right
I think that Gary went a little easier on the girls . . as you can see.
Craig & I wake boarding . . I'm not looking too graceful here.
What a hottie!
Craig getting back on the boat after wake boarding.
Brooke finally woke up. We made a little bed for her in the boat and her life jacket kept her from rolling.
We took some pretty rapid turns when we were trying to get Scott & Craig off tube.
I thought this was cute.
Jace & Gavin loved just being in the boat and going fast.
Back on Land
Brooke couldn't be happier with a cookie in each hand.
Scott, Brooke, Genevieve.
We all had such a good time. After boating we went over to their place for a barbecue. The kids played in the back yard and we were able to just visit. . .good times . .good times. Thanks Scott & Genevieve for an awesome day!
The whole family.
Mommy, Daddy, Jace & Brooke.Big smiles from Jace riding on the "big boat".
The boys getting ready to tube.
Scott, Gavin, Jace, CraigAll of us on the tube. Brooke was so comfy she fell asleep.
Heather, Jace, Brooke, CraigScott & Craig on the left and Genevieve & Heather on the right
I think that Gary went a little easier on the girls . . as you can see.Craig & I wake boarding . . I'm not looking too graceful here.
What a hottie!
Craig getting back on the boat after wake boarding.Brooke finally woke up. We made a little bed for her in the boat and her life jacket kept her from rolling.
We took some pretty rapid turns when we were trying to get Scott & Craig off tube.I thought this was cute.
Jace & Gavin loved just being in the boat and going fast.Back on Land
Brooke couldn't be happier with a cookie in each hand.
Scott, Brooke, Genevieve.We all had such a good time. After boating we went over to their place for a barbecue. The kids played in the back yard and we were able to just visit. . .good times . .good times. Thanks Scott & Genevieve for an awesome day!
My Crazy Kids
Here are some random pictures and stories about the kids happenings lately.
Brooke has become a wanna be nudist lately. I think it's more of a game and it was a little funny at first but now . . .not so much. She is constantly taking her clothes off all over the place and she can get out of ANYTHING. It's the worst at night because before she goes to bed she takes her jammies and diaper off, usually wets herself and her sheets then cries until we come and change her. Her newest trick is taking everything off and throwing everything she possibly can out of the crib at bedtime in protest . . . her blanket, baby pooh bear, pajamas, diaper, crib sheet and padding. . . you get the point. We end up going in there after we hear "Hep momma . . cowd cowd" She's freezing because she naked and sitting on a plastic coated uncomfortable crib mattress. This is beginning to drive me CRAZY. I'm sick of having to redress her over and over again. I have tried everything. The only thing that I have found that works is putting her in pajamas that zip up and have the cross over button at the top that covers the zipper. However, these pajamas are out of stock everywhere because they're winter pajamas and they are pretty hot at night for her and to boot this morning when Craig went to get her out of bed she had figured out how to undo the button at the top and I already know that she can get the zipper down after that. I'm totally annoyed that I have to change her into pajamas before her nap time too so they stay on her. Does anyone know where they sell baby straight jackets? J/K . . but what am I to do. I am SICK of cleaning up peeper puddles because she won't keep a diaper on. I suppose it's time to try potty training. Does anyone have any tips for me that has gone through this with a child. This is new to me . . Jace never did the I need to be naked all the time thing. . . . HELP.
I do have a funny story about Brooke though. The other day I put her down for a nap and she still had a bit of brownie dessert in her mouth that she must have been saving. Anyhow, she was spent so she went right to sleep and drooled on her sheets. I would have changed the sheets that night before bedtime but ALL of her other sheets were in the dirty clothes pile on account of her stripping and peeing on them. She didn't seem bugged by the little brown spot when she went down to bed but in the middle of the night I hear "HEP HEP . . . MOMMA HEP" Hmmm I figured she had disrobed again but when I went in her room she was standing at the opposite corner of her crib as far away from the brown spot as possible. She was pointing at it petrified and said " HEP momma . .es a bug, es a bug. Bita bug en a kib" translation . . mommy help there is a biter bug in my crib. She was so scared of the little brownie spot. I snuggled her for a bit and changed her crib with freshly cleaned sheets right out of the dryer. She was so happy I saved her from the little brown biter bug. The next day she was totally a mommy's girl (which is not the norm) I loved every second of it. I was her hero and daddy was jealous.
On to another subject. The kids have been trying to dress themselves lately. Jace usually does a good job but last week after he wore his Iron Man costume 4 days in a row I hid it in the washing machine. This is what happens when Brooke tries to dress herself. I put the onesie one and she added the hula skirt and Jace's batman sandals.
Jace and Brooke have become the best of friends. I mean ,yes, Jace still beats up on her from time to time but I hear them laughing and playing together all the time. Just this morning I found them on the stairs sneakily sharing a bag a doritos before breakfast time. It was so cute . . they just kept hugging and sharing chips then laughing hysterically. And Jace is always there to give her a hug when Brooke gets hurt. Such a good big brother (most of the time).
So even though Brooke's streaking is driving me crazy, I just have to look at her cute little mug and I can't stay mad too long. She really is pretty sweet.
I hope I'm not the only one with crazy little stinkers for kids. :)
Brooke has become a wanna be nudist lately. I think it's more of a game and it was a little funny at first but now . . .not so much. She is constantly taking her clothes off all over the place and she can get out of ANYTHING. It's the worst at night because before she goes to bed she takes her jammies and diaper off, usually wets herself and her sheets then cries until we come and change her. Her newest trick is taking everything off and throwing everything she possibly can out of the crib at bedtime in protest . . . her blanket, baby pooh bear, pajamas, diaper, crib sheet and padding. . . you get the point. We end up going in there after we hear "Hep momma . . cowd cowd" She's freezing because she naked and sitting on a plastic coated uncomfortable crib mattress. This is beginning to drive me CRAZY. I'm sick of having to redress her over and over again. I have tried everything. The only thing that I have found that works is putting her in pajamas that zip up and have the cross over button at the top that covers the zipper. However, these pajamas are out of stock everywhere because they're winter pajamas and they are pretty hot at night for her and to boot this morning when Craig went to get her out of bed she had figured out how to undo the button at the top and I already know that she can get the zipper down after that. I'm totally annoyed that I have to change her into pajamas before her nap time too so they stay on her. Does anyone know where they sell baby straight jackets? J/K . . but what am I to do. I am SICK of cleaning up peeper puddles because she won't keep a diaper on. I suppose it's time to try potty training. Does anyone have any tips for me that has gone through this with a child. This is new to me . . Jace never did the I need to be naked all the time thing. . . . HELP.
I do have a funny story about Brooke though. The other day I put her down for a nap and she still had a bit of brownie dessert in her mouth that she must have been saving. Anyhow, she was spent so she went right to sleep and drooled on her sheets. I would have changed the sheets that night before bedtime but ALL of her other sheets were in the dirty clothes pile on account of her stripping and peeing on them. She didn't seem bugged by the little brown spot when she went down to bed but in the middle of the night I hear "HEP HEP . . . MOMMA HEP" Hmmm I figured she had disrobed again but when I went in her room she was standing at the opposite corner of her crib as far away from the brown spot as possible. She was pointing at it petrified and said " HEP momma . .es a bug, es a bug. Bita bug en a kib" translation . . mommy help there is a biter bug in my crib. She was so scared of the little brownie spot. I snuggled her for a bit and changed her crib with freshly cleaned sheets right out of the dryer. She was so happy I saved her from the little brown biter bug. The next day she was totally a mommy's girl (which is not the norm) I loved every second of it. I was her hero and daddy was jealous.
On to another subject. The kids have been trying to dress themselves lately. Jace usually does a good job but last week after he wore his Iron Man costume 4 days in a row I hid it in the washing machine. This is what happens when Brooke tries to dress herself. I put the onesie one and she added the hula skirt and Jace's batman sandals.
Jace and Brooke have become the best of friends. I mean ,yes, Jace still beats up on her from time to time but I hear them laughing and playing together all the time. Just this morning I found them on the stairs sneakily sharing a bag a doritos before breakfast time. It was so cute . . they just kept hugging and sharing chips then laughing hysterically. And Jace is always there to give her a hug when Brooke gets hurt. Such a good big brother (most of the time).
So even though Brooke's streaking is driving me crazy, I just have to look at her cute little mug and I can't stay mad too long. She really is pretty sweet.
I hope I'm not the only one with crazy little stinkers for kids. :)
May 14, 2009
The Guy I Love
HUSBAND TAG: CRAIG M. BRAMMER
Here is Craig striking a pose. This is a very rare occurrence. I LOVE taking pictures and I'll just say that it totally bugs Craig that I always have the camera in tow so I don't get many willing shots of him.
I thought that since we celebrated Craig's 29th birthday last week I would do a post about him.
HUSBAND TAG
1. Where we met - We met at the Dixie South Apartments at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah. He lived in the apartment above mine and kept finding excuses to come down and see me. . .I didn't mind too much since he was the cute older guy.
2. Our First Date - I don't know if it was technically a date but one of the times he was hanging out at our place I asked if he wanted to come over and watch the BYU football game with me. Craig is a HUGE BYU football fan. It worked out great. He thought I was a BYU football fan and I got to cuddle with him all evening. The game was so boring I fell asleep but after that we started hanging out together all the time.
3. How long did we date before we were married? We started dating in September of 2002 and got married in June of 2003 . . . . so 9 months.
4. How long have we been Hitched? - We've been happily married for almost 6 years.
5. Favorite Feature - His eyes. He has the most beautiful eyes. They are green and brown. At first glance they look brown but if you look at them closely you see that there is a small inner ring of brown and then it spreads out to be mostly green. I could spend a whole day gazing into his eyes and be in heaven.
6. Favorite Quality - Sense of Humor. Craig is constantly cracking jokes. Most of them which are funny although sometimes I find he and Jace cracking up over 3 yr. old humor. Jace think poop is the funniest word out there and I find Craig & Jace joking about toots as well. In this area I don't know if he will ever grow up.
7. His nickname for me - Babe, Honey, Sweetheart.
8. His Favorite Color - Blue. BYU colors of course. He's superstitious too. During rivalry week between BYU & U of U he refuses to wear the color red all week. He's really silly sometimes.
9. His Favorite Sport - To watch, college football, JAZZ basketball,& the baseball playoffs. To play, baseball, skiing, golf, basketball, and flag football. He likes most sports ,although, he doesn't consider ice skating, gymnastics, or dancing a real sport.
10. Who Said I Love You first - He said it first. I was really shocked too because not to long before that he had revealed to me and my roommates that he had never told a girl he loved her. I felt very special and told him I loved him too right back.
11. Our First Kiss when and where - Our first kiss was in my apartment at Dixie College at like 2:00 in the morning. I was a little shocked when he slipped me the tongue. . .that devil. We were night owls. I don't think I could stay up that late now if I tried. I must be getting old.
12. Favorite couple thing to do - We enjoy playing sports together, traveling & exploring new places, eating out, cooking together, walking, talking, watching our favorite shows, reading, and just being close to each other.
13. His Hidden Talent - Trivia games. Sports trivia the most but really any useless trivia and he's golden. He remembers the most random things - photographic memory.
14. His Favorite Music - Rock or Alternative. He used to listen to a lot of Rap but not really anymore. I hate rap music. His favorite band is Aerosmith.
15. What I admire most about him - His intelligence and motivation. He is constantly trying to learn more about something new. . .expanding his knowledge. We both try to read together before bed and I find it interesting that while I'm reading a Nicholas Sparks novel he is reading 3 biographies at a time on Gordon B. Hinkley, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill. There are so many things that he wants to do. He's very ambitious and is well on his way to moving mountains.
16. His favorite pastimes - Playing/watching sports, reading, studying, eating out, watching new movies, using his new barbecue, and chasing the kids around the house. The kids favorite games with Craig are Tickle Monster and The Claw ( the same as in the movie Liar Liar). He gets the claw out and they run screaming down the hall . .well, Brooke is usually waddling at a fast pace.
17. Will he read this? - Maybe
I would like to tag Genevieve Johnson, Heather Klain, Becky Olsen, Melinda Cox, Kimberly Latham, Sarah & Diana Heder, Carin Larsen and anyone else that wants to do this tag.
Here is Craig striking a pose. This is a very rare occurrence. I LOVE taking pictures and I'll just say that it totally bugs Craig that I always have the camera in tow so I don't get many willing shots of him.
I thought that since we celebrated Craig's 29th birthday last week I would do a post about him.
HUSBAND TAG
1. Where we met - We met at the Dixie South Apartments at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah. He lived in the apartment above mine and kept finding excuses to come down and see me. . .I didn't mind too much since he was the cute older guy.
2. Our First Date - I don't know if it was technically a date but one of the times he was hanging out at our place I asked if he wanted to come over and watch the BYU football game with me. Craig is a HUGE BYU football fan. It worked out great. He thought I was a BYU football fan and I got to cuddle with him all evening. The game was so boring I fell asleep but after that we started hanging out together all the time.
3. How long did we date before we were married? We started dating in September of 2002 and got married in June of 2003 . . . . so 9 months.
4. How long have we been Hitched? - We've been happily married for almost 6 years.
5. Favorite Feature - His eyes. He has the most beautiful eyes. They are green and brown. At first glance they look brown but if you look at them closely you see that there is a small inner ring of brown and then it spreads out to be mostly green. I could spend a whole day gazing into his eyes and be in heaven.
6. Favorite Quality - Sense of Humor. Craig is constantly cracking jokes. Most of them which are funny although sometimes I find he and Jace cracking up over 3 yr. old humor. Jace think poop is the funniest word out there and I find Craig & Jace joking about toots as well. In this area I don't know if he will ever grow up.
7. His nickname for me - Babe, Honey, Sweetheart.
8. His Favorite Color - Blue. BYU colors of course. He's superstitious too. During rivalry week between BYU & U of U he refuses to wear the color red all week. He's really silly sometimes.
9. His Favorite Sport - To watch, college football, JAZZ basketball,& the baseball playoffs. To play, baseball, skiing, golf, basketball, and flag football. He likes most sports ,although, he doesn't consider ice skating, gymnastics, or dancing a real sport.
10. Who Said I Love You first - He said it first. I was really shocked too because not to long before that he had revealed to me and my roommates that he had never told a girl he loved her. I felt very special and told him I loved him too right back.
11. Our First Kiss when and where - Our first kiss was in my apartment at Dixie College at like 2:00 in the morning. I was a little shocked when he slipped me the tongue. . .that devil. We were night owls. I don't think I could stay up that late now if I tried. I must be getting old.
12. Favorite couple thing to do - We enjoy playing sports together, traveling & exploring new places, eating out, cooking together, walking, talking, watching our favorite shows, reading, and just being close to each other.
13. His Hidden Talent - Trivia games. Sports trivia the most but really any useless trivia and he's golden. He remembers the most random things - photographic memory.
14. His Favorite Music - Rock or Alternative. He used to listen to a lot of Rap but not really anymore. I hate rap music. His favorite band is Aerosmith.
15. What I admire most about him - His intelligence and motivation. He is constantly trying to learn more about something new. . .expanding his knowledge. We both try to read together before bed and I find it interesting that while I'm reading a Nicholas Sparks novel he is reading 3 biographies at a time on Gordon B. Hinkley, Abraham Lincoln, and Winston Churchill. There are so many things that he wants to do. He's very ambitious and is well on his way to moving mountains.
16. His favorite pastimes - Playing/watching sports, reading, studying, eating out, watching new movies, using his new barbecue, and chasing the kids around the house. The kids favorite games with Craig are Tickle Monster and The Claw ( the same as in the movie Liar Liar). He gets the claw out and they run screaming down the hall . .well, Brooke is usually waddling at a fast pace.
17. Will he read this? - Maybe
I would like to tag Genevieve Johnson, Heather Klain, Becky Olsen, Melinda Cox, Kimberly Latham, Sarah & Diana Heder, Carin Larsen and anyone else that wants to do this tag.
May 6, 2009
Portland, OR Temple
We visited the Portland, OR Temple grounds last Sunday and they were absolutely beautiful. We drove out there and against my better judgement I decided to not bring my camera. Of course, once we got there and saw all that all the trees were blossoming I was heartbroken that I didn't bring it. We walked around the grounds just amazed by their beauty. The kids had so much fun being outside and even they seemed to appreciate the beauty of it all too. Brooke wanted to show me all the flowers and Jace loved the reflection pool. Well, on the way home Craig could tell I was feeling sorry for myself so he said we were going home to eat lunch then we could come back so I could take some pictures. I was SO happy! I love taking pictures. We ate lunch and drove back but on the way the clouds swarmed above us and it started to rain. We continued on and when we arrived back at the temple there was miraculously a break in the clouds. Craig took a nap in the car for the first part and I just let the kids play while I photographed them. They both loved the blossoms. . .Brooke called them "pacoewns" = popcorns. They both would gather huge handfuls and armfuls of blossoms that had collected on the ground and throw them in the air. It was bliss for me. Craig came and found us and I asked a stranger to take a family picture of us. We had a hard time getting Jace to stay close for it though. He kept playing in the reflection pool and was completely distracted. Once he accidentally stepped one step to far in it so one of his legs was completely wet. We had a wonderful time and as if on cue just as we were finishing it started to downpour. We ran through the rain to the car. We all had such a good time! I love the temple. It is so beautiful and there is always a feeling of peace there. I think the pictures turned out really fun . . .hopefully you do too!
Apr 15, 2009
April Showers
Spring is here and in full bloom! We have been enjoying all the fragrant blossoming trees, blooming flowers, and greenery just popping up all over the place. Jace helped me plant these spring daffodil and tulip bulbs a few months back. I told him they're not for picking but he forgot. They look pretty inside too though.
Here is Brooke checking out the flowers in the front yard . .
. . .we try to not let her get too close because she likes to pluck the petals off.Brooke's hair is SLOWLY getting longer. I managed to get a single ponytail in today. . .
. .on occasion two tiny piggy tails. They don't last very long though. She likes to pull them out. Along with the flowers we get the rain too. Lots of it!
Jace still enjoys being outside though. . .he just puts on his slicker and has a great time. Look he found a ladybug! He also likes using his double shooting bubble/water gun.
Unfortunately, it got taken away because it's not aloud in the house and on more then one occasion I have found my little Brookie soaked and Jace's hand on the trigger. 
Well, we hope you all had a wonderful Easter!I didn't get any pictures of the kids in their Easter Sunday clothes . .we rushed off to a wonderful Easter dinner with some of Craig's family in Oregon and Brooke's dress was itchy and her nursery leaders said she was trying to disrobe the entire time. She was ready to take her dress off the second we got home. This picture of the kids is right before the Easter Egg hunt at the clubhouse on Sat. morning. I tried to post a video of it on here but it's not working . . maybe later. It was pretty funny. Jace got the hang of it and got lots of eggs but Brooke quickly grabbed 2 eggs and just wanted to stop after that and eat the candy inside. She threw a tantrum until Craig gave her a piece of candy . . . then the crying magically stopped. The little stink bug. Anyways, happy April everyone!
Apr 2, 2009
From Cute Country to Warm Tuscan
MY HOUSE MAKEOVER
Okay . . so since I got married back in 2003 the only piece of NEW furniture that I have purchased is a crib set when we found out we were expecting Jace and he is 3 1/2 yrs old now. I have been using hand me down everything for a VERY long time. However, when I was visiting family back in Utah I found this painting that I fell in love with and decided to redo my whole downstairs around it (Kitchen,Living Room,Dining Room). Now, we still couldn't really afford new furniture but I gave my downstairs a whole new look for under $300.00. I'm so proud of myself and I LOVE it! From Cute Country to Warm Tuscan!
Here is my living room before:
And After:
Please disregard the ghetto entertainment center/ T.V. Hopefully that will be remedied by next Christmas.
Again, Before:
And After:
Kitchen Before:
Kitchen After:I mostly just redid the top shelves . .click on the photo for a closer look . . .
Dining Room Before:
Dining Room After:
YEAH FOR MAKEOVERS!!
From slipcovers for the couches, to EXTREME bargain shopping, to repainting old things I completely redid my downstairs for a resonable price . . .I'm very excited about it . . .what do you think?
Okay . . so since I got married back in 2003 the only piece of NEW furniture that I have purchased is a crib set when we found out we were expecting Jace and he is 3 1/2 yrs old now. I have been using hand me down everything for a VERY long time. However, when I was visiting family back in Utah I found this painting that I fell in love with and decided to redo my whole downstairs around it (Kitchen,Living Room,Dining Room). Now, we still couldn't really afford new furniture but I gave my downstairs a whole new look for under $300.00. I'm so proud of myself and I LOVE it! From Cute Country to Warm Tuscan!Here is my living room before:
And After:
Please disregard the ghetto entertainment center/ T.V. Hopefully that will be remedied by next Christmas.
Again, Before:
And After:
Kitchen Before:
Kitchen After:I mostly just redid the top shelves . .click on the photo for a closer look . . .
Dining Room Before:
Dining Room After:
YEAH FOR MAKEOVERS!!
From slipcovers for the couches, to EXTREME bargain shopping, to repainting old things I completely redid my downstairs for a resonable price . . .I'm very excited about it . . .what do you think?
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