It's just begun

Now Christmas season is in full swing! As usual I'm having mixed feelings, but I'm more excited this year than in years past. Usually I'm thinking about everything that I need to do, but at this moment I'm feeling excited about the gifts that I'll be giving even though I haven't started on them yet, lol.

I am IN LOVE with my camera even though I know very little about how to use it. I'm just amazed at how clear the pictures are compared to my point-and-shoot. Anyway even though my father-in-law was making me feel guilty about getting my Christmas early I have no regrets and will happily be taking pictures Christmas morning :) Here are a few of my first and favorite pics of the girls (click on the pic to get the full version. For some reason I've changed the sizes three times and they're still getting chopped. Sorry about that).



As you can see Grace is in a fun phase of your life where she won't just smile when I whip out the camera :) Last weekend I finally painted the playroom (which is the first room that you walk into when you enter the house). I thought that I was going pretty conservative with the shade of blue that I picked out. After the first coat went up I realized that I hadn't, lol. It's pretty bright and I love it. I don't know that Corey would agree, but it's perfect for a happy place space. Here's a little wall art that I put up the other day.



I've found that I have a hard time focusing on one thing for too long. I love to create things and I have a whole list in my head and on my computer of things that I want to try. The other day I started thinking about crocheting. My roommates in college taught me how to first crochet. I made a blanket for my parents and that was the first and last thing that I made. That was about nine years ago so I didn't really remember much. I went to Etsy and found a cute pattern. Then I asked a girl in my ward to help me get started. The next day while we drove to my brother's for Thanksgiving I made this:



This is my sweet niece Lizzy modeling it! I made it for Abby, but it was too tight so I'll have to try again with a bigger hook. Last night while I was staying up too late I made this hat for Kate:



Needless to say I'm super excited about crocheting now! I have my eye on a few more patterns here and here. Oh and aren't these so cute?

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It's always fun when we get to hang out at my brother's house. The kids get along great, I get some good girl talk time in, and Corey made himself right at home downstairs with the Wii. I put Simon, Isaac, and Grace in charge of making the placecards while we got dinner/lunch going. They really created some cute cards and really took the job seriously. I loved it.



Corey had his first Black Friday sale today at Ogden's. He advertised like crazy in the newspaper and on the radio. The deal was, spend $999 on flooring and get a Wii for $99. There were actually a handful of people lined up when they opened and all the Wiis were long gone by the end of the day. Definitely a success which is great.

Instead of doing any shopping I stayed home and broke out the Christmas stuff! I was surprised at how few things we have. I even went downstairs again to make sure I didn't forget any boxes, lol. That's okay though. I broke out the crafty junk and made a little garland.



It's been a long time since we've had a little crawler at Christmas time. Today I realized that we won't be able to decorate the bottom of the Christmas tree. Kate is super quick and so interested in anything new. Love it. Here's her starting to help me earlier. Have you have a wonderful and restful weekend!

I Can't Believe...

That November is almost over!!! Wasn't Halloween just last week? Time is really flying which I can't decide if that's a good thing or not. That means that Christmas really is just around the corner. Let's take a step back before I start with Christmas though. I have yet to post about Halloween and I had some pretty cute little girls to hang out with that day.



A few friends and I headed downtown for a little trick-or-treating on Main Street which was fun. That night we had a Brady family party which was a lot of fun. Just throw us all in a room with games and food and we're good to go. I really had no idea what to dress up as so I went with pajamas and curlers (very comfortable I might add). Corey was being pretty grouchy about dressing up and then a few hours before we left he did a complete flip and knew exactly who he wanted to be. He even shaved his head for the occasion :)

A few Saturdays ago I finally decided break out the rake. You couldn't even see our grass it was so bad. I didn't realize how big of a job that it would be, lol. I got most of it raked into piles around the house when Kate finally decided that she was not happy outside anymore. So the piles sat for a few days (I had good intentions to finish it up) and one day half of my yard was totally cleared off. A few days later the whole yard was totally leaf free. All I can say is I have some awesome neighbors. Two of my neighbors are retired and it seems always peeking out the window for someone to help. Love it.



It's been two weekends ago now since Chuck and Nicole got married. It really was a fun day and very HOT PINK! The girls looked so cute in their dresses and everyone else looked great in pink, black, and silver. It was pretty chilly, but a beautiful sunny day. Here are a few pics from the day.



They're back from their honeymoon now and opened presents Monday night. It was fun seeing what people gave them. I think I'm going to have to buy one of their many crockpots from them. I think that everyone get's at least one funny gift. Something that someone doesn't want and is re-gifting to you. Corey and I got a glass snowball for a wedding gift. We still have it and have no idea what to do. Chuck and Nicole got some funny swan candle holders. One was even broken.

So since Christmas is coming at an alarming rate I was going to tell you a new tradition that we're going to start this year. This is from the Enrichment night that I mentioned. The idea is to do three gifts. The gift of Meaning (wrapped in red), the gift of Wonder (wrapped in gold), and the gift of Usefulness (wrapped in green). They go along with the gifts from the three wisemen. So the girls will get their Santa gift and then these three gifts from Corey and I. I'm really excited. I've always wanted to figure something out so that I don't go overboard on buying things and I want the girls associate Christmas with Christ more than they do. Here's the idea:



I'm working on some Christ ornaments and also red, green, and gold ornaments to put on the tree that will go along with a few family home evenings that we'll do the few Mondays before Christmas. I'm so excited for Corey's gift of meaning! I'd tell you now, but just incase Corey happens to read my blog for some strange reason I better keep it hush hush for now.

Speaking of Christmas I've been asking for a new camera for probably the last three years. We were in no position to get me a new one, but I always hoped. Well this is the year for me!!!! I order my early Christmas gift the other day and it's on it's way here right now!!



And I'm almost as excited about this:



You just can't have a cool camera without a cute strap :)

Elsie's class started last week and I've having a great time. There's just so much fun inspiration and I'm trying things that I never have before. Fun stuff. I'll be posting things that I make in my Flickr account so if you want to check it out go for it!

Okay, I guess that's all for now. I have Weight Watchers today. Wish me luck.

It's About Time...

I blogged :) What a crazy and fun time Fall is! October has flown by so fast I can't believe that Halloween is just two short days away. I still don't know what I'm going to be (I need a costume for the second annual Brady Halloween Party). If you have any great ideas throw them my way. So what's been going on with me you ask? Hmmm...good question. Well here are 12 things that come to mind:

1. We dogsat Panda for 10 days (the closest thing that the girls have to a cousin on the Brady side) while Ryan and Christa were in California
2. While we were at it we did a little fish sitting too. Dolphin is our neighbor Kaylee's fish :)
3. Grace got her first visit from the tooth fairy!
4. We did a little late night pumpkin picking (then painted them at home after some Little Caesars Pizza).

5. Volunteered in Grace's class a few times.
6. Hosted a bridal shower for Nicole. Lots of fun and you can't go wrong with a chocolate fountain.
7. Held a sick little Kate a lot (just a bad cold and some very sad eyes to go with it).
8. Helped prepare and attended a really great Enrichment night that's helped me put Christmas gift giving into perspective (will tell more later).
9. Went to the Pumpkin walk with my friend Milana and her kids. Here are a few characters we found along the way:

10. Signed up for this online class that I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for!!!!
11. Joined Weight Watchers last week! I set up a new blog that I'm going to be posting that part of my life to so check it later today and you'll see the first of many posts to come.
12. The girls and I made a mini road trip to see Emily, Bryleigh, and Jeremy last Saturday! It was a lot of fun seeing her new super stylish house, eat some yummy food, and just hang out and relax. Oh and a tiny bit of crafting in there. Emily was sweet enough to take some really cool pics while we were hanging Twin Falls. You're going to have to wait to see some though (Christmas cards in the works);) Thanks so much again Emily and I hope that you and Ray ate that cheesecake bar together. If not, you probably want to get it out of your van, lol.


On Friday I'll post picks of my little mermaid, rainbow fairy, and a baby giraffe! See you then.

Mish Mash

How to begin? How to begin? Well a few weeks ago Grace came home from school and told me about how a few of her friends had their ears pierced and how cool their earrings were. I asked her if it made her want to get her ears pierced and she said without hesitation "NO NEVER!!!" Fast forward one week later. We walked in the house after picking her up at school and she says "I'm read to get my ears pierced." That was a pretty short never :) So I sat her down and talked to her about it (not trying to scare her, but telling her that she'd actually get holes punched in her ears and it would hurt for a second). She still said that she wanted to do it. So I said that we'd head to the mall on Saturday. She was so excited the whole week and Saturday morning she woke up early wanting to get to the mall first thing. I really thought that Abby might even jump on the bandwagon after she saw Grace do it. So we finally made it to Claires and Grace was super happy. She picked out the ones she wanted (pink ice) and she didn't even act nervous for a second. Then...

the first earring went in and the tears come pouring out (yes I'm regretting taking her somewhere where they only do one ear at a time). I felt so bad! Grace was covering both ears and saying that she didn't want to do it anymore. It took me at least ten minutes to talk her into taking her hands down. In the end I held her in my arms while she had the death grib around my neck for the last earring. Needless to say after watching Grace I will be surprised if Abby EVER wants to get her ears pierced.

I've been really really trying to figure out how I can totally dejunk and organized my house lately. It's coming along slowly, but I think I'll eventually get there. Right now it's in that in-between stage where it looks messier than when I started (love that). In other news on Sunday I got called to be a Webelos leader. Since I have all girls I guess they thought I'd be perfect for scouts, lol. I'm a bit nervous :)

I got to hang out with Emily, Ging, and Ange on Tuesday which was a lot of fun! Emily's computer crashed and so she brought it to Logan to get fixed. I don't know that I'd go as far to say that I'm happy that her computer crashed, but it was sure great to see her.

I guess that's about all that's going on around these parts. I'll leave you with some pics of Kate having a great time pretending to drive (the vehicle was not in motion at the time) :)

Have a great weekend and xoxo until next time.

Fall is in the Air!

I really love the cool mornings and that I keep looking at my Halloween decorations and wonder if it's too early to break them out. I'm thinking about getting a jump start on Christmas (actually the jump starting has begun) and brainstorming some fun dinner party ideas. I love Fall even though I feel like it doesn't last long enough. Here's something that I love to make as soon as it feels Fallish and then keep making every few weeks until Christmas is over :)



Hope it's feeling Fallish at your house ;) xoxo until next time.

The Photoshoot (Part 1)

So taking Nicole and Chuck's pics was a lot of fun. We're going to have to do some more this week because we were losing daylight at a rapid rate, but that's okay. I live a few blocks from a park that is perfect so you'll get to see some of those later this week. Here are a few of my favorites of the cute couple. This is what a point-and-shoot camera can do (along with some major photoshopping) :

While I was taking pics the kids were at grandmas playing. Kate was crying the majority of the time, but I think it was good for her (and mostly me) to be away from me for a minute. When I got back she was so excited to see me that she wouldn't stop jumping on my lap. Now it's Monday and she's still jumping :) I better head down to the basement and find our bouncy seat. Have a great day! xoxo until next time.

PS. Ging, thanks for the tip on the alley!!! There was a bride getting pics taken when I got there. Must be a popular spot :)

This and That

I've been thinking, and thinking, and thinking about how I need to post, but for some reason when I walk past the computer I have no desire to be on it! That's a super shocker for me :) My mind has been on so many other things lately. I've realized how much I dislike homework as a Mom even, lol. Grace has it everyday and she also started piano lessons almost two weeks ago. I now have become a total naggy mom. I hate it! Grace NEVER wants to practice and she's so stubborn that I really feel like pulling my hair out. It's really important to us that she takes piano and she was really excited about it at first too. If you have any great ideas for me please send them my way. Abby started preschool last week and is loving it. She feels so important opening up her backpack when we get home and showing me everything she did that day. Here she is on her first day:

Last weekend I was invited to a baby shower for Lindy (Corey's cousin's wife). She is super sweet and we've become good friends just from the few times that I get to see her a year. The shower was in Eagle Mountain so it was a great opportunity for the kids to get to have a sleepover with the cousins (Simon, Isaac, Anna, Nick, and Lizzy) the night before. We're always looking for excuses to visit them anyway. I picked Grace up from school on Friday and headed straight down. On Saturday morning Sara, Louise, and I headed to IKEA while Jon was nice enough to watch the kids (or at least most of them). We hadn't even been there five minutes when I heard my name and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Emily standing there. Of course we both had cameras with us, lol. I was so good to see her and I still am shocked that we were both far from home and we ran right into each other.

Today I'm taking Chuck and Nicole's engagement pictures. No, I've never done that before, so cross your fingers for me :) I'll post the results early next week. I guess that's about all that's keeping this family going these days, but that's definitely enough for now. Hope you're fabulous! xoxo until next time.