...and then we ATE ELMO...

Sunday was Brynlee's birthday. Can you believe she is already a year old? I sure am having a hard time believing. I think that this past year went super fast...which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. She is our little sweetheart and we couldn't be more thankful for such a good girl!

We ended up celebrating her birthday on Monday, because of the Monsoon that we had on Sunday. We really wanted to have it outside since we were grilling kabobs. Plus, that is how I had it planned out in my head. It turned out really nice! Thanks to our family for coming and for being so nice to spoil Brynlee with gifts. She now has a different outfit to wear for each day this summer, and lots of fun toys to play with!

A nice Monday evening....very different from the night before!

These were pretty fun to make. Luckily Tyler's Mom had a bear mold that I used which made them a ton easier.

Dig in!

Want some????

Mmmmm.....Cake....



It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!....We pretty much reached her happiness limit by the end of the evening.

On Monday Brynlee also had her 1 year check up. She is 18.8 lbs, and 28.5 inches long, so we will be holding off on the front facing car seat for a little bit. Too bad for her because I'm pretty sure she would love it so much better. She also got her MMR, Hepatits, and Chicken pox shots, but no fever this time :) . I asked the doctor about her little tantrums when changing her diaper and she told me to just ignore her...and to make sure to emphasize the good things she does when she does them. You catch more bees with honey.

So, we are still not in our house like we had planned. Things are taking a little longer then we had expected. Hopefully within the next 3 or 4 weeks...hopefully.

Checklist:

_Soffit/Facia/Raingutters

_Garage floors

_Driveway (We're doing)

_Landscaping (We're doing)

_Taping on sheetrock

_Cabinets

_Painting (We're doing)

_Tile (We're doing...maybe)

_Carpet

_Finish work...moldings etc. (We're doing)

_And about 100 other little things (We're doing)

Do you think we can do this in 4 weeks??? We will see....

Here's a couple of pictures of the amazing brickwork! Tyler loved Augie Romero's work and his bid was right around everyone else's.

Take time to slow down!

Even if you are not religious I think that THIS is an article that can be appreciated.

President Hinckley recalled that his father “never ceased growing” because he made time for “thinking, meditating, and pondering.”

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin observed how easily we fill our lives with “appointments, meetings, and tasks” and then act frightened at the prospect of some quiet time. Why would that be? He feared that we might “feel that the busier we are, the more important we are—as though our busyness defines our worth.” On another occasion, he reminded us that “being busy is not necessarily being spiritual”—for in fact, noise and busyness can actually crowd out the still, small voice of the Spirit.

“When we put God first,” President Ezra Taft Benson promised, “all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.” This is one reason President Spencer W. Kimball could say that “we will move faster if we hurry less.” Undistracted by other gods, we trust the Lord to help us allocate our time and talent to their very best uses each day. As a result, we do more good and we make real progress.

Life is SO busy! Sometimes it is so busy that we forget to appreciate and enjoy life. I am a partial failure at taking time to slow down. I want to work on this more and really enjoy everything that I am blessed with.

On Studio 5 this morning...(yes I watched studio 5 this morning)...they gave a summer parenting challenge part of that challenge included letting go of rigid expectations.

"Basically I am giving parents an excuse to relax; to have fun and enjoy their kids. I am allowing parents to "play hooky" from their regular schedule for 3 months, then to assess the aura in their home. Children who come from homes like this are happy. They have fewer illnesses.They are successful in school, successful in careers, and successful in relationships."

So, here's to a fun summer of 2010...They started on the insulation and sheetrock this morning, so hopefully we will be moving in within a few weeks :). Then we can relax and enjoy some fun times as a family.

ps This is more for my own benefit...I hope I'm not sounding preachy.

really?!?!

three things:

...this is a tag stuck to my straightner

...that i just barely noticed

...but luckily i didn't try to staighten my eyelashes with my straightner

...this is a monitor

...which we wish we would have bought about 11 months ago

...because it has been so nice to go over to our house and work with ty without having to check on little miss every 10 minutes

...this is a website

...that my coworker showed me

...to make brynlee's baby book because i am just now getting around to that...check it out...it's awesome

THE END

Untitled

I really mean to update this more often, but it doesn't so much happen. Probably because when Brynlee is asleep I have a list that's pretty deep of stuff that kinda takes the cake as far as being more important. Also, I lost my camera, then I found it, then I lost it again, and then found it again..........But this is what's been going on:

* Brynlee loves her baby cousin Eliza...well all babies really, but especially Eliza.

*Ok, the Rodriguez's are awesome!!!!! They had a Cinco de Mayo party complete with mexican cuisine, a pinata, and good company. I decided to try something different...so I made faux fried ice cream. I think it turned out pretty good....here is the recipe.

* One plus about living out here is you can burn stuff. We burned some old plywood the other night and then made hobo dinners....yummy!!!! I definitley recommend these more often then just when you go camping.

* I got a little crafty for Mother's day. Here's what I came up with. My coworker actually showed me these probably about a year ago, but I didn't really get around to making them till now. Mother's day was wonderful!!!!! Ty spoiled me with flowers and breakfast (not in bed because Brynlee is usually our alarm clock on Sunday's). Then we went and ate lunch at Ty's Uncle Terry's and Dinner at my Momma's.

* The Big Bang Theory.....Get it....watch it....LOVE it!...on NETFLIX

* 6 years = the amount of time Ty have been legally and lawfully married....and eternally. I LOVE him mucho mas and it seriously just keeps getting better and better. I am loving growing old with him!!!!

* Remember this post. Well, I haven't really been more committed to my first goal, so until I have made a valiant effort toward this, then I can't move onto other goals. I have tried...but not to my liking. Here's a picture of Brynlee and cousin Eliza getting ready to go on one of the probably 2 runs that I've been on.

*She's such a joy!!!

* Hey, aren't these cute. Well, as of a couple months ago I'm the personal progress go-to person in our YW's. I had the girls decide what goal they wanted to work on this month and then make a button ring to coincide with the value color. You can find the demo here. We have personal progress once a month here, which compared to my last ward is a lot. So I want to be creative and make it exciting for the girls. Well, needless to say, that's not so easy to do. So if you all have any suggestions or ideas I am more then open :)

* Sometimes she thinks I'm a little wierd.

* My dad = the newest bishop of the South Ogden 6th ward (as of 2 weeks ago). Congratulations Dad. We love you!! See you in 5 or 6 years.

Chop-Chop

WANTED: LOST CAMERA!

So, I still can't find my camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember having it at Kari's husband's b-day dinner and then it vanished into thin air. I think that somebody is playing a mean joke on me because there are a ton of pictures on there that I am stressed/sad that I might have lost FOR-EV-ER.

Until then here are a couple from my Mom's camera that she took of me before my hair became about a foot shorter. I decided last week to chop my hair short. It hasn't been this short for a while, but my long hair was pretty nastified. I donated about a foot to locks of love, so I'm really hoping they can use it. If not that's ok too...it was time for a change.

It was so cute to watch Brynlee's reaction. She looked at me and smiled. Then she reached out for my hair and kinda pulled her tiny fingers thru it all the way to the ends for a few seconds. Then she was done with that and wanted to go and play.

ps...thanks Laura for showing me how to make cute collages for my blog :)

Oh, and how do you like that sexy LDS Family Services shirt? I'm not complaining though...it's the one day (about once every 2 weeks) that I don't have to put a skirt on :)

Just Words

I am absolutley loving motherhood!! Not that I wasn't loving it before, but it seems as though it just gets more and more rewarding!!!!!! Seriously Brynlee is the funnest thing on the planet to me! She is so entertaining to watch and to play with. She is soooo smart too. I think that she just might be going to Harvard like her Daddy thinks she will.
Right now she will:

***Give you high five when asked.
***Clap her hands together if you mention "patty-cake".
***Lean in for a kiss if you ask her for a kiss.
***Wave bye-bye all the time.....but not when you want to show her off to someone she's not familiar with.
***Growl at the dogs...especially Rambo, who happens to be her favorite...Also she enjoys feeding Rusty her puffs and crackers. He loves it too!
***Crawl in everywhich direction and especially not the direction you are expecting. Um...she even is climbing up stairs. Yikes!

Oh, she is a handfull, but I absolutley love it!!!!!!! She has been much more pleasent lately now that her top two teeth have broken through.

Brynlee is so sweet too. Lately she hasn't been taking her normal 3 hour nap and so I know that she's tired and she'll sit there and rub her eyes and cuddle her head into her blankie, but still just be the sweetest little gal.

I am at work right now so I will post some pictures when I find my camera and when I'm at home.

Christmas day!

Christmas was so fun with baby Brynlee!!

Yippee my favorite perfume!

My favorite gift = sewing machine from my Mom and Dad

Tyler ♥'s this show...don't ask me why?!
Ty's favorite gift = $$ from his Mom and Grandma and Grandpa B.

Brynlee had to taste everything to make sure they were ok to play with.

Brynlee's favortie gift = The wrapping paper and bows

Brynlee and her cousin Taitlyn (2nd cousin)

Such a great day with our princess :)

Is this wierd that I'm posting this a week before Easter?????!!!!????

Brynlee Bear Sure is Growing!

Ok, so she is 9 whole months now!! That sure did fly by. She is our little angel, and we are so grateful for her everyday! It hit me the other day when I was in the store looking for some summer clothes for her. I was in the infant section and couldn't find any of her size....that's because her size is in the toddler section now! What!!!???!!!

She is now:
...26.5 inches long and 17.85 lbs-kinda on the smaller side.

...pulling herself to a standing position, but has yet to crawl. Somehow though if we sit her in one place she ends up in another place that's about 3 feet away. I think somehow she's scooting.

...loving Cheerios :) But hating any kind of baby food that's not sweet potatoes.

...getting a little anxiety when we hand her to someone she doesn't know.

...is a little chatterbox and screecher. In church this has proven to be a problem. She will hang over the back of the bench and screech at all of the people behind us, and then protest very loudly when we try and get her off of the back of the bench. OH, and then there was the time that someone was singing a very lovely musical number and she chose to sing along in her screech owl voice. FUNNY, but maybe not so funny to the people trying to sing

Pics that Ty's Mom took:

Pics that JCPenny's took:

As you can see it takes her a little bit to warm up to people...and that is why there was not even a hint of a smile for the girl taking these.

...and what have we been up to?...

It will hopefully be done soon :) Ty has been working SOOO hard on it. He goes to work from 6 to 3:30 and then comes home and works on the house until it gets dark. Ty, his Grandpa, and his brother have been doing the electrical and plumbing and little framing jobs inside for the past couple of weeks. I think they are amaaaazzzing! This week the brickers are putting on the brick. It is beginning to look like a house, but has a ways to go until it looks like a home.

Something different for my 100th post...

No it's not a giveaway...sorry...maybe if I had something fun to give away.


While looking over my blog list, I noticed the word "recommitment". I would love to be recommited/committed to lots of stuff, but lack the time and energy. But how 'bout just being MORE committed to everything life has to offer?? So, I'm going to try and be "more committed" each week to something different. And hopefully by doing so will be able to inspire the millions of readers who read my blog....haha actually I just wanna inspire myself and by putting it on here I am more likely to accomplish my goals.


I have loved the Wordless Wednesday's and Pretty Monday's, So each Monday plan on "MORE COMMITTED Monday's", whether you care or not, I plan on posting what I am going to be more committed to and report back on how the past week went. I want to try and be more committed in 2 or 3 ways each week :). We will see.


Some ideas that are brewing right now are: being more committed to......

==my husband==

==my daughter==

==finding a bargain==

==exercising==

==my dog==

==being crafty==

==relaxing==

==being spontaneous==

==reading==

==scrapbooking==

==my religon==

==my ward calling==

==eating healthy==

==reconnecting==

==Oprah==

==Starting my business==

==My Car==

==Summer time==

==Finding simple beauty==

==Finding color==

This should be interesting. And if you find that I suddenly stop posting it isn't because I have given up...well maybe it is...but more likely I have become lazy in posting to this blog. So really maybe one of my More Committed Monday's should be dedicated to being more committed to blogging.

This week I plan on being more committed to exercising. This gorgeous weather will definitley be a factor in helping me accomplish this :)

How many times do you see the word commit?

(Answer: 12)

A new addition to our family...

....the Scott Family that is. Kari and Rob had their sweet little Eliza on Friday February 4th. For the complete story click here. I am so happy for them and can already see what great parents they are. I also am so excited for Brynlee to have a little sister-cousin that is only 8 months apart to play with, share secrets with, and have so much fun together. Seriously, they are gonna have a blast! And we're gonna have a blast watching them! Brynlee is already lovin' her cousin Eliza. She smiles and laughs at her and wants to play already. She is really good about being soft with her. You can see her patting her as gently as possible...that can be expected from an almost 9 month old. It's also so fun for me to watch my baby sister go thru motherhood. It has been great to bounce ideas and issues dealing with being Moms off of each other.

Oh, and p.s. This is SUPER FUN for my Mom. Kari and I were about 13 months apart. Both of us were in diapers and not walking for a time. For her it is kinda like reliving her time with her baby Sara and Kari....except for now it's baby Brynlee and Eliza.

<><>Stolen from Mom's blog<><>

<><>The Bruderer's<><>

Kari needs a shower!

I was so excited to throw a baby shower for my sister Kari a couple of Saturdays ago! I got a little overwhelmed, however, looking at all of the bagillion ideas out there on the internet. Well, with the help of my Mom, we got it put together. I copied Erica's shower and had cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa...which was perfect for a snowy January morning. Then we got the idea to decorate onesies from a shower idea on the internet. Well, it turned out wonderful. Now, we will just have to wait for little Eliza to get here hopefully by next Sunday :) Can't wait!!!!

These were the easiest thing ever!!! I am now gonna make them for every party we go to in the future :)


Nummy Cinnamon Rolls (Dad got them from Adventurous Cafe on 25th). We made little toppers that say, "A Bun in the Oven"...Kinda fitting.








I thought they turned out so cute! Kari's buds were pretty creative...Now, I just have to sew around them.


Cute little sweater dress for Eliza...and Kari and Rob.

For Bliss....

(This is for Bliss's internship. Such a great article...Good luck to her!)

Hello to all of Sara’s blog readers! My name is Bliss Stinson and I actually work with Sara at LDS Family Services. She is an amazing woman as you all probably know. She is a loyal friend, a wonderful wife and mom, and a bubbly person to be around. I love knowing her. Well you are probably wondering why this post is on her blog! Well, for my job I write health and fitness blogs and articles for different companies. I am loving it completely! In fact I have such a passion for it that I would like to share some things that I have learned with those that I care about. I chose to post a guest post on Sara’s blog because I know that she cares about her body and her health and I am sure that all of you moms out there do. Don’t we all? Whether it is maintaining that nice figure, trying to lose that baby weight, keeping up with your little ones, or simply trying to live a healthy lifestyle while you are pregnant- we all know that it can be hard. It definitely takes work and effort. However, it honestly can be easier than we make it out to be. We simply need to realign ourselves away from the views and teachings of society and learn more about our body. You see our body has ph levels in our blood, which can range from being alkaline to neutral to acidic. The acid in our body is what fosters degenerative and autoimmune diseases. It can impair major systems in our body such as our organs, digestive tracks, skin integrity, and repair from injury. Now you may ask, “how do we become acidic?” The answer to that is – “by what you eat.” The saying is true, you are what you eat. There are different foods that have an alkaline effect on our body and other foods that have an acidic effect on our body. For instance milk, cheese, sugar, saturated fats, chocolate, beef, and cashews have an acidic effect on our bodies. Food such as avocados, oranges, spinach, almonds, olive oil and watermelon all have an alkaline effect on our body. It has been proven that when we are in a neutral or more alkaline state, our body has more energy, we have better athletic and mental performance and we reduce the risk of serious diseases. All you have to do is incorporate more alkaline foods in your diet. You should simply be eating 60-80% of alkaline foods. How easy is it to add better foods to your diet instead of doing completely outrageous fad diets that leave you unhappy and starved? You can still have that daily acidic food that you love as long as it stays in the 20% range of your diet. It’s a different concept that takes some time to soak in and understand. If you want to test your ph levels to see whether or not you are acidic, you can buy ph test strips in some grocery stores as well as online. You simply dip them in your saliva or urine and wait 15 seconds and you can find out where you stand on the ph scale! If you want to learn more, I challenge you to go to THIS SITE to find out more information so you can become a better more capable woman who is ready to conquer any challenge before her- ESPECIALLY weightloss. Let’s get goin girls!