Thanks Brad!

Normally, I wouldn't do this because I've been known to make fun of those blog posts that go on and on about how great someone's husband is.  But, I just had to publicly tell Brad thanks, especially for the past 5 months of me being pregnant.  He works so hard, keeps up the yard and house, and works on the basement in his spare time. Not only does he do all the regular man duties, but he cleans, cooks, irons, helps with laundry, takes care of our dog and child, and he BLOGS. Aren't I supposed to be doing all that? Sometimes I feel like a pretty sorry excuse for a wife because I can't even do my share of the work, but I know it will always be a little of give and take.  Thanks Brad for all you do!  Love this picture of you and Tess!

We're Pretty Sure

Well Mel worked again and checked to see what the sex of the baby was again. She is 98% sure that it is a girl. I'm really hoping that it's a girl because if it's a boy then he must not have much down there, if you know what I mean. It won't be any good for his self esteem if he has to get made fun of by his family and friends for the rest of his life because we couldn't spot anything on the ultrasound after looking numerous times. Sounds like a good old Adam Sandler movie to me where the kid always gets made fun of for the size of his manhood.

This has nothing to do with this post but I had to put this picture up. Isn't my daughter FREAKING CUTE!!

Who Knows!!

Well, my wife is slacking once again so i guess I will step in and give the latest update on the baby. A few weeks ago Mel peeked at work and thought she saw that it was a boy. She even had one of the doctors check it out and he also thought that it definetily looked like it was a boy. Well last week we had the ultrasound and when the tech went to check to see what the sex was she told us that it looked like a girl, but she wasn't getting a very good shot. So she kept on trying and then from a different angle she decided that it looked like it may be a boy. After quite a while of trying to make sure she decided that it looked like a girl again. So at that point she decided to ask another one of the techs to come in and look as well. The other tech was also having a hard time seeing what it looked like but was leaning towards a girl. So after over an hour of ultrasound we still weren't sure whether it was a boy or a girl. A couple of nights ago Mel went into work and was able to try to look again to see what the sex of the baby is and once again the baby was being stubborn (The baby must take after Mom) and had its legs closed. So after multiple ultrasounds we still aren't for sure on whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I will keep you all posted.

Happy Fall

Sure, Tess will pose for a stranger at the Scarecrow Festival, but not for her own mom! I wanted to share this adorable picture of her. I could just pinch her! We are enjoying this warm fall. I love this time of year.. the chill in the air, colorful trees, pumpkins, warm comfort foods and soups, the smell in the air, etc. Tess asks everyday to go to the "punkin patch". I wish it could just stay this way longer.

It's not official, but....

...it sure looked like a lil' winky to me. We're having a boy! I peeked on the fuzzy ultrasound machine at work.  We are so excited and Tess is now saying that she has a boy in her tummy. We aren't buying anything "boy" until we know for sure in a week at my formal ultrasound. We let my parents know when we invited them over for dinner and had these little babies with the labels "boy" and Gus" placed in the mashed potatoes and meatloaf.  Thought I'd let you all know and also make this my first post on my road to blogging recovery. Yes, I'm back!

Lake Powell!!

We just got back from Lake Powell and it was amazing!!! The water temp was like 75 to 80 (which is still to cold for Mel) and the outside temp was any where from 85 to 90 all week long. There was no wind so we could water ski at any time of the day, which unfortunately is only about twice a day now because I'm getting old. It had been a good three years since the last ski trip so I was a little nervous to get back on the ski but after the first time out I felt pretty comfortable on my ski. Mel also got out behind the boat once to show us all she hadn't forgotten how to get up on the slalom ski, but couldn't do a ton because she wanted to be careful because of the baby. Right before she jumped in she said that she wouldn't recommend skiing when you are 12 weeks pregnant. Apparently she doesn't listen to her own advice. Like I said though she was very careful and only got out there once just to show off a little. I was impressed that she got up so easy because she has really only been skiing like once or twice other then this time at Powell. We decided to take all the kids and the dogs on the trip with us which ended up being a little hard at times but still fun. Lucky for us the girls had nothing to do with the water and would only some times wade in up to their knees. Other then that they would scream every time you even tried to put them in the water. I was expecting Tess to be all about the water because she is crazy at the pool and has no fear what so ever. The lake must scare little kids because it is dark and they can't see the bottom because she didn't ever want to get in. I took Tess down the slide on the house boat on the first day and I don't think that was a good idea because I'm pretty sure it freaked her out. I just figured that she should at least try it to see if she liked it or not. She defenitely didn't!! Here are a few pics of the trip

Guess What!?

Mel is Pregnant again!!! We are so excited to have the next one on the way!! If only it didn't take so long, especially since Mel is already gettin way sick. We actually found out a little while ago that Mel is pregnant but Mel wanted to hold off on telling everyone until we had the first ultra sound to make sure everything was ok with the baby. Mel is about 8 weeks along now so the reason she already got an ultra sound was because she is doing a study about miscarriages. It was fun to go see the ultra sound and be able to hear the babies heart beat already. Tess went with us and she kept on saying "Baby goes, bump, bump, bump, bump," after she had the chance to hear the heart beat. Tess is quite the character and always makes us laugh!! Well for now that's all I got but I just wanted to let everyone know.

Brad Again

Well since my wife hasn't had a chance to update the blog since the last time I did I figured I would keep the blog going and add a few new things to it before people just give up on reading our blog and never come back. Not a lot new with the family as of now just been working really hard on the basement as of lately. We finished up the sheet rock and are hoping to start some of the painting in the next week or so. Then we will just be waiting to get the finish work done before we can finish the paint. After that we will be moving a lot slower because the cost starts going up once you start doing the flooring and all that fun stuff. I'm sure everyone that has ever done a basement would agree that it always cost a lot more then you think it will when you first start.

Other then that I started this new thing called Isagenix. I was a little skeptical going into it but thought what the helk I'll give it a shot to see if I can lose a little weight and feel better. For those of you that haven't heard about this product it is called a nine day cleanse. Basically for days 1-2 you take this liquid called "Cleanse for Life," with pills twice a day, drink a ton of water, and you get to eat these wafers that they give you, and that's it, no food for those days. After that you switch it up and on days 3-7 you replace 2 meals a day with a shake that they give you and eat one 600 calorie meal a day. Then on days 8-9 you go back to the cleanse for life and water with no food. I'm currently on day 6 and have already lost 8lbs. and feel really good. I'm not going to lie it has been a little bit hard but the results have been worth it. I'm pretty excited to have lost that weight because I had tried working out and a few other things but never seemed to get the results that I was looking for but this is definitely working. I will keep you posted as to how it ends up.

I will have to see if I can figure out how to post some pics on this blog so there is something to look at besides just my boring writing. I'm sure it's easy but this is my second time on one of these blog sites so I'm still trying to figure it all out.

First time

Well there's a first time for everything and I (Brad) decided to get in on this whole blog thing. I hacked into my wife's blog so hopefully she is ok with me adding a post for our family. I also added the link to get to her photography blog so go check that out as well. She is doing awesome in photography and did a fun little blog with some of the pictures she has been taking recently.

Other then that I just wanted to let my wife know how much I love her and what a great wife and mother she is. Thanks for all that you do for our family!!

Happy 4th!

We celebrated the 4th of July at the cabin in the Uintahs. I could stay there for days! It is gorgeous! I came across this cute picture of Tess taken on the 4th last year. She was so little.


And this year...still droolin'!

Kaycee

Here are some preliminary photos from the senior shoot I did today. Isn't my cousin gorgeous? Check out those eyes!

Meet Morgan

So, I couldn't wait to show these pictures I took of my adorable neighbor girl. Since I'm still trying to fine-tune my photography blog I'm posting them here.

This little bribe sure made this picture!


Ooops! Showin' the underoos!



A few vintage shots...




Cute through and through!





And... my very favorites!






WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE THE BEST?

Potty Time

It's amazing what gets you excited when you become a mom.  Tess went poop on the potty and it made my week!  Later that day she said, "Poop on potty..good job!"  That's right! She loves it! Yeah!  Now let's see if she keeps it up.

Photography

Here is a flyer I've sent out for my photography if anyone is interested. I'm working on a photography blog and will post the link when I finish.

New Studio

So, I finally did it...I got studio lights (Thanks Brad!) and I'm pursuing my love of photography.  I still love natural light the best, but portraits in the studio are fun and so sweet.  I mean, when else do we really get our kids to pose like that?  Anyway, here are a few pictures I took of my friend's baby. Isn't he precious?

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

Now I know why my husband digs Jessica Alba so much... he sees me in her!  Hah, ya right!  I only wish!

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities

Sweet Reunion

This is my friend, Marita, from Germany.  She has been visiting for a few weeks and I was so fortunate to see her twice, this time at Village Inn (her favorite breakfast place). I taught her in the first city on my mission and have been friends with her ever since.  She is quite a woman and German through and through. Her story: She was an atheist, like most people in Eastern Germany.  Her daughter joined the church as an exchange student here in Springville.  That's what got her interested.  After many years of meeting with missionaries and learning the Gospel (well, sometimes she would teach us discussions or lessons) she was baptized.  She is truly a treasure in my life and always brings a different perspective or idea to the table.  Marita, ich hab dich so lieb!  

Women's Conference

My mom, sister, a friend, and I spent Friday at Women's Conference. Holy cow... I've never seen so many women. At times it felt like we were part of a cattle drive. Other than that, we had a great time being together, being uplifted, eating ice cream, and shopping for bags galore! We heard Pres. Monson and Julie B. Beck speak and we heard a wonderful talk about raising daughters. I love a day with the gals! (Special thanks go out to Danny for watching 5 kids all day.)

Lil' Smarty Pants

I hate bragging about my kids (yes, I include my dog as a kid) on my blog, but I have to give a report every once in a while. Tess talks so much now. She is a little parrot repeating everything I say, including the bad names I call Clover sometimes. Ooops! I'm just amazed though at what she picks up without me even knowing it. She fills in words to so many songs, knows part of her ABCs, and surprised me with counting the other day, too. She's growing up too fast! She is quite the character! Some of my latest favorites are: finding her stuck half way up the barstool with her chin on the counter saying "I want down", her constant need to pray over all her meals (she folds her arms and tells me "amen"), she tells me "no song" when she wants me to stop singing, she does the cutest wink, she tries to skip and walks on her tippy toes a lot, she asks now to go to sleep (love it), and she gives the cutest "eye kisses" (butterfly kisses). She is so rough & tumble, too, and rarely let's anything bother her. She surprises me every day with something! This is such a fun age and I'm loving it! Here are a few of my favorite recent pictures, including Easter:

Spring is Here!

Last Friday my mom, Tess, and I headed down to Thanksgiving Point for the Tulip Festival.  The tulips were only about 50% in bloom, but it was still beautiful and great to be outside.  Tess loved it, of course, because to her the combo of Grandma and the outdoors is something to be topped.  My mom has so much fun with her grandkids, you'd never know she has back pain. Check her out rolling down the hill with Tess!  I tried to get some good photos, but Tess never holds still.  Here's what I got! Thanks for the fun, mom!

L&D Stories

For all my labor and delivery nurse friends or any of you who like funny stories about labor and delivery, here is a blog dedicated to just that.  I got the link from my friend Brit.  Be forewarned, what may be funny to an L&D nurse may gross the rest of you out completely!  There are quite a few stories I should post myself, but I'll save that for a later date. Have a good laugh!

Let the Games Begin!

We have officially started on our basement!  I get so excited, but I have to avoid thinking of the expense.  My brother, Triston, is framing for us and my dad and Brad are there to help, too.  It will be so awesome to have double the space when we are done! We're finishing it so we'll have more space for another kiddo.  Yep, that's right... it's time to start trying for another one this month.  With that said... let the games begin!
Love the power tools!