A Weekend to Be Thankful

I am thankful:
-to be married to a great guy
-to be a mom to two crazy, little rascals
-to have such awesome family and friends...who like to join the madness on Black Friday and love every minute of it
-to believe in so many good things...big or small
-to have a healthy body that allowed me to run 16 miles on Saturday (training for PF Chang Marathon...only 6 more weeks til race day)
-to celebrate the holidays
-to have a part-time job at the gym
-to almost be done with dental school
-to know I have been extremely blessed...both in good times and bad
-for each and everday I get to experience my life

8 Years and a 2nd Honeymoon

This past weekend Brett and I dropped our kids off with my parents and headed to Cali for a little anniversary getaway. We had free tickets to Disneyland and thanks to a friend of mine, an awesome deal on a hotel, so it was the perfect trip for our student budget. Brett and I got to the Disneyland gates Friday morning and made a quick decision to forgo Disneyland and tryout California Adventures instead. We were both feeling a little bad and kind of funny for going to Disneyland with no kids, so we thought the "adult" park was the perfect solution. The first ride we came to was the rolling rapids and there was absolutely no line (good indication that you shouldn't go on it) and no one to share the ride with, so we hopped on. I have never laughed so hard in my life as I watched Brett squirming around trying to avoid getting drenched. The water probably wouldn't have been a big deal if it was a hot summer day, but it was overcast and a lot chillier than we were expecting, so wet clothes weren't going to feel too good. Thankfully the rides just got better after that. The California Scream rollercoaster was a blast and my absolute favorite, The Tower of Terror, was so cool. Brett and I had a ton of fun on the Toy Story ride, which he totatlly whooped me on...I guess all that target practice has done him good and the Aladdin show was amazing! Later that night we watched the Water in Color show while chowing down on the best Kettle corn I have ever tasted...thanks to the Colburns' recommendation. All in all we had a fantastic day, but Brett and I still found ourselves saying "Oh Bradock and Raylee would love this or that", but it was nice to just be the two of us. We haven't vacationed alone since our honeymoon and I've decided that I am actually a fun wife when I'm not being a mom too all the time...hehehehe j/k...but not really. The next day we were going to go to Laguna Beach and walk around and enjoy the shops and stuff, but it was pouring rain, so we headed to the shopping outlets instead. We then made our way to Palm Springs and ate at this cute little Mexican restaurant located downtown. It was fun to just take our time and slowly make our way home late Saturday night. It was a perfect weekend and I'm so glad my parents helped out with my kids so we could enjoy it. Next Disneyland trip will definitely have to be with the kids, though!!

Our November so far...

Has already started off super busy and super fun and we haven't even gotten to Thanksgiving yet. Brett and I celebrated our 8th year anniversary on Nov 6th and have a "no-kids" Cali trip planned for this upcoming weekend, so we celebrated the night with dinner at Cheesecake Factory and the movie "The Switch" at the dollar theater.

Rachel's bday was back in October, which we celebrated with dinner and the MAC makeup holiday premier party, but for her gift I got her and I tickets to the Hairspray musical. We went to the opening night show on Wednesday and had so much fun. We had dinner at La Grande Orange Pizzeria...so delish...and were kept laughing all night at the musical.

Brett finished up his last week of his New Mexico dental rotation, so now he is back home and back to working in the school clinic for the next 5 weeks. He will no longer have anymore out-of-town rotations...thank goodness...but will be working at the Cass Homeless shelter and VA hospital in Phoenix. He's pretty excited about those two clinics.
Friday night Brett and Bradock had to try and defend their title as the "Hawes Ward Elder's Quorom Pinewood Derby Champs." Mr. B had so much fun racing the "Dark Knight" again, but unfortunately came in second because our good friend Jake Crockett decided to purchase his derby car online and I guess money does payoff because he took first place. At least Brett and Bradock know that their car was made with a lot of hard work, time and good tools thanks to Grandpa Bob.
Mr. B has continued to love preschool. I just love this cute little "Footprint Horse" that he brought home the other day. He has learned so much already and am so glad that he likes going to school.

"Howdy" Halloween

It was another fun year of dressing up, enjoying our ward trunk-or-treat, hanging with friends and neighbors and of course eating lots and lots of treats. Mr. B was so excited to dress up as Buzz Lightyear, saying "Trick or Treat" to everyone and asking all the trick or treaters what they were dressed up as. Raylee was a little less thrilled about her butterfly costume (she really wanted her too big princess costume, but with a little gum bribe she quickly put it on and looked adorable). She was so cute passing out candy to everyone. Brett got super excited to dress up as a Rodeo clown and somehow convinced me to dress up as one as well...turned out to be a super fun and super cheap costume...great idea Brett!!

My Silly Little Girl

This little girl makes me smile everyday...which is usually balanced out with a lot of frustration too. She is so strong-willed and full of attitude, but for some reason she is a totally different girl when Bradock isn't around. So, while Mr. B is at preschool Little Miss Raylee gets to go play at the gym for a little bit and then gets me all to herself before Bradock gets home. I am enjoying our litttle mommy daughter time before next year comes and she too will head off to preschool.

Here are a few pics of her silly self. This girl is quite the carnivore, but she makes an exception for pasta. The day this pic was taken she ate 3 whole bowls and still wanted more (which I didn't have anymore), so I quickly made her some bagel bites and she continued to keep eating after that. Her face was completely covered in sauce and she was loving it.

Usually Raylee and Bradock bathe together, but Mr. B headed off to preschool and Raylee got to sleep in and take a late bath. I was doing my hair when in the mirror I could see that she had layed down in the tub. I turned around and I'm not kidding for a few minutes she just layed in the water without moving...this is amazing because she can't sit still for more than a few seconds. She told me "she was sleeeping", so I grabbed my camera and took a few pics of her soaking up the water.