CHRISTMAS 2009

We had so much fun this Christmas! We went to a cabin near Evanston and went snowmobiling. Santa Claus even found us in the middle of nowhere at the cabin. It was awesome to see all of our family.

Thanksgiving 2009

We spent Thanksgiving in San Diego this year. We stayed in a beach house and went to Sea World and Disneyland.

Braylon has now already been to Disneyland Twice...pretty lucky! This time though he was able to come on a few rides with us.

Colby was able to blow stuff up this time... At Sea World, Shamu was the only thing that could keep Braylon still. And of course we were soaking wet!

We rode bikes on a trail along the Beach and Bay. The water was cold but we had fun swimming in the ocean.

Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Today we ran the Hallows 5K. It was hard for some of us (Merilee). Braylon slept the whole run and colby pushed him the entire way. You think Colby would be tired but he still answered the phone and chatted in the middle of the race. Iron lungs, I guess. Braylon was a Monkey for Halloween. If you want every possible stranger in sight to touch, pat, rub, pinch and speak "Ga Ga" to your baby just stick a monkey costume on him. Does the trick.

In addition... It attracts the ladies.

No, we did not go trick-or-treating. We will be putting that off as long as possible. We went to dinner with Melissa and Jed and just relaxed!!

Phoenix Take II

Two trips to Phoenix in two weeks!! Colby and Braylon came with me on the Arizona college tours for the Upward Bound students. Braylon is pretty spoiled...


He gets his own seat on the bus....



He gets his own water bottle...








He gets to ride on his own Lizard...



We took the students to NAU in Flagstaff, Yavapai in Prescott (home of this giant lizard) and ASU in Phoenix. It's a lot of fun that we can go together. Braylon could get up on his hands and knees and attempt to crawl before we left but the moment we got home from Phoenix he could suddenly crawl everywhere. I guess that long in a car seat will do that. He is into everything now and can get around pretty fast. The giant, red, raw carpet burns on his legs don't even slow him down.

We go rollerblading in our spare time. Braylon grips the front of his stroller like he is on a roller coaster. He watches our feet like a hawk. I wouldn't be surprised if next week I catch him strapping on his own pair.

Phoenix Baseball Tournament

At the beginning of October Colby played in a baseball
in Phoenix with two of his cousins and Tyson. It was
hot and a lot of fun.





















As you can see Braylon is calling Colby's hit fair. He is learning fast... The ump threatened to kick him out for calling foul and fair balls.










They played on the Tempe Diablo Spring Training fields and someone was excited apparently !





Colby even pitched! He did awesome against 300 pound beefs. He threw 13 innings in 3 days and oddly enough his arm didn't fall off. He also hit over .500.

TEMPE DIABLO STADIUM!

September

Braylon is learning a lot of new tricks. You know, he can do more human things now not just baby things. He can wave and he talks more everyday. Well, mostly yells. He likes to be loud since he found out the noises coming from his mouth were his own.

He loves his peas, no wait, he loves everything we put in his mouth.







He is learning to crawl also, a skill we have been discouraging but he is mastering it anyway.















I go to Page and Monument Valley every other month to visit students. This time Colby and Braylon came with me and it was a lot of fun. Colby is taking all of his classes online and gets to travel with me!!

SUMMER FUN

We have already had so much fun this summer. Even though we have been traveling a lot we still have had some good times doing what we love at home.

Colby played in the Heat Stroker in St. George. They play all through the night and into the next night. Their team did pretty good making it into the top 16 out of 60 teams. Braylon tried to match his uniform with Colby's.
I love taking Braylon running with me. And since he works out really hard in his stroller he makes sure to stretch out afterward with me. He doesn't want to get sore of course.

After a very hard run and and many stretches, Braylon hits the hay. Are you kidding me? He said he needed to rest up for our day at Seven Peaks.

SEVEN PEAKS! Even though Braylon refused to go on the Free Fall water slide we had so much fun at Seven Peaks. It was a wild time in the sun as you can see by this amazing hairdo.

What sign is that?

CALIFORNIA

We went to California this July with the 65 Upward Bound people we work with in the Summer. So lucky Braylon has already been to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farms, Medieval Times and Huntington Beach. Too bad he won't remember any of it. Even though supervising 55 kids in California is hard Colby and I still had a lot of fun.

DISNEYLAND - its a small world!


IF BRAYLON COULD TALK... - this is the longest day of my life! What are we still doing here packed in this place like Sardines. This crazy park that you call The Happiest Place on Earth! The fireworks are scary, the people are pushy, and everyone is eating Giant Chicken Legs. Gross, where is my milk.
We actually went on a lot of rides thanks to our staff that would save us places in line and watch the baby.

MEDIEVAL TIMES

And Braylon thought the Fireworks were scary!! Pretty sure Colby was more excited than most of the Upward Bound Students to eat with his hands and see men jousting on horses and fighting with REAL swords.

HUNTINGTON BEACH

It was all fun and games until I got pummelled by a wave, that gently smashed my head against the bottom of the ocean leaving me with a concussion. Next time, I'll sit under the umbrella with Braylon. Besides the water was 32.5 degrees. Okay, we really did have so much fun Boogie Boarding and playing soccer on the Beach. Many of the kids we work with have never been to the beach. It was awesome to see them experience the beach for the first time.

- See the kids in the background shivering in the water even though its only up to their knees. yeah, That cold.

KNOTT'S BERRY FARM

Blessing Day - May 31, 2009

Today we had the opportunity to bless Braylon. Colby was nervous but it helped that Braylon was smiling up at him the whole time during the blessing. Merilee was grateful for that also since she envisioned him crying the entire blessing. It was an amazing experience.

It was so nice of all our families to come down to support us and also participate in the blessing. We had a lunch in the park with everyone. It was awesome.

Leanne (Merilee's wonderful Boss) was the amazing seamstress who made Braylon's Tuxedo.