Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas!!!


I had to post this picture!!! Is he not the cutest thing ever? This is his cheese face. Gotta love him.

H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y!!!

Grady and I just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY (the big 27) to the best husband and daddy on the planet!!! We love you oh so very much and can't wait for you to get home so we can start celebrating!! Love you!!

A Ggrrreeeaaattt Weekend!!

This year Halloween was so much fun!!! We got our sweet Grady James all dressed up and we went to our first ever ward trunk or treat. Have you ever seen a cuter tiger in your whole life? I mean he is giving Tigger a run for his money.



Here he is making the sound a tiger makes!! RROOAARR!!


It was a fun night and it was great watching Grady run amok.

Then, on Sunday my sweet little boy turned 18 months, which we all know means the nursery. I have to say I have been waiting for this day to come for months, but when it finally came I wasn't ready for it. Here is my sweet boy all ready for church. So handsome!



I will admit that as I sat him down and he took off to play and didn't look back a few tears rolled down my face. I will also admit I checked on him through the peep hole like 10 times just to make sure he was ok. When I picked him up the nursery ladies couldn't believe it was his first time in nursery. They said he did so good and didn't shed a tear until they made him put up the toys. That's my boy!! Love you Grady!!

Homecoming Week

Grady and I went up to Snowflake for Homecoming week. My brother and sister were involved in a lot of things and since it is Jens' senior year (yes this makes me feel extremely old) I didn't want to miss it. Unfortunately, Aaron couldn't take that much time off work, so Grady and I went alone :(. It was so nice to spend an entire week in Snowflake!!! The weather was amazing and it was so fun to go back to good ole Snowflake High and participate in all the homecoming festivities.

Here is my musically talented brother singing with the madrigals @ the ice cream social. (He is 2nd from the right)



The famous Bigler Brothers (Lathe, Brannon, Tyler, Ryan) were the emcees for the homecoming assembly. They did an awesome job and it was soooo funny!


Here is my Grady James with Aunt Maddie and Uncle Jens (it was extreme blue and white day!)


All dressed in warm clothes for the homecoming game! GO LOBOS! It was so nice to put on a hoodie and be cold for a change!


Cute Story: Jens and Maddie are in the marching band and they have to wear the one of a kind band uniform. This uniform involves a hat with a huge feather plume on top of it. After they did their halftime performance, Maddie came over and sat by us and she was holding her hat at Grady's level. Well he reached out and grabbed her hat and started cuddling with it. SOOOO Cute!! He probably thought is was Harold's mama!!


Grady loves Grandma and Grandpa's house! Probably because he can get away with anything he wants, like playing in the sink, jumping on the trampoline, and going to the park! Thanks mom and dad!





And here is just a little extra!

Extreme Home Makeover

Well, we finally got around to taking pictures of our new home!!! It took so long because I wanted to get most of my projects done and in their place before taking pictures and posting them. I forgot to get before shots of a few of the rooms before we started painting. So I only have before and afters for a few rooms. But I took after pictures of all the rooms to show. So for all of you who have been asking for these...here they are, before and afters!!! Enjoy!

Entry Way (I don't have an after picture for this. I just wanted to post this horrendous orange color!!)


Front Room and Stairway - Before:





AFTER:





Kitchen/Dining/Nook - BEFORE:


AFTER:




Master Bedroom - BEFORE:


AFTER:


Grady's Bathroom - BEFORE:


AFTER:


Guest Bathroom - BEFORE:


AFTER:


Family Room - BEFORE:


AFTER:


Office/Craft Room :) :





Grady's Room (my favorite):


Play Room/Guest Room #2:


Guest Bedroom #1:




We are so glad to finally have a place we can call and make our own. We have plenty of space now so if you ever need a place to stay, Hotel Breckenridge is available!! (hint, hint)

Humpty Dumpty

Three weeks have come and gone. Yesterday Grady got his cast off!!! I think I was more excited about it than Grady was. We were a bit nervous about how he would react to the loud noisy saw that is used to take the thing off (mostly due to my own traumatic experience as a child with a cast). Aaron held him nice and tight, which Grady is never fond of. Then the nurse asks me to turn his head and plug his hears so he can't see or hear the saw. Rrrriiiiigggghhhhhtttt!! Needless to say that plan backfired. As soon as she turned it on Grady flipped out!! Which was a little surprising because he loves the hair dryer, mixer and vaccuum at home. Once the saw was turned off he was fine though. Here are a few pics from the day.

One last shot with the cast before we head off to the doctor.


Immediately after the traumatic saw. Give hime a sucker and he is fine!


Here is a close up of his little arm. Soooo dirty and sooooo stinky!!! We thought his cast smelled bad...his arm was even worse!!!


And here is my sweet boy with his very own otter pop to celebrate! So cute!!!

Grady's New Accessorie

Yes! That is a cast. And Yes! He broke his wrist. Before you call CPS or think Aaron and I are horrible parents...let me explain. This was a complete accident! I promise! Saturday night Aaron and Grady were playing on the floor as usual and I was reading a book and laughing at my boys. Grady started crying and when I looked up I saw his wrist bent at a weird angle. We jumped into panic mode instantly and tried to make sure he was ok. He only cried for about 2 minutes and after that seemed to be fine. He was moving it and bending it, so we put him down to see if he would crawl. Well, he would collapse every time he tried to put pressure on his right wrist. So, panic mode again! Since it was Saturday night our only option was the ER, which we haven't had the best of luck with in the past. So we opted to just wait until the next day to see if he was any better or worse. Sunday rolls around and he seemed to be fine. He was playing and even crawling on it, though with a bit of a gimp. So we just figured he sprained it and it was a little sore. Sigh of relief. Well, Monday rolls around and he was playing on the floor and I still noticed he was favoring it and still not completely putting a whole lot of pressure on it so I took him into the Pediatrician. Two hours and a couple of x-rays later, it was confirmed that my sweet boy had a very small fracture in his wrist. So off we went to the Kidz Clinic and had it casted. Poor guy!! He was been handling it very well! Doing all the usual things! Bath time was not so fun though.



Aaron and I still feel horrible!! He is still his happy busy self though. Still playing, laughing, crawling - it is more like an army crawl now since his arm is bent (we hope this will be motivation to start walking). Only three weeks! One day down...20 to go!

Smile...and you can feel the Sunlight

I am one of those moms who is obsessed with taking/getting pictures of my sweet boy. So...I wanted to get some 12 month photos taken of Grady. I absolutely loved each one of them!! Kate Lines took some amazing shots and we couldn't love them more. Thanks Kate!! You did an awesome job! Here are some of our favorites.

Family Vacation (minus 1)

WARNING: THIS POST IS GOING TO BE LONG AND PICTURE OVERLOAD. The last week went by so fast I don't even know where to start. My mom asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go to Missouri for a week to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. At first I wasn't thrilled about the idea of spending a week in a place that is unbearably humid, full of bugs, and out in the middle of nowhere, but as I thought about it I decided we should go. Because of the short notice, Aaron couldn't get off work so he stayed home and Grady and I flew off to Missouri. Maddie, Grady and I were the lucky ones who narrowly escaped the 20 hour car ride to Missouri and were able to fly!!!

Maddie, Grady and I on the airplane about to take off. Those of you who know me know that I hate to fly, but the flight wasn't near as bad as I thought it was going to be.


Mamaw and Papaw's house. It reminds me of a simpler time because it is surrounded by trees, pastures, and there isn't another house insight for miles.


This is the lane you have to take to get to my grandparent's house. They named it Redbud Lane and they have a sign on the side of the lane that says "Entering Camelot". So sweet!!!


I don't even remember the last time I was in Missouri. The last time I saw my mamaw and papaw was my wedding which was 4 years ago. Way too long!!! So my mom and I decided a four generation picture was long overdue. Here is the fam (and yes, maddie and I have matching Twilight shirts! You Know It!!)





The one thing I absolutely dread about going to Missouri is the humidity. Usually when I am there my hair puffs up like a giant afro, I am not even kidding. This time however, my hair only got a little frizzy but it looks like Grady has his mama's hair. Look at how tight those curls are!!


I couldn't resist taking a picture of this. I saw it in my grandparent's house and I started cracking up. Keep in mind this is a picture of a picture, but this is my mom and all of her siblings way back when. My mom is in the bottom left hand of the picture.


Both of my uncles on my mom's side live in Arkansas, not to far from my grandparent's so we were able to stop by and see them.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Marlene


Uncle Bo and Aunt Kate and family (minus Raquel and Desiree)


We had so much fun spending time with family!!! We did however have to make the trip back in the car, but we both handled it well. We decided to take our time coming home and took 3 days instead of the usually 2 to drive back. Here are some pictures from our stops on the waY back and the fun ride in the car.

We stopped in Oklahoma City at Frontier City and had a blast riding all the rides and having fun!!

Grady got put in Jail!


Jens, Maddie, and I on the Tilt-a-Whirl


THis was the funnest ride I have ever been on. It is kind of like a bungee jump and a free fall ride put into one. It was heart pounding and so exciting!!

Maddie and I getting ready to get shot up in the air.


Hundreds of feet in the air


Parker talked me into getting on one of the water rides. BIG MISTAKE!! Here we all are soaking wet!


And here is my sweet boy riding the carousel.


This is a classic picture. First, I was a little hesitant about making the trip back to Arizona in the car because of the cramped quarters and the possiblity for sibling blood shed. Those of you who know my darling sister and my cuddly brother parker, know that these two can go at it sometimes and when they do poor Jensy is usually caught in the middle, which is why this picture is hilarious.


Here is my sweet Grady James being a little trooper in the car.


I wish I could: go to my grandparent's house every day and sit around the dinner table listening to stories about my mom, aunts, and uncles when they were younger and the crazy things they did. Get hugs and kisses on the cheek every morning and every night. Watch my papaw perform Petey the Snake, and hearing my mamaw laugh as he does it. Being called Micahrie all the time in a southern accent. Eating my mamaw's mashed potatoes every night for dinner. Spend more time with Uncle Jo and Uncle Bo and their families. It was so fun to spend time with my own family laughing at each other and making memories for life. All these things made this trip so worth while!! It was a great vacation and I can't wait for the next. I'm thinking we need to have a huge family reunion soon? Anyone with me?