Fall Fun

This has been the best fall. We've had perfect fall weather, and I pray it holds out until after Halloween. It's so much more fun to go trick-or-treating without a snow suit on over your costume.
We started the month by going on a camping trip with some of our friends to Green Canyon. This is the first time we've taken the girls camping and it was soooo much fun, especially since the Sommers let us share a camper with them. We spent the day swimming and riding the 4-wheelers. Unfortunately I left my camera home, so we didn't get any pics. We'll definitely be doing more camping in the future.
A couple weeks ago we went to a local pumpkin patch for FHE with some of our cousins. It was so much fun! They had train rides and a little corn maze for the kids.
Then we took one of their wagons and picked out 4 perfect pumpkins.
We'll definitely be making the pumpkin patch a yearly activity :o)


So far this month we've already been to a school halloween carnival and a grown-up halloween party, and we still have 3 more Halloween parties to go. We're enjoying Halloween all month long, plus it gives us plenty of opportunities to wear our costumes.
"How to Train Your Dragon" came out on video this past week, which we had to buy that same day. It is the cutest movie and McKinley LOVES it! Walmart was doing a promotion where you could have your picture taken in a dragon cutout and Kinley was super psyched.

Not the most realistic picture I've ever seen, but it was fun.
Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful fall. Next week is our 20week ultrasound, so we'll keep everyone posted on what gender baby we've got cooking :0)

Caution: HUGE post ahead!

For all of those who were afraid I fell of the face of the planet, well my computer totally crashed...so I kind of did. Finally after 2 months of using our cell phones we bought a new computer. Isn't it beautiful!
The other reason I've been MIA is that, drum roll.... I'm 13 weekspregnant and first trimesters hate me.
Now I'm going to catch you up on everything that has happened in the past few months.We had a big family reunion in California the first week of August. It was fun but a good reminder of why we'll never live in a big city, no matter how fun the beach is. While we were there we spent a day at Disneyland. I've now realized that Disneyland and Disney world are completely different. We've only ever been to Disney world so we found Disneyland to be kind of a disappointment.
We also spent a couple of days at the beach. I think our girls had way more fun in the sand then in the water, and once we got back to the hotel we realized Annabelle had somehow smuggled a bucket load back with her. We also took some family pics while we were at the beach, and these were just a few of the ones I really liked.



I think our girls favorite part of the trip was visiting the Long Beach Aquarium. The were able to pet little sharks and stingrays. McKinley was also really excited about the jelly fish she was able to touch.

When we got back from California McKinley took swim lessons up at Green Canyon.
She was the youngest one there and still one of the best in her class. Our little girl was a fish in another life. Unfortunately, swim lessons were cut short because our cute little girl had to have her tonsils out.

Miserable doesn't even come close to describing the week that followed her surgery.
A week after her surgery she started school at Snake River Montessori.
I can't believe my baby is in school, she's growing up too fast.
For months McKinley has been asking to have her ears pierced. After months of explaining to her how much it was going to hurt and how much responsibility it required to keep them clean, we finally decided to let her get her ears pierced for school. When we went to have her ears pierced they only had one gun. After the first ear she started crying and me and the lady doing the piercing were worried she'd be going home with only one earring, but she sat there bravely for the next ear and didn't even cry. I think the first one just surprised her. McKinley is loving having her ears pierced and although I was worried she's still kind of young, she does look really cute with earrings.
I can't believe summer is over, but I'm excited to start back into some more normal routines. Hope everyone had a wonderful summer, especially since it looks like the nice weather is once again leaving us.
P.S- For any of you out there that have apple computers please tell me what the secret is to updating your blog in less then 2 hours while still keeping all of the hair in your head.

Happy Independence Day!

I love celebrating Independence Day! Growing up it was always one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. This year we had another fun-filled 4th of July with our family and friends.

As always we went with the entire Bradshaw family to the Idaho Falls parade. Its fun to watch all of the kids collect candy and wave their little flags. I grew up going to that parade every year and I'm so excited to share this great memory with my own kids.


After the parade we had a BBQ at our house with the family. Then we went to the Rexburg rodeo with some friends. The rodeo was so much fun and McKinley and her friend Zach were able to go out into the arena with a bunch of other kids and chase calves that had money taped to them. They weren't even close to catching a calf, but it was so cute to see the two of them running around holding hands. We finished up the evening watching the Rexburg fireworks and then lighting off a few of our own. Overall it was a great 4th of July.
A couple of weeks ago McKinley attended a Princess camp. It was over 3 days and she learned 2 dances and took and etiquette class. The best part was that her cool aunt Deidra was one of her teachers.

She also was able to go to the camp with one of her favorite cousins Madison.

On the final day the performed their dances and recieved a t-shirt and a crown. It was so fun because the little girls were escorted out by a guy, and McKinley's cute daddy had a friend cover part of his shift so that he could be there for McKinley. She was so excited when he she saw him in the audience.

It was so fun to watch her out there performing and she was definately soaking up all the attention. How did I get so lucky to have such cute kids?

New Home, New Job, and a FABU vacation!

Its been way to long since I posted anything, so once again I'm going to play blog catch-up.

First I'll start with our AWESOME trip to Cancun. We celebrated our 6th anniversary by taking our first "no kids" trip. I was seriously freaking out about leaving my kids home, but they had a blast with the grandparents and it was good for me and Brett to finally take a trip just the two of us. The best part of this trip was that it was all inclusive. We just laid by the pool reading books and drinking pina coladas, it was HEAVENLY!

We took some time out from all of our R&R to see some sites. Instead of going to Chitzen we went and saw the ruins at Coba. They were really neat and apparently are even bigger the Chitzen.

After Coba we went to and made pottery. The liked my pitcher so much that they put it on display.
One of the most exciting things we did on our vacation was when we went down in the shark tank. It was soooo cool, we even were able to feed them. The cage had small holes in it, and I was able to feed a shark a piece of meat right out of my hand.

Wet suits are definately not an attractive look on me.


The Aquarium had a a lot of really cool exhibits, like a shark tank where you could reach in and pet these giant nurse sharks, AWESOME!
The trip was great and we are already talking about where we are going for our next trip.
Over Memorial Day weekend we moved our family back to Idaho. We're going to miss Montana and all of the great friends we had there. Brett took a job at the hospital where he started all of his training. He's excited about working with all of the guys who had encouraged and mentored him.

We also bought a house south of Rigby and we are really excited about it. We looked at over 50 houses and just felt like this one was the best fit for us. The house is 4300 sq feet and is on an acre of land. The house is only 2 years old and looks brand new. We are so excited to make this new house our home and we love our new neighborhood and ward. I can't wait to get settled into our new house, and hopefully stay put for awhile.

The Good, the Bad, and Church Basketball

The past month has been even more crazy than normal. We've spent a lot of time in Idaho Falls the past few months and now we can finally tell everyone why...Brett got a job at Mt View Hospital in Idaho Falls. We've really enjoyed Great Falls, Montana but the job situation isn't very stable. We're very excited about our new job, new home, and the fact that we won't spend every other weekend in the car.
About 6 weeks ago Brett tore his achilles playing church basketball. It was fun having him home but unfortunately he tore his right achilles so I've had to be the chauffer, which hasn't been as fun. He's healing quickly and can't wait to get his brace off and start therapy.

We spent Easter week in Idaho Falls. It was fun doing Easter egg hunts with our cousins. Saturday Morning we woke up to this weather...notice the snowsuits

I felt like the worlds worst mother for allowing McKinley to go to this Easter egg hunt, but it was all made worth it when she won this

We also had a really fun Easter egg hunter with our Bradshaw cousins and my cute sister-in-law made a wonderful lunch for all of us.


We spent part of the week at the condo in Island Park. McKinley loved swimming with her cousins and sledding behind the 4-wheeler.

Annabelle had fun playing with her cousin Landon and hopefully he wasn't traumatized by her aggressiveness. It only looks like she is trying to eat his face, she's actually giving kisses.

It was fun spending the holiday with family and we look forward to being able to spend more holidays with family now that we live closer.
We are getting excited about our trip to Cancun. Brett and I leave for Mexico next weekend and the girls will be staying with their grandparents. I'm sure I'll have fun once I get over the initial shock of leaving my kids, and I'm sure the girls will have a blast with Grandma and Grandpa.

Updates and Pictures

Life has been kind of crazy lately. Due to some instability at the hospital Brett works for we have been traveling a lot. Brett has been picking up shifts at a hospital in Idaho Falls and we have been splitting time between Great Falls, MT and Idaho Falls. Its been fun because we've been able to see family, but we are definately getting tired of traveling. All of this traveling has made life crazy and has kept me from updating our blog.
So here are some updates and new pictures of the girls.


Annabelle has turned one and even though I'm home with her all the time I still feel like I missed it. She is growing up so fast. She has become the best cuddler and I LOVE IT!

Our mellow baby has become a very active and opinionated little girl. Its so fun to watch her play with her big sister.

She may be younger but she definately doesn't let anyone, especially Kinley, boss her around. She is starting to talk a little more, and she'll try to repeat what we say. Lately we've had a lot of Birthdays and Annabelle is constantly singing the Happy Birthday song. She also likes to sing the Sunbeam song, Clean-Up, and ABC's. You can't understand all of the words, but she gets the tune right:o) Annabelle is hesitant to walk. We know she can because we've seen her do it, but she would rather crawl everywhere. Oh well, it will come...and then she'll be that much more dangerous. She is such a sweet little girl and I'm grateful everyday to have her in our family.


McKinley is in preschool and LOVES IT. I'm always amazed at what she is learning. The other day she built a tower, apparently it was a flag pole, and she was holding it while saying the pledge of allegiance. I couldn't believe she new the whole thing, what a smartie. She is also learning how to write her letters and sound them all out. We recently celebrated her 4th birthday and we had a big Frog Princess party at our house for all of her friends.





McKinley is a great helper for her mommy, and such a wonderful big sister.


She has the best imagination. I love to listen to her play pretend and tell stories. I can't imagine my life without my Kinley Bug.

Being a mom is the BEST! I Love these girls!!

Birthday Month

Between December 30th and February 10th we have had all 4 of our birthdays, and when you throw in Christmas its an expensive/busy month and a half.
Most recently we've celebrated my baby turning 4. I know 4 technically doesn't make her a baby anymore, but I think she'll be my baby until she has her own babies. I can't believe how fast she is growing up.
While we were in Idaho Falls McKinley had 2 birthday parties. We celebrated a triple birthday party with her cousins Madison and Mason at Leo's and had such a fun time. McKinley got a lot of fun frog princess presents that she LOVES!
We also had a party with the Maxfields at a place with a bunch of bounce houses. It was really fun to have all the grandkids play together. McKinley also got some pink cowboy boots, that she has worn every day since, and a really cute cowboy hat.
We had a fun family party on her Birthday. We went to her fav restaurant and then had cake and presents. McKinley really wanted a frog princess cake. I'm definately not a professional cake decorator, but McKinley loved it anyway. It was a really fun night, except that poor little Annabelle was sick and throwing up all day.


We also recently celebrated Bretts birthday and McKinley was really excited to help me decorate Bretts cake.

Its been a busy month, but its been a fun month. We are all now a year older and wiser, and now hopefully I'll have a little more time to stay caught up on my blog. :0)