Some New Pics of Our Brood

These were actually taken at the beginning of July to mark Talmage's 9 month milestone. He has changed so since his 6 month pictures. I wasn't going to do all the kids but at the last minute decided to get a few new shots. We threw on outfits and whipped out hair do's and this is what came out of it. I love them! Sometimes I over think getting ready for this stuff so the spontaneous thing was kind of nice. Besides, Ava and Claire won't ever pass up the opportunity to be photographed.

They love the attention!

I promise I tried to narrow down which photos. They are just all too dang cute!

Ava Loves the Camera! Can you tell?

 

 

 I've seen this face a few too many times!

Sassafras!

She truely is beautiful inside and out! Love this Big Girl!

Claire isn't shy for the camera...just the lady taking the pictures.

She might look all calm and collected on the outside...but there is a reason we call her Crazy Cousin.

Inside she is all spunk and personality...with a side helping of adorable and cuddly too. (We also call her Cuddly Cuddly)

And here is the the Big Boy! He was so much better than last time, but whole ordeal got old for him real fast. 

It was hard to narrow pictures because I love how they captured so many of his facial expressions.

These are some of my favorites!

He is all sorts of scrumptious in these pictures!

He just might have gotten the bluest eyes and the longest lashes of all our kids. Is always the boy! 

(so unfair).

 Mr. Handsome

 He has been sucking in his upper lip lately and we see this silly face quite often.

We should have learned our lesson last time. He doesn't like to sit in suitcases. I posted the black and white because you can see the tears forming (esp on the left eye).

By this time he was really done. What you don't know is this smile is really the beginning of a unhappy smirk. Thank the Heavens for talented photographers.

 

 I used to think that using food terminology to describe a baby was sort of overkill. But really, no word better describes him than Delish! (currently the slang term for delicious).

Reunions, Conferences and Pioneer Celebrations

A Titan Reunion

We have arrived...well at least Tyson has. He can officially say he has been out of school longer than he was in school. We attended his 20 year high school reunion a few weeks ago. It was fun...ish! Luckily there were a few people I knew to visit with and then I just sat back and listened while people walked down memory lane and told stories. Tyson was fortunate enough to fall in the category of people who "time has been kind to," or who "looked just about the same." I think he reveled in that fact for a few days (I don't blame him). There was all sorts of fun like music from 1993, dancing, and even a fashion show with clothes from the year they graduated. I guess plaid button ups were the thing. Of course there was some slightly tipsy people who kept us entertained with their antics. The highlight of my night...being asked by another girl that I didn't even know if I wanted to accompany her to the bathroom...like the good old high school days.

WGU

I attended the annual Academic Conference for my work a few weeks ago. It is fun to get out of my home office and mingle with co-workers at least once a year. The meetings were good but a bit long. The highlight of the meetings for me was the keynote speaker they had on the last day. He is a artist and business strategist that helps companies more or less think outside the box and retrain their employees to Unthink their strategies to help build the company. His name was Erik Wahl and he was excellent. He painted these pictures during his presentation and it was amazing to watch. He definitely left me feeling motivated and thinking a little differently about my job.

Fun at the Drive-in

We had a fun time with my niece and her kids at our kids first drive-in movie experience.  We saw Dispicable Me 2 and then the kids slept in the back of the man for the 2nd movie. They absolutely loved it. They piled in my niece's truck and at junk food and lounged in the jammies. We decided it was fun but the late night did not produce the sleeping in the next day we had hoped for.

Pioneer Day Celebrations

We started gearing up for Pioneer Day by going with the Primary to the Church History Museum on the Saturday before the 24th. The kids did pretty well. Ava loved asking about different tool and clothing items and Claire loved the kids play area. I loved all the detail that the Pioneers put into everything that they did. Their furniture, clothes, home, and buildings have so much intrict detail. They were much more patient and dedicated people. I wish we (as a society) took more pride and put more energy into our work. There was so much to see and do...we will definitely be going back.

Then on Sunday the Primary Presidency put on a great sharing time for the kids. They churned butter, pulled hand carts and learned more about how Pioneers lived and the amazing people that they were. Ava can tell me quite a bit now. I love my village and how they help me teach my child.

On Pioneer Day we actually broke a long standing tradition by not going to the days of 47 Parade. I regret it now, but we tried to watch a little of it on the television. Parades are way better in person. We ended up doing a picnic lunch at my mothers house and having some water fun with my niece's kids.
Talmage loved the little shooting water at the end of the slip and slide and enjoyed his first ever popsicle. He even had his first mini tantrum when it was all gone. We had lots of fun in the sun.

That night, we had some pizza with the Ramsey's (great friends and neighbors) and some root beer floats with homemade vanilla ice cream and home made root beer. When it got dusk we lit off some fire works. It was a lot of fun and we are definitely glad to have such great friends.

 P.S. Ava is still very afraid of the fireworks ever since the haywire firework on the 4th that shot at us spectators and burned part of a blanket so she enjoyed her vantage point from the back row. She wouldn't even do a sparkler.

Our Lazy Summer Days

The Positives

Laying in the shade on a quilt on the lawn at Grandma's house.

Endless time riding a bike

Eating ice cream

Looking like a rag-a-muffin 90% of the time

Lazy Saturday mornings cuddling with dad

Baths to wash the "outdoor" smell off

And pedicures with friends to make our toes pretty in our sandals

 Negatives

Summer cold that progress to ear infections = 3 kids on antibiotics for 

Right Ear Infections

Oh and then they share their germs = Daddy has a right ear infection too! {Sad Face}

 

2012 in Review Part Deux...July through December

It has been so fun to look back over photos of the past year and remember all fun times.

It is especially crazy to see how much my girls have changed.

You don't realize how quickly they are changing from day to day until you look back at pictures.

I miss how small they seemed.

Anyways, back to the wonderful summer memories!

July

 We Started July with a fun little family get away up North to Logan, Utah.

On the way up, we stopped at the Ogden Dinosaur Park.  It was our first experience there and we had so much fun.  I was pregnant and swollen so I didn't point the camera my way, but I swear I was there. We then stopped in Brigham City to have the infamous Fried Chicken at Maddox. Yum x3!

Then we drove the rest of the way to Logan and went swimming at our hotel for the rest of the afternoon. Small kids just need a hotel and a swimming pool to think that a vacation is awesome.

The next day we started our day off by doing some more swimming and then we went to the Logan City Zoo (I'm not lying...there really is one) and to Gossner Cheese Factory. Of course we had to eat lunch and get some chocolates at the Bluebird Cafe and then headed back home.

It was a quick trip but so fun and just what our little family needed!

(Unfortunately the only pictures I took were at the Dinosaur Park...mom fail for sure).

Someone finally figured out how to take selfie pictures with my iPhone.  I am now lucky to find tons of these every week.

 She also kept us entertained with her daily performances and many costume changes.  

I think she is Jasmine in this picture.

The other cheeky girl spent many days as the "Pink Princess" and practiced her mothering skills in preparation for our new baby.  She just told me before I took the picture that she could help me feed baby brother.

 Also daddy finally figured out how to round brush Claire's hair after bath time on the days that I worked.  He did a good job.  We refer to it as Texas Hair and we call the process

Texification.

Then we ended the month with a fun BBQ at our friends and neighbors house on the 24th of July.

The kids had fun running through sprinklers and jumping in a bounce house that they had.

We had great food, homemade ice cream (thanks to Tyson) and some great 

fireworks that we all brought to set off in the street out front. Most of the other neighbors gathered and it was great!...(until Claire was chewing on a glow stick and it broke in her mouth. I panicked and rushed her inside where I proceeded to wash her tongue with soup. After calling poison control we calmed down and Claire was fine).

August

The summer flew by so quickly.  In August Ava finally conquered the task of learning to hula hoop. She had been practicing all summer after seeing a friend do it. Nothing like a little friendly competition to help motivate sometimes. Claire like to think she was doing it...and we let her. 
 

 We went to the Davis County Fair with two of my nieces and their kids. We have done it the last few years and always have a good time. This year my kids braved the pony ride...which was a
TOTAL SHOCK.

 There I am in my almost 9 months of pregnant glory...in other words...HUGE and SWOLLEN.

We did the last of the movies in the park with my niece Tanille and her kids.
We loved the company.

 The girls had plenty of picnics and yard adventures at Grandma Julie's while I worked.  They love the sprinklers and the teepee. They love grandma's house more than home. 

September
 Back to School!
Ava started Kindergarten. It was a sad and glorious day. I am excited for all the school adventures she will have, but I mourn how quickly she is growing and changing. I often remind myself that I should savor every shoe tying, hair doing, drink pouring moment because she won't need that kind of help much longer. I want her to be independent, but I want her to need me in her uncomplicated ways for a little bit longer.

 Anyways, back to the subject...the first day of Kindergarten. Ava was very nervous. She insisted on taking the bus but then insisted that I follow it and greet her at the school and wait with her outside until the bell rang.  I did it for the first month until I had the baby and then I just started driving her to school. She has a tendency to be anxious and it really manifested itself at the beginning of school. She kept thinking I would leave her and she would be lost. She even kept saying things like, "Mom do you remember when you lost me at the store and I was so scared?" I assured her that I never lost her at a store, but to this day she will argue that I did.  I think she had a vivid dream that she remembers because I know if I lost her at a store, I would be as traumatized as she would be.
I don't think I would forget it! (well i guess I could suppress it)
There was some where around 19 total kindergarteners from our neighborhood starting school. Our neighbors that live by the bus stop, invited us over for doughnuts with the other kindergarteners so we could have a bite and catch the bus all together. It was fun but Ava didn't touch a doughnut because she was too nervous.  

Here is the Kindergarten Crew:

 Coming Home!

She had a great first day.

Claire was so happy to see her. She had gotten lonely and bored at home alone.

We got a new pet in September.
The best kind of pet because it is low maintenance and only stays for a short while.
What kind of pet is it, you ask?
A caterpillar...a monarch butterfly caterpillar to be exact.
We had gone up to Heber City a few times to hunt for a caterpillar in the milk weed but never found one. Ava had one the year before and loved watching it transform and setting it free. Fortunately, my mother-in-law had a friend who found one for us and we were able to bring him home. He ate and ate and ate and got so big. He finally formed a chrysalis and we waited and waited and waited, but he never emerged. He started to look like he was rotting so we figured he had suffered an untimely death and had a little funeral for him. We aren't sure what caused the problem, but Claire did knock the cage once and I am convinced he was a victim of shaking baby syndrome.
RIP Cookie.
(which is the name of the Monarch caterpillar on Mrs. Spiders Sunny Patch Friends)

We didn't take a lot of pictures in September. Probably because I was soooo preggo.

We ended the month with a little hike along the Pipeline Trail up East Mill Creek Canyon with some friends. It was a mommy daughter date of sorts. We hike, collected treasures in sacks (rocks, sticks, beautiful fall leaves) and then stopped for a pit stop to have some pumpkin cookies, cider and a story.

The kids loved the great outdoors and all the beautiful colors.

  

October

TRICK or TREAT!

First the Treat. 

Talmage Bringhurst

Born Oct 2nd at 6:47 AM

6 lbs 4 oz and 19.5 inches

 I am going to write Talmage's Birth Story at a later date but he was THE BEST TREAT EVER!

He was really due on the 6th but had to come early. He was just so tiny. I struggled this pregnancy to picture what my baby would look like, but the moment I saw him, it was a familiar face. He stole my heart long before I saw him and he was perfect in every way.

I'll post more pictures when I tell his birth story but here is are a few hospital favorites.

 Someone's ready to come home.

 I have the cutest kiddos!

 There were a lot of firsts in October. Like first bath at home, first night in crib, first time being held by his adorable sisters, first smile, first poop face caught on camera and many more.

Okay sorry, I kind went on a tangent with pictures of Talmy.

We usually venture to a few pumpkin patches, Gardner Village to see the witches, Wheeler Farm, and Thanksgiving Point for the corn maze, but this year we were sort of busy with a boy.

My girls got to do a few of those things with family and by the end of the month I finally got going again and we had some fun right before Halloween.

We modified and old tradition this year and decided to have our annual chili dinner the night before Halloween and coupled it with some pumpkin carving. We had Tyson's parents and sister and had lots of fun.  My mother in law had been having the girls practice a little "show" since they love to perform. They sang a cute witch song and wore costumes. It was adorable!

 Notice Claire in my red wedges, her absolute favorite shoes and the bane of Tyson's existence

(because he hears them clonk up and down the hair early on Saturday mornings).

On Halloween we started at a neighbors house where a big group gathered for a quick bowl of soup and bread sticks. We then set out around the neighborhood. Claire was a trooper. She loved the idea of Free Candy. After making the neighborhood rounds we went by my in-laws.

Did I mention we spent the night with Merida from Brave and Little Miss Muffet.

Tyson ended this month with a special delivery of skis and took a picture of his two favorite deliveries this month.

November

November was a good month. My baby boy was a month old, I was knee high in my blessed maternity leave and we were headed into the heart of the holiday season which I love. We decided to bless the baby the first Sunday which was November 4th.  I wanted to do it before the weather got real bad and hoped to avoid the sick season. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a major germaphobe and seriously have anxiety over it some times (Me and Bob from What About Bob could hang and get along nicely).
s
Tyson gave Talmage a wonderful blessing and of course I cried. He is wonderful father and a great example of manhood. I am proud my son will have such a great example of men to look up to. Tyson's father and grandfathers were all great examples of how to provide and be a righteous leader of the family. Talmage will be surrounded by modern day heroes to look up to. I am so thankful to have a husband that honors his priesthood and keeps himself worthy to be able to perform these ordinances for himself. He is the most wonderful man and I love him so much. From the moment I found out I was having a boy, I have felt the most wonderful and strong sense of responsibility. I want to be like the mothers of the Stripling Warriors that taught their sons to love and serve the Lord. When I hold him close and rock him at night, I stare into his sleepy eyes with his eyelids fluttering and I tell him about the the kind, thoughtful, strong and faithful man I know he will become. He often smiles as if he understands and I kiss his forehead tenderly because my heart is bursting with love, hope and faith.

Because it was sick season and so many family members were sick and could not make it to the blessing, we decided to have a little luncheon for only our parents and immediate family.

It was a perfect and special day!

 

  

 
This month the school was doing the Reflections Content. Ava decided she wanted to draw something. The theme was the Magic of a Moment. Ava decided she wanted to draw the metamorphosis of a Monarch Caterpillar since ours had died and she didn't get to see it. She did such a good job and got a gift coupon to a local frozen yogurt shop for a free bowl.

She got to do a fun Thanksgiving Feast at school where she took some rolls to share. She got to play the part of one of the Native Americans. She then wore her little outfit around the house for awhile. 

 We went with a mission companion of mine and saw the lights downtown at
Temple Square and City Creek.
The candy windows at Macy's were incredible and the kiddos were mesmerized by them.

A few weeks later we went to back to City Creek Center with some friends from our ward to see Santa come in from the North Pole. They handed out glow sticks to each child so they could help guide him to his landing place. Some elves danced and sang until he came and their were even fireworks helping him find us. The kids loved it and thought it was so neat to see Santa looking down at them from the top of the building. We went to dinner after to the Cheesecake Factory and the the kiddos were really good.

 Jack Frost's Mom

There was a photographer there from the Desert News. After staking out our kids and taking a picture he came up and asked for Ava's name.  He looked like he took a bunch of pictures so we didn't think much of it, but the next day she was in the paper. The online story had twenty something photos you could scroll through that went with the story of Santa's arrival, but her picture was the one featured with the story in the newspaper.
She felt famous!

 

 It was so magical!
That same night another magical thing happened.

Our kids got a new cousin! Tyson's sister had her baby girl on her due date of November 28th and now my kids have a cousin on Tyson's side. We waited until she came home from the hospital to visit since we couldn't take the kids to the hospital because of the hospital restrictions. The kids were so excited to meet baby Reese. They were excited their first cousin was a girl. Ava always would talk about all the the things she will teach her, like doing cart wheels and putting on make up. She was 8 lbs and 10 oz and 21.5 inches long. She sure is a cutie with lots of adorable hair and some very kissable chubby cheeks. Even though Talmage is about 7 weeks older, they were about the same size because of how small Talmy started out.
They are going to be besties!

 December
 We had a wonderful December.  I was was still on maternity leave and was excited to just spend time with my kids without worrying about work.They had adjusted to being big sisters without any 
 difficulty and problems (much to my surprise). They both adored their baby brother and seemed to be tender with him. It was like he had always been a part of the family. They love his pouty lip and both race to see who can get the binky to the crying little man first.

Early in the month, my sister and my nieces came into town for a quick visit. They came to see the new Twilight Movie with us. It was so fun to spend so much time with them in a few short days.  I wish they could always be near. Since they aren't often in Utah around Christmas, we took them down to Temple Square to see the lights. It was a fun night...but they froze as they are Arizonians and are not used to the cold.

The girls practiced skiing and then Ava actually got her first professional lesson at the Canyons.
Tyson was in heaven because he got to ski the whole day while she was in a lesson.

 Claire practically lived 24/7 in this outfit for the month of December.
Her flamingo dress and my red wedges with her crocs as liners.

 

Grandma gave us Christmas jammies and read us lots of Christmas stories.

 Ava made a pretty good snowman with some friends. She was sad one day when we drove by and she noticed it had melted (or been destroyed).

Got our first Grandma/Grandpa and Grandkids picture.

Had our first "play date" with our new cousin.
Notice that they are about the same length. My guy is a shortie pants.

 Went to Scheels for the first time after seeing the lights at Thanksgiving Point.
The kids loved the indoor Ferris Wheel.

They did not love the taxidermy photo opts!

We went to Gardner Village to see the Elves for Activity Days with our ward friends.
Unfortunately this is the only picture I took (mom fail)!

 

Tyson had his work party with Levelnine at Rodizzio Grill and it was Yummy!

He also received a pair of PitViper glasses in his favorite neon green.

 We had our ward Christmas Breakfast.
The girls actually sat on Santa's lap and Ava stared as one of the stable animals in the Nativity the Primary put on.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with my family at my sister's house.  We had good food, fun games and good entertainment from the kids who did the Nativity.
Ava was Mary this year and so excited to "act".
Claire was a shy wise "woman".
It was so cute!

Christmas Morning
I videoed Christmas morning more than pictures and I wish I had gotten more. The girls loved the goodies Santa left and had so much fun unwrapping. They both get it now and it makes it so much more fun.
Talmage loved his robot and sat entertained on my mom's lap while the girls opened gifts.

 Claire immediately put on her Tinkerbell shoes and Ava lived in her Barbie Pop star outfit for days.
She is a full fledged rock star now. We are serenaded nightly by the sounds of her guitar and barbie microphone.

Later that night the girls really had fun with their Lego table from Grandma and Grandpa.
Talmage was rocking a new hat that just made him that much more scrumptious!

 What an adventure 2012 was.
Our little family did a lot of laughing, crying, bonding, fighting (the girls), playing, cuddling and most of all loving.
2012 that is a wrap!
2013 here we come and we are excited!