The Haskell Family

2012-01-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

So we saw this darling pin on pinterest a few weeks ago. yes friends I know I have a problem! Well, we decided to do it and send it to my mom and braydon's mom. It's a hug. So we got red paint and did sawyer's hand prints and then put a red ribbon attached to each side. It really is so adorable. My mom sent us a picture of her "hug" around her neck!

Sawyer also decided to paint my dad and braydon's dad a picture and send it to their work. This is us facetiming my dad and him showing us the painting hanging up at work. He is quite the artist huh?

Cooking, playing and the big boy potty!

2012-01-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sawyer just loves to help me cook! Everyone morning he wants to help me make breakfast mostly waffles, but he loves to cook eggs too. Lunch he doesn't really participate in I guess lunch is the least fun! Dinner he is always in the kitchen with me the entire time. If I don't have the chair ready he lets me know it's time for dinner and to "grab it"

This was the first time he helped me make cookies. He thought it was "Deeeeeelicious"

he is also obsessed with play dough, crayons, and paint. if we don't do one of these things i'm in trouble.

Sawyer has been interested in the big boy potty for a really long time. He always would tell me he was going and that he wanted a new diaper. So we thought after Christmas we would just introduce him to the big potty and see what happened because i really wasn't sure if he was ready. It has been going pretty well. I still think most kids potty train quickly easily but we kind of aren't pushing it and he tells us when he needs to go. At first he was just telling us he needed to go and we would run to the toilet and he would just sit there for a while do nothing and say "all done" So for a few days we just made it a really big deal even if he didn't go and cheer every time we went on the potty. We sat him down and told him if he went pee pee he could have a treat and if he went poop he could have a present. So Monday he actually started telling us he had to go and would actually go!! So he got treats and he liked that so now he is doing it all day. He either goes naked during the day because he takes of his diaper or he wears his underware. We have had one accident! Tonight was the first night that he has acutally gone poop! We were pretty excited and he got his present so he was soooo happy. It may take us longer then other kids and i'm ok with it. We don't want to freak out our sensitive child.

So this is kinda sick sorry, but he took his cookie in the bathroom because he can no get on and off the toilet by himself YAY!! So I followed him in and he had his toy and a cookie while on the toilet. today when he got off the toilet he said "proud of ya buddy" He repeats everything and this time I didn't even have to say it!!

Feeling better

2012-01-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

Sawyer is feeling so much better. His little body is still a little bruised, but is healing. You can see that his little black eyes are almost gone! Thanks for all the prayers on his behalf. We sure appreciate it!

He is obsessed with wearing his dads stuff. Mostly his dads hats! He has to wear one everyday.

I love his laugh! it's so fun and contagious!

2012-01-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

Sawyer was laying in bed last night talking to himself and all the toys he had in there with him... ironman (which our darling friend lauren gave to him for his birthday... thanks lala he loves it!!) 3 spidermans, woody, buzz and many more. This is the conversation he had
Sawyer- " buzz are you hungry? ok! what do you want? applesause, nuggies, and french fries? i like it too! lets do it. fold your arms. MAMA!! (yelling) buzz no fold arms"

Then I thought to myself this is the exact conversation I had with him at lunch today.

Bye bye binky!

2012-01-24T09:18:00.000-07:00

So we decided it was time to get rid of the Binky. Obviously we picked a horrible time... it's pretty much a horrible time whenever you change the life a your child I think and lets face it the Binky is one of Sawyer's favorite things in the whole world. I was really scared because he is already such a bad sleeper that it would just make things that much worse... but how much worse could they get? So we were all in our bed watching kung fu panda one night and Braydon and I looked at each other and said lets do it tonight. cold turkey lets just get rid of it. Well, we have talked about ways to get rid of it. Like putting it on a balloon and sending it in the air, or having him just take it to our big dumpster and throw it away, we have cut the Binky and he still doesn't care, we put a hole in it and he doesn't care. So we decided to pack him up put him in the car and take him to target to let him pick out a toy. we told him on the way there that he had to give his Binky to pay for his toy. We kept repeating it over and over on the drive over so he understood. he was so excited because he was going to get a buzz or an iron man. so we got there he started running where he thought the toys were. So we got to the isle of the toy story characters. He was so excited. He saw all the fun characters, woody, buzz, bulls eye, Mr. pork chop, and Rex (his favorites) He already has a woody so we told him maybe a buzz, but he could really pick whatever he wanted. So he picked a buzz and off to checkout to pay for his buzz with his Binky. We took the Binky off his shirt and he carried it to the lady. The lady had his buzz and waiting for him to pay. He handed her his Binky and said "bye Binky love you much" and we left. He has asked about it only at night because he has been sick, but we have not given in. He now knows when he wants it and asks for it he says "Binky for buzz" We will see how it goes, but I think he will soon forget about it beloved Binky!

2012-01-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

So one of our sweet friends from our ward saw my blog post about sawyers hives and said that her daughter had the same thing two years ago, but it was actual not hives but something called erythema multiforme. Well, Sawyer's feet were still pretty swollen yesterday and he was unable to even walk or stand up because it hurt him so bad. So we decided we would get a second opinion. Sure enough sawyer doesn't have hives he has erythema multiforme. Luckily he was on oral steriods and it's starting to improve. This caused in children and adults after a severe viral infection. it's not very common, but it can either be caused by medication or just by the immune system being compromised. So it is very similar to hives in how it comes about, but if un treated can be pretty bad. We are so thankful for all the calls, text, and prayers on behalf of our little boy! We are on the mend and feeling pretty dang good about it!

Hives really?

2012-01-22T17:58:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was just like any typical saturday. Braydon went to study and Sawyer and I got up and of course he wanted waffles and strawberries... his favorite lately. So around 10:45 I changed his bum and he had a little rash that just looked like his diaper might have been irritating him a little bit. So i put a little cream on it and really didn't think anything else of it. Well, I changed him a little while later and the rash had gotten bigger and went to the other side of his leg. So I called braydon while studying and he just said keep an eye on it. well 12:30 came around and he had pooped so i went to change him and the rash had turned into small penny shaped circles that were lifted off the skin and so I decided to take his clothes off and check him. he had small dots and some penny sized dots on his chest and back. At this point I had a little bit of a melt down because we both have been sick for two weeks and things just haven't really been looking up. And now he has this rash. So I thought maybe chicken pox, but at the same time it didn't really look like chicken pox, but it was certainly possible because his little immune system has been so compromised lately. Obviously our pediatrician wasn't open anymore so we took him to insta care. They did a strep test and checked his oxygen level all normal. the doctor came in and gave him a good exam and said he has hives. he asked the typical questions has he had a fever... yes five days ago of 105 almost had to be hospitialized. has he been on medication? Yes albuterol, a prescription cough syrup, and amoxicillin for his double ear infection. has he been on amoxicillin before? yes no reaction. have you tried new foods? no have you been anywhere outside? no we have been in our house for a week and a half. The doctor said because he has had rsv and his immune system isn't very strong that it could be caused by anything. REALLY? how crappy do I feel that something i did or didn't do caused my son to have this horrible hive outbreak. So he put sawyer on a prescription anit-histamine, cortozone cream, and an oral steriod. It started off as small bumps and a few hives and then in the morning he had a whole cluster of them all over his back, side, bum, legs, neck, eye lids, ears, under his chin, and by his mouth. it has been breaking my heart. He was up all night saying "ouch mama it hurts" I couldn't help me and it made me cry. so there we were two little cry babies! The doctor said hives can last one day or last 6 weeks. From how last night went we won't survive six weeks. So our cute friend cree came over today and helped braydon give sawyer a blessing. WE are so grateful for the priesthood and friends who honor it. We have so many great guys who we can call at anytime. I am thankful that we have modern medicnine to help my son feel better when he feels so crappy. I am aslo extremely grateful for issurance... seriously we would be broke if we didn't have it. We are starting a new week and hopefully our house will be sicko free. Cross your fingers.

this is how it started. small... and this freaked me out?

when we got up in the morning... so much worse

ouch mama it hurts!

it's worse in areas that have more heat like under his arms

you can kinda see the hives on his eye lids and face

poor guy just wants to lay down because it hurts to move. He walks on his heels because he has hives on his feet, ankles, and toes and it's hard to walk.

Some of the hives are healing and they are turning into bruises. The bruises were the first hives i noticed

small hives that started tonight on the backs of his legs... also a few bruises

He looks like a marble floor

Eating his quesadilla

My happy boy. Through it all even the tears he has tried so hard to be happy

He made himself a bed on the living room floor because it hurts to climb on the couch. He also lays with his arms up because it hurts to have them down because he gets hot. Get better soon buddy! We love you so much:)

2012-01-20T21:15:00.001-07:00

I had to document the sweet event I witnessed tonight. Some might say I am a little odd because I had a melt my heart experience watching my sweet son tonight. We were playing with his toys after an intense painting session and he grabbed his panguin ( his name is Pablo after one of his favorite shows the Backyardagains) and said " mama Pablo's tired I put him in my bed." so I said ya buddy that is a good idea. I don't really think to much of this because you wouldn't believe what this kid puts in his bed or how much stuff is in there sometimes. About ten minutes later while we were playing with his trains and animals he got the most worried look on his face and said " mama pablos's crying, I get him." he left the living room so fast and grabbed Pablo. When he can back he had Pablo is a blanket wrapped tightly and was swaying back and forth and said " I hold him and love him... He stop crying." apparently that sweet gesture didn't work because Pablo was still crying. So sawyer decideded to feed him and give him a bottle. That worked and we went back to playing. Again, about ten minutes later he said " oh no he's cryin, I get him mama!" so back into his room he went and he came back with him wrapped up again. " mama he need a diaper" so we changed Pablo and he was good as new sawyer rocked him for a bit and put him back to bed because " hes tired" I honestly don't know where he learned this maybe from watching me with the younger kids during our baby swap, but it was really sweet to watch him care for Pablo and be really concerned for him. Maybe he will love his little brother this much too? Here's to hopIng but for now he will just be my sweet boy to all his little animal friends!

2012-01-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Playing on the leappad sunshine got you. He has made so many drawings already we had to delete them and start over! He loves it and calls it "my puter"

Hiding from the doctor!

Braydon's grandma made this cowboy bib for sawyer. He loves it. He tries to wear it to church with his cowboy boots.

at another doctors office!! Poor kid can't catch a break

We had a tornado warning on tuesday. Of course braydon was at school and it was freezing outside. So i put a million layers on sawyer incase we had to go camp out in our shed!

Going through the tunnel

We have been inside for the last week and half because the doctor said sawyer shouldn't go around other kids for a least a week. So we have to find fun projects to do. Coloring, painting, and playdough are top on his list right now.

Sick little boy! I feel so bad for him. He still is sick, but definately not as bad.

we bought this tent for his birthday. He loves it! Today he decided to get pillows and daddy's blanket and make a bed inside. He wanted me to tie up the flap so he could watch toy story while being comfy!

Braydon's mom bought him this monkey sweat suit. He loves to pretend he is a monkey... all the time!

Sawyer and Braydon... doing what they do best. Sleeping together! Sawyer has always been a really bad sleeper. Somoene help us before his brother gets here!! So lately braydon comes home from school and they fall asleep together on the couch because they are both so tired from sleepless nights. Sawyer sure loves his daddy and daddy sure loves sawyer!

Can you tell we love spiderman? if you look you can see he is holding 2 out of the many spiderman toys we have at this house. He asks everyday and ever night if he can wear his spiderman jammies. They are starting to fade in color because I have to wash them so much because he only wants to wear spiderman. You better look into a bigger size mom!! ha ha just kidding.

2012-01-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Buddy! Even though you were really sick 105 fever and three medications, we still got that million dollar smile from you and you tried so hard to enjoy your birthday. You were sad your friends didn't come over, but it was fun just having a little birthday party with just us three. Your dad even sang out loud to you! happy birthday little boy! You are 2!!!

Bestfriends... they share a birthday. There is no one better then sharing your birthday with your sunshine! happy birthday mom/sunshine. We love you so much:)

2012-01-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have a little ache in my heart tonight. Tomorrow my little baby boy is going to be 2!! We had a fun little party planned, but unfortunately Sawyer has RSV and is pretty sick. We all seems to have a different bug in this house. Braydon has the common cold. I have strep and bronchitis. So we are all medicated at the Haskell house. So I cancelled his party today after the doctor said to steer clear of people for a week because he is really contagious. He won't notice, but it made me feel pretty sad. So we will do something fun tomorrow with just our little sicko family of three. Sawyer has always been so sweet and sensitive. He has the most tender heart, but sometimes he forgets it. :) he is kinda like his mama... so my dad says. He is a little man now and it makes me so excited, but so sad. We have so much fun together. He lights up our whole world. He is just magic! Although, some days we have the terrible two in our house he just melts our hearts. He may not sleep, eat well, mind all the time, or wear socks, but he is mine and he is smart, funny, handsome, so tender, and he is ours. We are so grateful that he picked us to be his parents. Life would be so dull without him a part of it. Anyone who is around him just falls in love with him. I know most parents feel that their kid is the best and I believe that. Their child is the best, but mine is too. He is just the best. I can't believe he is so big already and that is going to be an older brother. We truly have enjoyed our time with just our little guy, but we are thrilled for the future. He is going to make a great older brother. He will provide torture and love! Happy birthday tomorrow our sweet boy! You make our world brighter!!

Hello 2012

2012-01-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Braydon's mom sent him some birthday presents... braydon let him open one early!

Our friend "lala" invited us to long run park to play and feed the ducks. i didn't get a good picture of sawyer and shep, but the one of him and george waiting for the ducks to come is so cute

Watching lion king... he loves to watch on mama's bed on his tummy

Playing playdough with daddy and mommy for family night. He plays everday now!

So tired!!!

Happy new year from kentucky to all our friends and family! We love you and hope this year brings you everything you want and more!

I am pretty excited and scared for 2012. We will have our second baby boy in a few months and we are soooo excited, but it's a little freaky for a lot of reasons. We are super hopeful that we will be ok at it. We had a great party at our friend kolby and jessy's house... i don't have any pictures from it though. We each brought an appitizer and then we played the newlywed game. It was such a fun party. then we went home for a bit got in some comfy clothes and went to another party at the hall's house. Melissa decorated it so cute and had hats and confetti poppers for everyone. Sawyer had it by about 10:30 but you know we stayed.... against my better judgment though i haven't had the easiest time adjusting back to kentucky time and that i am no longer with my family. bring it on 2012!!!

an out of order post, but amazing stay in utah

2012-01-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sawyer and sunshine playing together on her computer... although she doesn't let him touch it and surprisingly he doesn't

swinging with sunshine... sorry about our ugly yard. since we removed the trees it's looking pretty sad

Some of his christmas presants. He was pretty tired, but so excited

He wanted to swing everday

helping daddy with the fence

this was a daily thing. sitting on "bampa's" lap. He made him show him horse videos everday over and over

Riding clyde

the little bit of snow we got while in utah... I made sawyer put on his snow clothes because he looked so cute in them

hello spiderman obsession. my mom got him the jammies and we got him the mask and spiderman character... he wants to wear the jammies EVERYWHERE!!

Playing piano with sunshine

Swinging with uncle jon

Sad day... bampa taking us to the airport to come home

Being with sunshine

such a poser

he loves anyones glasses and loves bampas truck

Playing with uncle mat... he loves this darling track toy braydon's parents gave to him for christmas

out to lunch... in his spiderman outfit of course... not worth fighting that fight

hanging out with bamp

Horse riding in the snow... he loved it and still talks about it

Swinging with daddy

sleepy spiderman... this was the first day we were there

Last night with my parents... sad face

Playing on bampa's i pad... watching horse videos of course

so excited to go open presents and grandma and grandpa haskell's

Just one of the many huge stuffed animals my mom got him... she is so funny

lovin on sunshine

with clyde

On the airplane! he is pumped

Swinging with mommy

He is obsessed with my brother ben's cat jinx. He always had to hold him

The bountiful temple from my backyard on our last night. So beautiful

We had the best time in utah. Sawyer and I went a week early because bradyon had finals and we just couldn't wait that long so we said see ya to daddy and headed home! Sawyer did really well on the plane rides. He just wanted to talk to everyone. As soon as we landed in Utah he screamed "I excited... sunshine's house" we were on the back of the plane and he kept telling everyone to move and hurry so we could get off the plane. My mom, dad, sister and brother jon all came to the airport to greet us... well greet sawyer. he went off running to them as soon as he saw them. He got slowed down a little when his pants fell to his ancles. the sweetest thing was when he started to cry because he was so happy. He kept hugging my mom and and dad and kept saying "I so happy" We went home and my crazy son didn't nap all day and was go go go until about midnight utah time which was 2 am kentucky time. that is pretty much how everyday went unless I layed down with him. We did a lot of hanging out, seeing movies, and just enjoying being home. We went and picked braydon up from the airport and sawyer and I waited outside and he kept yelling to people walking out "daddy I here" and as soon as he saw his daddy he ran as fast as he could to him and started to cry because my sensitive boy is just like his mama!! The 23rd we went to my grandma's house "gg" as sawyer calls her. It is always a highlight of christmas for me. I love getting together with family. My grandma is so generous and kind. I can't even express my gratitude for all she gives to all of her grandchildren. christmas eve we went to dinner at my grandpa's house. It is still so weird without my grammy. It is still such a blast to see my cousins though. We missed those who were at in laws though... don't think about doing that again :) Christmas was so fun we went up to braydon's parents house and opened presents. Sawyer is in love with the track/table they got for him... they had it shipped here and he plays with it all the time. Then we opened presents at my parents house. Of course sawyer go spoiled there too. Everyone was so giving and way to kind to us this year. A huge thank you to my parents who let us stay with them, fed us, let us drive their cars and use all their stuff. They are truly the best!! We had the best time in utah. Seeing my siblings, cafe rio runs, movies, late nights, no snow:( dinners with friends who i've missed, seeing sawyer light up everyday because he is so happy to be surrounded by everyone who loves him. We are so blessed. 2011 was a beautiful year for us and we have been so blessed in our lives. Next time you see us Utah we will be a family of FOUR!!

2012-01-06T20:09:00.000-07:00

He is obsessed with helping me cook. here he is making dinner for daddy

The mall by our house was offering free sleigh rides with santa... we waited in line forever but sawyer was so excited to see the horse and santa. he wasn't affraid of him which I was so glad about

Braydon brings home gloves sometime from school and blows them up for sawyer... he named this balloon "tucky" for kentucky

We go to story time with some of our friend every other thursday at the local library.

This is the face he was making when he saw the treat I had for him

reading with shep

at chick-fil-a with shep they love the play place

It's a Brother!!

2012-01-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

We couldn't be more thrilled! We honestly didn't care what we were having, but lets just say it will be a huge relief to not have to buy all new clothes. Sawyer is so excited to have a brother... so he says, but he really has no clue... he is so cute sometime he says the baby is in my tummy and sometime the baby is in his. He either wants to baby to be named simba, dumbledore, or uniqua. Heres to hoping he changes his mind. We are scared and excited for may to come!

2012-01-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sawyer has been talking to much. He is so funny all the time and repeats everything (be careful what you say because he will say it) He is obsessed with so many things right now and sometimes it changes, but most of the time it's all the same. He is extremely obsessed with spiderman, trains, cars, horses, my parents (asks about them everyday) gum, chocolate (asks for that every morning) He loves to be outside still. We have to go outside everday even if it is a walk to the mailbox because he just loves it. I am not a huge fan of the freezing cold... unless there is snow. He is starting to talk about going on the big potty so we are thinking we might start to potty train him... soon. He is still being a very bad sleeper. It's pretty hard on me lately. Hopefully we can work on that too.
Some funny/new things he says amd does
*are you kidding me
* i'll hold ya
* i bouncing like tigger
* there you are when he sees you
* eww that is gross... when i change his bum... like i said he repeats everything
* where are you when he can't see you
* if he asks for someone and they are gone he says they are in the bathroom
* he tells everyone in kentucky about his bampa/sunshine and riding clyde( the horse)
* he told everyone in utah about his friends back in kentucky
* he always tells me I'll do it mama even if it's just outrageous.
* he thinks everything is daddy's except our bed that is mama's bed
* he thinks homemade playdough is gross, but the store bought kind is fun
* if he says that's scary and we say no then he says it's nice
* if he says it's hot and and we say no he says it's warm
* he tells me he is handsome... i tell him that a lot
* he always says please and thank you... it's pretty freaking adorable
* he loves to watch braydon fly his helicopter and talks about it all day until daddy comes home. The kid doesn't forget ANYTHING
* he hates wearing socks. I am working on that one
* he climbs on everything and tells me not to help him because he is climbing
* he loves to color and the two things he tells me he colors the most are dinosaurs or elephants
* he likes it ok when i give him a bath, but he loves it when his daddy gives him a bath
* he can count to five
* he sings justin bieber "baby" all the time and dancing to it almost every morning.
* he always yells help me help me louder and louder
* he always tells me "love you much mama" it's melts me everytime

Crazy winds! pictures don't do it justice i'm sure

2011-12-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

So my davis county suffered some crazy wind storms the other night/morning. Many peoples homes, yards, cars, ect were damaged or completely destroyed. Semi trucks were flipped over on the free way and people were out of power for 24 hours and some are still out of power. The winds in centerville and bountiful were considered hurricane winds. Centerville was put on emergency alert... it was just scary to hear about so I can only imagine what it was like to watch things blowing all over the place and just let your homes and towns get destroyed.... but it helps me to look at the good. From what I know people weren't seriously hurt. I am so thankful my family was kept safe. it is still so sad though. My yard if you have known me for a long time you know that it is just filled with these beautiful pines that my grandfather planted. it just looks so sad without them there.... obviously we still have many trees, but it just looks so sad with the ones gone. It was really hard for me to be away in kentucky while my family slept in a cold house with no lights. Sorry for calling everyone in my family a million times just to talk. it was kinda painful for me to be away in this weird time. I am truly grateful for all the selfless people who took time out of their busy lives to come help my family. From the looks of all the pictures and videos i've recieved I know they needed your help. I am so thankful for kind and giving people like you who are willing to help those in need. I am also grateful for all the people who helped out a neighbor family memeber or friend. You are truly so Christlike and giving. These pictures sure don't do justice of what happened in our yard or what happened to others peoples homes, but we are so grateful that no more damage happened....

* side note I seriously am counting down the seconds until we can go home for christmas!!

This is what happens when daddy is on the phone and mom is in the shower!!!

2011-12-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

No big deal just playing in some baby powder

Just coloring in the baby powder

putting baby powder on his feet... because that seems like so much fun

oh i'll just walk around the house covered in baby powder and wear my moms shoes... Icing on the cake!!

All about kids

2011-11-30T17:25:00.001-07:00

We went to "all about kids" on monday with a bunch of our friends... it was a blast. They have blow up toys to play on from 9-12 and then from 12-1 is the gym's free time. so they have tramps, foam pits, slides, trapeze, a big tumbling mat ect... Sawyer was in heaven. I thought we would only stay and play for a little while, but he was running around like crazy and every time he would run by me he would say "this fun!!" He was just loving the tramps... he would jump, bounce, and just laugh... the foam pit took him a little while to warm up to, but then he was jumping right in and then he would go down the slide into the pit. He sometimes will be brave, but sometimes cautious. He is just such a fun boy! We just love this boy and think he is so smart! He is starting to learn to sing the itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle little star. He sings these songs to braydon and I when he goes to bed... ADORABLE!

So much to be thankful for!

2011-11-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

this was our table... we were lucky enough to sit with our great friends the hick's. We love lauren and tyler so much. Sawyer also loves them... "lala and ty" are his really good buddies and they are so good to him. I need to get the pictures from lauren of everyone

Some of the guys taking a break after dinner before we had dessert to watch the football game

Sawyer and cute lydia... this was the only picture I got of the kids... lame I know

Watching football with the guys

turkey coma... the boys came home and crashed

It's so easy to get caught up in the game of life that we forget that we are so very blessed. I am so grateful for so many things and it would be impossible to sit here and name them all. I have an amazing family, parents, siblings, spouse, extended family, and of course my sweet boy. He really is the biggest blessing in our life. I have great friends old and new. We have our health and sometime our sanity. We have so much to be grateful for. This was kind of a hard thanksgiving for me and also a really fun one. I was a li.ttle sad that we wouldn't be home with my family this year, but we were lucky enough to spend our thanksgiving with some of our great friends. We had a little combined thanksgiving feast up at our club house and everyone who came pitched in.... and let me tell you the food was amazing. All these amazing girls are such great cooks. Not really surprised though. everyone made enough food so we could all take left overs home which was a nice treat. It was also so much fun cooking with braydon. We had a blast get making our portion of the meal together. I hope it becomes a tradition because it's fun to be with people you love on thanksgiving and since we couldn't be with family it was fun to be with our kentucky family. We have been so blessed to have come here and met so many special people. Heavenly father truly had a hand in our lives because we for sure needed to be here and as hard as it is sometimes we really do love it here and love all the people. We are just so thankful.

Our visit to Indianapolis with "sunshine"

2011-11-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Sawyer loves bath time. It was so fun for him to have bath time at grandma's hotel

he was obsessed with bumblebee. we had to go hug him everyday

My mom and the people she taught on her mission... so cool

riding the bus

sitting in class with grandma

walking to class with grandma

hiding from grandma to scare her

My mom took him up and down a million times. He loved it, but so did she... secretly!

We had such a fun time visiting my mom while she was in indiana for a confrence. We drove almost three hours and it was so worth it. We stayed in a very nice hotel and sawyer was the only child, kid, young person in the whole hotel. He was a hit though. He was putting on a show for everyone. Saying hello and just being hilarious to everyone he came in contact with. One night my mom and some of her teachers had this party to go to. No kids allowed, but my mom said we could bring sawyer anyway. Well there was a band and fun glow stick necklace passed around and the place was decorated it was fun. Well, my sweet son was dancing with all the drunk people and just having the time of his life. It was time for some people to get some awards (my mom and her school included woot woot) so the band got off the stage well sawyer being a crowd please got up on stage and started posing for everyone and all the professional photographers that were there for the event. It was hilarious. They are suppposed to send my mom the pictures they took. I can't wait to see them. Then one day we drove about an hour outside of inianapolis to a place called bloomington. My mom served her mission there. And we were able to go meet a family she taught and that was baptized. It was really fun for her and for me. Such a cool thing for her to see them after so many years. We had so much fun with "sunshine" as sawyer calls my mom and we are so glad she came out so close to us so we could see her. It made us really home sick for the rest of my family and made us sooooo excited to go home for christmas... I can't wait!!

Halloween

2011-11-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

these boys are the grandsons of the women braydon and some of his friends helped baptize. She only speaks portuguese

Sawyer and his buddy george/spiderman

Sawyer and blake/cowboy

This was the best picture we could get of sawyer and lily/bumblebee

Sawyer and morgan/princess

We had to take the candy away... he was pretty bummed about it

He had to much fun... nothing else to do, but sleep

We had such a fun time this halloween. Sawyer was so excited about being a train conductor and of course we had to get the thomas the train candy bucket. He loves that thing and plays with it all the time still. We had several fun parties over halloween weekend. the ward party was a lot of fun and great food. So many fun chilis to choose from. Then the kids went around to all the rooms and trick-or-treated. Sawyer of course tried to steal more then one candy at each room... my kind of man! Then saturday we went to our friends the low's. They had a blow up bounce house and everyone brought something for food. It was fun hanging out with lots of friends and meeting new ones. we had a great time... sawyer, although it was freezing outside never wanted to leave the bounce house. He loved it. he would have stayed all night if we would have let him. Then on actual halloween we went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood behind our complex. It's fun because everyone sits on their porch and you just ahve to walk up and grab some candy.... sawyer tried to go into a few peoples houses... that was hilarious. We had a great time with our train conductor and can't wait for next halloween. CHOOO CHOOO!!!

Huber Farms-lots of pictures!

2011-10-11T20:35:00.001-06:00

His bull riding face

Getting ready to ride the cow trian

Braydon was thrilled to squeeze into the barrell

feeding the fish

Look a like much?

My turn for the cow train.... I just love this boy

He liked to hold the pumpkin, but didn't want to take it home

he was scared of the animals and this goat wanted to be fed

Always posing... cheese!

The sweetest boy in the world!

so sweet... he loves his daddy

oh wow! this ride is so fun

WOW!!

Getting ready to drive the cow train

We had to feed the fish twice. he loved it

he throws really hard every time

Playing in the barn

Getting ready for the slide... again

Braydon went down with him and I pushed him... nice huh?

so fun!

This is the view crossing the ohio river from indiana back to down town kentucky! So Braydon Had fall break monday and tuesday. I know i know NO SCHOOL! We just got to have some much needed family time. Sawyer was in heaven. We went to Huber farms today in indiana. It was a bit of drive, but so worth it. It was beautiful. The leaves are amazing and we were the only ones on the country roads. We spent almost four hours at huber farms. Just walking around, ridng the rides, seeing the animals, feeding the fish, and of course going down the slide over and over. He kept telling me that he was with his daddy and that his name was sawyer. The whole ride home he told me he wanted to call "bampa" (my dad) and that he went on a slide. he kept repeating it over and over! We went to their farmers market and i wanted to buy all their fresh veggies and fruit. The drive home was amazing. it was such a fun much needed family day. We don't want braydon/daddy to go back to school. We like having him around.

2011-10-01T11:19:00.000-06:00

Things have been going really well here in Kentucky. The weather has been so nice... a little cool, but i enjoy jacket weather. Sawyer always wants to go the the park. At least it's not so hot that I hate being there. The park here is so fun, not because of the actual park, but because almost everytime we go we always have a friend there. Sometimes I feel like apartment living is hard, but i'm so grateful for the great support system we have here and all the great friends we have. We rented out the clubhouse and watched the byu/utah game. It was on late here... two hour difference so sawyer and I left at half time, but it was fun we had a great group turn our of ute fans and cougar fans. so glad the utes won (murdered them) Sawyer is just growing up to fast for me. He is such a fun little boy. he can be very naughty and crazy, but we are so grateful he is ours. Braydon and I celebrated our 4th year of marriage. WOW! only four years is kinda how I feel. We have been together a long time. Our friends jess and kolby were so kind to watch sawyer while we went out. he loves it up there so It was a win win right jess? We have been through many fun time/hard times. I am grateful for our life and eternity together. My parents come soon to visit. I seriously can't wait. Sawyer will be so excited to have them here. He misses them so much. Thank heavens for facetime. you know we call them twice a day. Sometimes he is a pill when talking to them because he is tired or busy, but most times he loves to tell them stories and have my mom sing to him and have grandpa make piggy noises. it's fun watching them interact. Braydon is really liking school. He is busy all the time. He makes it a priority to come home for dinner and then he goes back to hitting the books. Sawyer pretty much has seizures when he comes home. He is so excited. He always runs to him and hugs him and for the whole time he is home Sawyer doesn't even look at me and if he does it's just to tell me "daddy home" or "my daddy" He has also started calling us by our first name or by babe. he kills me I am always like no.... my name is mom. he just laughs and says "you funny"

We visit this bear everday on our way to the park. He loves this bear. He always says hello, even will share his fruit snacks, gives him high fives, and shows him his blocks. Every time we leave he says "bye bear"

Sawyer and George playing together.

Ready for church. Sawyer in his cowboy boots my dad got hime! He loves them

This is so sick... he really liked eating his feet. hope it gives you a good laugh

He is obsessed with blocks. he loves them. We can't leave the house without at least two blocks.

Sawyer and blake... say cheese.

We found extra sparklers and poppers from the fourth of july. so one cool evening we went out and did them. he loved it and was so sad when all poppers were gone.

George and Sawyer... best buddies

Happy wearing mommys hat

He loves glow sticks

Sawyer and OOLIE (oliver) he is the cutest boy huh?

Late night movie night with daddy. he waits up for his dad to get home. if I put him to bed he always wakes up when he gets home. He needs his daddy to put him to bed.

This is the sweetest thing. Sawyer learning to pray.

Morning play time. They wouldn't even look at me!

this is the new face sawyer makes. it's his pretend mad face

We went to the zoo with lala (lauren) and shep the boy she nannys. it was so fun to see the tiger so close. He still talks about it.

He prefers to drink water this way... his sippy cup is old news

he always comes outside and sits on the stairs. He likes to watch cars drive by and right up the stairs is where is friends live

church is really hard for us... he is crazy. He was so tired after church

wearing my glasses. he is so funny

I told him he looks like a girl and he said "no BOYYYYYY"

popcorn buddies.

Have you ever seen a child more excited about watching the polar express? he loved it because of the train.

Dumped out his trains and blocks and got in.

my mom bought him a bunch of cardinal shirts ( that is the mascot of braydon's school U of L)

2011-09-02T08:39:00.000-06:00

Sawyer is starting to be quite the little talker. Lately he always has something to say... sound a little like his mama? Sometimes, (lets be real) you can't understand what he is saying, but for the most part you can understand what he is saying and what he wants. He can say most of our friends names and their kids names. it's so cute almost every morning he asks for one of his little friends. And at church if he sees them he yells their name and repeats it over and over Child or adult it doesn't matter if he sees you he has to say your name and try and get their attention. He repeats everything over and over and over.
Here is a list of what he says as of late
Broken
Dirty
fix it
right there
all done
again
I got it
all gone
flower
temple
home
door
color
elmo
eeyore
barney
horse
cow
bear always followed with a growl and a laugh
you're funny
MINE! we don't like this one because he says it about everyone. He is really bad at sharing
bed
night night
moon
chalk
rock
socks
shoes
dinner
cereal
granmommy- this is what he calls my mom it's so funny
GG for my grandma. Sawyers great grandma
head
nose
hair
eyes
teeth
brush
button
water
food
hungry
movie
and the latest and one that just kills my Harry potter... yes i let my child watch it and he loves it.

We started a baby swap group. We take turns watching all the kids while each couple goes out and then the other weeks we drop sawyer off while we go out. it's two hours which is such a great amount of time to have a break and the times we watch to just play play play. It's such a good thing for sawyer. it will help him learn to play and share. It helps hime to make friends and helps him be around other people besides just braydon and i. It also give braydon and i a chance to have "couple time" i am grateful for it that is for sure.

Oh and we cut sawyers hair. I miss those curls, but it was getting out of control. even with detangler it was still so hard to comb and he would cry so we just started over and fresh. He looks so old. He is getting way to big. Slow down buddy... you have to stay young so you can live with your mom forever!

2011-08-29T10:48:00.000-06:00

Breakfast is always a fun time! We always laugh

My technology child can get in my phone and take pictures of himself. I found about 25 photos of him.

At the zoo

Happy boy eating his favorite... CEREAL

Playing on his slide after church

splash pad with his "other mom" anni. She was so adorable with him

playing with anni at the gorilla center

Thomas and Sawyer and tiger tundra

Braydon's white coat ceremony

He might have been a little bored

Braydon and the guy in the blue is our really good friend ty

Just waiting for his name to be called

We are so proud of Braydon and all of our guy friends who have worked so hard to get to this point. here is to the next four years! We feel so lucky to have such great friends here.

He looks official now! Student doctor BRAYDON HASKELL!

all our guy friend ( just the first years) after the white coat ceremony I kinda want to get a picture with all the ~~years~~ our guy friends in their coats

All the wives in the boys coats... we totally deserve to wear them... it's a joint effort going through school right? Student doctor ERICA HASKELL?? sounds good to me

being sassy

We wanted to try and straighten sawyers hair, but because it's so so so curly we couldn't see how long it really is, but he sure can rock a sweet mullet!

2011-08-21T20:06:00.000-06:00

tubby time! He loves the bath and could spend hours in it

Louisville temple. With my grandma, mom and aunt lisa with baby sawyer

My mom bought him this shirt. it's a little big, but oh well. SO cute

tonight we went to the park with our friends (our kentucky family) and it started pouring rain. You can't tell by this picture how wet we really were. We were running in the rain it was really fun actually.

he sat here watching the horses. he loves horses. he kept saying Nay nay nay

Grandma and Sawyer

We went to this darling candy shop in indiana. They gave sawyer a candy makers hat and let him watch them make the candy. he was in heaven1

"GG" and sawyer on the horse at churchhill downs.

My mom grandma aunt and sister came to visit this week. Oh my I was so excited i couldn't sleep leading up to them coming. Sawyer was in pure heaven. He got all sorts of presents when they got here. books, clothes, and toys. He showed them his room and all his toys and then the whole apartment. He was running around just so excited to have them here. We did so many fun things. We went and saw the movie "the help" it was so good. we went out to eat, shopped of course, and my mom all she really wanted to do was "watch sawyer" Grandma also bought sawyer toys while she was here. A shopping cart weird toy i know but he is obsessed with it. He puts all his toys in it and tries to get us to sit in it. She got hime a few stuffed animals which he loves and always hugs. She bought him some Louisville cardninal shirts ( that is where braydon goes to school) We feel so grateful that they were all able to come. And so grateful for all the nice things they did for us and sawyer while they were here. When they left sawyer was hysterical. He sobbed and sobbed. He sat at the door for almost an hour laying there crying. All day today he has asked fo them. it breaks my heart. Thank you to all of you for making this weekend so special. We are excited for October when grandma and grandpa get to come back again. WE love you sooo much

2011-08-15T16:06:00.000-06:00

the new splash park we found

Getting brave!

Don't mind all the food in his mouth

My happy boy

his friend mckenzie. she is so cute.

Swinging so high with daddy

These big swings are so cool and very comfortable

keith and kenz

so handsome and ready for church

eating watermellon icecream... he picked it out

So excited to see the gorilla, but scared enough to keep a distance

well, daddy went back to school. Our week break with him was so much fun. So now it's just Sawyer and mommy at home. He was laughing so hard. he is to cute. Things in Kentucky are going really well. We switched to 1 o'clock church. worst time ever! Sawyer has been so difficult. Pray for us. My mom and sister come on wednesday!! SO EXCITED!! We can't wait to have grandma and auntie emo here. It's going to be so much fun. And, it's braydon's white coat ceremony. So cool!

Recent adventures!

2011-08-10T14:06:00.000-06:00

Our little family at church hill downs.

Sawyer at the slugger museum

Sawyer and mommy on my birthday! he is a love!

crazy hair... it took him all night to do it

trying on mommy's clothes

naked reading time. Nothing cuter then a naked baby bum

Messy face, but how do you resist such a face?

playing with carson and lydia

intense face while riding his horse

kissing daddy

our daily swim!

He colored on himself

Braydon at school working hard!

watching a movie with daddy

snack pack time!

Riding a horse!

OUR DOGS!

2011-08-10T13:54:00.000-06:00

copper baby

Yes our dogs wear clothes... it's adorable

sissy always stuck her head through the blinds

sitting on sawyers chair... in their clothes.

Daisy, sissy, sister

We love our dogs so much. We got our sweet copper in 2008 from a shelter who rescued him from a puppy mill in kansas. Horrible horrible horrible place. The people who work there and allow animals to be treated like that will for sure have karma bite them in the rear some day. Copper has always been very attached to me and very timid around others. He was abused pretty badly. We got our sweet daisy girl in 2010. Daisy is the sweetest dog you will ever meet. She is also one of the ditziest. She is so adorable and LOVES everyone. Copper and Daisy they just love each other. Daisy brought copper out of his abused afraid shell so much. They are just the best of buddies. They sleep together every night and just are so good for each other. In 2011 Daisy had surgery on her hips and recovered very well. She is still recovering and getting stronger everyday. Our sweet dogs are so good with Sawyer. He just adores them and they love him right back. I never had to worry about the dogs with him because they are just the best dogs and the sweetest. When braydon was accepted into dental school we had every intention in the word to bring them with us to Kentucky. Well, plans changed and our loans increased and we just couldn't afford to have them... this was to say the least one of the hardest things for me to do. Find them a new home. I cried and cried all day long. I was so sad. We wouldn't give them away unless they went together. My sweet cousin linds took them and I know they are in great hands. We miss them something terrible. We love our sweet dogs so much!

2011-07-24T20:55:00.000-06:00

Sawyer wasn't feeling well. We spent most the day like this in our pjs

A bunch of families in our complex went to the bats game. So fun.

Sawyer waving to the fireworks

Sparkler time with lily

Sparkler time with daddy

Snack break at the pool with best buddy George and new friend Everett

This is how Sawyer wanted to watch his tv show

Sawyer painting at Morgan's house. They "got married" in her castle and had a dance party with a bunch of friends!

Shaving cream time!

Playing hoops with George. This is so funny!

Messy face from his pb and j and cookies

He is obsessed with putting on shoes, but mostly his daddy's shoes

Snack time!

Hanging out with his friend lily! They are good buddies. They were supposed to be sleeping

Evening swim with daddy. Best friends.

Oh wow!

This is his new favorite spot

Hanging out with lily

We have had a lot going on with the fourth and the twenty fourth... yes you better believe we still celebrated pioneer day... UTAH style. Although, i did miss the parade and bountiful fireworks so much. Braydon is working hard in school and hardly ever around. I am having such a great time being a stay at home mom, but i do miss work and the cool things I got to do and the fun people I got to work with... I miss working with my dad so much. Do not fret though I call and face time him and my family multiple times a day. We have the greatest friend out here and i'm so grateful for them and for our friendship and the memories we are making. It does make me miss all my friends back home though. Being away makes you appreciate so much what you left behind. I am counting down the seconds until my mom and sister get here. It's going to be so fun. Hopefully we can get a lot fun girl time in, in the short time they are here. It's been extremely hot here. the highest was 116. Oh my goodness it was miserable. It's a little better today, but not by much 103. I am so sweaty it's disgusting. Sawyer still wants to be outside ALLLLLLLLLLL the time. So tomorrow we will be at the pool. SURPRISE SURPRISE. A few new things that sawyer does... he says HI DAD all the time and just today started saying Hi mom and to my mom he said Hi gama. When we hand him somthing and say "say thank you" he says "welcome." it's so funny and so adorable. He is still hitting (only mommy and daddy) we are working on that so he doesn't start to hit other people.

2011-07-12T12:09:00.000-06:00

Today I am missing these people so much! August, October, Novemeber, and December can't come soon enough!

More adventures in Kentucky

2011-07-01T21:32:00.001-06:00

We spend most our time at the pool so we have to bring lunch and LOTS of snacks

Eating his "ookie"

Sawyer and his buddy George. We love all our new friends we've made.

kinda hard to get them to look at the camera

Blake, Sawyer and George

Brittany, me and Jessy. I Love these girls. They have been really good to me:)

Hanging out with daddy

Funny boy and love that face he makes. He just makes me so happy

Sawyer hugging his new buddy Boston

This face just kills me. He makes it when he hears fireworks or when he is excited.

This cat sits in the window all the time and when sawyer and I go to the park we always have to stop and talk to the kitty. He is so funny

This is how he takes naps now. We are always on the go lately and he won't nap!

We have now officially started dental school!! Braydon had his first day today. He said it was pretty boring. He got his name tag, scrubs, and fitted for his white coat. I think he is pretty excited to start class and get going. We have been way out of our routine and we need to get back to our life. It's been so fun having him around and we will miss him a lot, but we need a little bit of normalcy around here. I do feel so grateful for the friends i've made here. They are so darling and so fun and I just adore their kids. I am also thankful that my sweet friends back home still keep me a part of their lives even though we are all busy and we live very far away from each other. My friends and family are so supportive of this hard change in our life. Today we went to Churchill Downs with all the new dental students. It was so hot, but so much fun. I just wish my family could have been there. Especially my dad, he would have LOVED it. Sawyer got to meet some of the horses and he kept saying "OH WOW" when he would see them. We met a lot of new couples tonight and a lot of kids. I think things are looking up.

I also wanted to keep track of the things Sawyer says and the funny things he does
* He says no
* He says yes
* He pounds it and gives lots of high fives. If he doesn't want to high five he will grab your hand and make it go into a fist so you'll pound it.
* He always dances no matter if it's a slow song or fast. He loves music
* He sings to the tv to his shows and sings to me while I sing to him
* He says dragon, car, gun, swim, slide, side(for outside) pop, ookie(cookie) cracker he says binky and silky ( his blanket) water.
* He says please and thank you
* He knows the sounds of a duck, pig, horse, dog, cat, cow
* He says bike and loves to ride his bike
* He knows what shoes are mine and which ones are Braydon's and he will bring them to us. He also will pull clothes out of the dryer and whoever it belongs to he will say mama or dada
* I asked him the other day pointing to braydon who that was and he said "baydon" so funny
* He has been giving loves and kisses a lot lately.
* When we facetime my family before anyone answers he always says "gaga" ( my dad) really loud and fast
* When we take a picture of him we tell him to say cheese and he looks up smiles and says CHEESE
* When you ask Sawyer where his eyes are he blinks really really fast and when you ask to see his teeth he bits up and down
Although, we have had a hard transition he is still my sweet boy and smiles all the time and is crazier then ever. We just love our sweet boy so much. He keeps us super busy and on our toes and we wouldn't have it any other way.

2011-06-23T21:56:00.002-06:00

Snuggling with daddy

They have penny rides at the local grocery store and this is his favorite.

our new favorite place. The zoo is HUGE

He loves to jump to his daddy. We spend all day doing this.

Sawyer and his new friend Lily

Us at the Zoo

Sawyer loves the waterpark at the zoo. He went nuts.

Hanging out at home

Messy boy

Hanging out with daddy

Eating lunch after playing really hard at the zoos water park

Having icecream on a hot day

He was so tired he found a pillow and fell asleep on the floor

Our cute cowboy woody

He had so much fun dancing. An I think he is pretty dang good.

This is the night we got here. After a long flight we got in the car and he fell right to sleep

This is us in our shelter during the tornado. He was happy we had just givin him icecream right before we had to go in, but let me tell you after almost two hours in there with 3 couples and 4 kids he had, had it. Thank heavens everyone was ok. Prayers are answered.

It has been a crazy three weeks. we are all moved in and all our boxes are unpacked and we even have pictures hung on the walls. Sawyer is adjusting ok. He still walks around the house asking for my dad and jon. The other day he was crying and say "gama" and i felt so sad. So of course we had to call my mom right away and then he was ok after that. Thank heavens for facetime and skype. We talked to my parents and family everyday. Sawyer tonight was so funny when my dad and mom face timed us. He was dancing and he kept saying "hi hi hi hi." he is one funny boy. I am counting down the day until they come in October. He will love having them here. We have done a lot of fun things and spent a ton of money restocking on food and household items that we didn't have. ANNOYING, but necessary. We go to the pool almost everyday and Sawyer just loves it, but we always have to bring at least 3 balls and a few cars because he will walk around the whole pool deck looking for these items. We always bring lots of snacks and drinks because we are bound to be there for 3 to 5 hours... yes crazy I know. If you don't see us at the pool you will either find us at the park or the zoo. We got a season pass to the zoo. It's huge and has such a fun kids water park. Sawyer loves it so much. He runs around like a crazy person and i'm always afraid he is going to get pummeled. We usually go to the park at night. All the other dental students families who live in our complex are always there and we bbq, talk, play sand volleyball, and just hang out while the kids swing, slide and run around. It's a lot of fun. You can always find a friend at the park which is nice. We are going to start a baby sitting trade off with a few girls in August when they get back from going home for a 3 week visit. It will be nice. every six weeks you have all the kids come to your house for the night, but the other five weeks you get to take your child to someone elses house. I know it sounds crazy, but the kids love it and it's only one night. I am excited for Sawyer to play with his new little friends and it also helps him get used to other parents in case i had an emergency and had to leave him with someone he wouldn't be totally freaked out. Our ward is really great too. Everyone is so friendly and so welcoming. We have all ages, but a lot of young families so that is new and nice. We live in a very safe area... other then the scary tornado that was here last night. Besides my earlier freak out post. We are doing great and getting settled into our new life and new home. Missing all back home and saying hello to all our new friends:)

Missing "my normal"

2011-06-23T21:42:00.000-06:00

I think putting on a brave face can be exhausting. Don't get me wrong I really do like it here. We have met some really amazing people and it's nice and we are in a safe area and sawyer has a lot of little friends. I just really miss all the familiar things. My mom and dad, siblings, my adorable dogs, work, my house, our swing set, always having people in and out of my parents house, my friends, taking sawyer up to my grandmas almost everyday so he could get a treat from her and play on her balcony, The deer coming in and out of the yard. I miss so many things. I am feeling kind of alone and also excited about this new opportunity we have been given. I feel all sorts on loss. I left my family who i adore and am so grateful for. My parents are so amazing. They have helped out our little family so much. They are so giving and so Christ like. We would be so lost without them. I feel so sad about my dogs. I still cry and feel so sad when I think about them. I feel so much like I let them down. I know it's so silly to some, but I love them and they were such a big part of our life. They were so good with Sawyer and they honestly are the sweetest dogs. I am so thankful for my sweet cousin who is so selfless and took them. I know she will be good to them and that they will get lost of attention from her boys, but i am still so sad and feel like such a failure. I feel like it was such a rough time moving, giving up the dogs, saying goodbye to family, taking sawyer somewhere new away from his first home where he was adored by all and got all kinds of attention from my parents and siblings, I feel many losses some of which I won't discuss but that have changed my heart. I feel pain. I type of pain that shakes your very being and that sometimes I just want to lay in bed and never get out, but I am grateful that I have Sawyer and that I get to get out of bed everyday for him and he makes me better and he makes me not so sad. I really am ok, but I am a bit sad and down lately. Change is not so easy for me. I made plans and some (not all) of those plans are no longer apart of my future. It's really quite sad to me. ugh... i'm sure this isn't making any sense. I miss my job and all the girls I worked with. They are like family. I miss working with Ben It was so fun when he started and so sad when he left and then paul came and that was one of the greatest days of my life. We laughed and I let him try all sorts of things it was just so fun, but mostly I miss working with my dad. I worked there for a long time and It was just a part of me. Going to lunch, laughing, getting in trouble, learning all sorts of new skills, dealing with crazy clients, being with my favorite clients, i just miss working with you dad. My job would have been nothing without you. I am thankful for our time together and I wouldn't have given it up for anything. I am grateful for the friendship that I have with my parents. We share our lives together. No secrets and just love. I feel so blessed and it really is so silly to be so sad. I am so lucky and have so much to be thankful for. I just had to let some of it out. This will be great i know it will be and i'm so proud of Braydon for his hard work and for pushing himself and for being such a great father and husband. Sawyer and him are inseparable. I love that they love each other so much. Anyway, sorry for the ranting i really am going to be ok!

Sand dunes

2011-06-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

Sawyer loved the motorhome and loved pretending to drive. Here he is touching the buttons... that is what he always has to do.

He slept great thank heavens

Totally fell asleep

The whole group

My dad planned such a fun over night stay at the sand dunes. He is in a time share and we had a motor home and two trailers. One for sleeping the other for hauling all the dirt bikes, fourwheelers, and the ride along. It was so fun. We just hung out with our family, started a fire, drank hot cocoa, laughed A LOT and just had a blast. It was so much fun and I think I can speak for everyone in saying that. It honestly doesn't matter what we do, but when we are together it's so special and it was fun to have one last little get away before we moved. Thank you so much mom and dad for such a fun trip. You are the best:)

2011-06-13T14:47:00.000-06:00

Birthdays always seem to be good days. They still are sad just not as sad. Do your remember your last birthday at home? I still remember what you were wearing and that you had a little to much aqua di Gio on ( like always) and you were funny as usual. Always something I wish I was. All the boys seem to have gotten the looks and the funnies. Do you remember how loud your car was? Ridiculous really! All the thumping and bumping. You thought you were so bad.... maybe you were. To the ladies you were pretty bad... honestly what does that even mean? It still breaks my heart that you aren't around for sawyer to grow up. Now you've got me all sorts of mad today thinking about all the things you're missing and all the things we are all missing together. Dad still prayers for you and Sarah. It always makes me cry inside. We are going to celebrate tonight with a cake and a balloon. Can you believe in three short years I will be as old as you? SCARY. I think it's really crappy you up and left us all here and i'm still pretty pissed(sorry mom) about it, but we all love you and miss you everyday and hope you get to do something cool on your birthday in heaven. I have to hope you do. And all those "yellow" personalities are banking on it i'm sure. Love you brother

First prayer

2011-06-12T11:04:00.002-06:00

Our sweet boy said his first prayer at dinner last night. It was so adorable. He said " lee dada ( heavenly father) eees (please) and dank you (thank you) then he said everyone's name in mine and braydons family. Food and wa wa (water) and a big ahhhh (amen.) I do have to mention he did have his head down because he mimics us all the time and was holing tightly to his silly cup filled with orange juice. We love this boy of ours so much. He is so sweet and is kind of having a hard time adjusting to his new "home" We love and miss you all back at home:)

2011-05-18T20:19:00.001-06:00

our dinner time was during the sunsets... so we only caught the very end

Grand caymen... probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and the water was warmer then my pool! LOVED IT

We were on the ship for mothers day! This is what they gave all the women. Happy mothers day to all the moms out there who work hard, have sleepless nights, who give up a lot and who change lives... that is my mom to a "T"

right before our hike in Jamaica up a waterfall. It was amazing

Formal night... we apparently didn't get the memo to dress fancy or take a picture outside:)

at one of the shows. It was nice to just stay up late and hang out

at the comedy show

where is captain jack?

see urchins

we found all these star fish!

I'm a little red!!

I found the biggest star fish!

Anyone that really knows me knows I couldn't be in miami and not get a picture at DASH!

waterslide fun!

don't ask and don't worry I am a little crazy

The church in Jamaica it was so small

The inside

swimming with stingrays

The females are almost 4 times as big as the males

Just holding her... and no I wasn't scream this is me singing to her

braydon's turn

Braydon's star fish

So this last week Braydon's parents took us on a cruise. It was the first time leaving Sawyer and let me tell you it was tough! We left at 4 in the morning and because of his horrible sleeping habits I couldn't even go in and kiss my baby goodbye. I cried of course, but was also very excited for a much needed break and my soul was craving some sunshine and R & R. It was great to reconnect with Braydon and actually hold hands and eat dinner together instead of one person eating while the other feeds Sawyer then switching off. It was great to sleep in, take naps, stay up late, and just act like teenagers again. It was like we were just dating again, but when we dated we didn't not have a child to fill up all our conversations... It was a lot of fun. I think Vacations are great for everyone. I think it makes us better parents having a break and seeing how much we miss our daily routine and our children. I think it just makes us better people. Being a parent is hard, exhausting, frustrating, but the most rewarding thing we have ever done. We just had a blast together and are thankful for the opportunity to go... now I guess it's off to Kentucky in 20 days.

Happy birthday to daddy!

2011-04-21T17:30:00.000-06:00

We met dated fell in love

You took me here and we began our forever

We found out our family would soon be three and that you made me a mommy!

Our sweet boy arrived

We got tired and old

You became the best daddy

Our son would rather be with you then anyone else in the world


You've changed us... ALL

Happy birthday to my best friend, husband, father of our child, and the best daddy ever! Sawyer and I love you more then we could ever tell you. You make us so happy and make our lives so much better because you were born! Thanks for all you do for our little family. Thank you for working so hard in school so we can have a great future. We are so proud of you for graduating college and we are looking forward to our new adventure together. Love you dada!

Hello spring it's nice to see you!

2011-04-01T14:45:00.000-06:00

Spring has arrived... although I hear it's supposed to get cold on sunday ( NOOOO) We are loving the warm weather. Yesterday ( didn't have my camera opps) sawyer and I played outside from 4 to 8. Yes you heard me right he had snacks for dinner ( bad mommy) we walked around the block almost 4 times. We had to turn around because he fell and was so sad. We jumped on the tramp swung on the swing, looked at the du du du (deer) walked up to my grandma's next door for a visit. He ran on her balcony back and forth searching for the du du du. He fimally spotted them on our neighbors lawn and we were out of there. He is a busy busy buys boy. He keeps me on my toes and he runs every where. it's rare when he will just walk. I have to make him hold my hand which he hates. These pictures and videos are from our day today outside. It's nap time, but I'm sure once he's up and he's eaten we will be right back outside throwing the ball around and blowing mommy kisses, but the most fun things is to run really really fast from her:) We are excited to play with our daddy outside all day tomorrow. He loves Braydon so much and i'm so thankful for their sweet relationship. We hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather as much as we are. Happy springing to everyone!!

He loves to swing. If you look close enough you can tell he had been crying. He loves my camera

He really wanted the camera

jumping on the tramp one of our favorites

He likes to go down the slide, but he really loves to try and climb back up

Juice break

mama mama ball ball ball

This time we tried sitting down to drink our juice it worked better.

2011-03-26T21:14:00.000-06:00

This child of mine is the most darling, fun, crazy, adorable little boy, but he is a terror!!! His new favorite thing is to tell me no no no and shake his finger at me. This week he has loved doing things he knows are naughty. He stands on the couch and tries to play with the pictures on the wall. He looks at me laughs and says no no no and plays with him... so naughty. We go to church (sometimes I wonder why) and he yells, he laughs he tries to run around, he sees the basketball hoops in the gym and yells ball, he won't let anyone touch the hymn books... yes he needs all of them so they have to either sit somewhere else or go find their own, he wants to get out of the chapel, but as soon as we do he screams because he wants back in... really naughty. If you ask for a kiss he will come towards to and open his mouth ( yes we only get open mouth kisses) and right before he gives me a kiss he will say no no no and run away. Naughty!! My dad was playing outside with him and he told him to come inside Sawyer turned to him smiled, laughed and ran the other way SO NAUGHTY! He totally knows what he is doing. I don't know how to teach him everyone laughs at him so he thinks it is even more funny and like time out would work and the more I say no the more he says it and tries to do all the naughty things. Any ideas would be so great!

But just when I think i've had it with ALL the naughty He looks at me with this adorable face and I just melt. He is so sweet. Tonight during his bath I was washing his hair. Well he decided he needed to wash mine so he put shampoo in his hands and started washing my hair and then he just kept kissing me and laughing and kissing... he is just the best thing in the world! He melts our hearts everday and tests our patients all the time. He is the biggest joy and mother hood is so hard, but the most magical and amazing thing in the entire world. We are so lucky to have this little angel/terror!

Hotel fun!

2011-03-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Braydon's cousin got married this weekend at the Manti temple. We had to be there by 8:30 so we decided since it would be an all day thing that we would get a hotel. Thanks to my amazing mother for letting us use some of her points at the Marriott. We brought our swim suits and got take out and checked in. We were trying to get Sawyer in his swim diaper and swim suit, but honestly he only wanted to play with the hotel phone. It was so funny. He pretended to call people for about 15 minutes. He was just chatting away to himself. Who knows who he thought he was talking to. Lately, he only wants to call and talk to people. He loves phones ( all electronics actually) but, he has been throwing major fits if he gets the phone and it doesn't call someone or have someone at the other end talking back. My favorite has been when he throws it at me because I didn't call anyone. So I'm sorry to all the people he has called. We get kinda desperate. We had such a great time swimming once we finally got him away from the phone He hated his life jacket but we wanted to see if he would try and float in it, but no luck so we just took it off. He laughed the whole time. We played chase and tried to blow bubbles and when it was time to get out we had a very sad boy. It was so much fun watching him just have a really great time. The wedding was beautiful, but we are also really happy to be home because Sawyer is already a very bad sleeper and it doesn't help sleeping in the same room with him and he can see us. Pretty much all night we heard "da da da da" "ma ma ma ma" and "uh uh" (he can't say the oh part) because he would throw his blanket or bottle out of the crib. Such a silly boy!

This is the best picture by far. He was laughing so hard. His face is just priceless.

Daddy trying to teach him how to blow bubbles

Trying to stay warm outside the temple. He had three blankets under there. It was really cold. We stayed for 2 pictures.

2011-02-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Mommy caved and gave him some cookies. He got really messy!

On sunday our church got cancelled due to the snow. So we bundled Sawyer up and he helped his daddy plow the drive way. He cried when I tried to bring him in the house.

He is just such a happy boy. He loves to hold our i pod and listen to music.

Because it's been so cold we have had to get a little desperate. We have been going to pet co almost daily to see the "ish" and the birds. He knows right where to go and loves to point to all the fish. He loves to get your attention and try and get you to come over and look too.

He wants to touch the fish.

Here are some of the things sawyer says, does, or that I find just completely adorable.

* He sits on the floor and flips through the hymn book and sings while he turns the pages and he will sometimes do this for hours. He sometimes will go play notes on the piano and then sit back down and sing. He sings in church with everyone else and he also tries to conducts.
* He can point to his noise and mouth
* He says dada, pa pa, mama, kitty, doggies, deer, more, no, that, this, ball, fish "ish", banana "nana" hot
* He blows kisses, but that just means when you say blow a kiss he just covers his mouth with his hand. It's pretty dang cute.
* He usually runs he hardly ever walks.
* He is terrified of elevators. He totally freaked when we rode on one.
* I thought he would love a bubble bath, but he started to cry and get all the bubbles off him
* He hates bubble baths but he loves to blow bubbles
* When I tell him his food his hot he blows on it.
* He will make me sit on the floor and he will sit on my lap and read books to me now. Sometimes he sings instead of reading!
We love this little boy of ours so much!

Grammie Great

2011-02-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

I was going through my old camera and found these pictures. This was the last time I had the opportunity to spend the day and have lunch with my sweet grandmother. It was just like any other day. I picked up one of her favorites a kids meal and frosty from wendy's. We had a great time chatting about her life as a young girl and meeting my grandfather, having children of her own, becoming a grandmother. She was just so proud of her family. The love she had for all of us was indescribable and completely unconditional, but that was not the big miracle of the day for me. She made sure we knew she loved us. The miracle for me was that Sawyer my 8 1/2 month old sat on her lap for almost three hours. For those that really know Sawyer know that he hasn't been still like that EVER not even when I was pregnant. It was so special for me to watch him sit with my grammie and for me to see her love him. The way I have always known she has loved me. I will never forget that day and the gift that my sweet son gave to me by sitting still so I could watch the love between a great grandmother and her great grand son. It was pretty special.

Our darling little valentine!

2011-02-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

He was so hyper running across the couch!

Showing him his balloon

Loves to kiss the monkey balloon

Hugging his balloon

The silly valentines shirt I made Sawyer


The let go of his balloon and was trying to get it!

Happy day of Love everyone! Sawyer mommy and daddy love you so much and we love each other. You make our world so great!

Dad's surgery and a glimps of warm weather

2011-02-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

My dad had surgery almost 2 weeks ago to replace his left knee. It was way messed up. The surgery went very well and he is jut at home recovering. Surgery is no fun for anyone. We hope to see real progress in a couple weeks. He is up and walking around and doing his physical therapy everyday.

The other day Sawyer had just had it. He didn't sleep the night before at all, he took one twenty minute nap and just stood looking out the window sobbing. So I bundled him up really tight and made him very warm and we went on a walk and a little visit to one our friends. He loved it. He would stay outside all day if I would let him. Well, Today it was warm enough to play outside for a bit. My dad even came outside too. Sawyer and my dad sat on the swing for almost an hour. They both had such a great time. He loves his grandpa. He either calls him pa pa or da da so funny. And, sometimes the only way I can get him to do anything is by saying let's go get grandpa. Mean I know, but he really does love his grandpa and will do pretty much anything to get to him.

Today I am missing ben a lot. It's a little challenging for me that by the time he gets home sawyer really will have no idea who he is, but we will show him pictures all the time and tell him all about his awesome uncle ben. He is doing really well in Columbia and he sounds very happy and very strong.

Some crafts I've done lately

2011-02-01T21:36:00.002-07:00

So I've NEVER really been crafty. That was always my sisters emilee's "thing." I have been wanting to do some crafts because braydon is not around much and It takes a lot of time so since i have A LOT of time (not really) but a lot of time without braydon I thought I would give it a try. I have been making blankets, bows, burp cloths, flowers, binky clips and a bunch of crafty wreaths for different holidays.... mostly valentines. I also made a darling night light for Sawyers bedroom and if I ever have a girl I will make another one maybe more that are pink! No pictures of the night light, wreaths, or binky clips. They didn't turn out very well. Although they are not the greatest I know that they were made with love(and with no sewing experience) Hopefully you like them if not please don't tell me!! \

* side note: I am not pregnant and I would love to have a girl someday, but If I don't I will just have many gifts to give away!!

Not a typical baby girl baby blanket

This fabric is so hard to sew on, but it's so soft

girl version.

I put brown silk on the other side. Sawyer is obsessed with blankets with silk on them, so I though I would make some girl ones

darling burp cloths I'm in the process of making about 15 more, but a different style

boy version

Again so hard to sew on, but it's so to cute and to soft

My baby (who is not a baby anymore) is one!!

2011-01-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have a one year old!! It went by WAY to fast.

Sawyer is obsessed with cell phones... mostly my dad's blackberry. He always knows it's in his pocket and can always find it. We had to get him a cell phone put on top of his cake! He tried to push the buttons on it. So funny

We had to get two cakes... i know a little much, but I wanted him to have his own and what's a birthday party if the guest can't have cake too? He loves sesame street!

His little fourwheeler. Would you expect anything else from the this boy... hello who is his daddy?

Somethings that Sawyer is doing and saying
If you ask him how old he is he puts up his finger and says "unnn" for one.
He says kitty, that, more, momma, dadda, ball, book, and a lot of baby talk
He loves to dance and sing. If I sing to him he will dance. He likes all kinds of music. When the song ends he will try and sing it to you again. It's adorable.
He loves the bath, but is very afraid of bubbles so we can't do bubble baths.
He loves to copy what you do
He is still a very bad sleeper
He is so smart and will sit on the floor and hold his book and flip through the pages and read it out loud
He would play the piano all day if we let him
He loves to play chase around the island in the kitchen he laughs and laughs
He tries to get into anything and everything he shouldn't mostly the bathroom. He loves to put the toilet paper in the toilet... the whole roll. It's awesome!
He has been giving more kisses which I just love

We can't imagine our life with out this little boy of ours. He is the best boy and he brings us so much joy. He is a happy, funny, smart, crazy, loud, never slowing down, darling boy. I cried when the night before he turned one. I love every stage he is in, but it was really hard for me to have him turn one. It went by so fast.... to fast.

Mommy and daddy love you sweet boy! Happy birthday! You make our life so amazingly incredible!!

Christmas

2010-12-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

We had a interesting, but great Christmas. It felt nothing like a normal christmas. Ben is gone, There wasn't any snow on the ground. and all my normal traditions seemed to be something of the past. I must say I have a very hard time with change. I don't handle it very well. So all the normal things my family does on Christmas had to be shared with braydon's family.... getting to experience their traditions is fine and that is just a part of joining a family, bur is it bad that I just really like my own traditions and is it ok that i want to stay "stuck" in my ways? I know i should just get over, but I really enjoy my own traditions. It was Sawyer's first Christmas. I have been so excited for all the fun things we would do together as a family. Lights, shopping, playing in the snow, singing christmas songs, watching christmas movies.He was a bit overwhelmed by all that was going on. People screaming when they would open their presents. That really scared him. He had no idea what was happening. He didn't really care for the wrapping paper. He mostly wanted to play with all the big boxes around. Once everything settled down he was really interested in all his toys. He had a blast with all the fun things he got. We are so lucky. I got a sewing machine and I am really exited to get better. I have made two really darling blankets... even if they aren't the greatest sewing job. We also got a trip to Jamaica. We are going in May. That is something really exciting to look forward to. My mom got my the most amazing gift. A travel chi and blow dryer set. It's so cute it's a tiny straightener and blow dryer. Awesome gift. We are just so blessed. Our families made it such a great day. I just really love everything about Christmas. It is a great time to reflect on our many blessings and to remember the real meaning of Christmas. It was interesting last year I was pregnant and I felt such a connection to Mary. The mother of our savior. I felt so grateful to her for her preparedness to be the mother of the Savior. What a great and amazing women. I am so grateful for the message of Christmas. I am so grateful for the Savior and his birth. I am grateful what his life means to me. I am so thankful that we get to re read the story of the Saviors birth and understand it better.

Bright and early christmas morning. Sawyer only slept two maybe three hours the night before. He is just happy as can be though!! I love this boy so much.

Crawling up the stairs. Darling santa jammies

Sawyer's new face. I wish his eyes were open. It is the cutest face! He does it all the time now.

Braydon's parents got us matching pants and shirts so we changed to go to their house


We hope everyone had a magical christmas just like we did!

Happy New Year!!!!

2010-12-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

I love jammies, but christmas jammies are to die for! Sawyer has 5 pairs!

We couldn't love this time of year more! There is just something about the spirit of Christmas that makes me so happy. I love the music, family time, life centered on the Savior, great food, beautiful lights, happy and giving people. It's just a great time of year. Not to mention it's WAY more fun when you have a child. I loved christmas time before, but it's just so much better now.It makes me sad that this is our last christmas living here for a while. It's been such a blessing to celebrate with family and most of my family live in Utah it's so nice. We took Sawyer to see the lights at temple square. It wasn't that cold (not that it would have bothered him) and the lights just looked so beautiful. He was having the best time and in awe for all the lights and all the different colors. We tried to watch the Nativity scene, but it was so crowded and he wanted to get down and walk around. Yes I have a walker. It's so much fun. He laughs when he walks, He doesn't try to eat everything off the floor, and he is just so much happier and less frustrated. It's the most adorable thing watching your child walk. He sticks his arms out like he is a mummy and just goes. Sometime he thinks he can run and he falls down a lot, but he is getting quite good at walking. I can't believe I don't have a baby anymore and next month he is going to be ONE!

2010-12-08T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with daddy in his cowboy hat

Daddy and Sawyer... twins don't ya think?

I love this boy!!!

Hanging out with grandpa after a day on the horses. He really likes looking at the horses. His mom... not so much.

Sawyer screams and yells A LOT! This is how he plays. I got a picture of him yelling back at me and of course after he laughs and laughs!

Thinking about walking.

First snow day!

2010-12-08T22:05:00.001-07:00

Sawyer had his first experience in the snow after that "big storm" that wasn't so big. He LOVED it to say the least. He cried when we brought him inside. We went sledding too. He looks just so adorable in his little red snow suit. It's just to die for! This boy of ours is getting so big. Is almost completely walking... sometimes he forgets he can or he gets scared. He has figured out how to throw temper tantrums. It hasn't been that fun since he learned to do that. We have had a very difficult time in trying to get him on a schedule. We try and give him a bath and put him to bed around 8. Lately it's been taking us about three hours to finally get him to sleep. It's been difficult to say the least. He is still our happy boy though with a few tantrums in between. He has four teeth and loves to show them off by squinting his face and tilting his head back. I've tried to get a picture because it's so funny. Hopefully I will get one soon. He fills our lives with so much joy. We can't believe next month our no longer baby will be a year old. We love him more and more everyday... is that possible?

We are, quite simply GRATEFUL

2010-11-25T17:50:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving is a great time to tell people what we are grateful for and why we are grateful for them. It sometimes makes me sad that it takes this holiday to express our gratitude's . Thanksgiving for me is a very painful holiday. I usually have to dig deep to even express my thanks. I know that is so silly because I HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR! It's been 8 years since my brother died. It just happens to fall exactly on thanksgiving this year. I have so many emotions... anger, sadness, heartbreak, suffering, and many more. I can't go into details about my feelings because it's still just to painful to discuss. I am so grateful to my mother for how brave she was, is and continues to be. I am not sure how she found her strength, but I think it was for her family. Now that i have Sawyer it breaks me on the inside to think of the loss she feels in her heart and the emptiness that comes from losing not one, but two children. Mom you are so brave and I know you still struggle, but I know (because I've been told many times) how many people you've helped because of your strength and bravery. Trials and struggles change people. I know I've been changed. I am at times not whole. I still have nightmares of more family loss... more scary family loss. I still think about the very moment of our losses. I'm sure this is not making any sense or that it isn't very clear my thoughts are honestly so mixed and jumbled. I just plain and simple miss my siblings. I think what life would be like with a teenage sister still in high school... would she have a boyfriend what kind of things would she like to do, would we be a like or totally different. Would Bubba be married? Would he have children? would he like the same things would he still be obsessed with working out and looking "GOOD" Would he still be as sarcastic and outgoing would he still be blunt and obnoxious? I thought today as we were driving to have thanksgiving dinner we would have to take four cars instead of two or three. I would pay all the gas in the world to have taken four cars today. Life sometimes is REALLY HARD. Enough of the pain onto the great things in my life that make life REALLY EASY!

I love my Family. I am so grateful for eternal families.
I love my husband. he works so hard and is such a great dad
I love my son. He is my world and he a beautiful and happy boy and makes Braydon and I so happy
I love my job and even though it's hard to leave Sawyer I am grateful that I can be somewhere I love
I love my friends and am so thankful that they accept me for me and allow me to truly be myself
I love that we are all healthy
I love that we live in a free country
I love that I have to true gospel and i can teach it to my children
*I am so thankful for all I have and even though we sometimes feel pain, loss, struggle and anything hard the Savior has been there and he lifts us and helps us walk through, over and out of the darkness. I am truly and quite simply GRATEFUL

Random happenings and Missing Uncle Ben... A LOT

2010-11-20T18:57:00.001-07:00

This is Dangles the Monkey. Sawyer loves him he talks to him, hugs him and kisses him all the time.

Sawyer doesn't sleep as you've heard from me a lot, but one night I was feeding him and don't mind the food all over his face he rubs food in his hair and all over his face... we have bathes a lot at our house. anyway, as I was getting him a spoonful i looked up and he was asleep. So funny

This is Kate... Sawyer's little friend. He is bigger then her and she is 7 months older then him.

This was a couple days before Ben left

This was the day Ben spoke in church. He did an incredible job

Early morning snap shot.

Grandma gave him a sucker and He really enjoyed it!

Trying to give grandpa kisses. I love that they love each other so much

Sawyer is obsessed with the piano. He would sit and play it all day if I would let him.

This was the night Ben was set a part.

This was our last picture all of us with Ben for two years. I miss him so much already. I was a wreck and a bawl baby... what else is new?

Our whole family minus jon. He couldn't come, but no big deal the MTC drop off is lame and everyone just cried.


This breaks my heart. Sawyer is going to be so different and so big when ben gets home!

This is the last picture I snapped of Ben. We were not able to all drive him down to drop him off. So my parents took him down and he wanted to drive for the last time for two years. You are going to be life changing amazing buddy. We miss you so much already and we are so thankful for your faithfulness. You will be incredible. I am proud of the person you are and the service you are going to give for the next two years. Loving and Missing you baby brother.