The Gates

Hogle Zoo

2010-11-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

So my Mom, M and I took the kids for the first time to Hogle Zoo back in Sept. I just found the pics and wanted to post them

M sat in the backseat with Bryten and Aspen. Bryten had to link arms with her. It was so adorable!

Aspen and her godmother

Classic Hogle Zoo fountain. I still cannot believe it's still there

They are doing construction at the zoo and even with all the animals, Bryten could watch the trucks all day. It was hard taking him away.

Bryten got to ride the carousel a dozen times with Gigi and each time he picked the snow leopard, although he kept calling it "cheetah with the blue eyes"

The train ride was another favorite and we rode it several times.

Gigi was a good sport to keep going with Bryten

Thanks Gigi and M for coming to the zoo with us!!

Family Pics

2010-11-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

After 11 years and two kids, he can still carry me...so romantic!

I love my family and am so grateful for every one of them!

Halloween Fun

2010-11-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Bryten was a dinosaur this year and Aspen was a little beeHe loved making dinosaur roars...

Since she is my little princess, Aspen was also a little giraffe

The only bee that can make her home at our house

Bryten's loot. He had so much fun trick-or-treating. Too bad the rain was pouring and we only went to a couple houses.

Brian introducing Bryten to dry ice

Loves the dry ice

Bryten was so excited to carve pumpkins

Brian drew a face on one of them so Bryten could color it

Bryten trying to carve his pumpkin

Our pumpkins

Montana Adventure

2010-11-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Back in Sept for Labor Day weekend, Brian went on a boys weekend with Bryten to Montana to visit his Godfather Big Bird.

They first stopped at a petting zoo in Idaho where Bryten made friends with a goat. I don't know what it is about goats, but my son is obsessed with them. I love it!

Bryten and Aspen's godfather Big Bird! He makes the best pancakes Purdue style

Showing Bryten how to skip rocks

Hiking with Daddy and Big Bird. It's so gorgeous!

Bryten loves Montana and so do we. We are seriously considering moving up there someday!

Teaching Bryten how to drive a tractor. Thanks Big Bird for an awesome visit!!

Aspen's blessing

2010-08-22T20:09:00.001-07:00

Aspen Alegra Gates was blessed by her Dad on Saturday August 14th at our house.

We are so grateful that she is part of our family.

She is such an incredible little girl and we love her so much!

The blessing circle.

We are so blessed to have such wondeful family and friends who are so supportive of us!

The Honey Family
Uncle Didi skipped out early so he could go on a date...
not a fan. :)

The Gates Family
Aunt Jess couldn't make it...we missed her!

Greg and Gretchen, our wonderful friends who are like family.
They are so awesome; there is no way I could've pulled off the
celebration without her help.

My best friend Jenal and her adorable daughter Eliza.
Now we both have little girls!

My awesome friend Mary. She is the genius behind Aspen's dress.

My friend Marie who is such an incredible friend. I love her to death!

The Kaufmans. They have been so supportive over the years.

They are an awesome family!

My wonderful Grandma Honey

My awesome Aunt Syl. Love that both Uncle Brent and Aunt Syl came down!

Birth announcements and blessing cake.

My mom arranged the flowers and did a beautiful job!

The incredible spread of food.

Thanks so much to my Mom and Gretchen for getting it all together!
The chocolate fountain was white mint chocolate ~delicious!

Decorations that Gretchen and her daughter helped me make.

I seriously am indebt to their help!! Love them!!

Thank you to everyone that came and helped make this blessing happen!

We love and appreciate all of you!!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great fourth. Brian's parents came up from California and so did my little brother. We had everyone over for a barbeque and fireworks at our house.

Our little family

Mommy and Aspen

Proud Daddy and Aspen

The Master at work barbecuing up a storm with Uncle Sassy and Uncle Didi

Bryten chowing down on ribs with Grandpa

Water fights...Bryten obviously won

Since Bryten goes to bed at 8, we did fireworks early. Bryten was very helpful

Daniel finished the evening off with his bagpipes. Love it!
Happy Fourth of July Everyone!!

Aspen Alegra Gates

2010-06-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

Introducing Aspen Alegra Gates. Born June 20th, 2010. She is 7 lbs, 9 oz and 19 inches long. She is so wonderful and I am so grateful that she has joined our little family.

At American Fork Hospital they had a professional

photographer that snapped some of these pics of us.

Mommy and Aspen

Daddy and Aspen

Bryten meeting Aspen for the first time.
He did really well with her.

Our little family

Bryten giving his famous kisses to Aspen

Aspen "gave" Bryten some cars from the Disney movie Cars

and he is now showing her one of them.

Welcome to our family Aspen! We love you sooo much already!

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Weekend, we went to Park City with our friends Shane and Brenda and their boys. We ended up staying the weekend at my moms vacation home and had a great time!

My favorite little man

On Saturday morning we went to the Heber Creeper Thomas the Train event. Bryten loves Thomas the Train and was so excited when he saw the train roll in.

Bryten's first tattoo...Thomas the Train of course.

Daddy and Bryten riding the train. Last year, he slept the entire time. This year, loved it!

Bryten loved looking at the other trains as well. They were changing the oil on this one, so Bryten got a lot of noise from this one - the more noise the better in his opinion.

He loved when this one rolled in.

There were people there that made balloon animals. Bryten picked out a balloon sword. He's obviously very excited about it!

Donovan, Chase and Bryten with their balloon swords. These boys are awesome; they kept playing with Bryten the entire weekend even though they are older.

Bryten tuckered out...mid lick.

On Monday we came back home and Brian took out his hockey gear and

Bryten of course wanted to also.

Look at that form....future NHL player?

Daddy and Bryten barbequing. Yum!

Bryten enjoying his first smore at our fire pit.

Bryten helping to poke the fire.

We finished off the weekend with a little pool party. Last year he had a baby pool and it is way too small for him now. So we ended up buying him a bigger one this year. Bryten absolutely loved this half of the pool with the pink dolphin. He kept hugging it. So adorable.

Happy Memorial Day!

Girls Weekend in Park City

2010-05-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

After a long pregnancy and a rough week, my friends took me to Park City for a refreshing girls weekend. Pedicures, shopping and tons of treats...so much fun!

Marie, Gretchen and Tonya. Mary was there for the first night but had to leave early.

Love this girl!

Our attempt at chocolate fondue and playing cards.

Charlies Angels

Dancing Queens

8 months and counting...

Happy Mothers Day!

2010-05-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day! I had a really good one and I hope everyone had one too!

My awesome husband and son made chocolate chip pancakes and let me sleep in.

I got some beautful roses and delicious truffles from Brian and Bryten.

Brian gave Bryten a hockey stick and they spent some time playing outside. Bryten loved chopping up the grass.

Uncle Sassy came up with my mom "Gigi" and played trucks.

My beautiful Mom and our Mothers Day Purse cake.

Bryten loved the cake.

My wonderful son. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He amazes me everyday.

Baby Shower - MELISSAHONEY!! Style

2010-04-25T15:03:00.001-07:00

My fabulous sister threw me a Sha na na style baby shower! It was sooo much fun and the theme was pink, pink and more pink!

My sis! The fabulous M Schmem!

Presents! My family and close friends are awesome, I got so many beautiful gifts!

My beautiful Mom and sister!

My best friend Jenal!

My family, some of the ones that could make it...Kaufmans and Williams. They are soo much fun!

My sister wanted everyone to decorate adorable onesies that Brian designed. So some people got in teams and decorated one. (We did this for Bryten's shower as well).

My sister in law, Jess and her fiancee Leo ~ Victorias Secret Angel Baby

SHE Ra, Princess of Power Baby! My sister knows me well, I love She Ra. One of my favorites growing up.

Spanish Flamenco Dancer Baby

Jenal and Caren - Wonder Woman Baby!!

Alisha and Venyce - Pirate Baby, ahoy!

Mariachi Baby!

Lisa, Violet and Yvonne - Little Mermaid Baby

The shower was so much fun! I cannot wait for my baby to use all the presents and enjoy all the toys. Thanks everyone!!

Baby Shower - Gordon Style!

2010-04-25T14:43:00.000-07:00

My friend Gretchen threw an awesome shower for me. She is such a good friend and it was so much fun!

Me and my presents.

I didn't realize that I knew so many crafty ladies. I am in awe of every one of them since I cannot do anything crafty to save my life.

The Hostess...Gretchen and her daughter Kylee

My baby's colors are Tiffany blue and purple. The shower theme also included Zebra print, which I love!

Awesome presents!

My fabulous Young Women came. They are such awesome girls!
I love love love working with them.

The Young Women service gifts - definitely priceless. From babysitting to cleaning, I will be using them all!

Marie, my favorite hairdresser and Kylee.

Twins - she is such a doll!

My awesome sister that took leave from Afghanistan! Wow can you believe I still have 2 more months, my belly is poking out!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-25T14:17:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter!

Cutest little Easter Bunny ever!

Coloring eggs with Daddy

He was so careful with them, it was so cute!

Admiring his work~ very impressive!

Holding his new duck in his favorite truck.

In the basket with his new bunny and favorite ball

My Baby turned 2!

2010-04-25T12:58:00.000-07:00

My little guy turned 2 on March 31st. We had 3 parties for him, which is crazy. His favorite things right now are trucks so the theme for each one was trucks. His first party was with all of his favorite friends on March 27th.

We all dressed in yellow for construction colors.

We had the kids color their own trucks and decorate construction hats. Brian built a ramp for them to race their trucks on after (ramp in the middle).

Here is Bryten coloring his own truck.

One of his really good friends, Eliza, saying Happy Birthday!

Daddy helping Bryten blow out the candles

We had a chocolate cake with melted chocolate frosting and crushed up oreos in a big Tonka truck. Yes, I actually made the cake.

Second Birthday party was at Grandmama's house in Provo with our favorite cousins the Kaufmans on Sunday March 28th. This is cake #2

Bryten loved the trampoline that Grandmama brought upstairs.

For his actual birthday on March 31st we had our favorite cake lady Doree make this truck cake for Bryten. It was just a small family party, including Grandmama, Grandpa and Grandmoo.

He loved it! His favorite was the fondant, like his mom.

We had construction cone cups for him to drink out of.

One of his favorite gifts was a trainset and train table that his Daddy made him.

Happy Birthday Bryten! Mommy and Daddy are so happy you are apart of our family and we are soooo proud of you!!

Weekend in St. George

2010-02-14T20:20:00.001-08:00

Last weekend we went to St. George with our friends Brenda & Shane and their family. We had so much fun! Bryten just loves their boys and couldn't get enough of them.

We decided to go to the Dinosaur Farm. Bryten loved running up and down the path squealing at the top of his lungs. After the tour, they have a play area and Donovan, Chase and Bryten decided to color.

Bryten hasn't quite learned that not everything is his. Fortunately Donovan and Chase are so good with him, they didn't mind that he kept taking their crayons.

We went to the indoor pool center that was modeled after the Legacy Center in Lehi. Bryten loves the water and this was probably his favorite activity.

Bryten got so excited when he saw them in the pool. He started squealing so loudly when he saw them.

Bryten kept climbing out and trying to jump back in. He has no fear.

Bryten decided he wanted to sit in the twins' chair while the other one was eating. I still cannot believe he still fits in them. There was music playing on tv and he was dancing in this pic.

He fit much better in the green chair. Bryten loves the twins, Bryce and Brody. He kept giving them hugs and kisses.

After we got home, we gave Bryten his frog for Valentines Day.

He obviously loved it. Happy Valentine's Day!

It's a Girl!!!

2010-02-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to turn this right-side-up but here is the sonogram. She is definitely a girl. We are sooo excited. I decided to add pink highlights to my hair to honor her. June 19th, baby girl gates will make her debut!!!

Awesome Visits

2010-02-02T22:05:00.001-08:00

So the last week has been pretty busy because we had visits by our really good friend and Brian's sis and fiancee. Big Bird came up first from Montana for Sundance Film Festival.

Bryten and Big Bird bonded immediately. Bryten has recently loved playing in the sink with water and wanted to show Big Bird how much fun it was. The funniest was when Bryten decided to take a cup full of water and decided to dump it all over Big Bird. No provoking, nothing. It was as if he thought Big Bird wanted some water to cool off. Awesome!
Big Bird shows off his true skills.

Brian's sis Jess and fiancee Leo came up a little later. Here we are at Sundance warming our hands by the fire. Loved Sundance! Got to see lots of cool movies.

Love these guys!!

Here is Bryten at the Dino Museum. He loved digging in the sand to find bones.

Here he is playing with Leo at the sand/water area. He bonded with Leo really fast. Leo made sure that Bryten had plenty of toy dinos to play with.

At the Dinosaur Museum. Bryten had so much fun with Uncle Big Bird, Auntie Jess and Uncle Leo. Thanks guys for coming up! We had a blast!!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-02-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

This year was Christmas at the Honeys. Bella has been living with my mom for the last couple of months because she has been really testy so it was a nice reunion for Rusty and Bryten. Bryten got so much stuff it was crazy!
My mom got these insane camo pjs for each of us in honor of my sis who is in Afghanistan. Aren't the dino slippers so cute on Bryten? Thanks Auntie M Schmem! He loves them!!

We definitely all miss Auntie M Schmem but only the guys got the shirts.

Bryten was obsessed with this rocking horse my mom has at her house and wouldn't get off it.

Winter Fun

2010-02-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for some fun with Daddy's shoes and a santa hat.

Bryten absolutely loves the snow. He throws snow for Rusty all the time. We try to take them up to the mountains to play every week.

Although Bryten loves the snow, he doesn't actually like being deep in the snow; just on top.

Making snowballs to throw. Loves his new army mittens from the Gordons!

Making more snowballs with a dog throw stick.

Cutest little reindeer ever!

2009-12-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!!

Halloween!

2009-11-07T22:59:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Ok, its a little late, but better late than never, right?

So Bryten was our little Monkey this year, I was a witch and Brian was a crazy Pumpkin Head man.
Halloween is Brian's favorite holiday and he does an incredible haunted garage every year for the past 3 years. This year we had some great helpers from the neighborhood. They were pretty crazy!

One of the guys jumped out at from the recycling bin while people got hot chocolate and homemade rootbeer (thanks Larsens! :)) He scared more than a few.

My mom came up to take Bryten trick or treating with me. We were both witches, doesn't she look fantastic? Bryten picked out his trick or treat Elmo bag. He was carrying it around everywhere. He ended up loving trick or treating. He loved knocking on doors or ringing doorbells and then picking out candy. Most of the neighbors let him pick more than one. We only went to a few since his bedtime is at 7 but he got more than enough.

We took him to Kiddie Kandids to get his pictures done. He loved the sanitizer bottle and had to show us it multiple times.

He also really liked the pumpking and wouldn't let go of it.

Our little Monkey!

Northern Califonia

2009-11-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

I am such a slacker. So I am finally updating my blog. We went to California to visit our fabulous friends Justin and Jovana. It was so much fun! They took us around UC Davis, where they are both getting their PHD in Electrical Engineering (ahh!) and to San Francisco, my favorite city in the US. Bryten loved hanging out with them and Justin even bought him a toy truck, which he still loves playing with. Thanks Justin!

Justin and Jovana in San Francisco. We love them, they are sooo awesome and the perfect hosts!

Justin is an awesome uncle! Bryten is learning where face parts are so he decided to show Justin where his were. Justin was very patient with him.

I think he just took something off the shelf that he wasn't supposed to and obviously he is very pleased with himself.

Bryten loved hanging around Justin. They became buddies really quickly.

Bryten pulling on Justins nose. Again, Justin was really patient!

Bryten later became obsessed with his ear. He just kept pulling it and notice his tongue is sticking out because he is concentrating so hard.

Here we are in San Francisco on a Bay Tour. Bryten wasn't fond of the boat since he couldn't keep his balance. Poor little guy!

He did love looking through the manholes. He thought it was a special window just for him.

Love them both!

Bryten loved the sea lions. He kept trying to mimic the noises they were making. We didn't get any pictures of him chasing the pigeons on the pier but he loved doing that. He would laugh hysterically whenever they would start flying away. It was certainly his favorite thing. Thanks Justin and Jovana for a fantastic vacation!!

Montana

2009-09-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Montana. Big Bird is one of our really good friends from Purdue and he was awesome to let us stay with him and be our tour guide. He took us to Glacier National Park, which was gorgeous!!

Yes we have to have Purdue spirit wherever we go. Bryten unfortunately grew out of his Purdue jersey so we are going to have to get him another one!

First time drinking out of a camelbak

So beautiful up there! Bryten loved running around. We got to see some mountain goats too.

Love my little hiker

Loved hanging with Uncle Big Bird

Captain Morgan is everywhere.

Bryten found several large sticks that he loved hitting everything with. He insisted on carrying them everywhere.

Even though it's sideways, I love this pic. We found large roots of trees everywhere and Bryten loved climbing in them.

We went to Whitefish Lake and Bryten watched Daddy and Uncle Big Bird skip rocks.

We seriously want to move up there. It's so gorgeous and peaceful. There is a reason it is known as Big Sky Country.

Yellowstone

2009-09-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

We went to Montana to visit our friend Big Bird from Purdue. On the way, we stopped at Yellowstone for Bryten's first trip. We saw buffalo, elk, deer,etc. Unfortunately Bryten was asleep for most of it. For the time he was awake, we went to a wolf and bear sanctuary outside of the park. It was really cool to see the animals up close and personal. Bryten's first ride on his Daddy's shoulders

They had a bear skin laying on a table that Bryten kept grabbing. He kept cuddling the bear arm. It was sooo cute!

Inside they had a giant bear that Bryten kept trying to climb on. So we decided it was a perfect family photo op.

Bryten loved the Geysers and the noises they made. He could've stayed there all day.

This is the Place

2009-07-24T18:25:00.001-07:00

Happy Pioneer Day! For those of you that do not live in Utah, the state of Utah celebrates Pioneers Day on July 24th. It's to celebrate the pioneers that trekked across the US to Utah. Most businesses are closed and we pretty much do silmilar stuff as a Fourth of July celebration.

We decided to take Bryten up to the "This is The Place" Memorial Park where Brigham Young stated to the pioneers that "This is The Place" for Mormons to settle. The people that work there dress up in pioneer outfits and show you games and crafts that they used to do in pioneer times.

I love my two guys and Bryten was finally wearing his hat!

They had a petting zoo that Bryten loved! There were these mini goats that he loved petting. This one in particular he followed around till he could pet it.

He was a little confused with the sheep. He kept poking them.

We took him on a horsie ride but the picture didn't turn out. He liked petting the horses afterward but he kept poking this one in the eye. I am trying to hold his hand back so he doesn't poke him again. Thankfully the horse was very patient and didn't get mad. Bryten is so curious and he is used to his dogs letting him do whatever he wants to them.

My Baby is Famous...

2009-07-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Well not quite but he is on Ladybugs Cakes and Catering website.

Go to ladybugscakescatering.com There is Bryten eating his monkey cake and my quote. This lady is absolutely awesome. She fit us in at the last minute, made the coolest cake for his birthday and was the nicest lady to work with. I cannot speak more kindly about this company. Plus she put my little man on her website, which shows good judgement. If anyone is looking for a cake, I highly recommend her!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

I know this is late and I really have no excuse but Happy 4th of July! We started out at the Provo parade where my brother plays the bagpipes with his band...

He is the tallest one on the right. Bryten absolutely loved it. Fortunately, Daniel played at the beginning with the Color Guard and so we didn't have to wait long. Bryten loved the sirens that announced and followed them. We ended up chasing Daniel a few blocks, cheering him as we went.

Here we are...unfortunately we are all squinting because the guy that took our picture thought it would be better that we faced the sun (?). Happy 4th of July everyone!!

CALIFORNIA part 3: Water Fun

2009-07-04T23:40:00.001-07:00

We took Bryten to the beach again. Last October, when we came the first time with Bryten, it was a huge mistake. Poor Bryten, he cried as soon as we got there; hated the sand, hated the ocean and the noise. It was disapointing but understandable. This time...

He hated the water again. I don't blame him though because it was freezing and very loud.

He loved looking at it, which is an improvement.

He loved playing in the sand. This is a huge improvement as well. Auntie Jess found some seaweed and rocks for him to play with. He was really interested in the texture of it and kept pulling it along the sand. We are thinking the next time we come down, 3rd time at the beach, will be the charm...hopefully!

We tried taking him to his Grandparents pool but it wasn't heated and way too cold. So we took him in the spa - as you can see, he is much happier. He kept splashing us and giggling.

Just look at how happy he is.

He loves to get us to clap, even in the pool.

Grandpa has decided to have Bryten help him with chores. Of course if it's water, Bryten loves it.

What is it with the Gates'? So lazy, that they have to have Bryten help them with their chores. :) Bryten is also showing how strong he is.

We had such a great visit in California. Thank you Grandmoo, Grandpa, Auntie Jess and all our friends for making this such a great visit.

California part 2

2009-07-04T23:10:00.001-07:00

We took Bryten to the San Diego Zoo with his Grandparents, Aunt Jess and her boyfriend Leo. Bryten didn't really enjoy watching the animals behind the windows and gates but he did enjoy some of the other attractions...

We decided to take a family picture on top of a turtle statue.

He loved playing peek-a-boo with the animal cutouts. I think this is supposed to be a caterpillar.

This is a tunnel that you can pretend that you are a hamster. It was hard getting him out of here because he was having so much fun.

His favorite animal is a monkey, can you tell?

As most of you know, Bryten doesn't warm up to people very quickly so we were all happily surprised when he held out his hand to have Leo hold it. Leo bought Bryten this adorable monkey that looked like him. Thanks Leo! Bryten still sleeps with it.

At the zoo, they have a petting area and Bryten was obsessed with this goat; not with petting it but pushing it over. He spent at least 15 minutes trying to push this goat over. He kept grunting and making little goo noises but could not tip it. I don't know what this goat did to him but it was the funniest thing I have ever seen.

Bryten's Grandparents have a playground that we took him to several times. Isn't he just a cutie. He was so proud of himself when he climbed to the top of the playground. We were really proud too. He's getting so big.

He loves his grandpa sooo much!

Bryten loved the slide. He was giggling all the way down.

CALIFORNIA!

2009-07-04T22:42:00.001-07:00

We went on a family vacation to California and it was soooo much fun. We have both missed California so much and it was so nice to go back and see our family and friends. One reason we went down was for Brian's 10 year High School reunion. It was great to see and meet some of Brian's old friends. It was dressy so we decided to take pics like a dance (you remember, parent pics, standing forever for them to take a picture- oh memories).

So here we are all ready to go. Doesn't my husband look hot? I was so proud to go with him. I am holding my sisters Fendi clutch that she so generously let me borrow. It was so fabulous and looked perfect with my dress.

My sister in law Jess. We are quite the pair and tend to get in trouble whenever we are together. She was so awesome. She helped me get ready. Love you Jess!

Just for fun. I was looking in Us Weekly, one my guilty pleasures, and came across this photo of my dress by Black Halo but in silver not purple. I for one love my purple one more.

May Updates

2009-06-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is a little old but I just got the pics from my sis. My brothers both graduated this year from school; Daniel from BYU and Salem from the U. Salem was in Vietnam during his graduation so the only pic we have is of Daniel. The dean told us not to cheer until the end but we decided to anyway. Congratulations Daniel and Salem!!

Goodbye to my fabulous sister! She is off to Afghanistan to do what she does best: make grown men cry (interrogating). We had a goodbye dinner for her with our cousins. I am going to miss her sooo much!!

Later that night Bryten played in his castle with his cousins. This is the first time he played in it with other kids. He was having a great time. Auntie Melissa taught them how to put the balls through the holes...lots more cleanup now, thank M Schmem! :)

We decided to have Bryten start on chores early in his life. We thought it best if he shared yardwork with his dad. So now every week, he mows the lawn.

This is the cutest lawnmower we found (from Wal Mart). When you push it, it actually makes the sound of a lawnmower. So awesome!

Fun in the Sun

2009-05-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

So after two weeks of Bryten having a serious virus, he is finally feeling better. To celebrate him getting better we have been trying to make up for all the missed funWe put him in his new skull swimsuit from his Auntie M Schmem (Melissa) and set up his water table and blow up pool. He is such a water baby.

Doing his model pose.

He decided to chill most of the time and to hang out with the dogs.

He really loved his water table from Grandmoo and Grandpa. He kept picking grass and putting it on the table.

I took him to the Discovery Center in SLC with his Auntie Melissa. This was really the only thing he could play on because everything else was for older kids. He loved the slide and kept trying to climb it.

For his birthday, his Grandmama gave him a blowup castle ball pit. He absolutely loves it. He stands up, smiles then falls backwards. So adorable.

The castle came with blow up swords and he loved hitting me with them (with help from his Daddy of course).

I am so glad that he is finally feeling better!

Hockey Time!

2009-04-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

It's the NHL playoffs and we have the smallest Detroit Red Wing fan. Thanks Uncle Addley for the outfit and go Red Wings!

Happy Birthday Melissa!

2009-04-15T18:38:00.001-07:00

My sisters birthday was last week and I didn't post pictures until now. I wanted to first start with us snowboarding together earlier this season. She was so patient with me since I missed an entire season last year (being pregnant). Yes, we are twins! Same coat!

Brian & I went to SLC to help celebrate Melissa's birthday at Red Door. We all wore pink in honor of her.

Cheers and a thumbs up for the birthday girl! My husband looks really hot in pink!

My sister is so pretty!

Paying homage to the car that brought us to the party. My sister has the greatest style of anyone I know, look at her shoes!

Melissa and I went to the Britney Spears concert last night and had soo much fun. Unfortunately we didn't get any pics of us there but it was the most entertaining concert I have ever been too. Britney is back and better than ever!! Thanks M Schmem for a fabulous night!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year and Bryten was awake for it this time. Bryten loved his Easter basket so much, he kept climbing in it.

He loved his sheep. Isn't he a sweetie?!
Brian and Bryten wore matching vests and ties to church. I have very suave men in my life.
Before he went to bed, he jumped in his basket again, pulled out the rest of his toys and put on his bunny hat. Happy Easter!

The Next Tiger Woods

2009-04-07T20:18:00.001-07:00

For Bryten's birthday, he got several golf sets from our friends Carlos & Leah, our wondeful new Bishop Redd and his wife Beverly and Bryten's grandparents. We decided since it was 70 degrees outside, we would take Bryten to the driving range and let him have his first experience with golf.

He decided to pound the grass with his putter and driver...

and then kissed the golf balls for good luck!

Visit from Grandmoo and Grandpa

2009-04-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Bryten's Grandparents came up for his birthday and we had so much fun with them. There were several walks in Bryten's new red wagon.

Of course the dogs came with us.

At the end of the trip, Grandmoo finally got Bryten on her lap - yay!

Bryten loved showing off his skills on his Dino Rocker, thanks Auntie Jess!

Purdue Pride! Thanks for a wonderful visit. We love you guys!!

Happy Birthday Bryten!

2009-03-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today Bryten officially turned 1! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by. We decided to take him to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point and he loved it. His favorite thing was actually watching a waterfall (moving objects better than still).

He ended up really liking this Dinosaur you can sit on and touch.

This is a huge sea turtle that Bryten kept looking at too. We ended up letting him pick out a toy at the giftshop and he picked up a frog of all things. On the way home he kept talking to it. I still can't believe he is 1. He is getting so big.

My Little Monkey's Party!

2009-03-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Bryten! We celebrated Bryten's birthday on Saturday with some friends and family with a Jungle Party Theme. He loves his Monkey and Crocodiles so we thought that was fitting.

We had a fabulous lady, Doree, from Ladybug Cakes & Catering do his cake. Doesn't it look like a real monkey?

Bryten was hesitant to start eating the monkey; especially after I took off its head.

Attempting to eat the cake, round 2.

Yum, tastes good.

Yay, I like cake!!

The big birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy. Brian worked really hard on the pirate ship and it was a huge success! Thank you Brian for all your hard work!!

Bryten loved walking around it. He kept making little goo noises...notice the big smile!

My Leprechaun's Day

2009-03-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

My little leprechaun has been quite mischevious today. He first took his little red wagon (thanks Grandpa and Grandmoo) out to cruise the neighborhood for girls. Than, instead of eating his regular food, he decided to eat frogs.

To finish the day off, he decided to go on a joyride in Daddy's car.

How mischevious!

After all that mischief, he is now my little angel again....

cuddling with his monkey.

Girls Night Out

2009-03-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

Last night my sister, Mom and I decided to have a girls night out and see the opera "The Marriage of Figaro." We decided to be ridiculous and dress up in the same dress. We got quite a lot of stares. It was hilarious. Brian was sweet enough to let us borrow his Challenger so we could arrive in style. I love driving his car because all the guys look so angry when they realize that a girl is driving a sports car! It was so much fun and the singing was so pretty. Thank you to my beautiful mom and sister for a wonderful evening.

Bryten's Best Friends

2009-03-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I actually got a picture of this...Bryten really loves our dogs. They are seriously the best dogs! They let him do everything to them.

Bryten's favorite gym is Rusty.
The dogs follow Bryten everywhere. They are so cute; it's like they are playing "Follow the Leader."

My baby has attitude

2009-03-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband decided to teach our son how to stick out his tongue.
It makes me recall one of the earlier pictures we took of Bryten while he was still in the hospital. This baby has some major attitude!

Crazy Hair

2009-03-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

So Bryten woke up from a nap with the craziest hair I have seen on him.

Even after lunch, it was still crazy. (Look how adorable his teeth are!)

Walking Fun

2009-03-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

Brian and I decided to get Bryten a walking toy since he keeps trying to climb and push everything around. We went to Toys R Us and decided to get him this one.

Bryten absolutely loves it. It even came with his own purple cell phone, which makes 3 cell phones for Bryten now (one from Uncle Daniel, my old one and now this one). When he starts pushing it around, he just laughs and laughs.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T23:16:00.001-08:00

This year I have two Valentines.
Bryten loves his Valentine’s day gift (a giraffe) from his Grandmama (my mom).
He would not stop waving his giraffe around.

Crackers on the Go

2009-02-14T22:59:00.000-08:00

Bryten has made it a habit of putting his "cookies"(Gerber rice wheels) in his mouth when he crawls or stands. He refuses to eat them at the table.

Snow Day!!

2009-02-14T22:46:00.000-08:00

Bryten got this adorable Red Wings snow suit from his Grandmama. We decided to take Bryten out to have some fun in the snow. Isn't he so cute?

Bryten's First Surgery

2009-02-09T21:38:00.001-08:00

Bryten's right tearduct was not fully formed when he was born, so our eye doctor needed to do surgery to open it. Our poor little guy has also been battling continuous ear infections for the last 3 months. We decided we needed to put tubes in his ear as well. Fortunately we were able to get both surgeries done on the same day and at the same place. On January 29th we took him to Riverwoods Medical Center and fortunately, he was only out for 20 minutes. Our doctors were incredible and Bryten was so brave! This picture was taken right before he went in. They gave him an adorable teddy bear shirt to wear. (We had to be there by 6:45 in the morning so we were all very tired!)

About Our Family

2009-02-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

Now let me tell you a little about our life. I met my husband in 2000 (yes it has been almost 9 years) and followed him to Purdue where I met some fabulous friends. Brian played on the Rollery Hockey team and I quickly became the "#1fan", going to all the tournaments and cheering too loudly with the other girlfriends to the point of almost getting kicked out of a couple games and getting in fights with other teams (it's called Team Spirit!).

I married my wonderful husband on June 26th 2004 at Orange Hill Restaurant in Orange, California. Friends from Indiana, Utah and California came out to be with us and it was so wonderful having them there.

After we finished college, we moved to Southern California and lived there for a couple of years. We loved it there. Brian continued to play hockey and I continued to cheer and get yelled at by the refs for being too loud.

While we were there, we adopted two adorable dogs, a Corgi named Bella and a Golden Retriever named Rusty.

We moved to Utah in December 2006 for work and were sealed on June 26th 2007 in the LDS Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah.

(Yes, I dyed my hair brown. As most of you know, I tend to change it on a regular basis!)

That August we found out I was pregnant and on March 31st, 2008 Bryten was born. He had so much hair, it was amazing. He is such a little angel.

Brian blessed Bryten on May 3rd and it was so wonderful having our family and some of our friends there. I dressed him in a little white tux.

He definitely has Purdue spirit like his mom and dad.

And he may follow in the footsteps of his Uncle Didi and wear kilts and play bagpipes

Over the last 10 months he has grown so fast. I cannot believe I have such an incredible son and wonderful husband. I hope you have enjoyed the quick refresher of the last 9 years of our lives.

Black Hawks or Red Wings?

2009-02-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Brian would like Bryten to root for the Detroit Red Wings but Bryten seems to want to cheer for the Chicago Black Hawks. Time will tell...(thanks Uncle Big Bird for the Black Hawk outfit)

Bryten's first friend

2009-02-03T21:53:00.000-08:00

A shout out to Bryten's first friend, Eliza. Don't they both look so cute!

My little man is always so happy!

This one is for Justin and Jovana

2009-02-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

UCD may be in Bryten's future. Thanks Justin for the adorable onesie and sippy bottle!

Bryten Giggles

2009-02-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

Bryten's favorite toy is his stuffed crocodile. He is so adorable giggling in this video. CLICK on the picture and it will bring up the video:

From 9months

Christmas

2009-02-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

Santa is so much cuter this year!

My two favorite guys for Christmas and Brian's birthday celebration.