Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone had as much fun as we did. We started the morning out at our house opening presents from Santa and each other. We were very blessed this year to get everything we did.

Brealinn was very excited to get started. She was so grateful for even the smallest things (lip gloss, for example). It was so fun to watch her open her presents. Her two most favorite things were a Tinkerbell tent from Santa and a Taylor Swift CD from her dad. Danen was hilarious. He was done before he really started. We opened his stocking, and he found a clementine. All he wanted to do from then on was throw it like a ball. We could have skipped his presents altogether. He favorite thing was a tunnel to crawl through from Santa.

After we finished up at home, we went to Nate's parents' house to open presents with them and Jamie's family. Braelinn got a lot of great things. She has been obsessed with The Wizard of Oz this year, so Grandpa and Grandma got her a Dorothy doll.

Danen, once again, was happy with the first thing he got. It was a police car from Grandpa and Grandma. You might say that Nate had even more fun with it.

We also went to my grandparent's house on Saturday, ate together, and opened presents. Braelinn got a doggie she can stuff (like Build-a-Bear) at home that goes with a toy Santa got her, and Danen got the loudest drums and musical toys ever.

IT"S A GIRL!!!!

We found out today the baby is a GIRL. We were really worried about finding out before Nate left for school. My appointment was scheduled for Jan. 2nd, and Nate is leaving on the 4th. The doctor's office called saying the sonographer needed to reschedule for the 6th. We were so sad Nate was going to miss out. So Nate asked his friend, who's a sonographer, if she could do it for us on Dec. 20th. She said yes, and we were all set. Well, today, I had to go in for routine bloodwork, and my sonographer fit me in! Nate raced up to the doctor's office, in uniform and all, and we found out today. We actually had her put the gender on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope, so we could open it with family to find out. It was the cutest ever when Braelinn opened the envelope and squealed, "It's a girl!" She's so excited except she really wants the name to be "Snow White." Anyways. We just wanted to get the word out to all of our family and friends. We love you all.

The TWILIGHT Adventure

Last night was so much fun!!!! Although my body is feeling it a little more than it used to, we had a lot of fun partying until the wee hours of the morning. We've been looking forward to this night for months. Twilight came out at midnight last night, and a big group of us from Church went to see it. I think there were 19 of us altogether. Jenny, Kasey, and I rode together. We all enjoyed it very much. Of course, if you've read the book, nothing can compare or live up to the "Edward" of your dreams, but the story was portrayed well. There were some corny parts, but who cares? It was a great girl's (and boy's) night out. Thanks for the fun, Ladies!

Halloween fun...

Halloween night was a lot of fun. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's neighborhood to go
Trick-or-Treating. Braelinn really had fun. Danen was just ready to get out of the cold. Next year we are definitely taking a wagon.... Danen was a lion. RRRoaarrrrr. He did a great job snuggling up in the stroller to keep warm.

Braelinn was the beautiful Princess Aurora, but no one got to see her outfit because it was so cold. And yes, she walked in the heels the WHOLE time.

Braelinn's 4th Birthday

Okay. I know it's taken forever to put up the new pics., but I said from the very beginning I would have problems. Anyway. Here are the pictures from Braelinn's birthday. Her present this year was to go to Disney on Ice. She really enjoyed it!!We decided to have her party at the park this year since I was not feeling up to hosting. It was a lot easier, and I think everyone had a great time.

Here is one of the only pictures I got. Nate got stung by a bee, so he was incapacitated. Luckily, my friend, Jenny, got some good shots. The wind was blowing so strong, she almost didn't get to blow out the candles.

The Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, the playgroup from our ward went to Sweet Valley Park's Pumpkin Patch. There were so many things for the kids to do there. First, they got to help stuff a scarecrow. Braelinn wasn't too excited about that, if you can't tell by her expression... She did, however, like the scarecrow once he was finished.The kids got to go through a little"corn maze" while we waited for the tractor, and then we went on the hayride to the pumpkin patch.
At the pumpkin patch, the kids got to pick out which pumpkin they wanted to take home.
After that, we got to feed some chickens, pigs, and goats. Danen wasn't too sure about the pigs...
Then Braelinn got to go mining.

Here are the gems she sifted out. She got some "Fool's Gold," amethysts,

topaz, quarts, garnet, and more. She loved it!
The last thing they did was an "I Spy" nature walk. They had to find a few different animals and "Chief Pumpkin's" tee pee. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, but he left them each an arrowhead to take with them.
All the kids had a blast, and we enjoyed watched them have fun.

We Like Holidays...

Well. We got our due date today. The baby is due May 31, 2009, but Braelinn and Danen were born seven days early; and if the pattern holds true, that puts this one on May 24th, which is the day before Memorial Day. It also puts us VERY close to Nate missing the birth. He will be gone to school (for the military) from Jan. 6th to May 15th.

Our Family is Getting a Little Bigger

In case you haven't heard the news, we found out we are expecting again. It was a little bit of a surprise to us as well. Braelinn is very excited. She wants it to be "6 babies." One will be "Aurora," and one will be "Snow White." Unfortunately for the baby, that might be one of our selections. Nate and I NEVER agree on names. A lot of bargaining and scheming takes place in our home during that time. Anyways. Danen just smiled and laughed like he knew what was going on. We think he will be 17 months old when the next one is born. The first doctor's appointment is next week, so we'll let you know the due date then. Hopefully this pregnancy will go a little smoother. If you have extra room in your prayers, we always accept that as well. We know Heavenly Father has a plan for our family and will give us the strength we need to get through everything. We love you all and will write again soon.

We're Finally Bloggers...

Okay. I know it's taken us awhile to jump on the bandwagon, but we are finally here. We're BLOGGERS!! I'm excited to know that everyone is going to be able to get family updates and see family pictures almost as fast as they are done. I'm going to try to post once a week, but I could be dreaming. In reality, it might not be so often. We'll see how it goes...