Kyle + Scissors = Bad News

So on Sunday while I was talking to my sister-in-law on the phone, Kyle had this great idea to give Brighton a hair cut without letting me in on it. Having no previous experience himself in the hairstyling field, he thought he was highly qualified to do the job. Now I've really been trying to grow her hair out for a while. It's so thin and takes forever to grow, so it has been quite a feat lately as I have been able to put it up in french braids. That's why you can obviously see that when I came in to the bathroom, I was pretty upset. Kyle had chopped off a good inch and a half in the front and only an inch in the back. He made it look like we were going for a very subtle mullet. He told me he was going for an "A frame" but he obviously didn't think it through because an A frame goes the opposite way (short in the back, long it the front. So now it's kind of uneven and I have to put it up all the time, which is hard to do because it's just a little too short. I know it's not too drastic, and from the pics you're probably thinking "That's not a big deal. It was barely a trim.", but for the person who does it everyday, it's not that fun. Anyway, thanks Kyle.



The Before photos


The After shots

A Typical Comin Day

Can you tell she got dressed all by herself today?


And little mister is pulling himself up on everything and has 4 teeth now (you can only see half of them if you look close). So between teething, cruising around, and playing dress up, our days are quite busy!

An Overdue Update

Before we left Utah, quite a few things happened all at once, all while we were trying to pack and leave, so I just wanted to update from the past Utah events. First off, we had to say goodbye to our families that lived close by so we made a quick trip up north to Provo and Pleasant Grove to visit Annie, Joe, Landon, Van, Wendy, Will, Alea, and Mel. It was good to see them all and say adios. We went to this super fun park close the Van and Wendy's house with Alea, Will, Brighton, Porter, Landon, and ANnie to have lunch and play. It was a real treat for the kids. I know Brighton is really missing hanging out with cousins and Aunts and Uncle now that we're so far and can't just hop in the car for 3 hours to see them. We miss you guys! But hopefully we'll be back soon to visit!

Secondly, right before we left, the Utah Summer Games were held and I am proud to say I participated in them! What are the Utah Summer Games you ask? Only the biggest sporting event in Utah held in Cedar City! They have every sport imaginable from ping pong, to fencing to basketball, pickeball, golf, track and field and anything else you can think of, including a 5k race and a 10k race. And the best part is that you don't have to be good at any of it! You just sign up! So I opted for the 10k and really enjoyed it! Now I haven't run a race this long since before I had Brighton and for some of you out there, a 10k might not be that big of a deal, but just getting back into the swing of things, I felt like this was a good accomplishment. It wasn't my greatest time, but I finished and that's all that matters. Anyway, now you're updated!

Take Me Out to the Rockhounds Game

Last weekend we went to our first Midland Rockhounds Baseball game and it was a blast! The town we moved to is very family friendly and this is one of the many family events to attend in Midland. The Rockhounds are a Minor League team affiliated with the Oakland A's so it's pretty popular here. The stadium was really nice and it was a lot of fun to get out as a fam. Brighton thought it was the coolest thing to see them hit the ball and when Rocky the the Rockhound came around she was a little apprehensive, but wouldn't stop talking about it for the rest of the week. Anyway, if you're in town and feel like getting the whole "take me out to the ball game" experience, give us a call!

Red, White, and BLUE

So on the 4th of July we were invited to some friends' house we recently met in the ward. We had a barbeque and went into their community pool and we had a great time. We were all sitting around the table when Brighton ran in from their girls' bedroom so excited and said "Mom! Look!". She had gotten into some nail polish (their girls were older mind you)and had painted her toes all by herself! The first thing on my mind was " Oh my gosh! It's going to be all over their carpet! I'm dead!" But after meticulous searching, there was none to be found! Not even a drop! Even though she got into trouble, I was actually pretty impressed with her skills and she was pretty proud of herself. She wasn't wearing blue that day, so maybe she was just trying to support America's B-day. Whatever it was, we hope everyone else had as great of a 4 of July as we did! Happy Independence Day!

We're Here and We're Happy

I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it to Texas and we are (surprisingly) loving our lives! The people are great, the ward is super friendly and it's an all-around nice town. Kyle is really liking his job and all his co-workers have taken to him. So much so, that they volunteered him for this little interview below. He's a little embarrassed about it(as you can probably see by the shades of red on his face) but I'm super proud! Enjoy learning a little more about what Kyle does!

Black Eye

This is what happens when I turn my back for one second and my make-up is out on the counter. Brighton has to be there by my side doing her make-up as well. What a cute patoot!

It's Official...

We have decided to joined the ranks of our many Texan friends and move to the Lone Star State! That's right! Kyle got a job at Midland Memorial Hospital and we couldn't be happier! This is the perfect fit for us which is a little ironic because anyone who knows me knows that I've always vowed to never live in Texas. For some reason I just didn't ever like the place (even though I've never actually been there) but I'm sure it will be great! We're excited and it'll be a fast move (we have to be there by the 22nd!) so wish us luck with the next few weeks! Texas here we come!

Putting on A Show

Brighton's favorite thing to do lately is put on her leotard and tutu and do her "dancin' stuff". Here is a little performance of her singing her favorite Ariel song and dancing around. Also, she's doing plea-ays (Not sure how to spell that one. never took french.) which I have no clue where she learned it from. Sorry for the sideways video, you'll just have to turn your head.

She is such a girly girl. I can't wait to put her in dance class and have her learn a thing or two.

What Happened?

What happened to my little baby?!

July 2007


When did she become this walking, talking, sassafrassy girl?! May 2009

Bear Lake Memorial Weekend

For Memorial weekend we decided to break out the camping gear for the season and go up north to Bear Lake and camp out! It was actually a lot of fun (even though we got rained on the second night). Brighton was ecstatic about the situation and loved sleeping in a sleeping bag. We also had a great time with Kyle's mom. She came along for the camping fun and Brighton couldn't be happier that "Grams" was there to play with her. She started bawling when we had to leave Gram's house. Oh and another fun group of visitors that came to join us in the camping excitement was Keri, Dan, Olivia, and Violet. Kyle's sister, Keri, and her fam live in Logan so they came out to camp a night with us. Unfortunately, the wind was so bad that it blew their tent down in the middle of the night so they had to go home early, but Brighton absolutely LOVED having Livi to play for the night. It was a fun (exhausting, but fun) trip and we're excited to go on many more adventures this summer!Here's the real reason I went camping in the first place... the Famous Bear Lake Raspberry shake! And it was SO worth it! Delish!

Porter even loved camping, surprisingly enough! He just crawled everywhere and got filthy! Every little boy's dream!

Gram's enjoying some breakfast with her new best friend and Kyle.

You can see the sheer joy in Brighton's face while she got to play with Livi.

Mother's Day Weekend

I know it's a little late, but we've been busy here in Cedar. More pics and info on that to come, but for now, I'll fill you in on my Mother's Day weekend. So, against my will, Kyle splurged on me and bought me golf clubs for Mother's Day! I was kind of excited to try them out, so we went to the driving range and hit a bucket of balls. It was a lot of fun and the whole fam was actually able to get in on the action.

Here I am sporting my new clubs.

Brighton loved playing golf with Daddy. He taught her some good techniques.

Thanks to Carter and Cache (for the great Birthday present), Brighton was able to bring her own set of "golfings" and do some practicing of her own.

And Porter loved chewing on stuff and rolling around on the green.

And Kyle is showing off his golfing proness! Thanks so much Kyle, Brighton, and Porter for a great little Mother's Day! I love you guys!

Smiles McGee @ 6 months...a little late

Well Porter officially turned 6 months on April 8 but obviously that time came and went so now that life has slowed down a little more, I decided to post some things about our little guy at 6 months of age.

Weight: 13 lbs, 2 oz (1st percentile)

Height: 25 3/4 inches (23rd percentile)

Likes:

-Mom
-Giggling
-Crying
-Smiling
-Sleeping through the night (It only took us one night to train him of this! It was heavenly!)
-Eating carrots
-The bumbo
-Crying
-Watching his sister play
-Rolling around to get to places
-Trying to sit up
-Being called "Smiles McGee" (Don't ask us how he got the name, but it's very fitting with all his smiling.)
-Getting snuggled into his bed (He gets so excited when he knows he's about to go to sleep. We really are blessed with a baby who sleeps!)
-Getting up onto his hands and knees
-The Doctor

Dislikes:

-Sister trying to sit on him
-Being the slightest bit hungry (The second he's hungry there's whaling and gnashing of gums.)
-Not being held all the time
-Things right out of his reach
-Toppling over after trying to sit up (Mom dislikes that one too. She feels extra bad about that one.)
-The shots at the doctor (Who does like shots?)
-Teething (No teeth yet, but a lot of drool!


He's already 7 months and already doing a ton more things than previously mentioned, but I'll save more of his progress for further posts! And I promise to be better at updating about our smiley guy because he's getting more and more exciting by the day!

A belated Mother's Day Tribute

Last week I got a knock on my door and when I opened it, these beautiful flowers were there! I thought they could possibly be from Kyle but it was still like a week until mother's day, so my second thought which turned out to be correct was that my on-top-of-everything-weeks-in-advance mother was the culprit. Then I thought "aren't I supposed to be the one doing something for my mother? Shouldn't this be the other way around?" When I called my mom to say thanks and what's up with that, she said that I'm a mom too and I deserve it. That's the type of person my mom is. Constantly thinking of others without a second thought of herself. She is the best, most caring and loving person I know. I really was lucky enough to be raised by such a great person. She always put us kids first and her desires and wants were always on the backburner. I only hope to be as kind, thoughtful, and selfless as she has always been to everyone around her. Thanks so much mom for your constant example to be a better person. I love and miss you! Happy Mother's Day!

Graduation, Graduation, and more Graduation

Last Saturday, Kyle graduated! He graduated from SUU with a Bachelor's degree in Nursing and we couldn't be prouder of our man for accomplishing this. He really didn't want to make a big deal out of it and didn't even want to walk because this isn't the end of schooling for us, but being the loud and proud wife that I am, I made him do it and gave quite the shout out every time they called his name. Kyle's mom and sister Annie came down along with Brighton's cousin Landon which made the day even more exciting and fun. To start the day off, we all had to be seated early because a very important guest speaker was speaking at the first graduation. So with 3 little kids and 4 adults all trying to get out the door by 8:00, it was a little bit of a challenge but we made it! And it was worth it to see this:

It's not the greatest of videos, but I just wanted to show everyone who we were privileged enough to hear in person.
The happy crew after Kyle being an official graduate.

The graduate with his excited kids (I think they were more excited about being outside than anything else).

Then after that, they had a convocation where Kyle actually walked across the stage. It was kind of a zoo with everyone walking and cheering and taking pics, and by the time we were done with that, it was practically 5:00 at night, so it was a long day of graduation but a lot of fun.

Kyle after having received his degree.

Brighton's favorite thing was daddy's cool hat.

Can't you tell I'm proud?

Kyle even got to graduate with a lot of our friends, including Ben Boyle. Here's Ben and Sarah with us at graduation, before they packed up and moved. Brighton was best friends with their little boys and she is having serious withdrawals now that they're gone. She wanders aimlessly around the park asking to go see Kayson and Cade. It breaks my heart. We really miss you guys!

Well, it's been a long and challenging road we've taken in our lives but I'm grateful that Kyle has accomplished this and I can be here to support him. We've both grown from all our experiences during this time at Cedar City and SUU and it has definitely helped us become more like the people we want to be so I wanted to say one last time that I'm so proud and thankful for my great hubby! I love you babe!

Pinning Ceremony

Last Friday Kyle had his nurse pinning ceremony which is kind of a big deal for the nursing program. We even had relatives come to celebrate it with us. Annie, Joe, and Landon came, along with Kyle's mom. Brighton loved having the house so full and having so many family members close by to play with. We appreciate everyone who was willing to make the day so fun and special!Kyle receiving his pin. The SUU Nursing Class of Spring 2009.Kyle and his best buds Reagan and Dusty (along with Brighton, London, and Drae).Kyle and Annie

Kyle and CaseyMe and my amazing hubby. I'm so proud of you babe!

Brighton, Kyle and his mom.
Kyle with Aja James, his favorite teacher who is a super-star nurse.

Brighton with her best bud Drae. We're really gonna miss you guys!
After all the festivities, Brighton and Landon were itching to get out and run around so they were practically out of sight the minute we got outside!

Barbeques, Farewells, and Graduations...oh my!

This week has been a whirlwind of barbecues, goodbyes, and yes I said it...Graduation! There is much to write about, but I'll take it one thing at a time. So Kyle graduated along with so many of our friends and everyone is going their separate ways with either optometry school or med school or what-not, so the day after Brighton's birthday party, we all had a barbecue as a last hurrah. It was so fun, we wondered why we hadn't done these gatherings before everyone left!

Some of the guys and their cute little ones!Me and my girlfriends hanging out all together one last time. I'm going to miss you ladies!

April, Mandy, and Mark chatting it up.
There was so much food to go around! We had such a good time! We got really lucky with the friendships we've created and will miss everyone when they leave and in the near future when we move.