The 4th of July and Ellalyn's Blessing

We actually didn't do anything for the 4th of July but our ward did have a 4th of July party yesterday and it was a lot of fun. Our ward is awesome and it was great to visit with other families and eat delicious food.

Jared with the girlsMe with the girls

Ellalyn turned one month old yesterday. She still isn't doing much but eating, sleeping, and crying but she is getting bigger and cuter each day. Also today I think she smiled at me, though it very well could have just been gas. Either way it was super cute. We had her blessed today and Jared gave her a very sweet blessing. We wish that we could have had family here for the blessing but it was really nice regardless.

Isn't she beautiful?

We are really missing Landon around here. The house is so much quieter without him around. But it looks as if he is having a GREAT time with Grammy and Grandpa so we are happy.

Goodbye 2007!

As the year 2007 comes to a close I decided to reflect on the year through pictures. I hope you all enjoy the slideshow and Happy New Year! (Thanks Kristen and Summer for giving me this idea, I hope you don't mind that I stole it from you ;))

Christmas Day!

Well Christmas was really great this year! Yesterday afternoon we got a call from Jared's brother Jeremiah who is serving a mission. Jared had a great time talking to him. We then spent the night eating yummy food and singing christmas carols. I was really suprised how much Landon enjoyed himself. Today I woke up bright and early and gave my brother Matt a call. He is also on his mission. It was so nice talking to him, I really miss him and I can't waite for him to get home in a few months. Landon woke up around 8:30 and got really excited when he saw the ball house that santa had brough him and Tori. they played in there for a few minutes until it was time to open presents. Landon wanted to keep playing but once he saw Tori "opening" presents he wanted to open them too. He loved it! He kept opening presents and saying "Wow look at this" it was really cute. We spent about an hour opening gifts and have been playing ever since. I love spending Christmas with Landon this year, he really made it magical for me again. I hope that all of you also had a great holiday! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

OK due to many reasons that included having no printer, lack of finances, and being a complete slacker I did not get our Christmas cards sent out this year. I am really sorry but next year I will do better I promise. So instead I decide to post a list of some of the things that I have learned in 2007....

1. Reno really became our home while we lived there. I never thought I would miss it but I really do.

2. Moving across the country is a very stressful process. I am really thankful for a patient husband and loving children who put up with me for the first few months after we moved here. They are the best!

3. Because I have the gospel in my life I have family no matter where I go. I am so thankful to the folks in the Elkhart 2nd ward who have been nothing but kind and loving. I really am glad that we are here at this time in our lives.

4. Jared and I have the best families in the world. I guess I have always known this but this year they have been especially helpful. Thank you all for all that you guys do for us. We love you all so much!

5. Potty Training was not as scary as I thought it was going to be. Now hopefully I haven't jinxed myself for horrible experiences in the future.

6. There really is such thing as the terrible twos. Landon has really tried my patience this year but his two year old stage has also been really fun. It is so neat to watch your children grow and learn new things.

7. Having 2 kids is more fun then having just one. It is true that having two kids is harder then having just one but I think that the benefits way out weigh the negative. There is nothing that I love more then watching my children interact with each other.

There are a lot of other things that I have learned over the past year but this is all I can think of right now. I hope that you all are having a great Holiday season. Merry Christmas!

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas

Last night I decided that it was time to start decorating for Christmas. I got out all of our Christmas stuff and came to the sad realization that we do not have enough space for all our decorations. Oh well at least we got our tree up and our Nativity scene, I guess we really don't need anything else. Landon had a blast trying to "help" me decorate the tree. I got out all of my old ornaments that I have been collecting since I was a kid and it really made me grateful for the tradition my parents and grandparents had of giving us a new ornament each year. I think I will start this tradition with my own kids so that when they are grown up and have their own families they will have a collection of nice ornaments like I have. Anyway here are some pictures
Landon playing in the lights
Tori was not happy that I made her sit up to have her picture taken
She recovered quickly
Landon keeps looking at the tree and saying "It's so pretty"

Thankgiving and Black Friday

Well I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was really nice (despite 3/4 of us being sick). We spent the afternoon over at a older couple in wards house. There ended up being about 13 adults there and 3 kids so we had plenty of people to visit it with. The food was delicious and we really had a nice time. I wish that we could have spent Thanksgiving with family ( this is the 4th year since we have been married that we have not been able to be home for Thanksgiving and I have not had Thanksgiving with my family for 8 years) and I am especially sad that we had to miss out on the big Brunner Thanksgiving in Utah but I am so thankful for the church and for the kind loving people here in Elkhart.
This morning I woke up bright and early to brave the after Thanksgiving Day sales. No I am still not feeling well and yes I am crazy but they had some really good deals and I had not done any of my Christmas shopping yet. I ended up getting to the store at 5, was out of the store by 5:15, headed over to Target only to find it was not open yet, realized I needed to get gas, stopped by Old Navy to find they were not having any good sales, and finally decided not to wait for Target to open and to just go home (did that sentence even make sense?). I got home by 6:30 so I am pretty impressed with myself. After I got home Jared decided that he needed a taste of the craziness that is Black Friday and so he headed over to our local Walmart. He was home by 7:15. So all in all I think we made pretty good time. Regrettably I will have to brave the crowd again later today as I realized we are pretty much out of diapers and wipes.
I am getting excited for Christmas and I have decided that over the next few weeks I will be posting short lists of my favorite things, so keep an eye out. To get you into the spirit though click here It'll make you happy :)

I’m sick give me a doughnut

Well this past week has been pretty crazy, but not in a good way. It all started around last Wednesday. Landon was acting kind of strange, lying around most of the day and he went to bed at 7:30. Usually it is a struggle to get him to bed between 8:30 and 9 (bedtime) so this was a bit strange. The next morning he wakes up with a fever. Now I have handled sick kids before and while it stinks it usually is not a big deal, the problem this week was Jared was scheduled for surgery Friday morning. So to make a long story short I have been dealing with a sick clingy boy and a pretty much disabled husband (he really hasn’t been that bad) for that past few days. Well low and behold I wake up this morning feeling awful. I guess that is the natural consequence of having a mama’s boy who only wants to be held while not feeling well. I just hope that I feel better by Thursday. Everyone was sick last Thanksgiving and I do not want a repeat of that experience this year.