The Joy of Having 2 Boys!

I absolutely LOVE having 2 boys! I love seeing the two of them play together. Though they totally fight...they are still such cute brothers.

My sister went to Disneyland awhile ago, and brought them back the Mickey Ears hats. Each one even has their name embroidered on the back. Though we've had these hats for a little while now, Carter just got them off his hat rack the other day.

He got both hats off the rack and helped Brax get his on...then he got his own on and wanted me to take pictures! (I love that kid!)

Carter noticed that I didn't have a matching fun hat like they did...so the boy went in his room and got his funky elephant hat for me to wear. (he's very concerned about everyone joining in)

So funny! It's the little moments like this that completely make up for all the other moments in life! I wouldn't have it any other way.

Garden Pride....

I'm not one to really enjoy being outside, picking weeds, watering plants...I have always been someone who loves to swim, relax and play outdoors. But I have to admit this whole gardening thing is totally growing on me. I'm enjoying every minute...even picking the weeds! I love going out and watering and seeing what is growing for us.

I will say that our garden is definitely cruising along...there are so many things growing already! Here's just a little of what I gathered up yesterday. (I know the zucchini is small but I couldn't wait!)

With so many green beans still waiting to be picked I thought a fun way to get my family to eat them was to deep fry them...I know so healthy right?!? Well, I will say, with a little bread crumb mixture, egg whites and oil....we had an amazing dish! I tasted just like at TGIFridays!

What a great success!

Mini Vacay....

Now that my work schedule has picked up, marketing definitely keeps you busy and trying to do what I can at home with the boys is really hard, and Scott working every chance he can get....our quality family time has slowly dwindled away. Knowing that last weekend was my only weekend off until September, Scott and I planned an impromptu family vacation.

Of course we totally did it on a budget! We had the best "camping" trip ever!

Here are the boys ready for our fun road trip...in my family's mini van. (They're letting us borrow it until my car is fixed)

We headed up Farmington Canyon to the fishing pond there...it's one of our favorites. Brax was so excited to explore now that he can walk everywhere!

And Carter loves using his McQueen fishing pole every chance he can...Once our fishing trip was over, we headed to Texas Roadhouse (with our gift card from Uncle Jimmy) and the boys loved it! Brax was in heaven with all the fries and rolls, while Carter sang to the music... Part of why this was the best "camping" trip ever, is because we actually stayed in a hotel that night. (I know not really camping, but still so much fun!) It was the cheapest hotel we could find...and man was it a dump! But it did have a great pool that we all (yes Scott included) enjoyed that night!

We played Hot Potato, chased the Zhu Zhu pets around and watched TV. My favorite part of the night was sleeping with my little guy. Braxton is my child that really wants to be in his crib when he's tired, not cuddled or snuggling but alone in his crib. So to actually get to snuggle was a really nice surprise!

The next morning was fun because the boys had their favorite breakfast, pop tarts. (I know that's funny but we never buy them at home) Brax loved walking around everywhere exploring what the hotel had to offer...

After breakfast we headed back up the mountains in Bountiful to shoot some guns. Every girls' dream right?!? It was so much fun though, Carter loves having this special time with Scott and Brax pretended to drive the car while the big boys shot at targets.
For such a quickly planned trip, $50 and no idea what was going to happen, this was our best trip yet! It was so fun to hang out, watch TV channels we don't have at home and be together.

Carter loved being at the hotel...
And our little Brax seeemed to enjoy the trip too...
A picture says 1000 words...this is a recap of how our trip went... Priceless!

Braxton James....

Oh Brax....

He started out so tiny....

He brought out a good big brother in Carter....Made us realize how amazing a truly baby is....

Always has a smile on his face....Is such an amazing little boy now that his personality is coming out more each day...He makes me grateful each day that I get to be a mom to two amazing little boys... My life is now complete! He is so brave and adventurous... He loves cars, anything on wheels and wants to be big like his brother so badly...He is loved by so many people...even on his "weird" days...
He has surpassed all expectations and is now walking! He still crawls but tries to walk more and more each day! Congrats little guy....your first year of life has been a success! He continues to explore, try new things and learn new noises he can make. We truly are the luckiest parents!

Brax's Circus Party....

Our little Runnin' Dude had a blast at his first birthday party!

All 13 kids had fun rinning around, playing the games and getting the prizes. Carter really liked the photo back drop...we had to take his picture about 10 times and I still got a crazy smile from him each time!

My mom made the most adorable cake! The two clowns were completely made of frosting even, and she made individual clown cupcakes for each kid. We used the same candle that was in Carter's First Birthday cake. I love the sentimental things.

Braxton loved it! He cried when we were singing Happy Birthday to him because he saw the cupcakes and couldn't reach one. So while we sang, he ate a cupcake! And then another when it was "eating" time.

The little guy had no idea what was going on....but he enjoyed playing with the kids, explooring the gym and working on his walking skills. I am so happy he's one! I love the communication, interaction and things you can do with the boys as they get older!

Brax's girlfriend, Brinley, was there! Seriously, I don't think there's anything wrong with arranging a perfect marraige. :) Could she be any cuter?The buckets were a hit!
The beach balls were a fav of the babies that came. The jumping castle was a favorite of the big kids.
Braxton got so many presents! He is a spoiled little guy! He is such a unique little guy!
I am so proud of our little family. Our baby is now one year old! That's a big milestone and I'm so happy with how things are turning out in our lives nwo that they boys are growing up. Some moms get sad to see their little ones grow up...I get so excited! I can't wait for what the future holds!

Growing...Downsizing...Partying!

Our garden is growing by the day! (this is a good thing because we may have to be living off of it soon) Our sunflower plant grows about 5 inches each day and Carter loves seeing how tall he looks next to it. Our strawberry, tomato, sweet pea and bell pepper plants are doing amazing...but my newest joy is our zucchini plant! It has a ton of mini zucchinis on it right now that keep getting bigger and bigger. It's so fun to go out each day and see what grew over night.

As I said before the transmission went out in my car last week. Now my poor car sits on the street waiting for us to come up with the money to fix it. It's really sad to drive up everyday and see it just sitting there.

But in the meantime I do get to drive this beauty of a car...I know I should be grateful, and I really am, but it's no 4Runner that's for sure. This manual everything car gets to haul around all of my Fat Cats Marketing stuff, both boys, all the kids' stuff and groceries. Some days I wonder where it's all going to go...but I have to say it's been a great alternative to having no car.

Tomorrow is Brax's First Birthday Party! I have been waiting for this moment forever! And of course have been actually planning the party for a long time now...so to see it all come together was great! My mom, sister and I went to the gym of the church today to set everything up...here's the before....
I chose a circus/carnival theme and I have say it turned out better than I imagined. When the kids walk in (which we probably have about 12 or so coming) they get to decorate their "prize bucket" and then for each game they do they get to win a prize and that's how they "earn" their goodie bag.
We have a jumping castle (where they get beach balls), a tube/tent maze (where they get clappers), a duck pond (where they get a duckie), a milk bottle toss (where they get a superman ring), whack-a-mole (where they get spiderman rings), a lollipop tree, a photo back drop and a snap bracelet making center.
Here's the concessions....
My mom made these banners last night....
The cutest thing though is this lollipop tree...My mom made this and it turned out way cute!
My cute mother-in-law watched the boys so we could set up in peace....I am so grateful for having so many people to help me out!
I can't wait for tomorrow!

4th of July Weekend....

Happy 4th of July!

Our weekend was amazing! We started our three-day weekend off with a walk around the lake on base.... (don't mind the weird smiles from my boys)

We fed the ducks and explored all over....

Scott put on an amazing firework show for us at his family's house...

The boys loved every minute! Carter rode his "motorcycle" around the front yard while Brax took in everything about fireworks...Scotty gave us all a great presentation.

Today my family and I took the boys to Boondocks and tried out the "kid bowling" section...it was a hit! Even Brax got in on the action.
It's always fun to hang out with family, play with the boys and just relax. I can't remember a better 4th of July!

On a side note:
I am grateful for so many things and this past week has really made me focus on that.
First of all, I am so grateful that I'm not this size anymore...
Second of all, I have a great new job working with Fat Cats Family Fun Center. I am so glad I found a job that fits my personality, has a great schedule and makes a difference. It's a great company, fun people and an amazing opportunity I just couldn't pass up.

Third, though having your transmission go out on you might seem like something to stress about...I am grateful that it has made me take a good look at my priorites...and I'm the first one to admit, they're going to change. Scott and I have to come up with a ton of money to fix my car, so in the meantime I'm just glad that we have one car (and it's a good thing I know how to drive a stick) and that I avoided an accident while driving my broken car to the shop.

Fourth, Scott and I adore our boys and have decided that we are going to make every decision (no matter how hard) so that one day we will look back on all of this and realize that we have done the best we could for our family.
I don't think I could have asked for a better holiday weekend, it's all about family and making memories...our boys will look back on their childhood and have plenty of fond memories. (or at least that's what we're going for)