Our Little Family

Indoor Soccer

2012-01-15T17:11:00.002-07:00

It's official. As of last Wednesday I'm officially a soccer mom. Bryson had his first indoor soccer game and loved it and did so well for his first time playing...ever.

Getting pumped up for the game with his team.

Standing in line during the warm-up.

Bryson's loves playing with his cousin Naish, who is also on the team.

Before the game Bryson spent about an hour drawing himself up all sorts of different plays for the game. This is a picture of one of them.

Here's a look at Bryson putting one of his cool plays into action (he's player #1 in yellow). They ended up winning the game 7-3... or something like that.

Fun Friday

2012-01-06T08:03:00.001-07:00

Natural History Museum of Utah

My sister and I have decided to start back up our weekly Terrific Tuesday's--however since the boys both have pre-school on Tuesday's, we're moving our fun day to Friday and calling it "Fun Friday" (yeah, we're really creative with our names). So last Friday we went to the new Natural History Museum with Granny Goose and it was awesome!

The place is huge with so much to see. It's super catered to kids, but it's also an amazing place for adults to go if you want to learn about bugs, dinosaurs and really old stuff. It has some amazing exhibits (my favorite was the moccasin exhibit) and is definitely a must see if you are in the area.

Christmas

2012-01-01T22:21:00.009-07:00

This Christmas will forever be remembered as the year of the pirate ship. It's all Bryson talked about for months! Thankfully Santa was kind enough to grant Bryson his Christmas wish and he couldn't have been more excited. He's played with it 24/7 since opening it and begs me to let him bring it with us wherever we go.

We celebrated Christmas eve with Erin's side of the family as is tradition. Uncle Jake taught a special Christmas lesson, we had a talent show (Bryson's talent was blowing spit bubbles with his mouth...it was awesome), we acted out the nativity and exchanged gifts.

Each year Granny gives all the grand kids Christmas jammies. Since Bryson likes to sleep in just his undies, Granny gave him a cute bath robe instead of jammies this year. He's loved snuggling up in it after his bath each night.

We spent a relaxing Christmas day with Mike's family. His parents gave us food storage stuff, which we were so excited about (seriously, we were!). We set a goal when we moved into our house 1 1/2 years ago to get our food storage completely finished before we start spending money on fixing up our house. We are just about there and I'm so excited because I'm DYING to start making over the rooms in our house. Can't wait!

Mommy Kim sent Bryson a package stuffed with everything in the picture above. Bryson loved it and has had fun watching each of the movies and playing with the Star Wars stuff. Her parents also very generously sent Bryson a Christmas package with cool pirate stuff in it and some necklaces made out of real buckeyes! Go Buckeyes!

We Skyped with Mommy Kim Christmas evening and Bryson spent about an hour holding everything up to the camera one by one so she could see each and every present he got. It was pretty cute. Thank you so much Mike, Marcia and Mommy Kim for the gifts! We love you guys and appreciate so much the love you continue to shower upon Bryson! He's such a lucky little guy!

I have to end with this because it pretty much consumed my December. I spent every free second I could find in December designing and coding our new site over at Designer Blogs. You have no idea how glad I am to be done with it! It was a ton of work but I think it will be well worth it. I continually feel so grateful to be able to work from home doing something I love.

It's sad to see 2011 go. It was a great year, but we look forward to what's to come in 2012. Happy new year!

The Nutcracker

2011-12-20T08:13:00.002-07:00

Saturday evening I attended Ballet West's The Nutcracker at the Capital Theater with my mom and niece. My niece Zyan got to go because she just turned eight and my mom takes all of her granddaughters when they turn eight. I took years of ballet growing up and so I tagged along because I absolutely love ballet.

Zyan outside the theater.

Zyan looked so cute in her fancy outfit.

Granny bought Zyan an ornament so she can always remember her special night.

The show was amazing--I loved every second of it! It was such a fun night!.

Bryson's Missionary Bank

2011-12-18T16:38:00.003-07:00

For Christmas two years ago, Granny Goose gave Bryson this cute missionary bank. Since then he's been shoving all of the money he's earned from doing his chores and all the money he's received from his great-grandparents (thank you Grandma & Grandad Jones!) inside.

The other night for Family Home Evening we decided to empty it out because it was getting pretty full. We had a short lesson about what it's like to go on a mission and had Bryson practice doing door approaches with his little Book of Mormon in hand and Mike's old missionary tag attached to his shirt. Our little "Elder Miller" was so cute and did such a good job!

Then we drove over to the nearest Coinstar machine and helped Bryson dump all of his coins into it. He loved watching the dollar amount climb as the machine ate all of his money.

The final total of coins was $72.61. He also had another $42.00 in bills making the grand total $114.61.

When we got home with the money, we helped Bryson fill out a tithing slip so he could pay tithing on it. Then we gave him another 10% of it to keep, which he'll spend on something he wants (he told us he wants to save it so he can buy a "Sir Angus castle" with it), and then the rest of it we've since taken to the bank to put in his missionary savings account. We hope Bryson will be able to save enough money to pay for his entire mission by himself someday just like his daddy did. This money is a great little start. We love our future missionary!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T18:42:00.002-07:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving this year with my side of the family at The Little America Hotel. We decided to take a break from the tradition of making our own meal and decided to pay to have other people make it for us. It was so delicious and almost overwhelming because the options were endless!

After dinner we went bowling at Fat Cats and had a blast. Mike slaughtered everyone with a score of 202! He's an amazing bowler and put us all to shame. It was great to be all together as a family (minus Zack's family because of their new baby) and to enjoy each others company.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Little Darth Vader

2011-10-24T08:01:00.007-06:00

(Bryson using the Force on his cousin Naish)

A few months ago life as we knew it changed forever when I allowed Bryson to check out a Star Wars movie from the library. I grew up in a home with four brothers, so naturally I became exposed to the Star Wars phenomena but always considered them nerdy boy movies and never took the time to watch them. However, now that I'm a mother to a 4-year-old little boy, I felt it was my duty as a good mom to see what Star Wars was all about, so Bryson and I set a goal to watch all six Star Wars episodes in sequential order.

Watching all six movies took us a few weeks, but we got through them and now Bryson is completely obsessed and I have to admit I am as well! Star Wars is AWESOME and so symbolic! Who knew?!? Bryson is a very active movie watcher and likes to re-enact all the fight scenes as he watches them by jumping off the couch and rolling around on the ground with his light saber while making sound effects. I've learned it's very wise to stay clear of the front of his mouth as he makes his sounds effects because his spit trajectory is extremely wide-spread and has the tendency to drench everything in its path very quickly. So while he drenched the room with his re-enactments as we watched, I couldn't help but pull out my notebook and take notes (I'm nerdy like that) on all of the religious comparisons packed into each episode. Star Wars has opened up such an amazing way for me to teach Bryson about the Gospel and he actually listens and gets it!

Star Wars rules.

So naturally for Halloween Bryson chose to be Darth Vader. We bought his costume a few weeks ago and he's pretty much worn it everyday since. Thanks to Bryson's Star Wars obsession I've become one of the best light saber fighting mama's this side of the Jordan River. Bryson says he taught me everything I know, but I beg to differ (he doesn't know this, but I also took notes on the fight scenes...hehe!).

I love this commercial because it is EXACTLY how Bryson walks around everyday.

I love my little Darth Vader.

Gardner Village Family Photos

2011-10-10T07:57:00.012-06:00

Yesterday we followed our yearly tradition and met up with my family at Gardner Village for dinner and to take family pictures.

Here are some of my favorites of our little family:

P.S. We are still hoping to adopt. Please continue to help us spread the word!

SUU trip

2011-09-18T22:26:00.007-06:00

This past weekend we went on a road trip down to Cedar City to visit my little sister Taylor and her hubby Abbel.

This is Taylor and she is pretty much a rock star at SUU (I kinda had no idea). She spends her days super busy doing totally fascinating things. She and her hubby have their own radio show on Monday evenings on SUU's radio station Power 91. As part of her Power 91 responsibilities, she gets to host the half-time shows at all of the sporting events (volleyball, basketball, football, etc). We got to watch her in action at one of the volleyball games and she did an amazing job.

Taylor called my dad and I out onto the floor during a time-out at the volleyball game to participate in a bumping competition and we WON!!! Yay! We each won a pizza.

Taylor also produces and co-hosts her own television talk show for SUU. Bryson and his cousin Zoey had fun being silly on the set.

She also anchors the SUU news. She gave us a tour of the news studio and then we all took turns anchoring the news with her.

Even Bryson got to have a turn.

We all helped in the control room and got to learn how to run the teleprompter.

(Picture from one of last seasons games)

Then we went over to the football field to watch Taylor's hubby Abbel (#15) play in SUU's homecoming football game.

We all sported our SUU gear.

My cute nieces and I all wore the same shirts.

Taylor was busy during the game running all of the sound for the game up in the press box.

SUU dominated UTSA with a 45-22 win!!! Way-to-go Abbel!!!

Kidney Kamp

2011-09-13T11:40:00.012-06:00

Last weekend Bryson went to Kidney Kamp up at Aspen Grove with Unky & Nonni (Mike's parents). Nonni works for the National Kidney Foundation so taking the grandkids to Kidney Kamp has become a yearly tradition that Bryson always looks forward to. Since I wasn't there, I decided to have Bryson tell you about each of the pictures Unky & Nonni sent me, so here you go...

...and that about sums it up. He had such a fun time and said his favorite parts were the pirate ship and the magic trick guy.

Since Bryson was gone overnight, Mike and I took the opportunity to have a date night together. I met him at his work downtown and we went to the Salt Lake Temple to do sealings and had such a great experience there. Then we ordered take-out and came home and snuggled up to a movie together (our favorite). It felt wonderful to have an evening to ourselves. Even though the alone time was great, we sure missed our little man and made sure to let him smother us with hugs and kisses when he got home to make up for the ones he felt he didn't get to give when he left. :)

Our Little Preschooler

2011-09-08T06:08:00.073-06:00

Last week a new chapter in this little man's life began...
with the start of PRESCHOOL!
Yay!

It's hard to believe he's as old as he is.
It seems like just yesterday Mommy Kim blessed our lives with his.
As I drove away from the school after dropping him off his first day I got a little emotional as I thought about the start of this new chapter in his life, which signals an end to the old one.
It's hard to say goodbye to the past sometimes.
Good thing I've blogged about every detail of it so I can relive it when I miss it. :)

This little man is amazing.
We cannot even put into words how blessed we feel to have him in our lives.
We are so grateful to Mommy Kim for trusting us enough to be his parents and for blessing us with the opportunity to help little Bryson on his earthly journey back to our Heavenly Father.
We pray for help each day in fulfilling such a sacred responsibility.

Reasons I love my little sweetheart Bryson:

1. His sound effects cover me with spit

2. He gives me hugs & kisses whenever I ask

3. He sleeps in his undies

4. He always has a sword or a light saber shoved down his pants

5. He has the most amazing birth mom who has a birthday TODAY!

Happy Birthday Mommy Kim!

We made this video for you so you could hear about Bryson going to preschool.
It's a little long, so hopefully you can make it through it. :)
Bryson added a little gift for you at the end of the video too, so enjoy!
We love you!

To clarify: this video makes it kind of sound like we are adopting a baby boy, but we're not...not yet anyway. That's just what Bryson is hoping for...but he'd love a girl too. :)

Cousin's Sleepover

2011-09-05T12:26:00.002-06:00

Last night was the first annual Hinckley family cousin's sleepover at Granny Goose & Grandpa Hink's house. All of the grandkids were there and the whole evening revolved around them. We had tinfoil dinners, played games, celebrated two birthday's, and enjoyed an outdoor movie together as a family. Then the adults went home and the kids spent the night in a tent in the backyard. By morning they had all moved inside and were found sleeping in random places around the house. Grandpa fed them his famous breakfast and they all agreed it was the best sleepover ever!

Downtown Adventure

2011-09-01T10:01:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Bryson and I went on an adventure downtown to visit daddy at work. Mike's building is right in front of a Trax station, so that's what we rode to get there.

Bryson waited patiently behind the yellow line for the train to come. I let him bring one toy and he chose his pirate hook (bought at Lego Land by Mommy Kim), which he wore on his hand pretty much the whole trip.

Bryson sat like this the entire way there. He thought the train ride was "so boring."

I love being downtown. There is such an energy there. Watching all of the business men and women in their suits rush here and there was awesome.

Mike met us outside his building and we walked across the street to the Gallivan Center where we sat and ate lunch. Bryson loved chilling with his daddy.

Before kissing daddy goodbye and sending him back to work, we stopped for pictures in front of this cool water feature at the Gallivan Center.

Then Bryson and I rode Trax over to the Church History Museum to play in the children's area. They've changed it since we were last there and Bryson loved it.

His favorite part was playing in Nephi's ship, which was equipped with a real live liahona! Bryson and I had fun acting out the story of Nephi and the ship. Bryson played the part of Nephi and kept transforming himself into a pirate. It was awesome.

Then we hopped back on Trax and rode it over to the Salt Lake City Public Library. Bryson was a master at pushing the buttons at the intersections we had to cross on the way there.

At the library we went downstairs to Bryson's favorite two rooms-- the ice cave room and the attic room.

After Bryson wore himself completely out, we jumped back on Trax and went home.

We plan to make our downtown adventure a monthly tradition!

The Denim Quilt

2011-08-29T11:06:00.015-06:00

For Mike's 29th birthday two years ago, he asked for a queen-sized denim quilt similar to one he grew up with that he loved because it was so warm. Being eager to make his birthday wish come true I gathered all the old jeans I could from family members with great ambitions to have the quilt finished by his birthday, which at that time was still several months away. Sadly the busyness of life got the best of me, and with only a few squares cut, Mike's birthday came and went with the stack of denim still sitting virtually untouched in a closet. :(

A year later (a few months before his 30th birthday), Mike told me he still really wanted me to finish the quilt and that he would be willing to cut each of the squares himself if it would help me get it finished for him by his birthday, so I eagerly agreed and let him go at it. Mike was so cute and sat for hours that day on the living room floor carefully hand-picking and hand-cutting every square according the measurements I gave him (we won't mention the "mishap" here). He cut squares out of the back pockets "to hold the TV remote control" and even cut squares out of paint stained pieces "to make it look cool". He had a perfect vision of how he wanted the quilt to look and got it laid out on the floor exactly the way he wanted. The next day I got it sewed together (minus the border, which Mike was still cutting) and went out to purchase the batting and backing material so I could get it finished for him by his birthday.

Unfortunately life got the best of me again and the quilt sat unfinished for yet another year until my mom (an amazing quilter) called me a few weeks ago and offered to help me get it finished for Mike's 31st birthday this year. So I sent her home with everything and she got the border sewed on and then got it set up on a quilt frame at her house so we could tie it. I spent an evening at her house last week tying it and then she spent last weekend binding it so it was all ready to finally give to Mike.

On Thursday night we had tickets to the Hale Center Theatre out by my parents house to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (which was fabulous). Since my parent's were planning on babysitting Bryson for us while we went to the show, we decided to surprise Mike with the quilt when we stopped by before the show to drop Bryson off. Mike had no idea we had even been working on the quilt and was SO surprised when he walked into my parents house and saw it sitting there finally finished! He's been so patient over the past 2 1/2 years and is so happy to finally get to enjoy it.

A big thank you to my mother for helping me finish it. I don't think I would have ever gotten it done without her help. Mike loves the quilt and I love that it carries with it such a sentimental story. :)

Friday Night Swim

2011-08-15T22:03:00.004-06:00

The Castle

2011-08-09T10:49:00.002-06:00

Granny Goose gave Bryson a book called The Fantastic Rainy Day Book that is packed full of crafts you can create out of common household objects. We've tried to create one thing out of the book each week and this week we decided to build a C-A-S-T-L-E!

This is how the castle turned out. It's built from boxes, paper, paint, markers, toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls. Bryson helped every step of the way and had me add secret trap doors all around the castle to trap his bad guys in.

He absolutely loves it and has been playing with it every day since we finished it. He likes to bomb it with his pirate ship. We'll see how long it lasts...

Whew!

2011-08-07T23:02:00.000-06:00

July 2011 can officially go down in the record books as the busiest month of my life--ever! It was insane but I'm happy to report I survived and can now breathe again. Yay! Here's a look at some of the fun I got to have:
Youth Conference: Youth conference was held at Syndermill in Park City and was a blast! I love the young women I serve and felt blessed to get to spend so much time learning from their amazing examples.

{Lauren, Emily, Amy, Erin, Taylor, and Lara}

Designer Blogs Conference: All of the designers I work with came to town for a weekend so we could learn how to design in Wordpress and talk about the future of Designer Blogs. It's always fun to get together with other computer nerds like myself to talk computer code and learn new things. My head was spinning by the end of the day but I learned a ton and loved getting to know the girls I work with better.

Girls Camp: Girls camp was held at Heber Valley Camp and was such an amazing experience. At the beginning of the Summer we only thought we'd have four girls be able to come to camp but we miraculously ended up having nine girls from our ward attend. It was such a blessing to have them all there and I loved the the bond camp created between the girls and the leaders. I seriously love these girls!

San Diego: We ended the month with a much needed vacation to San Diego. We chose San Diego because that's where Bryson's birthmom lives and we thought it would give us a good chance to spend some time with her. We went to Lego Land, Sea World and the beach and had such a great time! We love mommy Kim to pieces and are happy we got to have so much fun with her!

Now, back to life (& blogging) as usual...

Off-Road Truck Race

2011-07-02T11:46:00.001-06:00

Last weekend we were invited last minute to some races out at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele. As soon as Mike found out we'd be seeing the off-road truck races he was like a little boy on Christmas morning and was beyond excited.

The races were filled with adrenaline and completely insane to watch (cars flying and crashing everywhere!). Mike even had one of his dreams come true and got to meet his X-Games hero Travis Pastrana. Travis was a stud and gave Bryson a high-five.

Thanks so much for the invite Kami & Ty. Mike was in heaven and we had a blast!

Here's a clip of one lap of the race:

Bryson's First Primary Talk

2011-06-28T18:51:00.009-06:00

At the vet with Max just a few minutes before he was put to sleep.

This past Thursday evening my sister called to tell me that Max, our family dog of 15+ years, had collapsed in my parents backyard and wasn't doing well (he was dying of colon cancer). My parents were away at Girls Camp so she called my brother Ike to come and help her take him to the vet to be put down. As soon as I got off the phone with her I went into Bryson's room to help him get ready for bed and while doing so I talked to him about what was happening to Max. I told him that something very sad was happening to Max--that he was very sick and would be dying soon. We talked for a little bit about death and what happens after we die and he seemed to understand and take it okay. In his bedtime prayer he prayed for Max and then I tucked him in, gave him two kisses (one from me and one from Mommy Kim) and then left his room so he could go to sleep.

A few minutes later as I walked past his bedroom, I could hear quiet sobs coming from his room. I opened the door, moved closer and asked him what was wrong. He couldn't even talk and just kept crying. I asked him if he was feeling sad because of Max and through his tears nodded his head "yes." I was surprised by his show of emotion because I wasn't sure he fully understood the concept of death, but I guess he really did. The thought of Max dying made him feel so sad he couldn't hold back the tears. As he cried I held him in my arms and tried my best to help him feel better. At about that time, Taylor called again and said she and Ike (& Amy) were on their way to the vet and invited us to come. I wasn't sure that was something I wanted Bryson to see but when I told Bryson about it he was adamant on going because he wanted to be able to say goodbye to Max.

When we arrived at the vet it was hard to see Max in so much pain and to know he was going to be gone soon. While we waited for the vet to come into the room they put us in, Bryson and I knelt on the floor by Max and Bryson gently touched his head and just sobbed and sobbed. We talked about how lucky Max was because he would get to be with Jesus and free of pain soon and that someday he would live again. Bryson was so cute and thanked Max for being such a good dog and for always playing with him at granny's house. After we said our goodbye's the vet came in and gently put Max to sleep.

As we drove home, Bryson continued to cry. He was so heartbroken. When we got home we said another prayer and Bryson asked Heavenly Father to comfort him and help him feel better. Bryson snuggled with us in bed and cried himself to sleep that night. The next morning Bryson woke up totally happy! I asked him if he was still sad about Max and he said "no." I asked him why and he said "because I know I'll get to see him again someday!"

On Sunday Bryson got to give his first talk in Primary. His topic was "The Holy Ghost Comforts Me" so he decided to talk about Max's death. This is what he said:

"This week my grandma's dog died. It made me feel very sad and I cried. So I said a prayer and Heavenly Father sent the Holy Ghost to comfort me. I know if you ever feel sad or afraid, the Holy Ghost can comfort you too. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

He was so brave and did such a good job. Even though saying goodbye to Max was hard it was such a great testimony building experience for Bryson and I know it's something he'll never forget.

Brody's Finalization & Sealing

2011-06-19T15:55:00.021-06:00

Yesterday we had the opportunity to see my nephew Brody, who was adopted by Rachel (my sister) & Randy six months ago, sealed in the temple to his family.

The sealing was beautiful and the feeling of love in the room was so strong. Seeing Randy, Rachel, Brock & Brody enter the sealing room all dressed in white as a family was such an amazing sight and is something I will never forget.

I know little Brody and sweet Brock were meant to be a part of Randy and Rachel's family from the beginning and that it wasn't by chance their birth mother's were led to them.

This is Brody's birth mother Chanel (in navy) and her family. Chanel is one of the most amazing young women I have ever met. As soon as she met Randy & Rachel, she says she knew the baby she was carrying in her tummy was meant to be theirs and that she was bringing him into this world for them. I admire her so much for loving Brody enough to give him a better life than she knew she could currently give--with two loving parents and the chance to be sealed to an eternal family.

Bryson and I also had the chance to attend Brody's adoption finalization in the Provo Courthouse. As I sat and listened to the judge pronounce Brody officially theirs I couldn't help but start crying because it made me think of not only the sacrifice of Bryson's amazing birth mother, but all of the birth mother's throughout the world that give couples like Rachel & Randy and Mike & I the chance to be parents and have families. Without their loving, selfless sacrifices couples like us would never have the hope of having a family.

I'm sure these two were best buds up in Heaven and thanks to each of their birth mother's they get to grow up as best buds and cousins here on Earth.

I love my little nephew and am so happy he's now "officially" part of our family. Adoption is such a blessing!!!

Moab

2011-06-19T13:52:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago we took a family trip down to Moab, Utah with the Hinckley family. We went white water rafting (my favorite part), spent a day Jeeping, played football & volleyball (my 2nd favorite part), played at a park, hiked to a waterfall, went on bike rides, golfed, saw dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs, went swimming and just hung out and played games as a family at the cabin. We had such a great time and will never forget the memories created. Here's a look at a few:

The Dirty Dash

2011-06-09T10:18:00.007-06:00

I'm not quite sure why but for some crazy reason Mike decided it would be fun to run in the Dirty Dash this past weekend with a group of friends from his work. Now you have to understand that Mike hasn't worked out in about six years. Yes, you heard that right--SIX YEARS! But he really took this 5K race seriously and trained hard by walking on our treadmill for about 10 minutes. When the race began he started out sprinting with the crowd up this muddy hill like he was all in shape and then less than a minute into it he was huffing and puffing and walking. I think he was already limping and holding his side by that point. He pretty much walked the whole thing and kept getting so mad that all of these "fat girls" (as he called them) kept passing him up!!! It was pretty hilarious hearing him tell about it. Now he's super motivated to get in shape (I wonder why?). I'm super proud of him though for finishing and am so glad I got to be there with Bryson to cheer him on. Here's a look at some of the action:

Kick Ball

2011-06-03T16:29:00.000-06:00

Today I stopped by my mom's school with my dad and sister to play kick ball with her class. Today was their last day of school and it was so much fun teaching them a game I haven't played since the 6th grade.

Taylor explaining the rules.

My dad pitching the ball.

The girls in my mom's class were adorable and are now off to the 3rd grade! Good luck kiddos!

Wassup

2011-05-12T14:00:00.001-06:00

Here's a quick look at what our little man has been up to lately...

Swinging in Granny's backyard with daddy.

Jogging and working out along the Jordan River Parkway with mommy & Taylor--our favorite daily activity. We stop at the different playgrounds along the way and while Bryson plays, we workout off to the side with our hand weights.

Wagon rides with the ladies.

A fun visit from Mommy Kim.
Kim came into town on a last minute trip so we were excited to be able to hang out for a bit.
Bryson loved it and was in heaven!

Easter egg hunt with the cousins.

Rolling down a hill with Nonni at the National Kidney Foundation Easter egg hunt.
Nonni is one cool grandma!

Playing with daddy on the new airplane Granny Goose bought for the grandkids.

Wrestling with cousin Brock and uncle Ike:

Mommy Kim's Gift

2011-04-19T12:13:00.002-06:00

Yesterday the doorbell rang. When Bryson and I opened the door a UPS guy handed us a giant package addressed to Bryson from his Mommy Kim. Bryson was so excited and couldn't wait to open it.

Inside we found the cutest little lion that came with a delicious cucumber smelling pack to stuff inside of him (mmmm...it smells so good!), a Scentsy warmer that Kimbralee personalized with all of our names on it, yummy smelling Scentsy waxes, a strawberry plant for Bryson to grow and a card.

Bryson's favorite part of the gift was the cool box it came in and all of the fun Styrofoam pieces he could play with. He calls them "white bombs."

Bryson is so lucky to have such an amazing birth mother. There will never be a doubt in his mind that she loves him and that she truly did what she felt was best for his little life and future. What a blessing Mommy Kim and Bryson are to us!

Good Things Utah

2011-04-15T19:48:00.003-06:00

This last week my little sister Taylor, who is majoring in broadcast journalism, had an internship interview with ABC 4 News. She invited me to go with her to the Good Things Utah show before her interview, so I met up with her and it was a lot of fun. It was great to meet Nicea, Angie, Marti, and Reagan in person and to see how everything works behind the scenes.

We even got to meet the legendary Merrill Osmond who was there to promote his new album. He was absolutely hilarious and so personable. It was fun to hang out with him off set and to hear (& laugh) about his adventures with Chuck Norris and Elvis Presley. He has definitely mastered the art of flirting with the ladies.

After the show Taylor and I parted ways so she could go to her interview. She later called to tell me she got the internship! They loved her so much they hired her on the spot! I'm so excited for her!

Daddy Time

2011-04-14T18:16:00.006-06:00

Mike is such an amazing dad.

The immense love I had for him before we adopted Bryson is nothing compared to the love I have for him now that I've seen him as a father.

click to view larger
Each time I see him playing with Bryson magnifies my love for him and reminds me how blessed I am to have him as my husband. Bryson idolizes him and loves "daddy time" which Mike sets aside for him each day.

Mike has the amazing ability to make me laugh like no other man can. He has made me laugh every single day of our nearly 9 year marriage. Even on days I don't feel like laughing he somehow finds a way to pull a smile and a laugh out of me. I don't know how he does it, but it's amazing!

Watching Mike and Bryson fly a kite the other day was a purely heavenly experience for me.

As I watched them I felt like I caught a brief glimpse of the eternities and all that awaits us.

My heart nearly burst out of love for them.

Watching them put my life and all of the trials and challenges I face into perspective and reminded me that everything I am blessed to go through in this life is making me better in some way for them.

Loving them continually inspires me to be better.

Junior Achievement & The Store

2011-04-12T21:51:00.002-06:00

Mike and his work (& high school) buddy Tyson volunteer twice a month at local elementary school's doing Junior Achievement with Kindergartners. They teach the kids about money and the different types of coins. They talk about how you can earn money, save money, and trade things for money. Mike loves it and always comes home with cute stories about the kids he gets to work with.

This last time Mike brought home money worksheets so we could do them with Bryson. He also brought home a little paper piggy bank that Bryson has had so much fun stuffing money into. After learning about money, Bryson came up with the idea to play store-- such a little entrepreneur! He gathered up a few of his favorite things and got them displayed nicely on the piano bench (aka: the store) and then we took turns being the store owner and the customer. Bryson loved it and couldn't get enough of it.

Bryson is also lucky to have a grandma that teaches 2nd grade and so he gets to stop by her school periodically to say hi and visit with her students. This past week her class put on a play called The Mean Queen. Bryson loved it and couldn't stop smiling and laughing as he watched. Bryson even got to eat lunch with Granny Goose in the school cafeteria. He had pizza.

Zyan's Baptism

2011-04-10T18:27:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we had the opportunity to witness the baptism of my niece Zyan. We are so proud of her for making the choice to follow the example of our Savior. Watching her enter the waters of baptism with all of her younger cousins watching was such a special experience. She is such a good example to them.

After the baptism we gathered as a family at Zyan's house for lunch.

We ate soft tacos, nachos, cookies, and brownies.

Zyan opened the gifts we brought for her--the most special of which was a book her mom compiled of letters all of her loved ones wrote to her. She loved it.

I love being an aunt and am so grateful I was able to take part in Zyan's special day.

Conference

2011-04-06T16:14:00.002-06:00

I love General Conference! This year for the Priesthood session of conference we hung out with my side of the family. I swear none of the men in my family can ever smile normally for a picture. Missing from the picture is Mike (he was running late), Abbel (bro-in-law) and Jake (brother). Jake and Abbel currently live out of town which is why they weren't there.

While the men were at the Priesthood session the girls and kids had fun making homemade pizzas and playing games.

Bryson loved playing the game Zingo (a really cute Bingo game for kids) and running around shirtless with all of his cousins.

Remembering our Miracle

2011-04-03T20:15:00.019-06:00

Last Thursday my little man turned 4 years old. Each year around his birthday, I am brought to remember all of the miracles (most of which we didn't realize were miracles until after we had him in our arms) that took place in order for Bryson to become our son.

As I've been thinking about the miracles we witnessed, I've also been brought to think about all of the trials, adversities, disappointments, and uncertainties that led up to each miracle. Truly "...ye receive no witness [or miracle] until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:6)

I believe our trials are in fact pieces of miracles that have yet to be realized. As we reflect upon our trials we can, with time, come to understand the hidden miracles embedded within each of them.

Right now in my life I am yearning for something that feels so right but at this point seems utterly impossible and will literally require a miracle in order for it to occur. If the miracle I’m hoping for fails to happen, I will honestly feel like I’ve lost a piece of my heart and will most likely cry for a day, or two, or three, but at the same time I will be forever grateful for the miracle I have already felt take place in my heart. I will be forever grateful for what Heavenly Father has taught me about faith. My faith in His plan for my life has been strengthened more through this experience than ever before. I’ve learned through this experience how to trust in Him completely. To put my doubts, worries and fears aside and just TRUST HIM. To trust that God knows what he’s doing. To trust no matter what has happened in the past, no matter what choices have been made, in the end all will fall into place and, if necessary, miracles will occur to allow His will to be done. I hope and pray in the end the miracle I am longing for will come to pass, but if not, I know I’ll be okay because I trust and have faith that Heavenly Father knows what He’s doing to help me become the best Erin I can be.

A Walk to the Park

2011-03-11T17:49:00.002-07:00

Only in Utah does it go from freezing cold weather with a foot of snow on the ground one day to 60 degree weather with no snow the next day. That's what this week has been like. Yesterday was a 60 degree day, so we drove out to visit Bryson's cousin Brock and ended up going on a walk to a nearby park.

On the walk, Brock's cousin Kaylee, who Rachel babysits on Thursdays, saw a bug and got scared. She stopped along the trail and started to cry. Without hesitation, Bryson ran right over to her, grabbed her hand and said "it's okay!" and walked with her the rest of the way. It was so sweet of him!

As they walked, they had the cutest little 3-year-old conversation you've ever heard.

Here are a few clips of their play time at the park.

Click the bottom right button with the arrows to view full screen.

The Treasure Hunt

2011-03-08T17:15:00.047-07:00

Today Bryson was the captain of a pirate ship searching for buried treasure. He searched everywhere he could think of in hopes of finding the so-called "treasure chest filled with all things yummy."

He searched in tires...

and down a snowy hillside.

He even forged an attack (aka: a play date) on our little neighbor girl in hopes she had the buried treasure. But it was to no avail.

Then he stumbled upon some very mysterious clues,
which he carefully followed until...

Alas, he found the treasure!

Helicopter Lessons

2011-03-06T20:56:00.006-07:00

Mike has always dreamed of learning how to fly helicopters, so for Christmas he got his first helicopter flying lesson. We drove up to the Ogden Hinckley Airport yesterday for the lesson and it was a lot of fun.

First the instructor taught him about the helicopter and how it works.

Then the instructor gave him some instructions inside the helicopter before taking off for their half-hour fly over the canyons.

Mike said the instructor did the take off and the landing, but the helicopter was in Mike's hands the rest of the time.

Bryson and I hung out on the ground and played with Bryson's toy helicopter while we waited. Next time we'll for sure go along for the ride but I really wanted to get some on-the-ground photos and video of Mike's first flight.

Mike loved it and was in heaven the whole time!

The Fort

2011-03-02T17:42:00.004-07:00

Today we turned Bryson's bunk bed into a fort.

The outside, constructed of quilts made by my mom and late-grandparents, was perfect for climbing and shooting spider webs at bad guys.

Bryson filled the inside with his favorite books, swords, toys, and blankets.

It made the perfect hide out to watch his favorite movie.

He can't wait to sleep in it tonight!

Christmas in February

2011-02-17T20:54:00.016-07:00

Yesterday a package arrived on our doorstep for Bryson from Mommy Kim's parents, Mike & Marcia! He was so excited. I told him to wait to open it until I could run upstairs and grab my video camera because I really wanted to video tape his reaction as he opened it. When I came back down with my camera I got him situated in a chair, turned on the camera, and started recording (at least I thought I did). As I recorded, I kept grinning because he was so darn excited and said the cutest things as he opened it. I kept thinking to myself, "this is going to make the cutest video." After he finished opening the gift, which he LOVES and hasn't stopped playing with since, I went to play back the video and realized I had somehow forgotten to push the darn record button, so I missed the entire thing! I was SO mad. But I did get a little clip of him after he opened it that you can watch below (it's not even an ounce as cute as the original video would have been....but it's the best I could do).

Anyway, thank you so much Mike & Marcia for thinking of Bryson and sending him that gift. We certainly never expect anything but are always so appreciative when you send things to him. I just have to tell you he LOVES those footballs. We played a game this afternoon where we were throwing them at each other and for some reason he said we had to say the word "submarine" each time we hit each other with the football (I have no idea where he got that). So we ran around the house yelling "submarine!" each time we nailed each other with each of the balls. It was a blast! We'll have to post a picture soon of him in all of the Ohio State gear you've sent him. He's going to be the best dressed Ohio State fan around!

Murder Mystery Dinner

2011-02-13T20:30:00.009-07:00

This past weekend we attended a murder mystery dinner with some friends from our ward. The theme was "1957 High School Reunion" so we all dressed up in 50's attire and had such a great time. Mike played Peter, the retired high school principle and I played his not-so-lovely wife Paula, the head of the science department.

Mike was hilarious (of course) and played his part so well. Laughing hysterically at him throughout the party reminded me why I love him so much--because he's everything I'm not. He ended up getting voted by everyone as the best performer AND for having the best costume.

That's my man!

My Little Man

2011-02-08T19:59:00.004-07:00

I LOVE being my little man's mom.

I am grateful daily to be able stay home with him.

Today we got all bundled up and played outside in the snow.

We went to the library and checked out the movies Superman & Jungle Book.

We snuggled up in a chair at the library and read a book about monsters.

When we got home we played animal charades.

On his turn, he rolled around on the ground making strange sounds.

He said he was an alien.

I pretended to be a chicken.

He guessed I was a dog.

He did a strange dance around the room.

Turns out he was a dancing T-rex.

We acted out the story Hansel & Gretel.

I put him in a cage made from two laundry baskets and fed him crackers to fatten him up.

Once he was fat I made him into stew.

As I stirred him in the stew he suddenly turned into He-Man, jumped out, and pushed me in.

Then we played Spiderman.

He changed into his Spiderman jammies (to look the part) and made me put his Spiderman pants on my head (see picture above).

I get holes in my jeans more quickly now than I did as a kid.

I spend my days sword fighting, wrestling, and playing Legos.

I rarely have time to read, work on hobbies or do anything that "I" want to do.

But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

My little man is so worth it!

Ice Castles

2011-01-30T14:01:00.009-07:00

Yesterday Bryson and I took a little road trip to see the Midway Ice Castles with Grandpa Hink & Granny Goose. The castles were incredible and SO beautiful! Bryson loved them. Bryson has never seen the movie Superman, but after I told him Superman lives in an ice castle he wanted to see it and begged me to let him watch it as soon as we got home (sadly he has to wait until the next time we can check it out at library because we don't have it). These pictures don't do the castles justice....but even so aren't they beautiful!?!? I hear they are even more gorgeous at night.

Afterward we stopped for some wood fired, oven baked pizza at Cafe Galleria. I ordered the Goat Cheese with Roasted Red Pepper Pizza and it was so yummy. Mmmmm....I definitely recommend. :)

A Day in the Life of Bryson

2011-01-16T17:13:00.005-07:00

We got home from church a few hours ago and are enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon at home. Mike is asleep on the couch with a football game on, Bryson is in his room playing with his Matchbox cars, and I’m sitting here in front of the computer updating our blog (which I never seem to have enough time to do anymore). I thought it would be fun to share with you what a day in the life of Bryson is like, so this past Thursday I documented Bryson’s day with my camera. So without further ado, here's what a (Thurs)day in the life of Bryson is like:

THURSDAY
8:00 - Woke up & ate breakfast (chocolate milk, toast, eggs, and fruit)
8:30 - Watched He-Man (rented from the library) snuggled up under his blanket

9:30 - Played with his red lunch box, shooter guns, Lego boats, green space ship made out of blocks, and dinosaurs
10:00 - Got dressed and ready for preschool
10:30 - Went to preschool at Joe Joe's house and learned about the letter "I" (inches, ice, & imagination)

(click to view larger)

12:30 - Ate lunch (spaghetti & veggies) and practiced the ABC's

1:00 - Did "Bryson's Box of Fun."

(click to view larger)

I created this box so we'd have fun stuff to do during the winter months while it's too cold to play outside. It's filled with fun activities for us to do together so we don't get cabin fever. Here's what Bryson drew that day:

"BUILD ALIEN MONSTERS"

"PLAY TAXI"

We set the chairs up in the kitchen like a taxi cab. Bryson was the driver and pretended to drive me to fun places around the city. Once we got there, we got out of the car and pretended we were really at those places.

"PLAY SIMON SAYS"

It was Bryson's first time playing Simon Says and he loved it. He even got to play it again in church today and was so excited.

"LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT FOODS"

We pulled out some of my paper food models from my dietetics days and talked about each food and what they do for our bodies. Then Bryson divided the foods into the foods he likes to eat and the foods he doesn't like to eat.

"PLAY A GAME ON THE COMPUTER"

Other activities in the box are: blindfold & guess the noise, build a fort, sing songs, make a shoe trail, practice sports in the basement, play Red Light, Green Light, play a board game, go on a drive and look for stop signs, have a sword fight, take funny pictures of each other, dance to different types of music, play the ABC game, play "I'm thinking of something...", make a pretend restaurant, play puppets, play a COLOR game, make up a funny story, have an indoor picnic, blindfold and guess the object, practice counting things around the house, do an art project, play hide & seek, play with balloons, blow bubbles, play animal charades, color or paint, play with play dough, do "the magic chair", have a treasure hunt, read books, play the "what's missing from the tray of objects" game, play with car or train track

3:00 - Had a snack and then had "quiet time"

During quiet time Bryson has to stay in his room, but I let him choose whether to take a nap or just to play quietly. Usually he'll play for a bit and then will climb into his bed for a short nap. During his quiet time I work.

5:00 - Watched Narnia while I worked on dinner
6:00 - Ate dinner (Sun-dried Tomato and Whole Grain Pasta with smoked salmon added & veggies)
6:30 - Wrestled with daddy
7:00 - Took a bath
7:30 - Got in jammies, brushed teeth, read stories, said prayers
8:00 - Went to bed after playing for a bit in his room

Just had to end with this picture taken yesterday at Brock's birthday party. This is the perfect photo to show how Bryson usually walks around all day---armed and ready. I sure love my little man!

P.S. He's now a SUNBEAM!!!

Christmas

2010-12-27T07:34:00.006-07:00

Acting out the Nativity...

snuggling up in warm cozy jammies...

(Mike's parents & grandparents)
& spending time with family...

made the perfect Christmas!

Click the bottom right button with the arrows to view full screen.

Baby Brody

2010-12-26T19:48:00.003-07:00

On December 8th I had the blessing of witnessing the birth of my newest nephew Brody into the world. Chanel (Brody's birthmother) very generously allowed me to be in the room during the birth as the "photographer" (even though I'm not much of one) and it was such an amazing experience. I have never seen a live birth before. I was able to witness a few seconds of Baby Mac's birth, which was unforgettable, but I have never witnessed an entire birth in person before. During the birth, my sister and I shared a silent, brief moment where we looked at each other and knew we were both feeling the same thing--an absolute awe and a deep gratitude for each of our sons birth mom's. It wasn't until that moment, watching Chanel give birth, that we truly understood exactly what each of our birth mother's went through for us. It was amazing and in that moment, my love and admiration for Kimbralee (Bryson's birthmother) deepened so much.

click to view larger

Even more incredible than watching the birth was hearing Chanel share with me how she came to make the decision to place her baby for adoption. She told me her number one priority was to do what Heavenly Father wanted her to do with the baby. She talked about how she spent a lot of time praying to know what to do and it wasn't until she met Rachel and Randy that she came to understand that little Brody wasn't hers and that he was meant to be theirs. Hearing her share that left me in tears. She is such an amazingly strong girl. I was in awe of her strength and the courage she had to follow through with what she knew in her heart was the right decision even though it was the hardest thing she had ever had to do. You can read Rachel's version of the incredible story here. It truly is amazing how Heavenly Father works so many miracles when it comes to adoption. Brody is definitely meant to be with Randy and Rachel. Chanel will always hold a special place in all of our hearts because she has blessed our family with sweet little Brody.

Water Storage & Jungle Jim's

2010-12-07T08:19:00.060-07:00

JUNGLE JIM'S: Bryson's cousin Oakland had her 1st birthday party this past weekend at Jungle Jim's. Bryson was in heaven and had a blast...(so did Mike).

Click to view larger.

WATER STORAGE: One of our goals since moving into our house is to get a food storage before we spend any money on painting and making over the rooms in our house (which I'm dying to do!). Our home has a designated cold storage room, so there just aren't any excuses any more why we shouldn't have one. So this past week we bought a 250 gallon water tank, which we've appropriately named Big Bertha.

Isn't she a beauty?!?!

Bryson had so much fun helping daddy empty out all of our water that has been stored in about 50 milk jugs.

His favorite part was crushing the milk jugs after they were empty because he liked how it helped him build the muscles in his arms.

P.S. We are FINALLY approved to adopt!!!!!

You can view our adoption profile online HERE.

Festival of Trees & Temple Square

2010-12-05T11:10:00.005-07:00

This past week I took Bryson to the Festival of Trees with the young women. It was super crowded but a lot of fun.

His favorite tree was the Spider Man tree.

He also loved flirting with all the pretty young women, who absolutely adore him.

We also went to see the lights on Temple Square this week. We went with Randy, Rachel & Brock and had such a relaxing time walking around Temple Square and enjoying the peace there. My favorite part was drinking hot chocolate in Deseret Book and watching "Bagpipe Bob" teach Bryson and Brock about his bagpipe.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T16:52:00.009-07:00

We spent Thanksgiving this year with my family at my parents house. Missing this year were Randy & Rachel and Jake & Michelle. Mike's dad was on one of his humanitarian dental trips to Honduras, so Mike's mom and sister joined us as well. We spent the day eating, playing games, watching football, sleeping, watching movies, talking, laughing, and just having a good ol' time.

The food was delicious!

Josh, Oakland and Cali.

Serving up food in my parents newly remodeled kitchen.

Ike and his girlfriend Amy.

Ali, Taylor and Abbel.

The gamers. They sat and played games like this for about an hour. It was so funny.

Playing the ridiculously funny game Quelf.

One of the strange things Taylor and Ali had to do while playing Quelf.

Taylor and Bryson.

Watching some hilarious commercials Taylor made for one of her broadcast journalism classes.

Bryson and Zyan watching movies on the computer.

The one and only Zack.

Mike and Heather.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fresh Living

2010-11-22T18:40:00.013-07:00

Bryson and I made our local television debut this morning on KUTV's Fresh Living show. Of course as soon as the camera's started rolling I completely forgot all the things I wanted to say but somehow managed to sputter out some of it. Kelly and Casey were so awesome and absolutely adored Bryson (who wouldn't?). After our segment we sat and talked for a while about adoption and what having an open adoption is like. They were so fascinated by it. It made me realize how little people truly understand about open adoptions and how amazing they can be. I wish what we talked about then is what could have been aired because it was pretty cool.

You can view our Hallmark segment here under "Send A Special Gift from Hallmark."

Jazz Game & Home Study

2010-11-21T17:25:00.008-07:00

We've had such a great weekend! Our adoption home study was scheduled for Friday evening but Mike ended up scoring free Jazz tickets (vs. the Spurs) so we pulled some strings and were able to move our home study to Saturday.The Jazz game made such a fun date night. Too bad they lost. :(

These are some of my cute girls from Young Women's that came to babysit Brock and Bryson while we went to the game. The boys loved them and had an absolute blast.

This is how we found Brock and Bryson when we got home. They are always so cute together and love their monthly sleepovers.

Our home study on Saturday went really well, and we should finally be approved to adopt on WEDNESDAY (next Wednesday at the latest). We are so excited!!! I'll post a link to our profile as soon as they get it published online for us.

Saturday evening, on our way home from a wedding reception in Brigham City, I got a text from my sister Rachel announcing that a birth mom has chosen them to be the parents to her little boy due on December 1st!!!! We are SO stinkin' excited for them! It's a really cute story. Read all about it here. Miracles really do happen!

Hallmark, Football & the Zoo

2010-11-11T12:28:00.018-07:00

HALLMARK: Thanks to the Hallmark Recordable Story Book Mommy Kim sent Bryson (see here), we got asked by Hallmark to write a 1200 word article about our adoption story to be published in two adoption magazines in December to help Hallmark promote their new Recordable Story Books.

Bryson and I will also be making our local television debut on KUTV's (CH 2) “Fresh Living” show on Monday, Nov. 22nd at 1:00 pm. They are doing a segment on Hallmark Recordable Storybooks and have asked us to share our story. We're crossing our fingers all of this very unsought adoption exposure will help us in some way find the next little one meant to join our family---that's the only reason I'm trying to be brave enough to do all of it.

SUU FOOTBALL: Last weekend we drove down to Cedar City to watch Abbel (my sister's hubby) play in his last home football game of the season. SUU did awesome and beat DSC 52-0. Abbel did amazing and scored a touchdown. Thanks for having us Taylor & Abbel! We had a blast!

THE ZOO: My sister and I took the boys on a fun adventure to the zoo last week. The animals were so active and the boys loved it. Bryson's favorite animals at the zoo were the funny gorillas, the talking macaw, and the snakes.

What We've Been Up To

2010-10-31T12:49:00.016-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We've been super busy. Here's a look at a few of the things we've been up to.

ADOPTION WORKSHOP: We spent last weekend at an adoption workshop that we were required to attend in order to adopt again that was beyond amazing! It ran all Friday evening and all day on Saturday. Bryson spent the night with his cousins Zyan & Chazz and had a blast. We learned about the adoption triad, the grieving process, determining our readiness to adopt, shaken baby syndrome, watched a video about a birth mom placing her child for adoption that left everyone in the room sobbing, and then they had several panels (adoptive parent panel, adult adoptee panel, birth parent panel, etc) that came to share their experiences with us. It was amazing to hear about all of the miracles Heavenly Father has worked in order to make so many adoptions happen. We also had the opportunity to share our adoption story with the other adoptive couples there as well. Mike and I left with a very strong confirmation in our hearts that adoption is the way we are meant to find our children. We also left with stronger testimonies that when it comes to eternal families, God truly is in control and that miracles do and will happen to help children find the parents meant to be theirs. We feel so blessed to be apart of something that has allowed us to witness so many miracles.

GARDNER VILLAGE PHOTO SHOOT: Every fall the Hinckley family meets up at Gardner Village for a family photo shoot. This year Jake and Michelle were in town so we had everyone there. I love this picture of Mike giving Bryson a kiss. Mike gets told all the time how much Bryson looks like him. Mike always chuckles because the people saying it usually have no idea Bryson is adopted. But it's true--Mike and Bryson really do look like each other! Just another reason we know Bryson was meant to be a part of our family!

THE NATE BERKUS SHOW: Speaking of my sis-in-law Michelle, she made her national television debut on the Nate Berkus Show this past week (view it here). We all met up at my sisters house to watch the show together and were so proud of her. She's so amazingly talented and I'm sure she'll have some great opportunities come her way because of it.

LIBRARY STORY TIME: I've been meeting up at the library with some other mommies from the ward for weekly story time. Bryson loves it and has made a ton of new friends. At first he wasn't sure what to think of it and stayed glued to my lap and wouldn't participate, but now he's out there full of confidence singing and dancing with all of the other kids. He loves it!

WEEKLY PRESCHOOL: I still do pre-school on my own [almost] daily with Bryson, but in addition to that have rounded up several other mom's to do a weekly co-op preschool for the pre-school aged kids in the area. Bryson loves it and although he's older than all of the other kids, he still enjoys having the chance to visit the other kids houses and play with all of their cool toys.

(Lauren, Lara, Erin & Amy)

DESIGNER BLOGS: Since all of the girls I work with live out of state, we've never been able to all get together at the same time until just a few weeks ago. They all came to town and we had a blast getting to know each other better and discussing new ideas for Designer Blogs. We have a lot of exciting things planned for the upcoming year and are busy trying put everything together to launch with our new site in January. I feel so blessed to have such a great group of girls to work with!

TRUNK-OR-TREAT: Bryson had a lot of opportunities this year to get loads of candy for Halloween. First it was our ward trunk-or-treat party and then it was at Mike's work, which is where he scored the most candy because the place is so huge. This is a picture of him sporting his cool knight costume at the trunk-or-treat.

HALLOWEEN: We went to Zack & Heather's again for Halloween this year. We ate their amazing chili (seriously, this stuff is the best in the world!) and then the kids went out trick-or-treating. As soon as they left, it started pouring rain and rained the entire time they were out. The poor things came back completely drenched from head to toe.

THE LOOT: Because of the rain, this is all the candy Bryson came home with. Good thing he has more stashed away at home from Mike's work and the trunk-or-treat!

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Hoping to Adopt!

2010-10-10T22:57:00.006-06:00

As you may know, we are in the process of expanding our family again through adoption. We are so excited and hope you will help us in our journey by spreading the word about our desire to adopt. The more people who know about our desire, the greater the likelihood we’ll find the child meant to join our family.

If you know of a birthmother who may be interested in placing her child for adoption or just wants more information about her options before making a decision, please refer her to the website www.itsaboutlove.org. If she is interested, she can learn about us by viewing our adoption blog at www.mikerinadoption.blogspot.com which we have set up specifically for adoption purposes. Our adoption profile will be published online in a few weeks at www.itsaboutlove.org and we will email out that link when it is available. We will also be placing the link to our profile on our blog as soon as it becomes available.

We are very excited about this process and hope you can help us build our family through adoption!

Please also remember to share the word about my sister's hope to adopt. You can visit their profile here.

The Sword

2010-10-07T00:01:00.007-06:00

Yesterday Bryson and I went to the Halloween store to find him a costume to wear for Halloween. When we walked into the store, Bryson was set on being Darth Vader. By the time we walked out, he decided he'd rather be a knight so he could get this cool sword.

The sword has not left his side since.

This is how he walked around the park today.

This is how we found him asleep in bed (this was not staged).

Complete with the "Ring of the Lords" (as Bryson calls it).

Mommy Kim's Gift

2010-09-26T08:14:00.003-06:00

Bryson's birth mom celebrated a birthday this month and this is what we sent her:

It's a custom key chain (the chain can be cut down to the size she wants) that we ordered from Tickle Me Pink Boutique. We also sent her a birthday card, pictures of Bryson from the last several months, a disc of pictures, sour skittles (from Bryson), and a picture of a bug that Bryson drew for her. We love her so much and hope this will help her always remember that!

Salt Lake City Library

2010-09-23T23:11:00.009-06:00

Today Bryson and I took a little adventure ride on TRAX downtown to the ginormous Salt Lake City Library.

Did I say ginormous? And this is just the main entry.

Bryson loved playing and reading books in the Attic Room

...and in the Ice Cave room, both of which are in the children's area of the library.

We read lots of books and had such a fun time.

Cute Story:
On the way out of the library, Bryson asked to "borrow" my phone. So I pulled it out of my bag and placed it in his little hand. He immediately pressed it up to his ear and started pretend talking to I don't know who about I'm not sure what, but he just kept talking away. We walked over to the crosswalk and he talked the entire time we waited to cross the street and as we crossed. Then while waiting at the TRAX station, he paced back and forth and continued to carry on his phone conversation. Then we got on the very crowded train (we had to stand in the aisle) and with his right hand holding the phone and his left hand clinging onto a bar for balance, he continued to carry on his conversation with full confidence. Everyone around us watched him in awe and with smiles on their faces. It was like watching a grown up man trying to take care of an important business deal while trapped in a little boys body. I regret that I didn't video tape the whole thing or even take a picture because it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I guess recording it here will have to do.

Tennis

2010-09-20T22:12:00.006-06:00

Bryson loves sports. It makes me happy because so do I! Today we jogged down to some tennis courts near our home to play. Here is a short (1:52) video of him showcasing his skills and two other random clips of him playing at the park and playing baseball.

Weekend Slumber Party

2010-09-20T07:32:00.006-06:00

My sister and I have started letting the boys have slumber parties twice a month. One weekend Brock will sleep here and then the next weekend Bryson will sleep there. This weekend we had Brock and the boys had an absolute blast together!

Best buds forever.

Family Fun Week

2010-09-06T10:11:00.005-06:00

Last week Mike had the entire week off work (mandatory paid vacation), so we took full advantage of it and spent a lot of much needed family time together exploring sites around Salt Lake. Here's a look at what we did:

Salt Lake City Cemetery & Temple Square

We went to the Salt Lake City Cemetery and found the gravesites of 11 out of the 15 deceased latter-day prophets. The four prophets who aren't buried there are Joseph Smith (he's buried in Nauvoo), Brigham Young (he's buried in the Pioneer Memorial Park in Salt Lake), Lorenzo Snow (he's buried in Brigham City), and Ezra Taft Benson (he's buried in Idaho). You can find a map of where each of the prophets are buried in the cemetery here. Then we went down to Temple Square and enjoyed the peace and beauty there. We are so grateful to be members of the Church.

Golfing
This is kind of a weird picture but it's the only one Mike took. Mike took Bryson golfing while I spent a few hours working. Bryson has been golfing with Mike several times over the last few weeks and absolutely loves it! I hope it's a tradition they continue for a long time.

Stewart FallsWe drove up Sundance Canyon and then hiked up to Stewart Falls. Bryson was a trooper and did awesome on the four mile (round trip) hike. When we got to the falls we sat and ate tuna fish sandwiches, pears, nectarines, multi-grain chips, and homemade salsa. Yummy.

Fort Douglas Military Museum
We visited the Fort Douglas Military Museum. Bryson loved looking at all of the big guns and swords. He especially loved the helicopters.

Contemporary Masters Mini Golf

We went to the crazy and impossible Contemporary Masters mini-golf course at the Salt Lake Art Center. It was so much fun and nearly impossible to score well because the holes were insanely bizarre contemporary works of art. My favorite hole was #10 the "Shredder." If you haven't been there yet, you definitely should. It ends on September 16th. Oh, and best yet, it's FREE! Afterward Mike and Bryson soaked themselves running through the fountains outside Abravanel Hall.

SUU Football

We drove to Laramie, Wyoming with Ike and Taylor to watch Abbel play football in a game against the University of Wyoming. SUU did awesome but ended up losing 28-20. Bryson loved looking for Abbel (#15) out on the field and making new friends.

Kidney Walk

2010-08-30T09:21:00.013-06:00

We had a fun time Friday evening at the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Walk & Picnic held this year at Wheeler Farm. It's a neat opportunity to hear the transplant stories of others and to share Mike's story as well. We look forward to going to Kidney Kamp in a few weeks and Mike looks forward to participating in the 2012 Transplant Games in two years.

Painting a Kidney Kar.

Walking in honor of "Daddy's Kidney"

Kidney patients, recipients, donors, and supporting family & friends on the walk.

Mike and his mom pushing Bryson on the walk.

Icecream

2010-08-29T22:10:00.002-06:00

They all scream for icecream!

Yum.

The Library

2010-08-28T21:57:00.006-06:00

The library is Bryson's new favorite place to go! We take weekly six mile (roundtrip) walks/jogs there each week to return and check out new books. It's become a fun tradition that we both look forward to. I'm excited to sign him up for story time, which starts next month. He's always quick to make new friends and loves doing the puppet show each time we go. We're lucky to live so close to such a great library.

School

2010-08-27T22:50:00.008-06:00

Bryson is old enough to start preschool, but I really wanted teach him at home his first year.

Call me crazy, but I will never have this time with him again, so I want to
take full advantage of it by spending as much time with him while I still can!
I'll let him grow up and go to a "real" preschool next year. :)

We've had so much fun his first week of school!
We've been spending one hour every day focusing on one new letter.
My mom is a 2nd grade teacher and hooked me up with some great stuff from her school to help me teach him. Nonni also sent me home with a great set of learning tools, so I'm totally set.

Each day I pack his little "school suitcase" full of all things pertaining to the letter of the day.
Here's a look at what we've done this week.

Click on each set of pictures below to get a better look!

Did letter A worksheets.
Practiced saying the short A sound while hopping around on the square tiles in the kitchen and by eating letter A cookies.
Got on Hulu and learned about ants, alligators, and airplanes.
Hid objects that start with the letter A around the yard (airplane, ankylosaurus, alligator, ant, etc.)
Ate apples dipped in peanut butter.

Did letter B worksheets.
Practiced saying the B sound while bouncing a ball and eating letter B cookies.
Read books about the letter B.
Dressed a little boy doll we named Bryson in different uniforms.
Got on Hulu and learned about bugs, bats, and birds.
Blew bubbles.

Did letter C worksheets.
Practiced the C sound while we built towers with cups.
Colored with Crayons.
Read books about the letter C.
Walked to Wheeler Farm to look at cows and chickens.
Made cookies.

Did letter D worksheets.
Practiced the D sound while we lifted dumbbells and ate letter D cookies.
Read books about the letter D and about dinosaurs.
Got on Hulu and learned about dinosaurs, ducks, and dogs.
Made a paper sack puppet dog.
Ate a dum-dum.

Bryson's Schedule

2010-08-25T07:21:00.014-06:00

With Bryson officially starting "school" (I'll explain that in my next post), I really wanted to get him on a schedule that we could both stick to. I am all about setting goals and sticking to a schedule. So I made him this schedule board...and let me tell you, he loves it! It's a wonder worker!

He loves getting the chance to make choices about what he does each day. As part of his bedtime routine, we put together the following days schedule. I put on the things that have to be done like meals, school, quiet time, brush teeth, etc. and then he gets to fill in the other slots with what he wants to do.

Here's what yesterday's schedule looked like:

click to view larger

To make it I cut a board to the size I wanted at Home Depot and then painted it. Everything else I created graphically on the computer and then just printed them off, and cut them out. Once they were cut out, I hard laminated each piece so they would be sturdy and then put Velcro on the back of each piece so they would stick to the board and be easy to switch around.

The battles over getting him to do things and go places are completely extinct now because all I have to do is refer him to the schedule and he knows exactly what to expect because he helped plan it!

It's great.

Bedtime Stories.

2010-08-17T22:26:00.004-06:00

Jones Family Reunion

2010-08-16T06:03:00.001-06:00

We spent a fun weekend down in Fairview, Utah last week for the Jones (Mike's mom's side) family reunion. The reunion was a four day, three night event held at the Fairview Retreat and Reunion Center. We had a weekend full of classic reunion fun: volleyball, golf, football, swimming, limbo, crafts, football, relay races, tug-of-war, eating, family talent show, hayride, BBQ bon-fire, family softball game, card games, visiting, relaxing, drive-in movie, 10k at 10k, family history, etc. It was one of the best reunions we've ever been to! Thank you Aunt Carma for planning such a great reunion!

The Sacrament.

2010-08-15T17:32:00.007-06:00

I love this. I thought a lot about this painting as I partook of the Sacrament today. Nothing is more important on a Sunday than this.

Painting by Doc Christensen

Terrific Tuesday

2010-08-11T06:32:00.005-06:00

Church Museum & Olympic Fountain

Yesterday for Terrific Tuesday, my sister and I jumped on TRAX and rode downtown. I LOVE the city! I am definitely a city girl and am glad we live so close to it now. First we walked over to the Church History Museum and let the boys play in the children's area. Then we walked down to The Gateway so the boys could play in the Olympic fountain. They loved it and had a blast.

Here's a short (1:57) video clip of the boys at the fountain.

P.S. Family reunion post coming soon!

Dinner with Dad

2010-08-04T00:45:00.006-06:00

At Mike's birthday dinner at The Pizza Factory

Sitting across from these two at dinner last night,
I wondered to myself how I ever got lucky enough
to be the wife to one and the mother to the other.
I met both of them for the first time in Ohio.
Both were complete strangers to me.
But now they are my life, my everything!
Out of all of the men I could have married
and out of all the little boys I could have adopted,
somehow I was blessed to end up with these two--
two of the most extraordinary men in the world!
I will never come close to deserving them,
but I am so grateful to have them.
I am a lucky woman.

Playdate with Joseph

2010-08-02T09:15:00.004-06:00

Since Bryson no longer has a live-in playmate (aka: Brock), I've been trying to plan weekly playdates with kids his age in the area so he can still get out and socialize. This last week's playdate was with Bryson's nursery buddy Joe. Bryson had a blast playing with all of Joseph's fun toys and watching a few minutes of Monsters Inc. before we headed home. I enjoyed visiting with Joe's mom and getting to know her better.

We are absolutely LOVING living here!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!! I swear I've said that to Mike at least once a day since we moved here. We are really starting to feel at home in the ward and have already spoken in Sacrament meeting (last Sunday). Bryson and I have been enjoying going jogging and eating lunch together everyday with my little brother Ike, who just works around the corner. We've also been enjoying walking just about everywhere we need to go. It's so great here and we couldn't be happier!

P.S. A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mike, who turned 30 today!!!!

M-Prove Yourself Monday

2010-08-02T06:38:00.003-06:00

Forgiveness

Loved this.

Fun with the Miller's

2010-07-29T08:42:00.006-06:00

Bryson is lucky to have so many fun cousin's on both sides of the family to play with. This past weekend, ALL of his cousin's on the Miller side were in town so he got to spend a lot of time with them. On Saturday we met at a park for a picnic. The highlight for me was throwing a football around with Mike and playing Ultimate Frisbee with the family. Good times. Afterward we went to the Bingham Canyon Mine, which is always an amazing site.

On Sunday we had a yummy dinner together and then watched the kids run around crazy together and play dress-up.

On Monday, Nonni took all of the grandkids out to lunch and then to Jump On It. Bryson loved it and still talks about how much fun he had.

Here are pictures of some of the fun:

Cherry Hill

2010-07-25T00:46:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we attended the Green/Jensen (my mom's side) reunion. This year it was held up at Cherry Hill and was a ton of fun.

(click to view larger)
Here's everyone that came (lots of people were missing).

(click to view larger)

This picture of just my family is from last years reunion, which was held up in Brigham City. I'm not sure why I never posted about it last year, so I thought I'd add it here. And yes, Mike can never look normal in a picture.

A few more pics from the reunion...

Swimming

2010-07-22T15:37:00.001-06:00

Today Bryson went swimming...

in the tub.

THE END.

Playdate with Jack

2010-07-20T15:27:00.005-06:00

Bryson's little buddy Jack lives just a few blocks away from us. So today Bryson and I walked to Jack's house so they could play. While the boys played, I enjoyed visiting with Jack's mom about adoption (Jack is also adopted). She also told me about some good preschools in the area, which I was super eager to learn about. I can't believe my little man is old enough to start preschool! Crazy. Here are some cute pictures of their fun together.

Hide the Bug

2010-07-15T15:29:00.004-06:00

I love being a mom.

I love being Bryson's mom.
Today we went to the park.
We swung on swings.
Bryson played on the playground while I did sit-ups and lunges around the playground.
As I did sit-ups I looked up at the beautiful trees above me and felt so grateful to be a mother.
Then uncle Ike came and we ran the jogging trail.
Uncle Ike brought Bryson a churro to eat while we pushed him in the stroller.
Ike and I talked about change and trying to be better people.
Bryson lost his favorite sword at the park.
Now he's working hard to earn a new one.
When we got home Granny Goose was on the porch waiting to visit.
We ate lunch together and then Bryson showed her his room.
When she left Bryson and I played "Hide the Bug"
We hid Bryson's big [fake] insect collection around the yard.
He peeked while I hid them.
I peeked while he hid them.
I love watching him when he doesn't know I'm watching.
He is such an amazing little boy and I feel so grateful to be his mother.
Now we're off to the store to pick up groceries and to look at swords.
He wants a red one.

I love my little man.

The Big Move

2010-07-07T09:17:00.006-06:00

The rumor is true.

We've moved.
Again.
We bought a home in Salt Lake to be closer to Mike's work.
I'd post pictures, but my cord is buried in a box somewhere.
Soon.
The previous owner left the house a mess.
The Magic Eraser is my new best friend.
That's all you get for now.
Chao.

Terrific Tuesday

2010-06-29T21:38:00.007-06:00

Water Fun

Today for Terrific Tuesday Granny Goose invited the grand kids over to her backyard for some water fun. They swam, had water gun fights, and slid down the slip 'n slide.

We've actually done a bunch of Terrific Tuesday's and other fun stuff I still need to post about, so hopefully I can find time to do that soon.

P.S. We closed on our house today and hope to get the keys and start moving in tomorrow!

2 Years Ago

2010-06-27T07:19:00.011-06:00

Happy birthday little buddy! We sure miss you!
Meeting you two years ago was one of the most sacred days of our lives.
We will never forget the feeling in the room when you were born and we each got to hold you for the first/last time.
The feeling was powerful beyond description--as if the separation between heaven and earth was non-existent.
You brought heaven to us that day and we will never forget it.

We love you and will never forget you!

Father's Day

2010-06-20T15:31:00.006-06:00

M-Prove Yourself Monday

2010-06-14T07:51:00.016-06:00

A Tender Mercy

Yesterday was an amazing day! It was so amazing that it took eight pages of my large paged journal to write about it. That is the longest journal entry I have ever written--and I've written a lot! The day was just packed full of spiritual experiences that moved me to want to be so much better. It began at church, then carried into an amazing talk Mike and I had after church about our financial goals (gosh, I love that man!), and then continued on into an incredible youth fireside I attended with a closing musical number that left me sobbing....literally sobbing. After the fireside, I mopped up the tears on the floor around me and then walked outside to a beautiful full rainbow overhead that reached from one end of the sky to the other. It was like a spiritual witness, a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father that the gospel IS true and that He loves me and knows and understands every piece of me! I haven't felt the Spirit that intensely in a long time and it just felt so wonderful that I not only had to write the details of it in my journal, but had to share a little of it here as well. I believe that the amazing spiritual experiences Heavenly Father blesses each of us with throughout our lives are only small glimpses and a very small taste of the the glory that awaits us. I can't wait and hope I can live a life worthy to bask in that glory forever! I love my Savior with all of my heart and know HE LIVES! I just wanted to let the world know that I know that.

4h SHow

2010-06-07T23:11:00.009-06:00

Today some young women in the ward had a 4H show at the Lehi Rodeo grounds, so Bryson and I stopped by to watch for a while.

All ready for the show!

Cute Brianna.

Cute Katelyn.

Cute Bryson.

While I visited with the girl's family, Bryson followed all of the bigger kids around under the bleachers like a puppy dog and had an absolute blast!

Cutest Picture Ever

2010-06-07T16:35:00.004-06:00

I had to steal this picture of Bryson and Brock off my sister's blog because I think it's the cutest picture ever! These two boys are sure going to miss playing with each other [nearly] every day when we move. Bryson calls Brock "my little buddy." They truly are best friends!

The Puppet Show

2010-06-04T16:26:00.006-06:00

This morning I took the boys to a puppet show put on by the Young Women in our ward for the kids in the neighborhood. We had a blast and the kiddos loved it.

The puppets.

The audience.

The stars!

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-01T12:47:00.007-06:00

Highlights from our weekend:

1. Going on a family bike ride 2. BBQ with Hinckley's 3. Playing dress-up with the cousins 4. Wagon ride with Granny Goose 5. Cousins dinner with the Miller's 6. Four-wheeler rides 7. Having Jake, Michelle & boys in town 8. Driving out to see a home Josh & Cali might buy 9. Getting our offer on a home in Salt Lake accepted (we'll be moving in a month---yeah!) 10. Kite flying 11. Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Green's grave 12. Watching movies with cousins

The Dentist

2010-05-16T19:40:00.005-06:00

Yesterday Bryson went to the dentist for the first time. He loved it and was super chill about the whole experience. He was so interested in everything done to him. I think we may have a future dentist on our hands.

Look at those pearly whites! Not a single cavity! Keep up the great work Bryson!

Friday Fun

2010-05-16T17:16:00.005-06:00

Ever since we got held up by cowboy bandits on our trip to Flagstaff, Bryson and Brock have been really into playing cowboys.

Stick 'em up!

Howdy cowboy!

Bang! You're dead!

(Bryson can pretend to die better than the professionals)

After playing cowboys, I took the boys for suitcase rides around the kitchen.

Yes, it took me that long to finally unpack from our trip! Unpacking is by far my least favorite part about traveling.

8 Years!!!

2010-05-14T07:35:00.000-06:00

Happy anniversary babe! Marrying you is the best decision I've ever made!

Thanks for this text the other day:

"Just wanted to see what's up and tell you I love you. Thanks for taking care of me."

And for regularly asking me:
"What can I do to better show my love for you?"

It's the little things you do that make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

I love you!

Erin

Flagstaff Trip

2010-05-10T17:08:00.008-06:00

This past weekend Bryson and I drove down to Flagstaff with all of my family for my big brother Jake's graduation. He graduated with a Master's in Education and we're so glad we were able to go.

Here are some highlights from the trip (in no particular order):

1. Watching Bryson run wild with all of his cousins at a park and in their jammies at the hotel.

2. Visiting two museums and learning about Martha Mason, who spent 60 years inside an iron lung.

3. Eating an amazingly delicious lunch at the Wild Sunflower Bread Company Restaurant.

4. Remembering my own graduation and the feelings of accomplishment as I watched Jake's graduation.

5. Getting held up by bandits while riding the Grand Canyon Train to the Grand Canyon.

6. Eating an ice cream cone with Bryson while overlooking the Grand Canyon.

7. Relaxing without a care in the world for hours on the porch of a lodge that overlooks the Grand Canyon.

8. Watching how hard Bryson worked throughout the entire train trip to earn a toy train that he asked for when we first arrived.

9. Swimming with Bryson in the hot tub and watching how proud he was of himself when he realized he was tall enough to touch the bottom just like the big kids.

10. Looking at the "dam water" with Bryson

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T06:45:00.012-06:00

Mother's Day is never complete without thanking the person who made it possible for me to be a mother. THANK YOU Mommy Kim! You are as much a mother to Bryson as I am. Bryson is so lucky to have two mother's to call his own.

The song on the video below is one of my favorite adoption songs and makes me cry every time I hear it. It's a song from a son who was placed for adoption to his birth mother to thank her for the choice she made. You can find it on the adoption CD Chosen.

Mommy Kim, although Bryson is too young right now to fully understand, I know he will some day thank you in the same way Mike and I thank you now.

Happy Mother's Day Mommy Kim! We love you!

(the video is 3:46 long)

The Almighty Kidney

2010-05-06T21:13:00.007-06:00

Today celebrates the 11th anniversary of Mike's kidney transplant. We are so thankful his kidney is still going strong and perfectly healthy! A great big thank you to Mike's brother Devon for donating such an amazingly awesome kidney.

This is a video I found recently about organ donation that was really touching. I hope it inspires you to be an organ donor if you aren't one already.

Who Are These People?

2010-05-03T10:19:00.011-06:00

That's exactly what I asked when I found this very disturbing picture hanging on the empty wall above our fireplace.

Can you tell who they are?

Look at the guy on the bottom left.
Look familiar?

That's Bill Gates!
It's a picture of the founders of Microsoft--all of whom are now filthy rich.

Mike's teacher gave him this picture in class the other night and he thought it would be great to decorate our empty wall with it.

Um....yeah....I don't think so.

P.S. Yes, that's our lovely "Mommy Kim" in the picture with her older brother. She came to visit this past week and I'll be posting all about it on Sunday.

Terrific Tuesday

2010-04-23T09:58:00.004-06:00

Airport & Granny's School

This week for Terrific Tuesday we took the boys to the airport to watch airplanes take off. They have this jogging trail that runs right at the end of the runway so you are able to literally stand right beneath the airplanes as they take off. It was pretty cool and the boys loved it.

Since we were in Salt Lake, we decided to stop by my moms school for a surprise visit. She teaches 2nd grade and her students were so cute and treated us like celebrities. Her students were working on a project about the human body, so you'll see some cute pictures of their work in the slide show. My mom is such an amazing teacher and it's always fun to see her in action.

Family Home Evening

2010-04-22T08:09:00.012-06:00

Hanging on our bedroom wall is a list of five goals that Mike and I set at the beginning of the year. On that list is the goal to have weekly Family Home Evening (FHE).

Back before we adopted Bryson we use to be so good at having FHE. We use to get together each week with about 5-7 couples in our Orem ward (we sure miss that ward!) to have FHE and developed some amazing memories and friendships. Then we adopted Bryson and moved and unfortunately kind of got out of the swing of things for a while. We'd have it occasionally but not consistently.

Mike and I both have testimonies of the importance of FHE, so we decided to make it one of our family goals this year to be sure we do it consistently and so far we've done pretty good--not perfect--but we are certainly better.

As I was trying to prepare the lesson on Monday, I stumbled upon some old face masks I made back when I served in the Primary years ago and was so excited I kept them because I knew Bryson would love them! We ended up talking about the importance of obedience by acting out the story of Nephi getting the brass plates. Bryson was so cute and was just beaming the entire time.

Here's Bryson modeling the masks:

As we were acting out the story, Bryson kept hearing us talk about "the brass plates." He noticed we didn't have a prop for the brass plates so he ran over to the kitchen drawer we keep his plastic plates and cups in and pulled out a "plate" for us to use. It was so cute and made us laugh.

In this life we will never be perfect but our desires to do good, to be better, and to overcome our weaknesses and imperfections CAN be perfect. It's those desires that will help us steadily progress to the beings we can ultimately become. I'm so blessed to have a husband who shares my same desires to be better and improve. I love him so much!

Terrific Tuesday

2010-04-22T07:52:00.006-06:00

Wheeler Farm

My sister and I decided to start up our Terrific Tuesday tradition again, so this past week we took the boys to one of our favorite places to visit--Wheeler Farm.

Playing in the famous tree house.

Climbing on the coolest tree ever.
Wish I had one like it in our backyard.

Playing on a tractor.

Petting a horse.

Stay tune for more Terrific Tuesday adventures coming soon!

P.S. My cute sister in this last picture was just approved to adopt again! So if you know of anyone looking to place a baby for adoption, please keep her & her hubby in mind. You can refer people to their adoption profile HERE.

Heart Healthy Granola

2010-04-06T21:12:00.011-06:00

This is my cute sister-in-law Ali.
Today she came over to make granola.
Yum.

At Walmart to get the ingredients.

The goods.

Bryson is always such a good little helper.

Here's how to make it:

My personal favorite is to mix this in with yogurt or to eat it as a breakfast cereal. Mmmm.

Here are a few reasons it's so good for you:

Rolled oats: lowers cholesterol and your risk of cardiovascular disease. It's also a great source of fiber and stabilizes blood sugar for diabetics.

Coconut: great source of protein, vitamins and minerals.

Almonds: great source of vitamin E, protein, and calcium. Can help to lower risk of heart disease and cancer.

Flax Seed: can help reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, strokes, and diabetes. Full of Omega 3's and fiber.

Wheat Germ & Wheat Bran: great source of many vitamins and minerals, which means it's full of antioxidants that help fight cancer and heart disease. Wheat germ is also a great source of folic acid and fiber.

Etc, Etc, Etc.....

Thanks Ali! It's so fun to have you back home in Utah.
Mike was a very happy man when he came home to so much homemade goodness today.
It's delicious!

Easter

2010-04-04T18:59:00.004-06:00

Granny Goose and Grandpa Hink with the grandkids (minus Tani & Kiki and Baby Mac).

The guys grilling it up.

Rachel with Zoey and Oakland.

Granny Goose with her three grand-daughters.

Chazz & Bryson falling out of a hammock.

On the hunt.

Zack falling out of a hammock.

Opening the eggs.

Bethany with Brock and Zoey.

Children's Museum

2010-04-04T17:00:00.005-06:00

Last night Mike and his dad had tickets to the Priesthood session of General Conference, so we dropped them off at the Conference Center and then Nonni, Bryson and I went over to the Discovery Children's Museum at the Gateway. Bryson had a blast.

Afterward, we walked the shops for a bit and then met Mike and Unky at Z'Tejas for our semi-annual dinner together. It's become tradition to go out to eat after each Priesthood session with Mike's parents. I always look forward to hearing Mike and his dad share all of the amazing things they learned at the meeting. I love conference time!

Bryson's Birthday Party

2010-04-04T16:47:00.005-06:00

I still have a hard time believing my little guy is three! They grow too fast! Last Saturday was such a beautiful day that we ended up having Bryson's birthday party outside at a park. He had such a fun time. I wasn't able to take too many pictures, so unfortunately this is all you get. We bought him a really yummy ice cream cake that ended up being so frozen you couldn't eat it with a fork, so Bryson decided to just pick it up and eat it like a cookie. Yummy.

LoOk Who's ThReE!!!

2010-03-24T21:40:00.016-06:00

Three years ago today, an amazing 23-year-old girl blessed Mike and I with the opportunity to be parents to the cutie pictured above. We can't celebrate Bryson's birthday without thinking of and thanking her. Her choice changed our lives forever! We love you so much Kimbralee!

Here's how the birthday boy's day went down:

7:30 am - Woke up to mommy singing happy birthday to him which planted a great big birthday smile on his face. He was so excited about his big day.

8:00 am - Ate a birthday breakfast and sang happy birthday to himself.

8:30 am - Opened one birthday present (he had to save the rest for when daddy got home). He got a little water gun that he picked out yesterday.

9:00 am - Helped mommy clean his room to make room for all of his new birthday toys.

9:30 am - Got a birthday call from Nonni. He told her about his new gun.

10:00 am - Had a sword fight with mommy. He was the bad guy, mommy was the good guy.

11:00 am - Went to Chuck-E-Cheese for a birthday lunch and to play. He won 14 tickets and traded them in for a teeny-tiny plastic lobster which he lost two minutes later.

12:30 pm - Ate birthday ice cream with mommy.

1:00 pm - Had a long birthday nap.

5:00 pm - Got a happy birthday video message from Mommy Kim!!! He couldn't stop smiling.

5:30 pm - Got a birthday call from Granny Goose.

6:00 pm - Ate a birthday dinner. Chicken enchilada's, rice and veggies.

7:00 pm - Daddy got home and gave him a big birthday hug and kiss.

7:30 pm - Rachel, Brock, Granny Goose and Grandpa Hink all stopped by to watch him open presents.

8:00 pm - Played with all of his new presents.

8:30 pm - Bathed with some of his new presents.

8:45 pm - Went to bed with his new presents.

We're having his official birthday party on Saturday, so stay tuned for that!

New York City

2010-03-20T11:07:00.008-06:00

Mike spent this past week in New York City on a business trip. Of course I was extremely jealous I couldn't go, but Mike made up for it by sending me several pictures daily via phone of all of his amazing views. I'm sure they hardly compare to the real thing, but I certainly enjoyed them. He didn't have much time outside of work to site see, so most of these are just the views he had from his company's two buildings.

Lower Manhattan skyline.

View of mid-Manhattan from his building.

New York Stock Exchange building.

View of Ground Zero from his company's gym.

One of his company's buildings.

GQ-ing it up in front of a bull.

His company's other building (the tall one) on the Jersey Shore.

View of the Statue of Liberty from his building.

View of Empire State Building and Chrysler Building from his building.

Polynesian Night

2010-03-20T08:52:00.002-06:00

Two weekends ago Bryson and I took another trip down to Cedar City to watch my sister and brother-in-law dance in SUU's Polynesian night called Treasures of the Pacific.

Before the show we went to my little brother's former mission companions ranch (say that ten times fast) to spend some time. He's a real live cowboy and lives a very different lifestyle than I'm use to so it was really fun to experience.

Bryson had the time of his life. A ranch is a kids paradise.

Bryson especially loved playing with all of the cute puppies.

One even followed him to the car.

Taylor and Abbel did great!

We had such a fun time. Here are a few video clips from the trip (length: 1:28).

Sunday

2010-03-15T23:39:00.013-06:00

Last night we went to Sunday dinner at Mike's parents house. After a yummy dinner and an intense game of Rummikub, Mike captured this adorable moment with his phone of Unky reading a story to Bryson. Bryson sure loves his Unky.

When we got home, we found this amazing picture of Bryson sitting on our kitchen counter. My incredibly talented little brother Ike made it and I honestly started crying as soon as I saw it.

Isn't it awesome?!?! Ike's working on one for all of the nieces & nephews. I'll post a better picture of it once we get it hung on Bryson's wall. Remember the picture below? That's the picture he used to create it.

I'm still just in awe at how amazing it is!!! Thank you SO MUCH Ike!!!

Can these two get any cuter? Seriously. I think not.

You can view a cute video my sister made of them playing together here.