Tator

Brilee decided last Friday that Tator needed to come home with us. "My dog Tate needs to come home." Jake and I obliged and brought him home. He is a knuckle head and tries to run away whenever we aren't looking, but he never goes far. We are watching him very closely too. He ran away Saturday so Jake and Bear took off after him. By the time they got to him he was a bloody mess. The cats got the better end of him. He sulked for awhile, and now is doing better staying home (he also is sporting a bright red shock collar which makes a huge difference). Bri loves him more than anything. She plays with him all day. They are both being really good to each other (anytime she gets rough with him we threaten to take him back to Grammy and papa). Brilee has every blanket we own on the floor and when I pick them up she tells me, "That's Tator's spot I made him.". They are constantly snuggling, and really enjoy watching Wonder Pets together. I like having a dog, and can't wait to get a fence so he can go outside more.

Not Good!

Brilee had bad luck at the dentist today. Her mouth is full of sugar bugs. We are really annoyed, because we really do a good job of brushing her teeth. It just doesn't work with Brilee. Neither Jake or I have strong teeth, and so she had no hope. We were instructed to throw all sippy cups away, and start taking fluoride ASAP! She was a very good girl for the hygienist and dentist. They were so impressed with her, and how grown-up she is. They are also very happy because we will go ahead and pay for their children's college education! Haha not that bad. Good news is no caps!

Birchell Party

We had our annual Christmas Party today with the Birchell's. Always a fun and busy time! After staying up until 1:00 AM we had a pretty relaxed day which involved a three hour nap from everyone in our little family! We woke up and had ten minutes to get to the party. We made it! The Birchell family likes to try new things with food, and it is always hard when feeding that many people (and picky kids). We decided to try a pasta bar. It worked very well, and everything was delicious. The only downer to the meal was I decided to eat downstairs with Brilee... BIG MISTAKE! The kids are crazy, and adults just need to leave them alone. The screaming began when I had to sit at the boy table. The girls were yelling "NO" the boys were yelling "NO".... and neither table really stopped yelling. I survived! We finally put the kids out of their misery and let them open presents. Granny went for it, and made all the grandkids cute pajama's. So fun for the kids. After everyone had opened gifts the kids changed into their jammers, we took pictures, and then the sleepover talks began. We are beginning 2012 with Brilee's first ever sleepover! We are hosting (Bri still needs her Daddy at night) Chazzy and Marley. The girls are playing with the princess's dolls Del gave Brilee for Christmas. The current conversation downstairs includes the little girls princess' going on dates with their boyfriends and Jake saying, "You guys don't have boyfriends. Boys are gross, and have cooties." It's a full circle to the yelling that took place when I ate dinner at the boy table...

I found some pictures of our Cali trip on my phone! YAY! Brilee was a good little traveler. She took lots of naps, sang lots of songs, and watched lots of movies. She also deleted all Jake's app's off his phone. That wasn't so great...

We spent some time exploring Bass Pro Shop in Vegas. It was really neat!

The chipmunks were visiting our hotel.

Josie's house!

The good life! Jammers and cereal at 12:00 in the afternoon.

Jens wrapped Jake a present, and he was sooooo excited about giving it to him. Jens drew him a picture, and then cut it out like a gun. He knew Jake would love it! Donny said he wrapped it a month ago, and has left it under the tree for Jake. He is such a sweet kid. 

Brilee and Marley in their matching pajama's and pillow pets. (Chazzy matches too, but poor girl had to go last in opening!!!)

Brilee and Leeber's adorable puppy Jhett. Such a cute and fun puppy!

All the grandkids...

AWWW the sleepover... 

Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

We have had the best holiday season! I say that every year, but I really mean it every year. Thanksgiving was perfect! We spent the day at the Bullock's, and loved having the time to catch up with everyone. Amy and Bryan were amazing and did all the cooking, and we did all the eating! Brilee fell asleep on her Daddy right before dinner, so she kind of missed out. After Turkey Day we were able to celebrate GPA Cooley's 80th b-day. It was so fun! We came home and decorated for Christmas! Brilee was so much fun this year. She was totally into Santa, she loved her Advents (thanks Amy!!!!), the naughty elf kept her on her toes, and her life was complete magic for the past month. Jake went to North Dakota, and had the time of his life (again)! I started my FURLOUGH from work (I go back 2/13/12). I love being able to enjoy the Christmas spirit at home, and not having to go to work. My parents had their AWESOME Santa party. Brilee was so big, and had NO trouble sitting on Santa's lap and talking to him. Jake and I love watching how grown up she is becoming. We had our big ultra sound the day before we left for California. We are having a healthy baby boy (best present ever!). The name discussions have officially begun. We headed to Las Vegas and throughly enjoyed our night there. We woke up early and were excited to get to Lake Arrowhead! We love our Christmas traditions. We went shopping early this year so Stac could come. It was as fun as ever! Christmas Eve we were able to eat at Belgian Waffle, feed ducks, and enjoy the day with family. Brilee loved everything! Bri left marshmallows, cookies, and milk for Santa and the reindeer. She went to sleep slowly. She slept good, and awoke to all her Christmas dreams come true. She had everything she could imagine. Her list to Santa included an American Girl Doll ("a merry girl doll"), and a bike. She received way more than her list included. She is a lucky duck! Thank you to everyone, from her and us. Sadly, our vacation came to an end and we had to come home. It was nice to be home and be able to see Carly!!! Josie had a big dinner at her house, and it was wonderful way to catch up with everyone's busy life. We were able to spend the next day visiting at my parents house. For New Year's Eve Jake and I had a party. We wanted to experience hosting in our new house, and it was so much fun! I laughed until I cried, and Jake experienced a laughing head ache. So grateful for great friends (and that Derek is a good sport haha)! My New Year resolution is to be a better blogger, and picture taker (I have no Xmas morning pictures, sooo sad!). I am going to update frequently and make a book at the end of 2012. It's an easy thing to do, and it will be so worth it when I want to look back at all our fun memories. Happy 2012 to all! 

UT VS. UCLA

About a month ago my Mom asked if Jake and I wanted to go to the Utah/UCLA game. Of course we did! I realized that the game was over Veteran's weekend (which is a long weekend for us), and so we decided to make a trip out of it. Stacia told me she would be in SLC for school, and she and Michael would be able to hang out with us. We reserved a room at Embassy Suites (best hotel ever!), and started getting anxious. I was so excited for the break. Jake, Bri, and I got up Friday and took off. We were on the road by 8:30, which is good for us! We got to Provo and went to Old Navy. That was about all I could handle. Jake suggested lunch and so we went to Olive Garden. It hit the spot for all of us! After lunch we went to Cabela's. Jake had lots on his list there. Bri and I spent a lot of time looking at the fish, and feeding the fish. Our big plan was to get our Gun Safe, but the one we wanted was out of stock. They are ordering it from the Glendale, AZ store for us. It should be here in 3-4 weeks. Lots of thanks for the early Christmas present GMA, GPA, Jackie, Del, and Ann! We are excited to get it. Stacia called when we were checking out so we told her to meet us at Sportsman's Warehouse so Jake could price a gun for my Dad. When she showed up Brilee was screaming with joy! Stacia got out of the car, and Bri said "Where's Michael?" haha you win some you lose some! I wanted to drive Stacia's new car, and so Bri and Jake followed us to the mall. As we were walking in Jake was telling us a story about some road rage he had with a guy. Brilee said, "Daddy was cussing him. He try and beat him up." haha that is why I drive in the city! I didn't last at the mall to long, and Brilee was beyond excited to go swimming. We checked in, met up with Michael, and the fun began! Jake, Stac, Michael, and Bri swam their hearts content. (Not really, Bri's ears hurt her all day and so they swam for 30 minutes. It did the trick though!) We went to Happy Hour, and then met up with Brendyn and Natasha Huber at Tucano's for dinner. It was so fun! Their baby is so cute and happy. Brilee fell asleep on the way to dinner, and woke up the next morning. She said to Jake and me, "I never even ate any dinner." After breakfast Bri and Jake went swimming, while Stacia went to take her test. After swimming we checked out of the hotel and went to Costco. I was a little nervous because I had some major shopping to do, and I was worried about my company. Brilee, Jake, and Michael. They were all great, and we came out with more than we needed. Next we met Roger, Cathy, my parents, and stac at Pat's BBQ for lunch. It was wonderful. By this time it was snowing, HARD! Cathy, once again, gave us all her winter gear and we headed to the game. (Cathy, my Mom, and Bri headed to GMA and GPA's.)  The game WAS FREEZING, but sooooooooo much fun! Utah played great, and Wolf Man was awesome (which meant I got to howl A LOT!). Luckily for me, the bathrooms were heated. I would get warm every thirty minutes. During the third quarter Granny called to warn us Strawberry was a mess, and she thought we should stay one more night. We agreed and so after the game we got to relax at Cathy and Roger's. It was so fun! We came home Sunday morning, and the roads were much better! It was a great weekend... can't wait for Turkey Day!

We had a rough time getting a picture where my hand wasn't cutting Stacia's face off, Michael wasn't calling us losers, and I wasn't picking my nose.

Long Awaited

Jake took pictures of our house tonight... So without further ado:

Master Bedroom

Brilee's room. (This is my favorite room. Julie did such a good job making it so cute!)

Living Area... I am hoping to FINALLY decorate this week.

We are still deciding on what to do for the back splash, and so that's why there are still green squares... One day we will know what we want!

Basement. This is all for now (Jake is sleeping, and I don't want to wake him to make him take pictures of the bathrooms...)

Jake felt like a lemon meringue pie Sunday, and so we all got busy. Brilee loves making pie crust because she gets to play in flour.

Here is our group picture from Halloween.

September Video's

My video's always flip when I download them from my phone to my computer... any tips?