Arizona Cowboy...

The Brodster got this little pony and hat for Christmas...a couple of his many gifts. He loves riding it...BUT he must have his "HA" (hat) on. I tried to get him to say "YEE HAW"...but he'll only say "YEE", it's close enough. Anyway, my little buck-a-roo is in Arizona for the week. Nanna and Grandpa decided it would be a good idea if he stayed with them again. I'm sure he is LOVING it and is being very spoiled. Once again though...I miss him. However, Trace and I slept in past 9 two days in a row (awesome), we went out for an Anniversary Brunch at Magelby's Fresh, we played Ping-pong with no interuptions, we plan on going to a movie and out to dinner, I may get my hair cut, and maybe, if I get crazy, will shampoo the carpets. Brody will be gone until the 3rd...not nearly as long as the 11 days in the summer. I miss him mucho much but I'm sure he's enjoying the chickens, dogs, snow, food, and grandparents!

What's everyone's plans for the New Year? Anybody want to come to Provo, Pootah and play some ping pong and other games and eat junk food? If so, come on over!

{3 years}

3 years ago today...

I woke up feeling excited, nervous, anxious, and border line scared.

I did my make-up, curled my hair, and packed my bag.

I drove to the Snowflake Temple...radio off, just thinking. A million plus things ran through my mind.

I put on a fluffy white dress, a pretty necklace, and my mom's diamond earings.

I walked out and saw my lover boy standing in the hall.

He was handsome...and almost as nervous as me.

We smiled at eachother and the nerves went out the window.

He told me I looked beautiful and kissed my forehead.

We walked down the hall together, holding hands.

Today is the 29th of December...

3 years ago today I said "YES".

I love every minute of being married. I love the hugs, kisses, debates, journeys, adventures, baby-making (wink, wink), and all the other joys that come along with the "Marriage" title. I love it all. Bring on the years...I'm more than ready to spend them with my lover boy.

Here's to an Eternity of love and laughter.

Happy Anniversary!

obsession & "rough housing"

My little monster is obsessed with socks. He loves them. He'll steal yours if you let him. He puts them on his hands, tries to put them on his feet, and as you see below...even tries to put them on his head. Once he gets it on his hand he says, "WOAR" and chases you around with arm fully extended. He cracks me up. Also check out his 80's 24 month onesie....two words "thunder thighs". Now that it is winter and the snow is falling and it is -23 degrees in this frozen tundra land that I live in...what do you do to keep the kids entertained? Here are some ideas I came up with...
1. Indoor sledding. Get a nylon old school sleeping bag. Line the bottom of the stairs with pillows or couch cushions. Go to the top of the stairs. Have friend or loved one hold on to the sleeping bag. Carefully climb on top of it. Pull the end of it over your feet. Count to 3 and hang on for dear life. Hours of fun. Variences = go face forward, have someone give you a HARD push, go backwards, blindfolded.
2. Cowboys and Indians. Get a deck of cards. Say, "You be the Cowboy, I'll be the Indian." Grab the cards and skatter them around the room...flinging sparatically works best...and say "Round um' up cowboy. Yeehaw!" Hint: it's more fun if you are the Indian.
3. Secret Fortress: Get all pillows, couch cushions, sheets, and blankets. Get at least two yard sticks. Something heavy to *anchor the sides down. Stretch the fort from on side of the family room to the next. Sheets = the roof. Cushions = the walls. Yard sticks = proper-up-ers. Make sure that there is no walk way and that the only way through is to crawl. Let your imagination run wild!
*Note: glass objects DO NOT make good anchors.
4. Couch jumping. Place couches facing eachother. Jump from one couch to the next. Each time moving one of the couches a little further back. Make sure you have sturdy couches...or just don't watch your kids do it. (What mamma doesn't know, doesn't hurt her...right?)
5. Leap frog. Place couch cushions, pillows, and other fluffy objects around on the floor throughout the house. Make a varying path...some close, some further away. Jump from cushion to cushion to pillow etc. Pillows and whatnot = lilly pads.
6. Rodeo. Get a big pillow and a big belt. Have the oldest child (works best if he is a husky young lad) get on all fours. Put the pillow on his back and secure it with the belt. Have another child climb on. Another kid holds the stop watch. The "horse/bull" proceeds to buck. "Lane Frost" holds on with white knuckles clenching the belt. 8 seconds = a GOOD ride.

Anway- those are just some ideas from my childhood. Rough housing wasn't normally allowed. These activities usually occurred when mother was not looking. No, we were not raised in a barn.

OH and MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hope you all have a great Holiday season!
Love to all.

{my mom's day}

To my Mama, Tammy (Trace calls her that), and Nanna:

NOTE: This little passage does not nearly suffice for all the wonderful memories I have of my mom but I wanted to write a few random ones down.)
Do you remember when you gave birth to a 9 lb some odd ounce baby 15 days PAST her due date during the heat wave of summer with NO epideral? I don't....I'm sure you do...but thank you! I'm glad you did. I was your first little girl. FINALLY pinks and purples and dresses and bows and dolls.
Do you remember when I was like 5 and we would watch Days of Our Lives and eat guacamole with LOTS of salt OR lemons with LOTS of salt? I have a vague recollection of that memory. Maybe it happened, maybe it didn't...but I swear it did.
Do you remember braiding my LONG, THICK hair EVERYDAY? And I wouldn't let anyone else do it because they couldn't do it as good OR as quick as you. You always did it. You never said no...and I have a very hard head because of it!
Remember when you taught me how to bake cookies? One time I didn't leave them in the oven long enough and they all turned to mush. You told me that if I was going to use ALL of that ingredients then I better cook them for the right time and make sure they turn out. And now, I must say, I make some killer cookies.
Do you remember how you would made those little tithing folders and they were in the bottom drawer of dresser and you would make me put 10% of any money that I made in it. You taught me the importance of paying my tithing and that the Lord will bless me if I do.
Remember how you use to sew me all sorts of dresses? Me and Danica would match. (Aw, cute.) You were a very talented seamstress and taught me how to sew patchwork pillows and pajama pants. I haven't progressed much in that department, but at least I know how to follow a pattern and make one or two things.
Remember all our fun family vacations and what a good job you did in planning them. It seems we always had a good time. Even through the "oh hell" moments of taking the wrong exit...3 times in a row. Or running out of gas in the middle of the night. Or having 3 teenagers in the car at once. We always had a great time and you made sure of it. You were always willing and ready to have fun...as long as you weren't hungry! :)
Do you remember working full time and somehow you were able to come to most all of my Jr. High through High School ball games. I was a year-round athlete and you were at almost every game...including away games. I really appreciated that. I might not have SHOWED it at the time, but I really did. Sorry my temper was really bad and my actions imbarrased you. I know NOW how you felt. (Ever been to a wrestling match with Trace?...oh my helloooooo...things get a LITTLE crazy.)
Do you remember being my Young Women's leader and getting to go to Girls Camp with me. Those were fun days. I think you came up with the cute theme of "Camp-o-lot" (like Lanceolaut)...[HOLY COW...I CAN'T SPELL, just sound it out people.] It was a lot of fun. You were a great leader and set an example to many, many girls.
Do you remember when I had just barely moved down to Mesa and I had locked my keys in my truck 5 times that week, got my truck broken into and almost stolen, had a flat tire, got locked out of my apartment and had to sleep by the pool, and I was working at Mimi's Cafe and you came by to visit me. You were with Chris Whipple. I missed you so much. I'm not a very emotional girl, but I think I even cried when you left. You taught me how to be tuff though and smile through my troubles and life's difficulties.
Remember when you came to the valley for some meetings and you took me out shopping and bought me some new pants and shirts and a little Valentine bear? It was so thoughtful. You always make me feel special. You were always doing small things for me....always.
I have many, many, MANY more memories of you. Like how we could hear your voice all the way down at the church yelling for us to come home, how you played church songs every Sunday on the piano, how you helped me with countless school projects, all our camping trips to Brown Creek, all the Family Home Evening activities you planned, seeing you pray at the side of your bed...knowing that you were praying for me, your LAUGH, your inability to stay awake through an entire movie, your LOVE for Brody and how excited you get to see him, how you used to let us kids tear up your living room so that we could build a HUGE fort, how you were so selfless and always willing to serve others, and the list goes on and on.
I love you mom. I hope you have a GREAT birthday. You are a very special lady...

Love,
Me, the 9 lb baby you delivered.

It happened...

So I always see all these pictures of everyone's kids falling asleep while they are eating. I always thought, "Hmmmm...there is NO way Brody would do that. He loves food WAY too much." Well, it happened. Not on my watch...but I'm very happy that Trace got a picture of it. It may be a once in a lifetime happening. However, notice that ALL of his food is gone-minus all the ketchup smeared everywhere.

Also, I made a bunch of cards for a Christmas present for my work Christmas gift exchange thing. It was A LOT more time consuming than I thought it would be. Yet, I do think most of them turned out cute. I have a couple favorites...and of course my not so favorite ones.
Also, we are finished with this semester. Hooray for Christmas break. I'm excited to be with family. Eat lots of yummy food. Shop. Wrap gifts. Give gifts. Open gifts. Play in the snow. Look at Christmas lights. Give my house an extreme cleaning (not really "excited" about it, but I'll be excited to have a sparkling house again.) Hang out with friends...and everything else that comes with the holiday season.

On a side note:

Brody has this new thing where he puts things on his arms....like bowls, cups, water pitchers, and basically anything that he can put his arm in...and then he goes around and yells "woar, WOOOOOAR!!" (= roar, ROOOOOAR). It is hilarious. He also says "hi" and "bye" really clearly. I am SO excited for him to start talking. I'm curious to know what is going on in that crazy little mind of his.

{My little Grover}

Ok, so the other day a lady in our ward, bless her heart, brought the Brodster some "new" clothes. Some (eh hem, MOST) of them are hilarious. We are talking about denim overalls, acid washed jeans with tappered leg, pants with plaid patches sewed on them, matching top and bottom sweat suits, pants with PLEATS, knit sweaters with buildings and snow (you know, the itchy kind from the 80s), and all varieties of other 80s attire. Love them...I really need to do a "fashion" show. I put Brody in this.....And couldn't help but notice the resemblance to this...And this...
So funny.

{our friday fun}

On Friday morning we decided to go test out the new gun that we got for Trace's dad. We bought a bunch of sodas and bullets and headed up Diamond Fork Canyon. We finally found a good spot and blasted the cans like crazy. It was awesome. Brody enjoyed picking up the rocks and rolling around in the dirt. Scary...isn't it?? Me with a gun. And yes, I blasted the lights out of the cans.Trace with the demolished can. My dirt faced little boy...

Also, Lonna and C-ron and the kiddos came up for the weekend. It was great to see them. We had some good laughs and enjoyed watching their kids for them so they could go to their Christmas Party thing.

Oh, and finals are next week so I am thrilled about that. Only 1 regular week of school left and then CHRISTMAS break!! Yahoo!

{A few days late}

Rustin Oscar Reidhead

27 years of life....here's to the BIRTHDAY boy.

Remember when we worked together for non-stop hours at Torreon being the server, hostest, food runner, designer, table coordinator, event scheduler, party planner, flourist, janitor, wedding planner...ummm...what else is there? busser, pool beverage and food attendant, bar back, bartender (if only), and customer relations coordinators....oh and accountants. Those were the days huh? Loved it. Western night when you were the food runner and all the food was in the Breeze way and you were wearing your boots and your poor feet almost fell off...PLUS many more disasterous nights such as that one.
Remember when we lived in Vernon and would speed roller blade around the church parking lot? Oh and also played capture the flag with all the neighborhood kids. Oh and rode our bikes to the local grocery store/gas station/movie rental/post office/candy store/ice cream parlor on a daily basis.
Remember 4H and having to feed those dumb cows, pigs, and lambs in the wee hours of the mornings? And picking the weeds out of the garden? And watering the million some odd trees that dad planted around the yard. I recall letting the geese chase us around.
Remember how you would let me hang out with you and your friends in High School and you took me to lunch WAY more than I took Danica?
Remember when we worked at Island's together and we would secretly make fun of some of our co-workers...still do. It was hilarious. "Oh my knees." "Want to see my new dance move?" {laugh} No one understood our weird since of humor and had a hard time with ALL of our sarcasim. And how we could pretend argue with eachother...but we always had eachother's back.
Remember how we used to pick on Danica and she would get mad and chase us around with knives? Remember watching Saved by the Bell on Saturday mornings and Home Improvement on Wednesday nights?
Remember when we bought fanny packs for Christmas gifts...not knowing that we got the same thing for each other? Oh and we went snowboarding together and had a blast. I thought your legs were going to fall off the first run down...but you made it and were really good by the end of the day.
Remember when you lived in New York and I lived in Utah and we only saw each other once, if lucky, a year....yet our friendship seems to remain the same. You are a great older BROTHER. Thanks for everything. I hope you had a great, fun-filled BIRTHDAY...from the sounds of it, you did. Enjoy life in NY. Hopefully I'll get to come visit you someday.
LOVE YA broseph.
(sorry this is a LITTLE late!)

Turkey day and Hermana Porter

On the Eve of Thanksgiving, Trace worked all night...doing remodeling at "Magleby's Fresh". He got home at approximately 4:00 am and decided to go grocery shopping and build us a Thanksgiving feast. He got EVERYTHING and DID everything. It was amazing. I just sat back and watched. What a lovely surprise. Oh and I hear-by nominate Trace to prepare and cook the Thanksgiving feast every year. Second it?...say I...."I". It's a done deal.And yes, I enjoyed every minute of it. (I love Trace and he loves me...just in case you didn't know.)

Then today we took some left overs to Sister Brindi Porter. We were walking around the Provo temple and lo and behold she came walking out the front doors. CRAZY. We had NO IDEA she was going to be there. Fancy that. Brody carried around the sack of goodies and enjoyed walking up and down the stairs.

The beautiful Provo temple.

She spoke Spanish to us. I had NO idea what she said. I wanted to say, "You know I don't speak Spanish...in English please." She looks really good and really happy.
Her companion was really sweet and I thank her for letting Brindi stop for like point 2 seconds.Anyway- we had a great Thanksgiving weekend. Watched a lot of football, did a little shopping, and worked on some Christmas presents. We also got to spend some time with Banning and Jaime and Co. We missed our families in AZ but we'll get to see them at Christmas...which is not too far away.

Speaking of Christmas...time to bust out the Christmas tree and drive Trace crazy with my Christmas music and videos.
Love to all!

the Brodster

Brody loves to feed himself AND he is so good at it. He doesn't make a mess or anything... I think we have a little baseball player on our hands!