Halloween 2010

Well, guess what? We went to Disneyland for Halloween! We got tickets for the special Halloween Party, where Brailyn got to trick or treat around the park, dressed as her favorite princess Ariel, we saw the villains of Disney classics (Queen of Hearts, Jafar, Wicked Queen from Snow White), and ride the rides with few lines:) Brailyn's favorite (and mine) was Big Thunder Mountain at night- the fog machines really made it a cool ride. The best part of all- Grammie and Paca and Lala came too!



After the Halloween celebration, Momma, Daddy and Brailyn stayed for a whole week at Disneyland. We used the time share and enjoyed seeing EVERYTHING at Disneyland and taking it easy. We also got to see the park begin the Christmas time transformation.


Best part of no lines- riding Splash Mountain over and over and over and over...

Can't wait for 'Tangled' to hit theaters! SO excited to meet Rapunzel and Flynn:)

We watched the live Aladdin show 3 times, we loved it so much!

Playing in the Brother Bear playground


Believe it or not, we were excited for our NEXT trip to Disneyland. It is such a fun family vacation!

At Preschool, Miss Arlene had a Halloween party and all the kids got to wear their cosutmes to school.

Primary Program

I have to write this down so I can remember how she makes me smile:)

Brailyn loves to sing in Primary. As soon as she got into Sunbeams, she blew all of the Primary teachers away with how well she knew all the songs (we listen to them a lot in the car) and how clearly and loudly she sang. On her first Sunday visiting Primary from Nursery, she was belting out the songs so much that I had to hide behind the piano because I was laughing so hard. Tears were coming down. She makes me laugh, and I'm so proud of her confidence. So now is her first Primary Program, and she is doing such a great job. She has her part memorized, says it loud and clear in the microphone, and she's singing a solo with 2 other girls during one of the songs ('If I listen with My Heart'). She is the loudest of the trio, and has no qualms about getting right up in front of the congregation. Everyone was coming up to me after the practice to tell me how cute she is and what a great job she does. I love my little precocious girl!

Dinsneyland- AGAIN!

Yes, we went to Disneyland again! We bought annual passes, and are happy to take this year's family vacations at the happiest place on Earth:) This last trip was actually a surprise for Brailyn. One morning we told her that we were going to a park, but we had to drive far away and pack a picnic (to explain all the food I was bringing). We loaded up the car and headed out. She was pretty content for awhile, but finally she asked, after the usual 'are we there yet?'-
'what state are we in?'
To which I replied, 'what state do you think we are in?'
'California.'
'How can you tell it's California?'
'Because of the mountains.'
Soon after we passed a Disneyland billboard and the gig was up. She refused to believe Clint anymore. He kept saying we were going to a park, but she knew better;)

One other note of fun: Since I was secretly packing everything, I put Brailyn's suitcase back up on the closet shelf. Of course it was the one thing I forgot to put in the car, so we got to run to Walmart at 10pm to buy her a new weekend wardrobe. She was of course very pleased.

This trip was nice because we had time to do some of the rides that we missed in May. And knowing we'd be back again for Halloween, we got to explore more of the Park. Clint even got to be in a little comedy show in Frontier Land- he played one of the bachelors for the Mayor's not-so-pretty daughter. And we saw the AMAZING world of color show, which is definitely on the must-see-again list.

Finding the treasure on Tom Sawyer's Island

Meeting her FAVORITE princess

Still Loves Minnie!

The Jellyfish ride at California Adventure- a little tamer than Tower of Terror:)

Of course we saw Mickey

Family Hike

Since Clint does monthly trips all around AZ for work, we decided to tag along one Saturday to Tucson. After a quick stop to check on a couple of stores, we visited the Saguaro National Park. The little museum had a short video and display room, and of course lots of fun desert books and toys in the gift shop:) We drove around the loop then got out to do a short little hike. It was a little hot, but it was so nice to see the blooming cactus flowers, look for wildlife (we saw a desert squirrel and a really weird bug), and move our legs for a bit. We're hoping to get to visit a lot more National Parks as a family.

Grand Canyon

Brailyn and Momma went on a weekend trip up to the Grand Canyon with some friends. Momma was going to do the 14 mile hike down to the river with Keisa, while the 'Men' did the R2R2R hike (in about 15 hours!). It was our first time there, if you can believe it, and we had such a fun time. Brailyn got to play with the girls and their Grammie while we hiked, we ate at Oregano's, french braided her hair, watched movies, and just had fun being up in the beauty of the Grand Canyon.

Summer Fun

We took a trip to California and stopped by the beach to visit Grandpa Bill and Ginny. They welcomed us into there house by the beach, took us around the town and even to a farmer's market. We were there for Momma's 30th birthday, so Ginny made a yummy cake and we had some delicious food at Mary's Secret Garden, Momma's new favorite restaurant in Ventura.


Playing catch with Boo, their dog





HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY MOMMA!

Disneyland Here We Come!!

We recently went to Disneyland with some good friends, and boy did we have FUN! The girls loved all the rides, especially Pirates of the Carribbean, and Momma and Daddy had fun watching the joy in their faces. We were there for Momma's 30th birthday, so had some extra special treatment (free bread, tortillas, and some extra rides!)

Brailyn's favorite rides: Tea cups (Ms. Keisa could spin it REALLY fast!), Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, and Pirates. She did NOT like Tower of Terror (she was brave and went on it 2 times, the 2nd time to help Emerson be brave). She also loved Small World, which we went on quite a few times to rest:)

Momma's favorite ride: The Mickey roller coaster at CA Adventure:) and Toy Story
Daddy's favorite ride: Toy Story


Goofy grabbed Brailyn's hand and started skipping with her to his next assignment






The Culbersons and the Ridgeways


Bosom Buddies

Easter 2010

Thank you Ashley (www.everydaylovephotography.com) for the BEAUTIFUL Easter pics! Grammie got Brailyn a dress complete with perals and sunglasses (her accessory of choice!), so we were excited to take pictures in them. Enjoy:)







I had to include some of the funny ones. She and Jaxon are just too funny together sometimes! Always the little pranksters (yes, they came up with the nose-grabbing scheme all by themselves!)

Skiing in Park City

We had a great time over Spring Break this year. Grandma took Brailyn, Momma and Larissa up to Park City for a few days of skiing. The weather was perfect- sunny and warm- and Brailyn had a great time at ski school. She was really good at keeping her balance and coming to a nice stop. Next year she'll be on the slopes for sure!
Hitting the Slopes

With her instructor Patrick

Our little Snowman

"Sledding"

Four Years Old!

Brailyn is FOUR! Growing up so fast and so beautifully. This last year has been a good one, hopefully, for her. Now that she is a big girl, here are some of the things we've done/are doing/got etc.

We got a new house (moving into the same neighborhood as one of her best friends), Started to read (and she is so excited about it). She knows quite a few sight words and is always asking me what signs say while we're driving.
She is 40 1/4 inches tall and about 35 pounds. Still gets really bad growing pains at night, so those aren't too fun.
Brailyn loves her dance classes. She's learning jazz and tap right now and loves practicing for her little recitals.
She is getting really good at coloring in the lines, and she has so many fun coloring books she loves to practice with.
Her favorite meal right now is 'hot' cereal (for breakfast) and beans or tofu and quinoa w/ dressing (some kind of vinaigrette) for dinner. I'm not joking, she LOVES it!
LOVES her sunglasses, and has 4 cute pairs that she coordinates w/ her clothes. Momma loves them too to keep her eyes sun safe:)
Plays with Parker and Jaxon a lot during the week, and does pretty well at handling those boys. I think she's quite the favorite at preschool with Haris, Jaxon, Daniel and Parker. They're often fighting over who gets to sit by her:)
Loves to play dress up (of course), especially when the Ridgeway girls come over.
Knows her primary songs really well, and loves to listen to them in the car. She also likes to listen to 'classical' music on the radio, especially when they play Peter and the Wolf, which we got to see at Child's Play.
Loves to have her hair 'blonde' (with her curls down and a half pony tail). I try to explain that her hair is always blonde, it just gets darker when it gets wet.
Cares deeply for others and is always there to give hugs and kisses when she sees someone is sad. She is a ray of sunshine in our family and we love her so much!

Favorite color- all colors
Favorite number- 100
Favorite food- all food
Worst food- foxes (what?)
Favorite Drink- all drinks...hot chocolate too
Favorite breakfast- Rainbow cereal
Favorite thing to do- play games
Best Friend- Haris (from preschool) and Emerson
Favorite thing to do with Momma- clean (hah!)
Favorite thing to do with Daddy- play people (Playmobile)
My Chores- put clothes away, make my bed, put away silverware, pick up toys
Wost chore- the silverware
What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor
What is your favorite scripture story? When Moses was in the wilderness
Why do we go to church? Because it's Sunday
Where do you want to go on a mission? Annapolis, like Ben
What do you like to learn about? Jesus up in Heaven
Favorite Movie- Robin Hood
Favorite Aunt/Uncle- all of the them
What is Daddy's job? To go to work.
What is Momma's job? To take care of me.
Favorite treat- Candy
Favorite Song- I am Like a Star Shining Brightly
What do you want to tell me about yourself? Haris is my best friend and Daddy always plays with me.
What do you like about being 4? When I grow up, I'm going to run.

Now That I'm Four!

Wow, Brailyn is four years old! She is growing SO quickly and learning and trying new things everday. Here are some of the things she likes and does:

Puzzles (100 piece Fancy Nancy ones of course!)
Playing with Playmobile
Ballet/Tap
Riding her new bike with training wheels
Dressing up like Fancy Nancy
Swimming
Playing on the computer (Starfall and Mickey's Clubhouse)
Playing with her new BFF Emerson Ridgeway
Singing Primary songs (she knows most of them already and sings very loudly during singing time!)
Her new fast 'running' shoes

Brailyn is often very helpful and helps Momma put the silverware away when the dishwasher is clean. She is kind to smaller children and usually gives them plenty of hugs at the gym's Kid's Klub. Lately she's been able to play with Parker Carroll two times every week while Momma watches him. They get along pretty well, but get to experience some sibling rivalry too:) Every night before bed she has to do 10 jumps and then sing songs with Daddy (which sometimes gets her more wound up, but oh well!) She squeals when she is excited and her eyes sparkle when she is happy. Such a beautiful girl!

Brailyn Turns 4!

We had a very special birthday this year. We moved into our new house and had Brailyn's birthday party the next weekend! Whew! On Monday (the 1st) we went to see the new Disney Princess movie "The Princess and the Frog" then out to eat at Paradise Bakery. Yummy! Saturday was the big day of celebration, which was much deserved after a busy month of packing, moving, unpacking, preschool and crazy parents! We had our friends and family join us at our new neighborhood park and had lots of fun: playground, chasing bubbles with Uncle Bill, eating cupcakes and opening presents. The weather was cloudy and just right.


After we finished with the presents we had a VERY special guest: SNOW WHITE! That's right! She came all the way from her castle to wish Brailyn a happy birthday. She did some magic tricks, taught everyone how to curtsy and wave like a princess, painted faces and even made some balloon animals!



The girls loved it (note the princess dresses) and I think the boys (Parker, Carter and Blake) eventually warmed up to her when she told them she could make them balloon swords:) Thanks to everyone for coming and sharing in this special day with us!