Thanksgiving Time

We've had a fun week this Thanksgiving week. Clint's Grandparents and Uncle and family from California came to AZ and we've been visiting with them a lot. We had a night at the Val Vista Lakes Clubhouse where we watched a house catch on fire and Clint's twin brother Ken helped warn the people and hose it down until the firetrucks came. He was in a paddle boat near the house and jumped into their back yard yelling at them "your house is on fire!" The rest of us were watching from the pool. Clint called 911 and we think was the first to call. The homeowners didn't even realize it for a few minutes!


Brailyn with her Great Grandparents Meine

Brailyn has had fun playing with her 2nd Cousin Hannah, 5 years old. They've done pretty well together, although sharing is a little hard for a not quite 3 year old and a five year old (only child). But they're both good girls and liked getting to know each other. They also enjoyed playing the Wii MarioParty game. Of course Brailyn likes seeing Lexi and Dylan, and of course her favorite Uncle Kenny!

Hannah and Brailyn

Playing with the Dolls

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Grandma Shanda's with Grandma and Grandpa Meine, Uncle Kelly, Janelle, Hannah, Aunt Kelly, Lexi, Dylan, Uncle Bill and Jen, Kenny and Tia, and all the animals. Good food. Fun dollhouse. We even had a holiday craft (Turkey Hats).

Turkey Hat

Clint and Kenny singing while they did the dishes

The Culberson/Meine Clan
Brailyn was wiped out by the time we got home. Tomorrow is Dylan's baptism then back to normal for a couple of weeks until the Price Family Cruise!

Funny House

Here is the house that we call the "Funny House". They do all these blow up decorations in their front yard for seriously all of the holidays- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter. I wouldn't be surprised if they even do St Patrick's Day! Brailyn always asks to drive by it on our way home from the gym, so I wanted to take a picture to remember.

Little Miss Hollywood

Brailyn loves to wear her sunglasses, and I'm just glad that I got her to wear them from a young age so that her beautiful eyes are protected from the sun. She asks for them when it's "too bwight" and it's (thankfully) just part of the routine of going out, like putting our shoes on. (on a tangent- she also knows the routine of coming home- shoes off, glasses on the table, wash hands- so well that when Daddy misses a step, she very kindly informs him of what he's missed!) Everywhere we go people comment on how cute her sunglasses are, or how she looks like a movie star (not what I'm trying to do, mind you, but that's okay). And I have to admit, she does look cute in them.

Not only does she look like a movie star, lately she's been into "doing the actions" when I read stories to her. Today we acted out "When You Take a Mouse to the Movies" and "Platypus" (where she collected an occupied sea shell, complete with "ouch!" when the hermit crab pinched her toe). She is quite the imaginative girl. It's just really fun to watch her doing new things while she plays.

Halloween Fun

I know it's tomorrow, but we had our ward's Trunk or Treat last night, so here is the first round of pics. Brailyn is having so much fun with her first real Halloween. Now she's old enough to get it, and last year she had a fever and we were in Glendale. So no trick or treating. But not this year. This year we get to get candy on TWO days!!

Of course we had to carve our pumpkin. Daddy got a gigantic one, and Momma carved a skeleton behind 2 gravestones. But two days later it was wilted and falling inside itself. No support beams. Oh well. We had fun. And Brailyn colored her very own mini pumpkin too.






Brailyn LOVES Bear. Pearl is a little too energetic sometimes, but she's not scared of them. But Bear will let her sit on her and just hold still. Perfect for a little almost 3 year old!


And finally. Here are our costumes. I LOVE Brailyn's "Baby Minnie" costume (she has a big Minnie Plush doll-red dress- and a little Minnie plush-pink dress- so she's obviously BABY Minnie this year!) Clint is a Hell's Angel turned Vato-Gangster. He built it around the mustache. And I must say, I look pretty good in the political realm!

Family Fun

Here are some fun things we've been up to lately.

When Brailyn wakes up in the morning, she often want to read books right away. So Momma, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, reads a couple of stories until our tummies are growling and it's time for breakfast.



When Brailyn would come with Momma to visit Grandpa Treguboff, she always wanted to see the Nativity snow globe he had in the kitchen. She would sit at the table and wind it up and look at all the figures. I wanted to get a picture so we could remember.



And finally. Last week I came home from errands and Brailyn had got into the bin in the hall that had our swimming stuff in it. She lined up all of our shoes and had fun playing hop scotch with the diving rings with Holly. Too funny.

Little Miss Sassafrass

You are such a big girl now, and are really trying to become and independent girl too. When Momma asks you to do something (get dressed, come eat lunch, get ready for quiet time) often times you say, very strongly "No, I don't want to" and after continuing to ask you I then hear "No! I never wanna, never, you never let me, I don't want to never wanna never!" It's pretty funny, although it's exhausting too. And we've had to have some time outs because you are fighting me so much and sometimes swat me when you tell me "no!". But after you've screamed in time out for a couple of minutes, you're happy again and we get hugs and kisses and then you are happy to listen to Momma. I'm trying to praise you more for the times you do listen right away so that the positive reinforcement shows you how much easier and nicer it is when we can obey. At the same time I'm trying to let you make more choices and be more independent, while still being the Momma. Boy, almost 3 year olds are lots of fun and lots of patience. But I love you and am so proud of the girl that you are. You love your books, wanting to read first thing in the morning, and even when you don't sleep during nap time, and Momma wants to nap, you are happy to read by yourself in the room. You've been playing with Shaylee Clouse across the street, which you love, and I am so happy to see your social side coming out. And you take such great care of your babies, taking them on walks in the stroller, the train that Grandma made from some boxes and feeding/burping/changing their diapers. It's so funny how little girls like to do this all by themselves! I can't wait to see you in your Minnie Mouse costume, or for our family vacation to Disneyworld and a Disney cruise!!

Backyard Fun

Here's a look at what we do most evenings (and it's so much nicer now that it's cooling off...) Clint plays fetch with Pearl, who is seriously OCD about it, Brailyn and Momma hit tennis balls and play with Bear, then we all go out in the pasture and look for the turtles and try to avoid the mosquitos. Then we water the Sunflowers we planted this summer.

Today though we went on an extra bike ride down the street. Momma rode the cruiser and Brailyn rode her trike- the first time outside of the driveway. We rode down to the Wyeths to "see if Carter is there" then rode back. Hopefully we'll look back at these lazy days of summer and remember our evenings in the backyard and how much fun it is just to meander around outside together.


Brailyn Posing on her trike (note the pink ribbon belt)


Clint and his precious garden

The Little Sproutlings


Yep, we found a Praying Mantis, but no one was brave enough to pick him up!