Family Ho-down

Daddy REALLY wanted to go to the Bluegrass Festival in Wickenburg, so we decided to give it a go. Drove an hour and a half (Momma had a bad sinus infection) and had a good time listening to the music and dancing with the tamborine that Brailyn made. Brailyn really wanted them to play 'Down to the River' (Oh Brother soundtrack) but we didn't hear it. I still think she had a good time. Of course Clint liked it!


Making our Tamborine


Bluegrass Boogie

Christmas Cheer

Since we're heading out for our cruise (yay!) the week before Christmas, we're trying to get all of our Christmas traditions done this week. So last night we saw the Christmas lights on Cherry Street (a whole street that has really cool lights on every house. My favorite this year- the Santa airport). On Sunday, since Brailyn was still sick and we stayed home from church, we made a gingerbread house. My mom got the kit from Costco, really cool, and we spent almost 2 1/2 hours putting it together! Brailyn did a GREAT job putting in the sidewalk and the fence around the house. By the time it was the green frosting's turn, my hands were cramping, so we just did the wreath and called it a day. I still think it turned out wonderfully! I tell ya, I don't know how those cake decorators do it- frosting is HARD! And I consider myself pretty artistic...I guess not!


In the Beginning...


The Proud Architect


The finished product!

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.