Jackson and the Rest of the Week

This last week has been quite a long one for us! Last friday, the 26 of Sept we headed north to Warm River and to Jackson Hole to see the elk rut. My family has made this a tradition the last few years, in celebration of my birthday, which was the week before, and my Dad's which is on the 28th. Jackson was AMAZING. Every year I can't get over how fabulous the colors are. Honestly I could care less about the elk, but I think it's fun to go watch them boss their ladies around. The trees were spectacular, it makes me such a tree-hugger after I go. I love the Tetons in September though- fantastic. After a full day of fun in Jackson we headed back to the River to spend the night. Originally, my plan was to go home Monday with my Dad and leave Travis up there to do some work, but I didn't want to leave him up there all by himself and he said he was probably coming home Wednesday. So Brenner and I stayed and then Wednesday turned into Thursday, then Friday, and before I knew it, I had been sleeping on an air mattress for a week. It was actually pretty fun to be up there this time of year, and I didn't really have anything to get home to- except my bed, which I missed dearly. Also, having a bathroom a few feet away instead of a few hundred feet away is priceless. I woke up every morning and had to use some serious control to not pee my pants on the walk to the bathrrom. Despite my occasional fits of hunger and complaint, the trip was fun, and I'm glad Brenner got to spend time in my favorite childhood place.

We also picked up a cowboy hat for Brenner's halloween costume (along with boots, wranglers, a rope, and a pearl button shirt) he would not take it off and slept on the way home with it on his head tilted slightly forward so it wouldn't fall off.

New "Clothes"

So I put this new template up for my blog which I think is really cute, and lots of you have said you like it, so thanks. I just googled 'blogger templates' and browsed forever until I found one. I'm not clever (or patient) enough to create one like so many of you are, but I find a quick copy and paste very satisfying. How do you do that anyway? It's a total mystery to me, although I haven't even really tried. The problem with my blog's 'new clothes' is that it's a little hard to navigate and I can't customize it as much as a regular template (pictures, baby counter, etc) So we'll see how long it lasts, but for now, enjoy!

Hives, Harleys, and a Day at the Park

It's been a crazy couple of weeks and it's time for an update. The last time I posted, we had taken Brenner to the Doctor and got him on a sulfa antibiotic. He did great on it for 5 days and then WHAMMO hives. Same story, different medicine. So he was on Benedryl 24 hrs a day until they went away. When I called the Doctor's office to tell them the nurse just said "Oh no, let me talk to the Doctor and call you back." Sounds great right? It gets better! After talking to him she called back and said the reaction to this drug is particularly bad and to watch him closely for sores on his eyelids and diaper area. Wonderful. Of course my major concern was the fact that he is now allergic to penicillin AND sulfa drugs, but the nurse assured me that we still had options for antibiotics, but they were limited, and of course, expensive. Now begins the battle to keep him healthy. One would think this is relatively easy, but Brenner is.. special. Even though I try to keep a pretty clean house, we are not always at home. He is a busy boy, touching everything and getting into everything. I have armed myself with hand sanitizers and I hope this winter goes ok for the immune-challenged 2-and-a-half-year-old and brand new baby. I am optimisitic.
Here are the hives, this is the second day when they were a lot better.
After that was over, we went to Salt Lake to spend some time with my family. My cousin Holly and I took Brenner and her two girls, Mckenzie and Savannah, to the West Jordan Park. I had never been there and I think it's one of the most fun public parks I've ever seen. There were castles and slides and all kinds of fun building-type structures to run around in. The kids had a great time. This is Brenner and Mckenzie in one of the castles:
Friday I had a birthday lunch with my brother and sister-in-law, mom, and step-dad. After lunch we walked out of the restaurant and Brenner saw Craig's Harley sitting in the parking lot. He was like a moth to a flame! So we put him and Eva on it and I had to snap some pictures because I thought it was a good laugh and Brenner loved it. Nicky's hot elbow also made it into the picture.

Today was another baby appointment and we were quick in and out with the usual "Everything looks great! Any questions or problems? No? Ok see ya!" It's kind of funny because Travis and Brenner usually accompany me to these little appointments and Brenner now knows that this guy is going to give him a sucker and a sticker every time. So as soon as Dr. Horsley walks in the door Brenner can hardly contain himself and blurts out "Sucker please! Scooby Doo sticker!" and tah dah! His wish is granted. Thanks Dr. H.

Changes

Brenner is now officially sleeping in his "big boy" bed! Last night was his first night in his new room sleeping on his bunk bed, and he did well with it. Being the crazy Mother that I am, I worried all night about him waking up screaming because he didn't know where he was, but he didn't wake up until 8:30 this morning. Wahoo!

We bought a bunk bed that I'm not crazy about, so I wanted to find some really sweet bedding to go on it, and I decided IKEA was the place. Megan and I ventured there on Saturday, and since she had never been, we enjoyed the wonders of swede-land for quite a while. I found some stuff I really liked, and since I'm crazy about orange, I knew Brenner would be as well. I know he cares about the bedding about as much as I care about engine parts, but here's what I came up with:

I love it, he loves it, and I'm sure you are wondering if Travis loves it- he does. After IKEA we went to the Utah State Fair, which is always a fun people watching place. There was some stellar white trash, we paid 25 bucks for some delicious corn dogs, and saw the animals. Just what the fair should be. We also stayed for the rodeo and Brenner cheered on the ropers and bronc riders in true form. "GO GO GO! GET IT! 1-2-3 GOOOOOO" I love the fair.
We also took Brenner to the doctor yesterday for a nasty cough and junk, because I am SO sick of the sickness! It seems like he has always got a cold, and this one came only a week after his last bout, so I said ENOUGH! I am not usually a Mom who takes her kid to the Doctor for things like this but I'm glad I did because the doc said he has a sinus infection that just isn't going away. So we got a sulfer antibiotic and are crossing our fingers that he doesn't break out in hives like he did for the penicillin-based ones. The best part about the Doctor's was that he didn't start crying as soon the Doc walked in the door. There were a few tears shed at the end and that's it- a big contrast from the last cry-fest appointment.
So we are preparing for the baby and although we STILL don't have a name, I feel better now that the rooms are switched around and things are falling into place. My latest appointment was a week ago and everything looks great, so 2 week appointments from here- YIKES! It really snuck up on me. It's been a pretty easy pregnancy, just like with Brenner, so we'll see if this one comes early too. My OB told me to start counting kicks and I wanted to say "I think this baby might be half vampire..." my ribs are really feeling it lately but feeling him move is one of the few things about pregnancy that I enjoy, so I'm grateful for the pain I guess.

No pictures from the fair, sorry. Maybe I'll take some of brenner's new room once I get things more organized. Stay tuned!

Everyone Loves a Reunion

A couple weeks ago we had attended a family reunion for Travis's Grandfather's family and his 2 sister's families. So bascially it was a lot of people that I had never met and some that I knew well. Nonetheless it was a good time. We stayed in a big lodge/hotel, which had just enough rooms to accomodate the whole family, and we had the whole place to ourselves. We stayed up late and the kids (32 under the age of 12) went crazy until they were out of steam. I love the family, and I feel very lucky to enjoy the family I married into. Brenner had a great time as well, and by the end of the day, he was totally pooped. The other great thing about staying in the lodge was that our rooms were cleaned every day and there were fresh sheets on the bed. I am a big fan of clean sheets- another gift from my Mother- and I really can't think of a better feeling when you climb into bed than fresh, crisply folded sheets. Activities were beach fun at Pineview, the pool at the lodge, fun in the park with "kids" and lots of good food and even better company. Here are a few pictures.

Brenner and Olivia
SAND!

Family Photo

P.S. I might also note that my sweet husband bought me a new camera for my birthday/graduation. I have been eyeing the Canon Rebel XSI and he took the plunge and got it for me. What a stud. I don't mean to brag but it is SO awesome, especailly when my point-and-shoot sucked so bad. So I hope from now on the pictures will be getting better and better!

Fountains, Ice Cream, and Boats= Brenner's Favorite Days

I downloaded photos from the camera lastnight and forgot about some fun things we did, so I thought I would do a short recap and post the pictures.

Last week Travis had to do some business in Salt Lake and so Brenner and I went to the Gateway to shop and play while we waited for him. Of course I didn't think about it until we got there but quickly realized that Brenner would probably want to run around in the fountain. So our first stop was Old Navy where I got new shorts and t-shirt to change into, and Brenner accidentally stole a teddy bear. I was on the phone while checking out and didn't realize he was still holding the bear, so by the time I got off the phone I was far enough away from the store that I was bugged but went back anyway. When I told the cashier what had happened, she looked the bear over (it had been dropeed a couple times and had no tag) and said "Let's call it $1.99" I quickly agreed and we were off to the fountain. Brenner was apprehensive at first but once he found a buddy, they had a great time running around. I got a couple good pictures and we had a fun afternoon together.

Sunday we made navajo tacos for dinner and Travis taught Brenner how to have "monster hands". I think Brenner's meal was mostly olives.

For family night Monday we made homemade peach ice cream. I tried a new recipe using buttermilk, which I thought was pretty good but of course Travis prefers his Mom's recipe. Brenner doesn't really have a preference one way or another.


Yesterday we went to Twin Lakes for a little afternoon boating. Brenner LOVES riding in the boat and swimming, but thinks the tube is some sort of death object. We really tried to get him to just sit on it and he freaked out every time. Nonetheless, we have a good time just riding, and Travis got in some wicked cuts waterskiing before he slightly injured his foot. He still thinks he doesn't need to see a Doctor, so I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Brenner and Grandma
Enjoying a cookie between skiiers
Travis tearing it up!
My boys swimming

Small Updates.

I titled this blag small updates when truthfully I have a lot to say. So I'm going to try and cram and smash it all so I don't bore the reader to tears.
First and foremost:
I GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE!!!
Ok I haven't gotten my diploma in the mail but since I'm not walking or any of that business, I'm done with my last class and considered a college grad. My degree is Exercise Science, and sometimes I really hate telling people that. Certain people say things like "Oh you're the healthy type eh?" as they give me a once-over with their eyes. Hilarious. I just want to add a disclaimer on the end that says "Just because I know how, doesn't mean I do it myself!" Nonetheless, I am very proud of myself, and it's been a long time coming. It still seems like I'll be registering for classes in the Fall, worrying about the prices of my text books.
Thanks Utah State for all the good times.
Next:
Travis and I spent the week at home with no school work or jobs to distract from fun. It was amazing. Although we didn't do anything thrilling, we spent a lot of time just hanging out. I made a ton of apricot jam, conserves, and blueberry jam. I know it's weird but I absolutely love canning things and making jam. It kinda makes me feel like the ant from that story about the ant and the grasshopper. I am working to save up for winter and such. Although most of the things I make contain a fair amount of sugar, it's comforting to know exactly what is in the jar I am eating out of, and I find a certain satisfaction seeing all the jars lined up in my cupboards.
Next:
We still don't have a name for this man-child inside of me! So far I like Oliver the best, but Travis isn't sold on it. He likes a few different ones that I'm not crazy about, but then he says he's not crazy about them either. Naming Brenner seemed so easy, so this is stressing me out! I am open to suggestions and storied of how to win your husband over to the name of your choice.

I guess that's all for now. I think there are other things, but they will have to wait because Brenner has locked himself in the closet with the lights off and is calling for me. Such is life. Sorry there are no pictures, but I'll be sure to take one with me smiling and doing a thumbs up with my diploma when it arrives. The cheesier the better, right?