Boise and Stuff

This last weekend we visited my brother and sister in law in Boise ID. We had so much fun and they really spoiled us with good food and great entertainment, not to mention some dental work on the side. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but Nicky sent me some pics that I thought I'd share:
Anyone who knows my brother Eric knows he loves his quaint accessories. He got this hat out to wear that day and Brenner immediately glommed onto it. Of course we all thought it was cute so we had to get a picture.
This is Trav holding their sweet baby girl Eva ("EBA!" as Brenner puts it) and me in the background looking, as usual, like I've had a stroke or some kind of accident.

Nicky got a killer stroller that I lust after. Obviously Brenner likes it too.

We went on a walk one morning and I'm pushing along my umbrella stroller because my jogger has a bent wheel, all the while thinking to myself "Single or double jogger?" because Travis promised me an amazing stroller of my choice. I figure I might as well go with a double, since Brenner can't really ride a bike or anything and I'll probably be toting them both along wherever. But the double seems so HUGE! Right now I'm thinking about the BOB double I saw at REI, it's pretty neat and has a carseat adapter. Any thoughts?

I was thinking today, it's kinda funny how some of us live through our kids. We went to REI because I have been looking at some Keen sandals for Brenner. He has sweaty stinky feet like his sweet Mother, and so his current sandals were getting gross. (At least that was my excuse for the new purchase) Anyway, looking back on it, I think it's funny how excited I was about the shoes when Brenner could care less about what's on his feet, as long as he can still run-a-muck around the store. Every morning I make sure Brenner has a hot breakfast with whole grain, or eggs, fruit, etc. I try to have a very healthy meal for him to start out the day. Then I sit next to him with my bowl of strawberry frosted miniwheats or wheatchex and bananas. Yes I could cook myself some eggs or waffles along with him, but I do enjoy my cereal immensely. I am absurdly buying 3 boxes of the miniwheats at a time, like I'm storing up for the apocalypse or something, but I can't get enough of them! Maybe I enjoy the cereal so much because my Mother believed the same thing as I do: healthy, hot breakfast to start the day. I do so love her so much for that. Hmmm... something to think about.

Holiday

This Fourth of July we went to my family's place on the Snake River. (Actually the Warm River) I went there as a little girl almost every year and now as a little family we really love it. This year, even though there were zillions of man-eating mosquitos, we had a lot of fun. It's a lot different when you have a little savage to chase the whole time, but thank goodness for his Nana, who took naps with him and watched him so I could relax. Travis had been working in Island Park the whole week prior, so Brenner and I were very glad to see him and we spent some time together. Travis cooked some killer dutch oven food, we ate at Trail's Inn, and watched the spectacular Ashton Parade. The good news is I found the charging cord to the camera, but the bad news is that it wasn't charged for the parade. I got some good video though. Brenner was on the verge of getting run over in his efforts to collect saltwater taffy, even though his mean horrible mother only let him have one piece. Good fun. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

So we had a great trip with no problems. Might I also add how much I love portable DVD players. Brenner watched "wetters" (Letter Factory) about 5 times and knows all the sounds and letters. Thanks Leapfrog! I hope everyone else had a great Fourth!

Outnumbered!

Well I'm sitting here in the Doctor's office waiting for him to come in and say "Everything looks great? Having any problems? Nope, ok see ya!" So while I'm waiting I might as well share the big news! IT'S A BOY! Yes, I will be even more outnumbered. We are thrilled and the baby looks great! I'll post more soon!

Lagoon!

Monday was Lagoon day for Nucor, where Travis's Dad works, so the whole fam goes. When I say the whole fam I mean all the aunts and uncles and cousins and everything. They take coolers full of fruit snacks and chips and other assorted yummy things, then every year they have the same spot as their "base camp" of sorts. So everyone goes on rides and eats and sits around in the shade and takes in the greatness that is Lagoon. I must admit, after turning about 16 Lagoon just wasn't as fun, but Nucor day is the greatest. A good time had by all. Last year Brenner couldn't go on anything but the merry-go-round, but this year he was able to do a few things:

He really enjoyed the cars and he liked having a buddy, and the only person we could get to go with him was this adorable little girl. Such a ladies man. She's actually younger than him, which I enjoy because she's bigger than him, and that doesn't happen very often. We were having a grand time and then we decided to put him on Puff the Magic Dragon. So his Grandma took him and he buried his head in her side and cried the whole time. Annette and I stood there and laughed (I'm a former Ballou, what can I say) and then after that we tried to put him on the little planes, which I think he normally would have enjoyed, but under the circumstances did not appreciate. I didn't go on too many rides, being with child and all, but I did have a great time with family. Of course there was white trash everywhere and 14-year olds showing everyone that this is TRUE LOVE, but it's Lagoon, so it's to be expected.

You might notice the butterfly bandages and bruises and such all over Brenner's face. That would be an attack from an archaeic bug zapper. We were at the River and Island Park this last weekend and he pulled a giant, old, metal bug zapper down on his face. It was a little traumatic, he gushed blood everywhere and was crying SO hard. Thank goodness nurse Nancy was there with antibacterial wipes and butterfly bandages. I think it will be a small scar, and it's near his hairline, so I think his high-fashion modeling career will be unaffected.

I guess that's it. We lost the charging cord to our camera so I'm taking photos with my iphone while we decide on a new camera. This being said, you'll know why I don't have a good picture of Brenner's face so you can really see the damage. I hope to remedy the problem soon.

Happy trails!

Kung Fu and a Fever

Yesterday was quite an eventful day for our little family! I went to school in the morning and back again in the afternoon, just like usual. When I got home we decided it was the perfect rainy day for a movie! So we took Brenner and headed to the theater for Kung Fu Panda. We got some popcorn and took our seats and Brenner was glued to the screen for the first fifteen minutes with a steady stream of popcorn from his Dad. The movie was great and there were tons of little kids in the theater, so I didn't feel bad when Brenner was yelling "Panda!" or "hahahah FUNNY!" Which he did a lot. So after the movie we headed home and the weather had cleared so we decided to head up the canyon for a hike. We wanted to get a little bit of a workout so we decided to try Brenner in the backpack. We had only tried it once before and he wasn't crazy about it, so we hadn't used it in a while. This time he was excited and we put a hat and jacket on him and off we went. It was beautiful, as Logan Canyon always is, and the weather was cool and perfect. We went a couple miles in and back and had a great walk. We took turns carrying the backpack and I decided it's a great pregnancy workout for me. The best part is when you take it off you feel so light, it's like instantly losing about 35 lbs! Here are a couple shots from the day:

We were almost to the car and Brenner started whining and crying a little for no apparent reason so we hustled down so we could take him out of the backpack. When I touched his head I realized he was burning up so we put him in his carseat and offered him juice and a granola bar on the way down the canyon, which he didn't even care about. If any of you know Brenner you know he's never one to deny food, so obviously I was a little worried. At home he didn't want to eat and I gave him some Tylenol and tried to comfort him. Travis' little brother Jeff was sick earlier this week with the same thing and the Doc told him it was just a virus. So now we're just trying to keep his fever low and make him drink. He's not quite himself but I think it should pass quickly. In the mean time we can't go camping tonight as we had planned so I'm bummed about that, but I'd rather had my boy feeling better.

Doctors

Well I went to the baby Doctor AND Pediatrician last week. Brenner is doing well, his head and height are in the 49 and 50 percentiles and his weight... well.. you can imagine it's up there. He's a growing boy ok? I felt so bad for Dr. Brown, Brenner started crying and scrambling for me to hold him as soon the Doc walked in. Everything is great with him though, and I am so grateful for that. We have a family member whose baby is at Primary Children's on a ventilator and it's not looking good. I went to see him and of course my hormones got the best of me and I started bawling my head off as soon as I walked in his hospital room. He's such a sweet baby boy.
Anyway. Enough sadness, the baby doc found the heartbeat of this little person inside me. "Strong." He said, and I was glad for that, and then he sent us on our merry way. Now I'm counting down the days until the ultrasound on the 30th to see if it's a man or woman!

Canyon Fun

We have been going to Logan Canyon frequently for hiking, climing, cook-outs, etc. Brenner LOVES it. He is such a tough little boy, he falls down a lot, but is quick to say "K!" (because I always say are you ok?) We have a lot of fun, and we just bought Brenner his own climbing harness, because he likes to "kym"
Here are some pics: