Halloween - Part 1

For daycare, Brynn was a little sailor!! Bri bought this for Brynn back in March and she thought it would be really cool because Chad's sister Jami is in the Navy!!

So Auntie Bri and Aunt Jami, these are for you!!







P.S. Can you tell she didn't want to wear the hat? She kept trying to wiggle out of my lap!!

Carving Pumpkins

Chad has fun carving pumpkins, so we got an extra one this year and he carved "D3" into it. (His VW club.) We're hanging out with a few of the families from the club tomorrow night, doing a potluck and trick-or-treating!!

Chad's mom (Jody, a.k.a. Gramma!) sent Brynn some super cute Halloween hair things, so we had to take lots of pictures with them in while she played in the pumpkin goop!! Thanks Gramma!!

Here are some pictures that we took tonight:

Like Father Like Daughter

Quick Trip to Tucson

Last Saturday morning, Chad and I met with a bunch of people that are in his car club and we all drove down to Tucson for a VW show. Not too long after we left the house, I realized that we forgot sunscreen. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal since we live in ARIZONA and you can GET SUNBURNT ON CHRISTMAS DAY here, they had to have some at Kmart (where we met). WRONG. I couldn't find any.

We had a lot of fun and we got to hang out with some of Chad's friends that I hadn't seen for a while. It took us about 3 1/2 hours to get there because there were 12 cars total that drove together. On the way there, a few of the cars broke down and we ended up stopping about four times so that they could get them running again. This is where the sunscreen would have came in handy. I looked like an idiot because I was only burnt on the right side of my neck and face. Oh well, it's feeling much better now.

The actual car show was on Sunday and several people from Chad's club got up SUPER EARLY and were there at 4:00AM!! I told Chad he was nuts if he wanted me to get up at early. We got there at 6:15 or so.

I was guessing that there were around 90 cars or so but we found out that at the last count, there were 176!! That is a lot of VW's!!

Our friend Zach brought his grill down with him, so of course, I took over collecting the money for food and Zach and I went shopping. He and Chad did the GRILLING.

They gave out a bunch of awards at the show and D3 (Chad's club) gave out a few as well. The members of D3 all gave Chad an award for this year's show because his car had gone through so much work in the last year! We thought that was pretty cool.

We had to hurry to get home because Chad's mom flew in for the weekend (she watched Brynn) and we had to get her back to the airport (I'll post on that soon!!). We felt bad because we weren't able to drive back with the rest of the group and were crossing our fingers that we didn't break down!! Luckily, we made it home ok.

Here are a few pictures from our quick trip (Jenn - Chad took a picture of the U of A Bug just for you!!):

15 Months!!

Brynn, this month you have earned the name of "Miss Independant". You want to do everything yourself. Well, everything but walk. You are quite the speedy crawler though!!

You're trying to climb on everything. Your favorite thing to do is to have me sit in the recliner, put the footrest partially up, then you climb up it and slide back down. Over and over and over...

You love to sing and dance!! We still listen to the cd that Mimi gave you for Christmas EVERY MORNING on the way to Brenda's house. You have a few favorite songs that you chime in to. I think we're going to put the Barenaked Ladies cd for kids on your list of things for Santa Claus to bring you this year, Mommy is ready for some new tunes!!

You are talking like crazy now. You like to point at things (even if you're not pointing to anything in particular) and have us pronounce them. You really surprised us a few nights ago when you said "no no ma ma". I have to admit, it was really cute but oh man, we're going to be in trouble when you get older. A few of the other new words that you've said lately are bug (meaning Daddy's Bug, you point to it when you say it!), fan, LUKE!, Spike (sounds like SSSPK), fish, more, milk, drink and ball. You even try to say pumpkin, balloon and glasses. (We're still working on those!!)

Oh and in the mornings, you like to watch Johnny And The Sprites, they're on the Disney Channel just before The Wiggles.

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:









(I have LOTS more but I'm using them for other posts!!)

Article On The Nielson's

Click HERE for details of their story and a few updates.

Fresh Start

Yesterday was my last day at Layne, I was there for a little over two years. Literally. My two-year anniversary was on the 16th. I was able to stay the full two weeks of my notice and I got a lot of things finished up. Not as much as I wanted, but a lot.

I think I did an ok job with what I did but it wasn't my dream job and I was ready for a change, it just wasn't me. I would rather have one or two people above me, instead of a million. I've never worked for a small company before, so this should be interesting!!

I made a few GREAT friends in the last two years and I'm sorry to leave you!! (You know who you are...) It's things like this that will make you realize who your real friends are, I really hope we keep in touch.

Thank you to everyone who made my last two weeks really enjoyable. Thank you for the lunch(es), the cards, the plant, the cake, the "Big Hunks", the friendships and the opportunity.

Wish me luck, I start my new job on Monday.

Spaghetti With Meatballs

Yum... Daddy's a good cook!!

Camera Shy

Happy 2nd Anniversary!!

Chad, you are the best husband (and Daddy!) ever. I love you so much and I don't know what I would do without you. Happy 2nd Anniversary Babe!!

Prop 102. Why Does It Matter?

I normally don't talk about politics or religion. I don't mind reading about politics but if you ask who I'm going to vote for, I'll tell you that I don't talk politics.

However, there is one thing that I just don't understand. Seriously, please help me out with this. I WOULD REALLY LIKE YOUR OPINION.

Voting "Yes" to Prop 102 means that "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state".

I have seen more signs all over Mesa and Chandler trying to get people to say "Yes To Prop 102" than any other sign that I have seen. I haven't seen a "Say No" sign yet.

It is VERY clear that I live in a city that does not support gay marriage. Without bringing religion into it, I don't understand why it matters if the man who lives next door to you wants to marry another man. Or the woman who you work with wants to marry another woman.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME? You can post as anonymous on this one, I don't care... I just really don't understand why it matters to anyone else what other people do, if it doesn't affect you.

Mother Nature's Farm - Year 2

Click HERE to see pictures from last year!!

I kept my word (from a year ago). We ended up taking Brynn on her first hayride, decorating Brynn's baby pumpkin, picking out our own and showing her some farm animals!!

Here are some pictures we took today:

























(They're bigger than last year...)

Happy Birthday Deegans!!

Today Brynn and I went to a birthday party for Kailey (7!!) and Reilly (4!!). They are growing up WAY TOO FAST!! When I met the Deegans, they lived right across the street from me in Queen Creek and Kailey was two years old.

Here's a really nerdy picture of Kailey and I from almost five years ago, in December 2003.



Amber (and Jenn!), why didn't you tell me I looked like such a dork?!

Amber mentioned that the girls are really into the Cheetah girls and all of the High School Musical stuff. So, I was on a mission to find something related to the Cheetah girls. I failed. We ended up getting them High School Musical jewelry boxes, glitter and beaded bracelets, watches and some lip gloss. Man, this girly stuff is fun!! Reilly loved her watch, she wore it for the whole party!!

Here are some pictures from the party!!


















(Reilly was tickling Brynn's belly... Brynn wanted Reilly's necklace!!)