Brielle's Birthday post 1!

So, 3 years ago our little girl was born to a wonderful birth-mom in hospital about 15 mins away from our home. We were invited shortly after she was born to come see her.
We walked into a hospital room with 5 generations of B's birth-family's relatives! Yep, great great gma got to be there and we've never felt so much love from a family like that before. We awed and adored this sweet little girl who we couldn't believe would really be OURS? It was like a movie or a dream. After 4 years or failed attempts at having a family, our wish was made possible by one strong young woman and her family stood behind her all the way.

5 long(government holiday weekend) days later, Brielle was placed in our arms. Our placement day was amazing and so sacred i can't share too much without losing it! We were both just so amazed that anyone would do this for us and for their child. Brielle's birth family is so strong in the gospel and we still see them every so often. We have a deep respect and love for her birth family and we always will.

When she we took her home it took us another 5 days to figure out her name. We kept praying and running over our name list and Brielle kept sticking out to us. When we decided and told her birth family they said that was the name they liked the best too.


On her adoption day the judge looked at us and said that she had never seen a more glowing family and such a beautiful little girl. She told us that adoptions are what get her through the ugly divorces and custody hearings, she saves her adoptions for certain days so the end of her week can end on a happy note!
It was a perfect note to start on for us!

On her sealing and blessing day, she lit up the temple and peeked around the room's mirrors to see her own reflection in it. She was all smiles. So were we. It was a moving experience and we are so blessed to have her in our family! She's the duaghter we were wating for to help our family go forth. A week after her sealing day, i got pregnant with Aria but, i didn't know for a couple more weeks:)
It's like God knew she had to come first in order to have our family begin.

It's not like we are the only people to adopt and then later get pregnant but, i sincerely know that children are meant to be part of these families that they are placed with through adoption.

Brielle's first year was awesome!...

New and ever Changing and Growing!

So, ever changing and growing... We had/have 3 birthdays in January. Mine the 4th( i turned 27:). Myla, our pug turned 4 on the 7th and Brielle is turning 3 on the 12th!



New.. is the year 2009 and all it brings, the sweet 15 ft. trampoline in our backyard, and my new lenses for my camera( well, new to me:)( thanks Jimmy the nikon guy in Reno:) I got a 70-300mm, 50mm fixed AF, 55mm micro-nikor M lens( you got that for me Betty and Clair with your very generous gift card:) and a ProMaster flash. Buying these lenses gently used was the way to go. I saved heeps and got lots and Jimmy has been so helpful- if anyone needs Nikon gear email me, I'll give you his info!
Here's few pics i took of our upcoming Birthday girl while Aria was napping...








I still can't figure out why when i upload my pics to blogger they never come out quite as bright on the blog. Anyone have answers?
~C

Playing Catch up!!!

SO the week before Christmas, we had some cool things happen( besides the snow!)

Hayley and the girls stayed over for a night and Brielle had her 1st official sleepover with little Ava!
watching Cinderella on DVD and playing was what the girls did until about 10 or so. They were so tired the next day!

Aren't they too cute?

I went to my friends Christmas Party where i was the designated( and payed) Photographer for the event at the Anthem Country Club and it was a Blast! They have such a fun company and i enjoyed taking pictures and such and at the near end of the party, John, ( melyna's Husband) responded to some of my friends in the crowd who were shouting for me to sing. I said sure but then sat down( thinking it was just a joke) and then John says"Many of you met Corrine, the photographer, who is a close friend of ours and is a great photographer but, she's also an amazing singer.. So, give it up for Corrine!"
I stood up an pointed to the singer who was already there and said" and JOBELLE was one of my teachers- so give it up for JoBelle!" I wnet over to the band gave them my pitch and started singing...

I didn't sing the best i have ever sang but it wasn't all that bad. It so fun singing with a live band. The people started getting up on the dance floor and slow dancing with there significant others and i continued to sing. It was so much fun and i don't know when the last time I have done something that Spur of the Moment, in who knows how long!
It was like i was living a movie right then. It was so much fun! Here's some pictures of my sweet girlies!

Merry Christmas!

We hope you all have Wonderful Holidays!

SNOW!!!

Yep, You heard Right! This is probably the most snow Vegas has had in MANY years!

We had a blast building snowmen and playing with our neighbors out in are hood!

Here's Pictures...
Brielle had way too much fun and didn't want to come back inside and get warm. She got hungry so she decided to come in. I must say, she ate like a champ too! Let's see, i bowl of cereal, a piece of cheese, a half PB&Honey, a bowl of creamy tomato soup, and a quarter of my grilled cheese. She must have played hard. SHE NEVER EATS like THAT!

Aria was just in shock and awe and really didn't like moving around much b/c it's slippery! She would just take a couple steps and then stay there till she go tired. Then she would try to crawl but get stuck in a downward dog position( YOGA) It was funny! She loved it though and we brought her in a few times but she just whined to go back out and be in this incredible snow park!

My friend Melanie S. , does awesome vinyl and this was her Christmas gift to our family! I love it! Our door just looks a bit SASSY! It's a great gift and it peels off when I'm done with it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! and if i don't post again until after Christmas it's b/c i have many projects to finish and people coming to visit like Hayley and her girls for a night, my dad and brothers and Aunt and Uncle. Loves to you all!

~C

oh ...cute things Brielle says will be posted soon:)

Tree Time!

So getting out our tree(s) is always an ordeal but, this year we got it done pretty fast. Like everything was up in four days. Not bad, considering in between the decor getting up, we went to a UNLV basketball game one night and had family over for Thanksgiving( which went great and relaxing, mostly) and. then on Black Friday we mostly decorated ( except for the gym  and target) and we got a lot accomplished! 

I must Thank all who helped. Codi, our neighbor and young friend, you watched the girls a bit while watching football. You also were the perfect person in the attic helping us get things down! I also went up in the attic and now, I'm not so scared of it anymore. Maybe it was Home Alone that did it to me, or the fear off falling???

Anywho( nice tangent, i know, right?) Thanks to Elders, Vaitia , and Elder H and one other elder Allen maybe? i forgot your names so sorry! Anywho, they were excellent service men. Since it's hard for them to actually get service hours in our area( everyone hires things out, pretty much) They came in really handy and got there hours in that week. 

So, that's my Thanks. Here's tree pictures. It turned out okay, so far. i still feel like it's missing some aqua? I think it would brighten it up! What do you all think?

Brielle loves to take off the little RUBIES and make a collection( so she calls it)

I left the bottom part kinda bare for now b/c we have four little hands that just take things off a lot but, about 95% of my ornaments are KID SAFE.  i used a lot of acrylic, plastic, resin, and foam ornaments! And so far, what's on the tree is stuff i already had from years past. I love this feather ornament! It's Just Silly and whimsical and soft! More on my girls later!

found this on Cristi's Blog you can do it too!

Copy and paste the words. Bold the things you have done...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run .
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language ( just for the trip to Italy not many words though)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone .
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Don't get any crazy ideas, it was a FISH!)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (Heimlich on a baby counts right?)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone 
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Made amends with someone who offended you

101. flew in a small Cessna plan with just you and the pilot

102. visited a monastery in Tuscany

103. ran out of gas 

now add something that's not on this list and keep it going, if you'd like.

Making up for LOST time!!!

SO. I've been so busy with EVERYTHING! So i apologize for it all but if you've seen any part of my other two blogs you should fully understand! But, now i have bit more free time to cavalierly blog what ever i feel like. 

here's our situation:

Currently, Brandon is still doing well in the Lending end of Real Estate. Not sure how long that will last but, mostly all his clients have good credit and money to throw down. It seems you must have impeccable finances to purchase anything these days! He had fun playing football on Thanksgiving and his Hamstring got really sore. He is having so much fun getting ready for the Holidays and LOVES to shop for his girls and He helps me tons with watching the girls and house stuff. I'm not the best housekeeper but, He's there to help a lot. And currently, i don't feel like paying someone to lean our home for a while.

Brielle, is going to be 3 on Jan. 12th and is so full of things to say. Some silly or mean but mostly all sweetness. She loves Aria and loves to play. She says to us " Mom, you are the best in the whole white world! She also learned how to sing jingle bells and a few other songs. I don't know how she remembers so much in her little brain. she counts up to like 28 or something and always surprises me when she say " hey mom, there's 7 pillows in here!" I know she enjoys math, playing house, dancing, dress up, gymnastics, singing and so much more! ( we got them a trampoline for christmas-shhhh:)

Aria, is almost 18 months and she loves to parrot your words. she's understanding what facial parts are like eyes, nose, teeth( tees) ears(ees) mouth( mouww). She says all kinds of words and is starting to communicate in more understandable ways. She told me brielle took her monkey by saying be-L, ( then pointing at her toy) oohoh ahah( monkey sound) then she made a small grunt to tell me she wasn't happy about it! It was funny! She's still really tiny( all except her belly:) She's fitting in 6-12 an 9 month clothes still. her shoe sizes is a 2 or 3 but the 3's are still big on her! She loves animals like crazy and loves dancing, singing and playing with any kind of baby doll. Brielle and her occasionally argue over toys so, now we just get two of everything. It's easier on us:)

As for me, just check my other blogs but, I'll keep you posted on me more! 

For now, Here's some pics of us in October at our Local carousel!

 

These two EXTRA girls are ERIN ( above) and Taylor ( below) They are some of the neighbor girls and Erin is  one of Brielle's Best Friends!

MOre to come soon!

~C

What's up with Us?

Well, Brielle and aria both had rounds of the FLU and thankfully we made it through unscathed!

Brielle has been trying to avoid taking naps and this is what ends up happening about 5 ish or so!

She was very cuddly during her two days of sickness and i enjoyed it , even though i missed my normal morning routine of the gym and back. 

Aria had only a short bit of it and she bounced back really quick. It's been hard trying to keep them apart and i feel like i lysoled my WHOLE House!

SO, we are on the mend and looking forward to Our Parties coming up and Halloween night and then bright and Early Saturday morning we will leave back up to FALLON, to help my mom set up her shop:)

Reno Hot Air Balloon Races

So I'm obviously catching up on OLD NEWS. But, I had so much fun in Fallon and Reno and one highlight was waking up at the crack of dawn and hauling the kids to the Balloon Races.My little girl loves to clap for just about anything.
Cousin Owen and all of us had so much fun looking at this amazing spectacle! I remember doing this as a little kid myself. Brielle was fascinated and kept asking when she could" go for a ride".

Some Hot Buns on that Bunny:)

Brielle and Aria Help roll up the tarp for the Sands Hotel crew too. ( this was Aria's favorite part) Aria ran everywhere she could and had no fear of these giant balloons.
I had to catch this image as we walked towards our cars home. It was a very tiring day but super fun. Oh yeah, i haven't edited the kids bounce house pics. But, they had a blast at the many bounce houses that were there:) We miss being up there heeps!

Like Father, Like Daughter

So, when Brandon was a bitty little boy, he used to fall all the time. He learned to run very soon after he learned to walk. He has kind of a big melon ( custom sized hats usually) and he'd fall straight forward onto that melon of his. Many bruises happened but this was his first big one!Aria has had four bruises so far but this is her first BIG ONE! She did the same thing and used her head instead of her hands to catch herself. She fell on a door track at the sitter's house. I knew  this would happen soon, i was just wondering HOW! Hopefully she doesn't get as bad as daddy did, though!
I must warn you this picture is a bit scary and it's after Brandon had repeatedly fallen on his noggin in the same place. Once, he landed on bricks, once he tried to jump off the church stage and fly like superman and many other Boyish stunts! OUCH! Poor Bitty Brandon!

He turned out alright though. I just put Aria's big flowers on and try to cover that honking bruise for now. 

Thanks Betty for these pics of my man! Love ya!

A Bit of Last week's adventures

Last week was a bit of a roller coaster for us. I tried to unpack from our trip up north, clean and organize my house and get some of my business stuff done. Also, i am continuing my workouts every morning as usual. I needed to re-stock our fridge and do the normal home things as well.

We've been debating wether or not to keep Myla now. She's a good dog but, i still feel we don't give her that much QT. She deserves more from Owners. So, that's been on my mind. i also realized last Monday that the Tri-athalon i wanted to do was on a SUNDAY and I'm no

t really interested in Breaking the Sabbath so, I looked into 2 other tri's. One is in AZ and one is in ST. George. I'll let you know what i decide to do. I was way bummed about that SYK!

I got my temporary crown on my tooth and while the sweet hygenist( she really is 

very kind and sweet) was putting this nasty tasting crap in my gums( i mean packing it into a place tat used to have tooth their) the novacaine started to wear off( or whatever it is they use). It started to throb. They gave me more numbing stuff and it was fine after that. 

The next morning, i woke up in minimal discomfort and went on with my daily routine of getting the girls dressed fed and out the door to the gym a

nd while i was preparing some food, I heard aria fall and she yelled/cried so loud, I rushed to her and snuggled her and brought her over to the kitchen. i put her finger under water, thi-

nking she had slammed it or something, then, i went over to wear she was and lo and behold, there was a HUGimous ( Brielle's word) SCORPION ( Scerpie as B's says)!

Yep, i automatically looked a little closer to Aria's finger and thought OH CRAP SHE"S BEEN BIT! So, i ran to my Surgeon/neighbors home and I  was advised to call 911! So, i did and as i got off the phone with the lady, Aria stopped crying? WHat? Maybe she didn't get bit! So, i

 called 911 back and told them i was probably a false alarm since the scerpie was practically dead anyways when i found him( of course it's a male bug:)!

But, the lady said they were already on their way and it was FREE for them to analyze her and unless she needed to be wheeled off there was no charge. So, i said, okay, sure! So in came the men and we had a photo session. 

Of course Aria was fine and just as happy as pie! She won over the hearts of these guys and I'm so glad I was wrong. 

Anywho, i forgot about doing a Poll for my hairstyle. I already got it done. I got coppery/red and honey highlights and a new cut! I love my colors so much and my cut is cool for now. I just keep wanting to cut it shorter. But, i probably won't.

Anywho, I'll post pics of my hair later! 

Oh yeah, last week, i made about 6 custom bracelets and 8 flower clips and this week I'm filling a few wholesale orders so, i will continue to be busy!

I had a great weekend though. i'll post on that later!

Here it goes! Fallon post 1

So, i will have many posts on my trip to fallon and you are free to roam my other two blogs to see more of what i was doing up there! But One really neat thing happened. My brother, Brad turned 25! Yep, I'm 26 and he's 25. My birthday is in January, you do the math. We are close:)

On his birthday we went to church, went to the Grastiet's home for one last party and then came back to mom and Carl's and Tirza and I made him a delicious Reese's Peanut Butter Dream Cake! It was HEAVEN! If you like peanut butter and chocolate, you'll love this! If you are interested you can call me and I'll give you the 411 on it! It's way more simple than you'd think.

Anywho, in me being SLOW, i for got to tell Everyone something!

Yep, She started walking almost a month ago and she's starting to walk really fast now! She often falls on her bum and her face looks like this!
It's like she's saying" how'd i get here again? I was just up walking and now I'm back here already!"We also got to spend lots of time with our little nephew Owen! He's so adorable and he got the nick name BamBam while he was with us. He likes jumping off things just being a boy! Him and Brielle played pretty well. More on that Later!

Brielle was alseep in the car( doors were open and she was safe!) during the whole party at the Grastiet's so she's not pictured. Sorry Big Brielle Fans. But, there's plenty pics of her to come! More later!