Christensen Idumea

THE BIG 3-0

2012-01-31T16:55:00.000-09:00

Brian has hit the big 30! He claims that he now feels older and tries to use it as an excuse for getting out of things!:) We were able to celebrate his birthday after he got home from work and went to eat at Red Robin with my mom and sister. After Red Robin we headed back to our house for some cupcakes and ice cream. Brian had a request for Cherry Chip cupcakes. Makes him feel like a little kid again:)

JUST SOMETHING FUN I FOUND ON PINTEREST:)

HE WAS READY TO DIVE IN!

MAKE A WISH

So for Brian's gift this year for his birthday, he got 2 tickets to watch the Phoenix Suns play the Dallas Mavericks. Brian and I went last night(30th) and left the kids at my moms house for the night. It was awesome to watch the game in person even though Steve Nash and Jason Kidd were both injured!

parked right in front so we didn't have to walk too far in the cold;)

we had some sweet seats!

oh you know just Channing Frye(pretty sure thats who it was:)) making some free throws:)

boys will be boys

2012-01-13T14:55:00.000-09:00

Bryson is all boy!

We went to play at the park and of course he finds the only mud puddle to play in!

Bryson and Noah enjoyed the puddle while Reagan looked on thinking they were crazy(all girl!)

always wants on the chairs on Mommy finally let him so he was in heaven!

oh man does he LOVE ladders! this time we let him climb while we were around and he loved every minute!

Zoo Lights

2012-01-13T14:44:00.000-09:00

Reagan and Bryson LOVE Christmas Lights so we thought we would take them to see all the lights at the Phoenix Zoo. Papa Lars, Grandma Jo, GG and Aunt Katie joined us for the evening. They are some pretty darn cool creatures made from lights.

Christmas Happenings

2011-12-27T12:24:00.000-09:00

Brian, Kaitlyn, Mom, Grandma, Aunt Kim and I started out our Christmas Festivities Wednesday Night by attending The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean. I always love this play and it really gets the true meaning of Christmas rolling through your head. And it's amazing the Spirit you get to feel. If you ever have the chance to go, GO!!! You will not regret it!

John aka Michael McLean

Every time we drive by Target, Reagan always asks if she can go see the big Ornaments that they have placed randomly about the grounds so we finally said ok and her and Bryson loved every. single. one!

"it's too bright mom!!"

Daddy had to join in on the fun:)

he loved to hit them!

Reagan didn't like him up there by himself so she had to have her hand on him.

then she had to sit on it too!

On Christmas Eve, we still had some shopping to do so Brian headed out in the morning and then I went shopping with my mom once Brian was back home. I think this was the 1st time I went Christmas shopping without the kids!:) For our Christmas Eve Dinner/Lunch we all decided that we should go to Olive Garden and then have pies afterwards at GG's house. As always, Olive Garden was amazing! Actually, as we were all heading back home, we realized that we left all our food boxes on the table along with the breadsticks!:( We were all pretty devastated! Brian, Reagan, Bryson and I ran over to Target after dinner for a few things for Christmas Dinner and then decided to ride by the Loop of Lights. It's amazing all the lights you drive by! After the lights we headed over to GG's for some pie, decorating cookies and a little Christmas movie. It always great having Christmas roll around because you get to spend so much time with family! And I must say, I've never seen Reagan SO excited to go to bed before! She even claims to have seen Santa's sleigh in the sky when we got home:)

her Christmas Eve outfit. what a cutie!!

Bryson would not stand still!

loved the Fireplace on the house!

now this is the main house for the Loop of Lights! It's Amazing!

you can see that ball from pretty far away once it gets dark!

Reagan and Bryson both LOVE Christmas lights!

Christmas PJs

CHRISTMAS DAY.

Santa came to our house! Bryson woke up about 8 and was super excited when he saw everything so Bryson and I went to wake up Reagan so she would enjoy the gifts too! Once Reagan saw the gifts, she decided she needed to wake up daddy so we could see what everything was! We opened a few gifts at home and then head to Grandma & Grandpa's house for some Monkey Bread and the kids even got to open a present. We headed back home to shower and get ready for church and the kids finished opening all their gifts. Thanks to those who sent gifts! The kids loved everything! We had Chruch at 12, sacrament meeting only, and then headed back over to moms to finish up presents and have some yummy dinner!

Santa came!:)

Good morning handsome!

Good morning big girl!

Not sure what to think

Bath time octopus from PawPaw and Granny

Her scooter that she never gets off!

Presents at Grandma & Grandpa's

she loves her Barbie car!

off to Church we go.

best sunday picture I could get!

Family present time

Aunt Katie and Reagan being silly

silly girls!

PS- I think next year we are going to adopt an Elf on the Shelf. I've heard/seen so much about it and I think Reagan will love it!!

HOPE YOU ALL HAD A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Grandma & Grandpa Christensen

2011-12-26T19:24:00.000-09:00

Grandma Shauna and Grandpa came to visit for a week and we enjoyed every bit of it! They were on their way to Utah and decided to stop in to see us. We had a very laid back visit. Brian worked a few days while they were here so we just hung out around the house. We did make it to the park a few times, went to the Mesa Temple Lights, ward Christmas Party and went out to eat a few times. They were even nice enough to watch the kids while Brian and I went to a friends Christmas Party. Thanks for the fun visit!! It was great to see you again!

Reagan with her Minnie Mouse ornament from Grandma and Grandpa

opening the ornaments. Bryson got Lightning McQueen

And of course we had to show them how amazing Costa Vida is!:P

And they had to show us how good The Cheesecake Factory is!

Nativity at the Mesa Temple Lights

Mesa Temple

Reagan was so excited to have Grandma Shauna help her with a gingerbread house.

the gingerbread house kit even came with fondant!

Ta-Da!

Off to church with go. Grandma Shauna, Reagan, Bryson and Grandpa Bryant

Halloween

2011-11-19T16:43:00.000-09:00

Ok, I know this is a little bit late but give me credit that I'm getting it done:)

(now let's see if I can remember all that we did!)

ps-this is going to be LONG!

I was able to get some tickets 1/2 off at Vertuccio Farms so while Gary and Ellie were here back in October we decided to venture out to the farm. Reagan was super excited! They had a bounce house, a few other carnival games, cow train, lots of animals, big balloon trampoline(sp?), corn maze and a silly horse ride. We tried to do the corn maze but with the stroller it was a bit impossible because all the trails were about 1 ft wide and super rocky/bumpy.

Reagan milking a cow(fake)

Everybody just cooling off in the shade!

Reagan on the teeter-totter(sp?)

in the little kid maze

Gma Jo and Bryson on the pony ride

family pony ride:)

the cow train

Reagan the Scare-Crow

Our Ward had a Chili Cook-Off and a Trunk-or-Treat. My mom made an awesome white chili for the cook-off and we ate it for days! After most people had ate, they opened up a few games like cake walk, ring toss, cookie decorating and ball in the hole. Reagan really enjoyed the game. Bryson was more in to walking around outside. During the Trunk-or-Treat, Brian stayed in the car and handed out candy while I walked around with Reagan and Bryson. There were tons of cars handing out candy! We got a little more than we wanted:)

Reagan and Chloe

Monkey Bryson:)

Reagan, Chloe and Brinley waiting patiently to play some games

Princess Reagan

Bryson enjoying the cake walk. He won like 4 times!

Trunk-or-Treat

GG and Lettie passing out candy from Gma Jo's car

Daddy the candy man

I just love his monkey butt:)

Sunday night, which was the night before Halloween, we decided to carve our pumpkin. Down here you can't carve to early or they just might melt in the sun. Reagan was excited to carve and even picked out the picture but she wasn't too sure about cleaning out all the guts. And Bryson was napping while this was taking place!

such a fake smile but she finally touched the guts!!

concentrating very hard on carving:)

TA-DA!!

And now for Trick-or-Treat on Monday night. Once again Brian stayed home to hand out candy while I took the kids out with Molly, Chloe and Brinley. We started in my moms subdivision then went over to our housing area. We didn't hit every house we saw because we didn't want the kids to have that much candy:) There were several decked out houses that looked like Haunted Houses but the girls didn't want to go any where near them.

Tinker Bell, Wonder Women, Monkey Boy and Princess patiently waiting to go out:)

he enjoyed riding in the stroller as long as he could reach candy from his bucket!

they were walking a little slow so we piled in:) Brinley was in the stroller I had.

Birthday Girl!:)

2011-10-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Reagan!!!

We love you!!

For Reagan's party this year, we just decided to do a family party and invite a few of her friends. We had a good turn out with GG, Grandma Jo, Aunt Katie, Bryson, Mandy and Mason, Molly Chloe and Brinley and of course Mom, Dad and Bryson. Originally she wanted to do all Princess theme until we went to Target and she saw the Dora decorations. It all worked out though! Most of Reagan's gifts had something to do with Princess' but she did get some clothes and a game. Thanks to everyone for the gifts and sharing this special day with our girl, Reagan!!!

just a homemade birthday cake. she wanted purple and pink!

cake time!

haha she was blowing hard:)

so excited for her princess dresses!

Bryson always wanted to help but Reagan never wanted help!

Bryson enjoyed all the princess things:)

Reagan and Chloe playing with Reagan's new gifts.

Bryson even enjoyed her princess outfits:)

12 Months

2011-10-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Bryson went to the doctor this morning and he is healthy like always!! We had to switch Doctors due to insurance and it seemed like he liked this Dr better.

12 Month Stats:

27lbs 12 oz

31 in(Height)

20 in(Head)

We love our BIG boy!!!

i love his big legs:)

Birthday Boy!:)

2011-10-15T18:38:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO OUR TANKSTER!!!

It's hard to believe that Bryson is already 1! I have no idea where this year has gone but were very grateful to have spent it with Bryson!

Just a few facts to share about Tank:
(Bryson goes to the Doctor Monday so we will post his stats at a later date.)

*only takes 2 bottles a day(nap time and bed time)
* usually takes 1 long nap every day(some times 2 if he doesn't get a good morning nap)
*loves walking!
*has really gained a GREAT personality
*loves to play with Reagan
*when he's awake, he's on the go all the time!
*loves driving cars around on the tile
*still hasn't learned to drink out of a straw:(
*size 6 for shoes:)
*clothing size ranges from 18m-2T
*LOVES being outside
*while at the park, all he wants to do is swing
*has 4 teeth(2 upper and 2 bottom)
*big momma's boy
*learning to feed himself with a fork

Birthday breakfast

birthday morning at the park

Birthday Boy!

so handsome!

yummy cake!!

i think he liked to smear it on his face instead of eating it:)

he didn't like his bath very well

WE LOVE YOU BRYSON!!!

Texas

2011-10-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

Yay! We finally made it to Texas and get to see Daddy!:)

The drive from Louisiana wasn't all that bad. It was about an 8 hour drive but we split it up into 2 days so we wouldn't be rolling into Texas at midnight and have to be up by 530 am. Driving with Reagan is a little difficult because she says she needs to go potty about every hour. Luckily, we got her to hold it for about 2 hours before we had to stop.

We made it into San Antonio about 2pm Wednesday. My mom was flying to San Antonio and meeting us there since she can rent a car without a fee for being too young :p We were all tired that night that we went to bed about 830 but we had to be up about 6am to make it to Lackland AFB to see Brian for his Airman's Run. Mom and I went to the Airman's Run while my dad and Gayle stayed to let the kids sleep in a little bit longer. The Airman's Run is where all the Airman at Lackland run 1.5 miles infront of all their family and friends. Mom left after the run to go back to the hotel to get the kids and my dad. They made it back in time for the Coin Ceremony/Honor Graduate Ceremony. Brian was an Honor Grad so we were very proud of him!! We weren't able to hug him or anything until after the Coin Ceremony. It was SO nice to be a family again!! :) After the Coin Ceremony, Brian was released for Base Liberty which meant he was free to go with us but he was not allowed to leave the base. We went to lunch, shopped around the BX and just drove about to see what the base looked like.

See the guy with the black shirt?! Well his elbow in on Brian's head! So bald!

Airman's Run

Honor Graduate

Look at that marching form:)

Yay! Finally getting to hug Daddy!

Together at last:)

Friday was the official Graduation Parade. After the Parade was over the Airman were allowed Town Pass(able to go any where in the San Antonio area), we all headed down to the River Walk to just walk around and have some lunch. It was nice to spend more time together with everyone!

Brian's Flight

Brian and my Dad Les

Riding the boat around the River Walk. It was so pretty!

Bryson and I looking at the beauty all around

The Alamo

Saturday, Brian had another Town Pass so we decided after we picked up Brian at 9am we were going to spend the day at SeaWorld!! Uncle Jake was in San Angelo for the month for a class so he drove over to San Antonio to see us and spend the weekend with us. It was great to see him! Reagan was SOO excited to go see Shamu(sp?)!!

Waiting patiently for Daddy to buy our tickets so we can go see Shamu!

I tried to get a picture of Bryson clapping but it never seemed to work! He really enjoyed the shows too.

feeding the dolphins

this was by far my favorite show!! it had birds, dolphins, beluga whales and all sorts of swimmers and divers.

Reagan and I on the Shamu Express

my goodness!! this guy is HUGE!

On Sunday, Brian had another Town Pass so we picked him up and spent the day at the hotel watching football and just being lazy. And Monday we all flew home! We found out that Brian will be home until February! He will head to Tech School in February and come back home in June some time. We are so glad he's home for the kids' birthday, our anniversary, and the holidays!! We missed you Daddy!!

Louisiana

2011-10-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

After spending a few days in MO, we(PawPaw, Granny, Reagan, Bryson and I) started on our 14 hour drive to LA to see some family that I haven't seen in like 12 years! It was certainly a long drive but it was fun to see new things. Reagan was entertained by the DVD player the entire ride and Bryson was a little more of a handful. We split the drive up into 2 days which made for not so crabby kids in the car:)

the start of our road trip!

Mississippi River that we crossed like 4 or 5 times

Mississippi River

Harley Davidson in MS

Her eyes were always on the DVD player

yay we made it!!

While in LA, we stayed with my MawMaw Shirley. It was nice to not have to stay in a hotel during our stay. We were able to visit with Uncle Sonny, cousin Jason, sister Adrienne, bro in law John, niece/nephews Devon Dacota Dawson and Delani, sister Allison, niece Dorthy and cousin Susanna. There are probably others, my mind has gone blank(sorry if I forgot you :( )

our 1st morning there, Reagan and PawPaw found some Tadpoles in the ditch and wanted to catch some

my nephew Dacota #31 at his football game

nephew Dawson being the good water boy that he is:)

where all the magic happens:) Saints Superdom

New Orleans River Walk

had to go to Bourbon St just for a picture:)

both went out at the same time. doesn't happen very often!

taking the Ferry across the Mississippi just for fun

Me, Sister Adrienne and her daughter Delani

Reagan loves this bike! And did amazingly good on it

Dawson and Bryson were buddies

bath time! had a hard time washing the girls with all their barbies!

family Pool party after kids went to sleep

cousin sleepover

Cool Brees:)

die hard Saints fans

Took a trip to the Baton Rouge Zoo. The kids has a blast! They loved how close these Tigers would come

best of friends

Fam on the train

Delani and Reagan. they had a blast together!!

MawMaw Shirley, Me, Bryson, Reagan, PawPaw Les and Granny Gayle

Missouri

2011-10-13T13:57:00.000-08:00

I decided to do our trip in several different posts so it wouldn't just be a REALLY long one!

Reagan, Bryson and I flew into Missouri to visit my Dad and Step-Mom. This was the 1st time any of us had been to MO and the 1st time they have had any kids come visit! It was nice to get away from the heat for a little bit but it was a little cold if you ask me:) We spent most of our days outside in the yard or driving around to find a park for the kids.

PawPaw and Granny bought them several toys. Bryson got the Toy Story car and Reagan got a bike which she called her motorcycle!

excited to head to the park

She absolutely loved this bubble gun! Best toy anyone could have ever bought them:)

PawPaw, Bryson and Reagan at the City Park

Granny Gayle, PawPaw Les, Me, Reagan and Bryson

Proud PawPaw

Reagan loves motorcycles! She was a little scared on PawPaw's because she said it was really bumpy(it was vibrating.)

PawPaw and Grannys' House

11 Months

2011-09-13T16:05:00.000-08:00

11 months and a MONSTER!!!!!! This little boy has learned everything he's not suppose to learn, maybe Reagan taught him while I showered?! It's hard to think he's already 11 months old! Even thought he is about the size of a 2 year old.

- has 4 teeth

-learned to walk about 2 weeks ago

-learned to climb up on the ottoman and kids table

-still eats all the time

-much happier now that he is walking

-finally learned to drink from a Sippy cup. Now just to get him to drink from a straw...

-so far there are 2 foods he won't eat: halibut and rice!!

We love this little guy to pieces! We are so grateful he's here with us.

what a cutie!

oh boy we have our hands cut out for us...

I was fixing Reagan breakfast and then went to look for Bryson and this is where I found him! Crazy child!

finally learned to drink from Sippy Cups!!

loves his basketballs!

our baller baby:)

so handsome!

I told him to say cheese and this is what I got. how adorable!!

Walking

2011-09-10T11:26:00.001-08:00

It's scary to say this but Bryson is an official walker! He's been walking about about 1.5 weeks now and he loves it. He seems to be much happier. Oh and he's learned to climb stairs so we always have to have a gate up at Grandma Jo's house.

Reagan always wants him to push her

mowing Grandma and Grandpa's lawn:) it was actually cool enough to play outside!

This is like the 1st couple days he learned to start walking.

Big Girl

2011-09-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

This girl would live in the water if I would allow it! She is a crazy fish. She has learned to swim without her arm floaties(or swim arms as Reagan calls them.) She loves to dive on the 1st step for her diving sticks. She's getting really good and is able to grab 4 sticks at a time:). She is also learning how to swim on her back. She is definitely not afraid of the water or anything. She is crazy enough that when she swims under water she swims with her eyes open!

and a couple video's of our little fish:) turn your volume off so you don't have to hear my horrifying voice!:)

Preschool

2011-08-19T20:11:00.000-08:00

Reagan has made it through her 1st week of Preschool! She attends Preschool Tuesdays and Thursday from 930 to 12. It's nice to have that little break. Bryson and I usually go to the gym and run a few errands.

She absolutely loves going and loves when we go pick her up so she can tell us all she has learned. She loves to sing the songs they learned that day on our way home. It's just amazing to see all that she's learned in just a week(2 days!) Her teacher, Miss Turner, is in our ward and owns her own Preschool. She is amazing with kids!

1st day of Preschool :)

Private :)

2011-08-14T18:55:00.002-08:00

I have been trying to decide if I wanted to go private for a long time and I think now is the right time. Please leave your email if you would like to continue viewing our life happenings :)

Thanks!

Brian

2011-08-13T14:25:00.002-08:00

For those of you who haven't heard, Brian has joined the Air National Guard and is off at Basic Training in San Antonio Texas right now. He will graduate early October and then heads to Ohio for Tech School until early February. He's been looking into the AF and ANG for quite some time and we both felt like it was the right thing to do right now. It's hard not having him around but I know it's what he wants to do and what he's suppose to be doing. We will go see him Graduate so lets hope these next 8 weeks fly by :):):)

10 Months

2011-08-13T14:24:00.000-08:00

I just have a hard time believing Tank is already 10 months old! Where has my baby gone?!

Some Facts of Bryson:
- his 4th tooth just poked through. watch out fingers!
- walks a long all furniture and takes a couple steps if he really wants something
- loves to pull all the DVDs out at Grandma's
- if he's hungry, he knows where to find food. The diaper bag!!
- can't keep him out of the cubbards
- if the Fridge or Dishwasher is open you better watch out!
- fascinated with the dog bowls! yuck!

loves his donuts like any other fat kid :)

fresh hair cut. no more strange looking hair!

Park fun with Daddy :)

Reagan likes to help him walk from 1 room to the other

taking baby brother for a spin :}

9 Months

2011-07-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

This is a little late but I had other post to get up 1st.

Bryson is definitely still a big boy! We had his check-up after we got back from Idaho. All is well with Bryson he is still top of his charts.

Stats:

25 lbs 12 oz

29.5 in

19.5in (Head)

Let see what has Bryson been up to these last months?

-crawling where ever he wants

-walks all over furniture and is starting to let go to go from couch to table

-has 3 teeth and working on about 2

-loves when Reagan will play with him.

-doesn't really like baby food. would much rather prefer whatever we are eating

he loves his water cups!

we found Barney in Walmart in Idaho!

not too sure...

2 of 3 teeth :)

staying warm by the camp fire

what a cutie! i love it!!

G n' G Family Reunion Part 2

2011-07-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

the awesome house we stayed at :)

other view of beautiful house. this house was on 55 acres and was on Deep Creek and had several ponds surrounding it. We saw a few deer and a moose and calf.

Reagan played on the monkey bars everyday!

Fire at Mike & Tara's house that they rented. They had a gorgeous view!

who doesn't enjoy smores? :)

GG and her brothers with their Bowling Pins. Everyone that attended the Family Reunion signed all 4 pins.

Gma Jo and Bryson

Me and Smellie Ellie

Pretty girl!

she really did likes the cows even tho this picture doesn't show it.

we decided Aunt Katie was a pig :)

She was even able to find some eggs!

weeeeeeeee!

He's learned how to spit back at ya. Tried for this picture about 20 times, darn camera!

Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's Grave

Pretty boy!

we love bath time!

our cute little Lady bug rock family :)

Where we stayed

This is where GG went to school. My mom also went here a few years.

excited to fly home and see daddy :)

GG and Bryson enjoying the ride

Bryson crawled between Reagan, GG and myself. He was handful.

We had a great time and can't wait until the next Family Reunion!!

G n' G Family Reunion Part 1

2011-07-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

The kids and I decided to tag along with Grandma Jo and GG to Northern Idaho for GG's Family Reunion. It was way cool to go see where GG grew up and where my mom also lived for a little bit. And I must say that Northern ID is beautiful!! Can't wait to go back in 2013 for the next Family Reunion.

We spent a lot of our family time eating :) Seemed like we went from breakfast straight to lunch and straight to dinner but the food was delicious! Due to weather, a lot of the things that were on the schedule were either cancelled or changed to another day. It was nice to be in some cooler weather for a bit. While we were there we had lots of family meals, visited lots of different farm animals(especially horses!), Huckleberry picking, painted rocks into lady bugs, visiting old friends from Alaska up in Cocolala ID, lots of laughs and lots of driving so we could see or imagine what everything use to look like when GG lived there.

There are a ton of pictures so I had to do it in 2 Parts.

all tuckered out after flying all morning and now to drive 2 hours.

nice quiet drive to ID

oh she insisted on feeding the horses apples.

we all thought she would be scared of the horses after she realized how big they really are but she loved them! wanted to keep going back.

Bryson even enjoyed the horses a little bit

tackle!

happy kids ready to travel again :)

the only wildlife we saw at the wildlife refuge :) A MONKEY!!

hiked up to some pretty falls. Reagan was scared of the bridge.

and that water was freezing!!!!!

collecting rocks that would make good lady bugs so we could paint them

Family night at the bowling alley :)

Smellie Ellie and Bryson :)

Huckleberry picking and that mountain we had to climb was steep and scary out in Bear country.

beautiful view at the top of the Mountain.

Bryson playing with his new friend Carrie(she's 10 months)

GG and her brothers(Jay, GG, Terry and Allen)

...continue to Part 2...

Our Little Fish

2011-07-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

Our little fish is about 2.5 years old and loves to swim! Her name is Reagan :)

Reagan has been deathly afraid of the little arm floaties until Today. She screamed when she first went floating with them on and then realized that they are there to help to float. While she swims she constantly says "these wont let me sink" and "these make me a big girl". She is so cute!

the sun was a little bright, oops!

little swimmer fish :)

and a video!

(I took this right when she got the hang of it. She has improved a lot and we were only out there for about an hour! Go girl!)

4th

2011-07-05T14:26:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful and busy 4th of July!! Brian has to work 5am-11am so we got most of the day together :) We had great friends over to swim with for a few hours. Molly and Nate Blackburn and their 2 little girls have moved down to AZ and so we invited them over hoping the swimming would help them with the heat:) They were in our ward back in Fairbanks. We also had Roy and Meagan Bryant over for swimming and a BBQ. They just moved into our ward about a month ago. We had a lot of fun with them!. I forgot to take my camera outside :( We had a nice casual BBQ at moms house with the family and the Bryants. After dinner we decided to head to the church to watch the Fireworks from Schnepf Farms. We met up with several families from the ward and shot up some Fireworks before the show started. Bryson wasn't too sure about the loud noises but Reagan loved all the colors! The pictures aren't the best but we had fun! Thanks everyone!

our 4th of July babies :)

Pretty girl

loves to read!

happy boy

heading to Fireworks :) haha Bryson looks dead but he was just

a little tired and happy except for this picture

crazy looking Fireworks

Dads with their scared boys :(

Reagan with her 1st Sparkler

Headed home about 10pm and more than ready for bed!!

Reagan

2011-06-14T15:00:00.000-08:00

Thought I would do a post about Reagan since I always seem to be writing about Bryson.

She absolutely loves her little brother. She's finally calling Bryson by his name instead of baby! It took awhile but it sure sounds cute when she says Bryson :) Her vocabulary is huge! Some times it is still hard to know what she's saying but she's learned to point to it or show us what it is if we can't figure it out. Good job Reagan! And of course everyone has a really hard time understanding her so they always ask me what she said. Some day they will figure out how to speak Reaganeese :) hehe She LOVES the pool and to be outside! She has learned to move her arms and kick her feet to swim. Before we know it she will be swimming without the floaties! She loves to be by herself in a float tube (of course we are always close by just in case!). And she is the kind of little girl that can do everything her self. If she wants to do something and you say you will help her she holds her hand up(like she's telling you to stop) and says "no me, you wait". It's cute now but hopefully she gets over it :)

loves to make her bottoms hats :)

our sweet Sunday Babies :)

Oh and I must not forget her obsession with movies! She has discovered Tangled and absolutely loves it! She would watch it all day, every day if we allowed it! She also is in love with the Cinderella movies. And as you can tell from the picture, it's hard to get her eyes away from the movies.

8 months

2011-06-14T14:48:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe Bryson is already 8 months old! We can officially call him a crawler. Yay!! And he pulls himself up to everything he can reach. He is also slowing starting to walk along the furniture. Before we know it, he will be walking and running every where! We love this happy "big" little boy. He still has just 2 bottom teeth. He would eat every minute he's awake if we would allow him. He gets about 5 bottles a day, cereal in the morning, baby food for lunch and also has dinner with us! And can't forget the snacks in between :) No wonder this boy is a Tank!!

loves the water! (Daddy took picture with sun in face, oops!)

Big boy crawling where ever he wants to go

look at me now :)

Memorial Day

2011-06-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Man I'm just a little behind, oh well! For Memorial Day, we went to The National Veterans Cemetery where my Grandpa's grave site is. Mom and Lars rode the Harley and then Grandma came and got us in her car so it was less parking we had to find :) Every year they do a big program and it's wonderful! It starts about 8am so we have to leave by 630am or so. We were late so we missed the Fly Over and a few other short things. It's amazing how many people come to it. There must have been several hundred motorcycles! I didn't get a picture of them, dang it! They also put an American Flag on every grave! We heard that the Boy Scouts come and place all the flags a few nights ahead. What a long service project!

why yes Bryson is still in his PJs. 630 is way to early for him!

only a tiny fraction of the graves with flags.

Family Pictures

2011-05-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

Thank You Jessica Drew! You did an amazing job!!

Mom had bought some puppets to try to get the kids attention. They definitely worked for the 1st few pictures and then the kids got bored of them I guess. I brought a pack of Oreos and boy did that keep their attentions until we were done! Great idea if your ever doing family pictures with little ones :)

The entire Gang :)

Papa Lars and Gma Jo with their grandkids

love them!

AW! Melts my heart <3

love these kids with all my heart!

speechless...so pretty!

handsome fat boy :)

love him!

Parents and Kids

(Me, Steve, Jake, Mom, Lars, Kaitlyn and April)

REUNITED...

2011-05-25T16:47:00.000-08:00

All of my siblings were able to be together again for the 1st time in years! It was so great to have all the family around and to just laugh and have a good time :) Jake has been here since April with his family, Steve and April flew in the 12th and stayed through the 17th. Almost forgot to mention that my grandparents from UT drove down Thusday and stayed through Saturday. We haven't seen them in a few years either. While they were here we did a lot of pool time, lots of eating, family pictures, Sunsplash WaterPark and also a few games.

It was a bad idea to be in the pool while Jake, Steve and Brian were in there playing basketball. When they played, they were extremely rough! Paige, April's daughter, kept yelling "Someone is going to get hurt!" Everyone thought the same thing but never said anything. I joined the boys for a little 2 on 2 and boy was it rough! We all ended up with scratched and bleeding toes!

Friday Night we took Family Pictures at the Temple, which was a blast! They all turned out SOO cute(post to follow!)! After the temple my parents decided to take everyone out to eat so we went to Red Robin. YUMM!!

Saturday my parents took us to SunSplash WaterPark and we had a blast!! It was great to have the whole family there so we could all take turns going down the slides while someone was always with the little kids. All the kids loved the kiddie pool they had with 2 little slides.

And here is a ton of pictures to show how much fun we had :):):)

Jake, April, Steve, Gpa Larry and Gma Henny trying to stay cool during family pictures

Bryson was happy through out family pictures!

Bryson, Paige and Gauge waiting at family pictures

GG, Gma Henn and Gpa Larry found a bench in the shade to relax on :)

Brian and Bryson at SunSplash

Reagan, Brentlee and Paige taking a breatk from swimming and munching

Bryson was SO tired. It was a long day!

Reagan loved the slides!

haha Brentlee and Reagan did each others make up with markers(Reagan has some pink on her face but it doesn't show up as well as the blue!)

GG even made everyone fudge! Reagan was wanting more

Bryson hanging out by Gma Jo's pool

Steve, Jake and Brian playing some intense basketball

Brian and Austin(April's Daughter) playing around

another shot of the boys' basketball game

7 months!

2011-05-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe this BIG guy is already 7 months old!!! He is a total mommy's boy. If he sees me in the room while he's with someone else or on the floor he will cry until I come to the rescue! He also gets very unhappy when he's on the floor because he just wants to move but hasn't quite figured out how. He's slowly figuring out to get up on one knee and push so he can get what's in front of him. I know I shouldn't say this but I Can't Wait Until He Starts to Crawl :) (I will regret it when he does!) He still just has his 2 bottom teeth but I think he's working on his top teeth. He LOVES being outside. We also just tried him in the sandbox for the 1st time and he loved it! Also loved eating the sand :)

Lounging @ the Park while sister plays

My Gangster baby :)

haha just had to put it on him. Reagan and him sure do look a lot alike!

he loved all the toys at 1st and then he discovered the sand.....

what kid doesn't love sand?!

Yummy ;)

Finally

2011-05-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

Brian and his dad, Bryant, left Alaska on May 6th to drive down to Arizona and arrived May 9th! They switched off driving every few hours so one could sleep a few hours before they had to drive some more. They drove to Utah and stayed the night there Sunday night and then traveled on down Monday morning and were here about 6pm! I'm so excited to have Brian here for good :):):)

While Grandpa C was here we decided to put him to work. We had him install 3 ceiling fans(1 in Reagan's Room, 1 in Bryson's Room and 1 on the back patio). We also had him switch out our light fixtures outside. They look SO much better! Thanks Grandpa C!!!

Grandpa C and the kiddos having a good time

Patio Fan and light fixture

Fan in Reagan's room

new outdoor light fixtures :) love them!

PawPaw and Granny Visit

2011-05-15T15:27:00.000-08:00

PawPaw Les and Granny Gayle came out for a week to visit while Jake and Austin were over here. The day before they got here everyone was throwing up and having diarrhea. Came at the wrong time!! Bryson was throwing up Sunday and was fine by Sunday night. Reagan started throwing up Monday night and was finally feeling better about Wednesday morning. (I think the sickness has finally left our house!) Dad and Gayle were unfortunate to catch it too :( Gayle was down for a few days so we all just laid low and had lazy days.

While they were here we celebrated Jakes Birthday, celebrated my birthday, spent time at moms swimming, went to the Flea Market, took family pictures and took several trips to the park.

PawPaw and grandkids

The whole crew minus Brian :(

Daddio and his kids

Brentlee and Reagan with their balloons from Texas Roadhouse.

Best Day Ever :)

2011-05-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

May 6th 

This would be my birthday :) The Big 22 :) This was the 2nd year in a row that Brian wasn't able to be with me. Last year he was helping my parents deive down their U-haul and this year he was working and getting ready to drive down here again :)

The big day was celebrated by training with my trainer at the gym, some relaxation time at the pool and Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Yummy!!! I celebrated with Reagan, Bryson, Brentlee, Nash, Austin, Jake, Kaitlyn, Micah, Mom, Grandma, Dad and Gayle. At Texas Roadhouse I got to sit on their saddle while they all gave me a Texas "YEE-HAW!!". And the balloon guy was there and everyone insisted he make the birthday girl a balloon. It was a monkey hat with a cupcake, super cute! Followed by the T.R. we all came back to my moms house for Pie(I dont like cake). It was also delicious!!!

My sweet hat and Bryson

Another view of my sweet hat :)

hard to see but Reagan got a Ballerina balloon. it was SO cool!

Easter

2011-05-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little late but it's better late than never right?!

My Dad and Gayle sent all the kids Easter Baskets so we decided to open them Friday night we kids wouldn't get too much candy Sunday. They got everything from candy, sunglasses, books, hats, crowns and bubbles. Thanks PawPaw Les and Granny gayle!!!

Saturday I took Reagan to GolfLand for an Easter Egg Hunt. She had a blast!

Saturday Night we colored Easter Eggs. This seems to be like Reagan's favorite part of Easter!

She made a "dad" egg and was very proud of it!

She always made a "papa" egg

Easter Sunday we spent at moms house.

Bryson's Easter gifts(right after he woke up)

the Easter Bunny brought Reagan some gifts :)

Papa Lars and Gma Jo even got Reagan some Easter gifts

Sunday after Church we had an Easter Egg Hunt in moms back yard. Reagan, Brentlee and Nash had fun finding eggs!

Yummy Yummy Candy :)

Bryson's cuteness

Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium

2011-04-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to go to this Zoo since we moved down here and I am so glad we finally made it up there! It is definitely a long trip up(1.5 hours) so we stayed the entire day out there. We left the house about 10am and didn't get home until 8:30pm. The kids were exhausted but they enjoyed being outside all day! We had a group of 9 including Gma Jo, Kaitlyn, Anyssa(Kaitlyn's Friend), Austin, Brentlee, Nash, Reagan, Bryson and I. It was also nice to have Gma Jo, Kaitlyn and Anyssa there to help with the kids :)

They say this Zoo is like having An African Experience because the animals you see here are the same things you would see in the wild in Africa. It was pretty cool to see all the different animals. We were all bummed because they didn't have Elephants!!! Oh well we still enjoyed it! And one of their biggest exhibits is the Albino Alligator(they actually have 2!). And I think the scariest thing we saw was in the Reptile House. There was a Boa Constricter(sp?) not in a cage! He was just chilling on a tree, scary! You never know when he could get up and move! And I almost forgot Reagan and Brentlee's favorite part of the Zoo, The Petting Zoo! They had some strange animals to pet like Llamas, Deer, Goats, Chickens, Turkey and Turtles.

The Aquarium was pretty sweet too! They have 2 touch tanks. In the 1st you were able to touch Star Fish, Sea Erchins and some other weird thing. In the 2nd you were able to touch Sting Rays! I didn't touch them but everyone else said they felt like a mushroom, weird! The Aquarium had tons of sea animals from fish to eels to sharks to lobster and many more!

This wasn't the Petting Zoo but he was so close they wanted to touch him

Giraffe, Feeding station in the background

Trying to find the baby Zebra. He's laying on the ground, hard to see.

Skyride with Aunt Katie. Brentlee and Anyssa were behind them.

Kangaroo :)

they had a blast together!

Packing up from lunch in the shade on the grass

So perty

Petting Zoo :) Deer

Loved the baby Goats

Reagan wasn't too sure about the turtles

Albino Alligator

and of course we had to ride the carousel!

This ride took you thru part of the Fish Aquarium and then up a hill and dropped down into the water. The girls weren't too sure about it.

Aquarium

Even Nash touched the Sting Rays!

She was SOO tired!

The best we could get with Gma Jo

he was so happy to be out of the stroller

haha trying to get a pic of all 4 kids. This is the best!

This is a long post, sorry! But we had a great time so we had to share with everyone especially Daddy!

6 Months!

2011-04-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that this big guy is already 6 months old! Time sure does fly by! Seems like we were just in the hospital.

6 Month Doings:

-Sits up by himself

-Rolls over

-Talks all the time

-Has 1 tooth and cutting his 2nd

-Gets on his hands and knees

(He will be crawling before we know it. Maybe he will slim down a bit? yeah right!)

-Maxed out the weight on infant carseat. Time for big boy carseat (yes he will still be backwards!)

Stats:

23 lbs 12 oz 28 in

Head: 18.5 in

He's off the charts in weight and head circumference and his height is at the very tip of the charts. All around big healthy boy!

happy boy!

we like to say he sits up so well because of the meat on this legs :)

hands and knees. yay!!

A Little of Everything...

2011-03-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

First, Bryson is already 5 months! My does the time fly! He has successfully discovered rolling over and he loves it. He's not a fan of being on his stomach but now that he can roll he likes it a little more. And he loves to talk, especially when were at church and it's quiet. As you will be able to see in the pictures, he aint slowing down on eating and growing! We love his rolls :)

Can't get enough of him and his rolls :)

definitely related!

And Last, My sister in law, Austin, and their 2 kids from Japan came to AZ and are staying until the end of May!! We have had a lot of fun with them. We have enjoyed: swimming, lunch at the park, fun at Grandma's and also fun at our house with all the toys! It will be hard to see them go in May.

Brentlee and Bryson

lunch time

Brentlee and Reagan swimming at Gma Jo's

Brentlee and Austin in background :)

Bryson at park

Brentlee and Reagan swinging at park

Riding carousel at Mall

Disneyland continued

2011-03-07T08:38:00.000-09:00

toy story mania 3D

homeless husband ;)

so tired!

Bryson got to meet Duffy :)

these 2 loved to hold hands. so cute

Hayden, Reagan and Isabella

Hayden must be strong to pick up that load :)

silly girl :)

one of my favorites :)

But my all time FAVORITE thing there was : World of Color :) Here's a video to show how amazing it was(hope it works, never put a video on here before). We were front row and got a little wet from the mist. I took about 10 videos it was SO good!!

Disneyland

2011-03-07T08:12:00.000-09:00

Sunday, February 20th we drove over to Anaheim, CA where we met Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, Jeff, Cheralyn, Elvis, Eugene, Callie, Hayden, Isabella and Cheralyns' Parents so we could all go to Disneyland and California Adventure together for 3 days! It was a blast! The last time I was there I was about 5 and Brian said he went when he was about 10(?). Reagan had a blast seeing all the characters and also spending lots of time with her cousins!

Reagan's favorite rides were probably the carousels and Dumbo. Brian's favorite rides were Tower of Terror and California Screamin(I went of California Screamin with him and will never do it again!). My favorite rides were Soaring Over California and It's a Small World :)

I'd say about everyday we spent half the day at Disneyland and then walked over to California Adventure for the rest of the day. We had some nice weather, might have even got a little color on our faces :)

This trip will be done in 2 post because there are way too many pictures for just 1.

Chip & Dale

Mickey :)

Diaper change and feeding time :)

LOVE this

Grandpa C and Bryson on the "chew-chew train"

family ride

one of her favorites :)

Jeff had Isabella and Reagan laughing so hard

Brian's favorite ride

going flying with Peter Pan

loved the carousels

...continued on next post :)...

Stats

2011-02-19T12:04:00.000-09:00

Our Tank

4 Month Stats:

Weight: 21 lbs 2 oz

Length: 27 in

Head: 18 1/4 in

He is off the charts for everything except his head, which is in the 98th percentile. We sure enjoy his chunkyness just sure hope he slows down :) Or he better start walking early so we don't break out backs..

They love bath time together....except Reagan is always yelling STOP and holding down Bryson's legs so he wont splash her :)

yup we got some rolls.....all over!

my valentines :)

4 months

2011-02-14T15:09:00.000-09:00

Where has the time gone?! I can't belive Bryson is 4 months old! We will have his stats later this week but I just know he's going to be WAY off the charts! When I weighed him around 3 months he was 20 lbs. And you can tell by his rolls he likes to eat :)

Here's just a few pictures of what we've been up to lately...

we love playing at the park!

Watching them KU Jayhawks :)

always caught in the swing

"weee"

this is how Bryson uses the jumper :)

love these kids!

and of course we love swimming!!!

Paw Paws Visit

2011-01-21T08:05:00.000-09:00

My dad decided he needed to come visit us for about 4 days. It was great to have him around! The last time we saw him, Reagan was 5 months old, she's now 2!! While he was here we just kind of hung around the house and played around, watched Kaitlyn play basketball and of course shopping!

I thought for sure Reagan would be scared of him (he has a beard). But she took right to him as soon as we picked him up from the airport! Bryson and Reagan both loved having him here to read books to them and watch TV with them.

Thanks for coming Paw Paw! See you in May!

bouncin' and watching cartoons

story time :)

Paw Paws hat and sunglasses. The monkey was from Paw Paw Les and Granny Gayle

cartoons in the morning

3 months!

2011-01-13T13:00:00.000-09:00

Our little big boy is 3 months old! Where oh where has the time gone?!

the tank

Bryson had started sleeping from about 10pm to about 7am when he was like 1.5 months old but now he's starting to sleep like a newborn and wake up about every 3 hours! What has happened?! But both kids are usually in bed by 9:30 so there's a little bit of quiet/sleep time before its feeding time again.

He has really started smiling at everything! He loves Reagan and always smiles and laughs at her. He as also started to reach for things he sees. And his little laugh is just the cutest!!

check out that double chin :)

Temple Lights and Zoo

2010-12-31T16:57:00.000-09:00

So we actually did the temple lights before Christmas but I just never got to putting them on here. But I did get them on before 2010 was over!

Brian, Reagan Bryson and I went to the Temple lights for a family activity. It's wonderful to go walk around the Temple grounds and take pictures at the temple. We really enjoyed the lights and Reagan enjoyed all of the nativities they had set up. Can't wait to go next year!

Mesa Temple

3 wisemen

our favorite nativity. it's so large!

haha we couldnt get her to smile at the camera!

love this!

our sweet Tank enjoying the lights :)

We took a trip to the Phoenix Zoo with my mom and Kaitlyn. It was a lovely day, not too hot and not too cold. We purchased the "Wild" tickets so we were able to pet sting-rays, ride the "endangered species" carousel and ride the Safari Train. We were able to see most of the animals before Bryson was hungry or the Zoo closed. Kaitlyn and Reagan were able to ride a Camal! How cool is that?? I thought Reagan would be scared but she loved it!

Sting-ray bay

Giraffe's

yay for Camal rides!

lady lion sun bathing while the man rest in the shade(behind rock)

Hummingbirds are SO tiny and cute!

very pretty tiger

"endangered species" carousel

we found kaitlyns relatives :)

all tuckered out :)

CHRISTMAS!!

2010-12-31T15:45:00.000-09:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! Brian was able to come down for 2 weeks over Christmas break and we absolutely loved it! Reagan is terrified of Santa so when we said he was coming to our house at night time she didn't like that all! But she thought it was funny that we were leaving cookies, milk and turtles out for Santa. Reagan came to our room about 8, which was sleeping in for her, and was totally excited for all that she could see! We opened presents at our house then headed to GG's for breakfast and then to my moms for more presents!

excited to find all the candy!

christmas morning

Bryson joined us for presents but enjoyed being on the couch wrapped up

her new dora couch, thanks santa!

loves the basketball hoop!!

Thanks Gma and Gpa Christensen :)

Tank chillin at Grandmas

New tunnel and tent from "Mama and Papa"

was excited for the toys this year!

(last year she enjoyed the boxes and paper)

2 months

2010-12-21T15:16:00.000-09:00

Bryson had his 2 month check up last week and lets just say he never misses a meal! I believe he got 3 shots and of course he cried when they first poked him. As soon as I picked him up off the table he fell asleep. I think they drugged him ;)

Stats:

16 lbs 6 oz 25 in

"The Tank"

check out all them rolls :)

He has officially out done Reagan when she was 2 months old. She weighed 11 lbs 1 oz at 2 months. If he doesn't slow down soon, I'm going to have some buff arms from his carseat!

Reagan also went to the doctor for her 2 year shots. She likes this doctor much more than she liked the one up in Fairbanks, AK. He doesn't have all the facial hair and he tried to make her laugh all the time. She was only scared of the nurse because she gave the shots. Only cried for a few minutes.

Stats:
34 lbs 38.5in

looks so big in the carseat

carousel with Brooke

fell down stairs at the park :(

loves making silly faces these days.

Ward Christmas Party

2010-12-05T13:21:00.000-09:00

Our ward had our Christmas Party last night and it was a success! The theme was "how sweet is it" and all the decorations were supplied by a lady in our ward. Amazing!

We had a big dinner consisting of Ham, Rolls, Green Bean Cassarole, Potatoes and all sorts of desserts! It was all very delicious.

We also had a visitor surprise us. Any guesses on who it was?!

SANTA!

He came for all the kids to see and we tried it with Reagan but that poor girl almost had a heart attack she was SO scared. He talked to her and her whole body started to shake and she screamed! Her body continued to shake until we left the church. Poor girl! :( We will have to try the Santa thing every year so maybe she'll get use to him.

Micah and Reagan

Santa

all the tables had M&M centerpieces

check out all those M&Ms and other giant candies! AMAZING!

"stuck"

Veterans Day

2010-11-16T10:07:00.000-09:00

We took a trip up to Dampa's grave and also ate at Village Inn(Dampa's favorite food joint). He birthday was Friday so we decided to celebrate it Thursday and Friday night we also went to Street of New York(another favorite food joint). Miss you Dampa!

And we also went to the Aquarium! It wasn't all I thought it would be but I think Reagan enjoyed it for the most part.

Reagan's 2nd Birthday/Cousin Play Time

2010-11-15T18:43:00.000-09:00

I'm just a little late posting pictures from Reagan's birthday. I actually didn't take any pictures at the party so I had to steal these from my mom. We celebrated Reagan's birthday the 23rd with a little pizza party, cake and presents! She highly enjoyed all the friends to run around with.

My has the time flown!

Always been a balloon lover

LOVES Trains these days!

Paige and Bryson

Kyzer checking out the new toys

Yummy cake!

Grandma and Grandpa decided to take all the grandkids to play at my Uncle Jimmys house. Looks like they had a blast!

Reagan and Gauge coloring

Gauge, Austin and Reagan

(Gma says it was impossible to take a picture of all 4 grandkids!)

Halloween

2010-11-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

This year for Halloween we just went to the ward Trunk-or-Treat. It was very nice to have all the games and activities outside(as we are in AZ). Reagan was not sure about it all at first but she warmed up to everything except people wearing a mask.

She was the cutest Dorthy I've ever seen :)

Lars' truck for Trunk-or-Treat

Lars the biker dude and his decorated bike

Reagan always went back to Trick-or-Treat to Papa

Decorating cookie with Gma Jo

cutest little dorthy!

Bryson's Blessing

2010-10-31T14:36:00.000-08:00

We decided to bless Bryson on 10/19/10 so both sets of grandparents could be present. Brian did a great job and Bryson did great only with a few cries.

Peter, Bryant, Brian and Bryson, Lars

all the family

our little family 10/19/10

Newest Addition :)

2010-10-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

Bryson James Christensen

10/12/10 10:10pm

9 lbs 8 oz 22 in

YAY! He's finally here!

Being only 1 day late :) (i'm glad he wasn't cooking any longer! might have been a 10 pounder!)

I was scheduled to be induced Tuesday(10/12/10) at 5am but when I called the hospital to see if they had any rooms available, they had no room. I thought for sure I'd have to wait another day. But the hospital called me back about 8:30 saying they have a room for me and to be there about 10 :) I was excited and nervous at the same time. Reagan hung out with Gma Shauna and the rest of the family for the few days we spent at the hospital.

They didn't start the induction until about 11:30 and instead of using pitocin, they used some sort of pill that came in 3 doses but I only got 2! Brian and my mom spent the day at the hospital waiting for little Bryson. They finally broke my water about 8pm and then the painful contractions really started to kick in! I decided I should get an IV just in case I changed my mind about not wanting an epidural. I was just finishing the 1st bag of fluid(you needed 2 before an epidural could get started) and it was time to push! I pushed for about 20 min and little Bryson was born :)

He wasn't crying when he came out so they hurried and cut the cord to get him to his table and of course he cries and they are carrying him over :) Brian and my mom were at the scale when they weighed him and when they announced how big he was I thought they were joking! No one was expecting him to be that big.

We are glad he's here and healthy! And Reagan just adores her little brother. Always wanting to hold and kiss him :)

I was so thankful labor was not taken into the middle of the night!

our "big" little man

so peaceful :)

Aunt Katie, Reagan and Bryson

we could sit and watch him all day!

always kissin' on baby brother!

Fall Fun

2010-09-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

Fall in Alaska is beautiful! Reagan has found a new love for leaves. A new love for leaves after everyone else has raked them up into a pile :) We all have had some fun playing in the leaves, well I enjoy watching from the side. Here are a few pictures of our fun. Brian managed to stay out of all the pictures but he really did enjoy them too.

It's not letting me write between the pictures so hopefully you can figure out who's in them and what's going on :)

Randomness

2010-09-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

Well first off, we are still alive! I take most pictures on my phone so I can't load them on here from my phone.

And well yes I'm still pregnant. Have about 4 weeks left, give or take a few days.

And Brian is still working everyday and playing basketball and working out. He actually starts being a Ref this weekend, this will keep him way busy and his city league basketball starts next week as well.

As for Reagan, she just enjoys playing around all day! She especially loves when Ming Lu(cousin) is home because they can play all day together and seem to never get bored! Reagan has also started a little preschool once a week at the church. It's a pretty big group, about 15 kids attend but they are split in 2 groups. her vocabulary has also expanded in the last few days. But her favorite word is "No", she thinks it means yes so she says it all the time. Here are a few pictures of our little princess. Enjoy!

she loves her icecream these days :)

"cool breeze"

reagan and ming lu playing

always wants to wear her goggles :)

and some sunday night twister. Brian, Ben and Peter

(ben thought he could actually get me to play, haha, i was helping reagan spin)

Fair Time

2010-08-13T14:34:00.000-08:00

It's time for the annual Tanana Valley Fair. This year we decided to get season passes so I could take Reagan during the day. Her most favorite part of the fair is all the animals! And of course my favorite part is all the food :) Well actually we've all eaten a lot and gained some weight... Here's a few pictures that are from my phone, camera is dieing so its charging so we can go to fair tonight :)

so after icecream and.....

elephant ears and....

more icecream....

you gain a little weight :) we still love our chunky monkey :)

El Dorado Gold Mine

2010-08-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

In Fairbanks there are 2 major tourist attractions, The Riverboat Discovery and El Dorado Gold Mine. I had never been on either of these until last year when Brian got free tickets for the Riverboat. It was fun and now I can say I've done it! On Wednesday, Reagan and I did El Dorado Gold Mine with Rebecca(Brian's sister), and her kids, Ben and Ming Lu. We had great weather and found lots of gold! We rode the train into the gold mining town and on our way we stopped in a Permafrost tunnel and they told us all about the mining operation. Reagan had a great time on the train! The highlight of the trip is always gold panning and cookies at the end. Gold panning is definitely a lot harder than it looks! Reagan and I came home with quite a bit of gold. And the cookies are made fresh and very yummy!!

waiting for train to take-off

tunnel

Reagan gold panning

train ride back to our cars(Rebecca, Ben, Ming Lu and Reagan)

yummy cookies :)

Lake

2010-08-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

It was so sunny Saturday that we decided to take the jet-ski out. So glad we did, the warm sun felt very nice :) and it was fun to have family time at the lake.

she kept pushing me further out until she fell in

Family Nights @ the Parks

2010-07-31T16:11:00.000-08:00

Reagan loves to be outside so most of our nights are spent at the park! See for yourself how much fun we have together :)

Pearl Creek Elementery(sp?)

Brian's work had a little get together at The Salmon Bake so we decided to go early so Reagan could play on the park for a bit. Glad his work was buying because I wouldn't have paid no $30 for what we ate. It was alright, nothing special. It has halibut, salmon, cod, dessert(which was my favorite), rolls, salad, and many types of macaroni salads. Now I can say I've been there after living so close to it my whole life.

girl loves to swing!

"choo-choo"

Playing at the Salmon Bake

Leaving Salmon Bake

Playing Catch-Up

2010-07-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

For the longest time I was unable to upload pictures to our blog so I decided if I couldn't upload pictures then I wouldn't blog :) Well finally I am able to upload pictures so now it's time to play the Catch-Up game!

When it isn't raining or smoky, Reagan and I like to head over to Alaska Land(Pioneer Park) and play on their play ground! Reagan's favorite is probably the swings and slides! I took her on the carousel(sp?) because she seemed interested in the houses. Well that wasn't the best idea, she was scared the entire ride! And of course I enjoy all the ice cream they have available :)

ok so now I can't upload pictures again so I shall update again once I can upload pictures :(

GRR!!!!

Utah Pictures Continued

2010-07-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

bus ride

Reagan and Zuri.....its impossible to get a good picture of these 2!

Dama and Uncle Jay :)

happy traveler :)

Utah Trip

2010-07-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

During our visit to AZ, we drove over to Utah to visit with more family and go through all the National Parks. It was all great fun! The drive was about 12 hrs so it was a little long for Reagan but she did awesome! We stayed in Duck Creek with my Uncle Gary and Aunt Ellie at a nice cabin they rented. We went to Bryce Canyon, Ceder Breaks, Kolob Canyon and Zion's. I think my favorite was Zion's because we got to ride the bus through the enitre park!

And the best part of the whole entire trip.....My grandparents were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple! And my mom was sealed to them also!

Tons of deer at the cabin!

more pictures to follow!

Zona Pictures

2010-07-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

Loved jumping in!

loved to draw w/ chalk at night time!

"cheese"

always loved being on the golf cart!

trying to look like daddy :)

swimming with gma jo!

Mommy and Rea stuck in kennel :)

Zona

2010-06-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

We were able to take about a 3 week vacation down to Arizona to visit my mom and grandma. It was nice and relaxing. We flew in on a Saturday and then Sunday afternoon we drove to Utah to camp with my Aunt and Uncle and go to the Salt Lake Temple (that trip will be my next post). So we had about 1 week in UT and 2 weeks in AZ. For most of our time in AZ we hung out at my moms house inside or my grandmas house (since she has the pool). Reagan loved to be outside no matter what the temperature was! I sure wish we could live some where warmer where she could play outside all year round, without bundling up in like 20 layers! It's not letting me upload pictures so as soon as it does I will post some pictures!

Fairbanks=Home

2010-05-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

Last Monday we moved out of my parents house, due to them selling the house, and moved into Brian's parents basement. We plan to be here for a little while until we can figure out what we are going to do. It's way expensive to rent or buy up here so we will see where life takes us. Right now we have all our boxes and everything in all 4 rooms downstairs but plan to move some to garage or shed some time soon. Moving to Fairbanks means we also switched wards. It's quite weird going from knowing the enitre ward to knowing maybe 4 families in the new ward. We leave for Arizona Friday night so we will not be back to 3rd ward until end of June.

We are ready to get out of Alaska for a few weeks to get some smoke free air! Fires have already started due to about 2 weeks over 80 degrees and other fires were caused by lightning strikes at night. This will be a horrible summer if we don't get some rain and cooler weather here shortly! I will post pictures when i get a chance to get them off my phone. Hope your all doing great!

...

2010-05-11T12:36:00.000-08:00

Brian made it home safe and sound! He has quite the stories to tell and he's learned he will never drive that road again! They got to my parents house around 7pm Friday night and was up by 7am unloading the uhaul. They had about 15 guys from the ward show up to help so it was all unloaded by 8am. Brian was able to make his flight home that day(we never thought they'd make it in time).

While Brian was gone, Reagan got a new "bike" that she absolutely loves! She doesn't quite know how to go by herself but she loves to be pushed! Here's a few pictures....enjoy!

sneakin' grandma jo's soda

enjoying being outside

cool brees with her new bike

got to love the sunglasses(at mcdonalds)

she loves to swing

"the look" haha i just love this face!

Were Alive and Moving....

2010-05-04T11:34:00.000-08:00

So I've really been slacking at this whole blog thing so I will try to give a little update. We are currently living in my parents house(they are moving to AZ this week) with no furniture or anything. We will be here until the dog, Chief, is flown out to AZ. Brian and my dad, Lars, are on their way to AZ in the uhaul. It has been quite a rough ride for them. They were stuck for 10 hrs, due to a blizzard, some where by Fort Nelson and they left Fort Nelson this morning. The weather is not looking good through Montana. They hope they can get out of Canada today!

As for our little family, we are expecting baby #2 October. We are super excited just hope to be settled some where. And as for Reagan, she is just growing like a little weed. I think she hit a growth spurt because I don't remember her being as tall as she is! Her new favorite show is "Yo Gabba Gabba". It will keep her entertained for hours! And her new favorite word is: "mom". She must say it at least 1000x a day! I will try to post pictures later and hopefully better news with the traveling boys!

Hippity, Hoppity Easter!

2010-04-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

To celebrate this Easter season we colored eggs, did an Easter Egg Hunt for Reagan and watched General Conference! Our big easter dinner consist of frozen Lasagna and garlic bread! It sure was delicious! Here's a few pictures of our festivities!

Ready to color eggs

finished product

Easter Egg Hunt

she was so excited to find a blue egg!

daddy hid the eggs for us :)

proud of her eggs and ready to dig in!

cheesin

(don't look at whats on the tv, she was our entertainment for G.C)

Easter Morning

blowing bubbles with daddy

Spring is in the Air!!!

2010-04-04T17:29:00.000-08:00

The weather has been so nice lately we've taken Reagan outside to enjoy some fresh air!

Birch Hill Tubing

2010-03-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

Saturday afternoon we went with the youth from our church to Birch Hill on Fort Wainwright to go tubing. We were told they opened at 1pm so we figured if we showed up at 12:30pm we would be there in plenty of time. But come to find out, they opened up early because so many people were there. We ended up having to wait until 2:50 but it was well worth it. It was about 40 above and it was great fun! Reagan ended up going down the hill once but Brian and I were right next to her so we don't have any pictures but hopefully I can steal some from someone else! She even had to ride in her own tube!

The Hill

Reagan, Julie and I getting ready

Waiting in line

Waiting again

"Hi Reagan"

The boys at the end

Daddy taking Reagan for a ride

Playing in the snow

Ice Park

2010-03-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

Friday night we decided to head to the Ice Park as a family. It was about 35 above 0 so it was a great night. Reagan was more into looking at all the sculptures than playing on all the kid things. At the end of the Ice Park there's a place called "Slide A Mile", which is just super long slides, we decided to skip those because Reagan wasn't too fond of the baby slides. We had a great family night! And of course had hot chocolate at the end!

Reagan going around touching all the ice she was allowed to

Spinning in the ice bowls

Sweet octopus! It has so many textures!

C-130. WELCOME HOME TROOPS

Troops exiting C-130

My favorite! Drew Brees if you didn't know who it was.

Who Dat!

Daddy and Reagan in the hot tub looking thing. It was quite slippery, they had a hard time getting out.

Mommy and Reagan's adventure down Ronald McDonalds slide

Snake n' Gator

(sorry Mom if this ruined the page for ya)

Cutest Fan

2010-02-08T10:29:00.000-09:00

For the Super Bowl we went over to the Bruntz house and partied! They are Colt fans and we are Saints Fans so it made the night more interesting. And while the Saints went on the become Super Bowl XLIV Champs they had the cutest fan cheering for them! We all had on our Saints gear but Reagan was by far the cutest! Hope you all enjoyed the Super Bowl as much as we did!

Who dat baby!!!

Picture Update

2010-02-06T21:30:00.000-09:00

Goofing off during Church

she loves her chair! watching the military channel with grandpa :)

haha we were cleaning my sisters room and she loved this hat, until we wanted to take a picture of course :)

This is me. Do you think Reagan looks like me? Maybe just a little bit :p