The Daily Staley

One Month Old

2011-12-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

These were taken on Bryan's one month birthday.

But, I feel like these are better pictures:

LOVE his tiny little toes!

and his tiny little face!!

My precious boy.

I can't believe we've already had you for a whole month!

My Newest Creation

2011-11-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Totally tooting my own horn here, but I'm so super happy with the way this turned out! Everyone should make one!! It's perfect for my little Jason to play with and I feel like it will last for years and years.

I posted about the details on {Little Inspirations}, if you're interested.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Thanksgiving morning started with this little guy just chillin in our bed.

Until he was joined by his older brother.

Isn't he cute!?

My two beautiful boys.

We spent the morning watching the Macy Parade - a tradition I love! This year was especially great because we had it recorded so we could just fastforward through all those commercials. :)

And Jason joined me in the kitchen to help make sweet potatoes - probably my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...either that or rolls, which we also made.

Great little helper...although we did en up with quite a mess and a big old handprint in my beautiful pumpkin pie before the meal even started.

Still, it's much funner to have someone in the kitchen with me. Thanksgiving is not nearly as fun to prepare when you're doing it all alone... I missed my sisters.

But it is great when you get to decide what you want to eat. Notice the lack of turkey. Neither of us like it that much, so we decided to do without this year. We still had a great meal, though! If you look closely, you can see Bryan smiling in this picture. I love my cute little family!

We also decided to set up Christmas this weekend. And while we were busy putting up the tree, Jason found our "socks".

A little unsure about what their purpose is.

He said, "Look Mom, I'm Christmas!"

super cute

And then he helped us put ornaments on the tree.

It seemed like his goal was to see how many he could fit on one little branch.

gotta love shatterproof ornaments. :)

We are ready for Christmas around here!

Brother Loves

2011-11-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

There's a little too much love and attention being paid to Bryan by his "doting" older brother. But, even through the beatings, smothering, and abuse Jason gives him, it is obvious to see that he loves this new little person in our family...most of the time.

Jason loves to try and sit with Bryan in his bouncy seat...unfortunately he can't get in without either knocking the whole thing over or smashing poor Bryan. I think I've finally talked - or scared - him into letting me help him whenever he wants to sit by his brother.

Whenever Bryan wakes up from a nap and starts to cry, Jason rushes to his crib and climbs up to check on him.

Unfortunately, he also "checks on him" when he's not crying...which usually results in him crying... But he's just so fascinated with this baby, he can't help it sometimes.

Here's all the proof you need that Jason actually loves Bryan. He shared with him his most beloved possession - his cars. Serious love, guys.

Now if Bryan could just figure out what to do with them...

One of Jason's favorite things to do is to try to get Bryan to hold onto his little finger. On the off chance that he positions his hand just right and doesn't hurt Bryan in the process, the result is a very happy big brother. He loves it!!

She almost got away with it!

2011-11-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

LOVE his face in this one!

If only his head had fit inside the bag!!

We miss you Jessica!

Blessing Bryan

2011-11-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

We decided to bless Bryan when he was only 1 week old, just so we could have some family here for it.

Our little family of four!

Jason Turns Three!

2011-11-17T14:48:00.001-07:00

Our birthday celebration started out with Jason making "pane-kets" with Mommy.

They were so good he had to snitch.

But, once everyone was awake, we had a nice birthday breakfast for Jason.

He liked the candles and the birthday song so much than when he wanted another pancake he started crying saying they weren't birthday pancakes!! After a little confusion, we figured out that he wanted us to do the whole candle and birthday song over again! Silly boy, but we humored him.

Breakfast had barely ended before Jason was out in his sandbox. Uncle Macsen helped Daddy finish it the night before.

My awesome siblings helped me set everything up.

And before we knew it, it was party time!

This kid is obsessed with tractors. He points them out everytime we drive by any kind of road construction, and never misses one! So, that was our party theme.

Super excited for his party to start!

Can you tell he's excited?

This was the birthday cake - cups of dirt with a tractor for everyone who came.

But...only one little friend came. Made me kinda sad, but luckily Jason's never been to a party, and has no idea what he was missing. My whole reason for throwing him a party was so he could have lots of little friends around - he wants friends so bad!! But he had a great time with Greyson, and we are so glad he came!

We really couldn't get the kids out of the sandbox, so we brought the present to them.

Greyson was so helpful in unwrapping it!

What did we give him? A tractor and a dump truck of course!

Then Greyson brought over his gift.

And they were off playing again.

What a great party!!

We just sat in the backyard and let them play.

Macsen, where are the pictures of you!!?

At long last, after the party was well over, Jason decided he'd had enough of the sandbox and brought all of his tractors over to the table...there were MANY since we only gave 2 away to our one little party guest.

He patiently lined them all up.

And was less than enthused when we tried to get him to pay attention to anything but those tractors...

But once we started singing, he warmed up to the idea.

Happy Birthday Jason!

Then, it was time for him to open the gift from Grandma and Grandpa Viehweg.

"Dad, you're taking forever."

Once we finally got it open, he was pretty thrilled.

"ooooooo"

And all thoughts of tractors were immediately put to rest.

Quite possibly his favorite toy - ever.

Look at that face!!

And it came with binoculars!

And a helmet!

Which Daddy is excited about because it also fits him! haha.

Once the vest came out, Jason made Jessica put it all on for him. She was happy to oblige.

But magical things happened when Jason put on the whole ensamble.

He was in heaven!

Combat Force Jason shot us all at least 100 times each...because the gun makes sounds.

One happy Three Year Old

Aunts & Uncle

2011-11-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

A few of my siblings made the trip down to help out and see their new little nephew.

Of course the first thing they did when the got in at 11:30 pm was peek in on him fast asleep in his crib.

Aunt Jessica

loving holding that little boy

Aunt Kristin gets a turn.

practicing her mommy skills

And Uncle Macsen got some holding time, too.

We had a great time just chilling with the three of them. I hope they weren't bored. We didn't do much. But it was so nice to have them visit! Jason especially loved Aunt Kristin's angry birds game on her phone....a little too much...

They were super helpful with Jason. They paid him a lot of attention, which is exactly what he needed.

Thanks for coming guys!! I miss you like crazy!

Bryan's First Bath

2011-11-12T18:35:00.000-07:00

all ready to go

super fun to bathe a screaming baby

poor guy hated it

until I washed his head

he loved that!

ohhh feels so good

nice and clean!

love that fuzzy hair!

I love a clean baby!

little cutie

Holding Baby Bryan

2011-11-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

It doesn't last very long, but Jason loves holding Bryan.

Seriously, so excited!

This is what "hold his head" means to Jason.

Every time he says "He's so tee-ooot!"

What an excited big brother!

Learning how to be soft.

kiss kiss

so happy!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

In preparation for Halloween, we carved a jack-o-lantern as a family.

Jason and Mommy dug out the yucky stuff, and apparently we tasted some of it, too.

Daddy drew some faces, and we all voted on the one we liked the best.

Then, Daddy started carving away, while Jason helped put the "hat" on and off.

Pretty soon we had a pretty happy looking jack-o-lantern.

All ready for Halloween!

cute

The next day was Halloween, and as soon as the first group of trick-or-treaters came to our door, Jason was ready to run out and join them! He couldn't wait to get his costume on!

Daddy was Cap'n Hook and Jason was Peter Pan. Don't they make the cutest pair!!?

They had many a sword fight, and I'm sure those will continue for a very long time.

cutest little Peter Pan ever!

Brent says everyone thought he was Robbin Hood, so by the time he was finished, he was telling everyone he was Robbin Hood...a little confused.

He did great and was friendly to everyone he saw. This poor boy wants little friends so bad!!

Maybe next year, we'll take him trick-or-treating with a group of little kiddos. This year, he had a great time out with his Daddy, Cap'n Hook. And his sword gave him bravery to face every scary door he came to. No scary masks could scare him when he had his sword in his hand.

After they were finished, Jason helped us give candy out to the rest of the kids who came to our door. He ran to the door every time and was so excited to hand out the candy! It was so cute. My little boy is really growing up!!

Nana

2011-11-06T17:20:00.000-07:00

We checked out of the hospital

with this tiny little guy and went straight to the airport to pick up Nana who came to stay for a few days.

She was a lifesaver in so many ways!! She cleaned and cooked, but most importantly, she paid special attention to a little boy named Jason. She brought him a present - his favorite book, The Great Escape of Marvin the Ape, and a little stuffed animal gorilla - named Marvin. :) He LOVES it!!

It was so wonderful to have her with us!!

And especially to see her relationship with Jason grow.

They spent lots of time together doing really fun things! On the last night she was here, we heard them laughing and giggling in Jason's bedroom. Apparently, Nana woke Jason up when she went to bed and he climbed in bed with her and begged her to tell him story after story and sing song after song. We wondered if they'd ever go to sleep. They were both having so much fun! :) But, eventually, the laughter died down. It was a great last night with Nana.

We miss her!

Big Brother

2011-11-04T13:40:00.000-06:00

When Jason first walked into the hospital room, he was a little shy because we had a lot of visitors and everyone was watching his reaction. But, after a bit of coaxing from Dad and being given a gift from a friend, he was in the mood to meet his new baby brother.

Before we left to the hospital, we had Jason pick out one of his baby toys to give to his baby brother. He wrapped it up as a present. So, when he was ready, we let him open the present and give it to Bryan. It was this little car rattle. We also had a present to Jason from Bryan - it was a little super hero car. I think it helped him have an automatic positive reaction to the new addition to our family.

The first look

Jason just sat there and watched Bryan for a while.

He gave him hugs.

and it seemed like he just adored him. He kept saying "he's so tee-oot!"

just so fascinated with "Baby" - he didn't call him Bryan yet.

Now, he'll call him "Baby Bryan" but never just Bryan. I think it's cute that he refers to him as a definite baby.

a little kiss

he's a happy big brother!

he loves to hold him at different points during the day, and gets excited when he wakes up.

and he loves to give him kisses.

and tells us to do the same.

but he soon looses interest and finds other things to play with - like this closet in our hospital room.

it was his favorite little hiding place.

Baby Bryan

2011-11-02T17:17:00.001-06:00

Last week, we welcomed a new addition into the family.

Here he is - Literally Brand New! He was 8 lb 4 oz and 20.5 " long.

Welcoming him into the world was a really peaceful, special experience.

He brought such a sweet spirit with him into the delivery room.

We were overjoyed to welcome him into our family.

For an hour after his birth, he sat with us, just as wide awake as can be.

We admired him from his big lips and cute little nose - it's Momma's nose to a "T"!

- all the way down to his tiny black feet - fresh off the press.

Proud Pappa

So excited to have another little boy!!

We spent the first night at the hospital as just the 3 of us, so we could get to know this new little boy of ours.

And try to figure out what his name was. :)

big yawn!

I loved cuddling him all night long.

Isn't he just the sweetest little boy!!?

I think so. Sometime during one of his nighttime feedings, I ran through our list of names and tried each one of them out to see which fit this little boy best. I feel like the name kind of chose him. It was Bryan - it just was. He didn't belong to any of the other names we'd considered. We'd been thinking of using a name like James or Jay for his middle name, but in that same early morning hour, my Mom's maiden name came to me as his middle name: Ray.

Bryan means "Strength" and Ray is just such a meaningful name to me. The Ray family is a huge part of who I am. The name Ray carries with it an amazing heritage, which we hope to pass on to our children. And having a piece of my Mom in his name means a lot to me. Jason was sort of named for both of our Dads - John and Jay are their names and Jason - son of "J" - seemed to work for both of them. Plus, we liked that it means "healer". Then, we took Jason's middle name from Brent's brother: Tyler. So, our first son's name came mostly from Brent's family, and this 2nd son has a name from my family.

We didn't think he looked anything like Jason at first, but as I spent more time with him, he began to look more and more like his older brother. He's definitely got his own look, but there are a lot of similarities there as well.

Brent says he's his Momma's child. He thinks he looks just like me for some reason.

I'm perfectly fine with that. He's adorable!!

sweet cheeks

That is one happy Daddy!

And who wouldn't be with this bundle of joy?

Perfectly peaceful hospital days.

We are in love with our little Bryan.

Happy Birthday

2011-11-01T18:56:00.000-06:00

To me!

haha, I know this isn't what anyone is interested in...but I turned 27 this year. Brent and I went out without Jason, and came back with just enough time for me to open Jason's birthday card.

It was lovely.

And after his bedtime, we had some yummy birthday cake.

The next day, we celebrated WITH Jason - he was pretty excited about this icecream cake.

Happy little boy!

And happy momma, too!

What a good little helper!

Lately

2011-10-19T16:06:00.002-06:00

Our first project was to get this cowboy potty trained.

So, these are the last of the diaper pics. Aren't they cute!?

He's been doing so great!! We are so proud of him and how fast he's picked it up. I guess it was kind of expected, though. He IS almost 3!

After he got the hang of the potty - which was really about a week and a half - I started frantically trying to get everything I wanted to get done before this baby comes! I left town as soon as I FINALLY started feeling well. So I definitely didn't get anything done before since I was so sicky, and when we finally came back, I started feeling the pressure cause we were about a month away! Anyway, here are some of the things that have been keeping me busy.

I made a bunch of burp cloths. I did this last time, but didn't love the flannel I used, so I redid the ones I had and added a few more to the bunch. You can never have enough, right?

Our biggest project has been getting the 3rd bedroom ready to be Jason's big boy room. I love the way it's turned out so far! I wanted to make it an inviting space so he wouldn't get jealous of the nursery. Since we're having another boy, it's pretty much exactly the same and I'm still a little worried that he'll have some possession issues since he spent the first 3 years of his life in there. Anyway, craiglist was great to find some furniture, and the bedding was also a steal, so it came together really easily!

I wanted to make some kind of decoration for his walls, and this is what I came up with.

I just got some unfinished frames and some unfinished wood vehicles and some paper to match his room. Attached the paper to the back of the frames and the vehicles to the paper. Super easy and I really love the way they've turned out!

There will probably be more to come for his room, but I think it's got a pretty good start.

So, as I mentioned, we've been just getting everything ready for this baby! Which mostly means doing lots and lots of laundry! I just wanted everything cleaned again!

I also decided to follow some advice and make another baby blanket for this new little one. I think it will help in the beginning - just so Jason isn't jealous that the baby get's ALL his stuff. He'll still have his own blanket at least! It's a small thing, but hopefully it'll help.

This one is pretty much the exact same, except I used a darker blue on the backside and a darker binding. In all honesty I love Jason's blanket best, but I didn't want them to be exactly the same.

My latest project has been this car seat tent for the baby car seat. I wanted one last time, but never got around to making one. I LOVE the way this one turned out! I tried to keep it gender neutral in hopes that we'll have a little girl someday.

And I think it matches our car seat pretty well. I used {Mo Momma's tutorial} and made it last night while watching the debate. :) It was super quick and easy! Love it!!

We put my sewing and craft stuff in the nursery using a desk that came with the bedroom set we STOLE on craigslist for Jason and it's been so nice to have it out so I can use it! I've been busy!

Can you tell what Jason's going to be for Halloween??

Now we're just waiting for baby. Any day now... The due date is the 24th, but we were spoiled with Jason who came 5 days early, so we're really trying not to expect an early baby this time! However, I am dialated to a 4, so things are progressing! If I had to guess, I'd say I'm going to be in the hospital sometime this weekend, but please NOT the 21st, cause that's my birthday. Here's hoping!

6 Years

2011-10-19T08:03:00.000-06:00

We celebrated our Anniversary about a month ago, and sadly this phone picture is the only momento we have of it. That, and the sweet memories of the pedicure I made Brent get with me followed by the amazing food we had here at Marks.

Sure love ya Babe!

Mater!

2011-10-15T21:02:00.000-06:00

Look who we found on our drive home!!

This cute little towing company had this truck out next to the road. We passed it and actually turned around so we could meet him. They couldn't have done a better job making this guy!!

It looked JUST like him, and Jason was THRILLED! Oh, it was so cool!

He could have played on that tow truck for hours...and when it was time to go we had probably the biggest melt down to date.

But it was worth it.

Zoo Number 2

2011-10-14T08:24:00.000-06:00

When Jason and I finally came back from our long vacation, Brent was training out of town. So, instead of sitting at home alone for 3 weeks, we decided to join him in his hotel.

One of the things we did while we were there was visit the zoo. Yes, another zoo. This one was really well done! I feel like a professional landscape architect laid it all out. The picture above is where we ate lunch, and while you ate, you looked out and could see giraffs, elephants, zebras, antelope and lions. It literally felt like we were in Africa! So cool.

The view from our table were these cute giraffs.

And these elephants were literally huge!! African elephants are SO TALL Like I think I'm about as tall as their front legs.

Jason's favorite part again were the penguins.

He just loves watching them swim back and forth in the water.

The leopards were awesome because there were 2 of them sitting right next to the glass!!

tempting those leopards with a little hand...hungry guys??

They actually started wrestling with each other for a little bit, and it made Jason a little scared.

Seriously. They were right there. It was a pretty fun visit!

Go Cougars!

2011-10-11T20:05:00.000-06:00

We decided to treat ourselves to a BYU football game this year - we are really missing those!! So, we drove to Austin for the Texas game.

No sooner do we get there, than we run into the great Ty Detmer just standing outside the stadium! Brent was thrilled!!

As you can see, our seats were awesome...we got a great view of the ENTIRE stadium. But, we were surrounded by BYU fans, so that was fun. I had a hard time hiking up to the top 8 months pregnant, though. I think I got a little overheated!!

Our seats did give us a great view of downtown Austin, though. And even though BYU lost, we still had a great time!!

Zoo Boise

2011-10-10T20:40:00.001-06:00

A few of us went to the Boise Zoo before Jason and I left town. It's a great little zoo.. perfect size!

2 little chickies

We made it to the goats, and lucky for Jason, Aunt Jessica had some quarters to spare!

He had fun feeding them.

Checkin out the animals.

Bonka treated Jason to a ride on the carosel.

weeeee

And he even got a ride himself!

I think Jason's favorite part was the penguins.

And mine was the giraffs.

At the very end of our visit, we saw the lions, and while we were there, the big male lion started roaring. He gave us about 10 good roars in a row. It was so awesome! I only wish we could have seen his face while he was doing it. He was roaring into the bushes. I've never had that happen at a zoo before. It was great!

Cousins

2011-10-05T18:33:00.001-06:00

I unfortunately didn't get pictures of everyone I saw when visiting my family, but it had been so long since I'd seen these guys.

We went to the Shaws to have green smoothies - yum! And when Aunt Launette's blender started, both Jason and Brynlee ran and hid under the table.

But even though they were scared of her super awesome blender - a Vitamix, which I have GOT to get someday - they sure enjoyed the smoothies!

mmmm!

I actually don't think they look that much alike, but in this picture, their eyes and eyebrows are so similar to me. They must be from the same stock!

I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Nicole. She's due about 3 weeks after I am and we're both having little boys! If only we lived closer. Our kids would be best buddies!!

Grandma and Grandpa Viehweg

2011-10-02T17:55:00.000-06:00

We made sure to visit my Grandparents before leaving Utah.

We had a great lunch and spent a few hours with them.

And Jason had a great swing.

Rootbeer Floats

2011-10-02T17:35:00.000-06:00

On our last night in Utah, we visited with my siblings there at school.

Gave them a chance to say goodbye to Jason - which they cherished. ;)

And also me, of course. haha

Then, we had some awesome Rootbeer Floats.

this kid went to town!

and then some!

and after playing "tic toc Jason" with Max, it was time to say goodbye.

This was a hard one! I love and miss living there with all of them and I didn't know when I was going to see them again!!

The Wedding

2011-09-28T21:15:00.001-06:00

And now, for the main event:

We got all dressed up and went to the temple. Isn't this little man cute!? He may have been cute, but he was a little pill all day long. Too many people trying to get him to smile, I guess.

oh siblings...I miss you.

the bride and all her seesters

great dress shot

chillin at the temple

a pretty good shot of how Jason was all day long

but I just can't get over how cute he looked in his tuxedo pants!

work it, Bryson!

another great shot of Jason

John, loving those flowers

really loving them!

the happy couple

he's just so hot!

three little cuties

As you can see, my pictures of the day were really great and thorough...good thing she had an awesome photographer!!

Congratulations, John & Kristin!

BYU Graduation

2011-09-24T09:29:00.000-06:00

I had three siblings/inlaws graduating this time. Super fun to see them all finish up!

Congratulations, guys!

(baby Alice also worked hard to earn her graduation cap)

Tractors

2011-09-22T07:46:00.000-06:00

It wouldn't be a trip to Idaho if it didn't involve rides on a few tractors.

so excited to ride on "Bonka's tractor"

Jason sat on his lap the entire time he mowed the lawn

weeeee!

But Jaylen brought an even bigger tractor a few days later, in preparation for the wedding reception

and he even let Jason drive it with him!

oh boy!

Water Parks

2011-09-20T10:17:00.000-06:00

A few of the fun things to do in Eagle

Getting his splash on at the splash pad downtown.

With cute little Emmie

Jason and Natalie enjoying the beach at Eagle Island.

building a castle

We actually met my friend Ashley and her kids at another splash park, but I didn't get any pictures of that!! So sad!! Guess we were too busy catching up, but it was super fun to see them.

Bridal Shower

2011-09-19T21:17:00.000-06:00

August was all about visiting Viehwegs.

First things first, a Bridal Shower for Kristin!!

super excited about the super cute decorations

She got a lot of great stuff!

Including a nice little package from her seesters.

I think she liked it!!

Bow and Arrow

2011-07-29T11:53:00.000-06:00

This is Jason's bow and arrow.

Notice the aim face.

Pretty creative, right?

Getting ready to shoot Daddy.

Got him.

I love pretend!!

Our Independence Day

2011-07-15T16:50:00.001-06:00

Jason loved helping Mommy make 4th of July cookies.

And Mommy loved Jason's sticky fingers.

Roll,...

Lick, Repeat...

Our neighborhood had a parade through the streets in the morning. We weren't in it, but we loved watching the parade go by. We followed it down to the Community center so we could have a look at the awesome firetruck!

And Jason got to go inside!

He loved it.

We ate our free snow cones and played at the playground, then ran home to get our swimming suits on for the neighborhood pool party.

They had yummy treats!

And yummy "hotgogs"!

This boy was in heaven, and his parents enjoyed it, too. :)

Then we swam for a little while.

Later that afternoon, it was time to decorate our cookies!

Boy did Jason love "helping"!

We ended up with an entire bottle of sprinkles upended onto one cookie...

But it was still loads of fun and we made some "boo-full" cookies!

That night we went to see one of the city firework shows.

As we waited for the show to start, Jason ran around.

He made a new friend - Laney.

And decided to share a cookie with her.

Yum!

The show was worth the hour wait, but wouldn't have been worth more than that... It was a little slow - Jason got bored and started asking to go home...We were lucky that some girls came around passing out glow sticks to keep our kiddo entertained. Still, it was a great day!

Happy Birthday America!

Singing Time

2011-06-27T15:21:00.001-06:00

Dinner time on this night turned into singing time for this little boy.

First he serenaded us with Hakuna Matata:

Next came Captain Hook:

And he finished off with the opening song on the Lion King:

which he was quite persistent about singing! He even got his mom and dad to join in at the end.

Enjoy!

Mr. Potato Face

2011-06-20T12:33:00.000-06:00

Every once in a while we find Jason poking Mr. Potato Head parts into his own body.

We're having a...

2011-06-14T20:32:00.002-06:00

BOY

and yes, I want to take a picture like this once he's here

Playing With the Hose

2011-06-06T12:05:00.000-06:00

After working on the yard, Brent taught Jason how to have fun with the hose.

Taught him to water the grass.

Taught him to water the flowers.

Taught him to drink out of it.

Taught him it was fun to get wet, even in your clothes.

And taught him to run through the sprinkler.

Until he was thoroughly soaked.

And happy! :)

March to May

2011-05-22T17:28:00.002-06:00

So, I've been really lazy on the blogging front lately... Here's what's been happening since March.

Brent had a birthday! The big 2-9! We celebrated really low key - I got him some new scriptures and some clothes and some key lime soda. The good news was that I had a doctor's appointment that day - which is when we found out we were actually pregnant with our 2nd! So, that made a great birthday present for him. :)

Most of April was spent preparing for the Stake Youth Conference we were asked to attend. We were tribal leaders, and this was our tribe.

Brent - after the flour bomb war - had a pretty awesome "Nephite" costume.

The next weekend, we packed up and headed to Florida to attend Brent's Pappaw's funeral.

It was a really nice celebration of his life.

He was laid to rest in the same plot as Mammaw.

We'll really miss him, but we're glad that they're together again.

We're glad we were able to make the quick trip.

And of course we really enjoyed spending time with all the family.

The next weekend was Mother's Day.

And Brent made it absolutely perfect for me! Clean house, wonderful food, flowers. I felt really loved and appreciated.

And now I think we'll be content to just lay low for a while. It feels like we've been on a ton of trips lately. We're ready to be home bodies and gear up to go to my sister Kristin's Wedding in August!

I am 18 weeks pregnant, and on June 15th we'll be finding out - Girl or Boy - what do you think?

Idaho Recap

2011-03-31T12:16:00.001-06:00

Thankfully, this babe gave us a great excuse to visit home this month:

Thanks for coming home from your mission Jessica!

It was so fun to see you!

And we got to see the family, to boot!! :)

the apirport crew

Plenty of people were excited to see her come home.

Jason got a lot of Bonka time.

And he learned to play the wii...sword fighting was his favorite!

I got some good sister time, too! :)

This was Jason's reaction to hearing there was a baby in Lisa's tummy.

a great game Grandpa came up with

Go Bryson!!! We went to see one of his Lacrosse games.

It was fun to spend time with my mom's parents at Shannon's game.

Go Shannon!

Jessica's Open House

Practicing for our family musical number.

I get a little teary-eyed when I think about singing with my family. Those are always special times. I miss you guys!! What Aunt Michelle said to us while we were practicing will always stick with me.
She said no matter how far away we are from family and how much time we spend apart, when we sing together, we sound so similar and it helps us really feel like we belong together and like we've never been apart. I totally felt that way singing with everyone again. It was and always is such a feeling of home to me!

So, that's our trip in a nutshell!

We had a fantastic time!

Cowboy

2011-02-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

The other day, Jason found something to complete his cowboy ensamble.

His momma's boots.

They were great fun, until..

...he realized he couldn't walk in em.

Bummer.

Gatorland

2011-01-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

On this Florida vacation, we finally decided to visit Gatorland for the first time.

And we got started with petting a baby alligator on our way into the park.

Look at all the gators!

We watched a guy wrestle a gator.

But, of course our favorite part was the train ride.

He just had a look of total bliss on his face the whole time.

Yeay for Choo Choos!

Jason was also excited to inspect an alligator's mouth.

And ride on his back.

And poke his eyes. And the nice gator didn't even budge.

Downtown Winter Garden

2011-01-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

Jason loves trains right now, so when we heard there were a bunch of choo choos in Winter Garden, we had to go have a look.

The boy was in heaven!

Look how excited he is! haha.

He only wished he could have gone inside. It was closed for maintenance.

But, they had tractors to ride.

And an old fire truck to sit in. See him driving?

It was super fun.

We went to some of the museums and touched aligators and turtles, even though we weren't supposed to touch them. ;)

They had a swing we played on.

And they still had all the pretty Christmas stuff up.

Then, we went inside the train museum!

Jason sat and watched the electric train go by for about 10 minutes!

And then he played with their train set, which is a lot like the one he got from Santa.

Then we went to Lake...Apopka?! I have no idea.

My camera was on a weird setting for a while...sorry so bright.

Jason loved walking around with Grandpa.

And Daddy.

It was nice to spend time with Brent's dad.

The water was seriously like glass. I've never seen so much water so smoth.

Lake Eola

2011-01-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Lake Eola is right in the middle of downtown Orlando and has a really great playground.

And it's also in a pretty park.

It was fun to get out and play.

Especially since it was with the cousins.

This things spins you around real fast.

Little buddies sharing a bite to eat.

And when we were done with the playground, we took a walk around the lake.

Hulk

2011-01-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

I just had to share these.

Jason loved playing with these while we stayed at Brent's brother's house.

Doesn't he look like he's posing in this one!?

I love it.

Christmas Day

2011-01-13T13:46:00.004-07:00

On Christmas morning, we had to be woken up... at 9am. Jason didn't wake up, and we had been up late, so we just slept until finally they couldn't wait any longer.

Jason was a little unsure of what to do at first.

So we guided him to his stocking and that's where the fun began.

It's so fun to see him get so excited about things...Buzz bubble bath, for instance.

And a Bullseye.

Santa was good to him!!

He was also good to Brent who got the new MJ cd, along with a watch.

He brought me a new ipod and some jewelry.

Dad got to be there for Christmas morning, getting a few precious moments off from his crazy work schedule.

Jason LOVED opening those presents!

His daddy gave him some swords which he was so excited about!!

He immediately knew just what to do with them.

Mommy gave him some jumbo legos.

And Bonka and Oma gave him this train set.

Which he LOVES!

And then the present opening was over...

We all walked away happy and feeling very blessed.

I made french toast with strawberries and lil smokies for breakfast, and then we just got together with family.

We actually ended up going to the park - something I've NEVER done on Christmas. The guys played basketball and Jason kept getting in the way.

I tried to distract him with the playground, but he really just wanted to play "bass - uh - ball"

And Uncle Tyler kept having to carry him off the court.

That is, until he found these cones.

And that was our Christmas!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-11T13:40:00.002-07:00

We all gathered together on Christmas Eve for a gift exchange.

All the cousins in town.

And so the present unwrapping began.

Jason was given a Jessie doll from Toy Story. And he loves it.

All the siblings in town. It was a fun night.

We finished off the night watching The Nativity Story, one of my very favorite Christmas movies.

Merry Christmas.

Downtown Disney

2011-01-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

We met up with my long lost cousin Nicole and her family and friends for a little fun in Downtown Disney.

These two had never met, but trust me they were thrilled to be introduced to each other...

thrilled...

We had a fun lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and then just strolled around.

This is as close as you can get to snow in Florida.

When we found Buzz, Jason was in heaven. He could not wait for his turn to go up and meet him.

Below he's telling us, "It's BUZZ!"

Seriously, so excited!

We could have left him at that statue all day and he would have been fine.

Too bad there were other people waiting for their turn.

But at our next stop, we found Woody!

Not quite as exciting, but still pretty cool. All made out of legos.

It was so good to catch up, we hadn't seen each other in years. I'm really glad she decided to ditch her family and head down to Florida for her Christmas vacation. haha!

Truth be told, the kids had more fun playing in the back of the truck than they did walking around Disney.

Can you blame them??

ICE

2011-01-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

One of the first things we did while visiting Brent's family was go to ICE, a display created all out of ice sculptures. They keep it at 9* so, they give everyone these nice shiney blue parkas to wear - mostly because people down here don't even own a parka.

I thought Jason looked pretty cute in his.

Too bad we couldn't keep them. ;)

Don't we look lovely!!?

It was pretty cool - and pretty freezing! The locals were having a really hard time breathing. Haha!

I, on the other hand, was in heaven. Feeling so cold!! I loved it! I only wish I'd had some gloves.

The theme was "Twas the Night Before Christmas" so each room was a different scene from the poem, ending with this fun room.

And some slides.

I think he might have liked it a little more if it hadn't been so cold. haha.

As much as I liked the awesome sculptures in the other rooms, this Nativity Scene at the very end was my favorite. I just love the pure white ice sculptures.

After freezing, we got to go to another area in the same resort hotel where they put on a Christmas Rock Concert. It was pretty funny. These holy songs being played rock n roll style while acrobats did dances on ribbons hanging from the ceiling...Not quite reverent. But, still a really fun show, and they gave us free hot chocolate, so we had no complaints!

Nana's Story Time

2011-01-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many times Nana read "Marvin the Ape" to Jason while we were visiting, but it was a lot!

And every time Jason was just as concerned about what that ape was going to do.

But it always turned out fine in the end.

Jason loved reading with you, Nana!

We miss you!

Visiting Santa Clause

2011-01-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

On my last day of Christmas shopping I took Jason with me to the mall, and we wandered into the North Pole.

I let Jason get out and play with all the waiting line activities - the place was deserted! We were the only ones in line.

And we walked around the line area for quite a while until Jason decided he wanted to meet Santa.

At first he just stood there - a few feet away - and talked to him...telling him all about some subject that only he knew about...None of us could understand him.

Eventually, we coaxed him up onto his lap. He was such a nice old man!! Jason was a little unsure, but once he was up there, he did just fine.

These are the shots I got.

When I showed these pics to Jason later, he said, "It's Buzz!" pointing to the action figure in his hand...

Holiday Helper

2010-12-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

I've had a lot of help making treats lately.

This little guy comes running every time he hears the beaters going or the word chocolate.

Yes, he knows that word. "Chalkit" and he loves the stuff just as much as I do.

He helped me make our neighbor gifts this year.

Meaning, he ate my ingredients while I tried to make our neighbor gifts...

But I still loved having a helper.

Those lucky enough to live by us got peppermint bark, one of my very favorite treats!

It's Christmas Time!!

2010-12-10T18:16:00.001-07:00

Of course NOW our house looks like this.

And this.

And this. (I love having a mantle!)

And this.

Merry Christmas, guys!

The Nativity

2010-12-08T13:43:00.001-07:00

Jason got really interested when Daddy started setting up our Nativity this year.

So, he let him help.

His favorite part are the sheep.

And he now knows who "Beebee Jees" is.

Where We Live

2010-12-05T10:26:00.000-07:00

I feel kinda funny posting these, but it's for those of you who asked to see our house...

If you didn't...just skip this one.

Entry Way:

View from Entryway:

View from Dining Room:

Dining Room:

(We brought the table in for Thanksgiving)

View from Dining Room:

Kitchen:

View from the Back Door:

Back Porch:

View from Kitchen:

That hallway leads to 2 Bedrooms:

Jason's Room:

Hall Bath:

Craft Room:

That doorway leads to Our Bedroom:

Master Bedroom:

Another view:

Master Bath:

Another view:

There you have it.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Or maybe we should call it "Brent's Thanksgiving"

For all we know, he was the only one around...judging by the pictures I took.

Apparently, I'm the only one who takes them...and I was busy cooking our amazing meal.

Yes, it was amazing. :)

Lucky for me, I had Brent's help with the turkey.

Even though he made a "disgusted" face the whole time, he was very helpful!

I had a really fun time planning our Thanksgiving table. It was the first one I've ever really done...so it was fun!

I know you want another view...

See, I took pics of the table...but nothing else. Lame.

The kids table. I put crayons on it, so they could color...Jason colored all over his plate as well.

But, don't worry, he still ate off of it.

I was so pleasantly surprised with how well the turkey turned out!

Our handsome Brent carving the turkey... I promise he wasn't alone here.

My lovely apple pie. We had a great time with our friends, the Walkers, and I am still really sad I didn't get a picture of us all eating together. I was busy. But, it was so fun!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Family Pictures Fall 2010

2010-11-28T16:37:00.001-07:00

We took these family pics just before we moved.

Can't decide between these...same picture, different finish

Or these...I usually love sepia, but the fall colors are just so pretty!

Tara, my friend who took these, did such a good job!!

She really made it look like Jason loved taking these pictures...which was not the case. :)

I should probably give the biggest shout out to Trent...he's the one who brought out the smiles. Thanks so much, guys!!! We miss you!

2 Years Old

2010-11-03T13:59:00.001-06:00

Jason's Birthday happened to be the same day Toy Story 3 came out on DVD.

We are so happy Disney thought about our little 2 year old when they were picking the release date. ;)Nothing could have made him happier on his Birthday than another Toy Story!

He's in love with these movies.

Since we just moved here, and he has no friends, we decided to make the day all about Toy Story.

So, I started out by making this rocket cake.

Sorta like the one Buzz comes in in the movie, right? :)

I don't think Jason really noticed, but he DID notice his two good buddies on either side of it, wishing him a Happy Birthday.

We also threw up a few decorations.

And I had to get this sign...Jason LOVES it! He tells me who all the characters are all day long. :)

So, we ate dinner, and then he began opening presents.

Loves this book from Nana (Brent's Mom)

And especially this "boo!" card!

He seriously got a kick out of it. haha

Opening...

It's "Tay-toohhh"

(that's what he's saying here.)

I seriously underestimated how much he would love this thing!!! He's played with it almost non stop since opening it!!

We did force him to put it aside so he could open his other presents...

He knew just what to do with these.

Immediately started pounding the table with the hammer. :)

And then came the big moment.

Seriously, look how happy he was!!

Time to sing.

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Dear Jason!

Happy Birthday to YOU!

And here he is spitting at the candles...

And spitting harder to try to get them to blow out...

He needed a little help. :)

Licking off his toys.

And eating cake.

Yum!

Then, we all sat down and watched Toy Story 3 for the first time.

I have to say, it was pretty good.

I loved the end.

Happy Birthday, Jason! We sure love you!!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T15:52:00.000-06:00

Halloween for us started with a ward Trunk-or-Treat party. Jason was a little less than thrilled to put on a costume, but once he was in it, he sorta liked being Woody.

He was especially thrilled to find a Buzz at the party!

His costume was homemade and so cute!! Sorry, Jason, we just went with the cheap, easy one this year. haha

I had to show this just because he looked really cute from the back. :)

Here's the little guy in action...not quite sure what to do, but people were giving out candy and he wanted in on that!!

On actual Halloween, he didn't get his nap because of church...so he crashed at 5:30 in the middle of dinner.

So we let him sleep there for a half hour....but when we woke him up, he was NOT a happy camper!! We decided to participate in Trick-or-Treating this year just so we didn't seem like the neighborhood Halloween scrooges...and to get to meet our neighbors a little bit.

Jason wasn't ready to go when the first Trick-or-Treaters came to our house, so he had a hard time watching everyone get candy and then leave...He really wanted to be part of the fun. He was screaming, and we came to the conclusion that he just felt really left out. haha. Once he was out there, he was just fine.

Here he is, ready go to out with Daddy, who threw on his Michale Jackson hat for good measure. haha.

And of course he's posing by this awesome pumpkin his daddy carved!

Jason loved the "Punkin"

And they're back with their loot. They just went around our street.

I think he had a great time. And for the rest of the night, he got a thrill every time people came to the door. He ran to see them!

We love Halloween!

Jason's Hats

2010-10-28T12:25:00.001-06:00

In addition to the fireman hat Jason got (mentioned in the last post), here are some others he's been playing with lately.

He's been liking his Daddy's Michael Jackson hat lately...

It almost looks like he's trying to dance in this one! haha.

And of course, Daddy's thrilled. :)

And I also picked up a Woody costume just because it came with this hat. :)

Studly cowboy, eh? No I do not ask him to make these faces...

He loves it just as much as I thought he would...even though he usually wears it backwards...

So, guess what this little guy is going to be for Halloween!?

Our First Outing

2010-10-19T15:13:00.001-06:00

So, in our mail we got a newsletter from our neighborhood telling us all about what's going on this month. Kinda fun. One of the things happening was this Fall Festival that a local college puts on where almost everything is free. So, we thought we'd check it out.

It was pretty great for this little guy. He got to get inside a firetruck!

And they even let him keep the hat!

There was also a petting zoo.

He was a little shy at first.

But gradually started petting the little goats.

And the "gonkey"

The last thing we did before leaving was a train ride. The wait wasn't too long, but he still was so anxious to get on that train!

As it took off, I heard Jason give off one of his loud belly laughs! He was in heaven!!

It's just a loop around the parking lot.

Isn't it a cute train?!!

He loved every minute!

And when it was time for him to get off, he bawled! HARD! We were the worst parents ever for taking him off that train!

But, at least he got to ride it!

As usual, no pictures of us, but we went with some new frinds, Broc and Brandy and their 4 month old. It was fun to get to know them.

We are slowly, but surely, putting our house together. When it's all ship-shape I'll show ya'll what it's like.

Moving

2010-10-12T18:42:00.000-06:00

I looked out the window and what did I see?

A big fat moving truck blocking my view.

And so it began...

Wish I could have taken more pictures of everyone who helped us move but...we were moving. I was kinda busy. But Thank YOU ALL!! With everyone's help we were able to get it knocked out by lunch time!!

Then, me and my cleaning angels went to work. Thank you Aunt Noreen, Uncle Matt, Mark, Macsen, Max, Lisa, Kristin, and Danielle so much for helping! It made it go by so fast...and I will always love you for it!!! It made it so we could attend our last BYU Home Game for maybe a while. :)

My siblings know how to get Jason to sit with them....

A sucker for the little sucker.

No really, it made him happy! haha

He just loved those suckers!

And we just loved the game...

Go Cougars!!

And the next morning we were off!

Jason livin it up with his travel pillow and binki in the back seat.

If only he'd been this happy the whole trip. :) He did pretty well, though. We made it in about 25 hours, in 3 days.

Go Decepticons!

2010-10-10T18:42:00.001-06:00

The Decepticons are a girls flag football intramural team that my sister Kristin basically put together with a friend, Johnny, who is their coach. They are REALLY good. We really miss watching their games.

This was the last Decepticon Football game we were able to attend. I think it's safe to say we've been some of their biggest fans. :)

'So, what's the game plan, guys?'

Jason had a great time running up and down the sidelines.

And playing with the cones.

his "hats"

"Put me in coach!"

Love this little boy.

We'll miss watching you guys! Win it all for us, ok?

Last Dinner at Grandma's

2010-10-09T08:29:00.000-06:00

Grandma showing Jason how the windchime works.

Brent harrassing me during badmitton.

Walking with grandma

He's so cute!

The concentration!

Swinging with Grandpa.

Hanging out with the Viehweg's.

Sharing icecream with Grandma

We're going to miss visiting this house and these people!!

Playing Catch Up

2010-10-06T15:09:00.001-06:00

So, way back in September, we celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary.

Brent planned it and gave me a clue before heading to work for half a day. It said we were going to visit the place where we had our first date.

So, when he got off at lunch, he took me up to Sundance, probably my favorite place in Utah, and we rode the lift to see the changing fall leaves.

I absolutely adored it! Sundance is where Brent held my hand for the first time.

Maybe someday I'll have a cabin in these hills...

Fall is my favorite Season.

Afterward, we had a picnic up there for lunch. It was awesome.

He gave me several clues for the rest of the day that took us to different locations in Utah, sort of celebrating the 5 years we've spent there.

But Sundance was probably my favorite stop we made...

...although, stop 5 was amazing as well!! We went to:

And ate the most amazing food...probably the best we've had in Utah.

Happy Anniversary!

Bonka

2010-09-22T13:15:00.002-06:00

Jason's going to miss living so close to you, Bonka.

Camping

2010-09-08T19:18:00.000-06:00

We decided to go camping over the long weekend, and were lucky enough to find a spot.

This little guy spent the entire evening exploring. He loves the outdoors.

He also loves Danielle's camera.

Sitting around the fire

the fam

Jason would like to personally thank

Uncle Bryson

for countless hours spent playing with this "coys" (car)

He can't say hummer. :)

But he sure does love this thing!

And so do I!

We had a pretty good night. It was a little cold, but still fun.

The following morning was pretty cold, too.

But we had the smokey fire to keep us warm...

As we were packing up, Jason dumped a whole package of these cookies out

And then got upset when his hands got dirty as he ate them off the ground...

Thanks for a great time, guys!!

*The Daily Staley*

One Month Old

My Newest Creation

Thanksgiving

Brother Loves

She almost got away with it!

Blessing Bryan

Jason Turns Three!

Aunts & Uncle

Bryan's First Bath

Holding Baby Bryan

Happy Halloween

Nana

Big Brother

Baby Bryan

Happy Birthday

Lately

6 Years

Mater!

Zoo Number 2

Go Cougars!

Zoo Boise

Cousins

Grandma and Grandpa Viehweg

Rootbeer Floats

The Wedding

BYU Graduation

Tractors

Water Parks

Bridal Shower

Bow and Arrow

Our Independence Day

Singing Time

Mr. Potato Face

We're having a...

Playing With the Hose

March to May

Idaho Recap

Cowboy

Gatorland

Downtown Winter Garden

Lake Eola

Hulk

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve

Downtown Disney

ICE

Nana's Story Time

Visiting Santa Clause

Holiday Helper

It's Christmas Time!!

The Nativity

Where We Live

Thanksgiving

Family Pictures Fall 2010

2 Years Old

Happy Halloween!

Jason's Hats

Our First Outing

Moving

Go Decepticons!

Last Dinner at Grandma's

Playing Catch Up

Bonka

Camping

The Daily Staley