Busy Times

We've been SOoooo busy lately, but we're having a lot of fun. We had taken all our Christmas stuff down before Thanksgiving to get the lights up outside. In doing this, I had a huge mess of totes to clear out before we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. I refused to take down any Fall decorations until the day was over...so we had mixture of holidays going on for about a week. It's felt a little strange this year still not having snow outside.The day after Thanksgiving we did our annual shopping around. We didn't have much that we 'REALLY' wanted so we didn't go out until about 7:00 a.m. and still found what we were after. It was nice to get a little longer to sleep and we took Braxton with us. He's my 'Super Shopper'! I love taking him places with me...he has so much fun.
Every year since we've been married (James proposed the night of this production), we've gone to the 'Forgotten Carols'. This year it was Friday night...so we took Braxton to Nana's and Papa's to spend the night. We went to dinner and on to see the show. We've loved watching how it's changed over the years. I like that he adds something new to make it just a little different each year.
Saturday morning we were up and running again. We picked James' mom up and headed to SLC temple to see some friends get sealed. It was amazing...they lost their little boy a couple days after he was born and were able to be sealed to him and their daughter (who was one of my young women a couple years ago). We were happy to be there for them. After this, we jumped in the truck and headed down to IKEA. This was our first time there. It was a long day...a long weekend...but I have to say Braxton was an angel all weekend. He loved temple square and I can't wait to take him back so we can see the lights.

We had these little turkeys for a treat after YW the week of Thanksgiving. They were so cute we made them for everyone in my family. They turned out cute, but next time I'll use double stuffed Oreo's. Braxton had eaten three of them before I decided 'no more'.

Our little family...

Nana, Papa, and my baby sister Ashley...or as Braxton would say 'Ashee'.

Nikki, Jeremy, and our favorite niece 'Kambry'.

Braxton loves it when his Nana and Papa come to visit.

Braxton is always up for a picture. Here he is with his Nana.

Going Private

I've been thinking about going to a private blog lately. I've heard some pretty strange things and I just watched a special on it on the news. People are taking pictures off of people's blogs and creating their own families...scary! Well...today I checked in on a friend and her baby's pics have been posted on some strange website. I don't know all the details, but I'm going to attempt to keep my family safe...so please send me your e-mail addresses over the next week so I don't lose track of any of you and can add you to my private blog... threegales@hotmail.com

Halloween Night

Here are two handsome boys. If you asked Braxton what he was going to be for Halloween, he would say "A policeman like Daddy." Braxton loved everything about this night. He was excited to see all of he grandparents. His Nana and Papa even came up to visit and followed us around the block to 'trick-or-treat'. I keep waiting for Braxton to go to the neighbors and try it again on his own. He also got to see his cousin Kambry. They love chasing each other...and will never sit still for a picture.

Happy Halloween

I can't seem to catch up on everything, but thought I'd make a special effort...since it is one of my favorite holidays. I'm in charge of our Super Saturday tomorrow and I'm excited to do a couple of fun things...probably won't get to do them there...and I'll be having a Super Sunday when I can say it's done. It will be fun to get some sisters together in our ward and eat a little. :-D

For Family Home Evening a couple of weeks ago, we took Braxton to the Pumpkin Walk. He was fascinated with the lit up jack-o-lanterns. He would walk up to each one and examine it, and then he figured out he could blow the candles out. James had to stop him, but we thought it was very cute and funny.
I took a couple of pictures, but I loved the one of Brent...for any of you that know him. He's the one on his bike all the time honking and waving to everyone. When I looked to see who had created this master piece, 2 of the 3 families used to live in our ward. Very creative bunch. His arm really waved.

The next week, I took Braxton back during the day with some friends. We had enough holes in Clifford for all the kids we had with us. He ran up to the entrance, turned around and said "Mom, take my picture!" People were laughing at us...do you think he knows Mom will be taking a picture of his every move. I think overall, he liked it better during the day because he could see more colors. But that night at bedtime, he had a very interesting conversation with his dad. He told his dad he was sad because someone had blown all the candles out in the pumpkins. I had watched him looking in the pumpkins during the day, but we really didn't talk about it afterward...and that never even crossed my mind. Oh how a little mind works.

Sorry for all the pics...I should have done a slide show. For Family Home Evening this week, Braxton carved his first pumpkin. We videoed him trying to get the seeds out and he would shutter and tell us he didn't like it...and it was cold...and slimy. He wanted to wash his hands.



Hope you all have a Safe and Happy Halloween. I can't wait to see all the costumes and stories to go with your Spooky night.

Lucky SevensTag

One of my friends tagged me. So I'm going to do my best to get all of these answered...this is a lot harder than it looks. Thanks Cindy...for making me use my brain to think about me. I don't do that much anymore.

Seven Things I Plan To Do Before I Die.

1. Put a book together about my Grandmother's life.
2. Go on a mission.
3. Run a 5K.
4. Catch up on scrapbooking...I'm not 'terribly' behind.
5. Be a Grandma...don't know why...always something I've looked forward to.
6. Have family pictures taken on a train engine.
7. Travel...Hawaii is on my list.

Seven Things I Can Do.

1. Scrapbook/Digital Scrapbooking
2. Organize anything
3. Talk your ear off
4. Make good dessert
5. Crosstitch
6. plan a party
7. Make my husband mad

Seven Things I Can't Do.

1. Sew a straight line
2. Jump out of an airplane...don't like anything with heights
3. Draw very well
4. Grow a garden...but I'm not stopping until I get it down.
5. Change my brakes. However, James had me help while he did it. :-)I have pictures to prove it.
6. James also informed me I can't change the oil either.
7. I don't like to fly airplanes either...not that I couldn't learn...it just scares me when James tells me "your controls". YIKES!!!

Seven Things That Attract Me To James.

1. He knows how to make me laugh.
2. He is a VERY hard worker...most of the time too hard.
3. He has great eye lashes.
4. He stands up for himself and VERY independent.
5. How he plays with Braxton.
6. The way he looks at me.
7. His loyalty.

Seven Things I Say Most Often.

1. Seriously!
2. You amaze me. (sarcastically)
3. Go potty! Run...Run...Run...
4. Good job!
5. Do you know your Mommy loves you?
6. What time are you going to be home?
7. Braxton??? What are you doing???

Seven Celebrity Admirations

1. President/Sister Hinckley
2. Oprah
3. Angelina Jolee
4. Brad Pitt
(These two are very service oriented and I admire the fact they try to stay out of the public eye.)
This is about all I can come up with. I'm not into the celebrity thing much. The only ones I can think of are the ones that are always in trouble.

Seven Favorite Foods
1. Mexican
2. Pretty much any bread
3. Velveeta Rotel w/chips
4. Chips and Salsa
5. Mom’s Chicken Noodle Soup
6. Dutch oven potatoes with Mt. Dew instead of Sprite (yummy!)
7. Anything I don’t have to fix

Seven People I Think Should Do This.

I think here are only about 7 of you on my list that would do this. Whoever is up for the challenge. Good Luck!

Through the eyes of a 2 year old

When it gets really quiet at our house, we know Braxton is up to something and start our frantic search. Often times, he won't even answer us when he knows his newly found treasure will be snatched away. As I just went through the pictures on our camera, I found numerous videos of my kitchen counter...excuse the mess...but this one was the best by far. Braxton has a love for the camera...thanks to Papa Leavitt, who lets him play with his. As James would say, no wonder we can't have nice things. He'll be 'REAL' happy when he discovers this post...and I'll be in the 'dog house' for leaving the camera out.