Happy Holidays!

Here are some pictures of what has been going on in our neck of the woods lately!

Gavin is loving having Uncle Travis around! He is his favorite pal. He gets excited to see him and always finds a way to get Uncle Travis to play with him! I am glad he is able to get to know him so well. In the picture on the left they are flipping coins so that they spin on the counter. Gavin could do this all day long and be entertained! Poor Travis! :)

At the beginning of December I was able to watch Spencer for Brian and Jaimee so that they could go to Salt Lake for a weekend get-away! It was fun to have this cute little ball of energy in our house for a few days! He is so cute and it was good to have someone Gavin's size around for him to play with.

On Friday we made a trip out to good old Portage for a family Christmas party with my Grandma Howell's family! It is so good to see everyone, especially since we don't see a lot of them very often. We played basketball, ate a yummy dinner, got a visit from Santa & exchanged gifts. Santa brought Gavin a back pack (I don't know why, but lately he has been obsessed with back packs! And he's 2! I think he's trying to grow up a little too fast.) Inside his back pack was a puzzle (another recent favorite) and one of those Crayola Color Wonder coloring books and markers. Those are fabulous! He has loved coloring with it and mom has loved not having to clean up any mess! What could be better?! And last but certainly not least, the recent snow fall! It has been so fun to see Gavin wake up in the mornings and get so excited to look out the window at all of the snow! He and Brent built a snowman with plungers for arms (as you can see below). Gavin has been so excited to build a snowman and he finally got to do it! And with his favorite person no less! Tonight Brent pulled him on a sled behind the four-wheeler and they had a ball. I even went out to take pictures and jumped on the sled to get in on a little of the action!

That's all for now. Happy Holidays everyone!

Gavin's 2 Year Old Pictures

Our fabulous cousin Katie took Gavin's pictures for his 2 year milestone! You can check out her web-site at http://www.milkweedphotography.com/. She did an awesome job. Thanks Katie!

Such a cheeser...

Just chillin' on the choo choo train tracks, eating my fruit snacks...

Little stud (not sure what he's doing with his lips though!)

Mom had to do a funny dance to get this smile!

I'm 2!

Mom's favorite...

So sweet!

Our Little Boy is 2!

Gavin turned 2 years old on the 21st. It’s hard to believe we have had him for that long! The other night Brent and I were talking about how it doesn’t seem like it’s already been 2 years ago that we were bringing him home from the hospital on Thansgiving day. Time has gone by really fast.

On his birthday we went out to Tremonton and had a party with my family. He had so much fun playing with his cousins and opening presents! Then on Sunday we celebrated all of the November birthdays with the Hirschi Family. Brent's grandma Rhea is turning 94 this month! Happy Birthday Grandma Rhea! We love you!

A few fun things about Gavin:

* Right now his favorite food is hot dogs. Whenever I ask him what he wants to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner his answer is always “Hot Dogs”.
* He is doing really well with the potty training. I am trying not to force the issue and we are taking it slow, but he is doing great! I need to work on my patience a little bit though (he likes to sit on the potty for a LONG time!).
* He is attached to this blanket that my Aunt Tammy made that has airplanes all over it and has fuzzy edges. He calls it his “Ma Mine” (How he says airplane).
* He says Choo Choo Train so cute. It sounds like “Doo Doo Mine”. (Check out the video)
* Some of his favorite things to do: read books, play with Play Doh, jump onto the bean bag or a pile of pillows, play with his cousins, run around the house being a goof ball, help me clean.
* He is such a smart kid! I am amazed everyday at all of the things he can do and remember. He knows his colors and most of the alphabet. He can also count to ten. He is learning so many new words each day and he loves to repeat what everyone else says! We have to be careful what we say around him! :) Lately he has been saying two words together, like: "Fruit Snack", "Cheese Toast", "Yellow Duck", etc.

He is such a sweet & fun little boy and we are so blessed that he is a part of our family. Happy Birthday Gavin! We love you!

November Happenings...

I am trying to get caught up from past pictures so here are a few things that have happened recently. First was the birth of Kaytilane Marhea Isom. Welcome to the world little one! She is adorable! Brent's sister Sandy & her husband Pete are the proud parents. Congratulations guys! This is #5 for their family. Way to go! She is named after her mom, her aunt, her grandma & her great grandma! Sandy's middle name is "Kay" and Pete's sister's name is "Laney" so that's where Kaytilane came from. Her middle name, Mahrea, is after her grandma Marcile and her great grandma Rhea. Very creative family we have! Here are some pictures from when we went to see her in the hospital...

I feel a little weird posting about my own birthday, but I had some quality pictures of my family I wanted to put up, so here ya go! I turned 27 on the 9th. I'm on the downhill slide towards 30. Dang! My family had a fun get together at my mom's house where we enjoyed great company, dinner, cake & ice-cream! Thanks to everyone that came and made my birthday so fabulous! I have the funnest most coolest family ever! Oh yeah, the gorgeous Gerber Daisies are from my cute husband! :)

2008 Family Pictures

We went to a beautiful spot by the Logan River Golf Course to take our family pictures this year. The leaves were so pretty. Wendy and I go walking on a trail there and we've often said, "This would be a good place to take pictures." So we finally did!

A few favorites...

And after taking almost all of our family pictures we finally figured out how to get Gavin to smile...
He would throw a rock in the river and then everybody would clap and so he'd clap and smile and laugh. Too bad we didn't figure that out sooner!

Brent & Randi...a.k.a. Peg & Delmar, the Trailer Trash Couple

Oh yeah, here is one more picture from Halloween!
Enjoy!

P.S. Thanks Joell!

Halloween Fun!

I finally got all of the pictures together from Halloween, so now I can post about it! Yipee! Gavin was a Hershey's Kiss this year. He didn't enjoy his costume as much as I had hoped, but he was a good sport. He kept the hat on for us to take some pictures so that's all that matters! We started out the day in Tremonton where we spent time with my family. Then we headed over to Cache Valley where we ate dinner with Brian & Jaimee and their family. Jaimee makes chili in a pumpkin every year and it was delicious! Then we went trick-or-treating and ended at Grandma and Grandpa Hirschi's house to visit. It was a fun day with family and friends!

Politics, Politics...

Here is my random thought of the day. Tonight we were at dinner with the Hirschi family. We got on the subject of politics, which we often do lately (for obvious reasons), and I get so tense when that happens! I don't like conflict. I'm the peacemaker. I like it when everyone is getting along. I know that doesn't always happen though, so I can appreciate the times when we are "discussing" things as learning experiences.

I know that it comes down to one person's opinion against another person's opinion. I just have to say that I am sure glad Tuesday is voting day because this presidential election is sure getting old! I am pretty tired of slander e-mails about Obama & McCain. Whenever I read a bad e-mail about Obama I wonder, “is this just a lie from someone in the McCain camp?” and vice versa. I guess I should research each one to find out but who has time for that? And let’s be honest, I’m not as dedicated to this as my husband is!

I just have to say that Brent does so much reading and research about the government and the candidates that I sort of giggle inside when anybody tries to debate with him. I think that if you do as much research as he does then you are worthy to fight with him about it! The other day Brent said that he is just going to go back to being ignorant about politics because it takes up too much of his time! I am so proud of him though for being informed about what is going on in our country and the world. I wish I had the patience to do the same. But wait, if my husband is doing all of the work that means I don’t need to, right?! Ha ha!

This reminds me…a while ago I saw a bumper sticker that said, “Too bad ignorance isn’t painful.” I got a good laugh. Okay, that’s my spill for the day. And please, comment! I’d love to hear what you have to say on this subject!