It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

What a fun filled month on December! Ava Finally decided to get her ears pierced again. Once we got there and the lady was trying to mark her ears with a pen she started freaking out and saying "no!" but she finally warmed up to it and did it! We had to tell her they were putting sticker earrings on and it worked. The things we do! She forgave us quickly so no worries.

I was slacking on getting Christmas cards made and the day I wanted to get the pics taken the girls and Braydon all pitched a fit so I said "FORGET IT!" The next day my friend Brooke Ulrich gave me a Christmas card that was taken in her front yard with her adorable huge ornaments. I absolutely loved it! I was explaining to her my situation and she offered to take a few snapshots for us and help me do the card! SWEET! I totally took her up on the offer and went home and laid down the law and told everyone we are getting pictures taken and you put on what I tell you and your gonna like it and I dont' want to hear one word out of anyone! They listened this time and everything went smoothly. Brooke being the amazing woman she is had us come down not even an hour after getting home from Vegas, she offered to watch her friends children so they were all there on top of her own kids and as she was taking our pic. another person showes up to look at some fabric! I would have lost it but she does so well with her busy life! THANKS BROOKE FOR MAKING TIME FOR US!! :) So The Christmas card that was sent out and the picture of our family at the top was all done and decorated by her! I owe her!

Brooklyn and Ava both had dance recitals. Brooklyn just takes hip-hop and Ava does it all. They love it. It has really helped Brooklyn break out of her fear of performing in front of people.

Brooklyn turned 6 this month!! It is so hard to believe that six years ago I was in the hospital holding her in my arms! man I love that girl! I swear since she turned six she has decided she wants to act like she is twelve. I am constantly having to tell her she is not the Mom. And the funny thing is that Ava goes with it most the time. They are so dang cute together...as long as they aren't fighting!

Mamma came to town!

My mom came to visit us this past week for 8 days. I was able to have Thanksgiving with her which I haven't done in soooo long! It was fun to have her here to help me shop for Christmas and to make the traditional goodies we always had growing up. I loved that the girls and I were able to wear the aprons she got me for my birthday! They are Paula Deens! (Look her up NOW if you don't know who I am talking about). Mine said "Put some south in your mouth" and my girls' aprons said "southern cook in training". What great gifts! We fixed pinto beans and cornbread one night for dinner and Brooklyn calls that meal "North Carolina food". I also love the fact that BOTH my girls love cornbread in milk, and it ain't that sweet cornbread...its the good ol'southern cornbread! My mouth is watering right now for a big cup of it!

Halloween Spooktacular!

I love love love halloween! We went to our wards trunk-or-treat on thursday, then our friends had a Halloween party on Friday, then "real" Halloween on Saturday! Loved it! oh, and so did the girls! :)

California Love....(Tu-Pac/Dr.Dre fans are totally singing the song now)

So we took a trip to California in October and went to Sea World again since it was free. We spent a day at Coronado Beach(which I think is the best beach there). We went to the BYU game. We also decided to stay an extra day and go to Monday Night Football!! Broncos vs. Chargers. I was glad we were able to see them be 6-0...especially since it has been down hill ever since...but i won't go there. Braydons parents took the girls home with them so we were able to go! I am so thankful for them and all they do for us!!!

Here is THE update...

so here is the plan... starting in January I am going to become an amazing blogger. I am going to keep up on everything and try to keep a great record so I can use it as a journal type thing or whatever I hear that people are doing with it these days... Anyway, I will also be going private. So you have until Jan 1st to email me with your e-mail address if you want to be added. I am mostly doing this for my family back east so they can know whats going on in my crazy life but my friends are more than welcome to take a look as well! :) LaurenRJB23@yahoo.com

It's official. I have started reading the Twilight series. I borrowed the book from Nichole today. I can't wait to see if it is as good as everyone says it is... I will let ya know!

Brooklyns 1st day of school

Brooklyn went to her first day of Kindergarten today...I didn't think I would be emotional about it because it is only two extra days compared to preschool and only 15 min. longer but once I dropped her off at the "big kid school" I must asmit I struggled a little. My girls are growing up so fast and I dont want to miss a moment of it!

NC Summer Trip

This is a pic of me and my BFF Crystal. I got to hang out with her some! We also had a family reunion! This was a good trip. We got to spend time hangin out with family and the girls got to play with cousins. We also got to attend the annual Farmers Day in downtown China Grove! I have not been to that in YEARS.





This is a t the Lazy Five Ranch. The girls love going here. You get to feed the animals from your car and there is a place you can walk around and see the animals.

4th of July in Cali!

We decided last minute to go to Cali for the 4th. We put a crazy offer in on priceline and it got accepted so off we went! I cant remember the name of the place where we went to see the fireworks but it was by far the best show I had seen to date! It was freaky how close we were!

Miss Melanie's Swim Camp!

Well Brooklyn refused to do swim lessons so we found a "swim camp" that was totally diffrent than swim lessons (wink!) It actually was different. Melanie does an amazing job with the kids! My girls loved her and wanted to go again when lesson were finished. Brooklyn graduated to a level 3 and Ava moved up to a level 2! I was so proud of them!

Preschool Graduation!

Brooklyn graduated preschool from Kinder Kids Preschool! She absolutely loved it there! She still talks about her teachers all the time and says she misses them and her friends!

Easter!

We had a great time dyeing easter eggs with friends and family! The girls got more gifts than candy from the easter bunny bacause the easter bunny got tired of Braydon and I eating all of their candy! I am still jealous I dont get to do an easter egg hunt anymore but its worth it seeing how much Brooklyn and Ava enjoy it!

Busy, Busy Summer!

Well, now that I have internet and my camera I can update the people who care about my wonderful life! Yes, I know its been forever since I have updated. I am going to try and start from where I left off. Back in March (I think) we took the girls to Sea World. For some reason they picked that over Disney World but whatever... They had a really great time! Brooklyn loves animals. She said she wants to go there again. Ava said she chooses Disneyland! We went to the beach for a day and played in the sand. Braydon was the only one who got in the water. We went to the place where the seals are and there was a squirrel hangin out so we decided to feed it some of our walnuts. He totally came up to us and started eating it from our hand! The girls got a kick out of it...we all did!

Back in Business!!!

Internet: check!
Camera: still looking for....

Congratulations to me! I have the internet again. I can finally get back to blogging. Now I just have to find my flippin' camera!!!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Because I live such a fulfilling life(which I do- I am a Mother)! It feels like life is still pretty consistent with the past few months. Not much has changed. Brooklyn will be graduating from pre-school next month! She is getting too big and too smart for her own good! Ava goes on Fridays to school with her and looks forward to it each week. I am trying to decide if I want to put her in pre-school for the next two years or not. Maybe I will just do some work with her at home this coming year... not sure though. I am also trying to decide if I want to start school this summer or waite till next summer when she will be starting pre-school in the fall.

We took a trip to Sea World two weeks ago and the girls loved it! Me... not so much. I am more of a Disneyland girl but there were some interesting things to see and do. The girls loved it and thats all that matters!

I will be posting pictures shortly...

I also have been cooking/baking lately. I have gone through alot of my recipes and my magazines(Southern Living has the best ones) looking for recipes to try or ones that I haven't made in awhile. I made my Red Velvet cake which was a hit! And I made some Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread. One of the loaves was topped with a peanut butter struessel that was sooo tasty! Next on my list is Pecan Joy Balls(don't worry Nichole and Kristy, I am going to rename them something else)! Then I have the recipe for Bojangle's biscuits and Hardee's biscuits I am going to try. I hope its really the recipe they use! I will let ya know how all of those turn out!

I DONT HAVE THE FREAKIN' INTERNET!

So for those of you who are wondering why I havent updated my blog, it is because I dont have internet anymore. I just need to go to someone's house soon and just update everything. I dont know why I havent. I guess I just have alot on my mind right now, but I will get to it...eventually.

I HAVE......

Do it yourself! Copy and paste the list into your blog and bold or highlight the items you have done. Here we go....

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