Jersey Shore

Over the 4th of July we went with the Bramhall group to Ocean City, NJ. We spent a wonderful week relaxing and enjoying the ocean. My children loved it and begged to go back for days afterwards.

We all packed up and headed on Saturday the 2nd of July. We made sure to follow the new map that Aunt Cindy made, the children had to see all the sights along the back roads.

As soon as we got settled in we headed straight to the beach. The twins really struggled walking the two blocks to the beach cause they just didn't know what they were going to. After that first day they didn't have a problem walking to the beach, walking home was a different story.

That first night we headed to the boardwalk, the kids were exhausted and cried a lot but they had a lot of fun riding carnival rides. Taylor was so excited and decided that he would be really picky about which rides he decided to get on, he did not want to waste the tickets Grandpa was giving him on rides he didn't like.

On Sunday they threw me a great birthday party and we enjoyed the beach and trying to feed the birds. The best part of my birthday was watching Dave and Mike almost get struck by lightning. They decided to fly a kite and let all the string out, around 1000 ft when a storm came rushing in and there was lightning all over the place. All the kids ran and screamed while Mike tried to run back to the beach house holding the kite and Dave was trying his hardest to pull down the kite. It was fun to laugh about after we were all safe at the house but in the middle of it we were sure someone was going to be struck by lightgning.

On the 4th we hit the beach, went to Cars 2(Taylor was in heaven), made 4th of July hats and painted toe nails and fingernails to celebrate. That night we got to enjoyed the fireworks over the ocean, it was amazing.

The rest of the week was beach and boardwalk. There are a few other things I want to remember...

Logan loved the beach, he slept so peacefully
The worst rainstorm that I have had to drive in and run to shelter in
The stingray and jellyfish
My lack of clothing after riding waves
The talent show, Dave&Mike (tastycake, water and bananas), Isabel(singing), Cecily(artwork), Bentley(fast speed and tickling), Ali(singing), Taylor(cherrios and magic) and myself(cherrios)
MaryAnn forgetting about Logan
Taylors favorite rides-the swings and rollercoaster Taylor cried over leaving the holes that Dave would dig everyday at the beach
The frog
Cars 2
Drew's face on the rollercoaster
Lana crying over not being able to ride all the big rides
Drew calling the beach "waer" (interpretation "water")
Lana's wide eyes on each carnival ride

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my in-laws for the wonderful trip.

Fun with Grandma D!

Logan's first time at HarryBrooke Park with the geese. We had a good time just getting out of the house and getting a little exercise.



We also took a trip to NYC and walked across the Brooklyn Bridge. First we had lunch in a park and then took off across the bridge. It was beautiful and the kids had a good time. Lana loved laying on the bridge and looking through the slats at the water and boats, Drew loved the mango we bought on the bridge and Taylor loved the pushing the stollers on the bridge. It was a lot of fun and afterwards we made sure to end the day with some ice cream.

Ta-Da!

My sweet husband decided to take on the task of making a bunk bed for Taylor and Drew. Since we were going to be adding a new little boy into our family we needed to all change rooms and get the twins out of cribs and into beds. I had no idea that Dave wanted to build the bed and I was not so sure about it. Not because I doubted his ability (Dave has a very good ability to fix or create anything, he is detail oriented and very willing to try and learn), I was more concerned about the time it would take. Dave was sure he could have it done by Taylor's birthday, that didn't happen. Then he thought maybe by the twins birthday and that didn't happen but he finished the bunk beds just in time before Logan was born.

He did an amazing job and the bunk bed is awesome. The boys love it and no one has fallen out yet. Drew is still adjusting to sleeping in a bed, he likes to wake up at 5:30 and come see mom and dad. I haven't been so happy about that. Also when we leave him to go to sleep for nap or bedtime he screams for a few minutes. Luckily he can't open doors yet so we just shut the door until he falls asleep.

Anyway, I wanted to post that when we married 9 years ago I would have never thought Dave would be able to make bunk beds but he has surprised me. I love you Dave, thank you for all your hardwork and time that you put into our family. Happy Anniversary! Oh and congrats on finishing the bed.

Just a side note. It is also a trundle bed. So there is two full mattresses and a twin mattress. He created the bed from a picture he found online of a bed we liked.

#4 is here!

Our sweet little baby boy has arrived! We are so blessed and so excited to have him. He was born June 10, 2011 at 2:47pm. He was 6lb 15oz and 20in. We did not have a name for him and still, after he was born, there was not a name that stuck out to us. We had a lot of help thinking of names and in the end we named him Logan Jackson Bramhall.



Our other 3 children have been really great with him. They love to hold him and make sure he is always happy. Lana loves to make sure he always has his binki, blanket and stuffed monkey. Drew loves to get right in his face and say "Hi Baby" and Taylor just loves to be the protector.

We have had a lot of help and daddy has been home and it has been a lot of fun. It is crazy to think that we are a family of 6 and we are not sure if we can do it but we will sure give it a good try.



Just a few things about Logan...
He was so quiet when he was born but that has changed-he can scream!
He has been a great eater from the moment he was born
He has some ugly hair, old mans hair and it might get shaved in the next couple weeks
He spits up quite a bit
He loves to listen to the other kids run around and play
He loves being outside

Two Years Down

Drew and Lana turned 2 on May 25th and I can not believe how quick time goes by. They have grown up so much in the last couple of months and with that they are definitely having some terrible 2 moments.

We had two very low key birthday parties. One on their birthday, at home, with just the family. Then we went to New Jersey over the weekend and celebrated there. They were so excited about getting gifts and opening them. They didn't care what they got they just enjoyed ripping off the wrapping paper. One thing to remember from Drew is him yelling "Drews tracks" when he opened his new GeoTrax. One thing to remember about Lana on her birthday is her excitement for her scooter. She figured out how to ride it the first day.

Drew at two...
Good at yelling "NO"
He has a contagious smile
He loves to scrunch his nose and eyes right before he hits you
He is stubborn
He makes quite the mean face but we can always get him to smile
He puts himself in timeout
He is the comedian of the family
He has the best laugh, especially when you tickle his neck and shoulder area

Lana at two...
She is becoming the mom
She takes care of everyone when they get hurt
When she needs to really tell you something she will get right in your face and whisper it with big wide eyes. So cute!
She loves to steal her brothers toys and run.
She is so tiny but so fast.
She is lazy, she does not like to walk or hike for long
She will not go up or down the stairs (She can, she just doesn't want to)
She says "dis" as she points to what she wants

Utah in the Spring

At last minute we decided that I should take the kids and go to Utah. Dave's mom was able to fly with me and she was a huge help, I could not have done it without her. THANKS MaryAnn!

As soon as we arrived in Utah we drove to Logandale to visit family and be a part of MacKenzie's special baptism day. The kids were pretty tired and overwhelmed the first couple days but ended up having a great time with everyone in Logandale. Thanks Nikki and family. I need to thank my dad also for driving us down south in the middle of the night.

After a few days we went back North to Heber and spent time with family and a few friends. Sorry to those I was not able to see. It was crazy and I really wanted to spend a lot of time with family. I was really excited to go to the temple, go for daily walks with the kids, spend time with my family and with Dave's family.

Easter

We love coloring eggs as a family. Then after the fun of coloring them we love to eat them for the next couple weeks.

The Easter Bunny left a trail of jellybeans on Easter to each of our children's basket, then they got to find hidden eggs full of yummy goodness. The kids were so cute and had so much fun. I loved Drew's excitement when he found an egg, he would just shake with enthusiasm.

While I was trying to take pictures of the kids in their new Easter outfits (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Bramhall), Taylor had out his Book of Mormon. The first picture looks like an ad for the Book of Mormon.