Hair Today...Gone Tomorrow!

Well its done...I finally cut my hair! I must say, as much as I would like to go drastic and way different, I always chicken out at the last minute and go with a length I am comfortable with. It was still close to 8 in. though! Quite a change, for me anyways. :)
Here are the BEFORE pics...taken in New York at my mom-in-laws house just before we went to the salon.

And here are the AFTERS!


I went a little lighter with the highlights, and I am liking it. Its light and summery. And I"m not even missin' my long hair at all! Wahoo!

Mom-hood

So I am sitting here in beautiful upstate New York, listening to my baby monitor and staring out my mother-in-laws window at her lush green meadow in her front yard and watching the trees sway with the mountain music in the wind. But, as beautiful as it is, there is somewhere even more breathtaking...the sparkling lake, where the rest of my family is, swimming and kayaking in the perfectly clear water surrounded by rolling mountains of wooded bliss. Unfortunately, my poor child still hasn't gotten used to the change in time zones and is falling asleep at the most random times and sleeping for even more random periods of time. Just as I was preparing his diaper-bag and hollering that I would be out to join the clan as they clamored into the cars, B-rax decided it was just the right time to close his eyes for a bit. So, here I am...and I have to admit at first I was a little bummed. Lately, it seems that having a child means sitting by the sidelines and watching while everyone else has all the fun. However, as I was contemplating this, I realized that although I do miss being apart of the excitement, I wouldn't have it any other way. Because I am the one who gets to rock him to sleep every night. I am the one who gets to see his first smile, his first laugh, wipe away his tears, hold him close when he is sad or hurting. I am the one who gets to see those special little smiles reserved only for me in those sweet moments of tenderness and love. I get to watch as my sweet little man looks up at the clear blue sky to see a bird take flight, only to see his eyes fill with wonder at the majesty of it. I am his first word, his first love. I get to watch as he experiences the world through innocent, pure, unadulterated eyes, and whats more...I am the one HE wants to share it with. I am his Mother. What greater calling, what greater blessing is there? I have yet to find one.

Tears

You know what is one of the things I hate most in this world? When you realize that somehow while you were going about your cleaning for the day, your baby monitor has been switched off, and you turn it on again only to realize your child has been screaming and sobbing for who-knows-how-long. You rush to his room and sure enough his eyes are swollen and he has his face burried in his blanket as he chokes out his sobs, thinking that he is alone and no one loves him. (Or so I imagine as the cuprit mother who has unknowingly abondoned him). Thank goodness they forgive so much more easily than we forgive ourselves.

K, so I know you can't see them too well in this picture, but can you see what I see? CURLS, people! My baby is getting CURLY HAIR!! WWWAAAHHOOOO!!!!

And here is one just for kicks. B-rax loves his bumbo seat! I love my little man!

What Do You Think?

K so I totally am loving this new toy I found. (Thanks Mal!) I have been thinking of going short, but have NO idea how it would look or if I even should. This new gizmo is oh so wonderful! I haven't had short hair since...ummm.. like I was 6? So...WHAT DO YOU THINK? (I threw in a poll to the right if you want to vote!) I am even diggin' these highlights I threw in there. I might even go with bangs...hhhmm...

LOVE the curliness!

I am actually REALLY liking this one...

I could keep it long, just layer it more and get side-swept bangs?

Or...should I go for the extreme?! :D

Liking this one too...and it could still be somewhat longer...

More about Me

So I have been tagged again! Thats ok...I like tags. Here we go.
3 Likes:
1)Getting into a nice, clean, made bed at night 2)Writing poems and stories (don't have much time anymore for that sadly) 3)Low-fat and fat-free ice cream that still tastes like it has lots of fat. YUM!
3 Fears:
1)Losing Braxton or Justin 2) Any bug big enough to see its guts when I squish it 3) Pain (Emotional or Physical...mostly physical though. I am a whimp.)
3 Goals:
1) Lose this baby belly!
2) Do more service/magnify ward calling(s)
3) Be more dedicated to reading scriptures EVERY DAY and getting a year supply
3 Obsessions/collections:
1) Fairies. I'm a girly girl in that area. I'll admit it!
2)Books. Though I can't read as much as I once did, I am still an avid lover and can't wait to have a library just FULL of books someday.
3)Good music. Can't find enough of it these days. Or maybe I just don't have time to look. I don't know.
Random Suprising Facts:
1) As stated above, I HAVE to have the bed made before I get in at night. I can't stand getting into a messy bed.
2) I want to be a children's book author
3)I have always wanted curly hair (have I said that before? All well.)
So there ya have it.
Tag 3 people:
Cori C.
Heidi B. H. :)
Jessica M.

4th Festivities

So for the 4th of July we decided to go with my family up to Taylor, Az to spend the weekend. We don't really have much family from Taylor but my brother and sister-in-law (who do have fam up there) went last year and loved it so we all decided to go this year. Friday was absolutley beautiful up there. It was cloudy and windy and SO COOL and it sprinkled on and off all day and it was just heaven. We spent Friday morning at the lake in Showlow-Lakeside (about 20 min from Taylor) canoeing and kayaking (sp?) and just enjoying the weather.
Justin canoing all by himself!

My mom and pop in their cowboy hats. My dad is a true cowboy at heart!

Me and Brookie (my sis-in-law) canoeing. Don't we look like pros!?!? Yay for the moms! :)

Justin Kayaking. He loved it.

The baby playing in the lake water. Nice and cool and refreshing!

In the afternoon we saw Hancock (which I really liked) and then that evening we drove to Holbrook (about 20 min in the other direction) for fireworks since Taylor wasn't doing theirs until Sat night. Took some pics, but they didn't turn out too well. Saturday morning Justin and I were going to leave, but we were having so much fun we decided to stay and go home late that night with the rest of my family after the big town rodeo. Before that though we went to a nice patriotic program and then hung out at the park for awhile. Again, the weather was perfect. It couldn't have been better if I had custom ordered it!
Justin and Dad just relaxing

Playing in the Park

G-ma holdin' the cute babies! (Braxton and his cousin Heather)

Yup, thats my son. Already pullin' the girls' hair...hhhmmm...and look at the innocent expression on his face. He's good.

And so we were just chillin' and guess who came up to me?!?! LIZ BRYANT! A good friend from high school! Who woulda' thought? Her family was having a big reunion there as well and we just HAPPENED to be at the same park at the same time! Yay for coinkadinks!

After the park we visited one of my dad's cousins, and while there I was outside with B-rax by the trampoline and he got ahold of the net surrounding the tramp. I couldn't stop laughing. Thats my boy!



My sweet little Man

Eating dinner before the Rodeo


Yee-Haw! Rope 'em cowboy!

Ride that bull!!

We left before fireworks to beat the traffic, and thankfully B-rax slept all the way home! It was nice to be able to spend time with my family, immediate and extended. I love holidays!

"Friends We Are and Friends We'll Ever Be..."

Last night we were able to get together with alot of our friends who we haven't seen for awhile for a fun litttle reunion. Jon and Mals are leaving next week to Utah so it was sort of a last hurrah before we never see them again. (sniff) Chris and Erica (Mals sister) were there too with their little baby girl and Brad Billings and Brent were able to show up too. Yay for old friends!


Chris and Erica and Evelyn Jenkins. Evelyn is adorable and even though she is younger than Braxton she is almost bigger than him already! Such a cute and fun family.

B-rad Billings, who turned out to be the only single guy there after Brent ditched out on us. (I think it was for hometeaching, though, so we forgave him!) I'm sure he just loved sitting around listening to us talk about how our babies ate and pooped. Sorry Brad. We were really glad you were there. :)

Brent. He can always bring a smile to your face.

Jon and Mals and baby Hannah. Every time I see those baby cheeks I just want to bite them! She is so cute! We are going to miss them.

B-rad playing with the baby. He is going to be a good daddy someday.

And I of course had to get a picture of all the babies together. Notice Braxton going after Evelyn's hair...he has a hair fettish (which is why I can never where my hair down anymore). If he sees any hair at all, he goes straight for it! Even the little bit that she had couldn't deter him. Hannah was pretty content most of the time but I think those two play a little too rough for her still. She is a sweet baby.

Brad and Justin got a little bored with all the "mommy" talk, so they decided to play together instead. Well, kind of together. They are playing the same game but on each of their own phones, seeing who could get the highest score. Male bonding..what can I say?

It was a fun night and I am truly grateful for such wonderful friends. It was really good to get together and see everyone again. Good Luck in Utah Jon and Mals and God be with ya'll til we meet again!

My Little Man

I know the first picture is blurry...sorry about that. But I loved his little face too much to discard it and he wouldn't hold still for another! Braxton will turn 7 months on the 4th of July. I can't believe he is so old already. He is sitting up so great and just starting to try and scoot around.

My little man puts everything he can into his mouth. His hands are always searching for something to grab onto, and as soon as he gets something it goes STRAIGHT to the mouth. Doesn't matter the size...if he can touch it he tries to suck on it!

More Cali Pics..

Here are a few more Cali pics curteousy of Karen.


Isn't my sister beautiful? I love her!



K don't freak out on this next picture. Karen has the coolest camera ever and she has this fun edit program that lets you take a picture of someone and then it randomly warps the face a little bit to make goofey photos. She took one of Braxton that was hilarious but it must have got lost somewhere. Here is one of me:

HA!