Lombardi Ranch 2011...plus more

Last week was fall break. Yay! No school! Bryan and I packed the kids up and headed out to CA to attend Bryan's grandpa's funeral and have some fun. The "fun" was short lived. On Monday, after our visit to the best Pumpkin Patch ever ( I have photos of Brooke since birth as well as Brody at Lombardi's) my sweet little girl was not feeling so great. I figured it was a bug, no big deal, a few days of rest would do the trick. By Thursday she was no where near better..she was kind of worse than Monday. I took her to the doctor and after a chest x-ray the doctor determined my Brooke had pneumonia.
After strong antibiotics and more rest she's doing so much better. Last week was hard but I kept reminding myself that it could have been far worse. We are happy to be home now. We were not even home a full 24 hours and we were BOOED. I seriously love my neighbors so much! Small things like that seriously made unpacking today easier. Tonight we decorate the front of the house for Halloween!Enjoy the pictures above from our favorite pumpkin patch Lombardi Ranch!

Career Day

Yay for Career Day! My sweet princess went to school as a doctor. Brooke said she (for now) wants to be a doctor when she grows up so she can help people when they are sick and give shots.

Yes I've Been MIA

Today I talked to my mom and my dad was in the back round proclaiming..."Why is your blog not updated!?" I had no idea he even reads it from time to time and noticed that it's been well over a month since my last post. When I started blogging well over a year ago I promised I'd do my best to update it as often as I could especially living so far from family..at least a few times a month, but alas life happens. September came and went and I have no idea where it went. I was sick for about half of it and busy with volunteering at Brooke's school, soccer and a new calling at church. While this past month has been busy it's been such fun as well. Brooke is thriving at school, she loves it and I see her progressing and growing everyday. It brings me such joy to see her so happy. Brody has turned into a chatterbox and is thriving in his own way....terrible twos need I say more? It has it's challenges but I enjoy those sweet moments, he still hangs on my leg from time to time conveniently when I'm cooking or need to use the bathroom, and I love those random kisses and those chunky, sticky arms wrapped around my neck as I carry him up the stairs for his afternoon nap (literally it's both of our favorite time of the day).
I never had the opportunity to experience much of the Young Women's Program at church. I was 17 when I converted to the LDS church and had maybe 8-9 months of it before graduating High School. Imagine my shock when I was called to serve in Young Women's as a Laurel Advisor. I had my fears, mostly I didn't think I was qualified enough for it, I'm not even sure if qualified is even the right word.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I've grown in the last 6 weeks. I've learned so much and have gained such a love for the Young Women's Program that I'm even more excited than I ever was before for Brooke to be able to experience what I never had the opportunity to. I'm really excited to see what challenges and opportunities for growth this calling will bring me over the course of however long I will be serving in it.
So my plate may not be as full as others but I'm hoping that I can do my best to post here and there..at least once a month especially as we head into the busiest three months of the year. Dad if you are reading this, it's now updated for you and I love and miss you and mom very much! Enjoy the new posts below!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Back in August we had our family pictures done. I was thrilled with how they came out especially since it was so hot out and my 2 year old was less than thrilled about taking pictures that day. I can go on and on about how wonderful our photographer is and I feel so blessed to have, over the past few years, such gorgeous photos of my little family plastered all over the walls of my home. Thank you Nickell!
Check out her work at...

www.nickellphotography.blogspot.com

What Brody Has Been Up To...

Brody has been nothing but your typical 2 year old boy....when he is not jumping off of our couch onto a pile of pillows, hiding in our pantry trying to sneak snacks, or pulling his big sister's hair he LOVES to pretend to drive. The other day I was scrambling to get things done when I walked into the living room to see my clean laundry that was about to make it's way up the stairs scattered everywhere...while a sweet little boy was sitting inside the basket pretending to drive making all sorts of driving noises too. He never saw me but luckily my phone was sitting handy and I was able to snap a picture of it. It was definitely one of those moments that will stay etched into my mind forever and in case you are wondering yes sappy, sensitive me shed a tear or two.

Soccer Fun!

Soccer started up a few weeks ago and it has been so much fun! Brooke LOVES it and enjoys her soccer practices and games so much. Yesterday she played in her second game of the season and scored her very first goal! It was so awesome and she was so very excited about it. Above my picture quality is terrible, I was too lazy to upload my pictures from my camera, so with the limited time I have to update my poor neglected blog I opted for my iphone pictures instead. They still are super cute though!One was taken before her very first practice and the other girlfriend was getting her game face on before her first soccer game. Enjoy!

Happy 2nd Birthday Brody!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my Brody Bears!
My Dearest Bo,
I cannot believe you are 2! It seems like yesterday you were born, my darling little 8 pound 1 ounce baby boy with the enormous cheeks that I nibbled on all day..I still do. You are quite the active little boy. You adore your big sister Brooke so much and she has taught you many fun things. You speak so well for a two year old and I contribute that to Brooke. Brooke has also taught you how to do a somersault and how to dance and twirl. You love all kinds of foods but your favorites include pizza, hot dogs, grapes, apples, fishy crackers and your beloved popcorn! You don't care much for ice-cream and when we go out as a family for an ice-cream treat we have now learned just to order you the cone because that's all you like! Silly boy!
You bring me such great joy everyday. You love to play with your cars and trains. You also love to run around and pretend to be a monster and growl. You love music and you love to dance to it. As your birthday was approaching all you could talk about was wanting a bicycle and your birthday wish came true. Along with the bicycle, you got a new Batman helmet, sunglasses, travel magna doodle and a Little Tikes T-ball set.
Daddy and I love you so much Brody and we are so happy and blessed to have you as our son. Thank you for choosing me to be your mama. Happy 2nd Birthday my Bo Bears!!
Love,
Mommy