Hogle Zoo

Yesterday we took a little field trip to the Hogle Zoo.  We have had this planned for a long time and Avery was looking forward to it so much!  We took this trip with Alisha and Isaac.  We left at 10:30 which is Isaac and Mary's nap time.  Mary fell asleep and slept almost until we got to the zoo, but Isaac was just too interested in Avery to fall asleep I think.
When we got to the zoo we ate our lunch outside then headed in!  Avery was so excited and all she wanted to see was turtles!  Out of everything at a zoo, she wanted to see turtles!  We didn't end up seeing any turtles, we think they might have been in with the snakes and we didn't end up going to see the snakes.  Poor Avery.
We saw lots of fun animals and had such a fun time playing around!

Sometimes

Sometimes you have bad weeks.  Last week was a bad one for me.  Things just were off and not good.  We were all grumpy.  To add to the grumpiness Avery drew on something that was not paper for the first time.  

She colored on the dishwasher, the fridge, and the kitchen floor.  I'm grateful that all the surfaces were easily cleaned.  I made her do the dishwasher and the fridge and I did the floor.  

While we were cleaning Mary got into the wipes.  That was fun and something else to clean up.  

Later in the week I was bringing the hampers downstairs to do laundry, one stacked on top of the other, when they tipped over and spilled all over the place!

Last week Mary also started climbing even more than before.  She has started climbing on some toys.  

On the drawers of the dresser.

On the windowsill

Through out the whole week among the not so good stuff there were a lot of sweet moments.  First.  When the laundry fell all over Avery immediately said "Oh no Mom!  Let's clean up."  Then started picking up clothes and putting them back in the hamper.

We got to be outside and play.  

 Avery got to wear this cute ladybug dress from my sister Sarah and loved it!  She was so cute!

Avery tried egg nog for the first time and called it Egg-a-dog

I got to push Mary in the swing

Avery wanted to read the scriptures all by herself

Mary officially became a walker

With the late nights the weekend before both the girls slept in every single day!

 Avery in the ladybug dress of course.  

There is always some good among the bad  I'm grateful that through out this week I was able to stay positive and see the good.  I am very grateful for that and my sweet kids and husband that cheer me up.  

Sibling Supper Birthday Bash

I was in charge of the last semi-annual Brandley birthday bash.  I decided to make it a birthday party for Louis!  His birthday is usually overshadowed a bit by his Grandma's (they share a birthday) or conference.  He was very excited to have a party all for himself!  It turned out great!  We had it on the 4th at our church.  Everyone was able to come except Josh and Megan for obvious reasons.
We started out with dinner.  I let Louis choose what we had.  We enjoyed lasagna, I made a regular pan and a healthier pan made with whole wheat noodles, ground turkey, and mozzarella cheese.  We also had garlic bread on my homemade bread, green beans and corn, and pears.  Everyone enjoyed it.  Avery even ate a green bean.  I didn't even make her do it.

After dinner we had a quiz on Louis.  I think either Joel or Phillip ended up winning.  Then we played pin the beard on the Louis!!  Everyone loved it and it was funny!

My face is CRAZY because Avery got so close to getting it right on!

Annette tricked Louis by moving it up before his turn!  So funny!

After this game we played a candy ball game.  We had taped a bunch of candy up into a huge ball.  When it was your turn you could unwrap it and keep all the candy you got while the person next to you has two dice and was trying to roll a two and a six (because this was Louis' 26th birthday).  When the person next to them got it they had to pass the ball.  This game took forever!  I couldn't believe how long it took, but everyone enjoyed it so it was okay.  

After this we played a game that Alisha and Jon had prepared.  They had different themes such as, top hits of 1987, best selling Christmas toys from 1987 to 1997, all the Superman movies.  With these themes we had to organize them from earliest to oldest.  It was hard!  Louis was the only one that won.  

After that game we did cake!  I made a cookies and cream cake and it turned out super yummy!  

After that we talked and just enjoyed each others company then went home when the man came by to clear out the church for the night!  

I'm so glad I could help Louis celebrate his birthday!  I love his so much and am so grateful that he is mine.  He is such a great support and a wonderful father!  Our children are so happy when he comes from from school or work.  

Happy birthday Louis!