The Past Few Months...

Sorry everyone this post is soooooo long! I haven't added a new post in a while so I have a lot of catching up to do. Most recently - I graduated!! Woohoo! I am so glad that I am done. I got a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Grand Canyon University...

Poor Brighton is done with pictures :(

Tyson threw me a Graduation Party. He's so wonderful, thanks Babe!

I have to admit it was very hard going to school online. There
were plenty of times, especially recently when I typed papers and
did homework with a baby on my lap. It was tough but I'm so
grateful I finished.

Its finally over - we all survived the long ceremony :)

He was so good for Tyson - he's such a sweet baby

Last month we also went to the Gila Valley Temple Open House. It was a neat experience.

Annie was so good! Jensen was tired from waking up so early plus he got

car sick so I let him sleep on my shoulder the whole time we were inside. He woke up

in the Celestial Room toward the end of the tour and just looked around in amazement.

Annie was great about whispering and being reverent. She thought it was so neat to

finally get to go inside a temple. Her most favorite part was seeing the place where you get

married. For a long time now if you were to ask her where she is getting married she will tell you

"in the temple!" so it was nice to show her exactly the place where you get married.

After the temple we ate lunch in Thatcher at mine and Tyson's "spot" on the Eastern

Arizona Campus. It just a spot of grass that for some reason became our special spot.

It was interesting being there with 3 kids now and remembering what it

was like 5 years ago to fall in love. Time sure goes by fast! Then we went to the

park and Tyson took these shots of the kids playing before driving home.

It was a fun short trip.

They're so funny.

Concentrating on not falling

I LOVE her smile!!!!!

Swinging together

Brighton didn't know what to think :)

On April 22nd our little sweet Annie turned 4! I can't believe she is 4 now. She is so grown up. The night before her Birthday, I held her in my arms like a baby and cried. She loves it when I rock her but she didn't get why I was crying. I told her how sweet she is and that I was crying because she is growing up way to fast. It seems like only a short time ago we were bringing her home from the hospital. She was our everything! We have 2 other kids now and we can't give her all of our attention as we did when she first came to our family. She means the world to us though and we love so much about you Annie!

I love it that you are so beautiful! Everywhere we go people tell me how cute you are with your long eyelashes and your pretty curls. What a doll you are!

I love it that you are the best big sister ever! You are honestly so loving to your little brothers! You can tell that you just love to take care of them and you do so much for them. Thanks for being such a great helper.

I love it how much you love babies. You always want to hug and kiss them and squeeze them tight like you are doing here with your little baby Jensen :) I know that it is so hard for you to understand why mommy and daddy and others tell you to be soft with them because you have so much love you just want to share it! You are such a loving person and I love that.

Again, I love your beautiful smile! And I love how energetic you are. Even though you sometimes have so much energy I don't know what to do, I love it that you are such a passionate person who is so determined. I know you'll do great things in your life.

This was one of your very first smiles. You have loved your Daddy ever since you were a baby, and I love the special bond you have with Daddy and with Mommy. I love it that you look up to us and that you want to do whats right. You teach me more everyday then I teach you!

I love how tough you are! You were not afraid to do things like this then and you are not afraid to do things like this now :) You have always been so tough and I love it that you can pick yourself up and go on when you get hurt.

I love how creative you are. You are always coming up with things to do or creating something special out of your toys. You are never bored with what you have! I love how smart you are. I can't believe that you are only 4 and that you know how to read words and do all of the other things that you do! You are such a bright little girl.

I love how stinkin cute you are! You make me laugh so much all the time. You are so special and I am so thankful that you are in our family! Happy 4th Birthday Annie! I love you tons!!!!!!

I wanted to throw Annie a special party and that is what she got! We threw a Ball for her and had all her friends dress up like little princesses and princes. It was a lot of work but it turned out great and she absolutely loved being a princess...

Make a wish

Opening up presents - we were surrounded by a bunch of little princesses! It was so funny, watching their eyes get big with every present she opened.

Posing for a group picture. They were so funny - we couldn't get them to squeeze together :)

Prince Jensen found himself a Princess :)

How many kids can fit in our boat?

Playing a Cinderella Lost her shoe game. I think they were a little too young for some of the games that we planned, but it was funny watching them try to do it

I love this little girl so much!

The Castle cake. It fell over by the end of the party with all the little Princesses admiring it, but I'm glad we got a picture before that happened! Hope you had a fun day Princess Annie.

Family Easter Pictures

They are so adorable

Our first camping trip of the season:

Pretty View of Lake Roosevelt

Tyson saw this rattlesnake on the way home so he pulled over to take a closer look. I was scared so I waited in the truck. He freaked me out because as he got close to it with the camera he all of a sudden jumped back really fast. I thought for sure it was trying to bite him but he told me that he was just looking at it through the camera lense and saw it move, but he couldn't tell if it was coming toward him or not cause he was only seeing it through the lense. It was kinda funny cause it wasn't coming at him at all, but it gave us both a scare :)

It had actually been hit by a car and it was dying. Since it could hardly move Annie and Jensen got to go see it too. Annie had a disgusted look on her face the whole time.

Jensen just thought it was so cool.

Annie exploring on the river rocks

following Grandpa

Jensen and Brighton bundled up together. It was so freezing cold at night. I told Tyson I don't ever want to go camping in March again. We were miserable. Luckily Brighton slept with Tyson and he was the warmest one. Me and Jensen always get colder than the others and we were miserable. I felt so bad for him. I just kept waiting and hoping that morning would come and the sun would give us some heat! It was the longest night ever.

Eating the yummy food Grandpa Nichols prepared for us. He is such a good Dutch Oven Cook!

Of course whats camping without timeout

Trying to bundle up and stay warm

Brighton loved it - I think he is going to like the outdoors

All bundled taking a nap

Helping Grandpa and Daddy gather wood for the fire

Pretty view of the Lake - I felt bad for them though, they were freezing.

Overall it was a fun trip. It was just a little too cold for us. We got to see some really great scenery though! Thanks Dad for coming with us :)

Brighton's Blessing Day

We blessed Brighton last month on March 7th, but I hadn't ever posted pictures of him in his little outfit, so I figured I'd better share the cuteness :) It was a wonderful day and I could feel the spirit so strong throughout the whole day. I know that Brighton is a very special boy and that he has come to our family for a reason. We love him tons. I am also very thankful to have a wonderful husband who honors his Priesthood duties and takes them seriously so that he is able to bless our children and follow the promptings of the spirit. I am so blessed to have him! After church we had family over for a yummy dinner and we were glad for all the support and love we get from our great families! It was a very nice day - Thanks Brighton for coming to our family!!

The flash was a little close, but it was the best smile we got

What a stud

Bless you!

I think he's trying to wink at me

He was so stiff in this outfit and probably really uncomfortable, but oh so cute.

How much longer do I have to pose for these?

Staring at something more interesting :)

Awww - I just love him. He's such a sweetie!

More Recent Pictures of Brighton

After doing that last post I realized that Brighton looks nothing like any of those pictures, so here is what he looks like now at 2 months. It has been about 3 weeks since these were taken and he has already gotten bigger since.

Love that face! He is probably deep in thought :)

He would not cooperate for this picture. He kept trying to turn and eat Tyson's hand.

Daddy loves to play

Trying to get him to smile. They always stop when you get the camera.

Another deep in thought moment

I love it that he has some chunk to him! Annie and Jensen were thin and skinny which was nice because they were easy to carry around. I already think Brighton is getting heavy to carry in his car seat. At his 2 month he weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz! I think that is what my other kids probably weighed at like 5-6 months :)

Looking at these, Britghton already looks so different! He is huge compared to these, so I will have to try and do another post of more recent pics, it still feels like it is January and I just had him, so really I don't feel that behind but I know I am! Here are some from his first few weeks at home:

Annie loves to hold him!

She is a proud big sister.

Jensen loves him so much too, he tells me "Brighton's my friend".

Silly boy

1, 2, and 3.

No, we don't let the baby sleep with Jensen. Daddy just posed him for

a cute picture. This was one of Brighton's very first smiles.

Jensen so tired he fell asleep reading. He loves cuddling up to a good book in bed :)

Brighton caught sucking his thumb. He doesn't do this anymore, or at least not yet!

Sleeping with Daddy

She can't stay away. She loves him so much! It was hard for to learn to give

Brighton some space, she still is learning that everyday.

Jensen would not cooperate and scoot down :)

First bath. He liked it, of course.

After bath - not so much. He just cried till he was once again dressed.

What a cute boy, so peaceful. He has since grown too big for this basinet,

so he is now in his own room in his own crib. Wow, time goes by so fast!

He likes being able to have lots of room though.

Aaaggghh! I just love him.

Annie practicing her tumbling, trying to do her horsey kick/hand stand.

She has gotten so much better at this in the past little while.

Probably cause she been so bored stuck in the house cause mommy

has a new baby :)

Weird pose for the camera :)

And this is where Jensen spends a lot of his time lately -- in the corner.

He has not handled the lack of attention as great, and has really been a

bully lately. Hitting, pushing, tackling, fighting, biting and

jumping on Annie are just a few reasons why he gets sent there.

His daddy needs to wrestle him more to let out this aggression with

someone who will enjoy it!

He is still a cute boy though, with goofy smiles!

Brighton is finally here...

At about 2:45 Tuesday morning I woke up to my water breaking in bed. I woke Tyson up and after the shock of the moment he jumped out of bed and started getting us ready to go. I had a scheduled inducement on Thursday the 14th, and luckily I had already packed everything. When we got to the hospital I still had not felt any contractions and was hopeful that it would stay that way. With my second, Jensen I didn't feel a thing so I was hoping Brighton would be like him. Boy was I wrong! After they got me settled in my bed they started coming more and more and harder and harder. I finally asked for an epideral at about 6 am and then unfortunately I stopped progressing. A few hours later at 9 I was finally getting close. My doctor finally made it in at like 9:15 and then at 9:21 he was born! It happened really fast, and I was grateful I didn't even need to push! He came out really purple and he was quiet. I was really scared that he wasn't breathing, but they assured me that was completely fine. He didn't even start to cry until after they took him away from me to clean him up. He was and is such a good baby! We named him Brighton Glenn after my Grandpa. He was 8 lbs. 12 oz. and was 21 inches long - our biggest baby so far. I am so grateful to have him in our family and love the sweet spirit that he has already brought into our home. Welcome to the world Brighton!

Getting ready for child number 3
So precious and sweet - He is such a good baby!

I love his chubby cheeks - they are so kissable

Annie was so excited that she got to come to the hospital. She loved holding him and has been such a good helper. She never wants to leave his side. Jensen was excited to see him but refused to hold him at the hospital. He called him baby Sydney a few times, which is his cousin - so I think he is still getting used to the idea that Brighton is his baby brother and that he is here to stay.

First family picture