McCain Picnic

Brandon's work put on a picnic for its employees today. Arianna and Carson came for the weekend so they got to come too. There were so many cool things there. Little games for the kids, a dragon to crawl through, 3 water slides, a train, tug of war, food...fun fun. We did a little bit of everything that the kids were big enough for and were there for a good part of the day. Then the kids got cranky so we left. In the car Brandon and I decided that the kids really fussed the whole day and didn't enjoy very much at all. Oh well...We had a great time and I got good pics that make it look like Nix and Atti liked it. Pics to come as soon as I have a second!

Where we are in life...

We are in a tough but great spot in life. We are excited to be having more kids (hopefully soon) but that adds on a lot of changes and new stresses. Having one kid is a big change of lifestyle but thinking about adding on a 3rd is BIG. New car, more bedrooms...money and upgrades. We are excited to be at a job that pays pretty well for being just out of college and they are even paying for Brandon to start his MBA (Masters in Business) in a few weeks. BUT, we are not making enough to purchase the kind of house and vehicle that we want. We are getting to big to live in an apartment comfortably and frankly, I don't want to. I am now addicted to my garden so that would be no good. We live in a town where we can't buy in town because of crime and can't afford to buy out of town unless it's a really old mobile home. We can buy in the next town over (that's suitable to live in) but it will be 1 1/2 hour commute for Brandon for school. The next closest town is where his school is but 1 hour from work. We live really far out of town so it would be nice to get to know more people our age and have more interaction with kids. We don't have a second car because we are waiting (more like Brandon is forcing me to wait) till we have enough money for one. (Should be February.) Until then I dream of going to the park, library and even the grocery store without asking permission to use the car. One of the biggest things that is on my mind is our budget. I know that our food budget can me tighter but I don't want to eat less healthy. We don't eat organic and fancy healthy freaky foods but we do eat a lot of fresh produce and that gets expensive. I know that I can cook for much less but I also know that we'll just get fat again. UGH! So...I guess we are just going to stay in this house and save up for a car and a down payment for a house until he's done with school and his CPA, 4 yearsish. We will be poor but healthy. :)

the kids

Today I woks up really feeling badly. I was tired, my back hurt and I've been feeling queasy for a few days. I decided that I would make it a fun day for the kids so that they wouldn't notice how I was feeling. We made tortillas and waffles. YUM! Phoenix has been so interested in writing letters lately. She wakes up in the morning and writes till I get up. I got a few preschool activity books and she will practice a few times a day. I love to see her blossom and prepare for school (in 2 years). A few days ago Nix was eating ham and she said, "Wah dis cum fum?" (She says that 100 times a day!!) I said that id comes from a pig. She said what? I said that they cut the pig up and cooked it so that she could eat it. She said that milk comes from utters, girl cow utters. She then told me that it doesn't come from boy cows though. I asked her what boy cows are for and she said that boy cows are food. haha!! little farmer girl. Atticus is just a total charmer. I have hard time thinking of having another baby because he is such a snuggle bug. I would be sad to have to tell him that I can't snuggle. He loves his baby doll!

Failure and Self Doubt

Have you ever failed at something? Something you thought you'd rock at? Something special or something ordinary? I have. I do. All the time. Cooking, parenting, sports... Sometimes no one notices and others I feel like a fool. The latest and greatest was hard. I prayed for comfort. I went to my companion for words of encouragement. It gets tiring, I said. his reply... "In success you learn nothing, in failing you learn everything. Keep moving forward." Still sad, I said, how? I'm hurting? Brittany, you fail all of the time. Perhaps more then others. It is hard, but remember... YOU try new things. If you stop trying then you will never fail. What do you want to do? Thank you Brandon! I love you! I do fail a lot. I'm horrible a volleyball but I LOVE IT! If I'm on your team you won't win but you'll have fun and laugh a lot. I am an incredible mom. I love what I do and I love doing it and that makes all the difference. My children are smart and healthy. My cooking is a mess but that's what happens when I change recipes to be healthier for my family...sometimes things don't work out. Most of all my testimony of the Gospel is strong. I know who I am and why I'm here. I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father who sent me here to try new things.

My Garden

This year I planted my first garden. I was really nervous. I didn't want to spend the money on a garden and then have nothing grow. I started reading books and talking to people. I soon learned that every one's soil is different, even my neighbors. I just had to bite the bullet and try and fail and try again. Brandon wasn't super excited about it. He said that I can do whatever I wanted but he didn't really want to help. I am pretty sure he didn't think anything was going to grow. Then when the garden took off we were both thrilled and surprised so we put up a little fence around it to protect my little sprouts from the kids. (They "weeded" a few tomatoes.) As the garden started to grow we kept finding new sprouts all over the place, because Nix helped plant there were lettuce heads growing everywhere! I have found a few tomatoes, cantaloupe, and broccoli out of place too. I wanted more space so I planted pumpkin and rhubarb along the house. Enjoy my pics! Comment and tell me what I should do better next year!!

Sweet Melodie

We ended up bringing Melodie, Jennifer's oldest, back to Othello with us. She stayed for almost a week. Here are our adventures... I didn't get pics of everything... Relief Society Swim Party We made a cake and covered it with marshmallow fondant She went to Mutual, a swim party at the Roylance Pond That night she got really sick! ugh! The next morning we went to Tricities for a dental appointment and groceries. It was SO FUN!! Pioneer Day Party! BBQ and swimming at the Othello pool! On Friday night late Jennifer came. Saturday - 80's photo shoot, play at the park, library, pool Held newborn potbelly pigs! Jen left and took my Melodie...now it's too quiet around here...

Rainier Vacation....sorta...

When mom was on her way back to Rainier, WA from Idaho visiting her family she picked me and the kids up. We went there so help watch Jennifer's 7 kids while she and Michael were at the Pioneer Trek. Amanda and her 2 kids were there as well but on vacation. Amanda ended up going to a Young Adult conference so Mom and I watched the 11 kids with the help of the oldest few. The first few days we established a routine. We fed the kids 3 times a day and gave them 2 snacks. We had planned activities and strict bedtimes. Mom was the grandma and the maid role and I played the strict mum. It worked out really well. The kids learned to respect us quickly and helped out a lot. The hardest part for me was that I am used to being the fun aunt and I had to be firm with them. The reason why was because there were just too many kids. We had a lot of fun though. They mostly loved the coloring projects but we also did balloons, bubbles, movies and a slip n slide. Throughout the week I kept thinking about how I want to have a big family and how I loves growing up with 10 siblings. It was empowering to see that things could be organized and the house clean with ages 7,5,4,3,3,3,1,1 around. What was really nice to see was how my mom has slipped out of the "Mom mode" and in to "Grandma Mode" and I was quick to realize that I am the mom. I began to feel very confident as a mother and my abilities as such. Here are pictures of the week. I didn't take many...I'll have to get more from Amanda and Mom. Enjoy! I know I got a lot of pics of atti, but that's because he mostly stayed in the house with me. It was hard to watch Nix with the other kids because she's emotionally a lot younger then them. She is still really nervous of climbing and jumping on the trampoline. She's always been like that. The pic of the bee sting was Atti. Sad.

Cherry Harvest Time

Out here we love harvest time! The restrictions on food are so strict that a lot of times there is a lot of fruit left on the trees after they pick. We then get permission to pick whats left. This is us picking rainier cherries. The wind was so strong this year that it bruised a lot of the cherries. There were so many cherries that we couldn't reach. They were SO yummy!! I don't think my mom had ever had rainier cherries, she loved them!!!