Happy Halloween!

Okay to start of this post I have to tell you this quickly. Since we were going trick or treating with River (my best childhood friend Whitney's little boy) I thought it would be fun to have a picture of Whit and I as kids together dressed up for Halloween. I have searched high and low for a good picture of us and have failed. This should not have been hard to find considering we have 12 million pictures together and spent every Halloween together since the time we were 4. This is the only one I could find and we are not sitting by each other nor is this the cutest picture...so annoying but it will have to do. If you cannot tell we are the two witches, I am the one with the hat pulled down so you cannot see my face. The other one is us tonight with our husbands and kids (Saylor is in Whit's tummy due 1 week from today) You really have to click to enlarge them to appreciate the pictures! We had a fun day! Ryan's mom came over to see the kids in their costumes this morning! A family tradition of ours is to have pumpkin bread bowls with soup on Halloween. I love to do tihs with my family! Tonight my mom made broccoli cheese and it was so yummy!
Tonight we went trick or treating with Whit, Wes and River. The kids were so good. Brady and Easton were thrilled chewing on the gum wrapper they got at the first house we went to. Ryan and I had to carry them everywhere and by the time we got home both of our arms were killing us. At every door we went to River was ready to grab a candy bar with each hand. It was so funny! We had a fun time and are glad we got to spend it with our best friends! I hope you all had a Happy Halloween too!

What We've Been Up To...

Here is a long update on what we have been doing.

When my family was getting ready to leave Las Vegas I had a little meltdown so we made a last minute decision for me to jump in the car and come home. This ended up being good becuase Ryan had finals and was gone every day until midnight studying at school.

Ryan is currently in the middle of a 2 week break so he flew in last Friday to hang out. We have had sick kids on and off the whole time and our vacation continues to be extended. We are still here and currently are not sure when we are going home. Overall though, it has been a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of the fun things we have done.

Ryan and I took the boys up to Gardners Village to see the witches! On the way home we went to Ikea and had lunch and walked around since Ryan had never been there before. It was a fun afternoon. (If you can't tell, Ryan is in the background calling an OUT.) Later that night we went to Ryan's parents house to have dinner with his family. It was fun to see the Weight's and Steve and Austin! This is Brady and Austin hanging out. My dad decided to let my kids try Pepsi. Okay they have never had pop or caffeine. They were a little unsure about it but wanted him to keep giving them more. It was so funny!They were so helpful when my mom was cleaning off her desk. They stood on either side of the garbage can and took things out as she put them in and threw them all over the floor. My mom just laughed, she is a good sport!I was lucky to be here for my friends dinner this month at Cafe Rio, YUMMY! We planned a Halloween party and my friend Jessica hosted it at her house. We all had a lot of fun but as you can see trying to get that many little kids in costumes smile for a picture is not exactly easy. We did not get one where they were all happy, but it was fun to try! The party was a lot of fun and it was so good to see people I haven't seen in forever! My mom and I were trying to fold laundry so my mom put the boys in a laundry basket and gave them Kelsey's bra and underwear to play with...YUCK! It was funny though because Brady kept putting it on his head. As you can tell there is never a dull moment when we are in Utah. There is more to come so stay tuned!

THRILLER!

So I am not dead...we are in Utah and we have been so busy. Ryan asked me if I was burnt out of blogging and no I am not, I just haven't had time to sit down and do it. I have lots of pictures and updates but I thought I would quickly do this one and do the rest later.

Last night I got to go to Thriller with my sister Abbey and her friend Hayley Johnson! We had such a good time! I loved it! I have been many times but this was the first time they had been which was fun! There are a lot of things in it that have not changed, and a few new fun dances. It really does put you in the Halloween spirit. My favorite dance has to be the Salem Witch Trials one because I think the dancing is amazing.

We had a few near death experiences in the car, couldn't find anywhere to park, and got lost coming home but all in all it was a fun night with lots of laughs! My hubby was so nice to watch the kids all night and let me go. He really is the best! Thank you Abbey and Hayley for a fun night out and Ryan for letting me go!

Friday, October 13, 2006...

This is super long, sorry. I hope you enjoy the slide show these pictures start the day they were born and go up until we were discharged from the hospital!

Things had been pretty uneventful and I had been feeling pretty good. I woke up Friday morning to an empty house. I did my usual routine and quickly realized I was bleeding. I called my mom and she and Kelsey rushed home. Ryan was at the gym and we finally got a hold of him and he came home too. My mom called all of my family and let them know I was probably going to have the babies. We went to the hospital and they hooked me up to all the machines. I was having the same amount of contractions I had been when I had left 1 week earlier. The doctor checked me and I had not changed so he sent me home. I was so relieved. It was Aria's first birthday and I did not want to miss the party.

A couple of hours later I was laying on my bed in the family room when all of the sudden I moved and felt a gush of water. I couldn't decide if I wet my pants or if my water broke. It was the weirdest feeling ever. I called my mom and we gathered in the bathroom with Abbey, Kelsey and Ryan trying to determine if it was my water or not. I was not having any contractions so I was really unsure. My mom was positive it was my water. About 30 minutes later I suddenly started feeling very strong contractions. They got me on the couch and Kelsey started timing them on her cell phone, they were really close together. I was yelling for Ryan who was taking a timed quiz for school and kept saying, "I have to finish this it is timed." Abbey was saying, "Ryan I think your teacher will understand, your wife is in labor."

Chad and Ryan got me to the car and we headed to the hospital. When we got there they took one look at me and knew it was my water. They got me in a gown and into bed and the nurse came in to check me. I was at a 5. We got the anestheiologist and he gave me my epidural, it was heaven! The doctor came in and talked to us about a c-section. He was worried about baby B(Easton) because his heart rate was dropping and mine was starting to too. They put me on oxygen and we decided a c-section was our best option.

They got me all ready and got Ryan in his gear and took us away. The doctor pinched my arm and asked me if I could feel it and I said yes. He said, "good you were supposed to but your stomach is now cut open and I am assuming you didn't feel that." It was crazy laying there thinking I was going to soon have 2 babies. At 6:23 and 6:24 Brady and Easton were born. They got Brady out and I could hear him crying. I didn't even get to see him because as soon as he was out they put him in a blanket and ran into another room where I am told 5 doctors immediately started working on him. Easton followed 1 minute later and I again could hear crying. I later found out it was Brady I could still hear and Easton came out blue and not breathing but they didn't tell me that at the time, good thing. Pretty soon they started stitching me up and I was just laying there wishing I could hold my babies. They brought Brady in for 5 seconds and let me give him a kiss and then took him away. Easton was not doing as well so they took him straight to the NICU. My mom and dad went with the babies so Ryan could be with me.

They got me into a room and Ryan left again to go to the NICU. They wouldn't let me see my kids until I was more stable. It was torture and felt like an eternity. Finally after about 2 hours they wheeled me in on my stretcher and let me reach up and touch them. Brady was just chillin' but seeing Easton on all his machines terrified me. I can honestly say I have never been so scared in my entire life. I had these beautiful babies and I didn't even get to sit and spend time with them or hold them. They told me I could come back in the morning and took me away. I was devastated.

My family came to visit me that night and Ryan got to take them up one by one to see the kids. It was killing me to just be laying there not knowing what was going on. Ryan slept at the hospital with me but he was so exhausted he fell right asleep. I could not sleep and layed there watching TV and crying. My dad was luckily on call that night and came in to see me in the wee hours of the morning. He had just been up to see the boys and updated me on what was going on. He told me Easton was struggling a bit but they Brady was just laying there chillin' with his arms behind his head. I finally fell asleep.

The next morning I got to go and see my beautiful baby boys and hold them for the first time. It was the best feeling in the entire world. I was intimidated by how little they were and surprised at the love I immediately felt for them.

The next 4 weeks were an emotional rollercoaster. We had some crazy experiences such as a power outage, Brady stop breathing during a blessing, a bomb threat, emotional breakdowns, etc. but we made it through. Ryan basically dragged me out of the hospital every night cyring and I would call the NICU in the middle of the night when I would get up to pump just to hear that they were okay which they always were. It was a growing experience for us and my faith was definitely strengthened.

Now here we are 1 year later. My kids are now chubby and developing perfectly. It truly is a miracle that I was able to stay pregnant 4 extra weeks and that my kids did so well when they were born. We are so lucky to live in such a great place with such a wonderful hospital and fabulous staff. They were amazing! Even more than that we are lucky to have such supportive family and friends who came to visit often and were always willing to help us out. We could not have made it through without all of them.

So there it is, the conclusion of the story. Sorry the posts were so long and sometimes boring but it has been fun for me to write all of our experiences and ups and downs we went through to get my little guys here.

We Love Cake!

Yesterday was a very exciting day! The day started at Geoff and Aleena's where they blessed Laila Ruth Hill. We headed over to the park for an exciting party for the three kids! Some of Ryan's family was able to come down as well as mine and it was so much fun to be able to celebrate all together. Brady and Easton loved their cake and we all loved watching them dig in. Renee and I gave Aria the Troy and Gabriella (from High School Musical) barbie dolls and she would not put them down. It was a great party! We went home and got the kids down for a nap and relaxed. We then headed out to the BYU game to cheer them on to a victory! My kids were out cold before we even got home. It was a very fun but exhausting day! We are so lucky we had so many people to help us celebrate such an exciting day! Here are some fun pictures from the day!

For those of you confused by my last post, my kids were born on Friday, October 13. I posted that at about 11:30 on the 12th. Sorry to confuse you!

Happy Birthday Brady, Easton and Aria!

One year ago today was a wonderful day! My beautiful baby boys were born and Ryan and I became parents of not one but two perfect babies. The last year has been the greatest of my life and I have loved every minute of being a mother! Brady and Easton are the best little kids and have been so much fun. I am so lucky to have them in my life.

They were lucky enough to be born on their darling cousin Aria's 1st birthday! We love Aria to pieces and are so lucky to have her close by. She loves the "buddies" and is so sweet with them! We are sorry Brady and Easton's arrival into the world crashed Aria's party but we feel honored to get to share this day with her!

I am going to write the story of their birth and make a slideshow of pictures later (I am way too tired right now) but I wanted to get this up because we have a very busy day tomorrow and I don't know when I will get to it.

An Uninvited Guest

Today was a crazy day. I woke up and went to aerobics at my church, came home and got the kids in bed and started to work. We get sprayed for bugs every other month and today was the day. The guy called and told me he was on his way. I ran downstairs to pick up and as I walked down the stairs I saw a BIG bug on my floor. I jumped up on my kitchen table (since I am terrified of anything) and tried to get closer so I could see it. I immediately recognized it as a scorpion. Oh my gosh, I was freaking out. I decided I was just going to sit on the table and make sure it didn't move until the pest control guy came. I waited forever and to make a long story short I somehow missed the guy (he did the outside but said he knocked and I didn't answer) and I suddenly got the bill on my front door. I called and asked them to please come back and spray inside and kill the scorpion so I could get off the table. He was so nice when he came and was laughing at me. The scorpion hadn't moved in the 30 minutes I had been watching it so we thought it was dead. He started spraying it and it started running around. I was standing on the table screaming like a little girl. He was laughing so hard. He wanted to smash it but I wouldn't let him. He finally got it onto a paper and took it outside and killed it. He sprayed my house really good and told me that if I see anything at all they would come back but they should be gone. My kids were asleep during all of this which is a good thing because I probably would have made them sit in their highchairs the whole time. I am such a whimp but I HATE BUGS...yuck. When my kids woke up we left. They are now crawling around the floor and I am creeped out. This is from kind of far away, well from the table I was standing on, but it was so yucky! I am cringing just thinking about it.

Update...Again

October 7, 2006 was a fabulous day! There was a BYU game so Ryan took off and Kelsey and Abbey came down and took me to lunch at the snack bar. After the game was over the doctor came in to talk to us and said he was going to check me again. I had not changed too much since I had been admitted. He told me he was going to get everything ready for me to go home but he would prefer that I wait until Monday (yeah right). After talking to my dad and Ryan we decided it was time for me to go home. I was more than ready and felt good about the decision.

I couldn't believe how much stuff we had acquired in the 3 weeks of my stay there. It took Ryan forever to gather it all up and it took a couple of trips to get it all to the car. My dad and Kelsey came down to get help get me ready to go. I signed the papers and Ryan took me to the car in a wheelchair. Being in the car was such a weird feeling and it made me a little nervous. Ryan put on the Michael Bouble (sp?) song "I want to go home" He thought he was so funny!

My mom and dad realized they didn't have a twin matress so my dad went to RC Willey and bought a new one and set it up in the family room. They thought it would be more comfortable for me to lay there instead of on the couch all day. I was so excited to be home. My mom made stew for dinner and I was able to eat with my family. I got to sleep in my bed that night which was the best!

October 8 was a Sunday. Ryan was in young mens and my mom was in primary so they all had to go to church. My mom was nervous about me being alone so she took her phone to primary and would text me to check on me. It was funny. We ate dinner outside as a family and it felt so good. Every time I stood up everyone would freak out but I made it through my first day at home.

Not much happened October 9 but I was still home and still pregnant so I was happy!

Long Update...

Okay I am way behind on my update so I will keep this short and just put the BIG things that happened! Okay I just finished writing this and it is super long, sorry!

The 26th was a frustrating day. I was visited by 2 different doctors 30 minutes apart who told me different things but also both told me that they had just talked about me in their meeting. My mom and I were so confused. Thanks to my mom, we later got it all cleared up and they met in the middle. They turned dowm the medication and I was feeling pretty good but still couldn't see.

September 27th I am well aware that this is not a very cute picture of me but this is how it was...embarassing I know!

On the 28th they turned down the medication even more, yeah! Later tried to turn it dowm more but quickly went back up just a little because of contractions.

On the 29th they turned the mag off and put me on an oral pill to help instead. I was able to take a shower all by myself for the first time in 2 weeks! I did my hair and put makeup on, I felt like a new woman. I started having contractions again but couldn't feel them so they decided to check them. I hadn't changed much which was good but he could feel baby A (Brady's) head. He told me he would be around all night and to hope for the best but expect the worst. The Brady clan brought Ryan and I Outback and played games with us in the hospital. It was the best day I had had so far!
September 30th was our anniversary! We watched conference together all day. We got good news. The baby's heart rates were always good so they took the monitors off and told me I would only have to put them on twice a day for 30 minutes. It felt so good to only have 1 monitor instead of 3. Ryan went to priesthood and brought me back PF Changs!

October 1 was an emotional day. My dad came to watch the morning session with me and the doctor came in while he was there. He said that he though I might be able to go home. He decided to check me and then make a decision. You can imagine our disappointment when he checked me and said that I was about 3.5 and there was a ton of pressure and he could feel the first head and my bag of water. We were not able to go home. My dad asked if he could at least take me outside in a wheelchair to get some lunch. The doctor agreed to that (only because he felt so bad and it was my dad)It was a beautiful day and I had never been so happy to be outside in my entire life. After 2 long weeks, it was wonderful! I was so sad when my dad had to take me back inside. The doctor told my dad he thought the babies would be coming very soon. We had heard that many times before so I was determined to prove them wrong again.

October 2 was my mom and dad's anniversary. My mom refused to leave on the trip they were supposed to go on and my dad finally got her to go to Park City for the day. My friend Lindsay and my dad took me outside again for lunch which again was fabulous and helped get my spirits up.

October 3: They had been trying to get me an ultrasound with my high risk doctor and finally got me squeezed in, we were so excited! Ryan came and met me and they took me in a wheelchair. The ultrasound showed them to be 3 pounds, 11 ounces and 4 pounds, 4 ounces (which obviously was a little off because they were smaller than that when they were born) but we were happy about that.

October 4: Long hard day, I was starting to get down. Nothing too exciting happened, same old, same old. The dietician came in and told me that I was not gaining as much weight as they wanted me to so we needed to up my calories. Seriously, I was huge. They made me drink Instant Breakfast twice a day which I hate. I was so annoyed. My mom brought me coldstone to help with the calories..she is the best! Abbey and I had a sleep over.

October 5: They told me everything looked good! Yeah! I joked around about going home but they ignored me, rude!

October 6: I was told everything was looking good but they didn't want to send me home on the weekend because they staff wasn't as good if I were to go into labor or something, I thought it sounded dumb. They took us to the NICU again to see babies about the size mine would be and I decided it was all worth it. They were so little and it seriously freaked me out.

Fun Times With Family!

We are absolutely loving having Geoff and Aleena living so close by. It has been so fun to spend time with them (mostly Aleena and the girls because Geoff is so busy) Last Sunday the Johansen's (Aleena's sister) had us over for dinner. It was so much fun to all get together. I have to say she has some of the most adorable and creative kids. They put the table up on the couch and made a slide. This entertained them forever. They were so sweet and kept taking the boys down it with them which they loved! Today we went to the park and had a picnic. It was super windy but the kids didn't seem to mind and had so much fun! I am loving the new pig tails Aria is sporting (blow up the picture in order to appreciate them fully). If you can't tell from the picture Brady had had it with the park, I took this picture as we were leaving.



We are loving life and all the fun things we have been able to do here. We are thankful for Goeff and Aleena and again are so excited to have them so close. We can't wait for the big birthday bash next weekend and all the fun times we get to share together!

Things that make me happy this week!

*Spending time with my husband (thanks to Jewish Holidays...again)
*Finally getting my hair cut and colored today, I love it!
*Spending time with Geoff, Aleena, Aria and Laila and having them live so close
*My awesome ward and friends and our exercise group and play group
*My family comes in 1 week
*Conference weekend
*Only 10 days until my babies 1st Birthday!
*Finding good deals at TJ Maxx (I am totally turning into my mother)
*Albertson's 8 hour sale...good deals!
*Having a clean house (even though it won't last long)

What made you happy this week?!? (Thanks Britt, I needed a new post so I stole this!)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Happy Anniversary to the best parents in the whole world (aren't they cute?!?) Last year my dad had planned a trip to take my mom to California for a relaxing getaway. Because I was in the hospital they cancelled their trip so that they could be there with me. Lets just say this did not surprise me one bit because that is the kind of parents they are. I hope this year is better for them. I am so lucky to be their daughter and hope my kids soon realize how lucky they are to be their grandchildren! Thank you for all you do for us. We love you!