The Great Flu of 2010

Many of you also caught this flu. I don’t know where we got it for sure, but Braxton and I were traveling to Idaho at the end of June and the next day Braxton was sicker than a dog. The poor kid threw up a lot for his first flu and didn’t have much fun on the visit. Needless to say, I came down with it the day we drove back to Utah for Brian’s cousin’s mission farewell. I ended up out on the church lawn in tears because I felt so awful. I swear I haven’t been that sick in a long time, if ever. My whole family in Idaho also got it, so it was just extremely contagious. And just like the song that never ends, by the time Braxton and I started feeling better, Brian came down with it. So, we did the flu in our home for more than 2 weeks. Despite being so sick, I did take Braxton over to his Grandma Coombs’ to see the animals and he got to play with Sienna. Here are some pictures:

Feeding the Chickens

Walking with Grandma and Hank

Just a cute picture

Braxton & Sienna

A Week of Broadway-ish Shows

In June, most of the girls on my Grandma Foster’s side of the family went to St. George for a girl’s week. I drove down with my sister-in-law Amber and her daughter Sienna. It was so nice to spend some time with them this week without the boys. Sienna and Braxton got along so well. One morning I found them sharing a piece of licorice. Here they are at the pool:


We all went to Tuacahn Theater (minus the kids) two nights in a row to see Tarzan and Cats. Here are my thoughts:

It was really good and I totally recommend anyone to go see it; however, I was slightly disappointed in two things. First, the singers were not as good as I hoped in this one. I am not sure if it is just because Phil Collins’ voice is so unique and I love it, so this just wasn’t as good or if the singers really just weren’t good. Second, I thought all the cables and flying across the stage was more distracting than helpful to tell the story. This also could be because the wind was blowing so hard they almost cancelled the show. Actually, we heard the next night that they would have cancelled it if they didn’t have a special guest that night. The original Tarzan from the old movie was sitting 5 rows behind us, so they didn’t want to cancel it for him. Besides those two things, it really was a great production for little old Utah.

Oh My Gosh! Loved it! I have never seen Cats before and didn’t know the music or the story so I don’t have anything to compare it to. But, the dancing and singing was SO amazing. I felt like I was watching a real Broadway performance. My favorite cat was the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. He was awesome! The lady who played Grizabella was also one of the best singers I have ever heard. She was a tony award winner that happens to live in St. George teaching voice lessons.

So, after the girl’s week was over, Brian drove down and picked me up on the way to Las Vegas to celebrate our 5th anniversary. My mom stayed in St. George with Braxton and they had a great time besides 4 back teeth coming in at the same time—sorry mom! Brian and I stayed at the Monte Carlo, ate at a lot of good restaurants, and saw a few shows. Here’s my review:

O by Cirque du Soleil (Sorry, couldn't get a good picture)

WOW. This was diving, gymnastics, contortionists, and synchronized swimming on steroids. What these performers do is so beyond crazy that it blows my mind. The real star of the show was the stage. It is the coolest stage ever. You just have to see it to believe it. This show was worth every penny of it’s expensive ticket.

It was a really good performance. I have seen this one in London and it was so amazing there, that I was slightly disappointed this time. The woman who played Rafiki was perfectly amazing and the older Nala was really good. But, other than that the singers were just okay. I was expecting a little more for a professional production and feel like Tuacahn in St. George could have put on a production as good as this one.

All in all, it was a really great week and I am totally spoiled!

The Big Number 5

We did it babe—5 whole years! Although it seems like so much longer than 5, since we fell in love 9 years ago. Let’s take a minute today to flash back to one of the happiest days of our life and then celebrate in Vegas next weekend!

Cake? Cake . . . CAKE!

Today we had a little birthday party for Braxton. He got so many fun toys and he loves all of them! Thanks everybody for coming! Here is a picture overload, including the progression of cake demolition. Enjoy!

Opening presents

Lots of presents

Happy Birthday To You

What is this?

I don't know, but I think I like it. Gooey.

First Bite

Diggin' In

I'm Lovin' It

It needs a good massage.

Oh Yeah, the massage worked! One big bite!

That's enough. Pretty sure I'm done.

Gettin' Clean

Lovin' the bubbles

My first four-wheeler from Grandma Coombs

Birthdays are the best!

Happy 1st Birthday Braxton

Braxton turns 1 today! Where has the year gone? He is so big now and walking all over the place. We went to The Living Planet Aquarium this afternoon for the first time and he was obsessed with it—talking to the fish and splashing in the water with the stingrays. Thanks Aubrey for inviting us to go with you!

My Little Daredevil

Last Saturday we went to Logan to hang out with Brian’s family and celebrate Jason’s daughter Taylor’s birthday. We watched her play soccer and then went up to grandpa’s farm to ride four-wheelers and motorbikes and have a hot dog roast. Braxton rode his first four-wheeler and he was in love with it as long as his dad took him around. I swear this kid loves everything with wheels. The other day on the lawn he crawled after a car—scary. I may have a daredevil on my hands. Here are some pics:

First Hair Cut

For those who see Braxton often, the first thing people notice (besides his amazing blue eyes) is the curly mullet going on in the back with no hair on top. Some people think it is adorable to have those curls and some people think it is just funny looking on a boy. Brian and I fall into the latter of the two and have wanted to cut his hair for some time. Finally on Easter, we did it and we think it is so much better. He actually smiled through the whole process. Here are the pics: