Zach and Megan

MUD...YUCK!

2010-03-11T11:49:00.000-08:00

Spring hasn't even sprung yet, but the mud is overwhelming. You don't know what mud is until you've lived in Missouri. The mud must breed here. It's absolutely ridiculous how messy it is. Zach and I can't stand it, but Braelin is drawn to it! At least somebody enjoys it!

Our Little Ranch Hand!

2010-03-11T11:37:00.000-08:00

Our replacement heifers.

Helping daddy feed the heifers.

Learning about cows and calves (and bonding in the process)! Good stuff!

Sweet Bub!

2010-03-01T11:29:00.000-08:00

Kisses for Cooter!

What a great multitasker and she's only 21 months! She can eat her snacks and ride a horse at the same time...she gets that from me! Ha!

Pictures of Braelin!

2010-02-28T11:12:00.000-08:00

This was Braelin's first experience liking the brownie spatula. She did it like a pro (and loved every second of it!)!

Our little movie star! She loves to wear her sunglasses!

Yep, that's me!

2010-02-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Tree Hugging Healthy Self-Improver

Take the personality quiz: http://www.43things.com/book/#quiz

Braelin, Braelin, Braelin...

2009-10-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

If there were 40 hours in each day, I still don't think that would be enough time to get everything done! Obviously, my blog has taken backseat to everything else! I just wanted to quickly post some pictures of our little cutie to keep everyone up to date!

The first picture was taken last weekend while taking a walk through the woods to check our trail camera. The second is Braelin wearing her rain boots (which she didn't need the day of the picture, but really needs today!) She loves those boots and pretty much any pair of boots or shoes...she gets that from me! In the third picture she's enjoying splashing in the water (which she also loves!). In number four, she had just finished eating all the blackberries off the bush and then decided to test every tomato we had picked! That's my girl....likes her fruit and veggies! The fifth picture is just darn cute!

July Happenings

2009-07-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

July has been a very busy month which is why it has taken almost a month to get our 4th of July pictures up! Between work, school, and being a wife and mother...life has busy to say the least! We have a large garden again this year and try to keep the weeds tamed the best we can. Braelin likes to be in the garden with us...now only if she could distinguish between weeds and plants! I guess we'll give her a few years before we put her to work.

Braelin's 1st Birthday BBQ

2009-05-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

We had Braelin's birthday party on Saturday and it turned out really well! Good food and great company! The menu included:

Inside-Out Burgers: Mushroom Swiss & Onion and Cheddar Bacon
Hot Dogs
Cheesy Potato Casserole
Broccoli Salad
Cream Cheese Corn
Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes and Triple Chocolate Cupcake

The weather was beautiful. We had a short thunderstorm in the early morning but it moved along quickly. I don't think the afternoon could have gone any better! Thank you to all our friends that spent the afternoon and celebrated with us!

Braelin Turns One Today!!

2009-05-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today is our sweet baby Braelin's first birthday! How exciting! The time is going by so quickly I can't believe it! I had to get a picture of us together on her birthday. The snakes are cinnamon bread sticks that I made for Brae to take to daycare. We're having a party for her on Saturday so we'll have some pictures of that next week.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:56:00.001-07:00

Today was Braelin's first Easter and, as you can see, she was absolutely precious! She received all kinds of goodies from her grandparents and had a great time playing with everything! She played so much that she fell asleep in her highchair while eating lunch!

Our Girl!

2009-04-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

Braelin has had four teeth for awhile now and she loves to show them off all the time! She is always so happy and smiley! In the first picture, Zach was getting her ready for bed. The second picture was when she woke up one morning and had crazy hair! In the last picture, she was enjoying steak for the first time. She was concentrating very hard!

Our 4th Anniversary!

2009-04-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a night out for our anniversary. Zach's mom was in town so she stayed with Braelin. This was our first night away from her. We missed her so much but we had a great time together.

Slow down!

2009-03-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Braelin is growing so quickly and the time is flying by! We can't believe she's 9 1/2 months old (and already drinking coffee!). She really wants to walk and tries so hard - she gets an A for effort! She likes to "feed" herself but she's not very good at it yet!

So much fun!

2009-01-27T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Braelin having fun, which she always does! The picture in the bathtub was her first "big girl" bath and she loved it! She takes really long baths now because she has so much fun playing with all her toys! I had to take the picture of her sleeping because she looked so sweet. She had just had her bottle and fell asleep in my arms...I LOVE that!

Firsts....

2009-01-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I don't have a lot to say, I just wanted to share a few pictures from Braelin's firsts...her first haircut in November and her first Christmas. She is SO much fun!

New Pup

2008-12-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

We went to Kansas this past weekend to pick up a puppy to fill the void that Moka left. Her name is Biscuit and she was born on November 1st. Biscuit's mom had a sweet face like Moka and some of the same mannerisms, I wanted to take her too! I couldn't do a post about her until now because we just named her last night! It was harder to agree on a name for the dog than it was for Braelin! Biscuit seems to be smart and has a cute personality....I hope so...she has big paws to fill!

Sweet Moka

2008-12-08T07:16:00.000-08:00

Our Sweet Moka was hit by a truck and died yesterday. We miss our girl so much. She was a huge part of our lives. She will remain in our hearts forever. We're so lucky to have had her
even if it was
only for 3 years.
Oct. 29, 2005 - Dec. 7, 2008
We love you!

2008-12-02T15:52:00.000-08:00

The picture of Braelin in her hat was taken a couple days ago. She had to bundle up because we had our first snow of the year! The other pictures from our trip to Colorado. It was her first road trip and she did great during the 13 1/2 hour drive. She's so wonderful and we're so lucky to have her!

So many changes!

2008-10-20T19:33:00.001-07:00

Braelin found her feet a few weeks ago and hasn't let go of them since! She's also started eating cereal and seems to be doing pretty well with it! She's rolling over by herself and would love to crawl but she just isn't strong enough yet!

Baby "Talk"

2008-09-23T20:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video of Braelin "talking"! She's been getting extremely vocal recently! It's not a great video, but it's the best I've gotten so far! Usually when I turn on the camera she gets really quiet and just stares at it.

Beach Baby

2008-09-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

I got to go to Hawaii (the Big Island) for work for a few days and brought Brae along. It was a whirlwind of a trip but we had a little time to sightsee. If I ever make it back, I definitely want to stay longer! Braelin was great on the flights! I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful baby! The picture of us together was taken at our hotel. There were sea turtles just off the shore....not something you see in MO, maybe snapping turtles!

Labor Day Weekend

2008-09-11T04:47:00.000-07:00

We decided to go fishing on Labor Day weekend. We just went below the lake and had Braelin in her stroller and brought a blanket. It was pretty warm so Brae had to strip down to her undies to take a nap! The first day we fished, we caught more turtles than fish! But the second day was better! As always, it was nice to spend time together. We hope you were able to be with your loved ones too!

Family Day

2008-08-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was a great family day! We started off in Memphis, MO for the Antique Fair. I ran in the 5k race with friends and had a good time. Then we were off to Hannibal to see the LST-325 that was docked there. The LST (Landing Ship, Tank) is an amphibious vessel designed to land battle-ready tanks, troops and supplies directly onto enemy shores. Ships of this type proved to be enormously useful during times of war and peace both. This particular LST was originally known as LST-325 during the Second World War, USNS LST-325 during its arctic operations in the 1950's, and later L-144 while it was in the service of the Greek Navy. It was acquired by The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., in 2000, and caught considerable public attention when the veteran crew brought it on a 6,500-mile journey from the Greek island of Crete to Mobile, Alabama. We wanted to go inside but the line was extremely long and wasn't moving very quickly. It was interesting to see a part of our history, even if it was only the outside!

Picnic time

2008-07-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a picnic at the lake the other evening. The previous few days had been hot and humid but now the weather was perfect! Braelin loves to be outside. I think she likes to listen to all of natures noises! Here, Zach is teaching her early about the cattle business! It'll be a few years before she can be his little helper, but she can be his sidekick now!

4th of July

2008-07-22T16:48:00.001-07:00

For Braelin's first 4th of July we went to the Catfish Place to watch fireworks, which were great! Braelin didn't even mind the loud noise. Before the fireworks we had a picnic and here's Brae looking flashy in her red, white, and blue!

First timer!

2008-07-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about doing a blog for awhile now. It'll be a good way to keep people up to date with what's going on in our lives. Well, at least you'll be informed about what's going on with Braelin since she's what's important to us!

Let's start at the beginning! Here's Braelin at birth, May 27th. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 20 1/2 inches. Absolutely perfect! We couldn't be any happier!