Moving Cows

2 days ago we brought the cows down from dry canyon to get them ready to go back up on the forest. Brandt got to ride with bampa on Dunny for part of the time and loved it!!
He didn't even seem to mind the millions of mosquitoes too much (they were getting him even though we sprayed him.) When we got closer to the highway Brandt got off (unwillingly, if you can imagine that) and helped me keep the cows from going in people's yards. Then we walked behind them for part of the time and he thought that was pretty fun, too. Oh how I love summer evenings!

Riding Rock

As previously mentioned, my Brandt is all boy and all cowboy. Last week Van got a new horse named Rock, and Brandt got to sit on him. He thought it was so fun and didn't want to get off.

He also spoiled him with pellets and kept wanting to give him more and more til Van finally had to hide them and say they were gone. He wasn't afraid of Rock at all and kept just running up to him and trying to pet him and hug him. Thankfully the horse seems to be a patient one and didn't kick him or anything.

Brandt and daddy...
After we were done seeing the horse, he had to go check on the puppies of course. Can't believe how grown up he's starting to look!

PB & J

Brandt has definitely reached a point of independence. A couple days ago I apparently didn't feed him lunch when he was ready for it because he climbed up and started making his own PB&J sandwich. He actually didn't do too bad and the mess was minimal compared to what I thought it would be! :)
First the jelly,

then the peanut butter,

Ta-da!!

He sorta didn't get it put together in a sandwich, so he just enjoyed the 2 pieces one at a time,

licking the jelly off first, then working on the bread.

"Wash hands, mommy, wash hands!" Oh how I love my little guy even if he does make messes! I wouldn't change it for the cleanest house in the world!

Riding the stick horse to grandma's

This morning when I was trying to get Brandt ready to go to my mom's for the day, he decided that he was riding there on his stick horse instead of going in the car. So he grabbed his hat, horse, and an apple and out the door he went, still in his jammies of course.

I had to chase him around the deck a few times before I could get him to come with me, but he was so cute I had to laugh about it.

Then he had to stop and let the horse eat the apple...
Getting closer; finally worked his way down the steps where I just had to grab him and put him in the car before he ran again. What a fun morning!

Missing Grandma

My Grandma Bodily passed away 2 yrs ago today. At the time it was hard for me because I had just had Brandt, but one of the highlights was that I got to take him to see her a couple times before she died. Because she'd had a stroke it was difficult for her to talk, but she made it very clear that she how happy she was to see him and kept saying that he was a "sweet baby" and a "cute baby." Thankfully I had my camera with me at one of the visits, so we were able to get a 4 generation picture with Brandt, me, my mom, and my grandma. What a treasure now!! There are so many things that I miss about my grandma that I never really even thought of when I was younger. I miss her calls on my birthday, I miss staying with her in the summer and over Christmas break, I miss her honesty (never thought I would miss having someone tell me exactly what they thought about my new hair or weight, good or bad...), I miss being able to find just about anything you could imagine in the freezer (potato chips for example :), I miss the licorice drawer, I miss her flower and veggie gardens, especially since she used to save some things like green peppers just for me cause she knows I love them, etc. Grandma was always a very hard worker and I strive to make that one of my traits as well. One thing that I always admired about my grandma was her ability to make beautiful things with her hands; she made quilts, doilies, afghans, dish towels, and more for all of her grandkids as well as a temple apron for each of us when we had our temple weddings. It is one of my most treasured possessions and I love how it reminds me of my grandma and her love for temple work whenever I have the opportunity to wear it. My mom tries hard to hide her emotions, but I know she misses her even more than I do. They used to talk on the phone almost every day and especially when anything big or exciting happened with the grandkids. I think it was one way that she and my mom could really connect. I'm sure that my mom would have lots of entertaining stories to tell her now since she watches Brandt every day, which would have cracked her up, but I'm also sure that grandma is still keeping track of us and gets to see a lot of the crazy things her grandkids and great grandkids do first hand. And she probably says what good kids they are even when they're naughty sometimes since that's the sort of thing she would say when she was here.

Fixen' Fence, Getten' Muddy

Last weekend Brandt and I got to go help the bampa's (bampa Lloyd and bampa Van) fence. Van brought an extra hammer for Brandt to use so he was seriously in 7th heaven. He pounded away at the staples and also the barbed wire (oh well, he had fun) and thought it was the greatest thing he'd ever done. He got to ride around in the ranger with bampa Van half the day and thought he was just as big as the adults. He shared bampa Van's sandwich, chips, and coke and while bampa Lloyd was away from the ranger he drank most of his Dr. Pepper. When my dad got back and tried to take a drink finding that it was mostly gone, he looked at Brandt and asked him what happened to his pop. With pure innocence and a shrug of his shoulders, Brandt answered "I dunno." Hilarious!!
So Tuesday as soon as the rain cleared up, Brandt put on his boots, hat, and gloves, grabbed his play hammer and screwdriver, and was ready to go to work. When I asked him where he was going he answered "fixen' fence."

Look at that concentration...

After his work was done it was time to play. This was the only big mud puddle left from the storm earlier, and of course it was the only place Brandt wanted to ride his bike.

Another one of those "innocent" looks, sorta like "who me? play in the mud?" By the time we went in the house he was covered from head to toe and ready for a bubble bath. What a fun day!

Might as Well Laugh About it Now

My parents gave me Marie Osmond's book for Mother's Day and it has really made me try to recommit to not stressing the small stuff. Her theory is if you're going to laugh about it one day, might as well not waste time getting upset about it now. It's a lot easier to get through the tough times, which are plentiful these days, with humor and optimism. I'm finding this is so true as the mom of a very busy 2 yr old. It took so long to get him here that I'm trying hard to enjoy every minute I have with him. Sometimes that's not easy after a stressful day of work when I'm exhausted and he wants to push every button I have, but I'm learning that we both get along a lot better if we laugh more. For example, last Sunday after a not-so-pleasant church experience since Brandt really didn't want to be there, we went home where he very quickly started to get into mischief.

He loves grapes and grabbed a whole bunch of them to eat instead of just a couple at a time like usual. He then proceeded to put them down on the floor, pant like a puppy, and pick them from the vine with his teeth. I maybe should have gotten after him, but instead I think I said "oh brother" and started to laugh. Of course that only made him be more dramatic about it, but I figured I could either start off the afternoon yelling or we could laugh about it and hopefully change the mood of the day into a happier one. Besides....

just look at that innocent face!!

PS I eventually did take the grapes away (after we'd had a good giggle over the whole thing), washed them again, and gave him a few in a little bowl to eat, so maybe I'm not a completely neglectful mother...

Memorial Sunday

Getting together with extended family has always been my favorite part of holidays. Unfortunately my mom's side hasn't gotten together much since my grandma passed away 2 yrs ago. She would be so ashamed!! So my aunt Vicki decided to take it upon herself to remedy the problem and planned a get together for Memorial Sunday. It was so, so nice to see everyone. Brandt wasn't so sure about it at first because it had been raining so we were all inside the house, but then he found a new friend who took pity on him and took him outside...
Uncle Eddie took him out to see all the animals and he loved it! Somehow he even got Brandt to hold his hand without running away.Brandt is telling bampa all about the dogs he saw outside. Love the hands on the hips pose.

Lauren (Mandy's little one) kept wanting her picture taken, but I could never get one with her eyes open. Check out that beautiful red hair!

Mandy and Megan...

Aaron, Jana, Amanda, and Katie... Aaron must be in deep thought or something. :)

Love this one of Sharon- cracks me up!

It's a small, small world. In this picture are cousins from each side of my family; Tony Bodily and his girlfriend Melissa Pugmire. Isn't she a cutie???

Amber is so photogenic- I was trying to get everyone else in the room to smile for me, too, but none of the others got it down quite as well as she did.

Like my brother for example who kept either ducking his head or closing his eyes.

Some things never change, like BSing around the dinner table long after the food is gone. In theis picture we have 1/2 of Uncle Eddie, my dad, Uncle Ted, and Bart. In the background my mom and Uncle Steve are looking up grave sites on his computer.

Brandt was obsessed with going upstairs and playing and especially loved playing with the big ball on the stairs.

Steve, Vicki, Amanda Jean, and Eddie

I love the variety of poses in this one-cracks me up!

Bart's wife Katie and their baby Heidi- such a cutie!

Brandt loved the hippety-hop thing (anyone have a better name?). I remember playing with the same one when I stayed there as a kid.

Amanda Jean with a mouth full of my cookie.

Brandt showing off, I'm sure. Actually I think he was probably showing them how bulls or horses buck or something.

More BSing, this time in the kitchen. :)

Brandt also made new friends in Uncle Steve and Bart and Katie's Brindley. They went all over outside checking out the animals and playing.
Haven't seen this forever! This was my great-grandma's (Gram) car. Cracks me up cause she was so insistant on driving it when she really shouldn't have been driving it that they finally took the tires off and put it up on blocks.

Brindley and Brandt had a lot of fun playing together. From the pictures you'd never guess she's almost a yr older, would ya?

Brandt's other new friend "Snoopers". They shared many hugs and kisses. Thank heavens for patient animals when Brandt is around. Brindley asked to have their picture taken with the puppy. She's so dang cute!

All in all, it was such a fun day to get together and get reaquainted, especially with the little ones who are growing up so fast! Hopefully we won't wait another two years to do it again. Thanks so much to Aunt Vicki for arranging everything; you're the best!!

Moving Cows

Memorial weekend marked that it was time to put the cows up to range. Saturday was moving day and came pretty early at our house. Brandt had been excited to move cows all week, but when the time came he wasn't quite as excited to get up at 6:30 am. So...I let him go in his favorite monkey jammies and of course his cowboy boots and hat.
Bryce let us ride on the wheeler with him for part of the time and it was a ton of fun.

This was the moving crew: my mom, my dad, Rylie, Brandt, and bampa Van.

Not a great picture of Bryce, but shows off Brandt's moving cows outfit.

Bampa, Brandt, and Rylie. My dad's so patient with them and spoils them way more than he ever did us! :D

When we got back to the house, Uncle Jaren was moving his cows so the two boys went out on the step to watch. I know Brandt looks a bit under dressed for the occasion, but he actually prefers it this way.

What a cute cowboy I have!!