Bryce Canyon 2008

Last Wednesday evening, the fam damily loaded into the truck and headed north to Bryce Canyon for a good ol' family camping trip. We went with Jason's parents, his brother, and 3 other senior citizen couples (I know, you're jealous). Thankfully we were able to make good use of our new(ish) trailer and 4-wheelers. They haven't had much use since we got them because I found out I was preggers with Cole a few weeks after we took it out for the first time (wink, wink).


It still amazes me that this:Turns into this:
Here are some pics of the family:
Brian (Jason's brother, Diane (Jason's mom), and Blaine (Jason's dad)


Rachel and Alex getting dirty

Alex and Cole hangin' out inside the trailer

All in all, it was a pretty good time. Jason and I were talking and think that it would be fun to go camping with some friends. So, if any of you out there have a trailer/camper/motor home or love tenting . . . we've got the 4-wheelers.

Nicknames

The other night at work we had a conversation about nicknames and it got me thinking. Nicknames are so interesting. I actually really LOVE nicknames, so I thought I'd share a few with you:

Me: Nance, Nunerd, Nune, Fancy Pants, Nan-steeee, Nances with Wolves, Lily of France or LOF, N. Braithwaite RN - BSN, NLB, Queen of the Buttheads

Jason: Jay, Jace, J-Dogg, J-diggity-dogg, hun, King of the Buttheads

Alex: Buddy, Bud, Butthead #1

Rachel: Rach, Rachie, Roo, Butthead #2

Cole: Coleman, Colio, Colie old St. Nicholas (this one is only in my head and I'm not sure why it keeps popping in there), fella, little man, chunk-a-monk

I remember when my sister Kate and I were little we wanted to come up with nicknames. We came up with Katred for her (rhymes with hatred but she didn't care), Nunerd for me, and Dunos my Spanish Lover (later shortened to just Dunos) for my little brother Dan. For some reason we didn't think of one for anyone else in our family - weird.

Anyhoskie, I thought it would be fun for ya'lls to tell me what your nicknames are. Come on, don't be a pp (party pooper).

Alex's 1st day of Kindergarten

Today was Alex's first day of Kindergarten. I usually get emotional when I see my little boy growing up (I've even gotten a little choked up when he gives a talk in primary . . . nerd, I know). So, I was preparing myself for the moment he went into school. I thought I would definitely cry , but I didn't. He went right in without giving me a glace back. He was so happy to be in kindergarten FINALLY! In fact, he didn't even want me to walk him to school. He wanted to ride his bike because he already knew where to go (Remember Mom? We already went there to meet my teacher!) He was so excited to wear his "Rock Band" t-shirt that he picked out and his new "pack-pack", as he calls it. He had a great day, but he told me that kindergarten is really long . . . can't wait to see how 1st grade feels to him next year!

View PhotatoBug Slideshow

After we dropped Alex off at school, we headed off to the grocery store. Heaven to just have me, Rachel, and Cole! When we got there, I got Cole out and was waiting for Rachel to get out but it was taking her FOREVER! I started to get annoyed that she was being so slow. She kept saying, "Just a minute, I'm getting my baby in her car seat." I couldn't see what she was doing (thanks to that limo tint on my minivan!) but I thought she meant that she was putting her doll in her booster seat and putting the seat belt on. Cole was getting heavier and heavier because he weights a gazillion lb's and I was getting madder and madder. Finally, she hops out of the car with her baby in her toy infant carrier . . . she wanted to be just like Mommy with her baby. Ohhhh, my heart just melted. What a cute little thing my Rachel can be. So, we went shopping with our babies and she behaved better than she ever has before (thanks to not having the bad influence of her older brother).

JoRae,

Thank you for coming to my parent's house in Springville last week and take pictures of my kids. You are so amazing. I can't believe that you have only been at this picture taking thing since February. It was fun to see you at work and play with Cole to get some cute shots. I can't wait to see all of them . . . the sneak peek is getting me excited. It was also fun to go to lunch with all our kids. California Pizza Kitchen was d-lish! Miss you tons . . . visit soon!

Love, Lily of France

To see the sneak peek and other amazing pictures, check out JoRae's photo blog . . . jnc photography

Go To Work . . . Yo!

Allrighty, it's 4 am and I'm back to work already. This is actually my 2nd shift back, last Friday was my first. I'd have to say that I was REALLY dreading it! It has been so nice to have the whole summer off and be able to go and do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. But, now that I'm back I feel okay about things. It's kinda nice to have a break from being Mommy, and it helps that I love my job. I have the best job in the world. If I was working full time I think I'd have a different opinion about it, but once a week is just right.

Chunky Monkey a.k.a. Cole

Cole had his 2 month appointment on Monday. He is tipping the scales at 15 lbs 4 oz (only 2 oz shy of his older brother at the same age) and measured 24 inches. That puts him at 97% for weight and 78% for height. Shouldn't it be the other way around??? Oh, I just want to squeeze and kiss my little butter ball!

Summer Trek to Springville

My-Oh-My have I been a busy little bee. We just got back a few days ago from spending a week in Springville at my parent's house. It was so nice to be somewhere that cools down at night. Jason and I would sit outside and just enjoy the evenings. All of my sisters were there with their kids too . . . can you say zoo? Let's just say that we won't be doing that again until our kids are MUCH older. We had a great time anyway. Here are the highlights from our trip (this is what the kids said when I asked them):

Alex - Playing Wii with cousins, the 24th of July parade in Spanish Fork, Kangaroo Zoo, getting to fall asleep with the TV on, and going to Burger King

Rachel - Playing with Barbies and the 24th of July parade in Spanish Fork

Nanci - Playing speed scrabble until all hours of the night with my sisters, seeing my BFF's, Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, Astro Burger, P.F. Chang's (I'm nursing, okay?), going to a "real" mall, birthday cake with almost every meal

Jason - I didn't ask him, but I imagine his reply would be seeing the new Batman movie with his brother and golfing Hobble Creek Golf Course with my dad

Cole - eating, sleeping, pooping

We love having a place to go and stay that is close enough, but still feels like a vacation. Thanks to my parents for letting us crash their pad for a week.