Utah trip and my new obsession.....

You've seen this first picture before, but I had to include it again. I should have gotten one of just the boys, oh well! We had soooo much fun on our Utah trip. It was 5 1/2 days of laughter, rest, skiing, more rest, and lots more laughter!

The girls:

Hollee, Shara, Laurie, and me

Here's Rick and Shara,

Russell and Laurie,

Jeremy and Kendra,

and the "Unabomber" (AKA-Sam) with Hollee!

Because I only skiied one day, I had some time to kill while everyone else did ski. One day I decided to go to Olympic Park where the 2002 winter Olympics were held.

The entrance...

Inside the museum....

There were tons of medals, videos, uniforms, and lots of memorabilia of that Olympics inside.

It was sooooo small compared to what I thought it would look like. This was at the bottom of the nordic jump ramps. There were actual teams practicing on the 90 m ramp the day I was there.....Team Australia.

This is the view from the top of the 120 m ramp. I got to go up there because I paid $7 for a guided tour....again, I was alone and had nothing else better to do.....
FYI: If you look at the above picture, imagine that you are a participant in the Olympics. If you were sitting right there and looking out, you'd see a crowd of over 20,000 people. I couldn't imagine that many people crowded in that small of an area. They had to bring in a grand stand to fit all the people. (There is your random winter Olympic tid-bit of knowledge for the day. If you'd like more, ask. I can tell you things like "Utah Olympic Park was completed in 1997 and that the luge is far more dangerous than the skeleton, even though you go head first when competing in the skeleton....." I'm full of useless knowledge now.)





Here is where my obsession begins.... (a little background story)

When we were touring Olympic Park the Junior National Luge competition was going on. We got to sit in curve 12 for a few minutes and watch some of the 13 year old competitors do this sport. I was slightly facinated at how fast they were going and it looked like fun to go down hill that fast. Then we got up to the spot where they start the bobsled races. After explaining that event, our tour guide told us that we could actually ride in a bobsled for $200. Hello, dream come true! The person that drives the bobsled is the coach for the Jamaican bobsled team. I saw Cool Runnings, sign me up! Unfortunately, I was there alone and didn't know if Jeremy would "approve" of my 50 second ride that cost $200. In the end, I waited too long to call that afternoon and they were booked up. They don't do bobsled rides every day of the week, so I was back in Texas before the chance to ride again. I vow to get there again one day and ride the stinkin' bobsled! (It's only $60 in the summer, so I'm going to try to go to Utah in July!)


A sweet view from the top of a mountain one day!

Another great view:

This is the scenery out the living room window in the house we stayed in.

The boys enjoyed the game room in the house complete with pool table, poker table, eliptical machine.....

....and ping pong. Don't ask me why Sam's pants aren't pulled up.....

And I'll end this with a picture of my cute kid who has finally decided that sitting up can be fun too. He can do it, he just gets a little lazy! Here he is, pictured with a new favorite toy, his drum. I don't know if it's just him or if it is boys in general, but he really likes to beat the crap out of stuff. He will bang on anything in front of him!

(let me know if you read all my random facts in there.....this was a long post!)

:)

I just wanted to send out a huge thank you to Hollee for my awesome new blog header and background. I hope I wasn't too picky and am super excited about the way that it turned out. Just wait until you all see Cassidee's birthday invitations....you'll know who designed those as well!
Thanks Hollee!
And, another big thank you to Sam and Hollee for inviting us to Utah for a very fun, and much needed, vacation. We have had a ball! I can't wait to get home and put up some pictures!

Too busy to blog!

Jeremy and I are living it up in Utah right now with some fun friends. We are staying in an amazing condo with a gorgeous view of Park City. We've skied.....okay, they've skied for 3 days. I did ski one day, but just don't find enough enjoyment in it anymore to spend money on it. I've enjoyed lounging around the great house, taking some good naps, and today I toured Olympic Park all by myself. That was one of the coolest places I've ever been in my whole life. I got to stand at the very top of the 120 meter Nordic jump ramp where the Olympic athletes stood in 2002, got to watch some of the Junior National Championship Luge competition that was being held when I was there, got to meet the actual announcer of the 2002 winter Olympics......anyway, more on that later with cool pictures included. For now, I'm off to nap until it's time to pick the others up from the ski resort!

It was nothing but LOVE at our house!

Hope everyone had a fabulous Valentine's Day! It was like any other day at our house.....completely busy.....but it ended on a great note! We started a tradition last year with the Way Family. We do dinner together.....a fantastic "RED" dinner and end it with yummy dessert. We had spaghetti, salad and bread (not red, but oh well), and then had red sugar cookies with red/pink icing and sprinkles. It's a fun thing that I hope our kids will look forward to in the future. Below are some pics from our evening.......

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My little lovies

The three kiddos!


Take three and Charlie's outta there!

He thought it'd be more fun to eat some cookies! I agree!!!

Amie helped Cassidee put some icing on her cookies!

If you remember from last year, Amie had to help Cassidee with the sprinkles.....

they skipped the cookies and put the sprinkles straight into Cassidee's mouth! :)

This year, however, Cass wanted her cookie to be a real work of art. She worked on it so long that she didn't even eat it. I guess she thought it looked to pretty.....

OR

she kept eating icing straight out of the bowl and was too full to eat her cookie!

Here's our little man looking all proud of himself!

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Since I've had two kids, I've tried to find matching/coordinating outfits for the two of them. Cassidee's favorite color is green, and I found some green wind pants for the two of them.

Score!

And here are Cason's 7 month pictures......a week and a half late.

(Atleast I took them on the right day.....it's getting them posted that I have trouble with!)

And the other day we went to the park since it was gorgeous outside. We put Cason in a cap and Cass thought she needed one too. Funny, that hat is sized 6-12 months.....pin head! :)

Cason, looking all G-cool in his side-wards hat!

He loved the swing!

My First Born.....

I got this survey on an email at work. I was bored and was going to do it and email it out. I decided to do it here instead. I wanted to do a little post about my baby girl.....who is growing up way too fast. She is changing before my eyes and I feel like her "baby days" are completely slipping away from me. She tests the waters daily and is completely precious all at the same time. I love, love, love hanging out with her and wanted to dedicate this post to her!

1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Not exactly!!!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes, for about 10 months.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
So surprised! We were at the doctor's office because I was bitten by a spider. I am glad they gave me a pregnancy test before they gave me a tetanus shot!

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
I was 26 when I found out I was pregnant and 27 when she was born.

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
At the doctor's office.....refer back to number 3.

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
After the doctor picked my jaw up off the floor he went to the waiting room to get Jeremy. After I told him (and we picked his jaw up off the floor) we called our family!

7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
Absolutely!

8. WHAT WAS YOUR DUE DATE?
March 21, 2006

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Not a bit!

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Pancakes, granny smith apples, peanut butter, and sweet tea

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
People asking if I was having twins.

12.. WHAT WAS YOUR CHILD'S SEX?
girl

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
No, but we would have been thrilled with either one.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
38 pounds

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
yes, I had 4 actually

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
I knew

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Not really. I was induced because of high b/p and protein

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
HEB, Bedford

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
from when my water broke until she was born was 13 hours

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
My hubby, Jeremy

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Just Jeremy, a doctor, and a few nurses!

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
natural

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
OH YES!

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
8 lbs. 9 oz.

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006 at 3:03 am

26. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Cassidee Brooke Broom

27. HOW OLD IS YOUR CHILD TODAY?
She is just a month and a half shy of turning 3!

It's crazy to think that I've gone from this:

Cassidee at an hour old.....

To this:

Cassidee at almost 3 years old!

I love you Cassidee! Thank you for filling my life with complete joy every single day!

Any day now....

Sorry it's so dark....I'm not the best videographer!

:)

A post about my boys!

I'm so far behind in posting! Cason turned 6 months old so long ago that I should just wait and post about him turning 7 months. Oh well! Here are his 6 month pictures......

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With the monkey of course. (Jeremy happened to ask me what the monkey's name was. Um, the tag says "Mambo." He said that wasn't manly enough, so we're still searching for a monkey name.....any suggestions?)

And with the UT football!

Cassidee said she wanted her 6 month picture taken.....I didn't have the heart to tell her it was more like her 34 month picture, but whatever!

A few outtakes....

When I put the monkey by Cason he either:

puts him in a head-lock

or eats him! Poor monkey!

This is what happens when daddy tells Cassidee that she can't be in anymore pictures until she puts more clothes on.....she didn't like that answer.

And now, I'm onto another "post" that I'm behind on. Saturday was Jeremy's birthday. It wasn't a super significant birthday, unless you count his last birthday in his 20's significant. We had a great birthday weekend. We went to Galveston on Friday, spent most of the day there Saturday, went to Houston to see some of our FAVORITE PEOPLE on Saturday evening, and back home Saturday night. Of course your birthday isn't complete without a party. Sunday after church we had a yummy lunch with friends that included a birthday cake picked out by Cassidee! We even went to a Japanese Steakhouse for supper with our other FAVORITE FRIENDS! It was a fun weekend!!

So, Happy 29th Birthday Jeremy David Broom! I hope you had a great day!

( I felt the need to include an actual picture of Jeremy since the b-day post was about him, and this is the one I found first. Not the best picture, but I know that we were having fun when it was taken, so that's most important, right? )

My poor little man!

Sometimes it's rough to be a little boy with a big sister.

I looked over at Cason in his bouncy seat yesterday and saw this:

What is on his head? Yes, they are panties. Cassidee's (clean) panties. She walks over as I'm trying to get them off of him and says, "No mommy, he's playing with them." I told her that he could play with one of his own toys. But she insisted that he wanted to play with her panties.

Poor kid!


And, he play with them for a few minutes before his daddy walked in and promptly took them away!

Cassidee took this picture. She told us later that she gave him the panties as a "funny joke." She has recently learned to tell jokes....her kind of jokes anyway, so this was just a "funny joke" that she was playing!

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Once again, Poor Cason!

I can't believe she is big enough.....

Cassidee had her very first night of gymnastics on this past Monday. I don't know why that almost makes me tear up. She is just getting way too big, I guess. She'll be with the Tiny Tots until she turns 3 and then she'll be in Kidz Gym and I won't have to stay with her the whole time. I can just "drop her off." She was soo, sooo, soooooo proud to put on her "nim-nastics suit" at home and was anxious to go all day. She was all smiles and not nervous at all.

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Here she is (not so) patiently waiting for her group to be called.

We are so lucky to be doing this with her sweet friends Camille and Olivia. Cass and Olivia are in the same group, so that is an added bonus. Cutie Camille does her gymnastics at the same time, so we got to watch her sometimes too.

Jumping on the trampoline---one of her favorite things!

Stretching in the music circle!

Playing in the block pit. Olivia is to Cassidee's left in the cute blue and green leo. Unknown boy in front of them! :) I think they liked this part. They got to swing on a rope and fall into this block pit!

Here is a video of Cass swinging on the rope. Her coach/teacher is Miss Jenn. And yes, she is pretty pregnant. I wonder how much longer she'll be our teacher??!!

:)

Why do they have to grow up so fast? It's sad, but it's fun too!!!

A catch up of sorts....

I'm guessing I won't ever get the actual Christmas pictures on here. I didn't take a single pic on my camera---I let my sister take all of them on hers since she has a much better camera. I have a CD with the pictures on them......hmmm, when will I actually get them on my computer to post? Your guess is as good as mine. So, here are the pictures that were on my camera, but don't have super significance.....I just felt the need to update my blog!

Before Christmas we took the kids to see Santa at Cabelas. After they were dressed I told Cassidee I wanted to take her picture. This was not a "posed" pose. She turned around and did this. Do you think I'm dealing with a diva here???

Posing on the rocks while looking at the fish!

We had promised Cassidee a long, long, looooong time ago that if she would ever get potty trained we would buy her the Leap Frog Tag Reader system. She'd look at it every single time we went to Target and always asked for the "Diego book and magic pen." Simple rules: pee and poop in the potty and it's yours. SHE decided a few days before Christmas that she didn't want diapers anymore and was rewarded a few days later after having no accidents!


So, for those of you who have asked me how I did it.....

I didn't. She did.

After all the times of me trying to get her to wear panties and all that stuff, she just had to decide on her own that she really wanted to do it.

Just FYI for what worked for us! :)

Now, onto my little guy.

He loves food. He loves watching you eat food. He loves it when you give him food. We've had all the stage one veggies and most of the fruits. This kid will eat.

He also loves his cups. He chews on them alot since he is teething, but he's actually really good about holding it and drinking out of it.

My little chunk looking like a big kid in his chair!






See, loves his food. He'll grab the spoon if I'm not fast enough! :)

Who wouldn't want help from this little cutie?

She asked me last night if she could help me make supper.

She said, "Mommy, can I help you? See, I look cute in my Pony panties!"

Well, since you look cute then you can help!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of my little helper too, since she always poses like this now!

We had Cason's 6 month well check yesterday.

I'm sure I'm not supposed to, but I can't help but compare Cass and Cason to see how alike or different they are size wise.

Cassidee at 6 months:

17.6 pounds, 27 inches long

Cason at 6 months:

18.2 pounds, 27 1/2 inches long

Pretty close! :)

This is a life saver!!!! You'll want one too!!!!

Thank you to good friend Amie for showing me one of the coolest websites out there right now!!!

Go HERE and you'll see what I'm talking about!

When I first began blogging I realized that the stories I was telling about our family and the pictures were posting were really just an extension of Cassidee's baby book and what I was writing in there for her. I began printing out the posts that I had done and after hundreds of sheets of paper and one big 2" binder full, I realized I've only actually printed up to when Cassidee was about 9 months old.....Yes, I'm behind. With no foreseen time in the future, I figured that nothing else would get printed.

I played around with this website for a little while and I now have one book ordered and am in the process of editing another. It's so great! You can delete posts, delete pictures, whatever you want almost. They have a picture limit, so I've broken my books down in roughly 6 month increments, but at only about $20 a book, it's not too bad. $40 a year for all my blogs that year isn't bad, right?

Check it out and let me know what you think.....if you have a better website that does this, let me know as well!!!