me + my boys

boy factoids

2012-01-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

BEN:

He turns 4 in March!! He reminds me every day that he is now three and will be four soon and then when he turns five he will go to kindergarten and break my heart.

He is obsessed with Octonauts.

He would play Angry Birds and Cut the Rope all day if I would let him.

His favorite color is red.

He still comes in our room a couple of times a night.

He hates pooping and eating.

He is now a Sunbeam and goes to big kid primary with his bestie Brynner.

He loves Family Home Evening. I think it is mostly for the treats. But he asks to do it a few times a week.

COLE:

He is a little ball of sunshine.

He loves to eat anything and everything all the time.

He LOVES blocks and books.

He is the BEST sleeper ever.

He obviously loves slippers. He races around in them saying, "VRRMM"

Mickey Mouse is his very favorite show, but Ben rarely lets him watch it.

He just switched to his big kid car seat and is so much happier.

He carries his stuffed penguin everywhere.

He loves the bath tub.

He is learning "please" and "thank you."

He can sing the Angry Birds theme song thanks to Ben.

Little Artists

2012-01-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

This was Cole's first time painting! I think he really liked it. Of course he tried to eat it and that didn't turn out so great, but he loved dipping his brush in the water and in the paints. I don't think much paint made it onto the paper, but the table and the wall looked lovely.

Ben isn't big on drawing, but he does like stamps and stickers a lot. Some of our ink had dried out and that was a source of major frustration.

Cole got distracted from his painting by Ben's ink pads. He loves to open and close things. Ben's despair worked for Cole because he got to play with the dried out ink and didn't even know he was missing out!

What happened to Ben's pants? Oh he spilled the cup of water for the paints all over his lap of course. And then refused new pants.

Look at those lashes!!! It is really not fair that a boy gets these!

I believe . . .

2012-01-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

The theme in church on Sunday was reading the scriptures. In her talk, Sister Campbell talked about how her three year old came home from school and had the Pledge of Allegiance memorized. She thought to herself, "If she can memorize the Pledge of Allegiance certainly she can memorize the Articles of Faith." What an awesome thing to have locked in your brain from the time you are three years old. You will always know exactly what you believe and what you stand for as a member of this Church. So I decided to start working on them with Ben. After Church I explained what the Articles of Faith are and why they are important and how we were going to learn them. We recited the First Article of Faith a few times and then his eyes lit up and he said,"Mom! I know what I believe!" I thought to myself, "Here it is!! A parenting pay off moment! I taught him something! Something important and good! Yay for me!" And then he said, "I believe in monster trucks. Big monster trucks." Oh. Not what I was expecting at all. But progress perhaps?

(This picture was taken while Ben was playing Super Man with his Daddy."

Tent Popcorn Party!!

2012-01-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

Oh my boys. They are wild and fun! Taking down the Christmas tree left a huge void in our front room. ( We haven't moved the chair back that usually lives there.) So the boys thought that it would be a perfect place to pitch their tent. But if you are going to put up a tent. You need pillows and blankets. And if it is going to be a party there must be popcorn.

So we had a tent popcorn party. The boys pretended to sleep and made a giant mess with the popcorn.

But they did have a lot of fun together wrestling and loving each other.

Ben was soooo tired . . .

Yeah right!

It is a little bit scary how good Ben is at iPhone games. His current favorite is Cut the Rope. But Angry Birds still gets plenty of play time.

When Cole went down for his nap, Ben and I searched for pirate things in his pirate book, in the tent of course.

LA Trip

2012-01-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

How can you not love LA? Especially in the morning, when the fog is lingering, and it is slightly chilly, but you are standing on the roof of a parking garage about to enter the bowels of the fabric district!!!!! Heaven!

Of course this wouldn't have been a proper adventure at all without my bestie Megsie!!! I am sure people thought we were freaks standing of the top of the parking garage taking pictures of almost the same thing and switching back and forth between our "big guns" and our iPhones taking pictures. We are definitely nerds.

The sheer amount of fabric is totally overwhelming. I felt like I could drown in it and nobody would ever find me.

Oh Michael Levine's!! What a nice break. Everything is organized properly and I could actually find stuff! There was still a TON of stuff there too! I found fabric for quilts for my boys! So happy! Sadly no curtain fabric. Boo.

We planned to eat at this charming French Garden restaurant, but they didn't open until 2 pm!! After diving in and out of fabric stores for hours we were starving!!

So we opted for one of my favorite touristy stops: Olvera Street!

I love everything about Olvera Street: the buildings, the dancers, the people, the food, the vendors. It is like a mini trip to Mexico!

Yeah, we got in trouble for this picture. Apparently, you can't take pictures in it unless you buy it. Oops! Oh well we got a picture of my sister in the Nacho Libre mask anyway.

Aren't we so cute?

My mom and sister came and met us for our fabric district / Olvera Street adventure. They just laughed at how nerdy we were.

Just across the street from Olvera Street is one of my very favorite places in the whole wide world!

Union Station!! It feels like you step back in time when you go here. Back to a time when travel was luxurious and you didn't feel like cattle. Traveling was an experience. Some day I want to go there and just photograph for a whole day.

Kiersten and my mom were wiped out. They haven't been on a Megan and Britta adventure before. After this we stopped by Beard Papa's in Little Tokyo for creme puffs. Yum - o!

The main event of this adventure to LA was the Rose Bowl Flea Market!

We were so not prepared for the amount of stuff that was there. I think we walked around in a daze for the first two hours. Then we got our feet under us and started making a game plan for working our way through the maze of tents.

I really really wanted to take home all the succulents and orchids, but decided against it because traveling wouldn't be so nice to them.

The highlight of the day was that we got to meet Emily Henderson in person!! Her awesome assistant Orlando took the picture for us! She is a designer on HGTV and the main reason we made this trip is because she always talks about how awesome it is! She was right! Megan and I were totally starstruck! But she was so nice and talkative. I loved chatting with her!

Other trip adventures:

My poor little lips have been struggling this winter so I have become a chap stick addict. The sad part is that they were not getting any better, in fact they felt almost worse. I wake up the morning I am leaving for LA and my lips are killing me! I look in the mirror and almost pass out! I look like a botox job gone incredibly wrong. I mean my lips look like Hitch and they HURT. So against Scott's counsel (He thought that,"It didn't look that bad and it would get better on its own"), I dropped my boys off at my neighbors house and rushed to instacare. Sure enough I was having a MAJOR allergic reaction to something most likely in my chap stick. They put me on steroids and two types of anti-histamines. Fortunately they worked quickly so I didn't look so scary when I boarded the plane. I flew into Vegas and Megan picked me up and we headed to LA! We ate at the most delicious Vietnamese restaurant ever that night. It was called 9021-Pho. So so so good. I am still dreaming about it. The next day we hit the fabric district, Olvera Street, Union Station, and Little Tokyo. That night we had tamales with Megan's parents and the missionaries. It was entertaining. One of the elders was convinced he was "fat" while his companion was skinny as a rail and claimed to have already gained 40 pounds in the few months he had been out. Claudia, Megan's mom, did a quilting show for me after dinner and gave me lots and lots of awesome tips and tricks. The next day was the Rose Bowl!! It was so awesome. We were definitely newbies and had NO idea what we were doing but now we know what to do for next year! After the Rose Bowl we drove to Loma Linda to have dinner with my mom and sister. Then we drove back to Vegas! The whole way back to Vegas Megan and I kept talking about how much fun we had and how much stuff we did. We loved every second of it, but we both admitted that we definitely could not get up and do another adventure like that the next day. The next day we went to an awesome quilt store, and shopped a bit before I needed to get to the airport. I love being a mom, but I love getting a weekend to myself to feel like I am a person too. This needs to be a yearly tradition!

Road Trip Quotes:

"I love boobs!!" - Britta

"Well not really naked. As naked as a Mormon gets." - Megan

"He looks like a toad with hair." - Megan

"You are not Lehi. We don't all follow your dreams." - Megan

"We're like BAM! Britta and Megan!" - Megan

"Just saying . . ." it was a great trip!

Oh Benjamin . . .

2012-01-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Wayne refers to Ben as a budding little attorney. I am pretty sure he is onto something. Ben has an argument for everything and they usually go something like this:

Me: "Ben it is time for bed."
Ben: "I know. I know. I know Mom, but I am just a little and I am curious about lots of things, like shows."
Me: "Ben it is dark and late. Time for bed. No more shows."
Ben: "Here's the deal Mom. One more show and then I go to bed."
Me: "No Ben. Time for bed."
Ben: "Mom! I have a great idea!!! How about I sleep for couple minutes and then I wake up and watch a show?"
Me: "Ben, time for bed. You can watch a show in the morning when the sun comes up, but right now it is time for bed."
Ben: "I know. I know. I know Mom, but I am not tired. See? I have lots of NG (energy)!"

Oh boy. What a kid.

Happy New Year . . . sort of . . .

2012-01-02T13:21:00.001-07:00

I wanted to do something fun for New Year's Eve. I thought it would be fun to start a tradition with our little family that we could do together before the boys went to sleep. (There is no way they are staying up until midnight. Everyone will be miserable.) I decided that it would be so fun to do a breakfast dinner! I was so excited to find a package of bacon in the freezer because Scott LOVES bacon so it would make the meal perfect!! I made homemade waffles, yummy cheesy eggs and . . . bacon. Everything was going perfectly. Scott even got home a little early. I checked the timer on the bacon and turned around to pull a waffle out of the waffle iron. When I turned back around to the bacon in microwave, the paper towel covering was on FIRE!!!! So I did what every level headed mother does. PANIC!!!! I started screaming, "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!!" Then in my head I thought, "Water. Water puts out fires." I yanked the burning pan out of the microwave, threw it in the sink and turned on the water. A teeny tine thought crossed my mind, "Never put hot glass in water . . ." KA-BOOM!! The glass dish exploded into a million ity bitty tiny pieces all over the kitchen! Awesome. So after I aired out the house and doused the rest of the flames. We sat down and ate our waffles and eggs. No bacon. After we ate and I had recovered a bit I cleaned up all the glass and dishes. I just finished wiping everything down and then ran the disposal to clear everything out and the most horrifying sound came out!! I shut if off and realized, "There is glass in there. Awesome." I fished around in the sludge trying to find the stray pieces of glass. I tried the disposal again. Again, horrible sound. So I dug around some more. Scott came up to my rescue. He kept digging while I put Cole to bed. Right as I came back down the stairs he flipped the switch to try it again and . . . nothing. Great. I killed the disposal and the bacon and a baking dish. But the night didn't end there!! So I then put Ben to bed and miracle of miracles he was asleep by 9:15 pm. I came down ready to party with the hubby to find him fast asleep on the love sac. Sweet. I tried to watch some the Times Square broadcast to cheer me up, but it only frustrated me. Thirty seconds of Ryan Seacrest telling me what was coming up and then 5 minutes of commercials, and then thirty more seconds of babble, then more commercials. All the while Scott is snoring gangbusters in my ear. I shut off the TV and we were in bed by 10:30 pm. Wahoo!! Aren't we party animals? Don't worry. There is more. Of course the fireworks going off at midnight woke up Ben. He came in our bed for a bit, but I grew tired of his feet in my back so I took him back to his bed. Not an hour later he had weaseled his way back into our bed. I realized I had two choices. 1: carry Ben back to his room a million times or 2: sleep in his bed. I slept in his bed. Happy New Year from us!!

buzz lightyear and his faithful sidekick

2012-01-01T12:01:00.002-07:00

Even though being Ben's brother threatens his life daily (Ben gave Cole his first bloody nose yesterday. Awesome). I am pretty sure Cole would still follow him to the ends of the earth. And Ben would most likely let him because he needs someone to boss around. But they do love each other. Because as Ben says, "Dats what fam-a-wees do."

my little bookworm

2012-01-01T11:58:00.001-07:00

Cole LOVES books. Even when he was itty bitty he preferred books to toys. While Ben runs around racing cars like a hooligan, Cole sits in his rocking chair and reads books. He is getting pretty good at animal sounds. He knows: dog, tiger, bear, lion, chicken, cat, donkey, and cow. My favorite are his cat and donkey sounds. His meow is really slow and soft and sounds like, "Mrrrraaoow." He gets so excited to do the donkey sound. I don't know what is so funny about "hee-haw" but he laughs every time. He loves to read his "Jus-Jus" (Jesus) books at night before bedtime.

Cole is super into blocks. He dumps out the blocks in his room at least ten times a day and then knocks them over and then he laughs and laughs and laughs. Balls and trains are other big favorites right now.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Ben could barely contain his excitement Christmas morning. He ran into our room and pounced on our bed and begged to go downstairs. Unfortunately, he had to wait rather impatiently for us to wake up Cole and change his bum.

But finally the time came!

Lucky for him Santa came!!

Looks like Santa and the Reindeer enjoyed their midnight snack!

Our elf, Eddy, left the boys a special surprise.

Ben was trying to be such a great older brother and show Cole how Christmas worked: you rip everything open as fast as you possibly can and then ask for more! Sadly, Cole just wanted to lounge in his new man chair and enjoy each gift before moving onto the next.

Ben is a bit pushy and made sure Cole did it his way.

Lucky for Cole, Ben eventually went back to his gifts.

So Cole got to just sit and enjoy for a bit.

I think Cole's favorite part of the morning was the M&Ms Eddy left for him.

What is that? A VERY special surprise from Santa. It was carefully wrapped and hidden in the entry.

TA - DA!! Most exciting Christmas present ever for two little boys! We knew Ben would be stoked because he has been begging for one since April, but we were shocked at Cole's level of excitement. He literally did not want to get out of it. Ever.

Cole eventually drooled too much M&M all over his shirt and smeared crepes everywhere. So he got stripped down. That little belly is always so full and hanging over his pants. So adorable.

Ben made sure all of Cole's toys worked properly.

The house was trashed. Our bellies were full. The boys were spoiled rotten. What a great day.

DIY Family Pictures

2011-11-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

I really wanted some cute pictures of the boys that I could send out for Christmas cards this year. So the plan was to get the boys dressed and take them over to Soda Row, but then I thought. Why not do the whole family? Scott and I have clothes to match the boys! But then who to take a photo of all of us? Que my awesome neighbor Tahnie Roska! She came over with only five minutes notice and took some cute ones of all of us which was so lucky because a cute shot of the boys together was SO not happening today!

This is what the reset of the pictures that I didn't post look like. Seriously.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T15:13:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween from the Bruderer Bunch!! We had another awesome party this year thanks to all of these great folks. They all pitched in so I didn't have to do it all on my birthday!

Ghostie treats and monster mouth appetizers. I am finding that I am taking fewer and fewer pictures at this party every year. I think I my hands are a bit full these days!

Oh my darling boys . . .

Ben desperately wanted to be a "ghost wife." No, that is not a typo. He wanted to be the "ghost light" like on the Mater Cartoon Short on the Cars Movie. But he is convinced it is the "ghost wife" and not the "ghost light." The cars in the movie play a trick on Mater and hang a lantern on his tow hook and convince him it is the "ghost light." Lucky for me Ben thinks it looks like a regular ghost. So all I had to do was whip out and old sheet and cut it up!

Cole was an itsy bitsy spider . . .

and I was his web!! Aren't we so cute together?

The biggest news is that Cole is officially walking!! Today was the first day that he started to prefer walking to crawling. It's so fun to watch him learn something new, but so sad to know that my baby is growing up!

Ben did a costume change before his cousins came. He wanted to be a firefighter before he wanted to be a "ghost wife." So he had two costumes!

Cousins!!

Calvin and Weston were fearsomely adorable pirates.

Sally came as Rapunzel. This is the absolute perfect costume for this girl! Check out her frying pan! LOVE IT!

Watch out Cougars!! Adri is ready to take the field with the next generation of cheerleaders!

From left to right we have April: Halloween Diva, Halloween Marilyn or a wild Aunt Sheryl. The choice is yours. Jason as Wolverine and Amber as the Magic 8 Ball. She was legit. You could ask her questions and she pulled the answers out of her necklace!

The softer side of Wolverine. Awwww.

Pirate Daddy Scott Bruderer. When we went trick or treating all of the kids kept getting so excited about seeing the "real" Captain Jack Sparrow. Scott loved every minute of it.

Farewell Halloween! We are already anxiously awaiting your return!

Cornbelly's Corn Maze

2011-10-25T15:12:00.000-06:00

Oh my goodness. Cornbelly's is AWESOME!! I don't know how I have never been before. Every single one of us had so so much fun! There was so much for us to do and it was all included in our basic pass! Unlike the fair, where everything is going to cost you. . .

The cutouts were too hilarious!!

Note how Cole is appropriately a pig?

The cow train was so cute! All of the boys rode on it. They had so much fun. Scott said it was a bit bumpy, but Cole had fun.

The horse racing was definitely a favorite and a workout! Cole did not want to get off . . . ever. Ben got a little frustrated he couldn't go as fast as daddy. But he still liked bouncing around.

Oh the air pillows! We all bounced. I have never heard Cole laugh so hard. I would bounce him really high and he would just giggle and giggle. Ben was lightning. He ran, jumped, bounced, crashed and then did it all over again.

There was this awesome playground built on hay bales. Ben was all over this place. He tried all of the slides and climbed up all the different ladders and stairs.

The power and speed of this particular slide took him and me by surprise. He came flying out the bottom, hit his feet and flipped right over. It was so funny. He thought so too because he did it at least 5 more times. He kept saying, "Mom! Did you see that?"

Cole is obsessed with slides. He made Scott and I take him down quite a few times. He kept pointing wildly and looking me right in the eye to let me know that he wanted to go again.

Tire swings are cool, but when they are shaped like dragons and motorcycles, they are AWESOME!

Cole loved climbing all over the cool wooden playgrounds they had all over. There was a train, a semi, a fire truck, a monster truck, a pirate ship, and a backhoe. Sadly, there were a zillion kids so we couldn't just let Cole go nuts because he would get trampled. He was pretty devastated about it too.

The boys tested their musical abilities as a pan band. Ben of course had to be loudest one!

Ben got to milk a cow . . . kinda. But look at his technique! He is a farmboy! Yeah right.

Ben and Cole both loved the duck races. You pumped the water into the slide and send the rubber ducky to the other side and somebody would send it back. Cole wanted to jump in the water and play. Luckily Ben was satisfied just pumping. He literally pumped for about 30 min. His arm has got to be sore.

Oh yeah. I exist. Sometimes. Scotty took these shots of me and Cole. LOVE them!

4:00 am

2011-10-25T10:11:00.000-06:00

Ben came in my room at 4:00 am this morning, talking at full volume of course because why on earth should he whisper? So I took him into his room to lay by him so he would go back to sleep. But he was ready for battle.

Ben: "I wanna go watch Special Agent Oso."
Me: "No. It is the middle of the night."
Ben: "I hate sleeping. I awake. See. I wanna go watch Oso."
Me: "Nope it is broken. We can't watch shows in the middle of the night."

We go on like this for about 10 minutes. Ben realizes he is losing the war so he throws this out at me.

Ben: "Mom. I going to get a box. (Makes a box shape with his hands.) And I going to trap you in it and give it to the police."

Seriously? What is with him turning me into the authorities in the middle of the night! So what did I do? Slipped him some melatonin and slept in his bed with him until he woke up at 7:00 am ready to go again. Sigh.

pumpkin patch

2011-10-21T12:52:00.000-06:00

Going to the pumpkin patch is my favorite Halloween tradition. When I was a kid we just went to the grocery store. So boring! It is much more fun to trudge through a dirty field to find just the right pumpkin! Ben has been begging to go for weeks.

The highlight of the pumpkin patch for Cole was the goat. I don't get what it is with him and goats but he loves them. He sees them and just laughs and laughs and laughs.

Neither of the boys were in particularly cooperating moods for pictures. Ben just wanted to pick every single pumpkin and take them all home with us and Cole just wanted to crawl in the dirt.

Ben really really wanted to pull the wheelbarrow. The problem was that it was WAY to heavy for him.

Cole liked the view from inside the wheelbarrow. And it kept him out of the dirt.

He loved using the big while pumpkins for drums.

Ben's one and only smile came when he got to go on the tractor ride. It was really bumpy, but both boys loved it.

Ben couldn't wait to get home with our pumpkins and "sword" them. Apparently, that means "carve" them.

my quilt!

2011-10-20T11:33:00.001-06:00

Here it is! My creation from start to finish! These are the fabrics that I started out with. It took me two trips to the fabric store, with my mentor Megan, to commit to these fabrics and a pattern. But in the end I couldn't be happier. I adore them!

I cut my fabric down into 88 strips of quilt top fabric and 8 strips of binding fabric.

Then I had to sew the contrasting fabrics together. Then cut them down into 480 little squares. Then combine them into a rectangle. Finally I sewed two rectangles together to make a square. I needed 120 of these bad boys for this twin quilt. Oye. There were a lot of pieces to keep track of!

Then I sewed them into rows as shown with help from my assistant Ben.

Finally I sewed the rows together to complete the quilt top!! I hate to admit that my quilt stayed in the quilt top phase for a VERY long time because the quilting part freaked me out. There was a lot of fabric to work with and I was so scared of messing it up!

But this last weekend Megan was in town so she gave me a crash course in what I need to do next. She told me I would definitely have it done before Christmas. Christmas!!??! That was WAY too far away. That would mean that I would miss out on cuddling with it all fall! So I busted it out in one weekend! HA! I showed her!

After a long hard battle with a walking foot, which is now broken and on its way back to the store (sigh). I finished the quilt!! Since my junker walking foot broke I used one of the other feet that I had on hand and let me tell you. It was WAY easier to use than that dumb walking foot. ( I am sure this is due to my lack of experience, not my quilting expertise.)

In the end I couldn't be happier! I love it! The binding totally makes the quilt. Scott still thinks it "doesn't match." Too bad. I love it!

I actually quite enjoyed binding the quilt. My blind stitching skills have improved, but still have a LONG way to go before they really are "blind."

So pretty and ready for snuggling!!

bedtime drama

2011-10-15T21:14:00.001-06:00

As usual, bedtime with Ben is dramatic. He is constantly trying to negotiate his way out of it. Here is the dialogue between me and Ben at bedtime tonight:

Me: "Ben, it is time to go to bed. Lay down and close your eyes. Please. Or I am leaving."
Ben: sits up in bed, "Nothing is ever going to cheer me up again. I guess I will just sit here with my broken heart."
Me: bust up laughing
a few minutes later . . .
Me: "Ben, time for bed. No more games."
Ben: "Mom, I gotta tell you. The police are going to come in the night and tell you to not be mean to me."
Me: "Oh really. I think the police are going to come and tell you that you are not following the rules because that is what policemen do."
Long pause. Ben thinking really hard.
Ben: "I don't want to go to bed. I hate it."

Seriously? Oh my! The kid was up at 6:00 am today, no nap and is cranky as stink, but will not go to sleep! It is almost 9:30 pm!! Just business as usual at our house.

last night

2011-10-06T22:10:00.001-06:00

last night around 12:30 am i heard ben sneak into our room. when i opened my eyes his little face was right there in front of me. i asked what was wrong. he said, "i just wanted to say 'hi.'" oh brother. what a kid. i never know what is coming next.

"my leg doesn't work so good"

2011-10-05T15:16:00.001-06:00

ben was sitting on the love couch (aka love sac) watching a show. when he got up his leg had fallen asleep. when he stood up he said, "mom! my leg doesn't work so good! see! i neber walk again!" i tried to explain to him that it had just fallen asleep and it would wake up in a minute. he just looked at me like i was crazy. but then a few days later the same thing happened and scott watched ben tell his leg, "it's time to wake up lil felwa!"
yesterday, his leg got stuck underneath him when he was sliding down the slide. he twisted it a little bit. it hurt when he stood up and again he told me, "mom! my leg! it's not working! see! i walking all funny! i neber walk again!" poor kid. clearly he was traumatized, but i was doing all i could not to bust up laughing!

first steps

2011-10-03T22:39:00.000-06:00

cole took his first two steps today!! the greatest part about it is that the most important people were all there watching. scott, ben, my mom, and i were all in ben's room hanging out when all of the sudden cole let go of the bookshelf and stood by himself for a long time. we literally all stopped what we were doing and held our breath to see what would happen next. then he did it! he took two steps before plopping on his bum to check out another book. i couldn't believe it. it was so amazing to share that moment with my favorite people. it is so rare that you get to witness the firsts at all, much less have so many important people there. now if i had only had the video going . . . oh well. it is pretty well cemented in my brain. he hasn't tried it again since, but they were two really great steps. Cole has been going up and down the stairs really well the last couple of months. my favorite part is the foot reach. I finally got my camera out and snagged a pic of him doing it. Love it.

Grandpa's Garden

2011-10-01T12:49:00.000-06:00

I was washing some strawberries for lunch last week and Ben asked me, "Why you doing dat mommy?" I explained that we had to was off all the dirt and germs before we ate it. He asked me, "Why?" (Of course.) I told him that sometimes there is still dirt on the strawberries from the field where they were picked. He seriously looked at me like I was crazy. His face said, "Duh mom, we bought those at the store!" So I decided it was time for a hands on educational field trip to Grandpa Duane's Garden.

Ben got to pick all kinds of vegetables: tomatoes, squash, beans, cucumbers and peppers.

He filled his bucket all the way to the top.

The bean bucket was a little big and awkward for him. Grandpa thought it was hilarious that he was dragging it through the garden.

Ben picked us some peaches to take home too! We had the most delicious peach cobbler!

Grandpa taught Ben how to plant seeds. They planted some radishes. Last week when we went up for another visit we saw the radishes starting to sprout! Ben was so proud.

First they dug the hole, then put in the seeds, and then Ben's favorite part: watering.

When we got home that night Ben insisted on washing his vegetables a million times. But he didn't want to eat them. He told me, "Mom, these are not to eat. They are vegetables!" Oh right. My mistake. I think they were trophies, not food to him.

What was Cole doing? Oh just trying to hop the fence so he could pick vegetables too.

But then he decided to swipe brother's vegetables. Ben wasn't so happy about that.

Our Very Hungry Caterpillar

2011-09-24T11:19:00.003-06:00

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY COLE!!

What did our Very Hungry Caterpillar eat at his party?

1 slice of watermelon

2 hot dogs

3 strawberries

some apple bits

and a lot of cake!

I was shocked this kid didn't just devour his cake in one big bite. But I think it was because he was literally stuffed to the brim with all of the other food he ate. So we actually did two cake eating sessions. The second one was a bit more exciting.

He really liked the M&Ms on the bottom of the cake. It took a lot of convincing to get him to try the actual cake.

Grandma Gwen couldn't handle the amount of frosting he was eating. She had to wipe him off. So funny.

The bounce house may have been the highlight of Cole's party. It was definitely his favorite part! He absolutely loved it! He attacked it just like he attacks the playground. He was bouncing and flipping all over the place. A big thanks to the Hill's for renting it out to us!

BEST DAY EVER!

Presents! Cole loved every single one of his presents. He did get really mad at me though because I didn't let him play with each one long enough before we moved on to the next one.

He got completely spoiled. I like to think it means he is just really, really loved.

We had an arts and crafts table for the kiddos to make their very own Very Hungry Caterpillars.

Of course Ben recruited Jason to help him paint his.

Ben wasn't much in the mood for pictures. Big shock. But his best buddy Brynner was!! Brynner's new thing is "power poses." Pretty awesome if you ask me!

Ahhh, love! Today would not have been possible without our Daddy!

This necklace was my present to myself for Cole's birthday. It says, "You are my sunshine." There is also a little "c" hanging on the chain. It is so perfect. It reminds me every day how lucky I am to have such a sunshine baby.

Aunt Kara with Sally and Adri.

They were scoping out the treat table first. Can you blame them? Most of us are die hard Cougar fans. Today was also the big BYU vs. Utah game. Sadly, it didn't end well for us.

Our lone little Ute was a little grumpy from his nap.

Did we plan the stripe thing? Nope! I guess we must be family.

Ben only smiles for pictures when Jason is in them with him.

Happy Birthday little man! We love you so so much!

Thank you for being our sunshine!

Utah State Fair

2011-09-14T13:33:00.000-06:00

We went to the fair to celebrate Cole's first birthday. The very first thing Ben wanted to do was ride the ferris wheel. Ben loved being able to see everything and go up so high in the air. Cole on the other hand was not so sure about the whole thing. He was a little freaked out.

Scott got suckered into a carnival game. Of course he lost. They are designed that way. But in the carny's defense he really did give Scott a very good tutorial that seemed to give away the "secret." But we still walked away empty handed.

Ben on the other hand was a carnival game pro! We went over to the kids section where kids win a prize no matter what. We let Ben go first. He shocked us all, even the seasoned carny, when he popped not one, but TWO balloons! He didn't even need dad's help! He won the prize all by himself!

He picked a snake for his prize. So so scary.

My strong men won a really cool hammer with their super strength.

Ben love the helicopter ride. He went on it twice! He loved that he could make it go up and down.

But I think the race car ride was his favorite. Big surprise right? He rode this one twice too.

The bounce house may have been the best dollar we spent at the fair. Five whole minutes of bouncing!

Cole enjoyed bouncing on the outside of the bounce house. Chick came to the fair with us! I love when she comes home. The only problem is that we all want to play with her.

The carny from the balloon popping tent gave Cole a balloon because it was his birthday. He adores balloons.

When you go to the fair, you have to go and see the livestock. It is actually one of my favorite things to do there.

There was a brand new baby calf born the same morning as Cole's birthday! So we had to say hello. Cole loved "mooing" back at all the cows. When we passed the big bull cows Ben asked us, "What are those things hanging down?" The family behind us started busted up laughing. We said, "Those are his boys." I am so not prepared for these conversations.

Ben got to feed the goats peanuts! He was a little timid and the poor goat had to break his neck to get the peanut from Ben.

Aunt Chick pitched in for Ben to go on a pony ride. I love that he is waiting in line with all the other little girls! Chick told him that he had to give her a big smile if he wanted to ride the pony. The little girls all turned around with Ben to give Chick a smile too!

Isn't he a cute little cowboy?

Ben desperately wanted to ride on the big slide. He was bummed that he couldn't go by himself, but luckily he decided that he was okay with going with dad.

What a cute family and what a fun day!

Happy Birthday little C!

Cole is 1!!

2011-09-14T08:15:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe he is one! I am in complete denial that my baby will soon be leaving the baby stage and becoming a toddler! I am so so sad. I love this little ball of sunshine and wish he could be my sweet cuddly ball of sunshine forever.

He slept in until 10:00 am this morning! When he woke up Ben was already at preschool, so we did a morning celebration with just mommy and daddy and Cole. He ate a lovely breakfast of blueberry cupcakes.

And he savored every single bite.

I think he ate three muffins all by himself!

He loved playing in the balloons we had waiting for him to tell him "Happy Birthday!"

After all those muffins, and playing, he sure was thirsty!

Happy Birthday little man! We love you!

This was Cole's favorite present that he opened today. He loves anything that he can throw, especially balls. It kept both boys entertained for a long time. So fun to watch them play together!

lake powell again!!

2011-09-09T12:29:00.000-06:00

How spoiled are we? Pretty darn! Two full weeks at Lake Powell this year. What a perfect summer! Warning: There are a lot of pictures in the post simply because I ran out of energy trying to narrow them down. So enjoy every second of our trip!

Ben was our fearless beach explorer. He loved to go on hunts for bugs. His bug capturing ventures were not so successful. But Uncle Davis and daddy helped him catch . . .

A FROG! Can you believe it? I was shocked that Ben kept picking it up. I thought he would be terrified of it. But no way! He loved picking him up and showing him off.

We made a makeshift terrarium for him out of a tote. Ben loved filling it up with dirt and rocks and water for the "little fehwa" (little fellow). The only problem was that this frog had some serious hops! He kept hopping out! Ben would run around trying to catch him screaming, "Escape! Escape! Help me!" Uncle Davis or Daddy would rush to the rescue and pull the poor little frog out of his hiding place under a log. We eventually convinced Ben that the frog needed to go find his mommy and the frog was released unharmed. Although, the emotional stress may be irreversible.

Grandma and Grandpa Bruderer brought squirt guns for us to play with! Ben thought it was hilarious to shoot everyone, all the time.

Cole loved playing on the beach in the sand. Which was usually followed by his other favorite activity: a bath.

Dingy rides are Ben's favorite part of Lake Powell. We had a couple this year so Grandpa Clark got in on the fun too!

The newest addition to our houseboat this year was two kayaks! So much fun! Lots of adventures were had aboard these vessels. Scott took Sally to Mermaid Island and Ben raced his cousins, with the help of Aunts and Uncles.

Cole didn't make it out to the lake in a kayak, but he enjoyed them on the shore.

Everybody got in on the fishing action this year. Sally and Steve caught a very large bluegill.

Scott and Jason and Ben reeled in quite a few more bluegills and a baby striper.

Ben of course had to hold his fish. Poor fish. I kept trying to explain to him that the fish needed to stay in the water or he would die, but he just wanted to love him.

He wanted me to have a turn holding the fish too. I declined.

We filled this whole tote up with fish!

Ben decided they looked hungry. So he fed them some dirt. We released all the fish back to their natural habit, hopefully mostly alive.

I asked Ben to give me his best Lake Powell smile. Yup. That is it. Awesome right?

A trip to Lake Powell wouldn't be a trip to Lake Powell without a few misadventures along the way. This year we backed up over the wakeboard rope. Oops. So Linda and Davis to the rescue! Our fearless scuba divers attempted Clark's makeshift oxygen line, but sadly it had a leak in it.

But never fear!! Our stalwart divers used everything fro pliers to kitchen knives to free the rope and were successful. The boat was up and running in no time.

Oh little Coley. What a guy. He loved to drive the boat and shake his booty too.

I can't even tell you what a Cole face this is. He makes this face all the time! I love it!

This is his, "I am way too tired for this, mom" face.

This picture proves that I should probably be last in line for a Mother of the Year Award. Firstly, because my child is playing with an electrical outlet. Secondly, I am obviously watching him do it because I am photographing it. Way to go me. He loves outlets. All of our at home are plugged, so whenever he finds and empty one, you can bet he is jamming his fingers in it.

Cole was not a fan of his life jacket unless he was on the ski boat and it was moving . . . fast. So to avoid the life jacket we spend a lot of time playing in the shallows on the beach.

Everyone is gunning to be Cole's favorite. It may be too early to tell, but I am pretty sure that Davis is a front runner. He LOVES Davis.

Grandma Linda is always a favorite because she take the boys on adventures!

She is pretty good at coaching rock throwing.

Grandpa Clark is a big softie for the boys. They love it when he plays trucks and cars with them!

Of course Ben and his best buddy ever, Uncle Jason. Notice how he smiles so nice for pictures with Uncle Jason? Stinker.

What a fun trip!

it's official!!

2011-09-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

Ben is officially in preschool! Today was his very first day! He has been so excited all summer long. I think he asked me every day if it was the day to go to preschool. We have been talking about and prepping for preschool for weeks. But I was afraid that when we actually got there he would freak out and not want me to leave. Boy, was I shocked when he walked right in without even looking back! He didn't even come give me a hug and kiss!! When I picked him up he said, "Mom, preschool is so much fun!" I am so thrilled that today turned out way better than I thought possible.

Check out that sweet Lightning McQueen backpack! Today the kids were doing show and tell about their summer. So we made a little photo album with lots of Lake Powell pictures for him to show his class.

He wanted to be sure to let me know how big he is! So so big! Where is my baby?

lovies

2011-09-04T21:29:00.000-06:00

Ben has had his "Bit" since the day he was born. Uncle Erik gave it to him. He has been Ben's constant companion for 3 and a half years. He adores him. He brings him everywhere. Sadly, the original Bit was lost on our trip to California. We had a backup for such an emergency, but he knew the difference. How did he know? Aside from the new one being astronomically cleaner. . .

It didn't pass the face test. Ben has always rubbed his bit on his face like this. This is the first time I have snagged a shot of it. Fortunately, the new Bit has been accepted and loved just as the first one.

There was a huge blessing to losing Bit. Coley got Penguin (no name yet). If we hadn't lost Bit, Aunt Kiersten might not have sent us Penguin with another backup Bit. Cole loves his Penguin. He always snuggles him to his face with one hand, while grabbing his beak with the other. So dang cute.

Hooray for lovies! And Hooray for Aunts and Uncles who love my boys so much!

preschool!

2011-08-31T11:56:00.000-06:00

Okay, okay he is not officially in preschool yet. But we did go to orientation at his school! He was so excited. We ended up leaving way too early and taking a very scenic route to preschool because he was itching to go so bad. His preschool is going to be so much fun. I am so excited for him. His teacher is awesome and she has so many fun things planned for these kids this year. I do not have preschool talents at all. I feel so blessed to have found a preschool with a teacher who is so excited, energetic and invested. I am not so sad about this milestone, but that may change the first day I drop him off for real. He is so ready for this. He can't wait. He keeps reminding me that I can't come to preschool, its only for big kids.

I love you big kid!

first trip to the dentist!

2011-08-31T09:11:00.000-06:00

We went to go see Dr. Steve last week, aka Uncle Steve. It was Ben's first successful trip to the dentist. The last time we went he was terrified and exhausted. He ended up falling asleep in the corner. But this time he was a superstar!! He took a ride in Uncle Steve's fancy chair. He tried on a cool glove, just like Uncle Steve's. He wore the super cool dude sunglasses so the light wouldn't get in his eyes! He completed the picture by wearing the giant bib. The best part was that Ben let Steve do a full exam! He even had his teeth polished and did a fluoride treatment! Ben is getting so big. It is exciting and depressing at the same time. I love watching him grow up and try new things and be brave. But it is hard to watch him leave toddler-hood behind him.

camping

2011-08-31T08:53:00.001-06:00

Ben gets to go on the boys camp out this year. Last year Daddy, Uncle Steve, and Uncle Jason went camping without him. I thought his heart was going to break in his chest. He cried and cried and cried. It almost broke my heart. So this year when the boys decided that Ben and Weston could come, Ben and I jumped for joy. This morning I asked him if he was excited about the trip. This is how our conversation went:

Me: "Ben! Are you so excited to go camping with the boys this weekend?"
Ben: "Yeah. But its a boys trip. You can't come. But you will be in my heart. And I go fishing with Uncle Jason and catch a catfish wif wong (long) tencles (tentacles aka whiskers)."

I almost teared up. "You will be in my heart?" What three year old says that? I wish I knew where he came up with this stuff.

11 months old!

2011-08-25T21:54:00.000-06:00

Another month has come and gone and once again we were at Lake Powell. Lucky us! Cole has turned into a real Powell baby. I couldn't keep him out of the sand and water. He loved the boat when it was moving, but was not okay sitting around in his life jacket.

Cole is obsessed with books. Any kind of book: board books, magazines, novels, etc. If it opens and closes and has pages; he wants it.

He officially says: "mama," "dada", and "dow" or "daw" for dog. He will roar like a lion, and say "vvrroooom" when he drives cars on the ground. Cars have become a very recent discovery. He has figured out how to crawl and push them along at the same time. Yesterday was the first time he tested out a walking push toy thing. Now he won't stop. Ben loves it because he finally has someone to race! They race back and forth across the living room all day. There has been a little jealousy over the grocery cart push toy. Ben thinks he is attached. Cole really really wants it because there is a shopping list on it that flips back and forth like a book.

Is that the beginnings of some curls? Oh please, please say it is true!

These two shots were taken back to back. Yes he is snuggling my leg! He is such a tender, sweet, snuggly guy. So so easy to love.

Cole's favorite part of Powell may have been his own personal swimming pool. This tote normally sits on the front of the houseboat for people to wash off their feet before coming back in from the sandy beach. Cole used it as his personal splash pool. We did use it for baths too.

I can't even tell you how often Cole makes this face. The best part is that it has a sound that goes with it. He sucks in his breath and says, "OOOOHHHHHHH!!" It is so dang cute!! He does it every time he gets excited about something. Which is pretty much all the time: whenever I pull food out of the fridge, every time he sees a dog, whenever he opens a book, when he sees a car go by, etc.

This is so typical of Cole. He loves to give loves. He always has a hug and a kiss for me. If he hasn't seen us for two minutes he lets us know how much he missed us with one of these sweet cuddles.

We love you little man!!

quote of the day

2011-08-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

I was showing ben my temple recommend holder that has a picture of the salt lake temple on it. I told him that is where mommy and daddy got married. This was his response:

"mommy, i go to preschool first and then i can marry you. i going to be at preschool for long time. den (then) i come home and take you and say 'surprise!' and you be so happy!"

It was really really hard not to laugh.

shot of the day

2011-08-22T22:31:00.002-06:00

singin' in the rain

2011-08-05T20:42:00.000-06:00

On Monday there was a torrential downpour. What did Ben want to do? Go outside and stomp in the puddles of course!! I have never seen him get dressed so fast. He wouldn't let me find a jacket that fit. He found his old "raincoat" from the DI that we took camping two years ago and demanded that is the one he wanted.

He loves wearing his rain boots in all kinds of weather, so why not test them out in the rain? As you can see he had them completely filled up with water in no time.

He begged and begged me to come out with him. It was one of those times as a mom when I said to myself, "I don't really want to get soaking wet and cold, but I don't want to miss making a memory with Ben." So I threw on my rain boots and the gigantic rain coat that Scott took on his mission and tromped through puddles with Ben. We splashed through all the gutters, jumped in all the puddles and sang, "singin in the rain." Pretty great day. Cold and wet, but so fun!

Here are some other fun Ben factoids:

He always says, "I gotta tell you. . ." before he tells any story.

He calls escalators and elevators "elle-gators."

He loves Cheetos and chocolate milk.

His favorite Disney show is "Special Agent Oso." He sings the theme song like this, "Special Agent Oso, the nique stuffed can." It is supposed to go,"Special Agent Oso, the unique stuffed bear!"

I think he has memorized the book, "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear."

No matter what time he goes to bed he is always up at 7:00 am or earlier. And usually doesn't take a nap. This kid is go go go all day long from sun up to way after sundown. I need preschool more than he does.

He loves to wrestle all the time.

my little pirates

2011-08-04T12:16:00.000-06:00

How cute are these two? I realize that I am completely bias, but come on! Here is a warning. This post contains A LOT of pirate pictures. Why? Because I just couldn't resist. There are too many that I adore. It is rough being a mommy photographer because I take so many picture of my kids and I can never narrow them down like I can for other people because these are my kids and I am emotionally attached to all of them.

Captain Ben had to wear his entire pirate get-up for the rest of our Lake Powell trip. The pirate map and his hook were particularly important.

However, how can a pirate navigate without his trusty telescope?

Check out the authentic pirate battle wound on his arm!

He can be kinda scary. He takes pirating very very seriously.

Cole-io had the cutest pirate bum on board!! Sadly he wasn't such a fan of his pirate hat.

first words!!

2011-08-03T11:15:00.001-06:00

I am officially declaring Cole's first word: "uh-oh." Although he does say, "da da" and "ma ma" and "daw (dog)." He consistently uses uh-oh when he drops something. He said it for the first time on Sunday while I was changing his diaper at church. He dropped the toy he was playing with and looked up at me and said, "uh-oooohhhh." So cute. Scott didn't believe me when I came back to Sunday school, but about a minute later he dropped his toy and said, "uh-oh" again! Why does he have to grow up?

scripture stories . . .

2011-08-01T20:30:00.006-06:00

The other night I was reading Ben his Book of Mormon stories before bedtime and we were reading the story about how Christ comes to visit the Nephites. Ben looked at me and asked,"When is Jesus coming to visit us?" I told him that he would come visit us someday. He told me,"I know he is coming to our house on Friday. Yeah, Friday." It was so hard not to bust up laughing. He was sure of himself that indeed Friday would be the day. Love that boy.

10 months!

2011-07-30T14:35:00.002-06:00

Cole is so big!! Aaahhh! And he is so so much fun. He turned 10 months while we were at Lake Powell, so he has houseboat shots for his most recent milestone. We think that he has the Hatch skin because he only has to be out in the sun for 2 seconds to get tan lines in his rolls! He browns up so so quick when he is in the sun, but I tried to keep him in the shade to keep cool.

He is still my chunky little monkey and eats everything in sight! Including rocks and sand. Except I think I have found a food that he is not fond of . . . oatmeal! Really? He loves pickles but hates oatmeal?

Cole is sunshine, all the time. He really does make me happy when skies are gray. He does have a pretty awesome warning cry when Ben is coming at him full speed. Can't blame him, his brother is out to get him, I swear. Cole has gotten sick of Ben stealing all of his toys from him, so now whenever Ben swipes one from him Cole just screams at him at full volume. So funny. Ben is reconsidering sharing.

He is quite the mover and the shaker. He does a booty drop dance when we sing "shake your booty." Cole is a super fast crawler these days. He is mastering the art of climbing the stairs and he is so incredibly proud of himself. The only problem is that sometimes he gets so excited he forgets what he is doing and tumbles down. Luckily, we haven't had a major fall yet. . . He loves to speed crawl over to the stairs, crawl up to the first landing and turn around and flash me a huge mischievous grin and squeal. Melts me every time.

His newest trick is throwing. We went on a walk to the lake and of course Ben had to stop and throw rocks. But what was really funny is Cole sat there and watched Ben really closely for about a half an hour and then he picked up a rock and started throwing them too! Now he throws everything. He throws left handed and right handed and double handed over his head. Ben loves that he can play "catch" with him now.

Cole makes this really funny "ooohh" sound and puckered face when he gets really, really excited about something. Makes me laugh everytime!
We love you sunshine!!

powell videos

2011-07-28T23:30:00.001-06:00

Dingy Ride from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

So this is when Ben and Scott fell asleep in the dingy and we watched Ben wake up and start rowing himself!!

Playing with Moki from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

Ben and Moki had a love/hate relationship for most of the trip. He loved chasing him around and throwing his toy and dragging him across the floor. But he was not a fan on him nipping his heels when he wanted to play. Cole loved Moki. At first they weren't too sure of each other, but Moki was usually pretty soft aside from an occasional playful leap. I swear Cole was saying,"da" in reference to the dog by the end of the trip!

lake powell

2011-07-28T13:02:00.000-06:00

If there isn't a Powell in heaven, I want a refund.

You know you are up early to ski when the sky still looks like this.

We hit the lake every morning between 5:30-6:00am to get the glass. Most people think we are nuts, but that is just because they haven't done it. One night we went out to ski right after dinner and I got to ski while the sun was setting and a gigantic harvest moon was rising over the red rock. Pretty sure it never ever gets better than that. Ever.

You know one of the grandkids is skiing when grandpa has this look on his face.

But he wears this shirt to remind us who is boss.

Here are our poor little sleepy heads who sleep in the boat every night and wake up to all of us piling in at the crack of dawn for the morning ski. But this way they don't get left behind!

Apparently it is now acceptable to get up on two skis if you are 50+. But that is only because Ken decided so. He has given my mom crap for years for getting up on two because of her injured hamstring. But now that he has found it easier, it is cool.

No trip to Lake Powell is complete without the generator breaking down, or not working at all. The first few days are spent trying to get it going. We had to bring parts down with us. But we got it running!

We also have to get a ski rope caught in one of the propellers. This year we managed to get it caught in both! My mom and uncle got it stuck on the ski boat propeller and tried not to tell grandpa, but he called them on it. Then it got sucked up into the jet ski. That one required some major surgery (with a serrated kitchen knife), but the rope was salvaged and the jet ski good as new.

My boys LOVED Lake Powell. The first night was really rough. They both kept waking up every hour or so, and I didn't sleep much at all. But the rest of the trip they wore themselves out every day so by the time bedtime came around they just passed out.

Scott and Ben took many a dingy ride this trip. I think it was Ben's favorite thing to do!

They even took a snooze together out on the lake! Ben woke up before Scott. He just looked around grabbed the paddles and started rowing! It was so so funny!

Grandpa Duane and Cole became best buddies. Cole really does love him. He even gives him loves. So so cute.

Ben had a blast throwing balls off the top of the houseboat to Becky and Caden and Dillon in the water. He also loved swimming across the cove to throw rocks. Scott and Ben got trapped in a really sudden, really big downpour one day. I watched from the houseboat half amused, half terrified. I knew Ben was probably having a massive meltdown and Scott was panicking. They both made it through the storm.

Baby Tanner and Cole were the bumbo kings this year. Tanner had his first taste of solids while Cole literally consumed everything in his path.

He had to make sure the graham crackers were really gone and that I wasn't shorting him!

Exhaustion won out with Cole eventually. He followed the bumbo baby tradition of Powell of passing out in the bumbo. Right in the middle of his roll. You know he had to be super tired to leave uneaten food on his tray.

Cole loved watching all the boats drive by. He would wave and wave and wave. If the boat was especially noisy he would say "ooohhh."

We had an army of pack and plays this year. When everybody was there we had four set up on the roof. Cole and Wayne are only a month apart, and Wayne is younger but so much bigger!

We wrote Elder Nilsson postcards to let him know how much we miss him and how excited we are to have him back next year. Next year we will be writing postcards to Dillon!

murder mystery on the high seas!

2011-07-27T13:12:00.001-06:00

AHOY MATEY!!

We had a murder mystery party one night on the houseboat at Lake Powell. As you can see, everyone gets really into it. My Aunt Julie knows that we are big into pirates, so this year was a pirate themed party!! Here are the players:

THE SCURVY KNAVE CREW

Captain 'Black' Jack McCracken - the dashing Captain of the Scurvy Knave (aka Dillon Richens)

Sawbones McGraw - the sarcastic but reliable ship's doctor (aka Scott Bruderer) He was the murderer!! Ya think you know a guy. He even poisoned my own mother with watermelon!

Quintus Swelter - the vain and sinister ship's cook (aka Kollin Stark)

Tom - the helpful young ship's boy (secretly the governor's younger daughter) (aka Britta Bruderer)

THE FURY CREW

This was the ladies pirate ship. Watch out. They are not as sweet as they look!

Captain 'Saucy' Nancy Martin - the bold and fiery Captain of the Fury (aka Gwenya, aka Grandma Gwen)

I could not get over her wig. People on the boat seriously didn't even recognize her. Wayne was not sure how to respond. Seriously freaked me out! She has never had hair this long in my lifetime! She was so "saucy" all night! and a schemer. Watch out for "Saucy!"

Alice Tremain - the Fury's shrewd and intellectual 1st Mate (aka Ali Cannon)

Blaise Richelieu - the temperamental and passionate ship's cook (aka Becky Cannon)

THE COLONIAL FORCES

Sir Percival Stanforth - the steadfast and rather stuffy Governor of Jamaica (aka Grandpa Duane)

Elizabeth Stanforth - the Governor's desirable (if demanding) elder daughter (aka Libby Dibb)

Captain Hal Overy - the stubborn and blunt Royal Navy Captain (aka Russell Dibb)

TAINO NATIVES

Hayapitl - the diplomatic Taino chief (aka Grandpa Wayne)

Tokeleth - the chief's headstrong daughter (aka Grandma Myrna)

OTHER PLAYERS:

Don Inigo de Velez y Contrera - the aristocratic and condescending Spanish nobleman (aka Ken Richens)

Bill Pistol - the marooned former pirate, now mad as a brush (aka Caden Dymock, my cousin's best friend and the funniest guy I know! Also considered a member of the family!)

PIRATE BABIES!

Baby Tanner

Baby Wayne

Baby Cole

Captain Ben - the fearless leader of the baby crew

Ben had to pose with the boys. He was a pirate too!

The three musketeers. These three brewed up all kinds of fun the whole week.

ARG!!!!

brighton

2011-07-20T20:34:00.001-06:00

nothing quite like shepard's dinners up at the cannon cabin and a stroll around silver lake. so beautiful and just the right temperature. i couldn't believe how much water there was. the run-off this year is out of control and there is still snow blocking sections of the trail!

Mr. Smiley Coley.

Benjamin exploring with Uncle Andrew.

Grandpa Wayne keeping Cole happy. Cole always looks so little when Grandpa Wayne holds him. I love it!

Beautiful Aunt Becky with her daddy.

Look that's me!! Can you believe it? I am appearing on my own blog. Don't get too used to it.

family pictures!

2011-07-17T08:30:00.002-06:00

My Mother's Day gift to myself was a trip to Vegas to see my dear friend Megan and to have her take our family pictures!! Hooray! I think it was an amazing present to myself because I adore the pictures! She is amazing! Check her out at megruth.com. Now the only problem is figuring out which ones to put up in my house and where?

danger zone

2011-07-06T23:52:00.001-06:00

today was no exception. i ran upstairs to change my slimed shirt before a relief society picnic. i was upstairs for less than two minutes before i hear cole screming, which was quickly followed by ben yelling,"i not doing anything mommy!" which is an instant tip that ben has in fact just done something very naughty and he knows it. i ran down the stairs to find cole tipped over in his stand-up play thing and ben hiding behind the couch. nice. cole is so incredibly lucky to be alive. i pray every night that cole makes it to see one. when i read scripture stories with ben and he comes to the page where jesus is praying in gethsemane, he asks me,"why jesus praying for us?" i tell him, "he is praying for us to make the right choices so we will be happy. "oh," he says, "he praying i not fight coley anymore?" "yes ben, he is praying that you don't fight coley anymore." oh boy.

pirate day

2011-07-06T23:42:00.004-06:00

today ben was obsessed with "jake and the neverland pirates." he demanded we make a "team treasure chest" just like jakes. unfortunately my first two attempts at a pirate chest were unacceptable. the first one which was exactly like jakes via disney.com was vetoed because it was too small. the second one made from a shoebox, which i thought was awesome apparently wasn't his cup of tea either. also he needed a pirate hat. lucky me, my first attempt was acceptable. the day was almost ruined when we didn't have any gold doubloons on hand. so a trip to the dollar store was the next order of business. but sadly the dollar store let us down. no gold doubloons. only giant pennies. fortunately, there was another mom there also in search of pirate paraphenalia. she tipped us off that walmart had some in the party section. so off we went again in search of gold doubloons. i found some gold coins that weren't officially pirate currency, but luckily they passed with ben. so we came home and loaded up the treasure chest (also found in the party section. apparently better than what i could do) with our booty and set out on many a pirate hunt. the treasure somehow winds up in the same spot every time. hhmmmm . . . i smell funny business.

zoo day!

2011-07-06T22:12:00.000-06:00

aaaahh the zoo! such a beautiful day. it was even more beautiful because my sister was there with us! ben loves it when aunt chic comes to town.

ben thought the elephants eating their lunch was hilarious and mostly confusing.

the zoo is currently under massive renovation. ben thought they might need some help to get the project finished. but he didn't quite have the muscle to do it alone.

good thing aunt chic was there to back him up.

i love giraffes. why? because they are awkwardly beautiful.

it totally looked like the giraffe in the back is leaning up against the wall. not the case. he is standing in the weirdest position with most of his weight on one of his back legs.

grandma had a great time snuggling coley.

i made chic play dress up. ha ha!

oh my little melty coley. he so has my heart wrapped around his chunky finger.

last time we were at the zoo, ben was terrified of the the carousel. but this time he was begging to go on it. so what super awesome animal did he choose to ride?

the stationary peacock boat. oh brother.

what on earth would you need an emergency ladder at the zoo for?

in case you fall in the gorilla enclosure. i don't think that makes me feel safe.

favorite game

2011-07-06T21:34:00.000-06:00

peek a boo from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

last soccer game of the season!

2011-07-06T21:03:00.000-06:00

i can't believe that soccer season is already over!! how sad! granted ben didn't really spend much time on the field, but i had fun!

his last game was actually his best game. he actually played all by himself. that was a huge step for him. he had to hold coach brad's hand a little bit in the beginning, but by the end he was running and actually going after the ball! he even got an assist! next year will be awesome!

grandpa dave and cindy came to the game today. i attribute ben's sudden surge of bravery to the fact that he had a fresh audience to impress. not to mention grandpa was super excited to give him some special one on one training!

coach brad totally deserves the "coach of the year" award. he is awesome. he never ever gave up on ben. thanks coach! ben loves you!

what soccer game is complete without an otter pop?

and what season is complete without a shiny medal?! this is ben's very first sports "trophy." he was so proud of his "menal." congrats on an adventurous first season big guy! (yes that is red gatorade all over his face and shirt. what crazy mom gives a three year old red gatorade to drink by himself? oh right that was me. oops.)

4th of July

2011-07-05T22:05:00.002-06:00

today was idyllic. everything was beautiful for almost the whole day. everybody was up together. ben and i made a really really cool firecracker cake in the morning. everybody pitched in and we cleaned up the house. then we went over to scott's aunts house for a bbq and swimming. it was a little overcast, which made for a more pleasant fourth, but we weren't dying to get in the pool. but of course all the little cousins wanted to get in, so ben did too. so we all got in the pool. ben was a rockstar!! he had a life jacket and a noodle and he got brave enough to swim around all by himself! it was so awesome. cole of course didn't even flinch. he loves the water. he floated around in a baby float playing with a plastic grasshopper. we swam and swam until we were cold and tired. i got cole out and was getting him dressed when scott and ben got out of the pool. of course ben started having a major tantrum because he thought he was freezing to death. i didn't even look up when he started screaming because it is just so ben, but what made me look was that everybody at the party, all 40+ of them, had gone silent when ben started screaming. they all wore looks of deep worry on their faces. clearly these people had not seen benjamin or any other child like him before. i laughed because it is just every day life with ben, but i think we may have scarred some relatives! after the party we all came home and wiped out! everybody took a nap! hooray! best treat ever! after everybody woke up we drove into salt lake and went to the SL Bees game. the game itself seemed to drag on forever, until the 8th inning when the other team caught up. but we were all so done and ready for fireworks, the reason we were cheering for a strike was so the game would be over, not so the Bees would win! ben has been talking about the fireworks for days, and he was so excited when they started, but about five minutes in he got scared and started screaming. scott calmed him down and covered his ears and then he did better. cole on the other hand thought the fireworks were hilarious! seriously! he just kept giggling and talking. so funny. what a day.

coley - o news

2011-07-01T22:16:00.000-06:00

here are some of the hilarious new things cole is doing:

he tries really hard to repeat animal sounds. he really just clears his throat and grunts, but he always looks to me for approval.

he has started doing this little fake cough lately to get attention. it is hilarious because it really is so forced.

he loves to play with books, but he gets really really mad when they close and he can't get them back open.

whenever he hears music or i sing him a song he throws his hands in the air and waves them like he is conducting an orchestra.

he has learned how to give kisses. although i am the only one he will give them too.

at night he loves having his blanket, binky, and his penguin. when we walk into his room and i start to grab his blanket out of the crib, he knows that i always put his binky in my mouth, so as soon as i turn my head he grabs it out of my mouth and puts it back in his. when i put him in his crib he grabs for his stuffed penguin that aunt chicken gave him. he likes to hold onto its beak the best.

surprise party!

2011-06-25T15:01:00.000-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY APRIL!!!

We planned a surprise party at Sugarhouse Park to let Aunt April know how much we love her. Ben was so so exited. I had to wait to tell him about the party until the day of, and I still told him a little early because he kept asking all day if it was time for "apee's" party yet.

Michelle found the most perfect balloons for the party!

Since Ben has clearly picked Uncle Jason as his very favorite person in the world. Everyone is competing to be Cole's favorite. Kara really, really want to be the favorite!

Even though Apee was a bit late, Ben finally to to tell her, "Suh-prize! Happy Burt-day!"

Of course we had to crown Apee as princess for a day! And it had to be pink!

This is Adri's brand new duck! So cute! He can drink from a bottle! Adri is the best mama duck I know.

Oh Sally. She is so grown up! She is turning 8 this year!! How can this be?

Calvin has a thing for cupcakes. I like to think that he prefers my cupcakes. The last couple family gatherings we have had he has swiped one while mom and dad were distracted! So funny to turn around and find Calvin stuffing his face as fast as he can!

Cole was content with his graham cracker, but he didn't know there were cupcakes.

This is Cousin Lisa and two of her beautiful children, Parker and Katie. Ben kept thinking all the Balfour girls were Aunt April. Whenver one of them arrived at the party he would yell,"Apee is here!" They all look alike. He was so so confused.

Great Grandma Fowler. 92 and still going strong. She always looks so cute.

Best buddies Weston and Ben. They have finally decided that they like each other! Check out the hand hold! It is so fun that they are to the age where they can play with each other.

Of course they fight for time with Uncle Jason, but that is just because he is awesome and they can't get enough. Jason took them to go feed the ducks.

Good thing Jason comes with big muscles !

"tell me dat story again mommy"

2011-06-24T15:10:00.000-06:00

ben is really curious and really smart. his is constantly asking me "a cuz why mommy" to try to figure out the crazy world around him. i know when i have really sparked his interest with my responses when he says, "tell me dat story again mommy!" for example, he saw the fire escape ladder in our widow well and asked, "what's dat mommy?"
me: "a ladder"
ben: "whats it do?"
me: "helps us get out if there is a fire and we can't get upstairs to go out the front door?"
ben: "a cuz why mommy?"
me: "if our house catches on fire and we can't get out we need to use that special ladder"
ben: "a cuz why mommy?"
me: "so we will be safe"
ben: "a cuz why mommy?"
me: "so we don't get burned by the fire"
ben: "a cuz why mommy?"
me: "because fire is really, really hot and it can burn us. it is really dangerous."
ben pauses for processing time . . .
ben: "tell me dat story again mommy"
so then i have to tell him the "story" 30 more times until he understands. what a guy. i also had to tell him about drowning a million times after we watched the lifeguard jump in to save a little kid and we have been through what tornados do a billion times.

oh my boys . . .

2011-06-24T14:44:00.000-06:00

oh how i adore these two boys! they are so darling. they are boys through and through. rough and tough and goofy. but even after all the wrestling they do love each other. and i love them!

Nine Months Old

2011-06-17T13:45:00.007-06:00

my sweet little baby boy is growing up so so too fast. scott and i always say that we wish we could freeze dry him just as he is now.

crawling from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

he is officially crawling. he is really sneaky when he crawls. he won't really do it unless there is something he really wants (ie my phone). or he does this hilarious mischievous crawl when he knows he isn't supposed to get something, like ben 's sippy cup or the stairs. he does this burst of super speed. sadly, he did take his first trip down the stairs this last week. i saw him right on the edge of the stairs and i yelled,"no cole!" so what did he do? launch himself down with a huge smile on his face! ouch. he has also learned how to pull himself up on things. he hasn't stood up in his crib yet, but he loves to pull himself up on the stairs. he gets so proud of himself that we usually get a booty dance after his big accomplishment. this week he has been cutting his first two teeth!

he still eats everything in his path, sand and rocks included. i have to watch him like a hawk. i gave him a pickle the other day and he got so so so mad at me when i had to take it away to bite off a piece so he wouldn't choke. he loves pickles. maybe that explains why i liked them so much when i was pregnant with him.

his favorite game is peek-a-boo in his crib. he likes to hide behind the bumper pad and then pull it down when i say peek-a-boo!

when he sits in the grass he always pulls his leg up, both if he can, because he is not crazy about the texture of grass. he is still sleeping all through the night which is so glorious. love love this sleeper baby. his naps are a little funky with teething happening, but i will take solid nights over good naps any day.

he is still our little sunshine ball. every morning he is just so excited to see me and be alive. he is so smiley and sweet. we love you!

fun facts:

he just learned how to wave hello and bye-bye. he waves like a pageant queen and it is adorable.

he loves to open and close things. especially doors and this little toy treasure chest.

he is obsessed with the door stops.

he is a water baby and loves to splash at the pool. he isn't scared at all.

when he stands up we sing him,"shake your booty" and he does! so cute!

when he is tired he buries his head into me and snuggles.

he loves to snuggle his stuffed penguin that aunt chicken gave him when he goes to sleep. he always grabs the penguin's beak and then snuggles it to his face.

soccer buddies!

2011-06-16T22:04:00.001-06:00

This is Ben's soccer team. Where is Ben? On the sidelines with me crying of course. But how cute are these guys? They wanted to hold hands while they played.

Then they all wanted to be the goalkeeper. Coach Brad got them back on track.

Ben insisted on holding somebody's hand to play. Luckily, he thinks Coach Brad is cool, and Coach Brad is AWESOME and lovingly helps Ben get into the game.

Brynner decided he needed to hold Coach Brad's, also his dad, hand. And then Ben had to hold Brynner's hand.

Ben was a little too rough and tough for poor Brynner. He dragged him all over the field.

Luckily, Ben is really good at kissing "owees" better.

These two decided that that soccer was not the game for them, throwing pinecones was way more fun.

But they did play soccer with each other after the game was over!

Ben isn't the star forward, or even on the field much yet, but progress is being made and someday soon we hope he will love the game. If not, hopefully he will at least have fun!

tubby time!

2011-06-15T21:57:00.001-06:00

classic car show

2011-06-10T21:14:00.000-06:00

SWEET!!! I am not sure who had a better time, me or Ben. I have a serious fetish for old cars. Scott always asks me what my dream car would be, thinking I will say an Acura MDX or Lexus that. But I could really care less, a car is just a car to me. But old cars that is another thing. If it was even remotely practical I would lust after one of these cars.

C'mon, these cars are sooooo much cooler than anything you see coming out of a factory these days!

They don't make them like they used to! Sigh . . .

Can you find Ben? Look really closely at the hubcap.

This was an Amphicar! Yes it drives on land and in the water! Check the propellers underneath!!

This was the "Mater" truck. The owner left it all rusted and added some Mater stickers. The kids were all nuts for this one. Even though it didn't have a tow hitch, the kids all thought it was the real Mater.

Grandma Barbara Day

2011-06-10T16:02:00.001-06:00

Scott lost his mom to breast cancer 10 years ago. So it makes Mother's Day a bit rough. His siblings started a tradition of getting together every year on Mother's Day and talking about their mom and their memories of her. This year we got together at Sugarhouse park to remember Grandma Barbara.

We brought some old bread to feed the seagulls, geese and ducks.

Adri was in heaven. She is the duck queen. She has a whole little flock of stuffed ducks that she carries around with her. They all have names. She spent five minutes saying goodbye to the ducks. Blowing them kisses and promising to come back soon.

Sally and Adri are my darling, darling nieces. I made Sally promise me that she wouldn't grow up and go to kindergarten, because it would break my heart. She looked at me and said,"I going to be big and go to kindergarten." Now she is going into 3rd grade! and Adri will be in first!! They are growing up so so fast! I changed both of their diapers. I feel really really old.

Hottie Amber always has a big beautiful smile on her face!

Oh Ben. Running like a wild man. Again. Up and down the hill he went about a million times.

Dilly Bars are one of Grandma Barbara's favorite treats. So April brought some for all of us!

Who doesn't love Dilly Bars?

I think it is safe to say that the love of Dilly Bars runs deep in this family!

Ben found a dirt pile. So of course he started digging and kicking and throwing dirt everywhere. I couldn't bring myself to stop him because he was having so much fun!

Then he turfed it. Face first in the dirt. Awesome.

Then we had to show dad the damage. As he came around the tree he said, "Don't freak out dad!" He knows that dad gets a little crazy about dirt on clothes.

Look at that face! Seriously?

next stop . . .

2011-06-08T11:09:00.000-06:00

Ethel's Chocolate Factory and the Cactus Gardens! The chocolate treats we ate were so so delicious. A bit of a chocolate overload, but that is my absolute favorite thing in the world!

The cactus gardens were unbelievable. I have never seen cacti in bloom before! So so beautiful.

Ben of course liked digging in the dirt the best.

And running around like a crazy.

I got a bit carried away photographing all the cacti. Secretly I want to be Imogen Cunningham, but I do not have a green thumb to grow cool plants to photograph.

Ben's absolute favorite part were all the airplanes. All of the air traffic coming into Las Vegas fly right over the Cactus gardens. Plane after plane after plane. All day long. He really didn't want to leave.

I played around with my new macro lens. So much fun! I still have to mess with it some more. But so far I love it.

This shot was such a happy surprise!! When I took it I didn't see the bumblebee!! When I got home and downloaded it I squealed with joy!!

Cole loved every second of his nap in the sunshine.

CAT dealership

2011-06-03T00:12:00.003-06:00

What was one of our fist stops in Las Vegas? The CAT dealership of course! I drove by it when I was in Vegas last March and I knew Ben would be bananas for this place.

I was right. We could not contain him. He ran from digging truck to digging truck screaming that this one was his favorite. He loved the ones with the "WALL-E" tires. He loved the ones with the huge scoops. He loved them all.

He was so happy that he even agreed to cooperate, slightly, for a family picture. How funny is it that we all match the digging trucks? Totally unplanned. Hilarious.

He couldn't resist doing a little digging himself.

This is Ben helping the digging truck scoop up the dirt. He thought he was really helping. My favorite part of this picture is his underwear sticking out.

Why not test out the scoop?

What handsome boys I have!

The face says it all!

AWESOME!! Favorite picture ever (so far). So so so Benjamin.

Yeah, there was a store inside, and we found "Bruder" brand trucks. He is spoiled. That is all.

sleep training . . .

2011-06-02T22:27:00.001-06:00

I finally broke down and had Cole cry it out. I had prepared myself for at least a couple of weeks of zero sleep along with the agony of hearing my baby scream for me. After sleep training Ben I was ready for another World War. But once again Cole proved to me that every single child is so so different. He cried for about 30 minutes the first night, with only one middle of the night wake up. He has only had one other "long" cry (30 minutes) since then! WHAT? We actually slept more when we were crying it out than we were pre-cry it out! He has slept all the way through the night the last couple of nights (knock on wood)! Wow. That was too easy. I will take it.

Factoids . . .

2011-05-25T20:49:00.001-06:00

Benjamin:

Loves to watch Mythbusters with Dad. Today on our walk he tried to pop the stroller tires with his wagon tires. He was pretending there was a spike on his. "Just wyke mifbusters!" he tells me. Oh boy.

He is crazy for corn on the cob and broccoli. Such a wonderful surprise.

Loves digging in the dirt.

Sings along to almost every song, and he knows the words to a lot of them. My favorite ones to hear him sing are, "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz, "Baby Oh" by Justin Beiber, and the "Tangled" credits song. So funny.

He loves to ride his bike outside with the neighbor kids, but still refuses to peddle so his feet get stuck under the seat all the time.

He has officially entered the "a'cuz why mommy?" phase. It is always so cute and funny when other kids do it. But when you have heard for 5 billion times in the last ten minutes the cuteness fades.

My latest trick for getting Ben to sleep is the "Suess Method." That's right. I read him Dr. Suess until he falls asleep. Usually about a story and a half. I feel good because we get in good reading time and he goes to sleep without a fight.

Coleson:

Still trying really hard to crawl. He usually gets stuck in plank pose for a few seconds and then collapses. Yesterday, he launched himself off both of his back feet and actually made some forward progress, but he scared himself to death.

He is absolutely done with nursing. I can't decide how I feel about it. One minute I am heartbroken and the next I am celebrating because I don't have to try to feed him with Benjamin mauling both of us. Cole loves all food. We haven't found anything that he doesn't like. He eats: bagels, mac and cheese, snap peas, bananas, spaghetti, rice, pancakes, mangoes, and most recently dirt. Awesome.

Nights are still rough. The last few nights he has only been up at 12:30 am and 4:30 am. Which isn't horrible, but I am really missing my baby that slept all the way through the night. He hasn't been the same since he got sick a few months ago. Boo. I really really don't want to sleep train him, but this momma needs some sleep!

Cole loves to play with the curtains in his room. He grabs them and shakes them and laughs and laughs and laughs. So cute.

His favorite toy lately is the infant tylenol bottle. He is not a fan of a binky at all, but he will chew the tylenol bottle forever.

He refuses to take a bottle. He has to have a sippy cup just like his big brother. What a nut!

Soccer!

2011-05-14T10:43:00.001-06:00

I am officially a soccer mom! Well, sort of. The first week of soccer I was the substitute coach. Ben refused to play. He made me carry him up and down the field while I tried to coach our team. He cried the whole time. Our team got creamed. We played the Manchester United of 3-5 year olds. We only had three brave little girls playing against eight boys who could rotate in and out. Luckily, they didn't really know they were getting beat. I think they still had a good time.

This week Ben actually took the field!!! Big step. He participated in warm-up and even helped with a kick off. Granted he kicked the ball two or three times and then came running and crying to the sideline, but he played! Hopefully, by the end of the season he will be a contributing player!

Soccer Player! from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

Grandma Gwen was there to help Ben through this traumatic soccer game. Her days of being a soccer grandma are just beginning!

Cole cheered on big brother as best he could, but mostly he wanted mommy and the baby food I brought.

Check out those skills! He is very proud that he can drop kick a soccer ball all by himself.

This is Ben and his best pal Brynner! They are the best of friends. Brynner is so so nice to Ben. He puts up with all of Ben's bossiness and loves him anyway. The jerseys are slightly on the HUGE side, but I think that makes them all the more adorable!

Brynner especially loved me during the soccer game because I brought him some "super juice" aka Gatorade! We forgot to tell Brynner to not eat the orange peel. Oooops.

Best Buddies! from Britta Bruderer on Vimeo.

Ben did go play with dad at halftime! When there weren't any other kids on the field of course.

Aaaaahh. The best of part of any soccer game. The treats!!!