I'm feeling sorta... Wicked!

The Pantry House

Me and JoJo

Me and Javier Colon

Oh.my.goodness! First let me just say that I am so spoiled! My bestie Brooke called a couple months ago and asked if I wanted to go with her and some girls from her ward on a weekend trip to Cali to see Wicked! Well, after much "convincing", I decided to go! ;-) It was scheduled for the weekend after my birthday so it was the perfect excuse to give Ben! Happy Birthday to me!

We had so much fun! We left St. George Thursday morning and headed to LA where we would check into our super sweet hotel, get some dinner and then head over to Pentages to see the show! Wicked was a.ma.zing. It blew every expectation I had out of the water. Seriously. I still find myself thinking about it. I cannot wait to see it again! After the show we wondered around to the back to see if we could see any of the performers but we grew impatient and decided to grab some delicious Pink Berry instead! Yum!

Friday we slept in and then went and grabbed a delicious breakfast at a little diner called The Pantry House! They had huge portions and yummy yummy food! I LOVE places like that! We then headed over to the Fashion District where we shopped until we literally dropped! So fun! We actually just hit up Santee Alley because some locals told us that was the best place to shop. It was like a little Mexico! Lots of knock-offs, purses, make-up, shoes, toys... We did some pretty good shopping that day! It was lots of fun though. Later we met back at the hotel so we could grab some dinner and then head over to a tree lighting event they were having at our hotel. While we were in the elevator one of the girls asked this guy if he was a singer because he was carrying a guitar... I looked up and it was Javier Colon from The Voice! Ahhh! He was so nice and took pictures with all of us! He was actually staying in our hotel and was performing at the tree lighting! So fun! That night we went to dinner and then over the tree lighting which was so fun! Then later we were getting ready to go to one of the other girls room when we saw JoJo! No one knew who she was except for me but it was still so fun to stop and get a picture with her. Don't mind me in the picture. I look special. I was just so excited!

Saturday we got up and headed back to Santee Alley to get some last minute deals. Then we hit up a sweet fabric store that Brooke had heard about! Then last but not least we headed to Ikea where we spent literally 4 hours at!! Ah! We did not leave LA until like 5 pm. We had so much fun though and I made some great new friends!

A huge shout out to "brown" grandma for watching the kiddos for me while I went! Thank you!!! The kids just love having you so close and so do we! Thanks to Ben for letting me go too! He is such a great husband and dad! And thanks to Brooke for the invite and for the great friendships I made while on that trip!

Benson's Bday party

I swear I threw this party back in September for his actual birthday! I'm just a little behind in the blogging department! I wasn't sure if I was even going to throw him a party but I came across this blog and basically copied ev.er.y.thing about it! (I'm good at that!) Besides, it made it so easy! The boys had a blast! I made them robes. For lunch they had galactic pizza and yoda sodas! They played pin the light saber on Darth Vader, keep the balloon off the ground with light sabers and they went on a "mission" to find their goodie bags! They also had quite the fight when Darth Vader himself showed up!!

To finish the party off, we had cupcakes that were lined up to look like a light saber!

The boys had a blast!

We are so blessed to live in this fun, close knit neighborhood! Every single friend he invited has or does live here and will be a life long friend!
I also hold a special place in my heart for all of these cute "little" boys!

Check check...anyone out there?

Sadie was blessed on September 3rd, 2011.
We did our traditional Saturday blessing at my parents ward building. It is so nice to be able to do our own thing! We don't have to worry about the circle being too big or being on time... haha. Anyway, we had a great day. The guys that were in the circle were:
Ben, Grandpa Joe, Grandpa Wade, Great Grandpa Bradshaw, Great Grandpa Swensen, Great Grandpa Meier, Kirk, Uncle Spencer, Uncle Levi, and Great Uncle Craig.

We had a nice luncheon afterwards with some yummy chicken salad sandwiches, chips, fruit and some mini cup cakes. Thank you thank you to all those that helped and are always so willing to lend a hand. Thanks to my mom for being a rock star like always and making things happen!! :-)

On a side note, Miss Sadie Lou is actually named after Ben's grandpas mom. So his great grandma. After the blessing, his grandpa was so sweet and shared some of her history with us. Here are just a few things that I wanted to jot down for journaling purposes.

Her full name was Sadie Peay Meier and she was born on July 15th, 1898 in Kentucky. She was born in July like our Sadie and also had an older brother and an older sister. In 1925, Sadie and her husband Rob attended there first sacrament and were later baptized members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints.
Then in October of 1943, they moved their family of 6 kids to Utah!
We are so proud that we could name her after such an amazing woman. The stories of her are always of service and kindness.

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year! My mom came down so she could be with us and see the kids! We did our traditional "dinner in a pumpkin" which was so good! Next year though, we decided we'll do that the night before Halloween and pizza the night of! Ha!
Benson was Darth Vader, Hiley was a cheerleader and Miss Sadie was a little witch! We went around out little neighborhood and got loads of treats.
I'm pretty sure this is Hiley's favorite holiday! :-)

Sadie's Photo Shoot

Let me tell you about this little beautie! I love her... we love her! She has been so much fun! It's funny though. You think with your 3rd that you know everything there is to know. Hmmm. I was wrong. She has/had thrush. My other two didn't. What. a. pain! I've also had some nursing issues which have also never come up before. Ugh. Sadie also likes to spit up. A lot! Oh and cry... Every night. At 8 p.m. Without fail. This too is also new to me. What the?? People who have babies with colic.... I don't know how you do it. Seriously. I give you mad props!

I, however know that I am so blessed to have a happy, healthy baby.

She has started to smile which melts my heart. She has the "Bradshaw" mouth. Long upper lip, tiny bottom one. She reminds me of my grandma. I'm sure she had her hand it that! ;-) Sometimes I think about how much she would love this baby and how she would have loved to hold her! But then I remember how she does and did. My grandma loved and held her before I did! How sweet is that knowledge?

Sadie is so lucky! She has so many people in her life that love her so much!

Anyway, she weighed in at a "whopping" 10lbs 11oz at her two month appt. last week! She is growing just like she should. She also had her first set of shots! (which do not get easier with each child, I might add!)! She is doing great and is so stinkin' cute! Now if I could just stay caught up on laundry! Man, who knew such a tiny little thing could produce sooooo much laundry! ;-)

Ok click HERE for a link for my photographer. She is a.ma.zing!

Click HERE for the headband info too! My friend Heather makes them and they are so cute!

Children of the Corn

(please ignore the orphan-like state of my children.)

Here's the story:

At the end of last school year, Benson went on a field trip to Staheli Farms. It's a pretty cool farm here in town. Anyway, while there, they received some seeds. I had no idea what they were or anything about them really. Well, I had to work the night that he got them but when Ben got home, he told Benson they could plant one. So off they went to the back yard where Ben tore a hole in the weed mat and literally pushed the seed into the ground... That's it.
He did this just to appease Benson.

Fast forward 4 months and what do we have??
One single corn stock. We couldn't believe it! Benson was so proud of his corn. I wasn't convinced however. I totally thought it was a big weed. Nope. It was totally corn. It has, to our disappointment died, but not before producing 2 tiny ears of corn. How fun!

One day, when we have a place of our own, I would love to have a garden!

Benson

Let's just say I had a hard time with this. A really hard time. Anyone can tell you I'm not the most emotional person there is. I bawled... like a baby. The day before I mentioned to Benson that when I got ready to go to school, my dad always gave me a blessing. I sorta just mentioned it in passing. As soon as Ben got home from meetings that morning Benson said, "Dad, will you give me a blessing so that I can go to school?" I was so proud of him. Anyway, that night during the blessing I couldn't hold back the tears. (I must still have some pregnancy hormones! ;-) ) Ben gave him such a sweet blessing. Of course Hiley wanted too. She is usually very squirmy and ADD but she sat there so quiet with her arms folded like she was taking in everything her dad was saying. It was awesome. Benson kept telling me not to be sad that he wasn't scared and that I would be with Hiley and Sadie. So funny! I told him they were happy tears but he didn't seem to buy it! Anyway, I did really good the next day... up until the bus pulled away! I decided that I didn't like this job of being a mom anymore and I hated the idea of having to let my boy go into this BIG BAD world of ours. I just hope and pray every day that we have done the best we could with teaching him everything that the schools do not. I really do like this job by the way, just not the hard stuff... like letting them grow up!!

Some of Benson's favorites right now:

Color: red
Food: pizza
Treat: cookies
Movie: Star Wars
Best Friend: Tryston
Thing to do: play with friends and play the Wii

Summer

We had such a fun busy summer this year. I can't believe how fast it went. Now it's Labor Day and summer is over.... {sigh} We did lots of swimming, lots of traveling, lots of hanging with the neighbors! We also had lots of visitors when Sadie was born which was so fun! My mom was here for almost two weeks! Lindsey, Lauren and Carter came down. My dad also came for a couple days. Ben's mom has been living down here so it was nice to have you around to help, along with Brown Grandpa! Anyway, when Lauren and Carter were here they took the kids "night riding" one night on their bikes and skateboards! They had so much fun! We actually got them out of bed and let them go in their pj's! Good times!
Now it's back to school, football season and hopefully cooler nights! Here's to fall....

Introducing...

Sadie Lou Meier
July 26th, 2011
7 lbs. 13 oz.
19 inches
10:48 a.m.

Hiley is in love with her and has been such an awesome
helper!

He's going to be such a good big brother to his two sisters!

Proud Daddy

Not excited about her car seat... :-(

Well, I think it's about time I get this story written down. I cannot believe how fast time goes... Sadie is such a blessing in our lives! She is so sweet and has been a great baby!

Alright here it goes... I had my membranes stripped the Friday before in hopes it would help... I'm not really sure it did. Anyway, there was no movement all weekend. Lame. However, I had set an induction date for Wednesday, July 27th so at least there was some light at the end of the tunnel. My mom came into town on that Sunday just so she could be here and not have to worry about driving down.

On Monday, Ben and I went to the temple. It was so nice. We sorta went in hopes of getting some inspiration as to what to name this baby too! (We had struggled with her name the entire pregnancy!) Anyway, that afternoon we went to wal-mart to get some last minute shopping done. We were there for about an hour. Walking. I'm pretty sure that's what did it... Later that night, Ben and a neighbor gave me a blessing. Again, I was so grateful. The contractions started shortly after that. I wasn't too worried about them so we went to bed. They finally woke me up around 3:30. I timed them for a few minutes and decided I'd better take a shower and pack my hospital bag since I hadn't done that yet! :-/ I took my time and decided to wake Ben up around 4:30. We finished getting our stuff together and then headed to the hospital around 5:30 am.

I was worried I wasn't going to be dilated and they were going to send me home. However, when they checked me I was a 6 and 90% effaced. Ya! I was going to have this baby! They admitted me and moved me into my room. I had my epidural by about 8, the doctor came in and broke my water and things were looking good until my contractions completely stopped! What??! Soooo amongst all the chaos that was that morning with them delivering 6 OTHER babies in 2 hours, they gave me a big dose of pitocin and left. 30 minutes later it was on. I told Ben he needed to go find someone because this baby was coming. The nurse came in, checked me, told me NOT to push and then laid me flat. The Dr. was on his way... I'm not sure how long it really took but it felt like an hour! It was awful. I was bawling. I've never cried before. Finally, the Dr. came in threw on his gear and she was out in 3 pushes. Ohmigosh, I have never felt relief like that. I don't ever want to feel what I felt again. I'm still not sure if the epidural wore off or what but it was not fun!

Anyway, she was perfect. Perfect head, perfect skin. I loved her instantly. You can try and tell someone a million times about what it's like to have a baby but until they experience it themselves, they will never know. I mean this in every sense... whether you adopt or use a surrogate or have a c-section. When they place that baby, your baby in your arms, there is nothing else like it. Nothing. How truly blessed I am!

Later that day my mom brought the kids over! They were so sweet with her! Hiley kept telling everyone she saw that her "baby came out"! Benson was TOTALLY freaked out by breast feeding. Too funny. He says to me as serious as possible, "Mom, what are you doing? Don't do that!" He's still getting used to the idea. Hiley keeps asking me if there is more milk in my boobs. Kids are so funny! I was really worried about Hiley and how she would react but it's Benson who has surprised me! He asks 1,000 questions every day and always wants to hold her. Hiley doesn't really want to hold her but is the best helper ever!!! She has been great with that!! Anyway, we are so glad she is here and can't believe how much she has grown and changed already! We love you Sadie! xoxo

Hiley's Story

**Hiley Jo**
April 29th, 2007

Here's your story:

Your dad had gone to San Antonio, Texas for a few days to help your Uncle Adam move into his new house. He was going to fly into Salt Lake on Saturday, April 28th. I decided to drove up there and spend a few days while he was gone and then be there to pick him up. My doctor knew nothing of this little impromptu trip of mine. Anyway, after driving they fell a little behind schedule so he thought that he maybe wanted to try and stay in Texas for a day longer so that he could see the city and their new home. We talked about it and I just mentioned that he should just come home unless he was 100% sure that he could get on an actual flight and not a stand by. He wasn't sure so home he came. They literally drove him right to the airport. Poor guy. Well... on my way to the airport to pick him up on that Saturday afternoon, I started having contractions. I wasn't really sure if that's what they actually were so I watched/felt them for a while. They were about 20 minutes apart and the same intensity. I told Ben about them and he wanted to drive all the way to Cedar City! I was like there is no way I am risking that! So anyway, we just continued to watch and time the contractions. Around 8, we decided to go to dinner with my parents and Lauren. We went to Texas Roadhouse. It was good to get out... While we were there, the contractions started to get closer together. When we got home, we went for a walk to see if that would help. I also took a hot bath to see if that did anything. Well, we decided to try and get some sleep so we went to bed. I couldn't sleep. They were more intense and closer together. Finally around 1:30 I woke Ben up. Him and my dad gave me a blessing and we headed over to the hospital. They watched me for a few hours and gave me some morphine to see if that would help with the pain. It did a little but it also made me dilate. At 5 am they admitted me. They gave me my epidural, I got a tiny bit of sleep and then you were ready. I only pushed for about 15 minutes and out you came.... just as the doctor was walking in at 7:17 am. You were beautiful. So healthy and perfect!!

I still can't believe you were born in Salt Lake! So on your own schedule... which honestly hasn't changed since! It seems we are always waiting for Hiley! ;-)

Part II

Drummond, MT: My favorite place on earth.

Lindsey-Me-Lauren-Grandpa-Kenzi-Kamery
All the grand-daughters!

I know I always say this but it's true. I sometimes worry that there will be a time in my life when I will never go back... I won't have a reason too. It literally makes my heart hurt. One of these times, I am going to photograph everything though. I don't want to ever forget things... Like the barn or the streams or the house on the hill or the dark cool basement. :-)
It seemed weird to be there this time without my grandma. She was the reason we went. She loved when we came to visit. We loved to visit. It was hard explained to B and H about where she was and answering the 1,000 questions that followed. They knew she was in heaven but wondered why her body was in the ground.... I know for sure she chuckled at the many death comments that Hiley has made along the way!
Anyway, we had a great visit. We went over Memorial weekend so that we could be together to remember her, my grandma. She spent so much time preparing for this day. She would tidy up and put flowers on the graves of loved ones. Her headstone looked lovely. It is perfect for her and there is a nice spot for my grandpa when it's time to place him beside her.

Can I just say though... it is was c.o.l.d! Like, November cold. We didn't get to play outside much but we did venture down to the barn a few times to feed to horses. We also hit up the local high school rodeo and parade. The kids loved that! We also went to Kung Fu Panda 2 and of course Hoagieville! Mmmmmm. Delish!


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To wrap up spring, we had a fun dance recital with Hiley. She cracks me up. She actually seemed do better this time around. She loves the idea of getting dressed up but then gets a little distracted when it comes to the "dancing" part! Anyway, she did jazz, tap and ballet. I think I'll do one more year of dancing and then see if she'd like to venture out and try something a little more "fast/ competitive"!
Benson did his first year of baseball and loved it. Ben got him a glove and some new cleats. All the boys on the team were from the neighborhood so he had a blast! It was soooo much fun to watch them learn to play and figure things out.
We'll for sure be playing baseball again.

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CARTER GRADUATED!!!!

Holy smokes! We are so proud of him. It was so awesome to see him do this. We had a very nice day with a yummy BBQ and lots of family time!
It sure aged me quite a bit though. Yikes! I graduated 10 years ago...


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Vegas Baby!



How about another sweet Vegas trip with the girls?
As always, we had so much fun...
Lots of eating (The Wynn Buffet) and shopping (The DI) and driving! ;-)

The highlight? Seeing The Lion King at Mandalay Bay! Ohmigosh. It was a-ma-zing. I want to take my kids back! Thanks to a little birdie, (Spencer!) we found out that with a student ID, you can get killer prices on seats soooo with the help of Suz and Brooke, we were able to get FRONT ROW seats for like... next to nothing!
**The top picture is us with the two little kids who played Nala and Simba at the very beginning of the show. Talk about talented!**
So if you ever get a chance to see this show, go! You will not be disappointed!

Thanks again ladies for another fun get-away! As always, I had a blast!! And thanks to my husband who... wait a minute! Ben totally lucked out and didn't have to watch the kids this trip!
They were up north with my mom soooo...

A HUGE "shout out" to her for watching my kids for the ENTIRE week!! You are always so thoughtful and never think twice about helping us out. These two just love you so much and could not ask for a better grandma! Thank You, Thank You for all your help!!!!
I love you, mom!!



Oh and I almost forgot...
While we dined at The Wynn Buffet,
we ran into this "movie star"...

Ham from The Sandlot!

Haha. Brooke was the only one brave enough to ask for a picture.
It was so funny to see him all grown up though! :-)