The Four of Us

Something to Brighten your day!

2011-06-23T19:52:00.000-05:00

This is a great clip of the kids. Enjoy!!!

Guess What We Have...

2011-06-09T19:51:00.000-05:00

We Have A GRADUATE!!!!

Claire graduated from Kindergarten! We are so proud of her! She did wonderful this year. She is great reader and loves to do math. It is amazing how much she has soaked up in the last 9 months!

Here she is accepting her diploma from her teachers helper.

This is her Teacher Ms. Withrow. Claire loved Ms.Withrow!! She had a great time in her class. It was a good start to a long school career!

Here is Claire the first day of school August 2010. That is her nervous smile.

Here she is on the last day of school May 2011. Very excited for summer!

A few things we have been up to

2011-04-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

So, it has been a very long time since I updated the blog and I thought that my family would enjoy some pictures of the kids. So here are a few things we have been up to.

Brad bought a new desk and the kids loved helping him put it together. Wesley thought he was pretty cool!

Wesley got himself into a bit on a "situation." He climbed into a toy shopping cart and couldn't seem to get out.

Brads brother came into town for Spring Break. We decided to head to houston to visit with Grandpa Norman. It was a fun relaxing visit. We went to the beach and we ate lots of yummy food but we especially enjoyed visiting with family.

For some reason, Brad enjoys putting our kids into appliances. Top is Wesley inside our dryer. He had been trying for a very long time to try to climb in there and Dad just helped him accomplish his goal. He (as you can see) was very happy to have FINALLY arrived at his desired destination. The bottom is Claire, about the same ago in the washer. She also was very pleased with the situation. (yes these are two different kids even though they look VERY similar!)

So Claire had her once a year school performance for Kindergarten. Her class were grasshoppers and they sang songs about being grasshoppers. It was fun to watch her, slightly surreal that she is that old but fun! Brad wasn't feeling too well that night so we were going to watch her and then hurry home. But as they finished their performance they were going to pass out awards for a contest that they had recently had. We were going to bag sitting there listening for Brads sake. As they began to read the winners of this art contest I was trying to get Claire's attention but was being very unsuccessful! I stood up to just go get her and I hear from the PTO presidents mouth "And for the Gold Metal in the Markers division, the winner is Claire Odell." I had no idea she was even up for an award let alone that she had submitted a picture to be judged. Brad and I both were looking at each other is delightful shock. But we were very proud of her for turning her picture in and winning! Good job Claire!!

Valentines Party

2011-02-05T17:04:00.000-06:00

We had a Couples only Valentines Party and it was so fun! We started with...

with our decorations that Wesley so nicely help put up,

No party is complete without some yummy food! We had a chocolate fountain and everything that goes with it, homemade Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, and yummy snacks that everyone brought to share. Then...

We played some Minute to Win It games (something we will surely be doing again...SO FUN). We played Extreme Hanky Panky.

Junk in the Trunk. I am so sad that I didn't get more pictures but we also played Face the Cookie, Stack the Dice and Suck It Up.

I promised Claire that since she didn't get to play the adults, that we would play the next morning. So here is the Odell's Minute to Win It.

Here is Claire listening to her Blue Print (given by Brad). Ready set go....

You can tell by the look on her face how much she LOVES it.

I am pretty sure Wesley thought we were NUTS! But he was enjoying himself anyway.

This is Wesley's own personal Minute to Win It. Stack the dice and knock them down (his favorite game right now)

Here she is playing Suck it Up with Conversation Hearts

Brad and Wesley as her assistants.

And last but not least Face the Cookie. Which her and Wes both loved because they got to enjoy the fruits of their labors.

Seriously though, if you can get some couples or friends together these are awesome games and so fun to play!

2011-01-25T10:25:00.002-06:00

This is just a cute little video of Claire and Wesley. It was fun to have SNOW!!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-25T09:08:00.009-06:00

**Beware Lengthy**

Christmas this year was SO fun. I decided this year to do an advent calendar but instead of just pulling somthing out and sticking it onto something, I made a calendar that we had an actvity as a family every night leading up to Christmas. I will say however, 25 days was a litttle over zealous! Next year it will be 12 days of Christmas.

So here is Claire turning over the first activity of the month.

We did...

Letters to Santa and homemade Hot Wassel.

We did the Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting. We were suppose to go to the actual tree lighting here in Rockwall, but Brad didn't get away from work in time and Wesley was a little under the weather and I was not up to do it all by myself (pansy, maybe a little).

We watch the First Presidency Christmas Message. Very nice to be together and watch (thanks Josh for coming and watching it with us). We also made homemade Hot Chocolate.

Breakfast with Santa. This was a lot of fun it was Breakfast.

Pictures with Santa. He loved the Candy Cane but didn't think too much of the Big Guy!

Can I say that this Santa was amazing! Claire loved him. He walked around to each table and visited with each of the kids. Very fun! We will be doing that again next year!

And last but no least there was crafts at Breakfast with Santa. (yes he loves crafts, doesn't that face say it all?)

Our yearly family tradition of making Gingerbread houses. This year, instead of the kit, I made

my very gingerbread. Not really the tastiest but turned out GREAT! Best of all, I hot glued the house together so it would actually stay up so we could decorate it. I thought Brad was going to have a melt down about it, but he got over it!

This was the end result. Love this tradition!

The local library had the Polar Express come into town. It was a lot of fun. Ride (okay walk) on a train and see the village, stop and get Candy Canes stop and see...

SANTA!! Santa was so fun to see and visit with! Wesley wouldn't sit there without Brad there with him. There was also Hot Chocolate, cookies, Crafts and the movie to watch. Really fun. We will also be doing that next year (assuming we are still here).

Christmas Eve, we decorated Santa's cookies and read the Christmas Story from Luke. And it all lead up to this wonderful day...

CHRISTMAS DAY!!!! This is what Santa left behind.

Claire got a BIG Barbie house with all the furniture. SHe of course loved it!

Wesley got a Ball House. I don't think that he has left it yet. Santa was right on with this gift!

Beauty and the Beast

Wesley found the Candy Canes and was content from then on.

This was the aftermath of Christmas Morning. I love to sit with everything opened, wrapping paper everywhere and sitting with my family talking about what we got. Too bad Brad and I don't see eye to eye on this, as far as the wrapping paper is concerned.

Listen to New SOngs

2011-01-18T12:55:00.001-06:00

Wesley 1st Birthday

2010-12-01T08:00:00.003-06:00

So, I realized this morning that I never posted little Wesley's birthday. Not a good start right?

Wesley is...

18 pounds which is in the 4% for his age and 29 inches which is in the 25%.

Very happy ALL the time! He rarely cries not even when he is hungry! He is happy just being him.

His nick names are Wes wes, Handsome, Little Dude and Wessers.

He loves Claire more than anyone I know. He in fact when she comes home from school and goes to wash her hands, he sits at the bathroom door until she comes out.

He loves the dog!

Finally started crawling. He is also pulling himself up on furniture. If he were my first child, I would worry there was something wrong, but he isn't and the longer I can keep up with him the better!

Plays Patty Cake and Waves like a champ.

His favortie foods are Oatmeal with Apple Juice, Cheetos, Cereal and Apples

He is very sweet and wonderful addition to our family! We waited a very long time for him and we are so happy to have him in our family! Happy Birthday little dude!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-10T08:57:00.006-06:00

I love Halloween every year, but I especially like it when it is one of the firsts that we get to celebrate. This was Wesley's first Halloween. He of course didn't care about any of the activities but it was still fun to dress him up and fun for Claire to be excited about how "cute" Wesley was.

We had a lot of fun things to do this year! We had two pumpkin carving parties. Sorry no pictures of Wes, her was tuckered out and soundly sleeping. But we had good time with good friends!

We had our Trunk or Treat with the ward. That was a lot of fun! Claire liked going around trick or treating amoungst people in the ward, but she loved just passing out the candy to everyone coming by. In fact Brad asked her if she wanted to finish going around to the rest of the cars but she preferred to sit with Wesley and I passing out candy. I wish I had a picture of the Claire and Wesley, our back window in our car roles down and we sat in there and passed out candy. Claire stood and passed out candy and Wesley stood next to her but the funny part was that Wesleys head barely got to the window when we was standing up. So all you could see was this little guy on his tip toes trying to see what was going on. But here are our cute kids all dressed up.

Claire was Daphne from Scooby Doo. I think that was the longest she wore her wig was for these pictures.

Wesley was a very cut Bat. I couldn't get him to smile, Claire was behind me and he couldn't figure out what was on her head.

Here are my sweet little ones.

6 Years Old!

2010-10-28T11:52:00.005-05:00

So I have to do my yearly birthday post for our sweet Claire! I thought it might be fun to look at all the firsts Claire had this year. So Enjoy (it is a little lengthy)

Here is my sweet girl whom I love dearly she is caring, always wants to please, and loves life and lives it to the fullest!

She is SUPER silly! SHe loves to make people laugh. These goggles go with one of her toys. She was running around saying that she was "Captain Eye Balls".

She started kindergarten this year. She loves to go to school and soak up everything she learns! Not to mention all her friends there.

She did her first swim classes that she excelled at!

Graduated from Preschool.

Had lots of daddy daughter dates. I am pretty sure she would spend every waking moment with her daddy (and the feeling is mutual)!

She lost her first tooth. It happened in the middle of Costco and of course there had to be lots of blood. But once the worry was gone, she was so excited for the tooth fairy.

And she welcome her first sibling into the family. She adores her baby brother and loves to play with and make him laugh! She is also very helpful with him and keeping him entertained.

We are so blessed to have you in our family! He love and are very proud of you!

11 Months

2010-10-13T09:16:00.005-05:00

I can't believe Wesley is 11 months old! Just wanted to quickley document for me what he is doing.
Loves to play with Claire.
He won't crawl, he is so close but he just won't do it. He scoots around on his bum and will lay down to get what he wants.
He just learned to wave. Super Cute!
Sits up all alone from laying down.
Will eat something one day but won't touch it the next. He is my picky eater. (Sorry mom for all of us picky eaters!)
He has 8 teeth.
Loves to cuddle with his blanket and binkie.
Loves the dog.
Anything outside he is ready and willing!
He is such a blessing to our family and we are lucky to have him! We love you little dude.

This is him today exactly 11 months old. He was tired when I took the picture so he was a little crusty but still cute!

Loved the glasses! (excuse the ugly face!)

He is the first kid I know that will sit in the shower and be totally happy with the water splashing on his head. He will sit in there for hours! It is wonderful I can be in the bathroom drying my hair and he is just playing and there isn't enough water for him to get hurt. I love it!!

So isn't that the cutest face ever? I love the beanie! (I am not sure how to spell that) I walk Claire to school most morning and this day it happen to be pretty cold outside so I put the hat on him and I think I was sold from then on!

8 Years

2010-09-04T09:01:00.004-05:00

Happy Anniversary!

8 Years ago was one he three best days in all of my life! I married my best friend and the person that I will eternally love and be with forever! Happy Anniversary and heres to many many more!

Say it ain't so...

2010-08-26T12:26:00.003-05:00

First day of School!

So the night before school my friend sent me this poem. It is a tear jerker for those with kids (if you don't have any, it will be when you do).

We Left you at the Door

We took you down to school today.

You're just beginning now.

Although this year you're five years old,

You seem so young, somehow!

We didn't take you all the way,

For we'd been told before

"Don't go into his room with him,

Just leave him at the door.

Up to this time we've always gone

Together everywhere.

And we have had a lot of fun

While traveling here and there;

But I well knew before it came,

We're parted more and more;

So many times we'll stand outside

And leave you at the door.

You're growing up so very fast

It's hard to keep in step;

The fact of changing years is hard

For parents to accept.

You'll have to walk your path alone

No matter what's in store

We'll bring you up to life's classroom,

Then leave you at the door.

While you were ours these tender years,

We treasure every day

Full knowing that the time would come

When you would go your way.

And though this love will still remain

Within the heart's deep core,

Our eyes will sting to see you go-

And leave us at the door!

Well friends, she left me at the door. My baby (who isn't much of a baby) started kindergarten on Monday. She was a little nervous and "shy" but as always, she walked in with her head up high and dove right in! She didn't even say goodbye to us (that was a little hard for me but I would rather see that then leave her crying) We met the teacher last Friday and she announced to me and Brad that she did NOT want to go anymore! (No thanks to Brad and his continuous taunting about how mean the Principles office was and that if she went there it was T-R-O-U-B-L-E!) I was very proud I didn't cry at all. I thought for sure I would. Granted she was a bit of a pill that morning so it was a little easier. I must say that it is a little lonely around here without her talking to me non stop and asking questions and keeping me company. When she got home I asked her about her day and what she did. The first thing she told me was that some girl told on her and she got in trouble. Ha ha, leave it up to my kid to get into trouble on the first day. The I asked if she was the little girls friend who told on her and she looked me and with a sassy look and firmly said, "I am not her friend, she told me!" A few days prior to going to school I told her to go to school the first day and find someone who didn't have a friend introduce herself and ask if they would be her friend. She tells me ,on the first day of school, "mom this kid asked me to be my friend and I said NO!" I asked her why she would say no to someone who needed a friend and she said, "because he is a boy." I sighed and told her that wasn't very nice and to ask him to be her friend. Last funny story (for now) The next morning she had gotten ready amazingly fast and because she had about 20 min before we hade to leave, I let her watch a show until it was time to go. The time quickly came to go and I turned off the tv (before the show was over) and I told her it was time to go to school and she with a grouchy voice, "I don't want to go to school! How long is this school thing going to last?" I laughed and decided not to tell her that it was going to be at least another 13 years.!

Friends

2010-07-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

So I have been thinking lately about friends and friendships. I have made many good friends in my life and they have all touched my heart in different places. I have dear sweet friends now that mean very much to me but today, I am thinking about those that I have lost touch with. Brad and I have also made some very good friends and had many good friendships over the last 8 years we have been together. But we/I have lost touch with so many of them from moving and going onto different stages of life. I guess that is what happens as you grow and move on, but I miss some of those friends dearly. Why must that happen? I am not sure why it is so hard to keep in contact with those amazing friends but for some reason it is. I miss you my friends dearly! Please keep in touch!

(Sorry random post!)

8 months old

2010-07-20T16:51:00.002-05:00

Wesley is 8 months old. He is a joy to our family. I thought instead of posting pictures of him, I would post pictures of what I love to watch him do.

Preschool Graduation

2010-07-20T16:32:00.004-05:00

This is Claire's Graduation from The Ark Preschool. I can't believe that she is done with preschool and off to the big kid school. Are you kidding me?

This is her promenade down to stand with her class. It was so cute, the graduation song playing in the background. So fun!

Here she is receiving her diploma.

Our cute family there at graduation. I think the best part was that dad got to take the morning off and come.

These are the sweet teachers, Miss Peggy and Miss Kay, that were so good with her and taught her a lot. She tells me often how much she misses them.

Here are the girls in her class. The teachers called them the "sorority girls". They even coordinated what they were going to wear that day. Claire came home and told me, "we are wearing our twirly skirts!" I guess her teachers weren't too far off. We were very to lucky to have such a fun group of girls in her class.

I think that sign says everything. My baby is going to kindergarten. Too big too fast! We are proud of you sweet thing!

My Little Fish

2010-07-01T13:56:00.004-05:00

At the beginning of June Claire started swim lessons. I signed her up for a whole month of swimming. She has been going Monday-Thursday for the entire month of June. As I expected, she LOVED it! And best of all, she learned to swim and can actually swim from point A to point B. I have been very impressed!

Here she is all ready to jump in!

Yup, that little head in the water is her swimming to the teacher. I was really impressed with the teachers, they were having a hard time getting the kids to pay attention to them because they were up where the students could touch the bottom of the pool so they moved the class to the 10 feet part where they clearly couldn't touch and had to hang on the wall and were very much out of their comfort zone!

Here she is being instructed by her teachers. In the beginning of this session of lessons, they told the kids to get out and jump in the 10 feet water and to swim to them. I thought for sure Claire, being the amazingly demure little girl she is would say, "Yeah right dude you do it first I ain't doin that!" But to my surprise, her turn came up and she lept right off and edge. After she jumped, she went in pretty deep, her teachers started to get concerned and were looking for her and when she would pop up but, sure enough she popped up and swam to her teacher. I was the very proud/shocked mom on the side of the pool!

So, as a reward for doing so good and to show her I was proud of her, we met our friends at one of her favorite places, Bahama Bucks. And of course she had a good time there with them also!

Galveston Beach

2010-07-01T13:44:00.003-05:00

We were down in Houston visiting with Brad's dad for the weekend and we thought since Claire hadn't ever seen the beach that we would take a day and go down to Galveston for the a day. Can I say it has been too long since I have been to the beach!! It was so fun. Claire was in heaven and we just enjoyed some time as family together.

There they are, just enjoying the sun and the water!

Claire and I just laid there and let the water come up over us and then felt ourselves sink back down in the sand.

My Claire was in heaven! She played and in the dirt pranced around and just loved being there.

This is how Welsey spent some of his time. Poor little guy was so sleepy! But once he woke up, he also just sat in the sand and played with the water.

Been Thinking

2010-05-18T16:31:00.002-05:00

I have been thinking lately about how quickly my sweet Claire has grown up! In the fall she will go to the "big kid" school. When we drive by it she will say, "When do I get to go there?" If you asked me three weeks ago, I would have told you that I wish she was going yesterday but lately, I have realized that it is going to be very sad to see her walk away that first day. She probably won't even look back to make sure I am still there. She is very independent and is willing to try almost anything. I was doing things around the house and making bread this afternoon and Wes was napping and not once did anyone come and ask to see in the bowl or ask to help me with what I was doing (she was at preschool). I thought to myself how lonely it is going to be around here. A lot more quiet (until wes gets a little older) a lot more clean (until the weekend) and no one with sweet little hands offering to help make the bread. She is growing just like she is suppose to experiencing things that she needs to and going to the "big kid" school in the fall. I am going to miss her!

Three People to Thank

2010-05-09T18:48:00.004-05:00

On this Mothers Day, there three people I wish to thank...

The first person is my amazing mother! She has only been loving and supportive in my 27 years of life. Anything that I ever desired or wished for she tried everything in her power to make it happen. Your the best mom! I love you.

And second are my sweet gifts given to me. I thank them because without them, I wouldn't be a mother. So to each of them, I say thank you for making me a mother. I have always wanted to a mother and you are making one my dreams come true. I couldn't think of anything or anyone else I would want to be than to be your mother. I love you!

5 months old

2010-04-19T15:48:00.004-05:00

I can't believe that I am saying this, but our Wesley is 5 months old! He has been nothing but a wonder addition to the family.

Here are a few things Wesley loves:

1. His mommy (maybe a little too much)!

2. Claire. She is the only one that can really get him to belly laugh. It is very cute by the way.

3. His blanket and his pacifier.

4. Lately he loves oatmeal. He can't get enough of it!

We LOVE our Wesley!!!

Clean for a Month

2010-03-10T15:59:00.002-06:00

So, I was exercising with a friend this morning and she said that we should make a goal to exercise so many times and we could reward ourselves. That got me thinking about making a goal for myself. I also have a friend who posts her goals on her blog to help encouragment and also makes her stick to it since she told everyone what she is doing. SO that is what I am doing.I keep a fairly clean home sometimes there are things on the floor that don't belong or some dishes in the sink that could go into the dishwasher and my floor probably needs to be vacuumed. So, I am making a goal to keep my house clean for a whole month (everything in its place) and then I will reward myself for achieving my goal and hopefully break some bad habits of keeping a not so tidy house. So if any of you have any good ideas on a good reward let me know. I have been thinking but I need a real good one!

Can you believe it? It is gone!

2010-02-19T10:35:00.003-06:00

Here is the before....

Yes you are looking at it correctly it is her tooth. I can't believe she lost her first tooth! She kept complaining about her tooth hurting when we would brush her teeth and I being the sympathetic mother that I am, I didn't believe her. Then one night she was telling me not to brush so hard. So I looked at it and felt around and it was a loose tooth. I was shocked I texted my friend whose husband is a Prediatric Dentist and asked if it was normal and apparently they start loosing teeth at 5. I was very surprised!

Here is the after. The funny part is that she lost it right in the middle of Costco. Yup she started crying (screaming) because there was blood in her mouth and Brad reached in there and pulled it the rest of the way out. There was blood on the tissue and she was crying because of the blood and people were looking at us like I just hit her in the face and knocked out her tooth. Ha Ha!!

The tooth fairy did come and she was more than pleased about that!! She is getting too big too fast!

Reasons Why Not to Leave Claire Unattended

2010-02-05T13:26:00.003-06:00

Over the last week, I have captured a few reasons as to why you should not leave your 5 year old unattended.

This is why you should not drive your ZUZU pet on your head. Eventually you will have to cut it out of your hair. They don't look guilty right?

Wesley was the patient as you can see. It looks simple right? Just a little Dcotor/Patient playing. Well what you can't see in the plastic bandaid under his pants on his thigh that is so tight that it is cutting off circulation. I also was unaware of it until I changed his diaper about 1 hour later. Hopefully he will survive!

Simple Bath time right? WRONG! (see below)!

I went to check on her and I came around the corner to this. It is a pile of water that extends the full length of my bathroom.

Reasons why NOT to leave Claire unattended!!

Wesley's Blessing

2010-01-11T13:45:00.004-06:00

Wow are we blessed!!! We blessed our sweet Wesley the first week of January and we had a BLAST! Here is some of the fun that we had. Here is the little man of the hour! He did such a good job while he was being blessed and Brad gave him a beautiful blessing! Thanks to a friend of ours he emailed us some parts of the blessing (thanks Bryan!). Isn't he the cutest little thing?
Here are our sweet kids. Claire loves being a big sister!

This is our first family picture (minus the one in the hospital that I am not willing to put on my blog. You will all thank me for that, trust me).

We were so lucky, we had many people travel very long distances to be here for this special day. It was so nice to see so many familiar faces. I looked at the circle when Wesley was being blessed, and I was thankful and felt so blessed to see those men that have special places in our hearts. They have each individually blessed our lives.

These are our dear friends the Guymons and the Crofts. The Guymons traveled all the way from Pampa TX (6 hour drive) to be here with us. They stayed with us for a couple of days and it was so fun to catch up, laugh and just hang out like the old days. The Crofts just moved here to the Dallas area from Lubbock. We are so happy that they are here in Dallas with us!

I think one of the best parts was that my sister's surprised me and took time out from their families and flew out here to be with us for this special occasion. As always we had a blast! My brother so desperatly wanted to be here but because of work was unable to make it. We missed you Evan!

Sadley, I don't have a picture of my parents or my in-laws. My mom and dad also flew down here with my sisters and my brother-in-law and his wife were here from Myton Utah and father-in-law from Houston was here to also be with us.

Christmas at the Odells

2010-01-11T13:23:00.003-06:00

So for this year we had a VERY busy Christmas time. We had Brad's family in town for Christmas and that was fun to enjoy Christmas with them. It made it feel a little more like Christmas. Here are a few pictures of our festivities.

For you non-believers, Santa does bring what you ask for! We had a WHITE CHRISTMAS. It has been years since I've had a white christmas. The best part is that it was melted by the next morning and I could go out and drive and not slip all over.
Here is Claire on Christmas morning. Clearly pleased with what she got.

Here is Wesley on top of the presents with his hands in their normal place (by his face).

This what Santa left under the tree for us. He was VERY good to us this year (as always) This was Christmas Eve, we read the Christmas story and acted it out, hoping Claire could understand it a little better.

Good Bye 2009 Hello 2010

2010-01-08T16:33:00.004-06:00

For those of you who read our blog, I am sorry it has been forever!! I feel like I have been on cruise control since we moved here to Dallas stopping only to sleep (which is rare now a days). Since August we have bought and moved to our first home, Brad started a new job, Claire started a new school, Claire's birthday, from the middle of October to the middle of November, I was in and out of doctors offices two to three times a week, Wesley was born on the 13th of November, Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, many house guests, New Years, blessing Wesley and now finally on the 8th of January, I am hopeing to get off cruise control and find some sort of a routine, if thats possible with a new baby.

With all that said, I want to take a minute to look back at 2009. 2009 was a huge year for us! It was full of trials and full of many blessings. At the beginning of the year we found out, after being told the likelyhood of us having another baby was slim to none, and lots of prayers that we were expecting our sweet Wesley. Soon after finding out about our pregnancy we were informed that because of the economy Brads job was being postponed until the new year. That left us without a job and expecting a new baby and at that point looked like I was going to need a lot of special attention throughout the pregnancy. But as always we were blessed with a new Job here in Dallas and a very attentive doctor in Lubbock. When Brad found out about his position we were in a hurry to find a home that we could move into before he began his job. We were successful in our search for our new home that we love! We moved here in August and I was about 27 weeks pregnant and thought everything was going swimmingly. I happen to come across a doctor on the internet that I just ramdonly called to make an appointment with (for when we moved out to Rockwall). I went in with the theory that if I didn't like him, I would just change. Now that all is said and done, I am true believer that the Lord has his hand in everything. Little did I know that the doctor that I randomly chose was one of the best in the Dallas area and rarely accepted new patients. He was very attentive and when the unfortunate came up (which was Wesley stopped getting any nutrition), he new just what to do. He sent me to a high risk ob (who told me that my baby could possibly have down syndrom and has a higher risk for a still born) he watched the growth of Wesley as did my normal ob. At about 36 weeks my doctor said we will take this baby at 38 weeks because he just isn't the right size and needs to come out. After Welsey decided to turn at the last moment, so we has side ways, my doctor decided that c-section was the best way to go mostly because he didn't know if Wesley would take labor very well. In the operating room my doctor said he made right choice because Welsey not only had a true knot in his cord, his cord was wrapped around his neck twice which would have likely strangled him during birth. I am truely blessed for the doctor I went to!

Anyway, Claire started her first preschool which she has absolutly loves! She also has loves having a little brother who she can hold and love! Brad started his new job with his Law firm that he has also enjoyed very much. They are a wonderful firm who has been very good to work around a new baby and all that went with that and the pregnancy. After a long 9 months we welcomed our sweet Wesley in November and he has been nothing but a wonderful addition to the family. As with all things 2009 had its ups and downs but we loved 2009 and we are excited to see what happens in 2010.

Happy New Year

New Pictures

2009-12-04T10:31:00.002-06:00

So I promised my sister some more pictures of our Wesley. I have to say that I am thankful for blogs so that my all my family in Utah can see our sweet little guy! And can I say he is getting so big SO fast. 2 weeks ago he weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces and now he is 6 pounds 9 ounces? WHAT???

This was his first bath. He LOVES the bath. I was surprised because Claire hated the bath for at least a month. This little guy would sit in that thing and be bathed all day if I let him.
My sweet niece, Mikayla made him this blanket and hat for him and I had to get a picture for her before he grew out of the hat.

So these next pictures I absolutly LOVE. My friend took some for me when Wesley was 5 days old. Are they not the cutest?

Introducing Mr. Wesley

2009-11-18T15:01:00.002-06:00

Yeah, he was born last Friday but I haven't been exactly what I would call up on my feet yet. After a c-section it has been a little harder than I had expected. But for those who haven't seen him, here he is weighing in at a heavy weight of 5lb 2ounces and 19inches. He is a very mild mannered sweet baby with an amazing older sister who would do anything and everything for him. There will be more pictures to come soon!! I wanted to thank you for all those who have been so helpful through this pregnancy. We couldn't have done it without you!

Baby Boy Odell

2009-11-03T16:49:00.002-06:00

Our Baby Boy (his name is yet to be decided for sure) will be here next Friday!

Claire's Party with Family

2009-11-02T11:41:00.005-06:00

It is that time again, time to celebrate our sweet Claire's birthday. We love having Claire in our family she is a joy to be around and blessing to be part of our famiy!! I am truely one of the luckiest people around because I get to watch her grow and become the person that she is becoming. We love you Claire and Happy Birthday!

I LOVE this picture. They made her a crown and celebrated her birthday at school and I think that made her entire year.

So a few weeks before CLaire's Birthday we started talking about what she wanted to do etc. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she answered much to my suprise she wanted a "Castle Cake". I of course thought it was a phase and that she would be done with that idea soon and then we could really talk about what we would do. But never the less, she still insisted on the castle cake. So I had to do some research, and this was what came out of my research.

She absolutly LOVED her cake!! In fact that night when I was putting her to bed, I asked, "How was your day and what was your favorite part?" I thought for sure the answer would be something like the presents she got. But to my surprise, she answered "The cake was my favorite part!" That right there made it all worth it!!!

Here she is opening her presents.

This is Claire showing off all the fun people and presents she got (Brad's and mine were on the floor. They were just clothes so nothing too exciting).

We had all Brads family here. Uncle Todd came from Utah and Grandma and Grandpa came from Houston. Thanks for coming to celebrate!

Carving Pumpkins

2009-11-02T11:21:00.006-06:00

It is carving time here at the Odell's house. We did it the day before Claire's birthday so that we could have Uncle Todd there to help with the fun. We are so lucky to have such a fun uncle! He flew in for a visit and for Claire's birthday. Here they are before they start carving the pumpkin.

Who knew Brad could be so violent with such an innocent pumpkin. Ha Ha!!

Here they go. I personally am not a fan of carving pumpkins and never really have been, so it is good they needed a camera person. It is also good that Claire has a dad and an Uncle who are more than willing to get thier hands in there and pull all the pumpkin guts out because between her and I those guts weren't going to make it out.

This was the outcome of our Pumpkin that we carved. Claire thought it was a blast and I know that Brad enjoys doing these things with his little girl.

Happy #5 Claire

2009-11-02T11:06:00.005-06:00

We got to celebrate our sweet Claire's 5 birthday last month. It is so fun as she gets older and really understands what a birthday is (well understands the party and present aspects). She was so excited to have her little girl friends come over and have a party. We started by painting our findernails pink and having "diamonds" put on the top. The diamonds were the best part according to all the girls.

We also made Crowns for the pretty princesses

Lastly we had fun Presents. Thanks Friends!!!

Plano 2009 Balloon Festival

2009-09-21T17:15:00.003-05:00

So this last Saturday we went to this Hot Air Balloon Festivel and can I just say that it was SO cool and So fun. We were invited to go with some people that we met from the ward. It was a lot of fun. I have always wanted to go to a Hot Air Balloon Festivel so when I saw the chance, I took it. Luckily Brad didn't have to go into work, so he got to join us.

This was Claire's favorite balloon. She is making sure that everyone can see it.

The night was filled with fun entertainment, good food...

and fun little friends. These are Claire's friends from school and church. For only knowing each other a short time, they have become good little friends. In fact at school her teachers call the three of them the Sorority. Apperantly they are head of the class and keep everyone on their toes. I was worried that she wasn't making any friends at school, but apparently I was way off.

One of the coolest parts was at night, after it was dark they blew up all the balloons and lite them all at the same time, and this was what it looked like. SUPER cool. Then they topped the night off with some fireworks. Overall a really fun evening!

Another First... First Day of Preschool

2009-09-08T09:30:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it... She started school today. She was SO excited, she has talked nonstop about it since we went to "Meet the Teacher" on Friday. We went yesturday to get her new lunch box and her dad HAD to go. There were no questions asked about that. Then last night as we were driving home from the store, she said,"After this day, you and mom are going to let me go to school."

Here she is standing outside her classroom.

My sister asked me if I cried but no I didn't, I don't know if that makes me a bad mom. It tugged at my heart to see her go and to see that she has grown SO much but she was so excited to go that it was fun to see her get in there and start school.

The sun is in her eyes and she is not a fan. In fact she complained about how I make her look at the sun when taking pictures. Ha Ha.

Another Journey Ends and New one Begins

2009-08-07T09:31:00.003-05:00

Our Journey in Lubbock will end here in two weeks and our New Journey in Fate will begin. We have had WONDERFUL opportunities here in Lubbock. Brad has accomplished a dream of starting and finishing law school, he has had a great job working with an incredible Judge who has been very understanding through some trials that have come up during his time with the Court. We will leave with wonderful memories of Lubbock. We are excited to begin the next chapter of our lives, a new house, a new school for Claire, a new wonderful job, and welcoming a new member of the family. We can't ask for a better new beginning in a new place. We will miss those who have blessed our lives here but look forward to keeping in touch and seeing them in the Future.

Joys of Summer

2009-08-07T09:01:00.003-05:00

I love summer for pure fact of FRESH corn. We had a good friend bring some very yummy FRESH corn on the cob to our house last week (thanks Cory). It just happened to be that there were a few worms in the corn. Here I thought that Claire would hate the worms (much like her mother). But much to my surprise, she LOVED them.

She even wanted to grab them and play with them, name them, and yes have them even sleep in the the same room with her. And yes in fact they did. Warning to those who do this. Don't trust your 4 year old when they say they won't take them out while they are in bed. Poor Brad had to go in and track down the worms in her bed. Ha Ha Ha.
Look at this Happy girl with her little worms, Abby and Sabrina. Yes, named after her two sweet little friends.

In the end we gathered about 5 or 6 worms that became her pets until they died, much to her dismay. But a good teaching moment that Brad took and a few tears. But don't worry, Cory said he would be happy to find her some more if she needed.

The FREG Vacation 2009

2009-07-24T15:15:00.008-05:00

The FGEG Vacation 2009

Last weekend was one of my Favorites of the year. I get to meet my sisters and mom some place and we have no kids or husbands, we call it our Frost Girls Estrogen Getaway or otherwise known as FGEG. I can always count on that weekend being the one of funnest of the year. This year was little different because we actually had to all Fly to get there. We met each other in San Antonio. And I must say with super good timing, all within 20 min each other. My mom and my sisters were extra good to me this year due to my "special condition", aka pregnancy. I in fact told them that I should stay here for the rest of the pregnancy because I can get anything just by saying so. Example: Breakfast, I would say,"oh I forgot a spoon" and proceed to get up and get it. But by the time I got up, Kara was on her feet and had it. Let's just say Brad doesn't have quite the same reaction that they did (love ya honey).

So everyone asks what we do on these vacations. We do WHATEVER we want. We shop and shop and shop a little more. I have some Pictures that I stole from my sisters blog (thanks Erin) and I will try to explain them the best I can.

This was only at like 10:00 in the morning on the first day and Kara is already out cold. But I would be also if I had just run 12 miles that morning at 5. I was really impressed by her, she is training for a marathon and did all her runs that were on her schedual and still walked all over with us.

This is at the Riverwalk. I am surprised you can't see the sweat dripping from our heads because it was HOT!!!

This is shopping day 1

Shopping day 4

As for Tradition we go to the Melting Pot Every year. It is amazing food and definitly not a place for small children. The dessert is AMAZING. I actually called Brad just after we finished and I think that he thought we were drunk we were laughing a giggling so hard.
You can't go to San Antonio without a little Texas history and that of course is "THE ALAMO!!!" (thats for my sisters). We of course walked there for a little while and upon our arrival, it closed. Oh well we saw it, I explained what little I knew and we moved on to a cold drink and the hotel.

Our last day was Sea World. It was a lot of fun but I would have to say that I was exhausted that day!!!! We only made until about 5ish then we were done. It was mighty HOT. So we went and got dinner, swam in the hotel pool and did our nightly ritual of playing cards and laughing.
I think that the one rule the person telling us what to do and what not to do with the birds didn't tell us or my sisters didn't listen to was to crush your cup when all the nectar was gone because my sisters nectar was gone but they continued to get birds all over them.

I am not sure why she wasn't laughing because every time a bird landed her there a bit of a gasp and then a giggle. Maybe it was the fact that she got pooped on. Tee Hee Hee!

I wish I had a picture of my mom because she loves to feed the birds and the fact that she has 4 or 5 birds on her at the same time didn't even phase her. She just smiled and walked through.

Well I can't wait for next year to come. I love coming home to my family because I do miss them a lot, but the few days after arriving back home, I miss my sisters and mom very much. It is so fun to just giggle and be with them. And I need to send a shout out to my Husband who every year so willingly puts money aside and happliy ushers me out the door when I leave for these vacations. He says I come back a renewed me and renews me as a wife and a mother. And I surely do feel that way when I get back. Love ya Babe

More Exciting News

2009-06-22T13:42:00.003-05:00

So, Brad had a Bankruptcy Conference in Frisco (noth of Dallas) this last weekend at a resort and we made it a little family vacation. Brad obviously had conferences all day Thursday so, I took the time to go out and start the house search since we will be moving there in about 2 months. It was a little scary, I am used to Lubbock roads a.k.a. NO TRAFFIC. Let me just tell you, it is going to be an adjustment! Brad is going to love his morning commute (not really(; tee hee hee). Anyway, after two long HOT days of searching, we found the one and we LOVE it. It is just the right size for our little family. So here are some pictures or our house. The best part is, is we are more than doubling in size. YAHOO!!! Not sure how we will fill it, so it will will be empty for a while but we love it any way. So here are some pictures enjoy!!!

Surpirse!!

2009-06-02T08:57:00.002-05:00

So after waking up yesturday to yet another possible complication in this pregnancy, My Doctor wanted an extensive ultrasound. So to my surprise, I was at another ultrasound yesturday afternoon. I enter in the room to the utrasound tech telling me they don't tell us anything in these kinds of ultrasounds. So, here I thought it was going to be a long silent ultrasound. I am not going to lie, I was a little worried when she said that. She would not let me hear anything or see the monitor. So... after she looked around for about 7 min or so, she turned on the sound for me to listen to a very healthy heart beat and then she turned the monitor for me to see the baby. It was the longest ultrasound I have ever been in (and trust me, I have had a lot of them lately). It was probably a good 40 min of looking around but she covered everything to be covered.
I went into the ultrasound with the possibility of maybe finding out what the baby was but also with knowing that I am pretty early to find out what this little one is. So I went in with my hopes not too high. But to my surprise about 20 min in she says,"Do you want to know what you are having?" and when she said that, I was little sad because Brad and Claire weren't there with me to hear the news. But being the impatient one that I am I said yes. So......... (drum roll please....)

We are adding a BOY to the family. IT'S A BOY!!!!!! We were all very surprised to hear the news because we all kind of thought it was a girl. But we are very happy with this new addition. It will be fun to see the difference from girl to boy. But I left the ultrasound only knowing it had a healthy heartbeat and it was boy, other than that I new nothing. But about 2 hours later my doctor called telling me that everything looked as it should. That they could see heart function and everything that was looked at during the ultrasound, looked great. Nothing to be concerned about. So, I am happy to report all is well here. I am so blessed that eveything is being taken care of and truely believe that we are being watched over. I am truely blessed!!!! I can't wait to see me little boy.

Baby Odell

2009-05-13T09:38:00.004-05:00

I think that a good portion of everyone knows that we are having our second baby. After a few complications, it was a little hard to hide. But we were pleasantly surprised considering in October we were told we would never have any more children naturally. But thanks to some very talented and attentive doctors we have become pregnant and have had a successful pregnancy so far. I have been really lucky. Since changing doctors, we have had about 5 or 6 ultrasounds. It has been fun to hear and see that sweet baby. It is fun to see the change from week to week. Claire is so exciting and keeps asking when it will come out. It is going to be a long 6 months for her! But has been fun to see her excited. I also wanted to thank all those that have been so supportive in the scariest times of this pregnancy and also since the beginning. We are so excited to add to the family. We have been waiting for this day for 3 years. Any who hope all is well!!! And also I got a camera so you should be hearing from me more often.

I am a terrible blogger

2009-02-24T10:41:00.003-06:00

Just in case you were all wondering, we are still alive. I would post pictures but my camera broke (tear) and since I am broke (ha ha), I can't go buy a new one. Anyway, we are doing well. It seems like every time I turn around, it is a new month and that means it is getting closer and closer that we move to Dallas. We started our home search about two weeks ago. We thought we had "the place" but sadly we didn't. We did however find the City we want to live in. As of this moment it looks like we the Odell Clan will be moving to Fate/Rockwall area. We are so excited for our new journey. I can't believe we are only about five and half months from moving. I am excited to get out there. But I have been thinking lately how sad it is going to be to move from here. Now, I am not going to lie I was sad last year when almost all our friends that we started Law School with moved and we stayed here. I was so ready to go last year. But this has been a wonderful experience for Brad to work here. And we got to stay in our awesome ward and stay here with our sweet friends who we will be leaving here soon. It will be sad to leave our Lubbock Journey behind but exciting to begin our Dallas one. Any way that is our update and we will keep you posted on what we are up to.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T22:06:00.002-06:00

I am copying my sister on this post I just thought that it was really good. So sorry Erin for copying you. 2008 was a Great year for us. We had many good thing happen to us but also some trials as well. But with those trials we hope to grow from and become better. But onto the good things. We recieved a Job Offer from a wonderful Law firm to be part of and also a wonderful job with a Judge here in town, Brad graduated from Law School (YEAH!!), and I think best of all, He passed the bar. What a wonderful blessing for all those things to happen. Claire has grown up so much. The difference between 3 and 4 has the biggest I think. She has become very independant (with a little encouragment). She is like a little adult (she thinks). It is hard to be a little kid when all you have around is adults. She is a sweet little thing and is soaking as much of life and information she can. Her favorite thing right is definitly the dog. They play and play until they wear themselves out. It is kind of nice. As for me, it has kind of just been the same. I did get a night job but besides that I am enjoying my calling at church but especially being a wife and mommy.
We have enjoyed 2008 very much and the excitement that we had, but we are looking forward to 2009 and the joys that will come with it. We are anticipating our move east to Dallas but also trying to enjoy our time left here in Lubbock with our good friends before our life moves on to new adventures. We hope that all of you and your families are well and have a VERY Happy New year and wonderful 2009.
Good Bye 2008 and Welcome 2009.

Merry Early Christmas to Me

2008-12-21T17:00:00.004-06:00

So I received a very sweet gift that I have been begging Brad for a very long time for. Here he is. Kirby!

He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle Mix) They are those Hyperallergenic dogs A.K.A. doesn't shed (which makes me very happy). He is very well tempered and a good Dog. Today only day 2 he's only had 1 accident all day! Any way CLaire loves him and loves to be chased by him. I think that Brad is still thinking that he was crazy for actually buying another dog. But I think that he will come around. Kirby likes him a lot so the love should become mutual one day.

"We Wish you a Merry Christmas" Sung by Claire

2008-12-02T16:59:00.003-06:00

So, I thought this was the cutest thing ever. Claire was putting some Candy Canes on the Christmas Tree this afternoon while singing "We Wish you a Merry Christmas." It is so sweet.

Annual Gingerbread House Decorating

2008-12-02T16:41:00.005-06:00

So, I can't call it Annual yet but I would like to make it that way. Claire had blast. We had some friends come over and had dinner and decorated. We made a night of it. I don't know if there was as much candy on the house then the kids got in the their stomachs but I do know that they had a great time. If fact that was the first place Claire went this morning was to look at her house she made. I had never done one before, but I learned that Brad did all that time growing up...the things you learn six and half years later.

He is A Real Attorney

2008-12-02T16:27:00.003-06:00

He told me not write a Big thing about him so I thought I would just post to a couple of pictures of his BIG day. It will please both of us.

HE DID IT!!!!!

2008-11-06T16:04:00.001-06:00

Just a short little note, He did it!!!! I am married to a liscensed (well not yet but soon) attorney. He passed the bar. Good job Brad I love and I am so proud of you!!!!

Happy Birthday Claire

2008-10-30T15:44:00.000-05:00

So, I really wanted to post some pictures of Claire on her birthday from the time she was born until now. But I totally forgot (having surgery can really set someone back). So sorry it is late, but we LOVE our sweet Claire. She is truly a blessing in our home. She is a social little thing and wants to please everyone! She has a wonderful relationship with her daddy that is such a joy to watch. I am indebted to my Heavenly Father for trusting my with such a sweet spirit. My life is truely better because she is in it.

We love you Claire!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Claire!

2008-10-19T12:26:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th Birthday Claire!! We had some things happening
next week on her real birthday so we decided to celebrate a week early. We are so blessed to have such a sweet happy spirit in our home. She is truely a gift to us.

Here she is a little before the festivities. She was ready for the big day. She kept saying, "Mom, let's this party started."

Claire really wanted to have a Princess cake. So with a little help from a friend, we were very successful. We were very pleased with the outcome of her cake. She and her friends loved it. Claire wanted to eat her head but I told her it probably wouldn't too yummy.

We played pin the Glass Slipper on Cinderellas foot. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, but I don't think that they got the whole concept of the game. But it was fun anyway.

These are the sweet friends who came and celebrated with us. Claire had so much fun!! Thanks to all you who came. I know Claire was very happy.

First Odell Camping Trip

2008-10-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

We went camping at Buffalo Spring Lake for our first time as a family. We had such a good time!! We went with some good friends of ours just over night. We packed up at about 5pm Friday and came home at about 11 on Saturday. We all decided that next time we stay a little longer because it was a lot of work for only one night. But it was fun. The kids had a blast. I tried to not be too paranoid with the Claire right by lake and then the fire later that night. The weather was wonderful, cold enough for a fire but warm enough for no sleeping bags. Thanks Mills for a good time.

Shallow Water Corn Maze

2008-10-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

Claire and I went to the corn maze and the pumpkin

patch with some friends of ours up in Shallowater Texas. It was a lot fun Claire really enjoyed the barrell ride through the corn maze and then going out to the pumpkin patch on a hayride and picking out two pumpkins. It was fun to watch her explore through the pumpkin patch. She and her other half (Joshua) had a great time.

Idalou Apple Butter Fest

2008-09-26T15:50:00.000-05:00

We had a fun weekend last weekend and went to the Idalou Apple Butter Fest. It was so fun. We we were able to pick some apples. Claire and I made some apple sauce and then we dried the rest. Both turned out really good. It was a lot of fun Claire thought picking the apples off the tree was a lot fun. We also enjoyed a hay ride and a little petting zoo.

I made her wear her overalls because we were going to the farm. She has a strong dislike for her overalls, but she looked so cute. I didn't give her much of choice about wearing them.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2008-09-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

So it was been raining since early this morning and has yet to stop. When you live in Lubbock that isn't really a good thing. When it rains too much the water just sits on the roads. Scary. But, Brad thought that it was time to take advantage of the rain and take Claire out to play in it. And like all children she loved it. She just giggled as Brad was sliding on his belly across the grass and when the two of them jumped in the puddles that were probably 1/4 of the way up her shin. But here are some pictures. Enjoy!!

Vacations

2008-09-08T13:16:00.000-05:00

Hey there everyone, it has been forever since I have posted and I am sorry it has been a bit crazy. We have been traveling quite a bit and I will try to tell you what we have been doing without writing a novel.

In the middle of August, I had the pleasure of meeting my Mom and my sisters up in Utah for our anual girls weekend (thanks to all those who watched Claire). I was gone about 6 days and it was SO relaxing and it was a blast!! We went shopping and then we stayed in our condo played games watched chick flicks and ate way too much. But while I was gone, Claire and Brad stayed here and had a bit of fun of their own. It was great daddy and CLaire time. I know that CLaire had a blast. I would call and she would tell me they went to have pizza and that dad painted her toe and finger nails. (Which I was very proud of Brad for.) I think best of all, they had a camping trip in the living room. They set up the tent and they watched a movie and slept in it. I know that Claire LOVED it. It was nice to call home and find that they were truely enjoying themselves and that I was missed so much ;).

Then, the weekend after I came home Brad took off to Chicago for the weekend to meet his Dad brother and cousin (his cousin he hadn't seen in like 15 years). They met up had a really nice dinner at a steak house and then caught a Cubs game at Riggly's Stadium. Brad said they had such a good time.

Then lastly, the Friday after that, we drove to Salt Lake dropped Claire off at our families and then we took off to Washington D.C. for our Anniversary, Graduation, and finishing the Bar trip. It was so fun. We stayed with a really good friend from college who is living out there. It was so fun to see her and spend time with her and her husband. It was nice to get to know him a little better. But it was so nice to just be together Brad and I. We got to hold hands, talk, and laugh without worrying about anything. We didn't have to worry about Claire being bored and comfortable, we didn't have to worry about a new semester appoaching and best of all we got to celebrate our sixth year of being together. The best six years of my life. We had So much fun. Here are a few pictures. Thanks again for those that took such good care of Claire. I know that she had a good time being with Grandma and Papa and cousins and Aunts and Uncles.

The First place the Senate met

Lincoln Memorial

Arlington Cemetary. This was cool place to go

because it makes you realize how many people have dies for our freedom.

Ours friends and us at the Washington DC temple.

It was so Beautiful.

Jakers

2008-07-27T21:15:00.000-05:00

So this is mostly a post so that I can remember this story for forever. You can read if you want because I think it is so sweet. But I bought these little animal kits from Michael's like 2 months ago thinking that it would be fun to make with Claire. Then the other day Claire found them and was begging to make this kit that was a mouse. So yesturday afternoon we made it. We glued him together and we had a mouse. He is the size of something to fit in your palm. But she plays with all afternoon. Carries him everywhere. We named him Jakers. Bed time rolls around and she makes a bed for him out of tupperware and piece of toilet paper. They went to sleep together and the first thing in her hand that morning was Jakers. We get ready for church and she wanted to bring him with us but you know as we hurry out the door to make church on time we forget him. We pull into church and she says (in tears), "Oh no Mom, Jakers is at home and we forgot him lets go home and get him." I said no we will get him when we get home. Church ends and we are getting ready to leave and she says very worried, "Mom Jakers is crying and we NEED to hurry home and get him." We get in the house she grabs him and was like oh he is happy again. So, we were invited to a friends for dinner and we HAD to bring Jakers. In the mist of playing with friends and what not we loose him. We search hi and low. But we thought that she would forget and that would be it. I just told Brad don't say his name and we will be fine until he is found. Then sure enough in tears we get home and she says, "oh no Jakers I miss him and I love him. He is gone forever." Brad said he isn't he will back soon. SHe cried and cried, "I miss him I want him." Brad happen to draw a picture at church of Jakers and she went to bed with the picture crying every time she looked at him. "Oh mom I love him and miss him he is gone forever." Then (thank you Kim) called not 10 min after she went to bed and said if you need him you can come get him. Sure enough Brad is in the car on his way over (what we do for our kids). But Brad came in with Jakers and it was if they hadn't seen each other in years she was thrilled.

But can I tell it broke my heart every time she looked at that picture and started to cray. She just held it over her head and said, "oh Jakers." To have a heart as tender as a childs is a goal we should all have. It is a reminder to all of us to be as little children are.

Batter's Up!

2008-07-17T20:23:00.001-05:00

We all had a baseball game and it was so fun. Claire thinks that it is fabulous if the bat and ball touch each other.

She must have the Odell/Brandel blood in her. Brad's cousins played softball.

Trust me when I say that Brad likes that she loves to play

She actually hit the ball. I have never seen her hit it before. She was so proud of herself. The best part is that if one of us hits it, she is just as proud of us as she is herself.

(you would never know that she

has small bit of Pneumonia would you).

We made Brownies the other day, and who can make those wonderful things without eating the batter. I know that Claire and I can't. She hears the beater go on and she comes running. She

unfortunately gets that from me. Hopefully thats the only bad habit she gets from me.

Happy 4th

2008-07-07T11:10:00.001-05:00

This was the first Fourth of July that we spent here with our Friends. It seems like the others we were either out of town or Claire was too little to be interested In fact last year, she hated the fireworks because they were too loud. This year was a totally different story. She loved everything we did that day.

We started our day with 4th on Broadway,which is the parade here in town.

There was the obligitory car with the beauty Queens and there runners up in the parade, and Claire saw them and couldn't take her eyes off of them.

She loved that part and the horses. It was even better because we were on the curb of the road so she could see them so well.

After the Parade, there was a Street Fair and a Kid Zone. We couldn't leave without going there!

After we went to a friends for a Barbeque and then to watch fireworks. We didn't get home until about 11 (which is WAY past her bedtime) and this is how she walked in the door later that night.

Crazy Busy Life

2008-06-21T19:41:00.000-05:00

So sorry to all those that look at our blog. I have been a terrible blogger and I won't try to hide it. For some reason, I feel like life has been so busy. Since graduation it seems to have not stopped. Brad has been busy preparing for his "small quiz" coming the end of July. Once that is over, life for him will settle down. It will be nice for him to have a normal life again just working. It will be different considering we have never just done work. It seems like since we were married one or both os us has gone to school and worked full time (at least until we moved here). But I think Law School can be considered both working full time and school full time.
As for me, I was called to be the Young Womens Camp Director and that seemed to take over my life. But I am not complaining, I will take the blessing wherever they come from. I always heard that being a camp director was a busy job, I guess I never realized how busy. But I won't complain. I have throughly enjoyed working with the girls. Camp was this week and I got home yesturday. It was so fun to go up into the mountains and just spend time building relationships with the young women. It was also nice to get away from normal day life. It is nice to go away and be missed by Claire and Brad. I forget what girls camp is like. It is so good for those girls to go away from the cares of the world and be surrounded by good girls and good adults. It was a blast. I am exhausted, I am not used to going to bed between 1 and 2 in the morning and waking up at 8 and going ALL day. Now that I am done planning camp for this year, I can begin to concentrate more on my recent calling which was to be the 2nd Counselor in the Young Womens Presidency and also my family again.
We put Claire in a dance class recently and I thought it was going to be so fun for her because she loves to dance. We show up for her first class (which she was thrilled about going to) and all she does is cry and would not let go of my leg in fear her life depended on it. But we went again today and it was a like she did a 180. She loved it and thrived in it. There are some pictures below that I think are SO cute. Any way things here are good. Now I would promise to be better at blogging, but I can't make that promise considering my history.