Jewel of Markels Fantasia Ace

This morning I was woken up at 7 am to the news that Julie had been hit by a car during the night and died. We all got up and went across the creek to dig a grave a bury her.
I don't remember especially liking Julie, and I went off to college just a few years after we got her, so I wasn't as close to her as everyone else, but it was still very sad. She was 7 years old and finally to the non-chewing, barking or jumping stage of her life. We had finally taught her not to chew on the lambs ears or attack the chickens or chase the cats. She was better at catching mice than any of the cats, and was very jelous when I brought the baby home.
She was one of the prettiest dog's I have every seen. I already miss her and the way she would sit on your lap if you sat on the ground.
It's funny because Grandpa received her as payment for some veternary work he did. He didn't want the dog and so he gave it to us. Brought it up on Mom's birthday which irked her because she never wanted a dog in the first place. Julie was a purebred Australian Shepard but no matter how many times we tried to breed her, she just wouldnt. Grandpa said she thought she was a human.
She was such a goofball. Yesterday Alexandria and I went out to feed the chickens stale cheerio's. Everytime I would throw a handfull out for the chickens, Julie would walk over, chase the chickens away and search out every single cheerio from the grass and eat it. I think she ate just about the whole box.
Well, Tyler is out in California finally. we have sporadic communication but it sounds like his crew isn't getting the chance to do much, but at least they are out doing something. Yesterday he mentioned that one of his bosses I think, was driving a 4-wheeler to check out the fire, up the steep side of a mountian, and the 4-wheeler rolled on him and broke his shoulder. Then that same day a bulldozer drove off a cliff. I don't have many details about that one.
Alexandria has started using every pitch her voice will allow and will sit and talk to herself for 20 minutes at a time. It is very cute.

The best laid plans of mice and men........

As a preemptive strike against boredom, Alexandria and I decided to come to Billings to visit my family while Tyler is out firefighting. The original plan was to move here as soon as possible, but with Alex's hips and doctor appointments and such we just get to come visit for awhile.
I thought we had it planned perfect, Tyler got home from California after a 2 week work stretch, we had 2 fun days together and then he got sent out right away on another fire, this time in Utah. Alex and I packed up and left, picked up Gwen in Logan and got to Worland Wyoming just in time for a fun 4th of July family reunion. It was great, everything was fun, except that Tyler's fire didn't last.
Now here I am in Billing's with my family, and Tyler is sitting in Provo with his family after a 41/2 day weekend and no fire yet. I was so sure that he was going to be gone on fire for the next 2 weeks that we didn't even think of sticking around just to make sure. Don't get me wrong, I am having a great time in Billing's, but I just know that by the time I return to Utah in a month, Tyler will be long gone. Sigh.
Well, you would think it would be cooler up north but that is not the case, it is so HOT here. Alexandria is having a great time hanging out with her Asay family, and I have realized that I really shouldn't ever play RISK because no matter who I play against, i am a very sore loser.

End of June catch up.

Alexandria is officially done with her harness! We went to the doctor on Thursday and he told us to throw it away and come back for a check up in 6 weeks! It has been so fun to be able to dress Alex up in clothes she hasn't been able to wear yet, and not have to strap her up before bed time. It's like having a whole new baby! The whole experience has sure made me grateful for a lot of things, I have really come to appreciate all the small stuff.

A few weeks ago Kara (Tyler's little sister) got married. It was beautiful and fun and Alex looked so cute in her dress. The day after the wedding Tyler let me give him a mohawk, the next step to him going completly bald and shaving it all off for heat control at work. Not the greatest picture but you get the idea.

Tyler has been in California fighting fires for the last 2 weeks. He left right after Kara's wedding and is coming back today! He will finally get his 2 completely free days off and then leave on Wednesday to go right back to California. Alex and I will leave on that same day and go to Logan where we will pick up Gwen and drive to Montana! I was pretty nervous to travel the whole way by myself and Gwen was so sweet and offered to come along and then fly back home! That is great in itself, but she just got married like a month ago. What a great friend!

Alex is such a tough little kid. Her cute cousins just love her to death and want to play with her all the time, sometimes it gets a little rough, but through it all she hasn't cried a single time.

Kate and I have been hanging out a lot lately and decided to try and make care bears for our kids. I got some pink fur and have been sewing the last few days trying to get it done. I think inhaling all the air born fur clogged my nasal passages and gave me a sinus infection! I'm pretty miserable right now, but darn proud of that bear. The first time I sewed the head on it ended up being almost backwards so i had to undo all my work and redo it only to find out the head is still off center. I am beyond caring at this point. The thing will be lucky to get eyes and a nose.

Alexandria with her cousins

Nicholas and Christian love Alexandria to pieces! Every chance they get they they give her tons of kisses!

Hates pacifier's, loves fingers. and daddy.

Naked babies are the cutest

We took Alexandria to get her pictures taken at kiddie kandids yesterday. She was very cute and making all sorts of adorable faces for half the time. The other half of the time was relentless screaming. Unfortunatly we could only pick one picture, so this is what the Grandma's are getting for Mother's Day!

Tyler came hom for 24 hours on Tuesday afternoon and we had such a great time. The crew then left for New Mexico and upon arrival got shipped off to Arizona. Right now Tyler is sitting 12 miles from the Mexican border. His discription so far is that it is about 4 degrees cooler than the surface of the sun.

A little bit of everything

So it has been quite some time since I posted. Here is a brief catch up of everything that has gone on in the last 6 weeks......

March 17th- Alexandria Kara Brady was born via c-section in Provo Utah
March 18th- Kristen Nicole Brady's birthday
March 20th- leave hospital and immediately miss the remote control bed and limitless supply of cranberry juice. Not to mention the nurses that do just about everything for you. Also my mom came into town this day, just as good if not better than the nurses.
March 20th- 27th- Mom Asay cooks cleans and takes the baby at night while Tyler does school and work, and I try to fend off the feelings of panic and depression that no one bothered to tell me might accompany the dramatic hormonal changes that come with the birth of a baby.
March 30th- Tyler Jacob Brady's birthday
March 31st- Baby's 2 week check up. Everything looks great!
April 7th- precautionary ultrasound on Alexandria's hips- both dislocated
April 8thish- We unofficially move into the Brady's basement where Mom and Dad Brady help out with the baby and take her until 2:30 am the first adjusting days.
April 14th- Tyler starts training for Lone Peak hotshots as a wildland firefighter while trying to study for finals and finish the semester of school. Kristen tries to cope with never sleeping.
April 10th- Alexandria goes to primary children's hospital and gets fitted with her Pavlik Harness.
April 17th- We get accepted as patients at Shriners Hospital in SLC and get an ultrasound there that lets us know Alexandria's hips are in the sockets while she wears the harness and that it is the socket that is underdeveloped, not the leg.
April 26th- We officially move out of our apartment and into the Brady's basement, kicking Kara out of her room and taking over the entire house with baby things.
April 27th- Alexandria Kara Brady's baby blessing- lots of great friends and family come. Baby starts smiling and chattering.
May 1st- Tyler gets shipped off to Southern California to fight the Apache fire. I get my 6 week check up and get the ok to be a normal person again.
May 3rd- Alexandria and I accompany the Brady's to Kara's graduation. Alexandria somehow pees out the side of her diaper and makes a puddle on the bleacher in front of us while we are standing for the National Anthem.
May 4th- Alexandria is crying a lot more but smiling a lot too. She is best friends with the bears on her mobile and smiles and talks to them in the morning and at night.
May 5th- Kara and Devin leave for Bear lake. Tyler still in California. I go to dentist and find out that i actually do have wisdom teeth (i was told as a teenager i did not), 3 of them that need to come out as well as 3 cavities and 3 baby teeth.

So here we are. I was very hesitant to move because I was afraid that living at the Brady's would really make me feel like a knocked up teenager who has to return home and live in the parents basement. But it has been great here! The Brady's have been so nice to me and have really helped out so much with the baby. I am slowly getting used to this huge change and learning a lot! I still haven't gotten the courage to leave her alone while I shower, and if it were not for Susan and Loren I might be a lot smellier than I probably already am.

All in all I've decided that it is better to be a kid in the basement than a hermit in an apartment with cabin fever.