What a Saturday

Last week Stephen left for Brazil. It was sad to see him go, but it was fun having the family together again. We all went out for dinner and Tyler and I decided to give Alex a lemon slice to see her expression. Alex ate that thing like an orange slice, all the way to the rind without a blink of an eye. I think she will fit in just fine back at the Brady's.
Night before Stephen flew to Brazillian MTC

Saturday we went canoeing! Alex was a big help in putting the canoe up on the car.



Alex and Ashes are very good friends, it's so cute watching them play together.

Unbeknown st to everyone else, I arranged this picture so I would look like I was the tallest with the camera angle and such. Didn't quite work out, but normally I am pathetically small compared to my husband and "little" brother.

Alex just wanted to be IN the water the whole time. We went swimming last week and she LOVED it. So Tyler let her walk out as far as she wanted, and she got about to her armpits before she started rethinking it. crazy kid.

After about 5 minutes, the only way we could keep Alex in the canoe, was by letting her drag her hand in the water. (I had a secure hold on her legs and lifejacket the entire time).

Saturday we also had a Pioneer breakfast to celebrate Pioneer day. I dressed Alex up like a pioneer and she got to ride in a handcart in the "parade" at the church parking lot.
You can kind of see her adorable braids here. I have found that by watching the African Alphabet song on Youtube with Alex on my lap, that she hold still barely long enough for me to put 2 little braids in her hair.


Alex really loves dogs. This one was at the parade and she loved it until it was in her lap. Saturday we also went to visit our friends with the great dane and the rat terrier. She could barely duck and walk under the great dane who was probably 2 feet taller than her, and the terrier kept jumping up on her back. She was so brave and didn't mind at all being accosted by those 2 dogs as well as Ashes. The rest of the night Alex walked around trying to catch the terrier. It would let her get close enough to "grab" it's back and then scamper a few steps ahead. It was hilarious. That dog was about the size of her stuffed animals so she was just enamored with it.

Best Wedding Entrance EVER

I showed this to my family last night. At that point it had been watched just over 2 million times. Right now, as I post this, it has been watched over 4,700,000 times. And only about 15 of those are mine.




After watching this. I realize we did our wedding, all wrong.

Also, Tyler, Alex and I all have certificates indicating that our names will be among those sent on a rover to Mars in 2011. To send yours, click here.... MARS

patty cake

I had a really great long clip, but it won't load. Here is a teaser until I get the real thing up!

If you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you're lucky enough.

(me on Mariah's horse chica)

Pretty much the whole family (about 40 of us) decided to gather at my grandparents house for the 4th of July. It was so much fun seeing everyone and playing baseball, volleyball and watching the kids play. The time went by so fast! The week after the 4th my Aunt Kathy, cousins Rachel, Bethany, Mariah and I went on a wagon trek put on by one of Grandpa’s friends.
There is no way I will ever be able to describe the simple amaizingness and fun that this trip was. No one except perhaps my Aunt Kathy (who was my partner in all of this) will ever understand the wonder and beauty. Therefore I will not even try to describe the whole thing and stick to the facts so you can get to the end of this marathon post.

Day 1: A bunch of us drove a few hours into the middle of nowhere Wyoming on dirt roads until we finally found camp 1. That night there was a special “banquet” at a nearby (crazy in the middle of nowhere) lodge in honor of my grandpa. We had a great meal followed by games and then we split into our cabins for a cozy nights sleep.

Day 2: Aunt Kathy, cousins Bethany, Rachel, Mariah and I all joined up with the wagon train for a week of fun while the rest went fishing and back to Grandpa's house. Kathy, Rachel and I weren't to keen on the horse idea so we took our trusty metal stallions instead.

(The brave women in a "before" shot. Notice how pale I am.)

The first day was beautiful. We were up in the mountains and the temperature was perfect. There were lakes and trees and flowers everywhere. The only problem was that it was all up and downhill. I've been trying to get into shape and I love riding my bike, but I was ill prepared for the steep hills and did a lot of walking the first 6 miles. The last 6 miles were ALL downhill and we couldn't have spent more than 30 minutes getting from our lunch spot at the top to our campsite at the bottom.

(Rachel and I enjoying the downhill)

There were 4 main groups.

The wagons: 4 wagon teams brought by people who spend their vacations driving their horses and wagons to places like this and then going on trips with other wagon enthusiasts.
The horses: people from all over who either brought their own horses or rented some from the
Hampton's, and rode the whole way. They were all horse enthusiasts.

The cowboys: The Hampton's own a ranch and so they brought a lot of their hired help and cousins to come shuttle trucks, cook and just help out.

The bikers: Us. People there for the outdoors and camping but not so much the horses.

Here are a couple shots from my tent the first day. The colors were just amazing everywhere, we could have taken a picture every step of the way and had fantastic scenery in each one.

(view of camp 1)

Tuesday night there was a big thunderstorm that came in and so everyone was huddled under the big tent. This gave us all a chance to get to know each other and I think the friends I made that night really made the rest of the trip. My personal favorite was Kathy the postal worker, she was about 60 years old and just went around living her dreams. At that moment it was to learn how to ride a horse and and use a lasso. We had a great meal of steak and potatoes which was wonderful after the 13 miles we rode that day.

(one of the few pictures of us both, thanks to photoshop)

Day 3: Woke up at about 6am then ate eggs and ham for breakfast. The biking on this 9 miles was great. Kathy and I would always leave before everyone else so the bikes wouldn't spook the horses. We made it pretty far before the trucks caught up, and ended up getting to the campsite at the same time as them due to some road troubles. Instead of sitting around the rest of the day we decided to go explore. We climbed around and goofed off and then got back to camp a few hours later when the horses started to arrive.

That night some of the cowboys where messing around and teaching roping, they knew all sorts of tricks and were fun to watch. It was really windy that night but somehow I slept better alone in that tent than the last 16 months in a bedroom with Alex. Of course we had steak for dinner.

(Me and Sam (grandpa's friend) and the trail boss of the whole thing)
Day 4: Woke up at about 5:30 when all the wagon people got up. Had steak, ham and french toast for breakfast. We weren't sure we would be able to make it into the hole in the wall after all the rain. There had been a lot of storm and the roads kept getting washed out. The night before a grader had gone in to fix the road for us, but it was still pretty rocky. I was very glad to be on a bike this day because the hills were insanely steep which would have terrified me on a horse, and the roads were in terrible condition which would have sucked in a wagon. This was by far the most beautiful day. We were riding along 'the wall' the entire time. We rode along side a herd of antelope for about 50 yards, and had multiple run ins with cows.



These long horns (and about 15 more) were standing in the middle of the road when we rode up. I'm not afraid of cows, but when you are in the middle of nowhere on a bike and those things are staring you down, you get a bit nervous. Luckily a truck drove up in the nick of time and herded all but these 3 away. It was a moment where you wanted to take a picture of the beautiful things, but at the same time didn't dare put your guard down or move at all.

Here is a shot from camp the last day looking toward the hole.

So let me clear something up about the "Hole in the Wall". The real Butch Cassidy hole in the wall is in Wyoming where we went, not in Utah. The red cliffs that run for about 23 miles are called "the wall" and the only place you could get trough to the top of the wall was "the hole" therefore the hole in the wall isn't really amazing at all, just a significant place in history where Butch Cassidy and his gang lived for a bit and would hide from the cops.

(Cousins and such at the wall. Notice how my tan face blends in with the rocks. The arrow is pointing a bit left of the actual hole)

We got to camp around noon and offered to help set things up but Sam refused to let us help and instead threw a couple sleeping mats under a tree in a small ravine and told us to take a nap. We did. We woke up just in time to catch the wagons rolling into camp and ran down the hill to hitch a ride. Once everyone got settled we decided to set up our tents, but before we did Grandpa, Uncle Mark and all the cousins showed us, a day early!!!! We were pretty sad that they were there, we didn't want to leave. I think they were a bit surprised because they figured we would be DYING to get home and run to the car. We convinced them we had to go climb the hole first and so everyone but grandpa came along.

(cousin Mariah and I)

It was quite the climb to get to the top, but the view was one of the best i'd ever seen.

(This is what we climbed up)

(Aunt Kathy and I)


It took a bit of begging and promising, but Grandpa let us stay for dinner so I was able to get a picture of the whole group. No one really wanted to move, so it took some prodding just to get them all gathered together. I didn't have the guts to tell them to all go stand somewhere completely different, so the faces are a bit dark.

These were some of the people I got to know the best. Since we had so much down time where there was nothing much to do but talk, I sat down and pried all the crazy stories out of just about everyone, and learned all about catfish fishing, nascar, the postal service, trapping bobcats and mountain lions, wagons, draft horses and their harnesses, and Alaskan fishing boats.

(Mariah and I by the "hole")

(Kathy and I hanging out in the wagon)

(One of the 4 wagons)

I think this was the highlight of the trip for Kathy. One of the greatest things about riding our bikes, was we were right there in nature. We got closer to deer and antelope than you would be able to on a horse, wagon, or car, we were just right there. Well, while riding along we saw a handful of these little dung beetles. They were all over the place rolling up little balls of manure and going who knows where with them. There were usually 2 to a ball, and they were just rolling them along. It was such an odd site and so humorous.

We drove back to Grandpa's house that night and enjoyed a nice hot shower. It was sort of sad to leave all the great people and the simple trouble free life. I was very excited to see my family though, and although Alex didn't really recognize me at first, she has since warmed up to me. The toughest part was going from taking care of only myself and doing whatever I wanted, when I wanted, to being a full time mom and wife again. It was a great experience that I would love to take my family on sometime, I got a lot time to think and ponder and figure out the truly important things in life. In all we rode our bikes 34 miles in 3 days.

Sam Hampton ( they guy who set it all up) had quite an interesting mother. They are making a documentary about here and you can check it out at www.wandathewonderful.com the headline is "she had 4 husbands, but only shot one of them". Sam is actually interviewed in the trailer, and we got to hear all his stories about her first hand.

Transformers: A Warning

Tyler and I went to the movie Transformers last week. We were so disturbed by it that upon my mothers prompting, I decided to write a letter to the editor of our paper. Here it is. I know I probably sound like some crazy christian fanatic, but this is what I think, so be it.

I would like to forewarn all the parents who might fall into the Hollywood trap of ‘Transformers Revenge of the Fallen’. I realize that the PG-13 rating should be a somewhat of a red flag, but I believe most people will still be caught unawares, as my husband and I were, in assuming that the sequel would be comparable to the first: action packed with perhaps a few off color remarks or a bit of bad language. That was a gross underestimation, however. This movie proved to be far more offensive than we could have imagined.
Any place where they could fit in sexual innuendo (or worse), they did. The sexual overtones of this movie are so blatant that any 5 year old might blush at the disgusting and inappropriate humor that was perhaps the theme of this movie.
Hollywood is luring in audiences with the false pretense that the sequel will be similar to the first. There is, however, nothing redeeming about this sequel and I’m sickened at the thought of thousands of parents taking their children to this film with the idea that they are just going to see another action movie this summer.
I don’t imagine Hasbro markets their Transformer toys to adults and so I cannot help but think that they are intentionally trying to suck children of all ages into the theatre for the sole purpose of exposing them to adult themes and images. It’s like making a “Barbie” movie only to portray Barbie as a strung out, drug dealing, prostitute, and making that seem cool.
My husband and I are not old and “out of touch” we are only 24 years old, and yet after 20 minutes of this movie we almost walked out. After being subjected to the other 2 hours we wished we would have. I do not understand why any entertainment company would make a movie based on a children’s story line and then fill it full of lewd sexual behavior, bad language, crass racial stereotypes and disrespect towards adults, I have not even mentioned the ‘over the top’ violence because I figure that is a given. If you are still thinking of letting your child see this film, please check out www.kids/in/line.com first. This and other family friendly websites will walk you through every inappropriate scene, word or suggestion. I do not believe subjecting your children to such immorality is worth any hidden storyline that may be present somewhere in the noise and crashing violence.
Kristen Brady
Billings, Montana

The lawn mower and the rock

There are a few things my father taught me as a child that have really stuck with me through life.

1. Never walk behind a horse.

2. Stay inside when someone is mowing the lawn.

3. Look behind you before casting your fishing line.

He taught me many other things as well, but these 3 come in handy more than you might think.

As a child we were always threatened by what might happen if the lawn mower picked up a rock and flung it while we were playing outside. I spent hours and hours as a kid picking up sticks and toys and rocks off the lawn in preparation for my Dad to mow it.

Well, at 24 years old I finally got a real life demonstration of what exactly a lawn mower and a rock could do.

This is the back of our car. The lawn mower threw a TINY rock through the window and SHATTERED the entire thing. You can't really see it, but the whole window was completely shattered and had to be knocked out so we could drive it to the repair place. I doubt anyone could get the same effect by throwing a rock 3x that size at the window. There was some major force behind that little piece of gravel.

I am grateful that now I have a child, I have been reminded of the importance of staying away from the lawnmower just in time to enjoy a very safe summer. I hope this is a great reminder to everyone.

Oh what do you do in the summertime

I thoroughly enjoy creating things. Lately I've been leaning toward food, because of the instant gratification part. I've made a ton of breads and cookies and savory dinners this summer and really enjoyed my roll as head cook. I have this huge binder where I have accumulated about a million different projects that I want to make, and add to it almost weekly. Here are the projects I've made this week.

I had 9 yards of this fabric laying around and decided to make Alex a skirt and flower. Then she looked so cute that I made a skirt and flower for myself. This is the best picture I could get.

I've been dying to try out this 'Tipsy pot' idea for months and so I finally completed it. It was SO easy and I think it looks great! Now the challenge is to keep the flowers alive, I figure if they die, I can just blame Alex (whose fault it may end up being anyway). The key to the tipsyness of the pots is that there is a rod pounded into the ground. You just thread the pots on at an angle and they stay that way! My original idea was to make it into a herb garden, but I was afraid the chickens would eat them/ afraid I would kill them.

We gave Alex an orange slice a few days ago and she just sat there with it in her mouth like this for about a minute until she reacted to it at all. It was hilarious.

Alex getting ready to brand the cows.

I don't think I ever posted pictures of the Kids Kitchen set we won at the auction so here you go. We actually have 2 of the hutch in the picture. Tyler and I have FINALLY started to fix these up and I am so excited about how they are turning out. I can't wait to post the AFTER pics!