The Minnig Asylum

Please Sir, Can I have S'more?

2009-05-24T22:12:00.013-06:00

Hey all! I know, I am terrible and have not blogged for 2 months. (As Andrea has reminded me.) So here we go with our latest goings on. Wesley's end of year preschool stuff has been keeping us pretty busy lately. They had a field trip to Jerry's Nursery, where they learned about plants and growing things. We now have 2 tomato plants growing in pots outside and have seeded our front flower garden w/ wildflower seeds. So we will see how that turns out.

Then we had his end of year "preschool splash party". Wes was so excited to go swimming. Here are a few shots I got of the kiddos enjoying the water. It was a little breezy but the kids didn't seem to notice one bit.Wes was SO excited that they had a giant water slide. He did not play on any of the other water toys and did this the ENTIRE 2 hours. He was a tired boy when we got home.

Waving to the camera while he waits in line for his next turn.
Wow, he has a gut already!

I love the smile in this picture! He is having so much fun.

Love to watch the kiddos havin' fun, makes it all worth it!

Yes, I know this water is horribly gross looking. She was having so much fun. She stayed here the whole time going down the "slide" over and over and over.

What a cute little bean! I could just squish her!

And finally........Bret was gone working and I have been wanting to make s'mores all weekend.

So we did. The kids loved watcing the marshmellows puff up in the microwave. They weren't quite sure what we were making, but hey when it involves graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmellows what could be wrong with that?

Trinity wasn't quite sure about them at first, but she was diggin it by the end.

She was covered in chocolate. Yum!

Trying to convince Wes to just pick it up and eat it. He was telling me he couldn't cause it would make a mess. Silly boy! He learns too well from his Mommy.

Much better! And Daddy even got home in time to enjoy one also.

It was a yummy Sunday night. I love these kids!

Long time no blog.....

2009-03-04T15:57:00.002-07:00

Hi boys and girls...sorry for my long absence but I will be posting again shortly. We have been having some computer issues in the Minnig asylum the last 3 or 4 weeks. Our laptop's hard drive and then motherboard were toast, so we broke down and got a new desktop. Now that I have a computer again I can post pics of what has been going on lately. (Not to mention our new sweet computer.) Blog to you soon!

Happy Birthday Wesley!

2009-01-25T22:35:00.014-07:00

How do babies go from this......... To this........so fast? Wesley turned 4 years old today, but if you ask him he turned 4 yesterday because thats when we had his party. Silly boy. We had Wes' party at Chuck E. Cheese and let me tell you, that was an adventure. My parents and I got there about 40 minutes before people were supposed to arrive to set up balloons,cake,divide tokens, etc. When we got there we found the last of 2 parking spots left and when we went in the place was PACKED! Between the 3 of us we scouted around and there were NO tables available and I was expecting a party of about 20 people to arrive. Needless to say I was panicking, finally a table for 3 opened up. 3?! At least we could put the cake and party supplies down. Then a few minutes later a booth for 6 a couple of tables down opened up and about 1o minutes later another 6 person booth opened up and now at least we had some room. We hurried and got stuff set up just in time for the birthday boy and guests to show up. All in all it was stressful, but it worked out and the kids had a great time. We were there for 3.5 hours and boy was I glad to get home.

My cute little 4 yr. old

Me and Petie=party animals

Petie riding the rides...she loved this one and rode it about 10 times.

Wesley actually riding the horse. Last time we went he wouldn't go anywhere near this thing. I guess you get braver as you get older, eh?

Wes and his cake. He is starting this new posey thing were he has to wrap his arms around himself to smile for a picture. I don't get it either. Wes picked out his own cake and he was super excited that it was Batman on a motorcycle.

Some of his presents:

Blowing out candles.

I think he now owns EVERY Batman action figure and or vehicle known to man, but he is happy.

He loves his "Aliens Wear Underpants" book......he tells me its silly.

Finally the awesomeness of blue frosting. Ahh. I can't believe that he is 4 but I am so proud of all the things that he is learning. Such a smart little boy. I'm so excited to watch him keep getting bigger and learning more and more. I'm sure in no time he'll be teaching me all sorts of new stuff.

*sidenote* Wesley informed me that when he turned 4 he would eat all of his food and get bigger. Well, maybe when he turns 5 right?

Surgery Day

2009-01-11T22:52:00.012-07:00

Wesley had his tonsils and adenoids removed on Thursday morning. We weren't really sure what to expect but it went better that we thought it would. We got there and they needed to check his blood pressure, oxygen level, listen to his heart, etc. He cried and kicked through all of that and I knew that we were in trouble.....I figured they would have to wrestle him away from me kicking and screaming all the way to the operating room. Then the anesthesiologist came in and offered him a ride in his wagon and wisked him away tear free...I breathed a sigh of relief. The surgery itself only took about a half an hour and about 30 minutes after that we got to go sit with him in a recovery room for another 2.5 hours. All in all not too bad..... Wesley and Mommy waiting to be taken back and checked in.
This was Wes right after surgery. We came into his recovery room to him sitting on a nurses lap just crying and clutching onto his stuffed puppy, which he has named dog. (How original.) He was so upset....I felt pretty bad for him.

He had to have an IV in until just before we left, in case he needed fluids or something to help with nausea. Luckily there was no throwing up, just a bit of crying. He would not relax and go to sleep, and EVERY time he caught sight of his wrapped foot he would just start crying all over again. Needless to say we kept his foot covered with the blanket as much as we could. He cried pretty good too when they unwrapped it and took the IV out. They put some gauze on it and wrapped it up again and told us we could take it off when we got home. Wesley told me we had to leave it on. (I think he was afraid it would hurt to take it off.) And since he had a bandage on his foot he obviously couldn't walk anywhere. Silly boy.

This is us about 30 minutes before we left the surgical center. Yeah I know I look lovely in the glasses, but Wes had pink eye earlier in the month and shared it with Mommy and Petie. That meant no glasses for me for a few days, hurray. Anyway....I love the look on his face in this picture...it just says it all.

Wes about 5 hours after being home from surgery. If you noticed he had to get dressed, he could not stay in his jammies. He also got to have some pudding and right after he finished that he told me he needed some lunch.

Later Grandma and Papa Wellwell came to visit and bring him some prizes. (I accidentally erased some pictures while blogging and am too lazy to put them back.) They brought him a rose and a Joker action figure so that his Batman has a villain to fight with.

This was Wesley the day after surgery....he does just fine. In fact that very same night he was donning his Batman cape and jumping off the stairs, thanks to his medication for giving that extra energy boost. The only real time we have any problems with him hurting is during the night when he goes to long w/out having his pain meds.....that has been a problem once or twice but whaddya do? I'm glad that this whole ordeal is almost behind us...although it is kinda creepy that he is soooo quiet now when he sleeps. Soon we'll be pain free and we can resume our normal crazy schedule.....then its off to "walk with the dinosaurs" on Friday. I can't wait!

Our December

2009-01-10T14:46:00.013-07:00

Hey y'all....long time no post. So here are my very belated month of December pics. We had a pretty good and busy month with Christmas shopping, school programs, holiday decorating, more shopping, a couple of ear infections, and a round of pink eye. Here is some of what we did......by the way I know your loving my music change. I was mostly in an 80's hair band mood. This was Wesley's preschool Christmas program, it was so cute. I'm not sure that any of the kids knew the words to the songs but it was funny to watch none-the-less.
Wesley and Daddy decorating our new fake tree.
We usually buy a real one, but had a hard time justifying buying a real one for 80 bucks that would probably be dead 1 week later.

More of Wesley decorating.....

We made us a rockin' gingerbread house which Wesley will not let us throw away and is still living on my kitchen counter to this day.

A crappy fuzzy Christmas morning picture before they opened any presents from Santa.

Trinity would tear up the wrapping paper and then "decorate" Zora. Good thing she is so good around kids....she also tried riding her a few times that morning.

Wesley's favorite thing he got at our house was his "giant dinosaur".

Both the kids get a kick out of this thing.

Petie Pie in her way too cute tutu from Grandma Wellwell.

Trinity thought that she was supposed to sit on every present that she could...and so she did.

They all got opened.....eventually.

Hope you all had a good Christmas!

IHC Christmas Party

2008-12-14T22:22:00.016-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we had the IHC Pharmacy Christmas party at Rooster's in Layton. It was really good and Bret even said he wouldn't mind going back sometime. We had a lot of fun and some of us even won some sweet prizes. (I myself won a gift card to Barnes and Noble) We also did a name exchange and I got a gift card for Fandango. If you don't know what that is don't feel bad....it took me a couple of minutes to figure it out too. With the gift card I can go online and order tickets to different movie theaters....cool. I knew it was a movie gift card but I was trying to figure out which theater he had bought them from....I had never heard of Fandango. I am so dumb. Anyway....here are pictures of the cute couples from that night. Thanks for a great night Kyle!Krystal & Blake

Jessica & Sean (sp?)

Jon & Andrea

Wendy & Brandon

Kyle & Kathy

Mike & Melanie

Brian & Shelley

Nisa & Colby

JJ & Ashlee

Me & Bret

T & A and I don't mean Tits and A**.....

2008-12-05T23:13:00.003-07:00

Just an FYI. We took Wesley to the ENT (ear,nose,throat) today and found out that his tonsils are so enlarged that they are touching his uvula and he has sleep apnea from it. (He stops breathing while sleeping.) So.....in January we are having his tonsils and adenoids (spelling?) taken out. It sounds like that will be some fun week. We will let ya know...I'll have lots of time to take pics cause we'll be at the surgical center for 5 or 6 hours. Hurray. Wish us luck!

Remodeling, a Feast, Twilight, and the Girls

2008-12-05T22:29:00.013-07:00

And not particularly in that order. I know its been eons since I've posted anything...so pardon all the pics. Lets catch up shall we?.............. This first lovely shot is from "girls night out". We went to Olive Garden and some yummy food....our waiter (who's name suddenly escapes me) was very deft with his glass refilling abilities. I was quite impressed. After we were supposed to go to a corn maze but decided, instead, to go hang at the Layton Hills Mall. We ended up going to Time's Ticking and found this awesome assortment of sunglasses & had the clerks working there take our picture. It was a fun night. (Note: Next time, girls, may I suggest we go to the mall and split up into teams and see who can get the funniest shots. I personally would like to see Marylynne riding the kiddie carousel.) Let me know!
Finally after MONTHS of waiting it was time for the midnight showing of Twilight! Hurray! A small group of us bought tickets a month ahead of time to make sure we got good seats. The pic above is my sister-in-law's , Steph, shirt. She went that day and got us some!

The rest of the crew that braved the wee hours of the morning. Wendy, her Mom-in-law, Andrea (looking serious), and her sister-in-law (who by the way fell asleep during the movie. *shock*) I must say the movie was better that I thought it would be for the short amount of time they had to squeeze so much book into. I really enjoyed it and am looking for a chance to go again. It did have its cheesy moments but how could a movie about vegan vampire romance not?
Wesley's preschool had a Thanksgiving Feast. It was cute, they made Indian headbands and everyone brought something to share. The kids sang songs and then we all had a thanksgiving dinner at 11 o'clock in the morning.

The kids singing their songs.

Wesley was in a grumpy mood and I was trying to get our picture with my camera and he did not want to cooperate. So you get a nice up the nose shot.

The one and only thing that Wesley would eat at the feast....pie.

And lastly, we are finally doing a little remodeling. Bret and I have been saying for over a year now that we wanted to get rid of the carpet/linoleum in the kitchen/dining area. This is a before shot of the kitchen/dining. Bret painted the entire downstairs first though.

The tiles being marked out.

This is what the finished part will look like minus the dust and dirt. He's still not done with it though. He needs to replace all the baseboards, but at least the fridge isn't in the living room anymore. Next its onto the bathrooms to paint and tile those. I will post pics when Bret starts those projects......it could be a while.

I'm a BIG Slacker

2008-12-02T22:44:00.001-07:00

I owe all of you an apology. I know its been at least a month since I have posted anything. It's not from having a lack of things to post. Mostly its just life and my general laziness. I PROMISE that in the near future I will blog like there's no tomorrow. Until then.......

Trinity's Birthday Party!

2008-10-11T23:00:00.014-06:00

Trinity's birthday party was last Saturday. We had it at my parents house as ours is too small to accomodate that many people. We spent most of the day baking cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Bret and I made dinner for everyone...we had navajo tacos and it was delicious! I can't believe that my little girl is 1. She had a great time and by the time we were finished she was sooooo ready for bed. A pre-party picture. Just waitin' and being cute.

Bret made and decorated this cake for Petie all by himself. I must say he did a really good job for his first cake ever! When he was done decorating it he really enjoyed the fact that there were 3 stars on it for "Trinity".

Trinity's birthday cake and the cupcakes with cookies that we spent ALL Saturday making.
I think they turned out cute.

I was so excited that she actually opened her presents. Most little kids are perfectly happy to play with bows and paper, but she tore off the paper by herself. She will be so much fun at Christmas! I can't wait!

Petie Pie's very first baby doll. She likes to hug her and then throw her.

We bought her a stroller to push her baby doll around in. She LOVES this thing. She can only push it in a straight line though, she hasn't figured out how to turn it. She goes until she runs into something and then just waits for you to move it so she can go again.

Tentatively trying out the cake.

However Mom decided that she was taking too long and shoved both her hands into it.

She didn't like having frosting on her hands and so she was trying to shake it off.

By the time she was finished this is what she looked like. She got a bath and bottle right after that. I wish I had a picture...Ill have to get it from my Mom. I sat in the recliner with her after she had her bath and was giving her a bottle and she fell asleep right there. She was sooooo tired. Too much fun. Happy birthday my little girl! We love you!

6 Quirks

2008-10-11T22:08:00.002-06:00

Definition of a quirk:
n.1. A peculiarity of behavior; an idiosyncracy: "Every man has his own quirks and twists." Harriet Beecher Stowe.
2. An unpredictable or unaccountable act or event; a vagary: a quirk of fate.

Rules: Link the person that tagged you. Mention rules on your blog. Tell about 6 quirks of yours. Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same. Leave a comment to let them know.

1. I pull out my eyelashes when I am either stressed or tired. Yes, there have been times
I was missing a whole section of eyelashes.

2. I am ALWAY late! I could be ready 15 minutes early and still arrive somewhere at least a
few minutes later that I should have. I run on Minnig standard time.

3. It drives me crazy to have a dirty kitchen counter. Even if we are still in the process of
making dinner I will wipe the counter up even though I know that it will be messy again
in a few minutes.

4. I shave my legs everyday, but usually only up to the knee. It doesn't matter if its winter
and my legs will not see the light of day for weeks....they are always shaved.

5. If I am in a public place I have to know where the restrooms are at ALL times. I get
really bad anxiety if I don't.

6. Whenever I am home I have to have some kind of noise going on. I can't stand quiet.
If the tv's not on then the radio is. Its never quiet.

Now that you know how "quirky" I am I tagg the following:
~Marylynne
~Lindsey
~Karissa
~Jodi
~Haili
~Kristin

Night out with the Girls

2008-10-11T21:41:00.008-06:00

These gorgeous gals are my friends from the "hood". We all lived in the same ward/neighborhood from kindergarten up til high school. One day genious struck and we decided that we should leave our hubbies and babies behind and have a "girls night out". We went to a really great restaurant called Union Grill, its in the end part of the Union Station in Ogden. It was my first time there and the it was yummy. I got some pics of us at dinner, but I am a TOTAL loser because I should've asked the waitress to take a picture with ALL five of us in it. Next time girls! Anyway...after dinner we went to Karissa's house and looked through old scrapbooks and pictures from school and laughed at all the funny things we used to do when we were younger. Then girls at dinner.

Karissa, Crystal, Lindsey, and Marylynne
Marylynne and Lindsey.

Crystal and Karissa.

Karissa made the yummiest dessert! I think she called it an oreo cake.

My "oriental" friend Lindsey partaking.

Marylynne enjoying hers. Little stink.

We found out that she is pregnant and due in April.

I KNEW it! Congratulations! I'm excited to meet baby Jeter.

(Hee, hee.)

And finally our hostess enjoying her creation.

(I don't know why I don't have a picture of Crystal eating her cake

but I do of everyone else. I'm sure she minds terribly.)

Thanks for a great night girls, we NEED to do this again SOON!

Love you!

Wesley's Preschool Fieldtrips

2008-10-11T21:03:00.003-06:00

I am way behind on my blogging and am now trying to catch up. First we'll start with Wesley's class fieldtrips for preschool. He's only been in school for a month and a half and has already been on two. They were a lot of fun and I am glad that I have been able to go with him both times. I posted them out of order but here we go. This is the second one we took to Black Island Farms. If you haven't gone I highly recommend that you do! Wesley had sooooo much fun. First we went on a "hayride" (although there was no hay....so can it really be considered a hayride?) to their pumpkin patch where all the little kids got to wander through and pick out their own pumpkin. Then after that they have a courtyard full of activites for the little ones. Haytowers, slides, corn box, pumpkin bounce house, cow train, and even a few animals to see.

The kids wandering the pumpkin patch looking for the perfect one.
Wes waiting for the worker to free his pumpkin from the vine

Wesley's pumpkin.
(For some reason my son is challenged when it comes to smiling.)

Wesley's preschool class.

The "cow train" which Wes rode twice.

Once in a cow car and then again in a pig.

Playing in the corn box.

Wes riding on Daddy's shoulders on our way to the car.

DINOSAUR PARK

This was their education building where a cute lady told the kids about dinosaurs

and when they roamed the earth.

Then when she was done the kids got to color

dinosaur masks to take home with them.

Wesley's preschool class

Digging for fossils.

And finally the BEST thing about fieldtrips.

He always falls asleep in the car on the way home.

Doesn't he look like he's had too much fun?

Happy Birthday Trinity!

2008-10-04T22:21:00.006-06:00

It's hard to believe that a year ago today we welcomed little Trinity Diane to our family. It seems like she's been part of us forever even though its only been a year. How strange. I am so happy to see her growing up and starting to walk, but at the same time I wish she was that little baby that would just sleep in my arms. *sniffle* It was such an exciting day getting ready to meet her. We went to my regular appointment and the Dr. said that if we wanted she would see if there was room available in L&D and we could have her that day. Bret was all for that it was a date that he could remember. (10-4 good buddy!) We checked into the hospital around 12:20 and had my pit started by 1 and around 4:13 here she was! Our small crying, slime-covered girl with massive amounts of hair. She was beautiful. We loved unwrapping her and looking at her cute fingers and tiny toes. Everytime the nurses came to take her to have tests done she would come back to the room with a different hairstyle and a different bow. Anyway.......we had her party today at my parents house. It was a lot of fun, but I'm not posting that until tomorrow because I am too lazy and too tired. This was the first time that I got to hold her after she was born.
Big brother holding his new little sister.

My boys holding my girl. How cute are they?

Minnig Look-alike Meter

2008-09-27T16:42:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Blank family tree

Minnig Look-alike Meter

2008-09-27T16:35:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

Shopping Spree!!!

2008-09-21T21:51:00.004-06:00

So, Bret's been working hella overtime lately and its a good thing too! I think we probably have spent all his overtime money this weekend. You know how it is....you go to Sam's Club just to buy diapers and wipes for the baby and leave having spent $200 on stuff you didn't realize you "needed" til you were there. Then Saturday Bret needed some new shoes so we went and I found me these babies.....and then of course we still needed shoes for Petie now that she's trying to walk. So everyone got new shoes, except for Wes we couldn't find any that we liked for him. Mommy and Trinity's super cute shoes! Hurray!

(Sorry Bret's weren't cute enough to be deemed "blogworthy")
Oh and while we were looking for Petie's shoes Mommy got distracted by the Halloween decor.
Look how cute all these are! The one in the middle is a giant candy bowl, and the pails I'm gonna put outside on the doorstep with candles in them. How cute is that?

And this has nothing to do with anything save for the fact that my Mom will LOVE it.

Sunday morning Wesley fell asleep while Mommy was getting ready for church. He stole my old flower pillow and is on my side of the bed...the part that my Mom will like is that he is sleeping exactly like I always did (do). No matter how I'm sleeping I ALWAYS have to have one leg up.

Apparently he really, truly is my son.

Bless this boy....I love him so much, when he's sleeping.

Health Fair

2008-09-21T21:35:00.005-06:00

Saturday my Mom's dental office that she works at, along with some other businesses, had a health fair. We had a good time there was a dunk tank, huge shark slide, fire truck, lifeflight, etc.

We only stayed for about an hour and a half because it was so freaking windy. Wes was having such a good time that he cried and cried when it was time to leave Grandma and go have lunch. (It didn't help that his balloon animal, a bunny, got blown away and was popped while in pursuit.) Grandma and Trinity in front of the giant slide

Wesley at the dunk tank (Look at that follow through!)

Trinity got her FIRST sucker!

And I know its not the greatest picture, but Wes was super excited to get to climb in the fire truck that they had there. It was cute!

Ride em' Cowboy

2008-09-07T23:04:00.007-06:00

Tonight we went to my Mom's house so Bret could fix their back door. It leaks water into the living room everytime it rains.....anyway. My Mom, Wesley, Petie, and I were watching the National Bull Riding Competition when Wesley decided that he wanted to be a cowboy. We pulled out the horse and he found his cowboy hat and started to ride off in the sunset. "He needs a six-shooter and a holster" I said to my Mom. Withing seconds she was out in the garage and came back with this sweet little number. She buckled it around Wesley's shoulder and then tied the holster to his calf and he was good to go. Now Wesley has informed my Mom that he needs an orange gun to put in it. I think he's inherited his Dad's sense of style!

What a cute little cowboy!

And finally just a random picture of Trinity. The red little number she's got going next to here eye is a mosquito bite. Attractive eh? She's been such a busy little turkey the last week or so. She now can crawl up stairs but still lacks the ability to go down them. We are trying to teach her but so far it hasn't caught on. I think she enjoys getting as close the top of the stairs and watching Me and Bret run after her before she falls down them.....little stink. Also she is starting to use her walking toys and pushes them around basement walking all over. When I have some more time I'll get video of her crawling up stairs and walking.

Wesley's First Day of Preschool

2008-09-07T22:35:00.011-06:00

Well.....my cute little guy has become a cute little man and started preschool at the beginning of the month. (My apologies for being a little long in blogging, I got a new camer and have had to figure out how to use it and download my pics......Marylynne) He goes 2 days a week for 2 & 1/2 hours. When he got up that morning Bret asked him if he was gonna go to school today and Wesley told him no. But then he saw his backpack and decided that going to school wouldn't be too bad if he got to wear that. Trinity napped practically the whole time Wes was at school and the house was absolutely quiet. It was so wierd....and also VERY nice. You wouldn't believe how fast 2 & 1/2 hours go by........ Wesley posing for the camera
And now making faces for the camera

Showing off his "Craptacular Spiderman" backpack

Waiting outside of his teachers house for school to start

Wesley's picture that he colored. They are learning to trace and after 1 week of school he can actually trace letters and shapes very well.....maybe soon he'll be able to write his name.

For some reason he was being camera shy after school. This is his painting that he did "with his hands"

Twilight Trailer Spoof

2008-08-26T22:29:00.002-06:00

Ok....I saw this on someone else's blog while I was "lurking" and thought it was hilarious! I figured I should post it here for all of my fellow Twilight fans to get a good laugh too. If you haven't seen the trailers for Twilight, you should watch those first and then watch this. Enjoy!

Petie Pie & Super Why!

2008-08-13T22:29:00.007-06:00

Hip hip hooray! This was Trinity this morning watching her favorite tv show Super Why. No matter what's going on she will stop whatever she's doing and sit still and watch this show. I don't mind this because its actually very educational helping to learn letters and spelling. Wesley has actually learned probably all the letters he knows from watching this show. As you will see in the pictures she apparently wasn't close enough to see the television and decided to go in for a closer view. Anyway.......her birthday is coming up in October and I'm already starting to plan her party (I know its a bit premature, but hey I'm excited) and I wanted to have a Super Why birthday party, but they don't make party stuff with that theme. I'm kinda bummed but that's ok, we'll go with an Elmo theme and I'm sure it will be great. Trinity watching Princess Presto
A little closer........

Wes decided I needed a picture of him.

And finally.....Look how cute Petie's hair is! I've seen some other little girls with their hair like this and wondered if I could get away with it. Its was really hard working with a squirmy model but it still turned out cute. Someday maybe she'll actually have hair on the back of her head too.

8 Years Down....Eternity to Go

2008-08-11T22:47:00.010-06:00

Today Bret and I have been married for 8 years. I know its sounds like a long time...but when you think that you are married to someone for "time and all eternity" its sounds like hardly any time at all. Its hard to believe that we were so young once.....(I know I sound like I'm some old lady reflecting upon her life) but really it seems like these pictures are from a lifetime ago. I decided that I would dig up some pictures of when Bret & I were "dating" and then when we got married. They are pretty priceless.........Sorry the pictures are a little scattered in size, etc. We don't have a scanner so I had my Dad scan them and burn them onto a cd for me..........So without further ado......I give you Bret & Carrie.
This was Prom 1998. I think this was our second date. (Our first being a double date with his parents....hahaha) The theme was "Story Book Love" from The Princess Bride. I know Bret has such a chubby baby face in this picture and is rockin' a sweet mullet. My dress was freakin' awesome....You can't really tell but I was actually wearing a hoop skirt, I thought it was so cute. Every time I had to get into Bret's car he had to hold the door open while I hurried and pulled all of my skirt in the car and then he would shut the door and I would let go of my dress and it would pop up and take up practically all of the room in the front of the car. It was hilarious. We had a fun time, but I ended up feeling sick that night while watching movies at his house and fell asleep and didn't wake up til around 2 or 2:30 A.M. I woke up and started freaking out at him because it was so late....luckily I only lived 5 houses down the road.

I know...I know... you're thinking "Carrie, what's with the 80's hair?" Honestly, I have no answer for you other than I thought it was cute at the time. This picture is from Snowball 99'. Our senior year. It was a matching shirt dance and so we decided to make our own. Yeah, it wasn't until after we had made our shirts and I tried it on that I noticed the choice placement of my palm trees.....oh well.

This is one of our engagement pictures done probably summer of 2000. Bret was really big into wearing suspenders and I had multi-colored hair. We were young and in love so who cared, right? Aren't we so cute?!

Bret and I on Aug. 11, 2000. We were married in the Bountiful Temple. It was a fun and very nerve wracking day, I wish I could look like that everyday. We were supposed to be married around 1 o'clock, but smartie pants me left my shoes and our marriage certificate on the couch at home in North Ogden. Luckily one of my Mom's friends brought it to us or I wouldn't be here 8 years later. I'm so lucky that Bret was patient enough and persistant enough to wait for me to figure out what exactly I was looking for. I am very grateful for his love and understanding. But mostly I am grateful for the 2 great kids that we have. On most days I look forward to spending an eternity with them ;)

And finally I had to post a picture from my wedding day with all the girlfriends. Ladies....we've come a long way. Aren't we all so cute? Did you ever imagine back then we would all be old married women, having children, and raising families? Crazy! I love you all and don't see you nearly enough...(hint to Crystal....still waiting for that August BBQ....I've only seen Logan twice now.) Oh, and by the way......for all of you people that worry what would happen to the Angel Moroni on top of the Temples if there were to ever be a fire...........don't. Apparently there is an escape ladder for just such emergencies!

P.S. Thanks for my wedding video Booty Cam!

I'm Sorry!!!

2008-08-07T22:58:00.002-06:00

Please forgive me! I have been utterly lazy and have not posted or blogged for a couple weeks now. I promise, I will have something soon. I'm planning on buying my new camera this weekend. But for now all is well. Wesley's hand did not fall off and Trinity is crawling faster than ever. Part of my excuse is the ~Breaking Dawn~ release. I have been reading and re-reading for almost a week now. So forgiveness please........but I PROMISE I'll come up with something very soon! Lots of Love!

Wesley's Poor Hand

2008-07-23T23:39:00.004-06:00

Wesley woke up at 5:30 am Wednesday morning and said that he had an "owie" on his right hand and wanted a band-aid. Well....being 5:30 in the morning and having been up with the baby for about an hour a little while before, I didn't pay that close of attention and did what I had to do in order to get my 3 yr old back to sleep so I could sleep. This involved finding the Diego band-aid specifically....not the Dora ones. So I hunted in the closet and turned on the bathroom light just long enough to find the required band-aid, put it on my child and went directly to bed.

Well.......all morning went fine and we were to meet my sister-in-law and her kids at Riverdale Park at 12:30. We got there and the kids played for a few minutes while we got lunch ready for everyone. Wes came and sat down and I got out a wipe to clean up his hands before he ate and that's when I noticed that his hand had been replaced with a large, red, puffy marshmellow. I was concerned to say the least and called his Daddy to see if he had maybe noticed Wes' hand earlier that morning...he had not. We stayed and played at the park until around 3 and then we went home and had some benadryl and a nap.

Bret got home from work around 5:30 (pm) and I showed him Wesley's hand and told him that I thought we should go to the Kidscare as soon as Trinity woke up from her nap. Got everything ready and after only waiting at the Dr.'s for ONLY 2 hours we come to find out 1) Yes, something bit him and 2) it is infected. So after some hum-hawing from the physician she said that he needed a shot of Rocephin (antibiotic) and also an oral antibiotic for several days. However, she also drew nifty little lines on his hands and fingers and said that if the redness spread farther than it was then he would have to be admitted to the hospital for I.V. antibiotics. Also that since it was in the hand and "hands are tricky" if it was too bad that the method for removing the infection from a hand is to lance it and keep it open and just let it drain. Yummy fun!

So we are home for the night hoping that all goes well. Either way we are supossed to go back tomorrow to let them recheck his hand and see what we'll need to do. I must say though, I was extremely proud of Wesley. He was such a big boy the whole time at the Dr.'s. He was content to sit and color while we waited for the physician, he obliged and showed him his "owie hand" without any complaint, and he didn't even flinch or cry or scream when they gave him his shot! (Not even I would be that good, but then you all know what a BIG baby I am.) So anyway.....here's hoping that we will have a miraculous recovery tomorrow morning!

Co-pay for Dr. visit $30

Time wasted wating for physician 2.5 hrs

Watching my 3 yr old walking out of Walmart with his prize of a Thomas the Train coloring book and Disney Princess crayons.................priceless!

Trinity's 6 mnth pictures

2008-07-19T23:35:00.002-06:00

Look Who's Crawling!

2008-07-19T13:38:00.003-06:00

Hurray for Trinity! Finally she has started to crawl and all is well at the Minnig Asylum. We knew it would be any day now....she would get up on her hands and knees and do a little frog hop and get so mad when she couldn't go any further. Now she's figured it out and she is into everything! She's figured out how to sit up on her knees and reach for things that are up too high for her so she can pull them down now. My little genius! Now she's started to try and master stair climbing. Cross your fingers!

Bret's Perfect Pies

2008-07-13T18:03:00.003-06:00

As much as I tease my husband about being "Brety Crocker", I have to admit he is a fabulous cook. This is yet another example of my husbands wonderful baking skills......peach pie. Mmmmmmmm....I'm so lucky to have such a great husband that cooks and bakes for me! Don't feel too bad for him though, he really does enjoy making stuff for me and everyone else.

I think that our family would probably starve to death if it wasn't for him. I REALLY hate to cook. I probably could if I tried, but I think its too time consuming. The only bad part is with all the good food he makes I eat way more than I probably should. What a tragedy. Anyway, so thanks Babe for being the chef of the family. I LOVE YOU~!

P.S. You really should make Fettucini Alfredo sometime this week! (hint, hint)

A Day at the Zoo

2008-07-12T09:58:00.021-06:00

We convinced Daddy to take the day off of work and take us to the Zoo. Wesley saw the zoo on the news when they had just installed the new carousel and hasn't stopped talking about going there since. We went and had a good time. Trinity didn't pay much attention to the animals, but she does like to watch the seagulls run around trying to get food. Wes was in heaven because right when we got there they gave us a map. He LOVES maps. First thing he did was consult the map and find where the elephants were. That was our first stop. Wesley consulting his map.
Now, having consulted his map, he points us in the direction we are to go.

Wes watching the pachyderm program. They had the elephants doing different tricks. Even elephants know how to pick up garbage and put it in the trash.

A cute little sleeping red panda. I couldn't resist posting this picture.

Up close and personal with the giraffes.

Trinity and Mommy checking out the giraffes. Well Mommy is.

Wesley's first ride on the carousel. Does it really surprise anyone that he chose the lion to ride on first?

Wes and Mommy riding the carousel. I know I look like a dork, but Wes has a really cute smile. What a happy boy.

And finally at the end of the day we went and played at the playground. Wes had a great time going up and down the snake slide. We went and got a prize at the zoo store, Wes got a brown bear and Trinity got a stuffed elephant. We rode the train and then we left. No crying, no problems. It was a great day!

Tag I'm It!

2008-07-05T22:07:00.003-06:00

So.....I know its been a while since I've blogged. So,here it is......I know you've all been waiting for it! This one is gonna be pictureless. (I still haven't bought me a camera yet.) Had the typical 4th of July celebration. We went to the parade in North Ogden and sat w/ my parents and my sister-in-law and her kids. Wes really liked running after all the candy, which is funny cause he won't eat but maybe 1 or 2 pieces of it, but after about 3o minutes of that he got bored and spent the rest of the time squirting people (yes, including complete strangers) with our water bottle that has a fan attatched to it. After that we had a very yummy bbq w/ my parents and then unloaded the kids at their house and Bret and I went and saw Wall-e. (Thanks mom!) Then it was fireworks at the in-laws w/ the cousins. P.S. Trinity does NOT like fireworks.
Saturday we took the kids to Cherry Hill. That was fun. Wes had a blast running around in the pirate ship & Petie really likes the water but hates the heat. We stayed for about 4.5 hours and then decided it was time to go. I felt so bad cause Wesley just cried the whole time Bret was changing his clothes. (I could hear him outside of the men's changing rooms.) He was soooooooo tired he cried all the way to the car and as soon as we buckled him in his seat, he crashed. We got home and gave him a quick bath and he was in bed and asleep by 8. Hurray! For all those who are concerned its ok.....we promised Wes that we would go back sometime this summer.
And finally I was tagged by a friend on another blog so here we go........

3 Joys: ~My kids when they are happy
~My husband when he is fixing stuff.....he's cute to watch!
~My house when it is clean

Fears: ~Being away from my kids when there's an earthquake or something
~Bret falling asleep and getting into a car crash while on call
~NEEDLES!

Goals: ~To move to North Ogden by next summer
~To have Wesley potty trained before he turns 4
~Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight

Obsessions: ~Always having a clean house
~Reading (when its a good book)
~My kids....notice that its usually all I blog about

Surprise Facts: ~I pull out my eyelashes when I'm upset or very tired
~I've never had stitches,broken bones, or major surgery
~I dressed up as Pocahontas and sang "Colors of the wind" for a
children's dance recital when I was 16.

Now, I tag......Marylynne, Jodi (if she reads my blog), and Karissa

Another Week of Fun!

2008-06-20T20:18:00.009-06:00

So haven't done a ton this week, but still have been kinda busy. Here are some random pictures of our week. I know that I don't really post anything but my kids....but that's all I do. Plus I think they are kinda cute. Besides if you didn't want to see them you wouldn't keep lurking on my blog. Ha! Meet the newest member of our family. It's finally here....Bret's coveted PS3. You don't know how much of a pain in the butt he was until he got it. Well, I'm sure you can imagine. Now its here and after the kids go to bed he plants himself in front of the tv and giggles to himself about how cool the graphics and sound are. Whatever.
Since Wes never gets to show Daddy his stamp that he gets after tumbling, we decided we'd take a picture so he would be sure to see it. If you can't tell it is a frog.

Wesley having his very first popsicle. He was excited to try it. Took a few licks and decided that it was too cold and he was done. He wanted to feed it to Zora, but we put it in a baggy to try another day.

I found these cute foam visors and farm animal foam stickers at the craft store and decided that it would be a fun project for Wes to do. Well, he surely did have fun. I think he used at least half the stickers that were in the bag. This is what my little genius came up with.

This is a more close up shot. I don't like our big camera and can't work it...so a lot of the pictures are fuzzy. I'm planning on buying me my own camera so hopefully later posts will have pictures you can see. Anyway....he kept piling stickers on top of stickers, but it was his visor so I let him do whatever he wanted and told him it was beautiful.

Wesley has been watching Hercules the last couple of days and decided that he was Hercules. He found a head band of mine and put it on his forehead, found his horse (Pegasys), his cape, and his sword. What a cute little hero.

And no post would be complete w/out a picture of Trinity. She is just so stinkin' cute!

Even if she is showing a little too much shoulder.

Slide Show

2008-06-14T09:01:00.002-06:00

Fun at Tumbling

2008-06-10T22:49:00.007-06:00

So I finally convinced Bret that Wesley needed to join a tumbling class. Let me tell you it is hilarious. I wasn't sure how cooperative Wes would be and if he would listen to the teacher. Oh my gosh! He LOVES tumbling and is good as gold for the teacher. Here are a couple of pictures from our latest class......This is Wes "warming up". They have the kids jump with their feet together then apart all the way down the mat. None of the kids really get it but they sure try!
This is the "big mountain" they have to climb and then jump off.

Wes doing an assisted summersault. (He's the only one in his class that can't do one by himself, but he's working on it.)

This is Wesley's class waiting to take their turn jumping down the tramp. Notice, if you will, that Wes is the only boy in his class. What a man!!

Wesley jumping down the tramp with arms up in the air.

And finally Wes climbing up the cargo net. He was probably most excited about this today since they hadn't done it before. Oh and side note: at the end of every class the kids each get a animal or smiley face stamped on their hand for doing such a good job. (Cute) However, I was going to get a photo of his stamp, which he was so proud of, but he fell in hands first into the mud and we had to wash his hands at the gym. After he washed them he asked me what happened to his stamp....he wanted to show his daddy. ;(

My Boy and His Toys

2008-06-10T22:28:00.006-06:00

So.....the other day I got a comment on my blog about Wesley's "few" toys. So, for fun, I thought I would take a couple pictures of most of his toys and see if you all thought he had enough. (I'm sure he probably doesn't think so.) Its a good thing that Bret finished the basement so we would have somewhere to store them all.This is the corner of the basement that is dedicated to Wesley's toys. I now realize that I didn't take any pictures of Trinity's toys....Oh yes, these are ALL Wesley's. Petie Pie has her own.

This is a close up so you can better see our fine collection.

This is Wes on his step picking out a couple of bedtime stories. Notice the bucket overflowing w/ toys in the background. Now, I know that I really should probably get rid of some of his toys....I mean he is not lacking by any means. I don't know why I have a hard time parting w/ toys....I tell myself to go thru them and then I think "Well, Trinity will probably play w/ them when she gets older" and then I just can't do it. I'm the same way w/ clothes. I still have clothes that I haven't worn since high school. Go figure. I didn't think I was that bad of a pack rat....but I guess I am. Crap.

Trinity's First Pigtails!

2008-06-08T09:51:00.006-06:00

So I finally decided it was time to try and do Trinity's hair in pigtails again. I tried this a few months ago and she looked so weird. This first picture was my first attempt. Her hair didn't come all the way through the elastic and so I just left them like that.....I thought it was kinda cute. Bret, however, calls them her "Shrek ears". I haven't fixed her hair like that again since.Baby T's "Shrek ears"
Actual "pig tails" look a LOT cuter!
Cute little bean!

And finally just a cute shot of my two babes together.

Petie, Petie Punkin Pie!

2008-05-24T21:45:00.007-06:00

Ok, so your probably wondering why we call Trinity "Petie". This is because of Wesley. He likes to call her "Sweetie Pie" but it comes out "Petie Pie". He gets very upset if we try to call her anything other than Sweetie Pie. I think its freakin' cute and have grown accustomed to calling her Petie. Bret, however, doesn't really mind it but hates that I call her Petie all the time. ( I think its because he really likes her real name and doesn't want her to answer to Petie, but to Trinity.) Oh well.....So here are some pictures of Petie in a new dress that Grandma and Papa Wellwell (yes, that is spelled correctly...Wellwell) brought home from Vegas. They're a little fuzzy but blame Bret he took them.

Getting big way to fast!

She's cutting her first tooth, so pardon our drool.

Mommy and Petie Pie

And finally Trinity rolling around in her dress! Isn't she cute!

Dinosaur Park

2008-05-24T16:01:00.010-06:00

We went with my friends to the Dinosaur Park for the first time about 2 weeks ago. Wes was so excited to go see Baylee & Carter. Once he realized we were going to go see dinosaurs I thought he was going to fall over getting there. We had a lot of fun and Wesley really enjoyed it but was scared of the animatronic dinosaurs. Trinity was not all that impressed but I think she liked being able to sit up and look around in her stroller. Needless to say we had a great day........we are going to go back. We have too.....Wesley will not stop talking about it and tells everyone he sees that will listen to him about it. He wants his daddy to take him.

Wes would not go near the non-moving dinosaurs either.

This is as close as he would get for a picture.

Digging for fossils.

Playing at the playground.

Trinity just checking things out in her stroller. Love the hat!

Trinity, Carter, and Baylee posing in front of a dinosaur. Wesley was not feeling particularly photogenic at the moment.

Making Cookies

2008-05-24T15:51:00.004-06:00

We decided that we needed cookies and the only kind of chips that we had were peanut butter....so that's what we made. I still think they were pretty good. Wes and Daddy had a good time making them together.

Little "Brety Crocker" in training

Yummy chocolate peanut butter cookies!

Let's go fly a kite!

2008-04-06T16:32:00.007-06:00

Friday night Wes told me he needed a kite. So we went & he picked out a frog one & on Saturday the whole family went out to the Ogden Parkway next to Timbermine to fly it. We had a lot of fun but it was very windy and very cold. Wes had fun flying his kite (I have to admit I am impressed that he did not let go and lose it.) There were also quite a few seagulls and we got to feed them breadsticks from lunch.....then it got way too cold and we went home. This is Wes flying his kite all by himself.
Wes wrangling his kite

Daddy and Wes flying the kite

More kite wrangling by Mom

And finally a picture of Trinity being cute in her stroller.

Her poor little cheeks and hands were froze when we left!

Squish Squash!

2008-04-06T15:07:00.006-06:00

Trinity just started on her solid foods this week. First we started with squash and it took her a few bites to get the hang of it. She would take a spoonful and do this little shudder and swallow. Since then we've also tried sweet potatoes and peas. Here are a few shots of the aftermath of our meal.....

Daddy fed her for the first time on Saturday....this was the result. Notice (if you will) that when I feed her it stays around her mouth and when he feeds her it ends up in her eye!

Here comes Peter Cottontail !!

2008-03-29T21:54:00.011-06:00

Can you believe that Easter has already come and gone?! This year seems to be flying by and the kids are getting bigger every second. Well....the Easter Bunny found our house and brought Wesley a choo choo train. He was so excited! He's has been asking for a train for the last few weeks, but we wanted to wait til Easter. We had to take it down & reassemble it at Grandma and Papa's house (both sets) so we could show them what the E. Bunny brought....hilarious!!!!! This is what Wesley came downstairs and found Easter morning.

He was way excited but a little confused I think.
Mommy helping Wes open his eggs.

This is a picture of Trinity that Daddy took @ Grandma's house while Wes was searching for his basket. She was SO cute in her dress.....I probably should've taken pic's of them in their Easter clothes. Whoops!

It was so stinkin' cute! My mom put "clues" all around the house to help Wes find where the Easter Bunny left his basket. He had so much fun letting me read them & running to find the next clue. My parents used to do this for me when I was his age....its fun to see and feel the same things they probably did when I was Wes' age looking for my basket.

Eventually we found the baskets...that sillly bunny left them in the washroom!

We immediately had to take our bucket & inspect our prizes. He got a fun outfit and some new books that Daddy now has read almost everynight for a week straight. I think he also almost ate his weight in chocolate that day w/ Grandma's help.

Wes "egg hunting" in my parents backyard. We had a mixture of plastic and real eggs and he was so excited to find an egg, but then he would just chuck it in the bucket and run off to find the next one.... Needless to say he broke just a few of the real ones that day!

One last shot of Wes hunting eggs!

Easter Egg Hunt @ IHC

2008-03-29T09:55:00.008-06:00

My work hosted their annual Easter egg hunt & I got roped into volunteering. Bret brought the kids to "hunt eggs". It was a lot of fun......after the hunt there were free balloons (which I helped blow up and pass out) and then you could go get your picture w/ the Easter Bunny! Yeah!!!! Daddy got to help Wes "hunt eggs" this year.

More Wes hunting eggs.......

Wes checking out his booty!

Mommy and Trinity inside after the hunt. Look!

I even got a free shirt for volunteering.

Wesley wanted to go see the Easter Bunny, but when it was our turn he

decided he didn't want to.

So....Trinity was brave and got her picture with him instead.

Wes got a tattoo from a local restaurant in one of his eggs. He thought it was a sticker until Daddy put it on his shoulder. A few minutes later he went to his bucket & found another of the same tattoo and made Daddy put it on himself so they could match. Wes was way excited about this and still a week later has his tattoo on his arm. He's very careful to wash around it in the tub! (If you can't see the picture well the tattoo is a Rooster)

A couple of Ordinary days

2008-03-29T08:50:00.007-06:00

I know I haven't posted for quite sometime.......I really truly suck at this but I still think its fun! These are just a few pictures from mid-march that I thought were fun and well just us............. Trinity having some tummy time and being cute!!!
Wesley doing the dishes and making "pie"

Look! Trinity can hold her own bottle now at 5 1/2 months! Yeah!

Wesley and Daddy having a photographic moment.

Came home from the gym and decided that we needed to make "pie".

(Wesley calls pudding pie.) He had quite the lovely mustache afterwords although its the wrong color.

Lazy Sunday

2008-03-16T22:51:00.005-06:00

I suck at this blogging thing already!

2008-03-12T22:36:00.007-06:00

So....I already suck at this blogging thing. I swear that I do absolutely nothing but don't have time to do anything. That doesn't make any sense. Well, since I last posted we took the kids to the doctor for their checkups and both of them are doing just fine. Wesley's 34lbs and Trinity is a whopping 14 lbs 4 oz. I had some different pictures to post but I think that after I downloaded them onto the computer I somehow managed to erase them. Oops! So........for your viewing enjoyment some pictures that Wes took on Sunday all by himself. He's quite the photographer! A lovely shot of Trinity in her toy...if you'll notice Wesley's finger in front of the lens!

A picture of Wesley's foot. (We probably had 20 shots of this until he figured out how to hold the camera and take a picture at the same time.)

And finally a picture of Wes wearing his PJ top as a turbin and sporting the Superman cape w/ sword in hand. He's a super hero in training.

Bathtime for the Babies

2008-03-02T13:03:00.004-07:00

Saturday night was another fun one. I was sick so we sat around all day watching the snow fall and doing pretty much nothing. Then the time flew by and it was time for a bath. Yea! While Bret was getting the kids nakie I had to go and find my camera because they are both so cute...especially when they're half naked. However the night ended "tragically" when Wesley slipped during his shower and fell and hit his elbow. He's now sporting a pretty purple bruise.

Coming home Thursday....

2008-02-29T19:01:00.004-07:00

Coming home from work on Thursday, this is what was happening when I walked throught the door. Nothing really exciting, but that is our life it seems. Wesley really wanted me to take a picture of him in front of his movie. If you can't tell he's really "cheesing" hard.

Trinity sitting and being good.....

Wesley cheesing for the camera...........

Bret ignoring the kids and reading a book...

Still learning but a little better

2008-02-26T23:47:00.001-07:00

Wesley doing his "yogurt" in his jammy top and diaper....... So I'm still figuring this blogging thing out, but look! I've found a new template that I like for the moment. I was going to try to take and post a few pic's of the kids today, but the batteries in the camera died right after I took the first picture of Wesley doing Yoga in just a shirt and diaper. Needless to say I immediatly recharged the batteries so hopefully we won't have that problem again and I can post some fun pictures soon! More to come later......

Carrie attempt to Blog

2008-02-25T23:54:00.000-07:00

I've been looking at all my friends and families blogs and decided its a really neat way to share pictures and whats going on. It's also a really great way to kind of record moments in time. We'll give it a shot and see how it goes. Hopefully I'm not too horrible at it.