The Gooch Family

the lovely month of December

2011-01-18T15:25:00.005-07:00

December flew by this year! I was so glad that we decorated for Christmas in November since we left for Quinn's parents house on Dec 15th, we had a few weeks to enjoy our Christmas decor before we took off (plus I had to take it down before we left, I couldn't think about coming home and doing it in Jan).

Our December Highlights:

Our biggest news...Quinn graduated with his MBA!! Our time at Tech went by so fast I can't believe he is already done and that he did so well! I am soooo proud of him!

I helped my mom decorate for our churches Nativity Exhibit which was amazing! We spent several days and nights at the church organizing and decorating trying to figure out how to display over 400 nativities. It was incredible how many people came together to help make this event amazing! It was a great way to start off the Christmas season. I was also so grateful for the chance to take my kids to see the nativities and to feel the spirit and explain the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Ugly Sweater Party!! We had a last minute Ugly Sweater Party that turned out awesome! We had soooo much food and it was all so yummy. We played charades, which was HILARIOUS, and a few other fun games. The best part was seeing one of our friends in footed pjs and he was sporting a mustache! It was so creepy and so funny.

Trip to ARIZONA! We were so lucky to get to go to AZ for three weeks this year! It was great to be able to spend so much time with family but it was so hard to say good bye. We are seriously missing all the cousins, delish food, amazing weather, and especially the trampoline!!

December pics:

November

2011-01-18T15:04:00.004-07:00

Oh geez how did I get so behind on this blogging business again?? Life is so crazy for us right now but I am trying to keep a good family history...so here is November

As shown in my last post:
Triston turned four! We had a fun little party at the park with some of his friends. We ate pizza and cake, opened presents, played at the park, and hit the pinata! That night Quinn and Triston went to a Tech football game, thanks to our great friends the Reddicks for the tickests. It was the perfect ending to a great day.

Some of our good friends got to have a sleep over party out our house while their Dad was out of town. It was ridiculously fun!

Thanksgiving! My whole fam came out for the holiday. My brother brought his gf also and it was so great to finally meet her! It had been way too long since we had all been together, hopefully we will be able to do it again soon!

the fam on thanksgiving

my whole family! sooo many boys

sleep over party

Brooklyn and Bridgie, cute girlies in their pjs

My little boy turned FOUR!!

2010-12-02T22:06:00.009-07:00

My little man two days old, so precious.

5 Months, I want to eat him up he is so dang cute!!!!

10 Months

One year old!

20 months - mexico trip!

Meeting his baby sis for the first time. One of my most favorite memories ever

Turing TWOOOOO

Almost 3, so dang handsome

Looking like such a little boy, happy Fourth birthday!

The family on his bday

This post is dedicated to my little man who is growing up so fast. How is Triston FOUR??? I really feel like he turned one yesterday!! Time is flying by way too fast and I am feeling stressed that I have not yet documented what my little guy is like at FOUR! This post is mostly for journaling purposes but feel free to enjoy (or just check out the pics!).

Things Triston LOVES:

Soccer- this little guy loves soccer and it pretty dang good at it. He could play with Quinn all day long, but most days he has to settle for playing with me.
Football- he spends a few hours each afternoon running around the house and tackling the air and throwing the football around.
Cars- he still loves cars, he is really into Toy Story 3 hot wheels cars right now
Tech Deck skateboards
He loves the movies: How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story 3
His favorite music is our Wee Sing Silly Songs that we sing in the car and "Remember the Name" by Fort Minor- I know so random. But he hears that song on Quinn's football highlight video and it is his absolute FAV. He refers to it as "The football song" and he sings along, it's hilarious.
He loves to play games, go fish, memory, toy story yahtzee, hide and seek, tag. he gets so into them that it just cracks me up. This boy is SUPER competitive, sometimes its a little stressful :)
Food- fish tacos, candy of course, cinnamon toast crunch, apples-honeycrisp, spaghetti, peas
He loves to sing, especially little solo's in the car, he is pretty much tone deaf it is hilarious and so awesome to listen to him serenade us.

Triston is so full of life and energy. He is always coming up with some fun thing for his friends or our family to do. He is protective of Bridgie even though he beats up on her every now and then. But if someone else were to bug her at all, he is all upset. We couldn't have asked for a better little man. he is perfect for our family in every way. Triston, we love you to pieces and love your fun-loving, exciting personality!!! Happy birthday to my best boy.

Stats:
Weight: 38.4 lbs - 70%
Height: 42 1/2 inches - 83%

October...

2010-11-08T23:40:00.006-07:00

Triston and Brooklyn so so cute

Trunk or treat

The fam

My sweet little ballerina, this girl LOVES pink!

Triston's school field trip

Bridgie was so excited to be going with Triston to school

Halloween PARRRTYYYY

Monster cupcakes - so gross

I just love this picture, Bridgie and found my mascara and decided to put some on. Such a girlie girl.

October is one of my most favorite months! I love the fabulous fall weather, I love the leaves changing (not so much in West TX), I love all of the upcoming holidays!

Some of the Highlights for October were:
Quinn's BIRTHDAY!! Since Quinn spends all day and night studying, I forced him to take a break long enough for us to sing to him and eat some cake. Happy happy birthday to my love!

We had a little Halloween Party at our house with a few of our friends and it was a success! I try to let the kids where their costumes as much as possible the week of Halloween so it was another excuse to get them all gussied up, which they loved! At our party we played a few games (that the kids didn't really get) and we made monster cakes! Then we just ate candy and played around the house.

Bridgie and I got to go to the Science Spectrum Carnival while Triston was at school. It was fun to get to do something with just my little girlie!

Trunk or Treat!! We dressed up one final time for our Stake Trunk or Treat and the kids brought home so much candy. I ended up handing it our on Halloween to trick or treaters so that the kids didn't eat it all :)

Updates:
Triston is still really enjoying school. This month they went on a field trip to a pumpkin trail, which Bridgie and I attended. It was so fun to watch Triston in his element at school and see how he acts with his friends and teacher. Triston has become best buds with two boys from school...Carson and Mason. His teacher refers to him and Carson as "Double Trouble". Not the label you dream of as a parent...but I know that it fits them perfectly! He is still LOVING soccer and wishes he had practice everyday. He was in his first Primary Program and did such a great job of saying his pary, "I am a child of God". I was totally crying! He sang most of the songs and kept waving to us and sticking his tongue out at Bridget, such a big brother.

Bridget is talking more and more everyday. She is still completely obsessed with SHOES. That girl will spend all day walking from closet to closet trying on all different types of shoes. And if we ever have a friend over she wears their shoes the whole time they are at our house. She loves to pick out clothes and put on her clothes by herself. She is SO independent. Anytime I try to help her with something she says, "No mommy, I do it." A few of her other favorite phrases are, "I hate it." or "I lub it!" Here is a an example of a conversation we had today, Me: Bridget would you like a sandwich? B: I hate sanwich. Me: Will please try it? B: No! I hate it. Triston takes a bite and says how great it is. B tries it, "Mommy, sissy lub sanwich!" Silly girl.

Funny Things T said:

While trying to get Triston to eat dinner.
Me: Triston I think if you try the rice you will like it.
T: But I don't like rice ever.
Me: Just try it.
T: Ok.
Bite
T: This rice is blowing my life! (he meant blowing his mind) :)

My friend and I were talking about waking Bridget up to go to Triston's soccer class and Triston interjected with:
"Mom, but what if Bridgie is a beast?"

September!

2010-10-16T23:47:00.008-06:00

In an attempt to keep our sad little blog alive I think I am going to try to publish one post a month (seems fairly doable right now). Life has somehow gotten crazy crazy and blogging has been one of the things I have neglected...so here it goes. Here is our month of September:

Labor Day:
We traveled out to Tucson to visit Quinn's family and to go to his ten year High School Reunion! Unfortunately we forgot the camera and have no pics to document our trip. We had lots of fun hanging out with the fam, it was great for Quinn to finally get to take a trip home. As for the Reunion...it was interesting. We had a great time catching up with a few of Quinn's close friends so that made it totally worth it!

The next weekend I went to CALI to visit my bff Emmalee and her family!! It was so great to finally be able to catch up, see her adorable kiddos, stay up all night laughing and talking. She and her hub Zac took me to San Fransico, I had never been before and it was AMAZING! We ate at the most delicious place I have ever eaten called Epic Roasthouse. If you are ever near San Fran it is definitely worth the trip. We walked around Pier 39 and we went to Union Square and checked out all the shops. It was so cool, I had never experienced anything like it. It was an amazing weekend.

Other highlights from September:
Triston started PreSchool! He loves it! He is learning all sorts of cool things, his favorite is probably the sign language. Bridgie misses Triston so much while he is at school. She talks about him the whole time he is gone. She will point things out and say, "Tistin's bed", "Tistin's shoes", "Tistin school", it pretty much melts my heart.

Also Bridget is finally officially in nursery!! woohoo. no more chasing her through the halls of church for THREE hours every Sunday. What a blessed thing nursery is! Her first few Sundays she struggled a little but now she acts like its no big deal to go in without us. Can't believe she is already so big.

Another big event, drum rolllllll....Bridgie hair is finally long enough for pig tails! Oh what a blessed day! She looks so dang cute with her piggies. Bridget happens to be OBSESSED with pigs right now, so well I tell her I am putting "piggies" in her hair she gets super excited.

A bit of sad new...some of close friends moved to Dallas. Triston and Bridgie both lost their besties. It was a sad day since they were our neighbors and daily play buddies. We will hopefully be able to see them in Dallas one of these days!

Quinn has been super busy with school and the company that he interned for this summer hired him on which has been awesome! They have been super flexible with his school schedule which is a must right now. The countdown is on...Quinn graduates with his MBA in DECEMBER. Wooohooo, can't believe it has gone so fast!
This video makes me laugh...Bridgie being her sassy little self:)

For the most part these two are peas in a pod. Makes my heart melt seeing things like this.

Piggies!

My cute big boy

San Fran - The largest Macy's in the world - TEN stories so crazy

Me and Emma at outside Epic Roasthouse, it overlooked the Bay Bridge

Zac and Em, two of my favorite people

Pier 39

Triston's first day of PreSchool!! Can't get this kiddo to smile for the camera. He is always doing something silly.

Our last day with the Jackson fam...miss you guys!!

Vomit Free

2010-06-19T20:40:00.009-06:00

We have some wonderful wonderful news. Before I get started on that I just want to thank everyone for all the help and advise we have received regarding Bridget's vomiting problem, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! We have now been vomit free for over a WEEK! And before that...the last couple weeks Bridget has vomited maybe twice a week which is a HUGE improvement!! Her pediatrician put her on Zyrtec thinking that maybe the vomiting was caused by her constant running nose...which was caused by an allergy to something in the air. I thought this was probably way too easy of a solution but it WORKED!! Bless this girls heart, wish we would have done this months ago. What a relief not having to worry about her throwing up at any given time. It has been bliss for all involved. Just look at this cute, vomit free girlie!

Just can't get enough of this girl.

B and her bff Blake

Our little California girl with her blonde hair

Such a Daddy's girl, it makes me melt

Just playing a little Yahtzee with her big bro

More good news! Triston has suffered really bad Eczema since he was about 12 months. We finally found some really great medicated lotion that has pretty much healed his really bad spots. Poor little guy would have to hold a bag of frozen peas on his itchy spots some nights to get them to spot itching! The medicine is awesome and he has an oral medication he can take too if the itching gets really bad but so far since we have had the lotions we haven't had to use the oral meds. So so great. It has been especially helpful since we have been swimming everyday and that totally dries out his skin and makes the Eczema worse but with the lotion it has been no big deal! what a blessing. he is our man living it up this summer

Triston is looking so much like Quinn to me, anyone else think this?

Racing with his bestest buddy at the pool.

He has become the best little helper. He is helping Bridget get her shoes on in this pic.

I love this picture b/c these boys look like they are 16 lounging at the pool. I love to just sit an listen to their conversations they are hysterical.

Ready for church. Triston is in one of those phases were he refuses to smile for the camera. He prefers to stick out his tongue. At least in this one he is just making a Blue Steel face :)

Sewing Frenzie, Cute Kiddos, and Wedding Events

2010-05-25T10:38:00.007-06:00

First of all, thanks everyone for your advise about Bridgie and her throwing up. No new news yet...but she has another appointment for next week so I will keep you posted!
I have been a little sewing kick lately and here are the results:

I made a dress for Bridget to wear to one of my friends weddings.

Bridget's room is super bright so I decided to make some curtains...they help keep a little light out, but mostly they just look cute.

These last fews weeks have been insanely busy for our little family. Two of my really good friends, that I have known most of my life, got married these last two weekends. The first weekend my friend Laura got married here in Lubbock. Laura and I went to jr high and high school together and stayed in touch all through college. Laura was at my wedding and it was SO wonderful to be at her wedding and she her marry a guy we went to school with. Triston was the ring bearer which was so adorable. I was also in the wedding so it was an absolute blast. One of our friends and her husband came all the way from Minnesota for the wedding and they stayed with us for the weekend and it was ridiculous amounts of fun!! Then this last weekend my friend Brooke got married in the LA temple. Brooke and I have been friends since we were 8! We kept in touch through jr high and high school, visiting each other a few times, and the we were roommates at BYU. It was so awesome to get to spend the weekend with her and her family. The whole family has always been like my second family so I felt right at home with them this past weekend. I don't have many pics of either wedding yet, so I will post those later.
Here are some pics of Triston at the rehearsal with the flower girl and other pics from the weddings:
Triston all ready to head to the Rehearsal at the church, what a handsome little guy

The Rehearsal

Me and Q at the delicious dinner...seriously the BEST food ever!!

Triston, Ivy (the flower girl), and Laura the bride to be! Triston and Ivy became best buddies in about two seconds after meeting. They referred to each other as boyfriend and girlfriend it was PRECIOUS!

Practicing going down the aisle

Brooke's wedding...Tedi, me, and Brooke's sister Michele! love love love these girls

Me and Nicole (my friend from Minnesota). So I decided to do a spray tan the day of Laura's wedding. The girl at the tanning place said that I looked pretty dark (not sure why she thought I was dark, I was pretty pasty) and she said I should do a LEVEL THREE spray tan. I didn't know any better so I said ok! Well, as the night progressed I got darker and darker! Quinn just laughed when he saw me at the wedding!! It was pretty hilarious.

And a couple more cause they are just so dang cute

The Queen of Throwing Up...

2010-05-10T10:35:00.004-06:00

Poor, sweet little Bridget still throws up everyday. It's so heartbreaking as a mom to watch her throw up so much and know that there isn't anything I can do to stop it. I had talked to her doctor about the situation a few different times and he seemed to think that it was no big deal and that it would stop soon. Well, we have been dealing with the daily throwing up thing since December!!! And frankly, it is a big deal and I am tired of watching her do it and I know our precious girl is SO tired of it too. Yesterday, during the closing prayer in sacrament meeting, Bridgie started coughing and I knew it was all over. She started throwing up. Well, it was not only silent in the room (except for the vomiting sound of poor Boozer) we were in the middle of our row with people on both sides of us. Since we are really quite used to the throwing up thing, I was able to catch all of the vomit in my hands and with B's dress and climb over all of the people in our row and make it out of the room without spilling on anyone! I thought it was quite an accomplishment! Last week I took Bridget to a different doctor and he scheduled her to have a Barrium Swallow and and XRay today. So Bridget had to go to the appointment fasting, which as you can imagine is REAL easy for a one year old. When she woke up this morning at 630 starving, I realized this morning was going to be extra exciting. So her appt was not until 845 which already seemed like eternity since she normally eats breakfast around 715 or 730. So when I get to the Radiology center at 830 and then have to wait with her in the waiting room until 1010...I was not a happy mom and Bridget had LOST it completely, poor, starving girl! They FINALLY took her back and gave her the Barrium to swallow, she did pretty good until we had to hold her down under a moving XRay type machine for about 7 mins. Bridget was SCREAMING!! She was sweating and clawing at anyone of the techs that tried to soothe her. I couldn't help but cry watching her so upset. She had already had such a rough morning and now this. Ah, it is so hard sometimes to be a mom knowing that you are doing whats best for your kid, but they don't understand and they are screaming for you to help them and you can't! AHHH so terrible. Anyways, we got through it and we got some good news. Her throat (which we thought had the problem) is perfect! Which is great news, but it's a little frustrating b/c now we don't know what the problem is. Bridget's pediatrician is going to look at the results and then refer us to a stomach specialist. Bless this girl's heart!! She is such a trooper and she is seriously such an angel child. I just wish I could make her all better!!!

Our girlie, shirtless after throwing up while eating lunch. I am so glad that she is still growing so much despite all the vomiting. She gained a 1/2 lb and grew a 1/2 in the last 4 weeks. We just want to get a little more meat on these bones and hope that we can figure out what is going on so she can keep more food down!!!

Have any of you other mom's ever known any other toddler that has had this problem?? Any info and advice is MORE than welcome!!!

As of late...

2010-04-11T22:18:00.002-06:00

Recently my mom had given me two little end tables from a house that she sold. The people had left a bunch of stuff and asked my mom to get rid of everything and she asked if we wanted to see if there was anything we wanted, since we are starving students once more I jumped at the chance!! I thought these two tables had some potential but they were pretty old and beat up. My friend Christi is awesome at redoing furniture so she offered to help me fix up the tables. I am not super handy but I ended up loving the whole process of redoing the tables. I think they turned out rather cute and they were free...what could be better?!

I wish that I would have gotten a picture before we started sanding them. They were both pretty scratched and they were a ugly brown color.

Triston was such a great little helper, he actually did quite a bit of the painting and he did a really good job. He has quite the crush on my friend Christi so anything she told him to do he did!

Ta da...

And a few pics for good measure ;)

check out those bruises on Triston's legs...this kid is just like his dad

Cupcake Party

2010-03-26T09:18:00.007-06:00

Our sweet little Bridget turned ONE yesterday. I really can't believe it has been a year already. This last year has just flown by! I feel so blessed to have this precious little girl in our home. Here are some pictures from her Cupcake Party!!

Since our theme for the party was cupcakes, Bridget's Nana & Grandpa gave her some cupcake pj's, LOVE THEM!

Messy face

Bridgie's giant cupcake.

She wasn't sure how to react with ALL of the attention on her. Something she is not quite used to.

Pushing her new stroller around. Now she won't have to push her own stroller around. She no longer sits in her real stroller she insists on pushing it. Both of kids started doing this around 10 months?? Pretty funny.

Triston helping B unwrap her presents. I loved the cupcake wrapping paper.

Here is the spread.

Adorable T dancing with his sis. He was so sweet to her all day. I thought he might get jealous since Bridget was getting gifts and he wasn't but he didn't. He even made her a card and kept telling everyone all day that it was Bridget's special birthday.

Just had to throw this one in. Triston lives on his bike on that the weather is warming up. I think he looks like such a big kid now.

She could do this all day, thank goodness we have a park right out side our place.

Playing peek a boo with Grandpa.

Me & my cute dad. He just had skin cancer removed from his nose on Tuesday, hence the stitches.

A few things about our girl:
She loves to be held, cuddled, tickled, and snuggled all day long.
She loves books. I frequently find her in her room just looking through her books.
She has a feisty personality. She definitely knows what she wants!
She is pretty tall for her age. She is 32 inches and weighs 21 pounds.
She tries to do whatever Triston does.
She loves bath time. As soon as she hears the word "bath" she takes off for the bathroom and just stands by the tub til someone gets her in.
She loves water. She has no problem putting her face in the water, which kind of scares me. She will lay on her back or stomach and roll around in the water.
She laughs a lot, she makes me feel like I am pretty hilarious. ;) But she laughs the hardest for Triston.
She loves her Daddy, it is so adorable. Sometimes she will search the house saying, "dada, dada". It is so sweet.
She can throw a serious fit!! head in her hands, flailing around on the floor, the whole bit.
She dances EVERYTIME she hears music.
She jumps on everything...her bed, my bed, the couch, pillows...whatever.
She sings to herself in her bed.
She has beautiful brown eyes and light brown/blondish hair with curls in the back.
I know every parent feels this way about there kids but I really feel so blessed to have Bridget in our home. She makes our whole family happy! Bridget, happy happy birthday. We adore you!! xoxo

Saturday with Dad

2010-03-14T23:02:00.005-06:00

Quinn colored Triston's face with chalk to make him look like an Avatar.

Ragnar Relay!

2010-03-07T12:37:00.006-07:00

About a week ago, Quinn and I drove down to AZ (with NO kids...it was such a lovely drive) to do the Ragnar Relay race with Quinn's family. The race started in Prescott and ended in Mesa it was 204 miles long! Our team head 12 people and each person ran 3 legs of the race. Although it was pretty intense (lots of hills!) it was probably the most fun I have had at a race. You basically don't sleep at all and cruise around in a van with half your team waiting to run, critiquing all of the other runners while you wait...only to realize (after seeing pictures) that you look more hilarious than all the other runners. After the race we spent one day with Quinn's family to celebrate his dad's birthday and we got to see Quinn's brother bless their new baby girl, and then we headed back to TX. I was pretty much dying to see our kids by the time we left but I had SUCH a great time and I feel so blessed to be in the Gooch family!

w

While we were gone Bridget started saying, "Uh oh!" which is ridiculously cute. I thought she would be so excited to see me and Quinn when we got home but she was MAD MAD MAD at us. She would just look at me and glare! I would try to make her smile or laugh and she would look away. I would try to hold her hand and she would just pull her hand away. It broke my heart. She got over it the next day but it was pretty sad there for a bit. Triston on the other hand was quite happy to see us. Monday morning after we had been playing for a little while he said to me, "Mom, I am so glad you are home...now let's get to wrestling". Oh how I love the things that boy says, hilarious.

We survived.

2010-02-23T21:16:00.007-07:00

So we made it through all the coughing, wheezing, vomiting, hallucinations, etc. and we are all happy and healthy again. We did feel a little cabin feverish for a week or so while we were stuck in the house.

This picture cracks me up. Bridgie was so sad that Triston wouldn't let her play with him. She was seriously devastated, poor babe.

So happy to be making cupcakes with Mom.

Triston hopping around the house. Skinny little guy. He has grown so much in the last few weeks. He has a growth chart in his room and we measure him every month. He grew 3/4 of an inch since Jan and I told him that and this was his response, "So do I get to be a missionary now?". Pretty sweet, he wants to be just like Uncle Riley.

Just had to throw this one in...gotta love those bare buns.

Triston trying to play in what little snow we had.

Bridgie feeling all better!

Triston's Preschool buddies.

When PreSchool gets out of control I just get all the balls out and let the kids go crazy and they LOVE it.

What a week!

2010-02-10T18:41:00.004-07:00

The last week of my life went something like this. Quinn has Strep throat, feels miserable, has to study anyway, has to stay up til the wee hours of the night studying anyway, has to wake up way to early anyway. Me trying to keep the kids away from Quinn when he is home, trying to play outside...oh wait it's raining and snowing again, yes we live in Texas and it snows here now. One day of sunshine, take Triston to the park, Triston insists on swinging with no hands, I insist more that he holds on, he agrees to hold on if I will give him an underduck, I agree, I push, he lets go, he falls on his head, he receives his fist concussion. I freak out, huge bump comes out on his head, he insists on taking a nap for the first time in a year, I freak out more, Quinn comes home, I feel better, we force Triston to stay awake, take him to the doc, concussion confirmed, I bawl. So I think we are in the clear and then, two nights ago Bridgie starts getting a runny nose, lay her down, throws up, girls nite, back to bed, a little coughing. Last night, runny nose continues, coughing starts, coughing continues, rattling chest begins, Triston wakes up yelling, sore thoart, he starts coughing, I stay up all night with B sleeping on my chest, Quinn stays up all night trying to get Triston to stay a sleep. Morning comes, get someone to cover my shift at work, call doctor, go to doctor, both kids diagnosed with RSV, Bridge also has an ear infection, I cry again. Go pick up all meds, nebulizer, try to get kids to sit with nebulizer on, screaming begins, running on no sleep, the hamburger buns I was going to use for dinner were stale, find something else to fix, finally got all med's given, humidifiers on, beds propped up, and Quinn is now back to studying, and I have a sore throat. Awesome. Makes me realize how grateful I am for our normally great health.

GiRls NiTe!

2010-02-08T22:58:00.003-07:00

Quinn is basically living at the library so most nights I am just hanging around the house by my lonesome. My kids go to bed around 6:30 so with Quinn gone, it makes for some long evenings. Tonight I put the kids to bed and started finishing up laundry and whatnot. A few hours later I heard B crying so I went in to see what the problem was. She had thrown up all over her bed. This girl has the most sensitive gag reflect in the world! Anytime she gets a runny nose and she lays down she throws up...every time. So once I got her all cleaned up I decided to let her stay up for a while so we could have some one on one time. We very RARELY get any time with just the two of us so I thought we would live it up and have our first GIRLS NITE! It was such a blast playing with that little angel. She is just starting to walk so I was helping her walk all over the room and she was loving it. She took ONE step by herself today which was so cute. We played some peek a boo, read some books, and I sang and she danced. Bridge is a dancing machine!! Anytime she hears music she is bouncing all over the place and laughing while doing it, it's priceless. What a perfect little night. I am so grateful for that girl, she is always so happy and so content. I feel so blessed to have her sweet personality in our home, what a lucky mom I am.

Cancun! (SUPER long post!)

2010-01-25T18:32:00.012-07:00

Snorkling! Triston was right out there in the water with me. Fish were swarming us, he wasn't a fan of that but he liked looking at the them.

The water was absolutely gorgeous. This was the party boat heading out to snorkle.

Missing Quinn terribly.

This was the "Jungle Tour". A little misleading however. There was not so much jungle as there was a few bushes and tress but oh well. We each got to drive our own boat which was pretty fun and a little scary since they offered NO instruction on how to operate a boat.

This was the pool at the condo we stayed at. It over looked the ocean, it was so beautiful.

Triston in his snorkling gear.

The Tulum Ruins.

The most humongous iguana I had ever seen. The guy that owned it charged me $5.00 for taking a picture with it!! He was shoving it at me and tell me to hold it and then once we got a picture he made us pay him, pretty clever.

Me & my brothers, minus Chad

Iguanas were running around everywhere and they were so big!

Triston LOVED this pool and and the big slides, probably his favorite part of the trip.

Playa Del Carmen

My mom all ready to go on the Zip Line.

The Zip Line was definitely my favorite thing.

I love this picture of Bridget, she was such a trooper all week. This little lady is quite the water lover so that made the trip so fun.

I feel so blessed to be able to take so many fabulous trips with Quinn's family and with my fam. At least once a year we head to Rocky Point Mexico with Quinn's fam and it is always a blast (see old posts!). My family decided to take a trip to Cancun this year and it was so fun...my brother Chad and his family couldn't make it we REALLY missed them! It was really neat to see another part of Mexico. We had some crazy times...here it goes.

Few things we learned on the trip
We all started out pretty darn pasty as you can tell.
My mom cannot help speaking English with a Spanish accept ANYTIME she spoke to someone in Mexico. Some people were speaking FLUENT English and she continued on in her Spanish accent...hilarious!
Bridget, Triston, and I get motion sickness. Bridget and I both threw up on the boat when we went out to snorkle. We got some pretty dirty looks.
Triston got sick on our bus ride to the Tulum ruins and on our last flight home to TX. Both rides were pretty bumpy, poor guy.
Gchat saved us! We were able to talk to Quinn everyday and it was so fun that we could see him while we chatted. It made such a difference.

Could it really be true?

2010-01-10T19:20:00.005-07:00

Two excellent things that I am so excited about.

Numero Uno:
Have we overcome the terrible TWO's??? Several people told me that it's really the terrible THREE's and not the two's. I was hesitant to post this in case I jinxed myself but I really think Triston has grown out of his crazy two year old phase. All of a sudden has really become more grown up and so much easier to deal with. I really didn't think I would make it if the three's were worse than the two's so I am so grateful for this turning point in our little man. If he does something wrong he has started just simply saying ,"sorry Mom.". Really? No tantrum on the floor? No clawing at my face? No throwing things against the wall and screaming?? What?! This is so wonderful I just can't help but scoop him up and hug him each time. Now don't get me wrong he still has his moments, as I am sure all kids do, but I have noticed a HUGE difference in the way he is reacting to things just in the last few weeks. Let's hope it's not just a phase!!

Secondly:
The Boozer has HAIR! So happy that our lady is finally getting some luscious locks. People have finally started recognizing her as a GIRL now that she has hair. I used to get a lot of, "Oh isn't HE darling." Yes, my little BOY in all pink and brown with a pink headband is quite darling. What can you do? I am just loving hair some hair on that sweet little head so that I can finally starting doing it!

The two gems. Triston showing off his great brothering skills and Boozer showing off that hair. ;)

Smiles, smiles and more smiles

2009-12-29T14:25:00.006-07:00

Chirstmas was so fun this year...Triston is at such a fun age. He finally gets the whole "Santa" thing, though it took til Christmas day to convince him Santa is real. Triston was basically grinning from ear to ear all day on Christmas. He really enjoyed watching other people open presents as well which surprised me. Since we aren't in Utah anymore I was sure we would have a very mild Christmas but boy was I wrong. Ten inches of snow of Christmas Eve it was so much fun. Triston can't get enough of the snow. Bridge was her usual self, sweet as can be and happy all day. However, Bridget has developed quite the bad habit. Now when we put her to bed if we don't rock her or hold her til she is sleeping she makes herself throw up in her bed!! It's absolutely crazy! She is not sick at all and never throws up any other time but she has learned that if she throws up we get her out of bed and have to clean her and all that and she loves the attention. We can literally hear her trying to gab herself it is nuts and if we run in to stop her she is all smiles. Ah!! If anyone has any advice on how to get her to stop I would LOVE to hear it. I am getting a little tired of cleaning sheets, bumper pads and blankets EVERY night.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T08:36:00.002-07:00

Happy Holidays!

Love,

The Gooch Fam

Our Elf Named Christmas

2009-12-08T13:11:00.004-07:00

So my mom delivered a little package from the North Pole yesterday and it was our own personal Elf! I had never heard of The Elf of the Shelf but its our new favorite tradition. For those that haven't heard of it I will explain briefly. You get a book and a box with a little Elf doll in it. The book explains what you are supposed to do with your elf in a way that kids can understand. Basically the Elf watches the family and reports to Santa every night who has been naughty and who has been nice. The book explains that the Elf is not allowed to talk but he smiles when he is listening (he is always smiling). So every night your Elf moves to a different location in the house and in the morning the kids get to search for the Elf and his new hiding spot. The book tells you to name your Elf and explains that you can't touch him or he loses his magic. Triston named our Elf Christmas. :) On Christmas Eve your Elf flies back to Santa and stays there the rest of the year until Dec 1st of the next year. Triston thinks this is the most amazing thing ever. Not only is he being so good he claimed today, "Christmas is my best friend mom."! So hilarious. Sometimes when Triston goes to the bathroom or into another room I quickly move Christmas and Triston thinks this is so awesome. He has been leaving cookies for him around the house today as well, I am getting a little sick of cookies so I told him Elves love fruit too but he insists on leaving cookies for Christmas. If you have little kids this is such a fun tradition I would recommend to anyone! We love our new Elf friend Christmas and we are loving our very NICE boy Triston as well.

Trip to the Big D

2009-12-06T19:15:00.002-07:00

One of my really good friends from jr high and high school is getting MARRIED!! She is currently living in Dallas and is trying to plan her wedding in Lubbock. She asked me to be her Maid of Honor and I am super excited to help plan her wedding. This past weekend she flew me down to Dallas to help her find a wedding dress since her mom was not able to go down. I was a little nervous leaving the kids home, ok I am not going to lie I was super nervous, but I thought it would be so much easier is they stayed home. I left Friday night and came home this morning and had a total blast! I forgot how easy it is to fly without kids! :) Laura and I spent ALL day Saturday traveling all over DFW trying on all sorts of beautiful wedding dresses. Laura's fiance took us out to some absolutely delicious restraunts! It was also so nice to go out to eat without trying to juggle kiddos. My friend lives in Uptown, my favorite part of Dallas, so we got to go to all sorts of neat little places. I missed the kiddos like crazy but they were so AWESOME for Quinn! They had a sleep over with my parents on Friday night and then hung out with Quinn yesterday and he had them both in bed sound asleep by 7pm...he is superdad. I came home today to a clean house and happy babes, it was WONDERFUL! I feel so rejuvenated after having a little time away to myself. It was pretty funny because when I got home today Quinn said, "Well, I don't know how you get everything done in the day, it was pretty exhausting. And...I realized you don't ever get to enjoy a meal." Haha I had to laugh at that. I think Quinn had a good time hanging out with the kids and I had a wonderful weekend away. Can't wait for the wedding!

Thanks a million

2009-11-24T10:21:00.007-07:00

In the spirit of thanksgiving I wanted to give a shout to my dad and tell him how incredibly grateful we are for him and his many talents! He is such a generous man and has provided us with the most beautiful furniture. We can't thank you enough Dad!

Our dresser. We haven't had a dresser since we have been married and I must say its AMAZING having it, especially since it is absolutely gorgeous.

Triston's bed changed to the full.

My dad hand carved the flowers - so precious.

Bridget's beautiful crib!

Mr. T Turns THREE

2009-11-08T20:15:00.003-07:00

Happy Birthday Big Man...we hope you had a wonderful day!

A few funny things

2009-11-01T20:32:00.003-07:00

Bridget really got into her Halloween character as a lion...she has started growling. It is priceless! She does it all the time now and it cracks me up everytime.

Funny story about Mr. T:

T: Mom, I hate this song.
M: Whoa bud...we do NOT say "hate". It is not a nice word. We say things like, "dislike, I don't really like that, it's not my favorite" but we don't say hate.
Silence (Triston looking pensive)
T: Do you HATE it when I say "hate" mom?

One more story:
M: Triston you can't eat anymore of the cookie dough ok? Make a good choice please.
T: Ok mom, look away for a minute while I do something and when you look back I will make a good choice.
What a sneaky little rascal! :)

Halloween Festivies Prior to Halloween

2009-10-29T20:29:00.005-06:00

This week has been crazy fun - full of Halloween party after Halloween party! This year Triston has really gotten into the spirit of Halloween so we carved pumpkins, made a monster cake (it was SO excellent but I don't have any pictures!), made hot dog mummies, and we are making spider cinnamon rolls tomorrow - so much fun. We have just stretched our Halloween celebration to the max, we want to get full use of our costumes. ;) Here are some pics of our Pre-Halloween fun.

Ok I had to post a few of Bridget out of her costume - love that smile

Triston really wanted to be Woody this year (he LOVES Toy Story right now) his costume was not quite finished here but you get the idea!

Our little Bridget is a lion

Party at the Science Spectrum

Making "snow" - something we are not yet missing!

Our second round of Hot Dog Mummies

Party at TEGA!

This place was made for our T Man - running, jumping, swinging while dressed like Woody?!! He couldn't ask for anything better!

Totally captured the real Boozer (that is Triston's nickname of Bridge)

Such a little lady

I finished it!

2009-10-18T23:06:00.003-06:00

Since Triston has been growing like a WEED, we decided it was time to switch his bed from the toddler bed to the full size bed. So my mom and I decided to take up quilting! I made Triston's quilt and my mom is working on Bridget's. Unfortunately, I don't have a sewing machine but my mom let me use hers, so now that I am done she can start sewing Bridgie's. I started the quilt about a month ago and just finished it tonight I can't wait to get it on Triston's bed tomorrow!!! PS - I am totally addicted to quilting now, it is so excellent.

Things I Love...

2009-10-15T21:45:00.003-06:00

First of all before I start this post I want to preface it by addressing an issue that I have recently been talking about with some friends. Lately, I have been hearing that people are deleting their blogs because they think blogs are just a way for people to talk about how cool they are and to make it look like they have a perfect family. So I looked at my own blog and thought...you know, sometimes I do brag about my little fam but anyone that knows me, knows that my life is FAR from perfect. I mean lets be honest...I bribe Triston with treats so he will brush his teeth - I know it defeats the purpose, Triston and I go to battle at LEAST once a day...sometimes all afternoon, my baby still doesn't sleep through the night, my car is currently in the shop-so annoying, most days I don't even get my make up on until 5 minutes before Quinn gets home, but I do love my life and my family. I do think my kids are UNBELIEVABLE, I do think my husband is the GREATEST man, so I am going to continue to brag about them and keep our family and friends updated on our lives.

Things I am loving right now...

"Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. Such a silly song but I LOVE it, so does Triston. :) Triston calls it "our song" which I think is so sweet. We listen to it on repeat in the car and we are always, "nodding our heads like yeah...and moving our hips like yeah."!! In fact, when I don't nod or move Triston calls me out and says, "Mom you didn't shake that time." To which I reply, "Sorry bud, I will shake really good next time." I love to watch him dance in the rear view mirror - oh man it is the best thing ever.

Bridget sitting up! I forgot what a great milestone "sitting up" is. I don't have to worry about flat head 24/7 and Triston and Bridge interact so much more now. I absolutely love watching them together. It's especially awesome when I find Triston using Bridget's head to stack blocks on or when he pushes her ever so slightly to see if she can regain her balance. He is such a typical "big brother". I have to say though...he does brag about her to his friends which I think is adorable.

My new home. Its small but its clean and cute. There is a park right outside so I feel like its my backyard. The kids each have their own rooms which is so AWESOME!

Simply Grapefruit juice. It tastes like i am pouring the juice straight from the grapefruit into my mouth - what an excellent experience.

Quinn being in school. I thought it would be so hard because he would be gone and studying all the time - which he is - but he LOVES it so he is always so happy. His job at the bank was great but it left him a little bored and didn't challenge him at all. I can tell that he is really enjoying what he is learning and he is doing so well. It makes me so happy to see him so happy - cheesy but true. :)

My job. I mean I would be going to the gym anyway so why not get paid to go right?! When I first started I was pretty nervous because I am not super outgoing and I was nervous to have to yell and be super bubbly and everything but I LOVE doing that now. I feel like I get to have this other personality that is super outgoing and loud and its so fun!

Send Her Back??!!

2009-09-21T19:47:00.006-06:00

So this morning Triston woke up pretty ornery. In his defense he woke up super early because Quinn was up studying and accidentally woke him. The morning was a struggle and here is an account of the conversation he and I had:

Triston: I don't like Bridget anymore Mom. Send her back!
Me: What? You love Bridge, we don't want to send her back.
T: Yes I do! I really don't like her now.
M: Where would we send her?
T: To another family.
M: Hmmmm, wouldn't you miss her? You wouldn't have anyone to play with and make you laugh.
T: She isn't that funny, just send her to another family.
M: Well, ok if you only want to be with mom and dad and have NO fun then lets go pack her stuff.
T: Ok.
M: (Thoughts) Oh my gosh what I am going to do with this kid!

I decided to let him think it over for a while and then I came up with a way to win him over. Bridget was asleep so I went in and put a brownie in her crib and then the conversation continued...

M: Triston, did you know Bridgie made you something last night while you were sleeping?
T: She did?!? What did she make??!! (Jumping up and down)
M: It's a surprise. She worked SOOOO hard. You know how small her little arms are right? Well, she had to work so hard to make this for you. She can't walk so she just kept it in her bed.
T: She worked so hard for me?
M: Yep she did.
T: Let's go see it!!!
M: Ok, really quietly.
T: It's my FAVORITE!! A brownie! Ok, mom we can keep her!

Thank goodness our little lady is such a good cook ;)

Triston at his gym class

2009-09-13T21:59:00.001-06:00

Sorry it's sideways!

2009-09-13T18:44:00.008-06:00

Another update post? Well, yes it seems I am always getting behind with this blogging business so here it goes.

Triston started PreSchool...loved it for the first day but was REALLY stressed out after they made him take a nap. Have you ever known a kid that hates sleep as much as Triston?? He cracks me up! He kept telling me that he didn't want to go back b/c he didn't want to sleep. I told him I would pick him up before nap time but he was still so stressed about it. His teacher called me and told me that he wouldn't let her take him to the bathroom and that every three or four minutes he would come tell her, "My mom said I didn't have to take a nap and she is picking me up before nap time." I could tell it was stressing him out b/c he kept bringing it up even on days when he didn't have school...so I opted to take him out of pre-school this year. I actually feel really relieved! We decided to start a little play group/joy school kind of thing with a couple friends his age. I think he will like this a lot better and next year we will give preschool a whirl. As for his gym class, he LOVES it! His teacher loves him b/c he is always SO willing to try everything. They do the coolest stuff I just love watching him in his class. He is also starting a soccer class at the end of the month. He talks about it everyday so I think he is going to really enjoy that too.

I have started some really fun projects lately. We all know I am not a super crafty girl but lately I have been really into crafty stuff. I joined the "Quilting Group" in my ward and I am starting to make quilts for Triston and Bridget. I am super excited about them. Last week I painted our changing table, made a tutu for Bridget (so fun!), and made block letters that spell BRIDGET. Who would of thought?! I will post some pics later.

Bridgie trying out the bouncer - she loves it!

Not so sure about the tutu...

Tirston looking like such a big kid, this is his favorite shirt right now. Can't go wrong with Spiderman!

Our happy happy girl

Triston's first day of PreSchool picture - fully equipped with backpack and nap mat/sleeping bag!! I love this kid!

Bridge in her first pair of jeans, she is going to be a little heart breaker

I love this picture, it just makes me smile

My little stud

I just can't get enough of these kids!

Last Days of Summer (sorry SO long)

2009-08-23T21:25:00.012-06:00

Wow once again I feel like time is flying by. I can't believe it is almost September I feel like it is still April. Well, since summer is winding to a close I figured I would update the old blog and share somethings we have been up to and what is up and coming!

Bridget...

Our little Bridgie is still as sweet as ever. She brings so much joy into our home. She is SO smilie and she is laughing like crazy these days, it is my favorite thing ever. It is so funny because she ALWAYS laughs at Triston. She will laugh at other things but Triston really gets her rolling, it is hilarious. She is starting to sit up on her own which is awesome! Bridget is a food lover. This girl downs her baby food and she is eating it three times a day. If we don't feed her fast enough she grabs the spoon and shovels the food in herself it is so cute. We can't get enough of our girlie, here are some recent pics...

Triston...

Triston has grown up SO much just in these last few months. He is so much fun and he is HILARIOUS! He brings so much laughter and excitement to our family. Triston will be starting PreSchool in a week, I can't even believe it. Even though I am a little nervous to send my little man off to school, I know he is so ready and he is so excited. He will be going to school twice a week and he has a gym class one day a week which I think he will love. Anything involving running, jumping, playing with balls, and more running, will be perfect for Triston. Recently we took Triston to Joyland (kind of a glorified carnival with a couple of roller coasters) and he LOVED it. He was so excited to ride on airplanes, trains, drive fire trucks, and boats. So this is a random fact about Triston, whenever he feels awkward or doesn't have anything to say he ALWAYS says, "We got ourselves a nodder!" from Cars. It is so funny. We are going to "Back to School" night this week to meet his teacher and some of his classmates so that will be super exciting for him. Triston still loves anything he can race around, cars, trains whatever. He loves playing football, soccer, and baseball with Quinn. Whenever I play sports with him, he is always critiquing me!! He says things like, "Come on mom watch the ball better." Or, "don't watch your feet when you run mom!" Hahaha! It is priceless. He is are some pics of our little stud...

Quinn...

Quinn started his MBA orientation boot camp and has already learned some great stuff. He likes the program so far and has met some LDS guys in his program which has been really nice considering all of the other guys are 22 and LOVE to party. Real school starts this Thursday so he will basically be studying 24/7 from here on out. Quinn is in Young Mens in our ward and has a great group of boys that he is over. He has started writing for his blog, Deep Shades of Blue, again. This year he has two other former players sharing the work load with him since he will be so busy with school this year. He is ready for the football season to start! He has been spending some of his rare free time biking around the city of Lubbock.

Dani...

So life has been good, a little crazy but good. I am nervous for Quinn to be back in school, excited/nervous for Triston to start school, excited to have some one on one time with Bridget, grateful that we have great friends and family, loving being in Young Women's (my girls are AMAZING!!), TIRED from my little girlie who has decided to eat 8 times at night, hating that time is going by so fast...I just want to pause it. Life is good and I want to enjoy it! I got a job working as an aerobic instructor at my gym! I super excited and I start the first week of September. For the first month I am just teaching a running class, which will be great motivation for me to start running, and then after Sept. I am taking over for another instructor who is pregnant. It will be a great job because I only work an hour at a time and my kids can go to the daycare at the gym while I teach. We had a Young Women's sleepover Friday night which was an absolute BLAST! I think I may have had more fun than my girls. We stayed up the entire night which was crazy, but we did so many fun things. We had a Modest is Hottest fashion show, we made donuts at 2 am, did pedicures, made up one awesome dance, and pretty much laughed ourselves sick. I felt like I was 13 again, besides the fact that I had to drive home every couple hours throughout the night to feed Bridge. :)

So there it is...that was the update. We have so many exciting things coming up so I will have a lot to blog about in these next few months!

It's official

2009-08-15T12:04:00.006-06:00

Quinn started his orientation on Thursday and is now officially a Red Raider - but I think he will always be a Cougar at heart. It is so weird to have him back in school, but from what he has heard at the orientation I think he is going to love Tech!! Here's to our next adventure!

Here is my little business man :)

Vaca to Mexico

2009-08-15T11:11:00.004-06:00

We were so lucky to be able to take a family vacation to Mexico again this summer. Quinn was actually able to go this year which was fabulous! As always, we had a blast. Other than a few like hiccups (Sharee cutting hitting her face on the pavement!, Gary's car getting hit, and a few car problems) it was perfect! Here our some pictures of our wonderful trip.

Our fam

2009-07-14T21:18:00.000-06:00

Dressing himself

2009-07-02T10:43:00.003-06:00

So this morning I asked Triston to go pick out some clothes while I made breakfast. After a few minutes of total silence (which always means trouble of some sort) I decided to go check on my little man. This was the outfit he had created for himself... :)

So creative!

Three months old already...

2009-06-30T20:48:00.005-06:00

I can't believe how tiny she was when we brought her home, and how much hair she had!

They look like two little chunky monkeys in this picture, I love it.

Bridget loves to sit on Triston's lap, it's precious.

I absolutely can't believe that Bridget is already THREE MONTHS OLD! In some ways it feels like she was born yesterday and in other ways it seems like she has been apart of the family forever. As you can see, Triston adores her and she adores him right back. I wish time would slow down a little, seems like they are growing up every single day!

Blessed

2009-06-16T15:09:00.008-06:00

A couple of weeks ago our little family took a vacation to Tucson to spend some time with family. It was absolutely WONDERFUL! For one thing, most of Quinn's family hadn't met little Bridget yet so that was really fun. Also, we hadn't been to Tucson since Christmas so we very ready for another visit. We had decided to wait to bless Bridget until we went to AZ so that more of Quinn's family members could be there. The blessing was beautiful and Bridget looked gorgeous. Quinn's mom found the PERFECT blessing dress so Bridget looked adorable. Triston had so much fun playing with his cousins. We went to the zoo, fed the giraffes which was really cool, swam, ate delicious food, and had some great time to relax.

Our fam...thanks everyone that could be there, we loved seeing you all!

Triston and Bailey loving the zoo

Bailey was such a great little buddy for Triston and she was so cute with Bridget, she was my little helper.

Bridget Ann Gooch on her special day, look at that dress!

Grandma and Triston feeding the giraffes

Us with Grandma and Grandpa Gooch

The two masterminds behind all the delicious food

Daddy's little girl, look at those cheeks!!

Triston had so much fun "playing" the Wii with his older cousins. He felt like one of the big boys. :)

Quinn & Dave's wrestling match

Dave taking the victory, rematch scheduled for our trip to Mexico this summer. ;)

My fearless little man was following Megan & Bailey around and was about to cross the monkey bars by himself.

Cute little Bella was much fun for Triston this trip. It was pretty funny because anytime I was turned around Bella would mistake me for Heather. She would run up and say "MAMA!". It was so cute!

A beautiful night at the park.

We miss everybody and can't wait for MEXICO!!!

Triston's Poem

2009-05-25T16:47:00.000-06:00

Cute pics of the kids going to the pool

2009-05-25T16:31:00.004-06:00

Recent Pics

2009-05-13T22:52:00.001-06:00

An Update on the Kiddos

2009-05-13T22:21:00.002-06:00

Here is a little update on the kids:

Triston has done great with our move to Texas. He is missing his friends and has only asked once, "When are we going back to our Utah house by Sadie?". A couple of days ago he decided he wanted to stop wearing diapers!! HALLELUJAH!! I have tried to start the whole potty training process several times before now but he was just not that interested or he would try it once or twice and lose interest quickly. After getting some advice from fellow moms, I decided to wait til he was ready and not try to battle with him about it. So when he came to me and said he didn't want diapers anymore, I was thrilled. He has done AWESOME! We have been using the "potty watch" and it has been FANTASTIC. So if any of you are starting to potty train, I highly recommend the potty watch. Triston is so excited about being a "big boy" he won't even put a diaper on when he goes to bed, so I sneak in just before I go to bed and change him into a diaper. First thing he does in the morning is run into our room and request that he is changed into undies immediately! Hopefully things will keep going well. Triston is a ball of energy and keeps me and Quinn on our toes. He is full of hilarious questions these days. He has started asking me, "Mom, where did I get this?" or "Mom, where did this come from?" about EVERYTHING he owes, including his own limbs, fingers, and toes. :) He is still loving being a big brother and can be very helpful when he wants to be. He has been pretty mischievous lately and anytime I try to discipline him he says, "You are hurting my feelings Mom" or "Stop being so mean Mom, you need a time out!". I have to turn away so he can't see me laughing!! I am also SO happy to report he is still sleeping 10-12 hours a night. WOOHOO!! He is growing up so fast I can't even believe it!

Bridget is an absolute angel! She basically cries when she is hungry or when she wants to be put down in her bed. Yes that is right, sometimes she will start to get fussy if Quinn or I are holding her, and if we put her down she goes right to sleep. She is still waking up two times at night but she is now eating and going right back to sleep. Last night she went 6 hours between feedings, I couldn't believe it. She is also a super speedy little eater. It only takes her about 10 minutes to eat, so waking up at night for 10 minutes is very doable. She has started smiling a ton and she smiles the most for Triston. She already loves her big brother, its precious. She is my little snuggler too. Triston was super stiff as a baby so I am loving that this little one loves to cuddle.

One Month Old

2009-04-26T09:07:00.003-06:00

I can't believe Bridget is one month old already! She is still such a good baby. Here are some recent pictures of our sweet baby girl...

Happy Easter!

2009-04-14T13:45:00.004-06:00

Triston loved Easter this year. He went on two different Easter egg hunts, one with our friends neighborhood and one on Easter morning in the house. We got Triston's Easter basket all set out the night before and we had a trail of chocolate eggs going from his room to his Easter basket. We slept with our door open so that we would hear when he woke up and we could watch him go find his basket. However, after being up several times during the night with little Bridget, Quinn and I were both totally exhausted and we didn't hear Triston wake up. I woke up to Triston shaking me asking me to open his Thomas train that the Easter bunny had brought! He had only pulled one thing out of his Easter basket so I was able to snap a few pictures of him before he tore into the rest. :) Bridget got some cute little pink booties from the Easter Bunny but the pictures I took wouldn't upload so we will have to take some more later.

Big Brother

2009-04-14T13:28:00.003-06:00

I was so worried about how Triston was going to adjust to having a baby sister around and I have been blown away at how much he loves her already! Triston is so full of energy and needs lots of one on one play time so I thought he might be jealous of a new baby, I was wrong. From the minute we brought Bridget home he has absolutely adored her. It has been the most precious thing to watch him take care of her. He has turned into such a great little helper...he is in charge of taking all of Bridget's diapers to the trash can. :) Anytime he hears her crying he runs up to her and says, "It's ok, Triston's here." in the sweetest voice you have ever heard. Also, our first day back at preschool he was so excited to tell his best friend Sadie about his sister. As soon as Sadie got to preschool Triston ran up to her and said, "Sadie, I have a little sister like you!". My very favorite story was when we were visiting some friends and they were holding Bridget...here was Triston's response:

Triston: Mom, that is OUR baby get her back!
Me: Its ok, they are just holding her. She will come with us when we leave.
Triston: No, mom! You hold her, she is OUR baby. She is NOT staying here.
Me: I promise we will take her with us when it's time to go.
Triston: It's time to go Mom! Get MY baby and let's go to our house. It's dark outside she needs to go to sleep in her bed. :)

I thought it was so sweet that he was SO protective of her! Having two has been an absolute blast so far! Bridget has been such a good baby. Besides being exhausted from the lack of sleep, things are great! Here are a few recent pics of the two kiddos.

Twins?

2009-03-30T22:24:00.001-06:00

Bridget Ann Gooch is here!!!

2009-03-29T18:39:00.002-06:00

Wednesday night Quinn and I welcomed our new little addition Bridget Ann at 9:08 pm! She is healthy and absolutely beautiful at 7 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches. We barely made it to the hospital in time to have Bridget delivered. I was not due for another week and was very convinced that I wouldn't going into labor for at least a week. Quinn had some intuition or something b/c he was sure that I was going into labor all day Wednesday. He actually left work early and just came home to see how I was doing - I wasn't having any contractions yet or anything so I was really confused as to why he FELT the baby was coming that day. Well, around 5:30 that night I started having some contractions. For those that don't know, I had had contractions since I was 28 weeks so I didn't think anything of these contractions. Quinn and I went for a little walk to see if they would stop...they didn't. I took a bath...they kept going. The contractions were about one to three minutes apart and lasting about 45-55 seconds. Finally after we ate dinner Quinn convinced me to let our friends take Triston for the night and we were heading to the hospital. I was still convinced this was a false alarm and was sure we would get sent home. But between contractions I grab our bags and packed a bag for Triston. Our good friend Nate picked up Triston at about 8:20pm. We raced to the hospital where they sent us straight to labor and delivery. Once in our room the nurse checked me and I was at a six. The nurse hooked me up to an IV and I was planning on not getting an epidural but I did want some sort of pain medication. Once she got the IV in I asked her to get some pain meds for my IV, so she left to get them. I had one really strong contraction while she was gone and I yelled to Quinn, "SHE IS COMING OUT!" Poor Quinn had to run and find the nurse. She came and checked me and said, "OH MY GOSH she is crowing!!" I said, "So can I still get the pain meds?" Nope! It was too late. Thankfully my doctor was next door delivering another baby. He raced in, didn't even have time to put on a mask, and I asked him for some local anesthesia and he said, "This baby is coming out we don't have time." 3 pushes and she was here! It was a great experience and I am AMAZED at how well the recovery has been. We are soooo thrilled to have our sweet baby girl home!!

BABY SHOWER!!

2009-03-01T20:55:00.007-07:00

So yesterday I felt like the luckiest girl in the world as my wonderful friends threw me a beautiful baby shower! I owe a huge thank you to Britni and Linley for throwing the shower...thanks girls, it was absolutely perfect! I also am so grateful for all of my wonderful friends that came and supported me and completely spoiled me and our little baby girl. THANKS SO MUCH, I LOVE YOU ALL!

All us girls at Dear Lizzie

Me & Rach, it had been forever since we had seen each other so it was great to catch up.

If you look closely at the table you can see the beautiful cupcakes and drinks, the food was delicious!

I have to admit, I got the cutest girl clothes ever. I am so excited for this little girl to get here so I can start playing dress up. :)

Beautiful Linley and Britni, the masterminds behind the shower.

PS - If you were wondering what Quinn and Triston were doing during the shower check out Nate & Linley's blog, its a pretty funny story...halvie-hutch.blogspot.com

Some Tristonisms

2009-02-15T09:30:00.005-07:00

Triston has been saying the funniest things lately, here are a few of the things he has said:

We have been trying to teach Triston things you can and cannot do with a baby. We are trying to help him to understand that babies don't eat food, they only drink milk. So the other day I said, "Triston what do babies eat?"
His response, "Cereal and chocolate."

He also loves to have me and Quinn race him around the house using his wagon or scooter. Before we start the race he always says, "Float like a Cadillac, sting like a beamer!" and does a little dance on his toes.

The other day Triston and I were getting ready to race and he said, "Mom, I will be Chick Hicks and you can be Bessie." :)

I was in my room and Quinn and Triston were out in the family room. Quinn came back into our room and I heard Triston say, "Hello? Is anybody here?" Silence. "That's strange."

We recently bought a new car and Triston is always critiquing Quinn while he drives it. "Papa, you are driving to hard!" Or sometimes he will say, "Papa we are getting a flat tire, be careful."

Quinn and I were collecting bags of food for a food drive. We picked up a large brown paper bag full of food and put it in the back seat by Triston. When we were done we delivered the bag to the food drive. When Quinn took the bag out of the back seat Triston starting crying, "MY LUNCH! MY LUNCH! Papa took away my lunch!" I only wish you could have seen this brown grocery bag FULL of food. Apparently Triston thought it was his lunch.

Latley...

2009-02-15T08:51:00.003-07:00

Life has been crazy busy around here these past few weeks. As we get ready for baby number 2, (six weeks away) I am cherishing these last weeks with my boys. As for an update on Triston's sleeping habit...I am sooo happy to say that he is still sleeping 12 hours straight every night. I still can't believe how easy it was to fix his bad sleeping habits. Since it has been so freezing cold here, Triston and I have had to find some really fun things to do indoors. Thankfully we have found some really fun (and free!!) indoor play places. With Triston getting so much sleep, he has even more energy than before so we are really hoping that the weather starts to get warm soon so we can play outside again!

Here is the fam. I feel like Triston looks so big in this picture (and so does my belly!). :)

Triston and his cute friends.

Triston helped Quinn set up the cradle. We wanted to give him plenty of time to get used to seeing her stuff around the house. He was so excited to help Quinn and he has asked several times if he could sleep in the cradle "that he built".

All sweat-suited out headed to the little gym.

Singing

2009-01-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

A Miracle!

2009-01-26T13:13:00.002-07:00

I plan on giving an "update post" soon...life has been crazy busy lately but I just have to share this miracle with you all. So many of you know that Triston has not been the best sleeper throughout his life. Yes, he would sleep through the night for a few nights but then something would happen and he would get off his schedule and not be able to sleep for several nights. Ever since our vacation at Christmas Triston has been waking up at least 4 or 5 times a night (and those were GOOD nights). Right after the New Year I found out that he was just overcoming an ear infection (I had NO IDEA!!! Bless his heart.), pink eye, and a cough. Quinn and I thought that he for sure would start sleeping again once he was feeling better...not so. So after about 3 more weeks of sleepless nights I became super desperate. When an independent little two year old and an almost seven month prego mommy are not sleeping, it's not a good combo! So I decided Triston must still be sick so I took him back to the doctor praying that this would solve the problem. The doctor checked him out thoroughly, I think he could tell I was about to be a basket case, and reluctantly told me Triston is as healthy as could be. NO!!!!! I broke down right there in the doctor's office. I started crying and begging for Infant Ambien!! That's right I wanted to put my 2 year old on sleeping pills. I just couldn't stop thinking about how in two months I am going to have another little one and will be getting up all night with that one too. It totally overwhelmed me and I was totally desperate. My doctor told me he would send Triston to a sleep specialist but I had to read this book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, first. I was annoyed (since I have read about 6 books on helping children to sleep and I have had no success) but I decided to do it so I could get my appt with the specialist asap. Keep in mind, Quinn and I really have tried everything, letting Triston cry for 3 hours straight several night in a row, no binkies, bottles or special blankies, we don't sleep with him or put him in our bed, so I was sure this book would offer nothing new to me. So I read the first chapter and then (as instructed by my doctor) read the "two year old" section. It seemed easy enough, it did offer a new idea to help with our "jack in the box" as they called kids that get out of there beds a million times at night. So we tried this new technique when putting Triston to bed, it is called the "silent return to sleep" method. Quinn put Triston in his bed about 5 times before he fell asleep, and to our utter astonishment he slept 12 HOURS SOLID!!! We thought for sure it was a fluke. Next night, same thing, we put him back in his bed a few times at bedtime...and then another night of sleeping 12 hours! Not to mention he is back to taking a TWO HOUR afternoon nap. Since our first night with this new method, Triston has slept 11 or 12 hours every night without waking up. It really is a miracle, all 3 of us wake up so happy and our days have been SOOOO much more enjoyable!!! I owe my life to the author of the book!!!!

Happy 2009

2009-01-08T09:12:00.004-07:00

Happy New Year! We spent New Year's Eve at one of our friends cabins up in Heber. We had a great time playing Rock Band, getting killed by Jen in Peanuts, eating, watching movies, staying up super late, and sledding (even though Triston and I crashed into a fence)! Thanks Morgan & Jen for inviting us!!

Christmas In AZ!!!

2009-01-08T09:01:00.002-07:00

We were able to go to Arizona this year to spend Christmas with Quinn's family. We had an absolute blast! Not only were we able to escape the sub arctic temps in Utah, almost all of Quinn's 7 siblings were able to make the trip as well. Triston was truly in heaven running around with 5 cousins all about his age. I really felt like I didn't even see the kid for an entire week. From morning til night Triston was shadowing his cousins every move, it was so precious to watch him. The whole ride home he kept asking us to go back to Grandma's house. Quinn and I were also able to get some good relaxation in. We saw a few movies, played the Wii, and ate the most delicious food!! We are missing everyone already. So, Quinn put all of our pictures from the trip onto a CD but for some reason the CD won't work on our computer so I only have a few pictures from the trip...

CUPCAKES for Breakfast

2008-12-12T16:25:00.003-07:00

So I have to share this hilarious story, here it goes...
Every morning Quinn and I wake up to Triston coming into our room and demanding we get out of bed, or he will jump in bed with us and start playing tackle. Either way, he is our little alarm clock. So this morning when I woke up on my own I was shocked to see that it was after 7am and there was no little boy in my room. I decided to cherish the opportunity to sleep in past seven. Time kept going by and still my wake up call did not come. Finally I decided to go check on my little man who I assumed was sleeping peacefully in his bed. When I opened the door to our room I noticed his bedroom door was already wide open and his bed was empty. I felt a panicked until a second later I heard laughing coming from the family room. I walked into the family room to find Triston on the floor with a plater of cupcakes that he had basically devoured! He was covered in frosting and smiling from ear to ear. It was hilarious. My first thought was relief that he had somehow managed to get the heavy plater off the counter without breaking it or even spilling on of the 15 cupcakes on it. So he had apparently eaten quite a few whole cupcakes, licked the frosting off several others, and then only taken a few bits of a couple. I asked him if he wanted some real breakfast and his answer was, "No, cupcakes is a good breakfast." I had to laugh. So I asked him if he wanted a drink and he said, "Yes, Root Beer!". So apparently he is a sugar addict! When I gave him a cup of water he said, "I have root beer later?". So the day started off great, he was so wired and it was hilarious. He was laughing at everything. That lasted for about one hour and then...it was all over. The sugar took over and he became a beast!!! He was so ornery it was ridiculous. He threw tantrum after tantrum. And then finally after a long day of fits, he totally crashed and is out like a light!! Here are a few pictures from our day:

Cupcake number 12 maybe?? Who knows...

The plater after he had cleaned house.

Temper Tantrum number 50?? Who knows...

Just Like Dad

2008-12-10T13:32:00.004-07:00

So my little man is becoming more and more like Quinn everyday. He looks so much like Quinn with his hair cut, its adorable. He wants to do EVERYTHING Quinn does. If Quinn is shaving, Triston has to shave too. If Quinn is putting on his clothes, Triston has to wear something just like Quinn. I am so glad that Quinn is such a great Dad and spends so much time with Triston, he teaches him so many things that I never could. During the day Triston is limited to hanging out with me most days and usually by the afternoon he says, "Mom when is Papa coming home, he is better at football." :) Can't blame the kid for being honest. Here are some recent pictures of Triston trying to be just like Dad:

Everytime I turn around, Triston has put on some article of Quinn's clothing that he has found. Here he was trying out Quinn's basketball shoes.

Quinn was getting ready to go play basketball with some guys in our ward and Triston saw him in his basketball clothes and insisted that he too getting ready for a basketball game. Not only did Quinn help get him all ready for his "game", he spent an hour playing basketball with Triston before he left. It was pretty funny because Quinn seemed to make every basket and it was really making Triston mad, so Triston kept telling Quinn to raise the hoop higher! I couldn't help laughing.

I just thought Triston looked so much like Quinn in this picture.

Practicing shaving (his head) with Quinn.

Triston put this little outfit on all by himself. I was impressed that he got the tie wrapped around like that. :)

Family Photo...

2008-11-30T23:48:00.002-07:00

We had some family pictures taken this weekend. Here is one of the pictures, this one turned out fuzzy but the rest turned out great but I don't have them on my computer so this will have to do. Also, Quinn cut Triston's hair tonight!! Triston looks SOOOO grown up with his short hair. I am loving his short hair and so is he...he can't stop checking himself out in the mirror! :)

Thanksgiving Week...

2008-11-30T23:33:00.004-07:00

We had so much fun this last week as my family was able to come up and visit. We had so much fun and we were so sad to seem them go home. It was great to have a break from the normal busy week and have some time to just hang out with the fam!!

Me and my parents went on a midnight shopping trip to Park City on Friday morning. It was absolutely insane how crowded it was!! We had so much fun and found some AMAZING deals. We arrived home about 5:30am Friday morning, it was exhausting but so worth it.

Our Thanksgiving football game, of course Triston HAD to sport his jersey!

These two were best buddies all week, it was precious.
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We played so much Rock Band over the course of the week. Triston loved to play along with us. This is Triston showing off his vocal skills. He has been asking me all day today if we can play "Rocker Band".

Everybody enjoying Rock Band. Quinn and I are seriously addicted to this game (thanks Blake and Lindsey for letting us borrower your stuff!!).

For those that have asked...

2008-11-23T16:05:00.001-07:00

here is a shot of the belly at 22 weeks.

I am tired...

2008-11-14T08:25:00.005-07:00

So Triston had been climbing out of his crib for sometime but just a few weeks ago, he started jumping out! Every time I put him down for a nap, two seconds later I would hear crashing. Triston had once again flown out of his crib usually busting his chin or something. I decided it was getting way too dangerous for Triston to stay in a crib. So...we converted his bed into a "big boy" bed. He absolutely loves playing in it all day and wants to show it off to everyone. But, when nap time or bed time rolls around he wants nothing to do with his new big boy bed. I put him down, he gets out, I put him back, he gets back out. We are used to putting him in his bed and he is asleep, simple as that. Now the bedtime battle is taking about an hour and a half to two hours a night. Naps simply do not exist!! This week I have found that if I go run some errands around 3pm he will fall asleep in the car and I can usually transport him inside without him waking up. So he has been going to bed late, which means Quinn and I go to bed later than normal and he is waking up SOOOO early. He just comes walking into our room, puts his sweet little face right by mine and gives me a kiss and says "wake up mommy, its not dark outside." How can I get mad at that? I also have been trying to make sure we are INSANELY active all day so that he is totally exhausted by nap time. Unfortunately, the weather has not been great so it has been hard to go outside. A few days ago I resorted to taking all the pillows in the house and making a large pile on the side of the couch so he could jump onto it for a while (yes, I was desperate!). Thank goodness for places like Kangaroo Zoo that kids can go to even when its cold and burn all that energy! Needless to say, I am starting to get really tired and I am know Triston is too!!

Here is Triston's big boy bed. My dad made this bed for Triston and I can't thank him enough. It is so gorgeous and we won't have to buy Triston a bed because it will turn into a full when he out grows the toddler bed. Thanks again Dad!!!

So glad we were able to go play here since we couldn't go to the park. This place is a blast.

These slides are high! I went down a few and they were quite scary. Not to mention Triston always catches some air on these slides because he doesn't weigh that much.

So after our long play date yesterday I was sure Triston would want to take a nap, not so. I had to hold the door shut while he cried for a little while and eventually fell asleep on the floor. I didn't even take a chance at waking him, I just left him to sleep on the floor for a couple hours. :)

He's TWO!

2008-11-12T08:47:00.006-07:00

I honestly can't believe that Triston is already TWO!! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Time is flying by! These last two years have been the best of my life. I had no idea how much I would love being a mom and how much I would love this little boy. Quinn and I both love watching him learn and grow. He has been by far the greatest blessing we have received. Can't wait to watch him to continue to grow up. Happy birthday big boy!!

Brand new baby Triston.

Big time two year old trying out the frosting for his soccer ball cake.

Triston kind of started to understand the concept of opening presents. However, once he opened one present, he just wanted to play with that one and didn't think to see what else he was getting. So his buddies Sadie and Lucas helped him unwrap his other presents.

Triston and Sadie trying to sneak a peak at some of Triston's presents!!

Triston's grandma Gooch (Sharee) and I made this lovely soccer ball cake. Thank goodness Sharee was here to help me or it probably would have looked even more hilarious!!

When Triston opened one of his presents, in his deepest, loudest voice he said, "OH BY GOSH!". He was so excited we were all laughing hysterically. Thanks so much to all of our friends and family that were able to come and celebrate Triston's birthday with us. We love you!!

Trunk or Treat

2008-11-03T08:18:00.002-07:00

Indiana Jones, cute little monkey, princess witch, and my little chicken.

Cutest little Harry Potter ever!!! Love his blue eyes.

Triston starting to play "tackle".

Ha! We told Triston to do a "chicken pose" and this is what he came up with, Sadie did it too! They are hilarious together.

Love the tights :) These pictures will be so great to show his friends when he is sixteen.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-11-03T07:55:00.005-07:00

So Halloween was SO much fun this year and it was a totally full day! Triston was the cutest little chicken around. We started off the day by getting up and getting ready for Triston's PreSchool Halloween Party. All of the kids were dressed up and looked so dang cute. They frosted Halloween cookies and pretty much just ran around chasing each other in their costumes. Then we went to Quinn's office were Triston got to show off his chicken suit and collect some candy. We came home for a little rest and then headed out to Novell. One of my good friends works there and she let us come trick or treat through the office. It was unbelievable! There were SOOOO many people and every cubicle had a huge bowl of candy. We were able to go with two of Triston's best friends, Sadie & Maddie. It took Triston a minute to catch on to what he was supposed to do. Once he figured out that EVERY person there was giving him candy, he got really excited! After we collected a completely full bag of candy we headed home. About thirty minutes later we went out to our parking lot for trunk or treat. Again, the kids all collected some candy and ran around like crazy. Of course, Triston was trying to play "tackle" most of the time. By this point we were all starving so we got our big group together and went to the Pizza Factory some food other than candy. It was a blast!! Triston woke up Saturday morning wanting to wear his chicken costume again...he LOVED it!!

Triston & Sadie

Getting ready to head to Novell.

Running around like crazy at Pre School.
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Pre School...the cookie decorating was a little messy so Triston had to take off his chicken costume and just wear his tights. :)
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Me & my little chicken
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Pumpkin Drawing & Hot Chocolate

2008-10-30T12:32:00.006-06:00

We decided to draw on our pumpkins this year since Triston is a little too young to carve one. He had so much fun. He was squealing with joy throughout the whole process. Once we finished drawing the pumpkins we took them outside and put the next to the door. As soon as we shut the door Triston flipped out. He wanted to keep the pumpkins inside and hold them the rest of the night. It was hilarious!

This is Triston trying to hold all three pumpkins after rescuing them from a night outside.

Quinn & Triston

He was so excited I thought he was going to burst!!
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He was downing his hot chocolate. He requested several refills. :)

My handsome little man

Sweet Baby Girl!!

2008-10-20T20:01:00.002-06:00

Me, Quinn, and Triston went to my ultra sound appointment today. It was so fun to get a little peek at the baby. We found out it's a girl! We couldn't be more excited!! We were so glad to find that she is healthy and that she has all her fingers and toes (well, at least on one side of her body, she wouldn't turn for us to see her other side:)). I have been trying to prepare Triston for the baby and so far he is really excited. I told him this morning that we were going to get to see the baby today and he talked about it all morning. Once the baby was finally up on the screen, he kept shouting, "I see the baby!!". I don't think he could really decipher the ultra sound pic, but it was so cute that he was trying. He is going to be such a great big brother! Can't wait to meet our baby girl!!!!

Hair Cuts...

2008-10-10T12:30:00.002-06:00

So me and Triston both got hair cuts yesterday...mine is a little more drastic! I wasn't even thinking of cutting my hair until yesterday morning. I had a dream that I cut it and loved it...so I decided to go for it. It is soooo much easier to manage than my mile long hair!

Happy Birthday Quinn

2008-10-10T11:27:00.003-06:00

Quinn's birthday was this past week and I really wanted to make the day special for him. He has been working around the clock lately yet he still makes time for me and Triston. I honestly don't know how he does it. He works full time all day then comes home only to play soccer or trains for hours on end with Triston. He always puts me and Triston before anything else, even if it means he will have to work twice as hard and long. I can't even express how much I appreciate him. He is truly an amazing dad and a wonderful husband. He is already so accomplished and I know the future holds great success for him. He is so ambitious and I know he will be good at whatever he does. Quinn (I am sure you will probably never even see this), I love you and thank you for all that you do for our family. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!!

Oh and by the way, if any of you are looking for a phenomenal German Chocolate Cake recipe let me know!! This one is absolutely delicious!!!

Another Vacation...

2008-10-07T15:18:00.004-06:00

Triston & I have taken so many great vacations this summer. Our trip to Texas was the last trip we will be taking until Christmas. It was so great to get to spend some time with my family. Triston was spoiled rotten and I loved every minute of it. Here is the trip in a nutshell:

I just love this picture. My parents made our trip so fun and I can't thank them enough for all they did. Since we have come home Triston has been board hanging out with just his mom! :) Thanks Mom & Dad for everything!

Ok, so I have to explain Triston's latest obsession known as "tackle". For Quinn's Senior Football Banquet this year, his parents and I had a highlight video made of his football career at BYU. It turned out great! I hadn't watched it for several months so a few weeks ago I turned it on one morning (we don't have cable and it gets a little quiet sometimes). Anyways, Triston became completely obsessed! He loves to point out his "papa" anytime he sees him on the tv. But the best part is, is that he decided his new favorite game it "tackle". He runs all over the house side shuffling and back peddling (just like Quinn) and then randomly falls to the ground and yells "TACKLE!!". We watch the highlight video about 12 times a day. He also loves watching football on tv now. Just yesterday we were inside Jiffy Lube and Sports Center was on. Triston was YELLING at the tv. He was saying things like, "Come on get him!!", "Oh he got them!", "Tackle, Tackle!!". He had everyone in Jiffy Lube rolling. It was hysterical. Sorry for the long explanation, I just think it is hilarious. Here is a picture of him playing "tackle" with Nana.

We went to quite a few parks on our little vaca. This one was particularly nice.

We made a trip to Lubbock's own Science Spectrum. Triston had such a great time there. It is a really cool place where kids can do all sorts of hands on stuff.

Me & Triston at another park. This park Triston labeled as "a good one". He would run around and then come tell me "Mommy this is a good one, a good park."

I have been tagged to share 6 quirky things about myself...so here it goes:

2008-10-07T14:25:00.004-06:00

1. I absolutely hate to have my hands dirty. If I am cooking and something gets on my hands, I have to clean them even if I know they are only going to get dirty again in a few seconds. For example when I knead dough, I wash my hands about 12 times in 3 minutes. I just can't stand having anything on my hands.

2. When I stay in a hotel I can't walk on the floor without shoes, or bare minimum socks. If I am wearing socks on the hotel floor I have to changes socks before going to bed. On our honeymoon Quinn noticed that I was going through about 6 pairs of socks a day and he thought it was so weird. I just can't help it. I also can't use the comforter on hotel beds they totally gross me out.

3. I don't like to wear my hair behind my ears or up in a pony tail with my ears showing. I have elf ears and it really bugs me when they are flapping in the wind.

4. I have an obsession with salt. I prefer to have my own salt shaker when I eat, but lately I have just been using the ginormous Morton's salt container. Why bother with the salt shaker right??

5. I could eat Raisin Bran three meals day. It is one of my most favorite foods ever! I can't get enough of it. Some days the only way I can get out of bed in the morning, is imagining my nice big bowl of Raisin Bran.

6. I love love love Christmas carols, to be honest I start listening to them about October 1st. I just don't feel I get enough of them if I start after Thanksgiving. If I start listening in October, by the time Christmas is over I feel good about putting away the Christmas music. If I wait until Thanksgiving I feel rushed, like I only have a few weeks to enjoy these wonderful songs. It drives Quinn nuts, so I only listen while he is at work! Then once Thanksgiving rolls around I play them nonstop.

I tag: Emmalee, Rachel, McCall, Linley, and Britni

1.Link to the person who tagged you
2.Mention the rules on your blog
3.Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you
4.Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5.Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

Random pics of the fam

2008-09-22T09:14:00.002-06:00

We are loving this football season!

Triston hanging out at Kangaroo Zoo with his best buddies.

My favorite boys.

SOCCER!!

Lately...

2008-09-22T09:05:00.002-06:00

Triston is at such a fun age!! He is talking so well and he says the funniest things! I am just loving this age. He can do so much and just thinks anything and everything is an adventure!!

A Good Mix

2008-08-28T16:09:00.003-06:00

So I stumbled across some baby pictures of Quinn and I, and I realized that Triston is a pretty good mix of the both of us. So I thought I would post them just for fun...

and a few more from Mexico

2008-08-26T14:46:00.001-06:00

More Mexico

2008-08-26T14:38:00.001-06:00

We Love Mexico!!

2008-08-26T14:13:00.003-06:00

So I feel like I start every post out exactly the same, "Triston and I were able to take a trip to _______, but Quinn had to stay home and work." Well, that is the case yet again. Triston and I got to spend a week in Mexico with Quinn's family. It had been a while since we had seen some of Quinn's fam, so it was great to spend some time with them and see all their cute kiddos. Triston and I both love hot weather and swimming so it was an ideal vacation for us! As you can see we had a great time!

Family in town!

2008-08-01T13:20:00.004-06:00

In the last couple weeks we have been able to spend time with some of our family members that have come to visit. First my brother Tyler came to visit from New York. His girlfriend Alissa brought her old school Nintendo over one day and we had so much fun playing it. Quinn and I were terrible!! Quinn's brother Dave, his wife Heather, and their beautiful baby Bella came to visit too. It was so great to see them! Here are a few pictures from their visits...

Triston & Bella were such cute little buddies. Triston couldn't get enough of "Beyah" as he called her. Bella was so good, she let Triston give her lots of hugs and kisses, as well as steel her toys!

I couldn't get enough of Bella's HUGE blue eyes and brown hair...so gorgeous!

Dave and Triston were playing a game they called "Boom!". It was like baseball but the bat was an inner tube and the ball was a massive balloon. Bella was laughing hysterically every time Dave would say, "BOOM!". We were all dying laughing at the whole situation!

I love this picture of Bella and Dave. Bella was also cracking up anytime she looked at Dave's feet. It was hilarous!

Tyler and Triston playing Super Mario 3. Triston was concentrating so hard the whole they played it was too cute.

It was so great to see everyone...thanks for coming to visit!!!

The Powder Room

2008-07-22T21:55:00.005-06:00

A few days ago some of our good friends the Snow's came over. Our kids love to play together so it makes for a great time when we all hang out. Triston and Sadie always have little adventures while playing together but this last time was priceless. Here is a recap of what happened.
The adults were all sitting out in our living room having a great discuss about cholesterol or something of the sort. Sadie and Triston were sprinting as fast as they could, while pushing wagons and scooters, all over the house. Cute litte Maddie was trying to join in on the fun but can't quite keep up yet. Anyways, as we were talking we noticed a sudden silence from the kids. I decided to go check on them and just make sure everything was ok. As I walked back to Triston's room I realized that they had shut the door to his bedroom. Upon entering I inhaled a huge breath of baby powder and I noticed the room looked extremely cloudy...

They looked so cute, I just started laughing! The entire room was COVERED in baby powder.

You can't really tell from the picture, but Sadie had her sunglasses on while powdering herself so when she took off her glasses she had glasses marks on her face. It was hilarious!!

Her feet!

Well at least they smelled good.

The best part of the story is that they had done the exact same thing the day before while Quinn was babysitting them! Guess we should be a little more careful when they get silent. :)

The last few weeks...

2008-07-14T22:21:00.007-06:00

Life has seriously been so crazy busy lately! We have been here, there, and everywhere. After our trip to California, Doug (Quinn's brother), Mieke (sister in law), & Keegan (nephew) came to town for a few days. Triston and Keegan had a great time together! Mieke and I had a blast, and well...Doug and Quinn had fun hiking 8.5 miles into the mountains with 50lb backpacks and living on fish for a few days. :) Then Triston and I were able to go to Colorado to visit my mom and some of my cousins for a few days!

The final destination after they hiked for a few hours.

Quinn & Doug

Doug doing some serious fishing

I can't believe they hiked so far with those backpacks. Quinn burned half of his belongings before the hike back!

Triston and I head to Cali!!

2008-07-08T15:10:00.009-06:00

Triston and I were able to go to California for a few days to spend time with some of our best friends...the Collie's! We went out for the blessing of their new beautiful baby girl Kendyl. We had so much fun it was ridiculous. Triston and Shae were best friends and Triston could not get enough of baby Kendyl (neither could I!). It was so great to see Emmalee and Zac and to see them with 2 kids was so cute! Here are some pictures from our trip.

The beautiful Collie family. We hadn't seen Zac and Em since they moved to California in December. It felt just like old times hanging out (minus Quinn) except now the kiddos are a little more active then they were a year or so ago. :)

In between keeping the kids from tearing up the Jill's garden, trying to bribe them to stay in their high chairs, and keeping the harassing of Kendyl to a minimum, Emmalee and I had some great time to just hang out and catch up!

What a gorgeous baby!!! She is so good too. I honestly don't think I ever heard her cry.

Emmalee looking gorgeous! I loved watching her with her two girls, she is such a cute mom.

I love all 3 of these girls so much!

Thanks Collie fam, Hardy fam, and the other Collie fam for letting us invade your life for a few days. We loved every minute of it!

Growing Up Together

2008-07-08T14:59:00.007-06:00

Triston and Shae have been friends pretty much since birth. It has been so fun to see them grow up together. They get along so well, and they always have. Here are a few pictures of them over the last year and a half!

Shae and Triston when they were just little peanuts!

Triston would try to do everything Shae did. He would try to follow her everywhere.

They both got a little more hair over the last year. :) Ever since we left Cali Triston keeps asking me, "Where Shae Shae go?".

HAHA! This is probably my favorite picture ever. I think it should be a post card!

Triston Reading

2008-06-27T16:35:00.000-06:00

Triston & Noah

2008-06-25T13:30:00.004-06:00

These two were absolutely hilarious together. They have both recently seen Kung Fu Panda so they were doing all sorts of karate poses and they were always on the look out for the "pana".

More fun with the fam!

2008-06-25T13:04:00.005-06:00

The girls and Triston hanging out at the family reunion.

The Gooch Family! This is Gary (Quinn's Dad) and his siblings and their spouses. They all look SOOO much alike!

cute Noah drinking a soda

Carl& Peyton!!

Grandma & Grandpa, Cousins, Etc

2008-06-25T12:17:00.006-06:00

Quinn's parents were able to come out for a few days last week. We had so much fun! It had been quite a while since Triston has seen them so it was great for him to get to spend some time with them. He absolutely loved every minute of it! Quinn's sister Stephanie and her family were also able to come to Orem for a couple days. Triston was in heaven hanging out with this cousins. He and Noah are definitely great little buddies. Triston was Noah's shadow everywhere he went. Thanks Gary and Sharee for all that you did while you were here! We had a blast and miss you already!!

Triston and Grandpa playing cars

Triston spilled his bright red drink after about 2 minutes of being at the family reunion.

Gorgeous Kendra and Noah

Triston's hair cut! He looks so cute, his hair looks a little bit like Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber. :)

Mini football game. So Triston and some of the other toddlers at the family reunion ran off and start their own mini game of football. It was priceless!!

A couple more pics from our trip

2008-06-09T21:12:00.005-06:00

I never thought I would have a little toe head, but I can't get enough of Triston's super blonde hair. I think he looks like a little surfer.

Me and my cute dad. He took me to see Indiana Jones one night, we both loved it and had a blast together. Thanks Dad!

Tyler, the Buddy Holly look alike, and me watching Triston swim.

So about an hour after we got home Triston wanted to head outside and play soccer with his friend Sadie. I seriously love this picture. Sadie and Triston look so cute starring at each other and I look so awkward just sitting next to them. This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.

There was nothing better than seeing Triston's face when Quinn picked us up from the airport. He was so giddy I thought he might explode. We had so much fun on our trip but it was SOOO long to be away from Quinn. We miss my family tons but we are so glad to be home again!

Our trip to TEXAS!!

2008-06-09T20:49:00.005-06:00

Triston and I were able to take a little vacation to Texas and we got back a few days ago. Unfortunately, Quinn wasn't able to come with us. He has to use all of he accrued time off to go to Youth Conference this week, so he stayed behind. Here are some pictures from our trip. They are pretty blurry because I decided not to take our good camera on the trip and instead I took our old camera. As you can see, it is not holding up too well.

My parents got a little baby pool for Triston and they built him a little dirt box where he could just get as dirty as his little heart desired. It was so funny to watch him go back and forth between the pool and the dirt box. He loved swimming so much. He would try to dive in head first from the side and basically come up choking and then do it again! I was stressed out of my mind watching him do it but he loved it. As you can see he is officially addicted to popsicles!

Triston and Nana reading a story about ducks, one of Triston's favorite things.

Triston loved hanging out with his Uncles. He kept calling Clay "Monson". We couldn't really figure out why but it was pretty cute.

It was so fun to have two of my brothers home for a few days. My brother Tyler (on the right) graduated from BYU in Graphic Design and just moved to New York last Tuesday to take a job as a graphic designer for MAC Cosmetics!!! He is so talented and he will do great out there, we are so excited for him. My huge little brother (on the left) is working in Dallas right now and will be moving to Utah in the fall to go to the U of U!! Can't wait for him to be closer. It was so great to hang out with them for a few days, I miss them already!!

More swimming! It is pretty much what we did all day, everday. We loved it.

MILESTONE!!!

2008-05-26T20:55:00.004-06:00

So today was a huge milestone in Triston's life. He went to the bathroom on the potty TWICE today!!! Hallelujah! I am not getting my hopes up thinking that this will last, but we were so excited to think that one day he will actually be out of diapers! We are keeping our fingers crossed that that day is not TOO far away!

He looks like such a big kid in this picture.

Peas in a Pod

2008-05-26T20:41:00.003-06:00

These two are so precious together. Triston has gotten really clinging to "Papa" over the last couple weeks and I think it is the cutest thing ever. I love seeing them play together. Triston is so lucky to have such a wonderful dad!

You can tell that Triston in absolutely overjoyed to be hanging out with his dad.

Some soccer moves Quinn taught Triston :)

His shirt says it all...

2008-05-07T20:22:00.003-06:00

So Triston is 18 months today. Yay!!! However, he thinks he about 16. He has been in nursery for the last few weeks and he really loves it. Last week one of the nursery works told me that he threw quite a fit and had to have a time out all because they took a car away from him. He has definitely started testing his limits. Suddenly we are at war anytime we need to get dressed, change a diaper, or get in the car. He is becoming so independent and so grown up!

2:01:11

2008-04-21T20:38:00.003-06:00

I was so glad to be done and I finished in 2:01:11!

Rachel and I a little dazed after the race! :)

Why do I run? This question has been asked to me numerous times lately and I had lots of time to think about it during my race on Saturday. Here is what I came up with:
My alarm went off 4:25 am on Saturday but I was already awake. I was so nervous and anxious for the half marathon that I could hardly sleep. The drive up to Salt Lake was nerve racking and exciting all at once. As I stood at the starting line with over 6,000 other runners I felt intimidated yet I also felt proud.
Thoughts were racing through my mind as I crossed the start line for my first mile. Can I really do this? Am I prepared? Is the playlist on my IPod going to last the whole time? Oh no, do I have to go to the bathroom for the 7th time this morning...YES! Oh well, too late. Those first few miles I thought to myself...I love this! I love running. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to start sprinting I was so overwhelmed with excitement and adrenaline, but I kept reminding my self, "pace yourself, you have a long way too go.".
Around mile six I started thinking, "Wow, I am almost half way, this is so easy!" Although my initial adrenaline had faded I still felt pretty energized. I thought about the cause that I was running for, cancer research. I looked at the signs that were posted in the ground along the way. "Run for Dylan, every step counts!" With a picture of a sweet toddler that had lost a battle with caner. New adrenaline came and I wanted to sprint again. I looked to my left and saw a young mother with a picture of her daughter on her back, written underneath it said, "We are doing this for you sweetheart!". My heart broke. Once again I was overwhelmed but this time it was for a different reason. I thought about my sweet little boy that would be waiting for me at the finish line. How blessed I was to have a healthy child. I wanted to cry as I thought about the millions of people around the world that were suffering from a life threatening disease. I wanted to run for all those people that couldn't. So I ran harder and faster with new energy. Inspired by the children fighting cancer, the mothers and fathers that have lost children, and for those that will suffer in the future. I was so grateful to part of such a wonderful cause that I was able to keep going.
Then I reached mile ten. Three miles to go and it seemed like eternity. All my energy was gone and my legs were aching. I had planned to really pick up my pace but the thought of running faster made me cringe. As I came to mile twelve I asked myself, "Why do I run these races? I hate running! I am never doing this again!" Then I find myself about to reach the finish line and I try to sprint to the end. My legs felt like bricks. As I crossed the finish line I felt so many different emotions: I was exhausted, excited, nauseous, faint, but the I couldn't help think, "I can't wait for another race!".

Weekend with Nana!

2008-04-15T14:38:00.004-06:00

I love his little flip flops. They took some getting used to but now he doesn't seem to mind them.

Over the last few days, we have had my mom here to visit. It was so great to see her. She hadn't seen Triston since Christmas so she couldn't believe how much he had grown. Triston was so excited to have someone to play with other than Quinn and I. I was in heaven all weekend! Don't get me wrong I love hanging out with my boys, but I was definitely ready for some girl time. My mom and I went shopping, saw 27 Dresses, got pedicures (the lady that did mine couldn't stop laughing at how large my feet are...I didn't think they were that big but she made it clear that they are HUGE!) ate at delicious restaurants, and cooked tons of delicious food (my mom made cinnamon rolls...my FAVORITE food ever!). We miss her already but had tons of fun while she was here...thanks for everything Mom!

More pics from St. George

2008-04-08T13:57:00.003-06:00

The most beautiful weather.

Triston was really happy to be home and wouldn't get out of his crib the following morning!

Our trip to St. George

2008-04-08T13:37:00.003-06:00

Last weekend we decided to head down to St. George with some of our good friends Nate and Linley. We had so much fun! Nate's family was so nice and let us stay with them in their gorgeous home. The weather was amazing and it was such a nice break from the freezing weather in Provo. Since we have been back (2 days) it has snowed twice!!! I couldn't believe it. We went from swimming, wearing flip flops, and hanging out outside to boots, coats, and avoiding being outdoors at all cost. Needless to say we had a great weekend and CAN"T WAIT for warm weather!

This was Triston first experience on a trampoline

He could not get enough of the water

Triston and Nate

A few things about Triston

2008-04-06T21:43:00.004-06:00

Triston is getting so big so fast, I can't even handle it! It seems like he is learning something new everyday. Here are a few things you may not know about Triston:

1. Triston runs EVERYWHERE he goes.
2. He has been able to say "Mom" for several months, but he has just recently figured out that he can call me "Mom". So now he will go into his room and yell, "MOM!" and as soon as I walk into the room he laughs! He does it over and over, it cracks me up. The other day, I got him a drink and when I handed it to him he said, "Thanks Mom." It melted my heart! He has also started saying, "Sorry Mom." when he does something wrong. I seriously love it!
3. Triston has the loudest voice ever! Ever since he was a little baby he has had an extremely loud voice. Sometimes during church it can be a little challenging. :)
4. He is so afraid of the blender. He doesn't mind the vaccuum, the blow dryer, or any other loud noise, just the blender. He cries every time I use it.
5. Triston is extremely social. He will be friends with anyone, anywhere. He especially loves other children! Quinn and I were at a store the other day and Triston walked over to some other kids that were there and started trying to play with them. Before we new it he was holding hands with the kids and running around the store. Sometimes I wish he was a little more leery of strangers but I love his friendly personality.
6. Triston can only sleep in his bed. Sometimes I try to get him to snuggle with me on the couch or in my bed, but it is a lost cause. He rarely falls asleep in the car and if he does it is only for a few minutes. He loves his crib! When he starts acting tired I ask him if he wants to take a nap and he says, "Nap? O.k.," and will run back to his crib.
7. He loves to sing...especially "Once there was a snowman" and "follow the prophet".
8. Triston has never really liked to ride in his stroller, he prefers to push it. Our stroller is a ridiculously huge, bulky, off roading stroller and instead of sitting inside, Triston has to push it everywhere we go. He never sits still. I love it because he keeps me on my toes!

These are just a few things that make Triston the sweet little boy he is!

Little Triston

2008-03-31T21:41:00.002-06:00

Triston thinking he is super cool!

giving kisses to sweet Avery

his mad face

Easter at the Hutchinson's

2008-03-25T16:12:00.004-06:00

The Hutchinson's invited us over for a delicious Easter dinner and then we got to play a game of soccer in the huge back yard. As you can see Triston was in heaven.

Nate and Quinn could not get enough horse shoes this weekend. They look so cute together in their matching jeans :)

Happy Easter!

2008-03-25T15:41:00.006-06:00

Some of our friends from the complex we live in had an Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos. I didn't really think that Triston would understand that he was supposed to find the eggs but he did. He had so much fun! Thanks neighbors for inviting us!!!

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry...I haven't quite figured out how to use Quinn's high tech camera.

Here is a picture of Triston and his buddies. It was finally sort of warm this day!!!!

Senior Football Banquet

2008-03-13T15:26:00.001-06:00

The boys looking fab

2008-03-13T14:46:00.003-06:00

Just some more pictures of Triston looking so big!

No more "Moobee's"

2008-03-03T20:52:00.003-07:00

So Triston has become obsessed with watching the movie (or in Triston's words, "Moobee") Cars. We have to spend the majority of our day outside or he will want to watch Cars over and over while also playing with cars. So we spend a lot of time at the park.

Triston decided he was too cool to go down the slide with his mom, so he now does it by himself! This is not a small slide...I thought for sure he would get scared on the way down and cry. Obviously I was wrong. :)

When he got to the bottom he would just lay on his back and laugh hysterically.

Triston is very confused by construction cones...he just stares at them forever like they aliens or something. He really does this every time we come outside.

Yes, we live in a construction zone. It can be very annoying when we are trying to get in and out of our complex but it is very entertaining for Triston. We stand outside and watch the tractors for hours.