A Very Merry Christmas

This year Christmas was a little bit different for us. It was the first time in our married life where we didnt spend the holidays with our families. We were able to make the best of it though and really enjoyed a happy little Christmas together.

On Christmas Eve we were invited to join our dear friends the Whitchurchs for a delicious feast and Christmas program. It was very good of them to have us and a really fun night. The nativity that the kids re enacted was complete with authentic costumes from Jerusalem and the program even included a Christmas story set in Hillspring. so we felt very at home.I believe Makenna was supposed to be a shepherd but I think she was acting somewhat in the role of sheperd/ angel. We couldnt quite decide. As you can tell, Brayden (Joseph) and Brielle (Baby Jesus) were not to thrilled about the whole nativity thing but they were sort of good sports nonetheless.


This year Christmas morning was particularly fun. Brayden was really into the whole Santa thing. He was in our bedroom at 5 am. We were all very spoiled this year- esspecially me- Kevin yet again got me a fabulous gift that was a complete suprise and yet again he spent way to much money (but I am not really complaining :) I have been wanting a bigger Kitchenaid for a long time.Kevin had a great Christmas as well. My gift to him was only some shirts and a board game but luckily Scott came through and wowed him with some BYU golf club covers which he LOVES.

Santa brought Makenna "Baby Alive." He really didnt want to get her such a silly expensive doll but it was all she asked for so we couldn't let her down. She is made to drink real water and eat this baby food mix that she comes with and then yes she produces "real" dirty diapers. Those are features of the doll which Makenna is currently unaware and which we have no intention of sharing with her. Ignorance is bliss.

Brayden got a transformer, Elefun and two new pairs of pajamas and he was a happy camper!

I look at this picture of the kids and think I am so so blessed- really I am! They are sporting their new p.j.'s from Grandma and aren't those smiles just priceless. I think so :)

I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas too.

And now we relax...

So our semester is over and boy are we glad. For a while there, I was not sure if we would make it through. With a new baby and an intense job hunt- life got a bit overwhelming. It was a tough semester for Kevin which was complicated by the seven trips he took. Now finally though after a lot of stress, spreadsheets, and agonizing, we finally decided to accept the offer from ConAgra Foods which means...da da da da... We are moving to Omaha!
We both feel good about the decision and think Omaha will be a really good place for our family and ConAgra a really good place for Kevin to launch his marketing career.
It was really hard though to turn down that delicious chocolate company we all know and love-- especially with Kevin's parents so close there. Who knows what the future holds though.
So since making our Omaha decision we have found that when we tell people- their response is usually "interesting." Most people also have heard of ConAgra but are not really sure what they do. Here are just a few of their products.

Omaha is where ConAgra's frozen foods are headquartered, which means Kevin will either be working on Healthy Choice, KidCuisine, Marie Callendars or Banquet. We will be sure to let you know.

Well, as for the semester from my perspective, I can pretty much sum it up in two words- "Sleep Deprivation." Brielle is an angel baby. We love her dearly. She is cute as a button and a sweet sweet spirit but she (like most newborns of course) is a terrible sleeper. The issue is complicated by the fact that I have two other children who make it difficult to sleep past 6am and IMPOSSIBLE to take naps. Plus there were those fun two trips out of town that I was able to accompany Kevin on, where I reached new levels of exhaustion (due to airport delays and my own personal postbaby health issues) that I would've expected to kill me--- but I survived. I am still here. And in fairness to sweet Brielle, she is making gradual improvements in the sleep department. We are working on the transition from our arms to her crib--and from the hours or 2am to 5am she does pretty well!


A recap of my semester wouldn't be complete without mention of my new favorite escape from reality. I couldn't have discovered it at a better time.
Yes it is a "young adult" book but I am seriously considering putting the Twilight series on the top of my favorite books ever- yes even above my beloved Jane Eyre and perhaps even C.S. Lewis classics. I just love it that much- even to the point of rereading it- yeah I know that's pretty crazy.

Well, with the beginning of our Christmas break, I got a chance to get Brielle dressed- yes for the first time, she is wearing something other than a sleeper- what a cutie!And just for fun here are a few more kid shots.The other day I was out with Brielle- who was sporting a big bow like this one and somebody said to me, "I just love those Ridiculous bows." So what am I supposed to say to that "Thanks for thinking my baby is cute" or "How rude to call her bow ridiculous." Its ok though- apparently Brielle isn't such a fan of the big bows either.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Happy Baby

Well, she may have pimples, drool, and a mom who can't take a good picture but I still thought this smile was worth posting- it's just so cute!

Weekend in Hershey

Last weekend we had a great time visiting good ol Hershey, PA. We went for Hershey's "sell day" and as an added bonus we got to visit with Oma at her new acreage. It was all a lot of fun (well mostly a lot of fun- the airport delays and added flights were not so fun.) For some silly reason though I didnt take my camera so a lot of photo op's were missed. Luckily though Oma always has her camera on hand, so here are a few snapshots:The tractor rides were a big hit of course- with kids both big and small :)

Oma kept the kids busy all day Friday so we could attend the various functions in Hershey. They got to decorate their own Christmas trees and make candy trains. Lucky kids!

This was taken at a restaurant in Elizabethtown called Gus's (a hidden gem popular esspecially to the senior citizen crowd where you can get a killer omelet and the most delicious caramel french toast ever). Kevin and I competed to see who could complete the word search on the kids menu the fastest. Its amazing that I am even including this photo since I lost...miserably :(

The kids got themselves a real "farm" experience- hauling hay in a wheelbarrow, riding in the back of a pick up truck (yikes) and riding horses.I think the highlight was the fishing for Kevin. This is a good shot because if you look up the hill you can see Oma's house in the background and the stable and barn to the left of it.

The highlight for me was actually not the horses or the fishing (shocking I know) but leaving my kids with their Oma every night and enjoying my stay at the luxurious Hotel Hershey, oh and the outlet shopping was pretty fun too.

Our latest greatest claim to fame...

So next time you open up a package of Reese's peanut butter cups, take note of the clever advertising located inside the package on the U-board (thats that cardboard thing that the peanut butter cups are on). Guess who the genius is behind that one...yep our very own Kevin Brandvold!!! Pretty cool. That was part of his internship this summer--so cool!

Another wonderful claim to fame, Kevin has recently aquired, is that he has been awarded the prestigious Hawes scholarship. He is one of eight chosen from his graduating class. The scholarship recipients were chosen from peer nominations and rewarded with $10, 000. Hooray! Way to go Kevin!