Thanksgiving!!!

This year it was our turn to spend Thanksgiving with the Bryners, so we packed up the car and headed out on our ~14 hour trip to UT early Tuesday morning. Logan was such a trooper and only really started crying for the last hour of trip, which was pretty great considering I felt like crying at that point as well from all of the driving. We spent the night at my dad's and the next day he put Ben to work in the yard.
Logan had a ball playing in the leaves and undoing all of the work that Ben had done. The weather was beautiful (about 45-50 during the day) and it was fun for us to finally be able to wear our coats and cool off! However, I was happy that it didn't snow because I don't handle that cold of weather very well anymore:)

Wednesday, we headed up to Logan and we were so excited to watch Logi and his cousin Emma play! She is only a month younger and they are so alike and so different in many ways! They had a blast with each other and both of them enjoyed being the center of attention since they are the only grandchildren in the Bryner side so far.Here's Emma on the very coveted tractor that Grandpa won 15 years ago from the IFA! He was so excited to finally get some use out of his prize and the kids could not get enough of it! It was the center of many battles between the two, but for the most part they tried to share or Aunt Tamsin would take it away:)<
They spent a lot of time playing with grandma and grandpa,
playing the piano, making messes,
and Emma even taught Logan how to go down the stairs! Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and was all gluten-free...you would never know because it tasted fabulous! We had such a great time with Ben's family just talking, watching movies, going to the movies (LOVED Twilight and YES I finally finished reading the book the day we went and saw the movie!), playing karaoke, and just chasing the babies around! Logan adores his Grandma and Grandpa Bryner and we can't wait to see them again this January when they come to help with the new baby. Thank you so much for having us over and we love you!

Here's a picture of everyone that was there and we really missed Katie and Tom (Ben's little brother and sister who are on missions) and Clark and Lindsay (Ben's brother and wife who spent the holiday in AZ):(
Logan's Grandma and Grandpa Bryner
Uncle John and Uncle Sam
Logi and his great Aunt Bonnie
Uncle Sam, Aunt Tamsin, and Emma

Saturday afternoon, we headed back to my dad's house for a Rasmussen Family birthday celebration for my dad, cousin Mattie, step sister Jessica Jean, and my Grandma Rasmussen! My dad made his famous meatloaf and we had a great time eating and laughing!
Logan's great Grandma and Grandpa RasmussenMy dad the birthday boy (December 1st) and don't worry dad, your b-day blog is coming soon:)

After the party at my dad's was over, Ben and I had a chance to meet up with Suzy and Nat and their boys! We went to PF Changs for dessert (yum) and we had such a great time laughing, reminiscing, and getting to know each other's men:) I love and miss you girls so much and I love how we can always pick up right where we left off! You're such wonderful friends that I know I will have forever:)Sorry for ruining the picture:)

Update

Lately, Lately, I have not been the best "blogger" to say the least, so I thought I would try to bring you all up to speed on what has been going on with our little family.

Logan

Our little guy has been sick since Saturday morning:( He has had a temperature of 102-103, with no appetite, super tender, and somber acting. It breaks my heart to see him so sick. All he wants is his binky (which we reserve for bedtime use only and are trying to wean), blankie, and to be hugged all day long. I really have never seen him act so sick before, so I am sure that it was no surprise that when Monday morning rolled around, I had him at the pediatrician's office first thing. I am happy that I took him for the peace of mind, but the doctor said that he has a nasty virus that just needs to run its course. It is so hard to know when you should take them in or just wait it out, but my gut was telling me to go, so no regrets. This morning, his fever finally broke and he was starting to act more like himself again, which is great. He still is sick, but hopefully the worst is over:)

Besides being sick, Logan has been busy transforming from a baby into a little boy in what seems like overnight! He is saying so many new words like: "car, " "Se (what he calls his cousin Seth)," "dog, " "cow," and making "oinking" noises, just to name a few. He is getting really advanced with his walking and has even started to run a little bit. He is such a little sponge, just soaking up everything around him!

He also loves to go to the gym and play with all of the kids in the child care. The workers always tell us how he follows the "big kids" every where they go and tries to get in on the action. I guess that is because the only other kids he plays with are his cousins, which to him are "big kids" (except for baby Trent, of course). I worry if I should be more proactive at organizing play groups with kids his age, but I figure at this age they still don't really "play" together they just play alongside each other. All I know, is that in a few months Logi will have a permanent playmate, which I am sure he will love:)

Other than that, he is still loving the usual things like: going to the park, balls, cars, Magnadoodle (a new favorite), and wrestling around with his daddy. He is such a joy in our lives and we couldn't imagine life without our little sidekick:)

Ben

Ben has been busy, as usual, with all of his business endeavors. He still is doing his real estate/investing stuff, which is his true passion and will always be part of his life, but for now with the economy the way it is, this has taken the backseat...for now. Currently, and most likely for the rest of his working career, Ben is selling health and life insurance. He really is enjoying it and loves how this type of industry is pretty recession proof. If that doesn't sound like enough (Ben and his business partner Erik always have something up their sleeves), he is going in on a new business, which I don't know much about now except that he is going to Boston for a week in December for training. I will fill you in when I know more details. Even though the fall in the economy affected us quite a bit, Ben is doing everything in his power to get us back on top again. He is such a hard worker and I know that he will always take care of us even when times are hard:)

Besides work, Ben loves doing many other things, but hasn't really had the time to bike, hike, or do other recreational activities that he loves. So he and my sister Jen decided to run a marathon! I know, kinda extreme, but Ben has ran a marathon before and Jen has always wanted to do it. He figured, with the strict training schedule, he would be forced to get out there and run if it is truly a goal that he wants to achieve (and it is). He likes to go to the gym, but he really loves to exercise recreationally in the great outdoors. So training for a marathon is a mix of both worlds. It is really hard for him to workout unless he is working towards something, so this works for him:) Ben and Jen have been very diligent in their training and I am sure that they will do very well in the marathon this January.

Of everything listed above, nothing trumps spending time with Logan. Watching them play together is such a riot and Logi cannot get enough of his "Da"! I am so thankful that Ben puts family and the church above anything else in his life. Logi and I love him very much:)

Me

Well, I am 30 weeks pregnant today and I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going! Everyday, Ben and I say how we can't believe that in a couple of months we will have another little boy...it is crazy!!! We have quite a bit to do before this little guy arrives and with the holidays and everything, January 27th (thereabouts) will be here before we know it! We have no idea for a name, if anyone has any suggestions, they will be greatly appreciated:)

I also, have been making the transition to a new OB. Not that I didn't like my other one, but he wouldn't allow me to attempt a VBAC so I found an OB that will (not an easy task, to say the least). For those of you who are familiar with VBACs, I know how controversial it is and have given the decision much thought and prayer. Ben is 100% supportive and truly understands the magnitude of the decision. What I like most is that at any point during the labor (if I am actually able to go into labor on my own) I can say never mind and have a c-section. It is just a "trial of labor" so we will see if my body can even do what it wasn't given a chance to do with Logan. I will be delivering at a Level 3 hospital, with a very well-trained VBAC doctor/nursing staff, and one of the best NICUs in the state. Don't get me wrong, I definitely have my reservations, but I know that this is the only time I can actually try for a VBAC and try is the key word, nothing is a guarantee. I guess, we'll see how it goes and what actually ends up happening.

Other than being pregnant, I am still working (as a Pharmacist at Wal-Mart Pharmacy) every Monday from 9am-9pm. Sometimes I work twice a week, but one day a week is what I prefer. I am lucky that Ben can stay home with Logi when I go to work, so I don't have to worry about a thing. Getting out of the house is a nice break, but I really miss Logan. However, I think that working makes me a better mom because I appreciate my time with him much more and don't take it for granted. I am planning on continuing the one day a week after our new little guy is born, but we'll see:) I enjoy my job, but nothing is better than being a mom:) However, I am very thankful that I have a job that if needed (heaven forbid) I could support our family.

I also, am still a Mia Maid adviser and have been for almost 3 years! I know, but I really love Young Women's and have found it to be a very rewarding calling in many ways. So that keeps me busy on top of the usual household stuff. Other than that, I am pretty boring:) I like to go to the gym (desperately trying to keep my weight gain in check, but I am losing the battle), eat out (my absolute favorite thing to do), relax and watch TV with Ben, and spend time with my family.

Sorry, that was more than an update, that was a novel! Well, I guess now you are up-to-date, that is if you even made it through this far:)

HALLOWEEN!!!

Happy Birthday Mommy!!!

Today is Jess's 27th birthday and Logan and I wanted to let her know how much we love her. She is the best mom and wife! Thank you Jess for all you do for us, and all that you put up with. We love you so much!
Logan and I really wanted to share some of the things we really love to do with Jess:


Go to the park, and throw Logan down the big slide!


We really love it when Jess takes us on wild snake hunts in the desert!


We get really excited anytime Jess let's Logan out of his box to play.


Logan especially likes it when we all get dressed up in monkey suits.

These are just a few of things we love to do with Jess. Thanks for making our life so fun and interesting! We love you!

Grandma & Grandpa Bryner Came to Visit!

This past week, we were lucky to have the Bryners stay with us. Logan was in heaven the entire time! He couldn't get enough of his grandparents or their apples for that matter! They brought us a bunch of freshly picked apples from their house (delicious) and Brent offered an apple to Logi to play with and that fast his apple addicition began! He didn't just play with the apple or eat it after it was cut into pieces...he insisted on eating the apple whole!
Knowing what a choking hazard this could be, we peeled the smallest apple in the bunch and let Logan have his way with it...gnawing, chewing, and sucking the apple nearly down to the core! He loved it and could not stop talking about it!
Everytime Brent would come in the room, Logi would say, "apple, apple" over and over! Besides talking about balls, apples are now his second favorite subject:) After the Bryners left, Logi wandered aimlessly around the house saying, "apple, apple" while looking for his grandparents...it took him a little while to realize that they were gone:(

Besides eating apples, we did a lot of fun things like: going to the park, chased ducks (mainly Logan), went out to eat, hiking, visited a ghost town, watched 3 movies, went to Clark & Lindsay's house for dinner, and just enjoyed being with eachother.
We also made many tasty gluten free treats and ate "Dinner in a Pumpkin" one night! It is always sad to see them go, but we are looking forward to seeing them this Thanksgiving!
Thanks for visiting us and thank you again for the early b-day present! We love you!

Disneyland!!!

Since last year, my nephew Wade (4 years old) has been begging and counting on us to come with him and his family, of course, to Disneyland this year. A promise is a promise and we stuck to it and we are happy that we did. It is about a 5 & 1/2 hour drive to Anaheim from our house so we were able to make it a weekend trip. We left Friday morning, spent all day (10am to 10:30 pm) at Disneyland on Saturday, then came home Sunday afternoon.

Disneyland was covered head to toe in Halloween decor and they even changed and I mean CHANGED the Haunted House to a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme, which is one of my favorite movies so I loved it! We weren't sure how Logan was going to react to the whole thing, but he actually LOVED the rides and would cry in line if we had to wait too long (that part wasn't fun)! He caught a few little naps throughout the day was quite the trooper!

Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones with the idea to head to Disneyland over Harvest Break...the place was packed!!! I have never seen it busier and I have been there many, many times...it was crazy! Thank goodness for strollers...they make a great pathway especially following Jen's gigantic double wide stroller with 3 screaming kids on it:) We all had a great time and it is a tradition we would like to keep except maybe go at a more off-peak time:)

Logan's Got This Walking Thing Down

Over the past few weeks Logan has been figuring out how to walk. Here's a little video that shows his progress:

It may be a few more weeks before he'll be running, but we aren't looking forward to that time anyway:)