Trip to California

We started out our journey on Sunday June 29. We left Boise around 8 pm thinking Brayden would go to sleep. When 5 minutes into the drive we were pulled over on the side of the road cleaning up vomit. Brayden was thrown up in the car and I was about to say lets go back and try again in the morning. Fortunately this was the worst part of the drive. Once he got settled down he went right to sleep. My dad drove most of the way to Santa Rosa arriving there early Monday. We ate breakfast let the kids play and then it was time for a long morning nap. Later that afternoon we headed to Windsor to check into our hotel. It was a great room with 2 bedrooms. We had dinner there that night and it was nice to get settled and let the kids play with each other. On Tuesday we got going early and headed to San Francisco. We filled our day with riding the trolley; which Brayden loved. We rode the trolley three times that day, but the first was the best. We had the front window and Jared was standing right in front of me. He would hold Brayden and he would stick his head out of the trolley and wave at everyone. It probably wasn't the safest things and none of the other conductors would let Jared hold Brayden the rest of the day. After our trolley ride we headed back down towards the bay. Brayden has been really into smelling the flowers. I think it so cute. As we were walking by a flower stand he wanted to smell the flowers and the guy let Brayden take one. He gave it to me. He is so precious.We walked around Union Square. Brayden would chase all the birds away. He was loving being able to walk around on his own. He looks so little in this big world.Once he was out of the backpack, we couldn't get him back in. So we spent the rest of the morning carrying him and the backpack around. He we are getting ready to walk through China Town. We saw some crazy stuff to eat in there. I thought it was funny to see the prices drop as you walked further down the street. We headed back to the car to drop the backpack and pick up the stroller. He headed down to the wharf to eat. Along our way we saw the Sheraton. This is the hotel that my Mom and Dad stayed in on their honeymoon 32 years ago.
After eating down by the wharf we walked down to Pier 39 and then caught the bus back to the car.
We just weren't ready to leave just yet, we wanted to catch another trolley ride. So we waited in line. It was a long wait, but a great view of the bay. On this ride Hailey and Jared were standing and about halfway to the station we hear fire engine sirens and they were heading right towards us. The trolley stopped and we all started looking around. There was a parked car a small space for the fire engine to pass and then us. Lets just say it was an extremely tight fit, and as the exhaust hit Hailey's legs she thought she had been hit. It was fun to see the look on her face. It was a good thing that Brayden was sitting on my lap for that ride.
We got off the trolley at Lombard Street and we were able to walk down and get some pictures.

When we got to the bottom of Lombard Street we headed for the car. We had a long day of sight seeing.
On Wednesday we were able to have a much more relaxing day. We started our day by driving to Armstrong Forest. It is fun of huge Redwood trees. They were so big. One of my favorite things about Jared is that he loves learning about everything. So as we would walk along the path he would have to read every sign, plaque, or bulletin. I really don't like waiting for him, but he always shares what he learns and then I don't have to worry about reading the signs.
Our walk was a lot of fun. Brayden enjoyed waving at all the dogs walking that day too.

Here is Brayden and Jared playing peek-a-boo from inside the tree. Brayden puts his arms up like this when he wants to know where someone is.
After we left Armstrong Forest we headed over to Korbel Winery. It was a really old winery and what I heard of the tour was really interesting. Unfortunately I didn't hear much. Brayden and Kira weren't really into the tour. Brayden did enjoy walking in the air with Jared and I.
After we left Korbel we drove over to the coast. It was really foggy so we didn't get out and continued to a town called Occidental. It was a old railroad town and we had heard they had great desserts, so of course we had to check it out.

After our tasty treat we headed back to the hotel for dinner.
Thursday we headed back to San Francisco for a tour out to Alcatraz. This was Brayden and Grandma on the ferry to the island.
Alcatraz was really cool. They provided you headphones and you could walk around and hear different people telling you about the prison. The bad part was, once again Brayden wasn't really down with the tour. He would try to get out of the stroller, if you held him he tried to take off your headphones, and he basically was screaming for an hours. I am glad that everyone could just turn up their volume and not have to hear him. Jared and I would take turns listen to the tour and watching Brayden, so it took us twice as long to get through the tour.

At this point in the tour I was ready to leave Brayden locked in the cell and we could have just pick him up on our way out.

Kira was also struggling with the tour. We thought we would switch it up so Kira took the stroller and Brayden took the backpack. We'll they both fell asleep shortly after the switch.
Friday was also the 4th of July. We walked over to the park by Hailey's house in the morning and headed up to wine country later in the day. We first stopped in Sonoma. It was a fun little town. They were have a 4th of July celebration. The kids enjoyed watching the ducks in the pond. Brayden wanted to jump in and swim with the ducks. After Sonoma we ended up in Napa we ate dinner and listened to the music for awhile. We called it quit pretty early, no fireworks for us.
Saturday we went back to the park by Hailey's house. We rode the paddle boats. Jared, Brayden, Grandma, Grandpa and I were in one boat and Hailey, Libby, Cale and Kira in the other. We had a race and our boat one, not sure what we won but we won. Our boat was a little bit heavier so Jared and I were pretty worn out when we finished. We put the kids in the stroller together and headed back to the apartment for a swim before dinner. When we returned from dinner Brayden had a fever and was not feeling good, he had a rough night of sleep.
On Sunday we had to take Jared to the airport and Brayden was feeling a little better. When we returned to Hailey's apartment we walked over to Cale's facility and he gave us a tour. The following morning we headed back to Boise. It was a long drive, we didn't get home until around 9. We decided that Brayden travels much better at night. Despite the long ride we had a great family vacation, and we can't wait for the next.

Summer Trip to Boise

In June, Brayden and I headed back to Boise so I could attend a conference for my new job. The weather was so nice while we were there. Almost every evening we would eat out on the deck. That was great because it didn't really matter how big of a mess Brayden made while eating. Brayden spent a lot of time outside during the afternoon. He would run through the sprinklers, take walks in the stroller, and he especially enjoyed watering the flowers with Grandma. He loves to smell the flowers and hold the water hose. One afternoon he went out with Grandma and my Dad and I were sitting at the kitchen table and he heard some screams and running on the deck. When I looked out I saw that Brayden had the hose and was trying to spray Grandma. He would laugh as Grandma would try to escape. When Brayden would water the flowers he would also water himself. So we finally started letting him water in the nude. One day while watering he started to pee, he looked down and realized that he also had some sort of sprinkler. He was very fascinated with himself, and the look on his face had me cracking up.
One of my favorite parts about going back to Boise is getting to be with family and see friends. My Grandma was able to come over and visit the first weekend we were in town. It was fun to be with her, we spent most of Saturday hauling hay. Brayden loved sitting behind the wheel of the truck and waving to Grandpa every time he saw him. Aunt Teresa helped keep Brayden in his chair while Amber cut his hair. We also had a great time with the Knolls, Uncle Richard and Aunt Linda; Brayden had so much fun playing with the kids in the yard. My Uncle Brent and Aunt Vickie were also in town so we met them for lunch, it was great to catch up with them and hear about all their kids. We had dinner with the Bergersen's, with Cyndi (my friend from Eagle High School), and with Rachel and her family. Brayden had fun swimming in their pool and jumping on their trampoline.

Grandma & Libby's Visit

Over the next few weeks I worked really hard to get settled in the new house. I was also taking a training class for my new job. Oh and trying to be a good mom and do a few fun things with Brayden. Before I knew it June was here. I was excited for June because my mom and sister Libby were coming for a visit. My mom flew in on Tuesday night and we spent Wednesday trying to shop for the house. I say trying because we came up empty. Thursday Libby flew in and after picking her up we headed to south Denver to the Container Store. If you haven't ever been to the Container Store you should go. It is awesome, we were there for over an hour. I left with something to organize the playroom and a few other goodies. On Friday we went to the Denver Zoo. I wasn't so sure how Brayden would do at the zoo, but we was very entertained by all the animals. He really liked to look at them and see what they were doing. He especially liked the birds at the animal show. Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my camera battery so I only got one picture of him looking into the gorilla cage. I have a feeling we will be back soon, so I'll have to get some picture then.
Saturday we got up and hiked Mount Sanitas. A friend of Jared's had mentioned it was a "good" hike, we didn't know that meant hard. We hike was a 3 mile loop with an elevation gain of 1255 ft. We basically climbed stairs for over an hour. It was well worth the effort, the views at the top were amazing. I would like to say this was a picture after the hike, but it was on our way to the hike.That afternoon we decided to go to the pool. I haven't attempted to take Brayden swimming, I have been waiting for Jared to help me out, so we thought this would be a great time. Brayden seemed to think it was fun, but he didn't understand why it didn't feel like warm bath water. After about 10 minutes his bottom lips was quivering and we decided to head home.
On Sunday we had a small celebration for Jared's 30th birthday and Monday we were able to do some more shopping and meet Jared for lunch.
We had a lot of fun with our visitors talking walks and hanging out at the community park. We were sad to see them leave.

Rest of Moab

After a night of stress and worry I was glad that Brayden was almost back to normal. All his welts were gone and his swelling had come down a lot. He was swollen for the next two day. That didn't stop us from getting out and having some fun. We were able to go on a 4 wheeler ride up to Gemini Bridges. It was a fun ride and Brayden loved it. He stopped a few times on our way. Each family shared a 4 wheeler, here we are on ours. Jerry and Sandy rode together and Melissa and Bob on their own.We stopped and Jared wanted to go climbing......so of course Brayden wanted to try it out.

Brayden loved to ride in front. He would try to climb around Jared as we were driving so we gave in and let him ride in the front. On our way back he even took a nap while sitting in the front.
Once we arrived at the top, I went in to nervous mode. It was really high and I got more and more nervous. It didn't help that Jared seemed to have no fear. Jared and his sister decided to sit on the edge of the rock. It is really hard to see how high they are, but there was nothing under them for probably 150 feet.
A few minutes after we got there a ton of trucks drove up and they drove over the bridge. It freaked me out, they were so close to driving off the edge. I thought it was so stupid, but everyone else thought it was pretty cool.
On Wednesday we took another 4 wheeler ride. Brayden got even more brave, not only did he want to sit in front he liked to hold the handles and pretend he was driving.
Brayden had fun time, and by the end of the day his swelling was almost all gone.
On Thursday we drove through Arches National Park. It was fun to see all the different rock formations, but after awhile they all look the same. Jared decided that we should start naming them. Our favorites were Snouter and Tee Time. Amy and her family arrived that evening and we got ready for a big hike the next morning. We hiked up to Corona Arch. It was a great hike and an awesome arch. A local pilot flew his plane through the Arch. We were hiking during Brayden's nap, but that didn't seem to stop him from getting a little shut eye.
I think we wore him out the past few days.
This is Corona Arch. Jared and his nephew hiked up to the top, of course I stayed on the ground.
Later that afternoon Jared, Brayden and I hiked around the Devil's Garden. We saw Landscape Arch, it is the size of a football field.
Grandma Aurich threw a birthday party for Brayden while we were there. It wasn't as messing as his other birthday cake, but he still had a great time destroying his piece.
Saturday morning the family hiked up to Delicate Arch. It was a good hike, but once we reached the top I got a little nervous. There were a lot of people at the top, we had to wait in line to get our picture taken.

First day in Moab

Our first day in Moab was very memorable. We woke up and had a great breakfast then Brayden went down for a nap as we all prepared for our afternoon of site seeing. We decided to go to Dead Horse Point. Which was awesome! I'll get some pictures up soon. It was very winding and rained off and on. We had our picnic lunch in the car, but it was an awesome view of the canyon despite the wind. We had been home about 30 minutes when I noticed that Brayden's face was swelling and he had welts on all over his body. Brayden has always had very sensitive skin, but he hasn't ever had swelling on his face. I started freaking out. Jared was taking a nap and I woke him up to look at Brayden, he didn't seem too worried, which upset me even more. We put Brayden in the bath to clean him up in case it was something he was in contact with. This is what he looked like. I know you are thinking that he isn't that bad, well it got a lot worse. Within about 15 minutes he started swelling even more. I am very lucky to have a nurse in the family, Libby always calmly helps me through my crisis. Jared went to the store to get some Benadryl. I called my friend Amber for some guidance, she has dealt with a few allergic reaction with her children. They were both so helpful.
His welts were all over his body and they were very itchy, he was scratching and rubbing all the welts.
This was taken right after Jared got back with some medicine. You can see his tear running down his cheek. It was very hard for me to see my son this way.
We tried to get Brayden to stay hydrated and eat some food. This is about 1 hour after I first noticed him having an allergic reaction. And no...he is not shutting his eyes. He is still very swollen, but his welts and redness are slowly going away.

Moving in

On May 5^th we closed on our house. We are very excited to move out of our apartment and get into a house. Brayden is going to love having so much room to explore. We started pretty early on Tuesday moving out of the apartment. We were lucky to have help from James and Josh. Jared had told them it was a half days work, well about 6 o’clock we had just returned to the apartment to have dinner and we still had a load to go. Brayden was not feeling well so it made it really hard for me to help much, but we got all moved out in time. Here are the guys after a long day of work. We had a bit to eat and then took another load over to the house and slept there for the first time.

Goodbye apartment

Nine months ago when we signed our apartment lease I wouldn't have guessed that we would be moving into a home when our time was up. Today we closed on a home, so over the next couple of days we will say goodbye to our 2 bedroom apartment and move into our 4 bedroom home. I am so excited to have room. Here are few pictures of the house.
Here is the kitchen.
There is a bonus room off the kitchen.
This is looking into the family room from the kitchen.
This is from the family room looking towards the entry way. I am very excited to have a fireplace. We thought we had one in our apartment, but didn't. I can't wait for next winter when I can sip hot chocolate in front of a fire. The stairs lead up to all the bedrooms.
This is the front door. The open door is the office and on the far left is a bathroom and the stairs to the basement.We have to be out of our apartment by Thursday, so we have several busy days ahead.