Here comes the sun... do do do do....

I love this song.... And can't wait to be in Mexico where the sun is shining. I so need this vacation. I will be back in 8 days and will be a NEW WOMAN! Nothing like a good vacation and gaining 5 or 10 to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside! :) See you all on the flip side! XOXO Sonda

High degrees of mutual toleration...

I have a friend that posted this quote on his blog and I loved it so much I had to snatch it and put it on mine... Although I don't think we say "snatch" do we? I think I meant steal... Anyway...

President Gordon B. Hinckley said:
“I have enjoyed these words of Jenkins Lloyd Jones, which I clipped from the newspaper some years ago. Said he:…
“Anyone who imagines that bliss…is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.
“[The fact is]… most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise…
“Life is like an old-time rail journey- delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed.
“The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride”

I love Pres. Hinckley because he is just honest. He says it like it is and I LOVE HIM!

Seriously...

I know it has been forever... That is why I spent 4 hours updating the blog. I actually had to break for meals. Life is catching up with me and I needed to get current. I miss you all and hope there is less madness in your life than in mine!

Weekend for the Bryant Family

This weekend, my brother in law, Kendall was ordained and was able to bless his two little darlins... Brynlee and Brennan. (He is gonna kill me for callin 'em darlins) I was so proud of him and it is always so much fun to see family. We missed Sunshine and Patrick and their kiddos and also Aunt Julia and new little baby Cardston. Love you all and am so glad... we are family!



Chillin' at Grammy's


Muscle Madness... Dallin and Raydon



Aunt Jolan and Aisi... Bonding in the kitchen



Bubba Lou



The Girls


All the cousins


Grillin' it up... Scott and Kendall



Quality time... Coltin, Ais, Brennan and Papa



Let the good times roll...



Aunt Jolan and Britnee with little Pablo... I mean Paulo :)

Churro Stop...

Someone told us about this place in Rocky Point where they make fresh churros. We went as a fam... minus Tyler who was shopping with the Ajeman's. It was great! The kids loved it. What is not to love about a long sugary donut?

Imagine finding you here...

It was fun to be in Rocky Point at the same time as Savannah's Grandma and Grandpa Whipple. We had lots of time to visit and relax and share treats! Savannah even spent a few nights in their trailer. Good times!

In Celebration of Cinco de Mayo...

a few days ago... I will finish posting pics of our last Rocky Point Trip. We are getting ready to go again. I feel like most of the pictures on our blog are of Mexico. If nothing else, it is an attempt to get some of you to visit down there. How many ways can you say... RELAXING!?

Savannah and Dad playing catch on the beach...






Ryan and Pops



The Boys


My kiddos



"Big" drink for a "big" boy


Mike and Mandy Ajeman at the Hut...Life is good

Triple Push Pops

If you have ever had a push pop you know that thrill that would come with a TRIPLE push pop. These puppies cost a pretty penny. But the look on the faces makes it all worth it.

Savannah May

Savannah just celbrated her 9th birthday. It is crazy to me how in these landmark moments like birthdays, you seem to really see how fast time is going. She is getting so big and is so full of life. I love her so much! She had a little celebration at Barro's (none of the rest of the family complained) with just our family and a few friends. It was fabulous and she had a blast! Here's to you sister sue!












Top 9 Things we love about Savannah....

1. She is great with kids. She knows how to play and how to include everyone. She is going to be a great babysitter.

2. She has an infectious laugh... It can be annoying in a cramped space but some people would say the same thing about my laugh! :)

3. She loves a good challenge.

4. She loves to play sports and her brothers love that!

5. She is very aware of my feelings and moods. I don't know that I am proud of this but she does usually know when it is best to just play outside!

6. She loves to perform... sing, dance, gymnastics. You name it she can do it and would love to show you!

7. She is very aware... of her situation, of other people and of uncomfortable situations. From the time she was a baby, she has been able to sense things and bring a gentle peace wherever she is.

8. She is pretty dang funny! I think she gets it from me.... Don't laugh, I am serious.

9. I think she is the best of me and the best of Todd all rolled into one. What a gift she has been in my life. She has been with me through some of the hardest times of my life and has proven to be a light and reminder of why we are here and where we are headed. I love you my girl! XXOO

Learning to let it go...

So sometimes I guess I am a little uptight. I like things the way I like them and am a much happier person when things are in order. In the eternal scheme of things the things that bother me don't matter much. So today, I am going to start letting go of those little things. I think I will start here...

My Name is What?

Before you listen to this... I just wanted to say that my kids do know Primary songs too! I don't know where they picked this up?! :)

How 'bout no you freaky deaky dutch?

This is the video of Ryan that I promised a while back of his imitation of the Austin Powers movie. There are a few other impersonations that we think are funny but maybe no one else will. Everyone in my family makes fun of me because I find myself humorous at times. It is a gift to be able to laugh at yourself... no? It sure makes you feel alot better when you make a royal a_ _ of yourself!

The Competition

While we were camping in Heber, Cami and Patrick McCabe had a "friendly" and competitive game of horseshoes going. They made a friendly bet that whoever lost had to wear Cami's footed PJ's into Arby's for lunch that day. It was tied up the whole time. In the last few minutes it was 18-18 and Patrick was up. He scored a ringer (3 points) and an additinal point with his other horseshoe. Cami was hopeless. Who would've thought that she would top his 4 points with 2... count them... 2 RINGERS!!! All the victory pics came out blurry but I had to post them anyway! Mad Props to Cami for proudly representing Team BB and all women everywhere! You rock G-Funk!

Cami posing with the "colors" Long live team BB and Team P!
Patrick with his eye on the goal.

Focus Cami Focus!

Cami isn't smirking is she?

The look of defeat. Sometimes, you just got to rub it in cuz we so rarely beat the guys at anything.



Go Cami... Go Cami.... :)


She only danced for a little while and then proved to be wife of the year when she didn't make Patrick wear the PJ's. I mean seriously, can you see the look on Porters face if he had to see his dad in these?

Friends till the end...

Just a couple of pics of the kids up camping in Heber. I didn't get my camera out until after the Woods kids left which is unfortunate as they always add to any picture. We had a blast camping with our friends and are so thankful we got to go.

The long and short of it....

So I have had my hair long for a while now. After every birth of every child, I had some crazy hormone kick in that made me want to hack off my hair like a boy... (old drivers license pictures to prove it) So after I had Ryan, I decided to keep it long until I turned 30. Well that has come and gone and I recently hacked a little of my hair off. Still not sure how I feel about it but it is a good change.

Newly chopped hair 2008


Old hair... long and brown in Lufkin, TX at Shines house... I miss that girl!