The McMurrays

BUSY!!!

2011-09-18T20:25:00.002-04:00

It has been nearly a YEAR since my last post! The time has flown. Over Christmas, we went to the Oregon coast, where we spent the holidays at a luxurious cabin on the beach with the McMurray family. It was beautiful and peaceful, and so hard to leave! Spring semester, I completed my last "on campus" semester at ISU, taking 22 credits and still managing to pull of a 3.95 for the semester. I'm currently finishing my last semester (for real) at ISU, but it's online. I'll graduate in December! Andrew graduated in May, and then we moved in with the McMurray family for the summer to work and save money for our move to....FLORIDA! Andrew was accepted into University of Florida's MPH program, with an emphasis on Epidemiology. So proud of my husband! Brenner turned 3 in July, and we had a SpongeBob themed birthday party. It was a blast!

We're now proud Floridans, where we've lived in Gainesville, FL since the middle of August. We faced a number of trials during our move, everything from blown tires to being placed in the wrong apartment, then relocated to the only other available apartment unit, which was currently infested with fleas! Yuck! Oh, and cockroaches, but we didn't discover that until a few weeks in. Oh so nasty. We've pretty much renovated the whole place, had multiple exterminators over for friendly visits (and not-so-friendly treatments to the horrible bugs, which seem to be working). We've painted, planted a garden, and put down pave stones to create a lovely patio in the backyard.

Andrew is loving his program so far. He's so incredibly smart, and it's wonderful seeing all his hard undergraduate work paying off. He feels like he's finally able to apply his knowledge to things that he's passionate about, and he's found kindred spirits in his program. I'm teaching an online sociology course through Idaho State right now (for college credit), but at the completion of this semester (once I receive my B.A. in sociology--hooray!), I'll be re-teaching it in the spring as a PAID instructor! Yay for me!

I took the LSAT during the summer, but after serious reflection and prayer, I've decided not to seek after my J.D. just yet, though that may be the direction that I go eventually. Right now, the most important thing to me is taking care of my children. Yes! CHILDREN!!! Did I forget to mention that?! Well, we are having a baby GIRL in December! That's right! We found out in April, and made the announcement in June. Our baby is due December 24th, Christmas Eve, and we couldn't be more thrilled! We're naming her Adilyn Noelle, and we'll call her Adi. Brenner is excited (so far--who knows how he'll really feel when he has to start sharing his toys), and we've loved picking out cute clothes and blankets for our sweet girl. We're painting the nursery purple for Adi and green for Brenner.

We're all staying busy, busy, busy. Not as busy as the past 10 months, but still pretty swamped! We're trying to get into a routine, which is difficult when you're a stay-at-home mommy, which I haven't ever really been before. Bren is potty-training, I'm teaching online and working with college professors on research and survey statistics, and Andrew is learning how to cure the world's diseases.

Never a dull moment at the McMurray home! Pictures to come soon!

Outer Limits Fun Zone

2010-11-04T04:01:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Outer Limits Fun Zone here in Pokey. We were on our way out of Cal Ranch when we saw it and realized we'd never gone in. So two hours later, we'd played mini-golf, mini-bowling, air hockey, and spent $10 in quarters playing arcade games. Wow...what a fun spontaneous stop!

Brenner loved mini golf. He's a fast learner.

He even got his very own little putter. It was so tiny!

Cheater.

Hole-in-One! (Just ask him)

Eek!

Brenner took on Daddy in a game of air hockey. Of course, this was after he pushed Mommy out of the way to take her place....oh well.

He thought it was more fun to put the puck in his own goal. :)

I loved how he had to stand on his tip toes the whole time.

October 2010--Cookie fights and Halloween sillies!

2010-10-31T19:03:00.000-04:00

We kicked off the month by making Halloween sugar cookies! Brenner helped.

All went well with cutting the cookies and cooking them. We decorated them, and they were beautiful. Then all of the sudden...

"The Grinch got an idea. An awful idea. The Grinch got a wonderful, *awful* idea!"

And the fight was on!

He laughed till he was purple!

It was a big, messy blast!

We played Conference Bingo while we watched it at home, and Brenner was more than happy to play with us. Of course, he did eat most of our bingo chips (smarties).

We decorated a really cool Halloween tree this year. Andrew said it's his favorite tree thus far. :)

Our very cool spider pumpkins!

Brenner is finally big enough to wear the leather jacket GGran Judy sent him after he was born. He loves it and won't let us take it off.

Halloweeeeennn Fuuuuunnn!

We did Calvin and Hobbes this year! It was just too perfect. We decided to do REAL trick-or-treating this time intead of Ward trunk-or-treat. Brenner was exhausted from not sleeping much the night before, but he was a trooper. He made it a whole half hour, and marched up to each house and said "Treat or treat!" and "Treat please!" I guess he'd rather the treat than the trick. Silly boy. He said thank you every time after he got candy, and he was so adorable. Andrew got lots of compliments on his cool costume. At one point, a very elderly woman said to him, "Are you having a nice time, young lady?" To which Andrew sheepishly replied "Um, I'm a boy!" Haha it was pretty funny! I guess I should mention it was one of the darkest nights I've ever gone trick-or-treating, and it was drizzling the entire time. But still, pretty funny. After Brenner fell asleep, I drove around with him in the car and waited while Andrew and his two little sisters finished trick-or-treating. It was so funny to watch 26-year-old Andrew frolicking along in his tiger suit with the little kids running door to door collecting candy. Of course, he was just doing it to help Brenner get his share. *wink wink*

I love my Calvin and Hobbes!

Yellowstone for Andrew's Birthday

2010-10-29T03:26:00.000-04:00

So, here's our fun story. We had to drive up to Rexburg to pick up Andrew's computer that he'd dropped off to be repaired. While we were up there, we thought it'd be fun to go to the St. Anthony sand dunes. We did, and it was awesome. So then, Andrew says, "We're going to take a little detour." An hour and a half later, we're in West Yellowstone! Quite the little detour! The next day was Andrew's birthday, so he decided he wanted to take his family to Yellowstone as a surprise. :) What a nice guy! We found a cozy little motel right outside of the West entrance. The next morning, we walked around West Yellowstone looking at all the fun souvenir shops. Brenner picked out a Daniel Boone hat, a stuffed moose, and a new hoodie. Andrew and I got matching shirts. While we were in one of the shops, Brenner saw a big deer head mounted on the wall. Remember his new favorite animal from the petting zoo, Brenner pointed excitedly and yelled, "GOAT!" I told him it looked a bit like a goat, but was called a "deer." He looked confused but said, "Ohhh." A few minutes later, we walked past it again, and I said, "Look! What's that?" He again said, "A GOAT!" I told him, again, that it was a deer. I said, "Do you see the deer Brenner?" To which he shot right back, "I see a GOAT!"

Darn sassy little boy. Where did he ever pick that up?

Brenner in his cool new outfit. Also pictured is Mr. Moose (or as Brenner calls him, "Goose.")

Brenner thought it was so neat to be so close to the giant animals!

Birthday boy in front of Old Faithful

The falls at Artist Point

It was really, really, really cold.

Did I mention it was cold?

Say cheese!

The family picture a nice (and very cold) couple from Louisiana took for us. They couldn't believe people could survive in these temperatures. Funny. I said the same thing 5 years ago!

Sunset out at the hot springs

Emerald Springs

Beautiful sunset

Smooches for Brenner!

Sand Dunes in St. Anthony!

2010-10-29T01:50:00.000-04:00

We went to the Sand Dunes in St. Anthony, ID a couple times in October. What a fun place! Andrew and I both went (separately, because we hadn't yet met) when we were going to school at BYU-I, and we thought the dunes were really cool. We had to go to Rexburg to get Andrew's computer repaired, and spur-of-the-moment decided to drive out and let Brenner experience the sand dunes for himself. The kid had a blast (so did we, if you can't tell by the pictures)!

Unfortunately, we forgot our camera, so we had to make do with a not-so-good disposable camera. Yuck. But at least we have some pictures to remember our fun by!

Brenner was an amazing little climber out there!

And he thought it was so fun to slide down the steep slopes over and over

We're a little nuts :)

Jump!

These last pictures are from the second time we went out. It was a bit colder then, so we had to wear jackets, but we still had a great time.

Our footprints in the sand.

I thought this was a really neat picture. Shadow pictures are the best!

City of Trees Marathon, 10/10/10

2010-10-11T18:25:00.000-04:00

My husband told me a few months ago that he was going to run a full 26.2 mile marathon. And I rolled my eyes. :)

And then he did it! He ran the City of Trees Marathon in Boise, Idaho. 26.2 miles--5 hours of running...I am so impressed! I told him afterwards that I am confident now that he can do anything he sets his mind to. He's amazing.

At the beginning of the race

Coming around the corner to the finish line!

Crossing the finish line!!! Woooooo hoooooo!

C'est fini!

Marathon Man and his Medal

September 2010

2010-09-05T18:06:00.000-04:00

We did a lot of camping this month. We went with our friends, the Kriegers, and we went with our McMurray family. Brenner had so much fun 4-wheeling (especially on Grandpa's), and we ate yummy dutch oven foods. Brenner sat on the back of a 4-wheeler with me while I drove up and down hills, and it was like a roller coaster! He giggled hysterically and begged for more. He's definitely an Idaho boy!

Bren checking out the grasshopper Daddy caught for him

After a long, dirty 4-wheeling ride

Brenner also had fun feeding the animals at a petting zoo in Chubbuck. He was a bit timid at first, and just held his hand out and tossed the food to the goats. At the end though, he was hugging them and shoving food in their mouths. Unfortunately, I had to hold his hand while he did it, so no pics of that. Hopefully he'll let me take pictures of him doing it next time. He is so funny!

Brenner helped Mommy carve a pumpkin at the end of the month. It was beautiful, but it withered quickly in the 90 degree temperature (at the end of September)! Who knew!?

Andrew and Haley smoochy pics :)

2010-09-03T17:54:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I hadn't had many pictures taken by ourselves since Brenner was born, so we decided to take a few. They turned out really beautifully. How great to be in love with your best friend!

They were all taken in Juniper, in front of Andrew's great-grandparents' old home. It gave the pictures a special meaning to us. :)

August 2010

2010-08-11T21:20:00.001-04:00

Our neighbors have the cutest kids, and they're Bren's best buddies. I took some pics of the three of them together. Brenner gets along with them so well, and we love having them over to play!

Katy, Bren, and Konrad watching the ABC movie and cuddling on the lovesac after Bren's birthday party

Katy driving Brenner around. He loves it.

Playing before bedtime

I swear the kid is smitten. Look at his face!

We took the kiddos to the Ross Park Aquatic Center and let them go nuts. Katy and Brenner had a blast in the kiddie pool.

My handsome Brenner boy. Always full of smiles (and mischief!)

Brenner's Awesome Birthday Party!

2010-08-11T21:00:00.000-04:00

Happy 2nd Birthday, Brenner Boy!!!

Brenner's birthday party was on a beautiful Saturday morning. Brenner's very best friends Katy, Konrad, Belle, Andon, and Asher all came to celebrate with him! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends who love and support us. Andrew's family came, even Aunt Kamila and Uncle Wyatt came all the way up from Utah to be there! Grandma and Grandpa McMurray were so wonderful, and bought balloons and yummy foods for the party. I made Brenner a racetrack cake, and we had a wonderful time. Our neighbors the Kriegers, Griffins, and our old neighbors the Krumenackers all came to play with us, and Brenner got some really awesome presents. We had a great day. :)

Brenner and Daddy had to scoop out all the frosting from the inside of an ENTIRE bag of oreos (so I could crumble the oreos for the cake topping). They made good use of the icing though. Yummmmmy!

The night before Brenner's party, he saw me decorating his cake and wanted to "help." So instead, I gave him the rest of the icing, dyed it blue for him, and let him go nuts.

How quickly icing turns to lotion when it gets in the hands of a 2-year-old.

Where's the birthday boy!?

The cake! It was an egg-free, milk-free recipe that I found and doctored. I put 2 cups of semi-sweet (milk-free) chocolate chips into the batter, put two different flavors of icing on top, added oreo crumbles for the road, used sprinkles and licorice twist for garnishes (you can't see the licorice because it's under the road) and refrigerated it all night. The chocolate chips were awesome in it, and it was a big hit (and I gloated, I will admit).

The Birthday Boy

The decorations

We decorated the sidewalk outside our apartment to look like a road and brought out toy cars for the kids to drive on it. It was fun.

The McMurray family

Brenner with his buddies

Opening presents

The GORGEOUS quilt Grandma made for Brenner. He loves the little animals on it.

The family watching Brenner open his gifts

Thomas the Train!

Smiling at the handsome photographer :)

Andrew told Brenner to blow out the candles, and Brenner looked at him like he was nuts! Doesn't Daddy know fire is hot!?! He wasn't getting near those flames. Daddy helped Brenner out.

Yummy.

Grandma helping Brenner eat cake.

Brenner and his best friend, Katy.

Trying out his new toys!

July 2010 (Part II)

2010-08-11T20:16:00.000-04:00

Our little Brenner always makes us laugh. One of his funniest (and most memorable) moments from this month included a visit to the doctor where I was complaining about how Brenner STILL won't call me "Mom" (or Mommy, or Mama, etc.). I was worried that maybe he didn't know what the word "Mommy" meant, and that he didn't associate that with me. So the doctor asked Brenner where his Daddy was, and Brenner looked over his shoulder and pointed to Andrew, and said, "Daddy." The doctor gave him praise and said, "Okay Brenner, where is your Mommy?" Brenner immediately jumped up, spun around, pointed right at me, and yelled, "BOOGER!!!"

I was so proud. (I guess this means he knows who I am, after all. And he's even given me a special name.)

Later that same week, I was sitting on our lovesac reading, and Brenner was trying to get my attention. I guess I wasn't giving him enough recognition, because he walked over to me, grabbed my face with both hands, and said, "Hey! Poop Booger!"

He got my attention.

Brenner with his new "Lightening McQueen!" bedding. He finally loves sleeping (and jumping) in his bed.

Bren loves his vegetables...so much that he literally pours them into his mouth. We think it's funny. He doesn't understand why.

The boys were watching cartoons on the laptop, and Brenner's bear (named Baby) couldn't hear, so he got another set of headphones for Baby. :)

Our silly boy got into a pack of stamps (thankfully just 1 cent stamps), and decorated himself with his new "stickers." He also found mommy's bra and decorated himself with that too...

The weekend before Brenner's birthday, Aunts Krista, Melissa, and Olivia came and spent three days with us! We had a BLAST! We went to a drive-in in Idaho Falls and saw 'Despicable Me', we went swimming at Ross Park Aquatic Center, played barefoot soccer, and spent a whole weekend giggling and watching silly movies (a LOT of Veggietales)! We love those girls so much. Brenner was on cloud 9 the whole weekend. :)

Brenner and Krista cuddling at the Drive-in

His first "date." Hehe

Mommy (aka Booger) and Brenner at Ross Park Aquatic Center

The ladies in Brenner's life

And Daddy!

Our little family

Brenner watching Johnny Bravo on Daddy's laptop...in the nude...Oh to be a toddler again!

July 2010

2010-07-08T02:10:00.001-04:00

Well, July's not even half over, and look how much we've done already! Brenner will be turning two this month, so we will have a whole post devoted to his special day coming soon! We went to Craters of the Moon National Park at the beginning of this month, and we hiked and explored. What a great family activity. Brenner is definitely his daddy's son. Put the two of them out in the middle of nowhere, give them some rocks and dirt, and they're happy as can be. I love those two. :)

We converted Bren's crib to a toddler bed. He loves jumping on his "new" bed. Scares his momma to death to watch him jump from the railings though! Crazy boy!

Brenner looking at one of the signs at Craters of the Moon

Our little explorer observing the plant life growing out of the pahoehoe lava

The boys on top of a volcano!

Craters of the Moon, 2010

Brenner fell asleep halfway through the hike. It was a very long trail!

In a cave in the lava dome

Look at that dried lava flow

Brenner picking flowers for Mommy

He loves nature

Playing with volcanic rocks

Bren wearing the 4th of July outfit GGran Judy bought him

Such a cute boy!

He was singing "If you're happy and you know it" while jumping on the bed

Brenner's learned how to climb up onto our bed using the footboard. We found his cute little footprints there last night!

Daddy made beautiful sidewalk doodles with Brenner (well, actually Daddy did the drawings on the sidewalk--Brenner colored the tree nearby)

Brenner's Place!

June 2010

2010-07-08T01:08:00.003-04:00

June already! Still doesn't feel like summer. Can you believe it SNOWED this month? Only in Idaho. :) We had fun anyway.

Brenner built a HUGE lego tower!

This would be Brenner's current girlfriend. The lovely Miss Katy. We adore her. So does he.

Brenner and Katy pretending to be lizards. Look at them catching the rays!

Father's Day 2010--We love our Papa!

Brenner idolizes his daddy. Look at that face. :)

Brenner got an awesome tool bench. He stays up way too late "building" things.

He found his baby swing that we'd put away, and decided he's still a baby and needs it again. Of course, he's big enough to decide he has to sit the "cool way" in it.

Mommy and Brenner at Jensen Lake in Blackfoot. He's not too sure about the life jacket.

Proof that Bren's my boy. He loves laying out in the sun as much as I do!

Mean old Daddy squirting "innocent" little Brenner with a water gun. Brenner retreated soon after. Hehe

At the end of the month, my dad's sister and her family (the Harrisons) came all the way out from West Virginia to visit us. Okay, actually they came out to go to a Harrison family reunion and to take Allie to the MTC. She's going to serve a spanish speaking mission in St. George, UT! We are so proud of her! We felt very lucky to be able to see my family. We love them.

Brenner with Great Aunt Renee

Still got it!

Haley with Aunt Renee---Love her!

My Uncle Robert, love of my life (after my two boys, of course)

The girls! Cousins Angel and Allie with Haley

Cuddling up to some very handsome men! Cousins Daniel and David

May 2010 (Part II)

2010-05-31T20:43:00.000-04:00

Mom McMurray sent me these pictures that were taken in early May at the McMurray home. Brenner simply adores his aunts and Grandma and Grandpa. We are so lucky to have them.

Brenner and his pal Olivia

Rough-housing with Melissa

Buddies

On the 4-wheeler with Grandpa

Brenner loves to drive the 4-wheeler

Two handsome men :)

Best Buds, Grandpa and Brenner

Andrew took this of Brenner at a Father/Son project in Nat-Soo-Pah. Brenner was exploring.

Playing in the stream at Nat-Soo-Pah

He makes friends everywhere he goes :)

Mini-Andrew

May 2010

2010-05-17T17:12:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I got to go to KLCE's Second Chance Prom this year. It's a dance set up by the local radio station to give adults a chance to go to prom with their "true love." It was a blast!

Dinner at Lucy's in Idaho Falls. So yummy!

At the dance

I made mint cheesecake to take to Andrew's family to say thank you for watching Brenner for the weekend while Andrew and I went to Prom. :) What would we do without family!?!

April 2010

2010-04-30T16:59:00.000-04:00

April is one of my favorite months, and not just because it's my birthday month. :) It's just a feel good month! It's finally getting warm (or at least, it should be), summer's just around the corner, and the semester is almost over! Woo hoo! We had fun this month. We BBQed, played at the park, and found out we were getting to move into a bigger apartment! Yay!

Brenner helping Mommy make bread. Look at that face!

Dad teaching Brenner how to roast his own hotdog

Brenner got impatient, so his hotdog wasn't very warm. And he wasn't going to let us put it on a bun! No sir! This is the way REAL men eat hotdogs!

Bren struttin his stuff at the park

This is the funniest thing ever! Brenner can do front flips INTO HIS CRIB!!!!

Okay, so this probably isn't the safest idea, but I took a picture before I reprimanded him. :) He stuck a Q-tip in his ear and walked around like that for about 10 minutes. Haha

He put the jacket and hat on himself

I made my own birthday cake, because I'm lame and wanted cheesecake. And it was delicious. :)

Easter 2010

2010-04-17T16:42:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful Easter this year. Easter morning, we had breakfast with a huge group of our friends from the ward (we brought the hashbrowns), watched Conference with our friends, the Clarks, then came back to our apartment for an Easter egg hunt! We video taped Brenner running around the house looking for eggs. It was too cute! Then Brenner dug into his Easter basket, ate lots of sugary treats, and played catch with his new (velcro) ball and glove. What a great day!

Brenner and his marshmallow bunny

He liked finding the eggs, but he REALLY liked the candy inside them!

Daddy taught Brenner the best way to eat candy....oh brother!

Best Easter, ever!

February - March 2010

2010-03-17T16:33:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I went to a ward dance party in February. We were taught the Virginia Reel, and some swing steps. It was a blast!

Look at Andrew's feet! He got REALLY into it! :)

Brenner was such a good boy! He watched from the side and cheered us on.

Our wallflower

Bren being cute, like always.

We tried converting Brenner's crib into a toddler bed. He rolled out in the middle of the night (fortunately, Andrew thought to put his beanbag below, just in case), landed on the beanbag, and slept soundly for several more hours. We converted back to the crib again, for now.

For FHE one night in March, we decorated sugar cookies. Brenner LOVED the sprinkles!

"More, peeeaase!"

Brenner's decided he loves his baby swing again. Sometimes we forget, but he's still our little baby boy!

February 2010--Let it snow, let it snow...LET IT SNOW!!!

2010-02-20T02:51:00.004-05:00

If there's one thing we've got in Idaho, it's SNOW! So we've decided to enjoy it to the fullest!

Here's Brenner making his first snowman!

And here he is destroying his very first snowman! We were so proud... :)

Brenner loves to help Mommy do the dishes. What a big helper!

Brenner eating his very first pb&j (except, since we discovered last fall that he's allergic to peanuts, he's eating a soynut butter and jelly sandwich. We found the soynut butter in the health food section at Fred Meyer, and it is SO GOOD! We like it better than peanut butter! Who knew!?!)

He's not too sure what to think about the consistancy. He's never had something like this before! Haha

We went snowshoeing with our very cool neighbors, the Clarks. Wow, it was such a workout, but sooooo enjoyable, too!

We're ready to go!

Brenner was so excited!

And I guess, so was I. :) Haha; it was fun.

Had to stop to fix my shoes. I had them on the wrong feet, hehe.

Go Daddy!

Look at us go!

Pretty view. This was taken with the "night" setting on our camera, because by this point it was completely dark (notice Brenner is zonked out in his backpack).

Brenner discovered Daddy's tools and is OBSESSED, so we bought him his own!

He even has safety goggles!

Got ya!

Learning to use his drill. It really works! It has sounds, lights, and actually drills his toy screws in. Too neat...

Helping Mommy put together our new coffee table.

We bought Brenner a REALLY warm ski mask/winter hat...keeps him nice and toasty out in the snow--funny thing though, he wanted to wear it INSIDE too! :)

January 2010

2010-01-20T02:17:00.000-05:00

Brenner fell asleep after playing hard :)

Brenner and a neighbor buddy

Andrew organized our pantry! Isn't it awesome!?

Playing with the rocking moose he got for Christmas

Our first real date night since Brenner was born! Yay!

He likes wearing my flowers in his hair. Silly baby

Cuddling with my favorite little boy :)

Trying to look up at the snow. Haha

Back in school! 4 more semesters and we are out of here and of to medical school!!! We'll sure miss Idaho and the McMurrays though. :( Wish we could take them with us, too!

Florida Vacation in Marco Island!

2010-01-20T02:11:00.000-05:00

We went to Marco Island, Florida for the first week of January, 2010. What an amazing trip! We stayed in a beachfront condo, and the views were incredible. The weather was a bit colder than expected, in fact, Florida nearly set record lows that week. But that's okay, it gave us an opportunity to see more of the Everglades rather than beach bumming the ENTIRE week. :) We ate at the yummiest seafood restaurants, went on an airboat ride and swamp buggy tour of the Everglades, went on a boat ride through the 10,000 islands, and even got to hold a baby alligator! The sunsets were breathtaking, the shells were gorgeous, and Brenner was too cute playing in the sand. It's a trip we'll never forget!

Building a sand castle with Daddy

Sunset on our balcony

The view from our condo balcony

Eating my first oyester. Not a fan....yuck!

On the stage at Captain Brien's Seafood and Raw Bar

Walking along a boardwalk in the Everglades

Brenner playing with a coconut we found on the side of the road

Alligator spotting!

Andrew took this amazing picture--it's really beautiful!

Sunset in the Everglades

Our airboat ride!

Look at Andrew's silly face! It was so neat to hold an alligator. They're sooooo soft!

On the boat tour of the 10,000 islands

The most stunning sunset I've ever seen! I took this in the city of Marco Island.

Building sand castles at Tigertail Beach

Cute boy

Staring contest with the seagulls

Brenner fell asleep and we cuddled on the beach :)

Family pic in the Everglades. We had so much fun there, and can't wait to go back someday!!!

December 2009

2009-12-19T18:27:00.000-05:00

What a fun Christmas! Brenner was old enough to know (kind of) what was going on. Well, at least he understood that he was getting lots of presents, and it was okay to make messes with them!

Brenner "helping" decorate the tree with candy canes. He ate so many!

Changing our Thanksgiving tree to a Christmas tree

Watching Christmas movies and eating candy canes!

Let it snow!

Brenner loved Santa Claus! At least, once he gave him his candy cane!

Random funny picture of Brenner eating a cherry tomato. It exploded all over his face!

Mommy made an apple pie for a dear family friend. Brenner wanted to help, so we gave him all the ingredients he needed to make his OWN apple pie. Unfortunately, it never made it to the oven, since Brenner learned apples dipped in flour, butter, spices, and sugar taste delicious without being baked! It was so much fun!

Our THREE year anniversary!

"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end."

Brenner putting money in his mission bank--for when he's grown a foot or two! :)

Christmas Eve with the McMurray Clan. Brenner loves his girls!

Giving Grandpa his Christmas present. Look at Grandpa's face! Hehe

And one for Grandma, too!

"Say CHEESE!"

Playing piano with Aunt Olivia.

Woohoo! Christmas morning, watch A Charlie Brown Christmas after opening presents.

Brenner Boy loooooves his race track. Look at that adorable smile. :)

November 2009

2009-11-19T17:30:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving at home this year. We made southern-style yummies. It was a great day!

Brenner makes the funniest faces! He always looks like he's up to no good...

We love going to the park with our Brenner Boy. He LOVES swings. Everytime we put him in one, he giggles the entire time until we're done! We bought new bikes this fall, and we've had a blast riding them around town, with Brenner bundled up in the trailer behind Dad!

Messy baby!

Higher, Mommy, HIGHER!

Andrew can do amazing things with a BBQ! We had a BBQ late in November, and bundled us all up to eat Andrew's amazing food outside. We played soccer, raked leaves, and of course, helped Brenner fly!

Our rotton Brenenr LOVES coloring--just not on paper! This is his little hideout. It's inside our pantry. He'll hide back there all day, coloring up a storm. But don't worry, he always cleans it off afterwards with a magic eraser. What a kid!

Brenner is learning to feed himself...run for cover!!!

2009-11-03T17:23:00.003-05:00

Brenner's feeding himself--EVERYTHING! He refuses to let us spoon feed him, so we decided to go ahead and let him feed himself whatever he wanted...even if it was rice and kidney beans! I put him in his high chair, gave him a fork, a spoon, and a bowl of food, then went to the other room to get the camera (I knew this would be good). I got distracted, and left him for about 10 minutes, until I heard a thud. I ran back in, and Brenner was laughing hysterically, COVERED in food, with the bowl on the floor...

Well, at least he had fun. ;)

Halloween 2009! Army Men!!!

2009-10-31T18:12:00.001-04:00

We had the BEST Halloween! We went as Army Men, and it was a BLAST! We actually won the costume contest at our ward party, and everyone thought Brenner was the cutest little army guy! Our ward had a "costume parade," where the children walked around to different tables in the gym to get candy. Brenner had a frankenstein bag, which he wore proudly around his neck.

Brenner had a blast, even though the only candy he could eat (because of his allergies) were suckers and smarties. That's okay though. Dad helped with the rest. ;)

The army family!

Brenner had two big guns, and he waved them around at all the girls! Haha!

Brenner fell in love with this one little girl. He's started hugging pretty girls recently, and this girl wasn't offering him a hug, so he just pushed her up against the wall and gave her one! A bit aggressive, yes, but we think maybe he was just getting into character...our little Rambo...

Daddy hunted Brenner around the gym, and he CAUGHT HIM! Look at Brenner's face!

Little army man Brenner after we got home. Best Halloween EVER!!!

Happy 25th Birthday, Andrew!!!

2009-10-29T17:11:00.001-04:00

Andrew had his 25th birthday last week! Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very good, so wonderful Andrew took care of Brenner (and mom) most of the evening. While Andrew was at school, Brenner and I put up streamers and colored a banner together, and we made a card to give to Daddy. Brenner even "signed" his name on it, with a beautiful blue marker. :)

We love our Andrew Daddy so much, and feel so lucky to call him ours. Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Brenner put on Daddy's birthday hat...it was a little too big for him, but he didn't care!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! We love you!!!

Blowing out the candles (or trying to gobble up the whole cake in one bite...can't quite tell in this picture)!

Fall Fun 2009

2009-10-09T16:12:00.009-04:00

August and September 2009:

Best Buddies

Brenner has a monkey balloon!

Snake River

October 2009:

Brenner ate some ribs from Texas Roadhouse that we brought home today, and he LOVED them! He even took a rib into the bathtub when I went to bathe him afterwards.

Like Father, Like Son!

Of course, Brenner's been cute as ever. He's started making the silliest face--we call it the "monster face!"

We're having so much fun decorating for Halloween. We've made our family pumpkins, decorated our windows, and we'll be putting up our Thanksgiving tree soon!

Our bedroom window!!!

The Pumpkin Family

Brenner's 1st Camping trip!

2009-09-16T00:41:00.009-04:00

We went camping and 4-wheeling in Mill Flat over the Labor Day weekend. Andrew and I haven't been camping since we've been married, even though we both love it! It was so nice to be able to just relax and enjoy our family. We went with Andrew's family, and it was so great to sit around the campfire and talk and laugh together.

We also went 4-wheeling! I finally got up the courage to do most of the driving, even on big scary mountains really close to the edge! Being so terrified of heights, I was quite proud of this accomplishment! Brenner brought his little 4-wheeler that he got for his birthday, along with his very own helmet. His Grandpa looked so proud. :)

Brenner also got to experience his first smores. My goodness he LOVED them! He ate almost nothing but smores the whole weekend, and got his marshmallow goodness all over everyone (sorry Mom)! Mom McMurray made the most delicious dutch oven meals, and we ate so well. Brenner especially loved the bacon and potatoes with chicken. I thought he'd never stop eating! Andrew's extended family (Mom McMurray's parents and siblings) made the long 4-wheeler drive from Juniper to visit us while we were there. We went 4-wheeling together and had a yummy dinner and sat around the fire telling stories. We're so blessed to have such a tight knit family. They're great!

The last day, Brenner found a sandbox (of sorts) and plopped himself down in it to play for a half hour or so. He kept dumping sand in his hair and laughing. He is so funny (just ask him)!

The whole trip was fantastic, and Brenner did great--aside from night time, where he insisted on sleeping ON TOP of me, and woke up for good at 3 am. He just sat up on top of me and kept pushing my nose with his finger and saying, "BEEP!" Poor Andrew had to take him out to sit by the fire for the next several hours. Brenner even woke up Aunt Kamila in the next tent over! Sorry, Aunt Kamila! Other than that, we had so much fun on our first family camping trip. Can't wait to go again!

Brenner's Birthday and Family Photos!

2009-07-29T00:38:00.000-04:00

Brenner turned one on July 28th! We spent the day swimming and eating chocolate birthday cake and opening presents. It was so much fun!

That weekend, we went to Burley to see Grandma and Grandpa and the girls and have his REAL birthday party. Brenner got his very own little 4-wheeler from Grandma and Grandpa, and he loves it!

We had cake and pizza, and that evening we went to a big party with waterslides and a BBQ.

Happy Birthday, Brenner boy!

Family Pics, August 1, 2009

The two that started it all...Kerry and Doreen McMurray. We love you, Mom and Dad (Grandma and Grandpa)!

The McMurray Clan 2009

Brenner has the most beautiful eyes!

My two sluggers!

Brenner's 6th through 12 months (January - July 2009)

2009-07-02T01:07:00.001-04:00

6 Months Old (January 2009):

On January 5th, 2009, Brenner got his very first, and SECOND teeth! His two bottom incisors broke through at the same time that night while we were eating at TGI-Fridays in Idaho Falls! He loves chomping on EVERYTHING with them! By the end of the month, Brenner has 4 teeth before 7 months old! Brenner eats cheerios, rice cereal, and jars of baby food. He loves pears and applesauce the best! We gave him pudding at Grandma and Grandpa McMurray's house, and he LOVED it! He'll drink from a sippy cup, which is wonderful, since he never wanted to take a bottle. He blows raspberries on everyone, especially when he has a mouthful of food!

7 Months Old (February 2009):
Brenner's almost crawling, now! We think he'd rather walk though. When we put him in his walker, he cruises around the house--sometimes we even find him under the kitchen table! We've discovered that Brenner is infatuated with Veggietales. We put on the Veggietales DVD sing-alongs, and he starts laughing and jumping and trying to sing with it! We've never seen anything so funny before! He loves being in his Johnny Jumper--he'll jump in the doorway as high as he can, giggling hysterically the whole time. We've begun to realize that we don't have a baby anymore--we have a kid!

We also found out some sad news this month. Brenner is severely allergic to both eggs and milk. We're going to have to work around it for now, and we'll pray eventually he grows out of it. For now, we'll use substitutes in our cooking, and read all the labels before we buy food.

Our Family Pics that Andrew's cousin Tracy took. She does wonders with a camera!

8 Months Old (March 2009):
Brenner is DEFINITELY crawling now! He pulls himself up and walks around already, as long as he's holding on to things. We keep telling him he's too young to be walking, but he doesn't listen. :) We moved to a bigger apartment this month. We need the space with Brenner! We took Brenner swimming in an indoor pool at a motel, and he LOVED it! I think Brenner will be an awesome swimmer, like his Daddy!

Sewing with Grandma McMurray

Doing headstands!

He's almost outgrown his swing now

Wearing another one of Daddy's hats

What a catch!

He loves water!

Watching the snow fall outside our new apartment window

9 Months Old (April 2009):
Silly, silly Brenner. We bought him a walker, and he cruises around the entire apartment now. He thinks it's especially fun when he's naked! He jumps up and down in his crib in the mornings, and he never stops laughing. We've got an amazing little boy. We took family pictures on Easter. Brenner's almost half as tall as Mommy already! Dad made me a delicious cake for my birthday.

The Many Silly Faces of Brenner

Easter 2009

King of the Grill!

Brenner's walker

10 Months Old (May 2009):
Brenner is all about going to the park this month. He cruises around outside with his walker, and he never stops going! Aunt Kamila got married this month, and Brenner got to play with the girls outside during the ceremony. He sure does love those girls! We bought Brenner a ball pit, although the balls NEVER stay inside it!

Driving around the temple at Aunt Kamila and Uncle Wyatt's wedding

After the wedding

Our little piano man :)

Andrew is so wonderful--he bought me flowers for Mother's Day, and a beautiful silver and gold locket with a picture of a mom holding a baby on the front. I put pictures of Brenner inside. I love being his mommy. :)

Mother's Day with Grandma and Grandpa

Wrestling at the park

First taste of watermelon. It's AWESOME!

Playing on the water tarp with Aunts Melissa and Olivia

Trying to steal Daddy's chips!

Naked baby!!!

11 Months Old (June 2009):
Yep, he's walking...and walking, and RUNNING! Brenner gets wherever he wants now. Nothing deters that boy! He loves dancing, and he loves pushing the shopping cart at the grocery store. We bought a fish tank, and he'll stand in front of it for hours, just watching the fish swim. We spent Father's Day at Grandma and Grandpa McMurray's house, and Andrew cooked Grandpa a big steak, and we got pictures of the three McMurray Men! I love those boys so much.

Caught ya!

Father's Day with Grandpa and Daddy

12 Months Old (July 2009):
Brenner's almost ONE! We went to Lagoon and Hogle Zoo this month. We celebrated the 4th of July in Idaho Falls, and watched the fireworks over the Snake River by the temple. We can't wait for the end of the month and Brenner's birthday party!

Lagoon

Wheeee!!

Fourth of July watching fireworks in Idaho Falls

You can see the temple in the background!

Brenner went to the Pocatello Zoo with Grandma and the girls

Look how excited he is!

Brenner's a model

At Hogle Zoo--it was soooo hot!

The giraffe came right up next to us to check out Brenner

Brenner crashed on the train. It was a long day. :)

Mmmmm...soy pudding. It actually tasted just like normal pudding, just more runny...

Hahahaha!

Pudding Fight!!!

Brenner's new backpack. He can hike all day with Daddy now!

Brenner's Fifth Month (December 2008)

2008-12-02T00:57:00.000-05:00

5 Months Old, Brenner Boy!

Waking a sleepy Daddy...

Daddy and Brenner watching cartoons together

Daddy blessed Brenner in church, and he wore such a handsome little burgundy suit. Andrew's whole family came for the blessing, and we took pictures and had a wonderful lunch at our home. It was a great day.

We celebrated Christmas early at our home, because we were flying out of town soon after!

Brenner eyeballing the presents :)

Brenner's first plane ride, on our way to WV! There was a man sitting across from us on the plane, who was trying to do his homework, and Brenner kept leaning over and jabbering at him. He just wouldn't leave the poor guy alone. Brenner loves an audience.

We flew to WV to visit my family, and we got to spend time with Brenner's Grandma and Grandpa Burrows and Brenner's aunt and uncles. He had so much fun getting to play with all the little boys! Here's the whole group of cousins.

Christmas Day at with the Burrows Bunch

The boys wearing their Mario pajamas that Andrew bought for them

Our beautiful little family, Christmas Day 2008

Playing with Grandma Burrows

Kicking the basketball with Uncle Max and Grandpa Burrows

Kick, Brenner, Kick!

New Year's Eve, 2008

5 Months Old, and growing like a weed!

Brenner's Fourth Month (November 2008)

2008-11-02T00:49:00.000-04:00

Brenner's four months old!!! Such a silly boy!

Our Halloween Pumpkins

He's had his first taste of cereal, and he LOVES it!

Going on a walk out in the cold November air

Andrew's family--5 generations!

These pictures were published in the newspaper in Utah. Brenner's Great Great Grandma Campbell had an article written about her for her birthday, and they wanted a 5 generation picture with Brenner for the story. What a momentous day, having 5 generations in one place! It was wonderful.

We put up our Thanksgiving Tree at the end of October, and Brenner just LOVES it! He'll lay across the arm of our couch and touch the ornaments and talk to himself. He's such a funny little boy!

Brenner adores his swing. He'll stay in it all day if we let him!

Brenner is sitting up by himself now! We are blown away by how fast he's growing up.

Brenner's first Thanksgiving--watching T.V. upside down!

Brenner scoots on his tummy, and we are so proud of him!

Our handsome Brenner Boy wearing Daddy's hat

Brenner's Third Month (October 2008)

2008-10-02T00:35:00.001-04:00

Three months old already! Brenner's giggling nonstop, and he's begun really jabbering, too. Another EXCITING milestone, especially for mom, is that Brenner began sleeping through the night this month!!! Yay!!!

This is a still shot that we took from our camcorder. Isn't his smile beautiful?

He's always up to something...

Sleeping with his binky. It didn't last long. :(

Brenner's Halloween costume from Great Grandma Judy! He was one red hot chili pepper!

Brenner was also a pirate! Too many cute costumes to choose from. :)

He LOVES his exersaucer and lion...

Brenner's girlfriend, Natalie Gneiting (Gator's little girl).

Brenner's Second Month (September 2008)

2008-09-02T00:28:00.001-04:00

Brenner kept getting more and more handsome! By two months, he was just so smiley! He also began rolling over! Brenner only wanted to sleep in Mom and Dad's bed cuddled on daddy's chest. His eyes were beginning to lighten, and we began to wonder what color they'd end up being. Our baby boy was getting so big!

2 Months!!!

Brenner's First Month (August 2008)

2008-08-02T00:22:00.001-04:00

Our Brenner was so advanced, right from birth! He could already lift his head and chest off of the floor, which his doctor thought was pretty remarkable. We had a funny experience at Brenner's one week appointment with the pediatrician. When the doctor walked in the room, he took one look at Brenner and said, "Wow! Two chins...we don't usually see that till the second week!" Brenner had gained 13 oz in 5 days. What a little oinker! Healthy, healthy baby.

Meeting the rest of the McMurray Clan!

Meeting Grandpa Burrows

Meeting Grandma Burrows

Brenner Meeting his belly buddy, Natalie. :) They were born just a few weeks apart!

Kisses for Mommy!

Cuddling with Grandpa McMurray

Grandma McMurray feeding Brenner a bottle

One month old, already!

Welcome to the world, Brenner Anders McMurray!

2008-07-29T00:47:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the world, Brenner Anders McMurray! Brenner was born July 28, 2008, at 1:30 pm. He weighed 7 lbs, 12 oz, and was 21 inches long!

They put Brenner's footprints on Daddy's arm. Daddy loved it, and it made for great pictures. :)

Mommy was exhausted, and very much drugged, so they wheeled me upstairs and left Brenner with his proud papa! Andrew and Brenner stayed downstairs for more than an hour, cuddling and getting to know each other.

Brenner's first bath

He's so perfect!

Mommy and Brenner were both soooooo sleepy (okay, so was Daddy)!

You don't just love your children, you fall IN LOVE with them...

The most perfect little face I've ever seen...

His first accidental smile :)

More cuddles with his proud Papa

Pictures taken with my cell phone--before it was stolen soon after :(

Brenner meeting his Grandma and Aunts Melissa and Olivia

Home from the hospital! Brenner was such a quiet little guy. He was so attentive, and loved being cuddled. He seemed to always be studying us with his eyes...

Brenner's swing!

My Pregnancy, and our Second Year

2008-07-02T00:29:00.001-04:00

Our second year of marriage was all about my big belly! :) We were so excited for our litte Brenner to come! Pregnancy wasn't too kind to me, and I ended up on bedrest towards the end. Brenner was such a big baby! Combine that with his mommy not being very big, and it made for a hard couple of last months. Brenner's ultrasounds were always so much fun. He wiggled and wiggled. I loved feeling him kick and roll around, and his daddy loved to play with him! Andrew would put his hand on my tummy, and Brenner would kick him. He'd move it to a different spot, and Brenner would follow! They had a bond from the very beginning.

We celebrated our one-year anniversary at Black Swan Inn in Pocatello, ID. It was in a jungle-themed room. The room was absolutely amazing!

Happy New Year's!

4 months preggo!

Our first ultrasound of little Brenner. Isn't he beautiful!?

He looks like a very cute little alien. Haha

It's a BOY!!!

Celebrating Valentine's Day with fresh lobster!

Before...

And after! Yummmmy!

5 months!

We celebrated my 21st birthday in Utah. We ate at Chick-fil-A and Krispy Kreme (which I was craving so bad) and played putt putt golf. It was so fun, even with my enormous belly!

6 months pregnant...feeling a lot farther along than I really am!

My best girl friend Gator and I showing off our matching baby bumps. We're both 8 months pregnant here! It was so nice to share pregnancy experiences together.

One more month to go!

8 months pregnant and soooo ready to be done!

Daddy-to-be Andrew practicing his story-reading abilities on...Che...haha. He'll be a pro by the time Brenner comes!

I'm going to EXPLODE!!!

We took this right before we went to the hospital to be induced. Hurry, Brenner, HURRY!!!