Meet Avalon Grace

Born August 26, 2009 at 9:36 pm

Weighing in at 6 lbs. 9 ozs.

20 inches long

Daddy's Little Girl

Proud Big Brother

The Whole Fam

Right when we got home, Max gave "Adalon" some of his toys to play with. He tried giving her his big monster truck, but we saved her. He is sweet but not so gentle just yet.

Size Difference -

makes you just want to kiss Avalon and rough up Max

A scorpion sting hurts..

Last week, I went to sit down on the couch next to Brig after Max had fallen asleep and this darn thing stung me! It was worse than any bee sting. I started yelping and woke Max up. My sweet husband became immediately concerned about what it was and Max's well-being. So, I got my own ice and tried to get some relief. In the meantime, Brig reminded me that the reason I had been stung was because I had killed a fly just 30 minutes before. If any of you know my husband, you know that he doesn't kill bugs and hasn't purposely killed even a little fly for over 9 years. He really believes that if you don't harm them, they won't harm you. Before this I thought he was crazy and ridiculous even though I had been given proof many times before. Several times we have been outside and I have gotten mosquito bites, spider bites, bee stings, and chiggers and Brig never has any kind of itch. I must have really made the mosiquito community mad by killing a few too many, because I even got West Nile. Anyway, while putting my foot in a bucket of cold water, Brig located the scorpion under the couch and lightly set the broom bristles on top of it - not sure if he wanted to kill it. My pain wasn't enough to motivate him and I reminded him that it could get Max... still he held the broom over the top of it, not able to kill it. He lifted the broom gently and soon the scorpion was running under more furniture to get away. At this point, I was really MAD. Now the thing was not only still alive, it was somewhere in our house, waiting for its next victim - and it wouldn't be Brig!!! I was not a happy camper. Luckily, he found it again and after exchanging some kind words with him and a few threats, Brig mustered up enough courage to kill it and break his streak. The next day while at the pool, a group of fire ants attacked him. The moral of the story, maybe Brig is right... what do you think?

Bear Tooth Highway

Most of you don't want to see pictures of nature and animals, but like I mentioned before - this place was absolutely gorgeous. We spent one evening on our trip soaking up the beauty of the earth. Brig even got a little romantic and picked some lovely wild flowers for me... so you know it is a one-of-a-kind spot! As with all beautiful places, the camera just doesn't do it justice...

Because it was so cold and high, this was about the only sign of life we saw-

3 cute little mountain goats chomping on the best grass in the world.

Brig got about 10 feet away from them to capture a picture.

Baby Moon #2

I was much more excited about the idea of ditching Max for a few days than Brig. I did miss him terribly by the fourth day. We spent most of our conversations talking about him and repeating the funny little phrases to each other that he says. The drive back to get him was a long one. We were so excited to see him again. Thanks to my mom and Aunt Jewls and Aunt Odie for taking him to Utah and keeping him fat and healthy. We had a wonderful time trying to make up for the lost months. A good road trip always seems to do the trick for us.

Neither Brig or me had really ever got to see Yellowstone National Park. We spent time hitting all the hot spots (literally) and enjoying some of the craziest sites of nature in the world. Although we were impressed with its beauty, the drive out of the park on the Northeast side through Beartooth Highway was the highlight for us. Just as a part of it is called, we felt we were on top of the world. I have saved those pictures for last because I would like Brig to post about it because he has some fun stories to tell. Because we saw snow up there, he really got Iraq out of his system. I will at least post pictures later.

These pictures are from Yellowstone:
We saw about every creature except the bear. We were fascinated with these little foxes that were playing by the roadside. Brig's favorite spotting was a mother moose and her baby. In our competition of who could spot more animals, I won by 2 points...

We met up with my brother, Lucas and his two kids, Kennedy and Rowan for a few hours in the park. It was great to see them.

Part of a vacation for us includes eating ice cream everyday. We don't seem to have problems making sure that happens. Here we are at the Fishing Bridge Cafe. We were served by an English girl who was just working there for the summer. Later that night, when I couldn't wait to get to Cody to relieve myself, we stopped at the first place we could find. Our server was outside with all of her foreign friends when Brig asked if his pregnant wife could use the restroom. They were laughing for some reason. Come to find out, when I went inside they kicked a guy out of the shower so I could use the bathroom in the men's dormitory.

We stayed the first three nights in Cody, WY. It is a quiet, cowboy town about 50 miles east of Yellowstone. Our cabin was awesome. As advertised, it definitely has the best beds in the WEST. We shopped the cowboy village, learned about the Mormon history in the area, attended the Cody Nite Rodeo (for free once the woman heard that Brig had just got back from Iraq), and ate the best cheese cake in the world. I would highly recommend this place... The Cowboy Village Cabin

Beating the Oklahoma Heat... Our Trip to Wyoming

After a few weeks of relaxing at home, we set off on a summer vacation. This year, we headed to Wyoming for two reasons - to beat the heat and have a sitter so Brig and I could enjoy some time together before Baby #2 arrives. The Baby Moon post will follow. Before coming home, we spent some time in Gillette with Max and my family. We hit the lake both days on Odie and Jeremy's new boat. Despite the freezing water, both Max and Brig enjoyed it. I only got wet when someone did it to me to get a good laugh. Brig became a pro at knee-boarding with his 360's and got a real work-out tubing.

Little Bridger was DONEDY.

Cottage cheese anyone?

We got back to Oklahoma and enjoyed a few more days of vacation. We hit the PRCA Lawton Rangers rodeo, went to the races, and pigged out on some Braum's "i meam", as Max likes to call it..