The Spray Family

And So The Walking Begins

2011-10-16T17:00:00.000-07:00

sorry if the video is sideways!

Sports Day at Preschool

2011-09-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here is what Sophie wore for Sports Day at Preschool! BOOMER SOONER as her dad would say!

Sophie's Preschool

2011-09-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is what Sophie has been doing in Preschool. She is learning a lot and loving it too!!

Liam turns 3

2011-09-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

Our little Liam turned 3 on Saturday! I can't believe he is already that big. Anyways here is what we did. Friday night he was able to open 1 of his gifts from us and it was a new sheet set to match the Thomas pillowcase that Grandma Echols made him.
The next day we got up really early and he got to open 2 more gifts. They were new Thomas the Train outfits one of which he is modeling above! Then we got in the car and drove to the other side of town to have breakfast with Great Grandpa Brown at Dennys. There Liam got a free breakfast! After that we drove over to see Great Grandma Beryl. We didn't stay to long as there wasn't much room for the kids to run around in. Then we went to Grandma & Grandpa Echols' house for some swimming. After swimming for about 2 hours we got out and got ready to head over to Grandma King's house. When we got there she had dinner and cupcakes (thomas mind you) He also got a new Thomas train as well as a the Sodor tunnel with tracks and a Henry train which he didn't have in his collection. He was a very happy boy!

We had so much fun seeing everyone and lots more fun celebrating Liam's birthday everywhere we went. Even though he was a VERY unexpected surprise 3 years ago we can't see our family without him.

My First Sewing Project

2011-07-10T00:29:00.000-07:00

Now we all know my mom is the best sewer ever so I can only hope one day to be as good as she is. Here is my first attempt at sewing. These are little grab bags the hawaiian print is Sophie's & the other is for her friend for her birthday. I would have to say i am on a track to hopefully one day be like her!

Can You Tell Who Our Kids Look Like??

2011-06-30T08:32:00.002-07:00

Wasn't he just the cutest little boy???

Randoms

2011-06-29T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is actually a picture that Sophie took with my phone. I think it looks really good!

The kids laying down in the livingroom to watch a movie.

We were switching carseats from one car to the other and had them inside and the kids asked to be buckled in to watch a movie. Perfect for me because I got an hours worth of homework done while they sat there.

i hadn't heard any noise from the room for awhile so I went in to see and this is what I found.

Sorry this is so grainey but here is Mason falling asleep in his bumbo chair. Too funny!!

Splash Pad

2011-06-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Queen Creek we have had to find new splash pads. Here is one we went to the other day. It has animals that spray water. It also had a huge jungle jim, a train, carousel & ducks. We really liked it!
Here is our liam trying to decided if he wants to go in.

This is Sophie's little friend Mia (you can see Sophie running around in the background)

Sophie again running around behind the elephant

This was Mason's spot while the kids ran around. He did not like it when the elephant turned on and mom put him under the spray!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Brown

2011-06-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

Sophie

Liam

Mason

We love our Grandpa Brown and because today is his birthday we wanted to have a post to him. Here he is with all 3 of the kids!!

Brittney's wedding

2011-06-13T13:21:00.001-07:00

Brittney & Aiden's wedding was so much fun! The kids had a blast and looked so incredibly cute in their outfits!

Temples

2011-05-09T19:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight for our family home evening we learned about temples. As our treat we made temples out of sugar cookies and frosting. Here is the end result!

Sophie's First Day of Preschool

2011-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Sophie had so much fun. She talked the entire ride home about what she did. Here she is holding her apple that has a worm in it.

Sick Sophie

2011-04-25T00:20:00.000-07:00

Our poor little girl has been so incredible sick since Wednesday. It started out as just a high fever around 101.5 wednesday night, fever on & off thursday, a high fever of 102.5 thursday night, then on & off fever all day friday. Friday night she was running a temperature of 103.8 & that is when we decided a trip to Urgent Care was needed. After running several test & having a chest x-ray they said it was the beginnings of a UTI. They wrote a prescription for antibiotics & we were good to go. We get home, take the meds & get some sleep. Next day she seems fine come 9 o'clock that night she starts throwing up. This is where this picture comes in.This poor girls has been throwing up for 24 hours. She is so tired that she has finally fallen asleep sitting at the toilet. Hopefully this is the end of her sickness for a while.

The New Summer Toy

2011-04-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

The kids are so excited we have a pool. i love it cause while they play i get to layout and tan a favorite past time of mines

Our Day at the Park

2011-03-19T16:17:00.001-07:00

we spent the day with grandma & grandpa echols, aunt mandy & some cousins!

Our Testimony Garden

2011-03-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

I know that it is already the middle of March but here is what we have decided to do for our Family Home Evenings this year. We are going to grow our testimony flowers in our testimony garden. Every week as we learn a new principle that will help build our testimonies we will add a pedal to one of the flowers in our garden. By the end of the year we will have a beautiful garden to show how much we have grown.

Our Aquarium Adventure

2011-03-12T16:43:00.000-08:00

We ventured to the Arizona Mills Mall the other day & while there we decided to go to the aquarium. It was really fun & the kids had a blast.

Aviation Day at the Airport

2011-03-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Gateway airport out here did an avation day today & they had planes, helicopters, army jeeps, fire trucks & lots of other things to see. I took the kids while Richard was in class & we had a blast. In the kids zone they had face painting & Sophie got a flower while Liam got a spider.

The Carousel

2011-03-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

we took the kids to the mall tonight as a family outing. the last thing that we did was ride the carousel. out of all the animals to ride on poor liam got stuck riding a pink dragon.

Let's Compare

2011-03-03T19:29:00.001-08:00

Here are all 3 of our babies at 2 months old. Can you tell who is who??

Grandpa Brown & Mason

2011-02-19T15:20:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T17:30:00.002-08:00

Today was a good day. Richard received an amazing Edible Arrangements from his amazing wife and kids and Mason got to spend the day with his girlfriend Ainsley. What could be any better!!

Our Baby Mason

2011-02-11T06:56:00.001-08:00

I was finally able to get a picture of him smiling. He has the cutest smile and depending on the day he can look just like Sophie or just like Liam.

This is our most recent family picture. We had Mason's baby blessing in our home this time. We had lots of friends and family. Most don't know that Mason was actually named after my Grandma Knudsen who has passed away. I myself am named after her to so I wanted to show my love for her and use the name Mason which is her maiden name. Also his middle name is Douglas which is after my dad. In the blessing he was told to remember those he was named after. They are both amazing people and I hope that Mason will learn that and will have the desire to be just like them.

sophie singing

2011-02-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

The Things I Have Learned

2011-01-11T07:48:00.001-08:00

Now that it has been 3 weeks since we had Mason there are some new things and old things that I am having to learn again.

1. Sleeping through the night is a special treat and I miss it, but now that Mason is here I am very happy when he sleeps for 3 hours.

2. Bad idea to give Sophie chips after we have had a talk about sharing. She was so good to share her chips with Mason.

3. No matter what I do the other 2 kids will always get into whatever it is I don't want them in as soon as I start feeding the baby.

4. Having kids at 30 is a lot different than having kids in my 20's.

Our Christmas Picture

2010-12-29T08:13:00.001-08:00

Here is our official Christmas picture for this year. We are all dressed up and ready for church. This was actually taken 3 days before we had Mason.

Date Night

2010-08-14T17:58:00.000-07:00

We try as often as possible to do individual date nights with the kids. Tonight was an open night so Dad is taking Sophie out for dinner and to Build-a-Bear.

As soon as Dad and Sophie took off I turned around and here is how I found Liam!

Introducing . . . .

2010-08-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

MASON DOUGLAS SPRAY

Does She Look Like Her Grandma?

2010-07-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we attended a birthday party for Peyton and this is what dad showed up on. Happy Father's Day to him!!

Our Last 6 Months

2010-06-13T12:56:00.001-07:00

We have done a lot over the last 6 months. Here are some highlights.

Today we decided that the kids needed summer haircuts. We shaved Liam and Sophie wanted hair like her cousin Brea. Now they are like mini versions of their cousins.

We have been trying to get Sophie to potty train and to no avail. Here she is doing some light reading!

We finally got the change to go to the zoo with our dad. It was a hot day and we had lots of fun. We took the kids in the Arizona trail and came across this statue and decided to take some pictures.

Evidently this day was a long day for the kids as they fell asleep in the car.

This was Easter. The kids got these bubble straws. They didn't work to well but they had fun using them.

Sophie eating her Cadbury egg.

The kids opening up their Easter baskets.

This was the dress up outfit that the Easter Bunny brought Sophie.

There were pictures that were taken at our friend's house as the kids were coloring Easter eggs.

We went to Chloe's birthday party and Pump-It-Up. They had so much fun playing with the toys and going down the slide.

Grandma Maggie came down from Tucson one Friday night and so we decided to have a girls night out. We went to the movies and had dinner. It was a lot of fun!!

Sophie found this hat at Grandma King's house. Go Sooners!!

We had given Liam some nuggets and ketchup and this is what he decided to do with the ketchup.

Our Newest Edition

2010-06-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today and when she couldn't find the baby's heartbeat she sent me to do and ultrasound. All is well and we even got a really good picture of the new one!!

Our Big News

2010-05-23T20:34:00.001-07:00

The Spray family will be one member bigger as of the 29th of December!! We have a couple more weeks before we find out whether it is going to be Julia or Mason Douglas!!

Messiah

2009-12-15T06:58:00.000-08:00

As a Christmas gift this year for our mom we were asked to sing in the Messiah choir with her. Callie didn't sing as she is huge and pregnant but was there to enjoy the festivities. Merry Christmas Mom!!

Tiny Learners

2009-12-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

So I have been noticing lately that Sophie is really catching on to the things that I say.

We were driving around in the car the other day and I had asked her a question and her response was and I quote "What??? No." Evidently I say that way to much to her!!

Also she likes to play with Liam now that he is bigger and can actually walk and as they were playing with the blocks that we have she got upset with something that he did and she said "Wiam you go" and pointed to the corner. Can you tell how often I say that?

Just a couple of the cute things that she is starting to do! I know mom you don't have to keep telling me that she is a mini me!!

Our Santa Picture

2009-12-12T23:24:00.001-08:00

We went out tonight to look at Christmas lights and stopped at a house to see all the amazing displays that were there and low and behold there was Santa. Can you tell what the kids were thinking??

Bubba's Wedding

2009-12-05T08:35:00.001-08:00

All because these two people fell in love.The whole family. Kids, spouses & grandkids

Chelaine with all the nephews

Bubba with the nephews

Bubba with the nieces

All the kids

The girls

Couldn't pass this picture up isn't he soooo cute??

The nephews

The nieces

This is our Chloe doing her rendition of the Twist!!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-05T08:30:00.001-08:00

This year was a very dirty one. The kids played all day out in the backyard that was nothing but dirt. Here are the results.

Our Liam getting the first taste of the whip cream for the pies.

Grandpa Brown's House

2009-12-05T08:05:00.001-08:00

Our kids love to go and play at Grandpa Brown's house. He has a chicken, kittens and lots of little ceramic statues that the kids can play with.

Our Own Got Milk

2009-11-18T14:37:00.001-08:00

The picture says it all !!

Halloween

2009-10-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is the cousins all together for the Trunk or Treat. We had a bat, snow princess, 2 princesses a penguin and spider man.

I couldn't resist isn't he sooo cute??

Our Penguin. Sophie wore this last year but he looks just as cute!

Our beautiful snow princess. She LOVED this outfit. She kept twirling around to see the skirt move.

Earlier today we went and got our pumpkin. Sophie got to help daddy clean out the pumpkin. She was not very excited about having to touch it with her hands. She kept insisting that she use the spoon!

Girl's Night Out

2009-10-31T21:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday me and the sisters along with mom, my Aunt Sandy and her daughter and daughter-in-law went and saw Seven Brides for Seven Brothers at the Hale Theatre. I was sooo good. We use to watch that movie all the time growing up so it was fun to be able to go together as sisters. We also had our soon to be new addition Chelaine with us. So we gave her a little gift from the sisters.

Our Texas Trip

2009-10-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

Sophie and I spent a week in Texas. We were there for my cousin's wedding in which Sophie was the flower girl. She did an amazing job. Took the ring bearer's hand and down the aisle she went. Here are some pics from our trip.

This was Sophie's outfit for the wedding. It even came with pink shiny shoes!!

This is how I did her hair for the wedding. There was so much hairspray that when the wind blew it didn't move.

The Sunday after the wedding we were privileged enough to go and see my cousin Mikail have their new addition Westley blessed. Here is their cute little family.

Sophie & Westley she was trying to help him sit up

We had the best BBQ at the luncheon. It was from Rudy's so if you are ever in Austin TX that is the place to go. Sophie wanted the chocolate cake and this was the result!

The first part of the week we actually stayed with my cousin Trent this was a random pic of Sophie very happily watching a movie on the BIG TV.

Trent has a motorcycle and we were trying to get Sophie to take a picture on it. If we had just taken the picture before it turned on we would have been ok

We got to Texas on Monday and Sophie didn't take a nap until that Wednesday. We were spending the day with my Aunt Beryl and she fell asleep watching Shrek. What a relief that day was.

Since we got to Texas Sophie has totally been cool with Trent. She spent most of her time following what he was doing. One night after we had gone out to dinner we got back to the house and let her go and run around outside. She noticed that Trent had gone and sat on the porch so if course she follows him. She sits down and scooted over to be closer to him and this is the picture that I got.

It is a tradition that when Trent and I get together we have to go and have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and sad to say we always get the same thing. Spicy Cashew Chicken is the best!! Sophie decided that using a fork wasn't good enough for eating cheesecake so she just used her hands.

The one day that Trent took a nap I caught this picture as we were watching a movie after Trent had just woken up!

Sophie in her carseat when we first got to Austin.

Sophie waiting at the airport in Phoenix. She was sooooo excited to see all the planes and was soooooo excited when she actually got to ride on one. She did amazing on both the flight there and the flight home. I am grateful for good kids.

I am so happy for Jamie & Trent and I wish them all the best in the future together. Thanks to all who drove us around, fed us and took care of us while we were there. I couldn't ask for a better family!

We love and miss you guys already!!

Our Busy Life

2009-10-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

Our stake every year does a "Princess Ball" for all the little girls that are between 18 months and 11 years old. Sophie was old enough this year and here she is with her "Prince Charming"

She actually slipped in this picture and I just happen to catch her as she caught herself but what a cute picture!

We had gone over to Grandpa Echols' house so Daddy could watch Oklahoma football and it was quite time so we got some headphones and turned on some Little Einsteins and she was a happy camper.

On Lima's 1st birthday we had to go to the doctor and he got shots but because he did so good we took him out to lunch at Red Robin here he is eating his Mac & Cheese.

Here are some pictures from the kids birthday party. We had a great time and they got a lot of amazing clothes and toys.

The Things They Learn

2009-08-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

The 1st video is Liam laughing. This was one of the very first times that he laughed.

Our kids love to dance so we always tell them shake your bootie. Here is the 2 kids shaking their bootie in the car.

Our Summer

2009-08-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here is me and Sophie the other day. I needed a picture for my profile for my online classes.

Our kids have decided that they love bubbles. We bought a bubble machine and they love it.

We went to the gravesite for Richard's Grandmother on the 1 year anniversary of her death. Here are the pictures of Sophie puting her flower on the grave.

We had a couple of incidents. At Grandpa's house Sophie caught her eye on the corner of his coffee table and then the next day caught the same eye on the hinge to our entertainment center. It turned out to be one pretty bruise.

The cousins getting together and Grandma's house. They love to watch movies.

Sophie and Richard before they left to go on their Daddy Daugher date. They went out to lunch and Chili's and went and saw Ice Age 3.

I put Richard in charge of letting the kids go swimming. He left their diapers on ad this is the result of that after she had been swimming for about 20 minutes.

The whole family went out to the Hale Theatre for Dad's birthday. Here is us.

We were asked as a ward to take a cloth square and represent our family so that there could be a quilt made for our old Bishop who just got released. I embriodered us.

Richard's Grandpa Brown has these chickens in his backyard. Every grandkid has a picture on these so we thought the great-grandkids should have them too.

Our little artist found a black permanent marker and drew on her face and the tile floor.

At the beginning of the summer we took off and went with Callie & Zane to their Ward Campout. I loved the beanie look.

Sophie & her cousin were running around together. They have become best friends. She is constantly asking for Peyton.

here is us as a family the first time camping all together.

Me and my baby Liam.

Richard had taken Sophie for a walk and I just had to get this picture.

Summer Days

2009-05-31T19:55:00.000-07:00

We haven't really had a lot of time with our Dad as he has been in school so on one of the last days before summer school we took the kids to the playland at PV Mall. Richard took some cute pictures of Sophie playing.

If I really had been paying attention this video would be longer as Liam had been doing this for about a minute before I actually grabbed my camera. Some of the funniest things amuse kids.

Liam Crawling

2009-05-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Our little man has decided finally at 8 1/2 months to start crawling.

Our Little Scare

2009-05-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

I will tell you what happened to us today. Sophie had been running a fever all day today and when we left the house this afternoon it evidently got worse. As we were driving to Grandma Echols' house her fever must have spiked and she started having a seizure in the car. It only lasted for less than a minute but luckily we were right next to John C. Lincoln hospital and got her to the ER. After being there for 2 hours we were released and sent home. She is ok and the Doctor said that it is perfectly normal for seizures to happen in children her age when their temperature either goes up really quickly or goes down really quickly. We are home now and all is well just keeping Tylenol & Motrin in her to keep the fever down. I think it was more traumatic for her parents than it was for her!!

This is For Uncle Reggie

2009-05-17T17:00:00.001-07:00

We miss Uncle Reggie so the kids decided to send his some pictures. We love and miss you Reggie & Kaleigh!

What's New

2009-05-16T12:41:00.001-07:00

Sophie has been learning how to say cheese when the camera comes out. Here is one of those pictures.
As you can see she has the aftermath of falling on her face the other day. Luckily her black eye is almost gone! What a cute smile!

Here is our Liam. He has gotten so big. This is how I find him every morning.

Sophie learned how to climb out of her crib the other day so we decided it was time for her to have a big girl bed, so we converted her crib to the toddler bed.

Sorry!

2009-05-03T22:18:00.001-07:00

Sorry that our blog hasn't been updated but a new one will be coming soon!

Catching up

2009-03-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it has been forever since I last posted. I have totally not had the desire to do it, but here is what has been happening with us in the last little while. Things that are not in the pictures. Liam now sits up by himself and got up on all fours the other days so I am assuming in a couple of weeks we will have a crawler on our hands. Sophie about 2 weeks ago woke up one morning and started jibber jabbering and hasn't stopped. Her new words lately are it's stuck, duckie, she calls me Laina instead of Mom, she waves and blows kisses. Also she has turned into quite the dancer.

This was Christmas Eve. We spent it with Grandma King, Aunt Rachel & Walliepog. Notice the cute sock monkey pj's??

We were trying to teach Sophie how to smile and this was the first time she did it.

We went to the temple lights as a family 2 times this year. We love the lights and the peace that we feel there.
Sophie did not want to wear this hat.

We did Christmas with my family and all met at Callie's. Sophie still wasn't sure about Uncle Bubba at this point.

In the toy room at Callie's.

This was Christmas morning as Sophie opened her present. She got a baby doll with a stroller and carseat. She has not stopped playing with it since it was put together.

Her first smile on camera with her baby.

Mandy got last minute tickets to the Fiesta Bowl parade so we took the kids and had a good time. Cailor & Brea even got some free stuff.

One of the temple light nights isn't he the cutest??
Christmas at Callie's. Bubba & Chloe.

Bubba Coming Home

2009-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the video of Bubba getting off the plane. I didn't get any other pictures so sorry!

Our Little Bubba

2008-12-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

So our Bubba is coming home in 7 days. One of the families that have become really close with him sent this video of Bubba singing to mom. It totally made us all cry!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ww6xOTZFMw

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

So this year I left the house and forgot my camera so hopefully I will be getting pictures from those that were with us.

So many things to be thankful for. A great husband that works really hard at school and loves us very much. 2 beautiful kids with their own little personalities that have the ability to always make me smile. A house that keeps us warm. An extended family who have been there for us when we have needed them in the last little while. Trials that may seem really hard but teach a lasting lesson and draw us closer as a family. Friends that know how to cheer us up. I am greatful for the ability that we have every year to truly sit back and think of what we are thankful for. Richard and I have truly been blessed.

Anyone in need of a Preschool?

2008-11-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

Eager Learners Preschool

is a curriculum designed to teach your preschooler the basics of reading and fine motor skills. Our goals for your preschooler are to learn all the letters of the alphabet, their sounds, how to write both upper and lower case and begin in sight word recognition as well as master the basic motors skills needed for school.

Along with reading and motor skill, this year we plan to learn a lot about the world around us. Just a couple of examples are:
School
Self
Insects
Animals
The Desert
The Ocean
And much more

A typical day would go as follows
9:00 - 9:20 Welcome (free time with small activity for them to do while
everyone gets there)
9:20 - 9:30 Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, and spotlight time
9:30 - 9:50 Learning Circle (This is where most of the learning will happen,
ABCs, Numbers, Phonics, Shapes etc.)
9:50 - 10:05 Snack time
10:05 - 10:15 Story time
10:15 - 10:50 Learning Centers and Creative Movement (This is the time
where we would explore as well as have the chance to develop physical coordination)
10:50 - 11:00 Closing Circle/Pack up to go home (we would review what we
learned that day)

This program is held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00-11:00 a.m. at Callie Brown’s house in Avondale. Tuition is $90 a month and the deadline to sign up is December 19, 2008. For more information Please email Callie @ email at preschoolmom11@yahoo.com

Our Halloween

2008-10-31T21:38:00.000-07:00

All of the grandkids got together this year for a trunk or treat. How cute are they all!

Peyton is the bumble bee and Cael is the bat.

Cailor is our Superman

Our 2 princesses and the sock monkey!

Sophie was the cutest Penguin ever!

And here is our family. The 2 Zoo Keepers and their animals.

Condo for sale or rent??

2008-10-30T21:37:00.001-07:00

Since we have people that look at our blog we figured this is a good place to post our condo. Let us know if you or anyone you know would be interested! It would be $1250/mo or $165,000 for sale.

Remodeled end unit townhouse. 3 bedrooms, master has walk-in closet, 2.5 baths with seperate entrance in the master bedroom with views of the pool. Brand new tile, cabinets & countertops, stainless steel appliances including a brand new refrigerator. Also has an alarm system installed. Located among duck ponds this townhouse is move in ready. We have more pictures available of the condo including the bedrooms. Please call for more info & pictures. 602-809-2382

Can you tell they are related??

2008-10-29T20:35:00.001-07:00

How funny that our two kids look so much alike!

This is a picture of Sophie taken when she was around 2 months old.

This is a picture of Liam that was taken today at around 2 months old.

Liam Pics

2008-10-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

Liam is starting to smile and we are so excited. These couple of pictures were taken today! America's next top model??

This is a friend of the family. She was singing to him and rocking him to sleep!

Tagged

2008-10-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Tagged
8 Favorite TV Shows

The Closer, Americal Idol, Eli Stone, House, Pushing Daisies, Top Design, Project Runway, 70 on 7 (Sophie likes to dance so we listen to that alot during the day!)

8 Things I did Yesterday

Play group, took a nap with the kids, watched Little Einsteins like 4 times, went to Callie's house, attended a Trunk or Treat with all the grandkids, talked to a friend I haven't seen in years, watched the Inredible Hulk, went to bed at 1am.

8 Things I Look Forward To

Thanksgiving Food, Richard being done with school this semister, a possible vacation in December, Bubba coming home, blessing Liam, Christmas, sleeping in while Richard is home with us, Zoo Lights

8 Favorite Restaurants

Cheesecake Factory, Claim Jumper, Panda Express, Chick-fil-a, Chili's, California Pizza Kitchen, Macaroni Grill, Carolina's

8 Things on My Wish List

Eliptical machine, Tummy tuck, Lincoln Navigator, A spa day all alone, to be a size 8, to learn to play tennis, longer hair, kids to be out of diapers

8 People to Tag

Alicia, Tiff, Heather, Mikail, Katie Hatch, Sherri, Lacey, Callie

The Great Debate

2008-10-23T22:42:00.001-07:00

Before anyone jumps to conclusions, no we are not pregnant again, but we are having a heated debate over the name of our next child; if and when that happens. The two names that are being promoted are above. We would like to get some feedback as too what everyone prefers. In the spirit of the current election you can cast your vote.

Kid stats and some cute photos

2008-10-17T20:55:00.001-07:00

We went to the doctor's office on Wed for Sophie's 1 year check up and Liam's 6 week check up. Here is where our kids are at

Sophie - Birth - 9 lbs 1 oz & 21 inches 1 year - 22 lbs 12 oz & 31 inches

Liam - Birth - 9 lbs 3 oz & 21 inches 6 weeks - 12 lbs 4 oz & 23 1/2 inches

We were at Mandy's house the other day and I put this skirt on Sophie. Despite the look in the picture she really did like having it on!

We have been very blessed in the fact that Sophie loves her little brother and gives him kisses all the time.

We had eaten dinner at mom and dad's and for dessert we had dilly bars. Dad left a little on the stick for Sophie and this is what resulted. She loves ice cream!!

When Liam gets hungry and doesn't have the patience to wait 5 extra seconds sometimes this is what he does to pacify himself.

So Uncle Bubba has never met either Sophie or Liam. We have pictures of him on our fridge and on the wall at mom's house. She recognized his pictures so hopefully when he gets home she will recognize him. Here is a video of her giving kisses to Uncle Bubba!

Sophie's 1st Birthday!

2008-10-16T20:38:00.000-07:00

We bought a Pinata for her birthday here she is with Grandpa looking at it.

We tried getting her to hit it but she wanted nothing to do with it.

I was trying to get her to hit it again but still no intrest.

Here is our cute family. We had ordered onesies for the kids. Sophie's says Big Sister Sophie and Liam's says Little Brother Liam. It has a picture of Rocket from Little Einsteins as that is her favorite show right now.

Here is a picture of the amazing cake that Bethy made for Sophie. Love it!

Sophie going to town on her birthday cake!

The Kids

2008-09-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Liam passed out on the floor after completely stuffing himself!

His cute little outfit that he wore on Sunday for his 1st time at church!

Sophie at the splash park. She has finally decided that she likes the water!

Smaller people here we come!

2008-09-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

So today is the 1st day of starting WeightWatchers. After having 2 babies in 2 years both me and Richard have packed on the pounds. Though I do have to say that it feels good to know that I am not heavier than Richard anymore! I know that he gained the weight to make me feel better! (what a good guy!) I am hoping to be at my weight goal in a year (hopefully sooner but that gives me a good cushion!) We will keep you posted as we go along!

50 Weird/Randon things about me

2008-09-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by my cousin Jenny

1. I am left handed. Only child in my family.

2. Couldn't tell you what my real hair color is (and haven't been able to for about 9 years.)

3. Was a cheerleader for wrestling in junior high.

4. Played the piano for years when I was younger and can't remember a thing now.

5. Can't stand it when my kitchen is messy but my room is always a disaster.

6. I have had 2 kids in the last 2 years.

7. Love to read books.

8. Plan on going back to school for interior design when the kids are old enough to be in school all day.

9. Hate the fact that my sister Mandy is tanner than I am (never has happened before in my life)

10. I was named after both of my Grandmas Elna & Elaine.

11. Except for one year I have lived in Arizona.

12. Hope to one day visit Paris.

13. Love to cross stitch.

14. Have recently taken up embroidery.

15. Would love to one day learn to sew my own clothes.

16. Since being married I don't like being alone.

17. I can't stand it when the sheets come untucked.

18. I always get the spicy cashew chicken when I go to the Cheesecake Factory.

19. I LOVE American Idol.

20. If I had to do anything for the military I would be a sniper.

21. When I was little I wanted to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader.

22. My favorite flower is the tulip.

23. I can't resist chocolate.

24. My favorite disney movie is Snow White.

25. One of the jobs that I had in high school was asking people to take surveys at the mall.

26. If I could marry a movie star it would be Gerard Butler.

27. I love the TV show The Closer.

28. I took theater classes in high school.

29. My dream car is a really really nice Lincoln Navigator.

30. I love to go shopping.

31. I have like 10 things of chapstick in my night stand.

32. I craved Wendy's chocolate frosty with nutty bars while I was pregnant.

33. My favorite donut is chocolate with sprinkles.

34. On our honeymoon Richard and I went hiking and had to walk back in the dark and it was really scary!

35. My favorite color is pink.

36. I have been in 2 accidents in the last 3 year and none of them my fault.

37. Funny but I actually still sleep with my baby blanket.

38. I have a cabbage patch doll named Clarice Rice Mervyns.

39. I was a dancer in high school.

40. I love to sleep.

41. I hate doing the dishes.

42. I know how to sing.

43. I drink hot chocolate all year round.

44. Christmas is my favorite holiday.

45. My family calls me the Wicked Witch of the West.

46. I am very picky about the kind of shampoo and conditioner I use.

47. I enjoy watching Willie Wonka and the chocolate factory.

48. I love to go and get a manicure and pedicure.

49. I enjoy watching the snow fall.

50. My first car was a 1987 Nissan Maxima.

Our first week home

2008-09-13T18:07:00.000-07:00

Sophie actually sat still for a while and let me do her hair for the first time. Isn't she cute??

Great Grandma Beryl stopped by to see the new baby. That makes 3 great grandkids for her.

We went and saw Great Grandpa Brown also. He was excited to see the team spirit this little boy had. Boomer Sooner!

After a long day of visiting people the two kids fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Baby Liam just hanging out with us.

When he is tired he doesn't care where he sleeps.
Sophie found her new favorite seat. It is her movie watching chair!

One of our friends made this onesie for Liam so he could watch the Oklahoma game last Saturday.

Our boys together.

A new milestone for Sophie. She has started walking.

Liam Michael Spray has arrived! 9 lbs. 2.7 oz. and 21"long

2008-09-03T21:47:00.001-07:00

Together at last. The Sprays.

I am freakin cold here!

Just because I can't really move around or speak, doesn't mean I approve of my head attire.

And you would be....? Grandpa? What's a Grandpa?

Elvis has not left the building.

Let the friendship begin.

Food is fun!

2008-09-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am so glad I get to sit here and be entertainment for you people.

Look everyone my first mug shot. Hopefully the last.

9 out of 10 stylists recommend PB&J over any other hair products.

Eventful times!

2008-09-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

As you can tell I have been caught bathing in duckie paradise. My Grandma and Franny felt I would enjoy this plethora of duckies. They were obviously wrong!

Catching Up

2008-08-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

We had Liam's baby shower the other day and here is a picture of the cute cake that Bethy made for it. His room is all done in sailboats so this was a nice touch.

Here are all the Echols family girls. Some (after seeing a personal trainer for a couple of weeks) are turning into some hot mammas! Hopefully I won't be to far behind them!

Grandma King came over for dinner one night and brought her homemade hummus. Sophie has now become a HUGE fan!
This is her "Are you kidding of course I want more" look.

We went to a splash park for Cael's birthday and Sophie was having a ball walking around in the water with her walker.

A few days after the funeral for Grandma Brown we had gone back over to their house to say goodbye to Grandpa Brown and G Michele. Sophie was really tired so we sat down on the comfy chair and she fell asleep. Mouth wide open just like her dad!

Sophie loves the TV show Little Einsteins. She espically loves the part when rocket blasts off. In the show they have the kids pat their legs and then raise their arms and this is what she is doing here.

We got a Wii. Yes Richard finally talked me into it and we have been having so much fun with it. Right after we had first gotten it we took it over to Mom and Dad's so that we could all bowl together. The video above is a glimpse of Dad and his unique bowling style!

I have been TAGGED!

2008-08-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

5 things on my to do list

1. Finish unpacking everything (never going to move again while pregnant!)
2. Keep my blood pressure down so we don't have to induce early
3. Finish the cross stitching that I have been working on for about 2 years now
4. Get all the stuff ready for when Liam gets here
5. Relax

5 snacks I enjoy

1.Chocolate fudge drumsticks
2. Cheesecake
3. Bethy's snickerdoodles
4. Reese Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards
5. Anything that is chocolate!

5 things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire

1. Buy a compound with a BIG house for all my siblings and parents to live in so we can be together
2. Pay off Richard's student loans
3. Put money away for the kidos
4. GET MY LINCOLN NAVIGATOR!
5. Go on a long extended cruise!

5 places I have lived
1. Phoenix, AZ
2. Kirtland, NM
3. ----
4. ----
5. ----

5 Jobs I have had
1. Lady Foot Locker
2. Surveyer in the mall
3. Stylist
4. Repair Service Attendant for Qwest
5. Outside Sales Rep for the newspaper here

5 things people dont know about me
1. Richard is actually my 2nd marriage
2. I am deathly afraid of bugs
3. I really enjoy watching Little Einstein's with Sophie
4. I was a cheerleader in Junior High
5. I have some hidden talents that my family will never let me forget but that will reamin buried

5 bad habits
1. I really get worked up when things go wrong
2. Biting my nails (eventhough I went through beauty school and know what is under them)
3. I spend good money to get my hair done and normally just pull it up in a ponytail
4. I have a hard time asking for help
5. BIG Procrastinator when it comes to doing the laundry

5 people to tag
1. Stacy Finlayson
2. Callie
3. Heather
4. Mikail
5. Alicia

We Will Miss Our Grandma Brown

2008-07-31T23:05:00.000-07:00

Doris Brown was an unforgetable person. Even at 92 she had the spirit of a teenager. She loved everyone that came through her door and treated them as family. She always had a smile on her face and loved the great grand babies. Being married to Orvil for 68 years showed us that true love does exist. What an amzing example the two of them were of unselfish love for one another. She has a special place in the hearts of many and will be miss by all.

With Grandma Brown passing Sophie got the opportunity to see her Grandpa Brown again and G Michelle for the first time.

I had the opportunity to have some of Grandma Brown's hankerchiefs and scarfs and this is one of them.

Memory Lane

2008-07-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

This was a long time ago!

So here is how this works!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.EVERYBODY PLAY! I want to see what memories are out there!!

More Pictures

2008-07-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

The week we went camping I decided to turn Sophie's car seat around and then just left it that way. We were driving home and I got this picture of her. See the cute clip?

We went to Callie & Zane's new house a couple days ago and I got these cute pictures of Peyton. He is such a ham when a camera is around. I just love his little toothy grin!

Camping Trip

2008-07-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

Sophie and I went camping with my family last week and we had such a good time. Being the fact that I am 6 weeks away from having a baby I apologize for not having more pictures. Here are some pictures of Sophie in her new beanie. It got to be like 40 degrees at night so I wanted to keep her ears covered.

This outfit it a tribute to Sophie's Grandma Echols. Capris with socks and tennis shoes!
The last night we were there we had dinner at Molly Butlers Diner in Greer and I walked into the bar area and this is what I found. I took this picture for Richard as he is a HUGE Oklahoma Sooners fan.

Bethy's Cake

2008-07-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Bethy made this cake for Cailor's birthday. She is amazing with cakes. If anyone is interested in having a cake made let me know and I can get you her info! She can do just about any kind of cake that you want.

Sophie's Newest Move

2008-07-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry that it is sideways I couldn't get it turned. The other day we were at mom and dad's house and mom started singing and Sophie started dancing. How cute is she!!

We're Moving

2008-07-01T09:23:00.001-07:00

We have decided to move to a bigger house. The condo is great but for our growing family it has gotten to small. The house we are moving to is a lot bigger and has a backyard. We are so excited and we get the keys on August 1st. Hopefully all will be done before the new baby comes!

Our last couple of days

2008-06-28T21:56:00.001-07:00

We got up this morning and decided to go to Papago Park so Richard could take some pictures. Afterwards we went to get something to eat and we styled Sophie's hair.
Richard and Sophie hiking. I stayed at the bottom cause there was no way I was going to climb up that hill.
Here are my 2 hikers as we were just starting out.
Us just hanging out at a friend's house.
I went in the other day to check on her as she was sleeping at nap time and this is how she had falled asleep!

Sophie has started crawling and pulling herself up on the couch and ottoman. Scary but I think she will be walking soon.

Catching Up

2008-06-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

First we want to say congratulations to Richard for making it through his first week of Grad School at ASU. He is going for 2 Masters; one in Architecture and one in Urban Design. He will be a full time student for the next 4 1/2 years.

This was Sophie's first time with a headband on. She did so go and didn't try to take it off once.

This crown Richard won for Sophie at Peter Piper Pizza when he had his surprise birthday party. Evidently she already knows that she is a princess.

We had some people come and clean our air ducts (evidently they hadn't been cleaned since the house was built 28 years ago). Anyways, they had their vacuum going, and because our house is so small it was REALLY loud but that didn't matter these two can sleep through anything!

San Diego Trip

2008-05-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

We are sitting at the Shamu show before it starts.
Callie and Cael trying stuff on at the gift shop
We were sitting on a blanket watching the older kids play in the sand.
The kids down at the water it was about the same temperature as it was outside.
Everyone getting ready to start digging in the sand

Sophie at the beach. It was around 65 degrees.
One of the days that we were at the pool.
Us on the Harbor Cruise.
Here is all of us at Sea Port Village
After Sea World the first day we decided to go swimming. This was the first time in her little raft.

Sophie was laughing at the Sea Lions that were swimming around.
You can't see them but we are standing in front of the shark tank. She was very taken with the sharks as we went through the tunnel walk in he tank.
At the dolphin show. After about 5 minutes the dophins came around and soaked us. Needless to say she was not a happy camper at being slpashed with really cold water.
I had forgotten her hat and didn't want her head to burn so we bought a Sea World hat for her.

We were standing in front of an aquariam and Sophie was in awe of the fish in the tank.

Some Sophie Pictures

2008-05-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

This has become a nightly ritual. While Sophie takes her bottle Richard will read her a book

We were at the zoo and she had fallen asleep.

We were in the livingroom and she found the basket will all her toys in it. Some of the old binkies that she no longer uses were in there. Funny how a couple months ago they didn't look that small on her.

At work one day I was busy doing my stuff and all of a sudden I realized that it had gotten really quite and I turned around to check on her and she had fallen asleep just like this on the floor.

Here she is with her cousin Peyton.

We were sitting in the livingroom one day after church and Richard had one of her teething rings and was throwing it up in the air and she found that to be so funny!

Baby Liam

2008-04-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

So here is baby Liam. He was very cooperative the day of the ultrasound. The tech kept saying that he was moving all around. Sounds like he is going to be a VERY active kid!

2008-04-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

So we are now heading into an exciting era. It begins the most challenging point of our lives as I will be going to Arizona State for the next 4-5 years for graduate school and Laina will be going crazy looking after not only a very energetic little lady, but now a little Liam. We found out last Friday that we are having a boy. We are both extremely excited that we've been blessed to have both a girl and a boy--ironically everyone keeps telling us "now you can be done". We are so very grateful to Heavenly Father and we are excited to teach both of our children about the blessings of the Priesthood, but now I can have the opportunity to ordain our son to the Priesthood and teach them both about serving a mission, yeah!

Laina has ultrasound pictures to come, but at the given moment we just wanted to let everyone know of this enormous privilege to see our little Sophie have a little brother to pick on. The right of passage is now complete.

My Family

2008-03-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

Grandma Doris a couple days ago fell and broke her hip. She had surgery and is doing much better. We had gone to the rehab place to visit so she could see Sophie.
Grandpa Brown flew in all the way from the West Indies to be with Grandma Doris and to meet me and Sophie for the first time.
How cute are these guys!
Grandpa Orvil just loves talking with Sophie.
The Brown 4 generational Photo.

Girls Trip

2008-03-31T21:24:00.001-07:00

After going to Texas a day later mommy and I left for a girls trip to Rocky Point with Grandma King and Wallypog. This was our first day there. All us girls decided to go on a walk on the beach.

Mommy brought my exersaucer so that I wouldn't have to be on the ground with the dogs.

This is the new outfit that mommy bought for me in Texas so that I would look so cute in Rocky Point. She even bought me pink crocs to match my new bathing suit.
Me and Grandma before we headed out to the beach for some time in the sun and the water. Don't we have cute hats??

I would have to say that as hard as mommy tried to make sure that I didn't eat sand I did anyways and it doesn't taste very good.

Mommy thought it would be funny to put me in the freezing cold water just to say that I had been in the ocean for the first time. See how unhappy I am?? I put this in there because this is mommy's favorite picture. We had woken up one morning and weren't ready to get out of bed so mommy pulled out the camera and she took a lot of pictures of me.
Here we are again still in bed.
I was so excited this day. We had gone to have lunch at a really good restraurant in town and I tried to eat mommy's beans but instead got them all over me and mommy. After that Grandma King, Wallypog, Mommy and I went and walked around town and went shopping. I got a really cool bracelet. I love shopping!
The last day that we were there mommy and I were at the house alone and she wanted to watch a movie so she put me on one of the lounge chairs and I couldn't see what she was doing so I turned onto my belly and rolled right off the chair onto the floor. I scratched my head on the other chair on the way down. I am ok now though.

My First Plane Ride

2008-03-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry my mommy and daddy have been really busy since we got home from vacation so I decided to just do my own post to show everyone my vacation to Texas.

Here is my favorite picture. One of the days after we had met everyone for breakfast we all decided to go to the park and go on a train ride funny thing looks like the train and I have the same name!

Here is me and my Aunt Beryl. We were at Aunt Rainey's house for dinner. This was the first time I had met most of the family and I can't decide who is my favorite.

If I would have know that mom was taking this picture I would have woken up but she caught me snoozing.

This is my mommy's cousin's son William. We had a good time together. I hope some day I can be big like he is and do that whole walking thing.

Don't I just look cute! Aunt Beryl bought me a new dress and I love it. I know I know I look good in yellow!

After the first couple of days we packed our stuff and went and stayed with Aunt Jamie and Uncle Trent. They have the biggest TV I have ever seen! Anyways the night before we left to go home they all wanted to do this thing called bowling. Needless to say my mommy was not very good! So here are some pictures of me and Aunt Jamie, Uncle Trent and mommy at the bowling alley.

Here is the last one. This was taken right before we took off to go home to Arizona. I was a little more crabby on the plane ride home than I was on the ride to Texas but mommy and daddy took care of me just fine.

Here is a video of me. We were at Aunt Beryl's house and her little dog started barking and I couldn't help myself and started giggling.

Our February

2008-02-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

So as you can see it has been a while since our last post. So much has happened since then. At the beginning of the month we got into an accident. We were borrowing a car from Richard's mom while the insurance company was deciding what they were going to do about our car. Finally on the 13th we heard from them that they were going to just total it out! Exactly what we wanted (who wants to drive around in a car that has been in a terrible accident!!) We went down to the car dealership on Valentine's Day and Happy Valentine's Day to me we got a new Honda Pilot. So the month was looking up for us right?? Nope not yet. So the next day Sophie and I leave for a Dr.'s Appt and a girlfriend that had been staying with us called me at around 1pm saying that our house had been broken into. UGH!! So we rush home to find our brand new computer, all DVD players, DVD recorder, all other electronics and all my really nice jewerly was gone. (Good thing for that stuff called insurance!!) Could this month get any worse? All I have to say is I will be so glad when February is over! : )

Our Car

2008-02-04T19:56:00.001-08:00

Saturday we decided to travel to Mesa to get some things from the distribution center and deseret books and on the way there a guy made a left turn in front of us and we swerved to miss him but clipped the front of him and hopped the curb, floated through the air and smashed into a half brick wall. I got to ride in an ambulance for the first time but Sophie, Richard Baby B and I are all ok. We have some pulled muscles and some bruises as a result but my poor car isn't doing so well. Here are some pics.

Baby B

2008-02-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

So we went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and here is the ultrasound picture of Baby B and yes there is only 1 in there!

It Has Been Confirmed

2008-01-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

WE ARE GOING TO BE HAVING ANOTHER BABY!!

TENTATIVE DUE DATE IS SEPTEMBER 9TH.

Our Christmas Season

2008-01-08T13:05:00.001-08:00

Cailor & Brea got new bikes for Christmas so we took them down to the church parking lot and here are some of their pictures.

Chloe was also able to ride Brea's bike for a little while.

Here are some of the beautiful pictures that Richard took the night that we went to the temple to see the lights they had put up.

This is intended to be the Tree of Life from the Book of Mormon

Sophie all bundled up at the Temple Christmas lights.

Our cute little family

Wes and Katie and their soon to be baby!

Us again

Me, Wes & Katie. Richard and I got lots of Starbucks gifts cards this year so we have had lots of hot chocolate this Christmas season.

We were just standing around waiting for the food to be done. We had really good Mexican food

for dinner this year.

WallyPog, Mom, me and Sophie

These are the sock monkey pj's that were given to Sophie and I for Christmas.

Our Christmas Surprise

2007-12-23T12:51:00.001-08:00

This year has been really tight on money as I now stay home with Sophie so Christmas for us is really nothing. We decided not to get a tree and just strung the lights around the top of our living room instead. When we got home last night we had a beautiful Christmas tree that Santa had brought us and he even wrapped our lights around the tree and hung the ornaments. We just want to tell Santa that it was the best Christmas gift ever, I even cried because I was so touched. Thank you!

Who Does She Look Like

2007-12-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

So we can't decide who she looks like. She is a good combination of the two of us that's for sure!

Christmas Time

2007-12-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

We had a really good time at our Ward Christmas Party. Sophie got her picture with Santa. Here are some of the pictures.

This is my girlfriend Brooke. She was taking care of Sophie for me so I could go and eat.
She didn't seem very happy but at least she wasn't crying.

This was at the very end of the program. Sophie was ready to go home and go to bed.
We call this her gangster look.

Favorite Sophie Pictures

2007-12-10T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have been messing with our camera. I am not normally the one that takes the pictures in our family but I wanted some pictures taken and Richard was a work so here is my handy work.

These first 2 pictures are actually ones that Richard took but isn't she soooo cute!! That is the sweater and beanie that Grandpa Ron brought for Sophie all the way from England.

She fell asleep in her swing.

This is what she does when we go walking in the mornings.

Sophie's Blessing

2007-12-03T15:54:00.000-08:00

We blessed Sophie on the 2nd of December. Her blessing dress was made by my Aunt Beryl and Aunt Marlaine. I don't think that the pictures do the dress justice. We didn't get any pictures with my family when we got back to the house so maybe next time!