So Much Has Happened!!!

This year, so much has happened! I've been MIA for the past 10 months, so here's our year! Lots of pics and stories...

This past summer, Alex and I would stay up late and have late night chats! I treasured these moments.. It's rare that it's just him and I. 

Danny turned 36 this year! We spent the day at the Shark Reef and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. It was "the best day ever!!" .

The kids had their May Day dance! It was Alex's third and Cam's first. They were the cutest/bestest dancers out there!

The Clark County Fair was awesome! The older boys jumped off a really high platform onto a big "pillow "

Cam decided that cows give us "steak" not milk...

We played with Holly and Jentrie a lot!

Alex was in his first pinewood derby. He had a blast!

The 4th of July came.. We brought the party to Grandma and Grandpas house!! The kids had a blast!

We swam a lot... Anybody who'd have us over to swim, we were there!

Alex turned 8! He was baptized a member of the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was an awesome day! We had his pinewood derby that morning, a baptism, then we had a dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Bradford's. Their yard is the best!

 

Cameron turned 6! He had me make him this cake... I'm not that talented when it comes to making cakes... 

Jonathon turned 4. His birthday always falls in during the fair, so we always meet with all the cousins at the park. We play, eat, and have cake!

Elyse turned 2. She is such a silly girl!

One year ended, another one started.. Here is Alex with his second grade teacher, Mrs. Mills, and Cameron with his kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Cameron. 

Hopefully I'll stay on top of the blogging this year!

Christmas 2014

We went to the Opportunity Village. The kids got to go on the carrousel. They loved it! 

We tried to get a decent pic..

We went on the train. I took a pic as we passed by..

Cam had a school Christmas program. He was adorable!

 We made cookies for Santa. He and Mrs. Claus really enjoyed them!

We hosted Christmas Eve dinner.

Grandma had presents for everybody.

Santa came!! Christmas Eve 

Alex got Pokemon

 

I love to sit on the front porch and watch the kids run in the yard. Danny got me a bench to make me more comfy.. Like any good ol' Louisiana boy, he got me a Fleur Del Li.

Danny and I bought eachother blu-ray players..

Elyse was in princess heaven! Santa gave her ponies and a baby, Grandma gave her ponies, and her dad gave her ponies.  She is seriously such a girly girl!

Danny and I sat on our counch with our Dr. Peppers and movies New Years Eve.

Now that the kids are getting older, we're trying to start Christmas traditions. Last year, we went to St. George. We ate pizza and went to see Santa. This year, we took the kids to Vegas. On the day the kids had off for parent teacher conferences, we took the kids to the Opportunity Village. They charge for pics with Santa, so there were none.. They did get to tell Santa what  they wanted for Christmas, tho, which was what they wanted. I would've liked to get pics, but oh well...  We took the kids on the magical train ride thru the magical forest. Jonathon thought he'd died and gone to heaven! He loves "choo choo's". We all also got to go for a ride (or two) on the carousel. All the kids loved! Jonathon and  Cam got to go twice, and Elyse and Alex got to go once. I felt like puking standing on there with Elyse. i don't do spinny things. 

On the last day of school before Christmas break I helped in Alex's class for his party. It was fun and a little chaotic! Everybody had fun, tho. That's all that matters. Then we loaded up the kids and went to Ethel M's Chocolate Factory. There were hundreds of people on a small path. The line to see santa was a quarter mile long. It was INSANE! I got shoved. A lady ran into me and rudely told me to "MOVE". I did not move.. I really have no tolerance for rudeness. I flat out ignored her. I can only walk if the peope in front of me are walking.. Anyhoo... We ate at Wendy's, which the kids loved! Kids are so easy to please (at least mine are..) I LOVE it! I love it for the fact that they get excited about eating in a restaurant. A fast food restaurant! Christmas is always so stressful for me! Danny has a good job, but we really don't have a whole lot of extra cash after we pay all the bills. Christmas is always financially straining. This year I didn't even stress about it. I bought the kids each one present, Danny bought them each one present. I bought Danny a blu-ray player and a novelty license plate (LSU) and he bought me a fryer, bench, and blu-ray player. We were so fortunate to have people give us all types of toys to give our kids. People in our ward, people Danny works with. So, though we didn't spend much, our kids got a lot of stuff! Someday I plan on paying it forward. I think it's amazing that people are so giving. Christas was pretty amazing! 

Danny and I had a chill New Years Eve and Day. We stayed at home, watched movies, ate junk food, and dranka whole lot of soda. I sure do love Christmas, but I'm so happy it's over! Until next year!!

Thoughts...

With it being Christmas time, it just has me thinking a lot about all of my grandparents, but this post is just about this lovely lady, right here. This is my Grandma Markosek (a.k.a. Grandma Shack). I have her Nativity set up ontop of my entertainment center. Every time I look up at it, I think about her. I think about how she NEVER missed a birthday, or big event. She lived far away in Monticello, UT, but she'd call every birthday or holiday that  she wasn't here. When I was younger, she'd come down here to live for the winter because Monticello is COLD and our winters ROCK! But, as she got older, it got harder and harder for her to travel, so she eventually stopped. I remember most of my childhood Summers, up at her house. We'd go up a week after school got out and come home one or two weeks before school started up again. I even remember being up there for Christmas one year. I was three or four. I don't remember a whole lot, other than playing in the snow in her yard and slipping on ice. Over and over again..After she died (about 15 years ago), of course it was devistating. We knew it could come.She  had cancer, but none of us knew it was as bad as it was. So, we knew it could come, but at the same time, we thought we'd had more time. We didn't know she was that sick. We were going to go up to UT and spend one last Summer with her, but instead, we went up to clean out her house. To get it ready to sell, or for whomever might decide to move in (family). It was so sad to be at her house without her being there. All of her stuff where she'd left it. Her DNR hanging on the fridge. So, so sad. She was such an amazing Grandma! I miss her so much. She was so loving and compassionate. I remember the day they opened the Temple in Monticello. If you've ever seen it, it looks like a semi-big house. She was so excited she got called to be a Temple worker. She was the cutest lady! After she died, for years I'd have dreams. It'd always be my birthday, or Christmas. She'd call and I'd start sobbing. I could hear her voice so clear. I'd always say the same thing, "Grandma, how are you calling me?" and she'd always say the same thing. "I just wanted to take time out of my busy day and wish you a happy birthday. I love you and miss you, but I have to go now." And I'd just cry and cry and i'd wake up from a deep sleep sobbing, wondering if it was really just a dream. I miss her voice. I can still hear it in my head, even though she's been gone for so long. I can hear her whistle and sing, which she'd do when she'd cook or clean (she was the most amazing cook!). I always loved waking up to the sound of her whistling (and the smell of bacon!). Although, one Summer, we were up there. She made the same thing for breakfast every morning. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Lara and I got sick of eating the same thing, so one Sunday morning, while she was at church, we walked over to the store and bought cold cereal. We felt so bad because we completely offended her. She was so heart broken and didn't understand why we didn't just tell her that we wanted her to make us something else. She went the rest of the Summer without making us any breakfast. We felt terriible, and I still do.

Funny story, though. Grandma's house was haunted. I know a lot of people don't believe in that sort of stuff, but I do. Weird stuff happened all the time. You'd hear people walking around the house when you were home alone, you'd see stuff out of the corner of your eye. Just "normal" stuff. I don't know if it was him, but Grandpa Markosek had died in the house, like 20 something years before. He'd dropped dead of a heart attack in the master bedroom. Grandma never slept in there again after he died. She spent years sleeping on the living room couch. I'd known that Grandpa had died in the bedroom for as long as I can remember. For some reason, Nadja didn't know that. When she was up there for her funeral dad said "hey, how 'bout you sleep in grandma's room, and I'll sleep in the den." Lol. She'd wake up to hearing "somebody" walking around the room. She'd see shadows. She'd get really freaked out! She'd decided to tell dad about what was going on and he was like "Why do you think I offered that room to you? Grandpa died in there..." She called me at home and I laughed and laughed! I  couldn't believe she didn't know this! So funny! Anyhoo. I sure miss Grandma Shack. She was seriously such an example to me! I can't wait to get to see her again (someday in the far future...).

Halloween!! (Boo!!)

Uncle Bob came down for a short visit! My kids LOVE uncle Bob! Elyse just cuddled up on his lap..

Most of the kids making sure Bob  got a good workout!

Doodles was a knight! It took Danny all day to construct this of old tupper wear storage bins!

Alex was a death worrior! Isn't he so scary?!

 

Jonathon, the monkey! This costume has been around for a while!

Last, but not least, Elyse the lady bug! She did NOT wear her wings that took me most of the day to make... It's all good, tho! I had fun even though I burnt my finger really bad with a hot glue gun..

Anybody who knows me knows how much I love Halloween! A lot of people can't wait for Halloween to be over so the "Holiday Season" can start, but for me, it starts Oct. 1st! Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday. Christmas is a very close second, tho. This year Danny did not have to work, which was nice! It was the first year he didn't work in a long time!! We both worked most of the day on the kids' costumes. I blasted Halloween music, and even sang (probably badly and out of tune!). The kids watched Halloween movies like "Casper", "Hocus Pocus", "The Adams Family", "The Adams Family Values", you get the idea.. The kids are much like me when it comes to Halloween. They LOVE it! I fed the kids an early dinner, then I got in my costume (oye ve..) and off we went to score some candy!! This year, Danny picked me out my costume. Usually when I'm with him I let him know what is slutty or inappropriate. This year, my costume was both! I wore leggings and a long sleeved shirt underneath to cover up the sluttiness. The costume was so cute, but something I would never have chosen for me to wear. I did get some classic looks from people, tho! I was holding Elyse's candy bucket and you'd be surprised by the amounts of people who would NOT give me candy.. Whatevs.. I did get a little embarassed running into people I know. If I didn't say "hi" to you, I'm sorry. Danny is FIRED from choosing me costumes! 

We took the kids to three neighborhoods to fill up on candy. We got home around 9, 9:30 then sent the kids to bed. I always like watching scary movies on Halloween night. I like super scary ones! We usually watch "The Exorcist", but this year we watched "The Possession of Michael King". It was pretty creepy! 

Now, I'm ready for Thanksgiving!! I can't wait for some yummy food and some family time!

Horrible People..

Hi, my name is Andrea Bradford. I'm extremely shy, and for the most part, I keep to myself.. I've never been bullied as a child or teenager. Of course there were some people who didn't like me, some, the feelings were mutual. I'm sure some people said mean things behind my back, that's okay. I never let it get me down. I went to school for school. I didn't care about being popular, and popular, I was not. I'd rather be unnoticed than have everybody look my way. I had a couple really good friends, that I loved, and still love today. They are my family.
Last Friday, I did what I do every weekday. I get up, get lunches made, wake the boys up, make breakfast, get everybody ready for the day, and walk the boys to the bus stop. I always take the little ones in my double stroller. It is old and heavy, but my double jogger does not hold air in the tires. I walked all four kids to the bus stop and talked to one of the neighbors who has two little ones. One of which rides the bus with my kids. When the kids left, I too, left. I grabbed the stroller and pushed it onto the road, because it is so much easier than trying to push it thru sand and gravel. I get home and start to get myself ready for the day. I hear somebody knock and Jonathon opens the door. I run out to see who it is, and it's one of my neighbors. This lady must start drinking right when she wakes up, but that's beside the point. She see's me and asks if she can 'talk to my dad' I probably look at her like she's an idiot. I just said, "um, he's not here?". She then says, "I just need to talk to an adult." I again, give her a "you idiot" look and said "I am the adult in the house...". She then took it upon herself to tell me how horrible I am. This lady was NOT nice! I was in tears. She kept telling me that my personality sucked, and I needed to change it. She told me how nice my husband was to her and I was a bitch. I just stood there and cried. I honestly didn't know what to say or do. I just stood there and cried. The crap she said was so brutal. This was somebody who didn't even know my name. She just knows we're neighbors, so we should be BFF's.  She stood on my porch for 20 min. telling me how bad I was and that "she'd had it up to here" with me, and that I really needed to change my personality because "You know how you are..". This lady TOTALLY crushed me! I cried for two hours after she left. So, for those who think you know somebody (or me) you don't. You don't know me unless you really know me. There are only a few people who really do know me. I don't let my guard down unless I really feel comfortable with somebody, and that can take a while. All I know, is I've never been a confident person, but now... I feel so horribly about me. I just can't shake it.

Elyse (a.k.a.Pookie Bear)

Elyse just started crawling on all fours about three weeks ago. I know it's way late! She was 17 months old. It's so crazy to me that she was this old... I really thought she'd just skip the whole crawling stage all together, but she didn't. She just did it a lot later than "normal". She also pulled herself up to standing all on her own today! I was pretty excited! I know she's a completely healthy baby. She was born three weeks early, which is full term. She was born early because the placenta that was supposed to be delivering food and oxygen to her, had died. If left in my belly to cook much longer than she was, she too, would've died. I have no idea if the condition of the placenta has anything to do with her setbacks, but, it'd make sense to me if it did. The things she can do, tho is pretty amazing! She has a pretty extensive vocabulary for only being 18 months old. No, she isn't talking in sentences, but she learns a new word every other day. She tries to mimic EVERYTHING I say. Even sentences. She'll say one of the words I say then a bunch of jibber jabber. Here are some of the words she says- doggy "goggy" she knows the doggy says "arf arf" and she says "arf arf". She says- go, no, blankie (gankie), meow (we don't have any cats because Alex is allergic, but we have friends with cats), nigh nigh, num num, girl, pretty, tickle, momma, dadda, ball (baow), PEEWHEW!,
Yay!!, poo, yeah, hello, hi, shoe (soo), Bye bye. These are just the words I can think of. She can pick out one word out of every sentence I say and repeat it. (It's a good thing I don't swear!). Obviously she can self feed. (she's been able to for a long time..). She can grab with her index finger and thumb (again something she's been doing for a while..). She into EVERYTHING! If she can get to it, she will! She adores her older brothers! She follows them EVERYWHERE!! Alex is the only one annoyed by this! Cam is pretty patient with her, and Jonny? He just adores her back! Not to say that Alex and Cam don't adore her, but they're older and they get annoyed. She is still a huge momma's girl! Daddy is also one of her favorites, and her cousins! She loves her cousins! The older ones carry her everywhere she wants to go, so she's quite spoiled! The younger cousins make a huge fuss over her, which she LOVES! Poor child is starving for attention, haha. Okay, so she's not. But, you'd think she was..There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank Heavenly Father for her (and all my boys). I truly am blessed. :)

I know, I know I've already posted about Robin Williams, but seriously, I've never been so affected by a celebrities death before. Not to say that I usually don't care, because that's not true, but I've never been so sad to see somebody I have never met pass away. Usually I'm just like, "oh that's sad." and move on. I did cry when George Harrison died, tho!
Robin Williams was just.... Such a good guy! I've been watching his movies my whole life! I kinda feel like my grandpa, or father just died. I guess it's a bit silly.. He really was one kind. I know I'm going to miss his work. I've been sharing his greatness with my kids. They LOVE "Hook!" ,  They love to run around the house yelling "Rufio, Rufio, Rufiooooooooooooooo!!!" So funny.. They also love "Aladin",  but who wouldn't?? I have been so sad, and seeing all the tributes all over Facebook and Twitter, they just make me sad all over again. I've read them all!! So sad...