Just the Girls

This past Friday we went out to dinner and to a movie to celebrate Eleanor and Kristin's birthdays. Both of these girls have become two of my really good friends. Eleanor is one of the most sincere down to earth people I know. Kristin is my running partner and pretty much works out with me on a daily basis. Being friends with these two has definitely made living in Katy a "FUN" place to be. Happy Birthday girls!!

Happy Birthday Cortney!!!

I know I don't post on all of my friends birthdays...I wish I could but, this is one friend I really wanted to post a little message about.

Cortney (http://www.neilandcort.blogspot.com/) is my most inspiring friend. Just like all of us she never imagined her life would play out like it has. In May 2005, Brandon, Jace, and I moved to Houston. I was pregnant with Kai and was hospitalized for a kidney infection two weeks after we moved here. This is when I met Cortney. We had met at church the Sunday before and as soon as she heard I was in the hospital she immediately came to my rescue. She watched Jace daily as Brandon worked 10 hour days at his new job. She brought Jace to visit me in the hospital. She instantly became my new best friend.

Shortly after Kai was born Cortney had an appointment with our OBGYN where she learned that the baby inside her was not growing. Our Dr. felt something was seriously wrong and recommended the baby be aborted. After much prayer and fasting, Cortney and her husband Nic, decided to move to Utah to see a specialist there. The specialist confirmed that her baby was not gaining weight but, was still alive. After many months of monitoring, baby Avery was born healthy and weighing just over 5lbs. Their faith and positive attitudes amazed me.

As the months went on they faced many more trials. Avery was in the hospital two months after birth for RSV, their two year old son was run over by a 2,000lb truck on Cortney's parents farm and was in Primary Children's for a month. It was an absolute miracle that he even lived. Again, Cortney and Nick's faith and will to not give up amazed me. Everytime I was with them I felt like I was a better person simply by being friends with them.

It was the next trial that changed Cortney's life forever. Her husband Nic was snow mobiling February 17, 2007 and was killed in an avalanche. I have never seen a person in so much pain as I saw Cortney in. She was practically living in the temple. Trying to find comfort to the aching pain she felt in her heart. But again, her faith amazed me. She did not give up. Her testimony was stronger than ever. This is when Cortney became my most inspiring friend. Whenever I feel that I am facing a hard time in my life I remind myself of Cortney and the strength she always possesses. I remind myself to search the scriptures for answers and to attend the temple often like Cortney has. Her faith is amazing. Cortney lost her "Nic" when she was only 22 years old; leaving her with a 1 and a 2 year old. She soon realized that she did not want to be alone in this life and needed in someway to move on knowing that she would once again be reunited with Nic. She knew that because of the plan of salvation if she lived righteously she would return to our father in heaven and be reunited with Nic and their children.

A year and a half later Cortney is doing better than I could imagine. She still cries daily, but continues to have faith and be positive. She travels around Utah and Idaho speaking in sacrament meetings about her life and the faith it takes to make it. She did re-marry in September and has a very loving and supportive husband, Neil. He also is as amazing as Cortney and Nic.

Cortney, thanks for being such a great friend. I am so grateful that our paths crossed when they did. I hope you have the best birthday ever!!


Love, Alyssa

The best part 'bout bein' a TEXAN on the 4th of July is...

that any and all type of fireworks are legal. Both Brandon and I have lived in many states and I must say that there have always been laws, laws, laws, to get in the way (I know, we need them in UT, CA, and AZ to prevent massive fires.) Although, it was nice to just drive down the street to buy Roman Candles, artillery shells, the professional grade exploding colored fireworks that you only see at firework shows, and so on.

I have so many fun memories of driving up to Evanston with my dad to purchase a few of these illegal fireworks. We always had the best firework show in the neighborhood and everyone would come to join. I guess every year except for one year when our neighbor set the mountain we lived on on fire. Luckily, the fire wasn't too big and was out in no time.

It was so exciting to bring back all of those fun memories with Brandon as we drove around to several firework stands this past week, especially the night of the 4th as we lit fireworks with our friends; and the excitement that filled the air as we saw each one go off.

We started the 4th off early that morning having a yummy breakfast with the Boyer's at the Johnson's house. Mike made a yummy dutch oven breakfast in the smoker...and Sarah made homemade syrup and pancakes. The only problem with this breakfast was the fact that I headed straight to the gym right after and got a little sick from eating such a yummy heavy meal. Thanks Johnson's the whole morning was a great way to kick off the 4th.

After searching for the final round of fireworks we headed to the Boyer's for a little swim celebration, ate KFC, and started the real excitement...the firework show performed by Brandon, Lance, and Mike. The funniest part of the evening was the grand finale which costs us $100.00. After shooting out two little sparks it was done. The dad's were not satisfied with this and for the next hour tried several experiments in blowing it up. Finally at about 10:30pm Brandon found the wick. They supported the box with flowers and tanks and lit the wick. The fireworks out of this $100.00 box were finally worth it. :)

Early that afternoon I made this "Flag Cake" by Ina Garten. It's a really yummy recipe that you can find on the Food Network. I used strawberries because that's what I had but, the recipe calls for raspberries. :-)

Happy 4th of July!!

The Comal River in New Braunfels, Texas

This year we decided to start celebrating the 4th a little early. Early Thursday morning we headed for the Comal River with a bunch a friends. Let's just say running the river with our kids and friends was an irreplaceable experience. I highly recommend if you are ever visiting or living in Texas you try this great adventure out. :)

Believe it or not the Comal River is the shortest river in the world. At a spare three miles, and a comfortable temperature of 70 degrees; this is the perfect river for tubing. Up above is a man-made shoot that our family thoroughly enjoyed. We had to get out of the river just to run this shoot three times. Jace and I were in our own tubes while Brandon and Kai shared.

Right after this shoot is a little three foot drop off. Let me tell you, this drop looked like a piece of cake after the shoot we had just tubed down. That ended up not being the case. Most of us had a bit of a scary experience. As Brandon held onto Kai in one arm and Jace's float with the other they went off the edge. Suddenly Brandon wasn't able to touch and they were stuck in a current.

As Brandon tried to push Jace's tube out he and Kai flipped over. Under water for what seemed like several seconds, Brandon and Kai were shot out ten feet down the river leaving Jace stuck in the drop off. As we soon discovered Jace's foot was stuck in the bottom of the tube between the board and the tube not allowing him to escape. Luckily, one of our friends had just gone off the drop off and had also flipped. He swam to Jace quickly and grabbed Brandon's upside down float that Jace was still holding onto and pulled him out.

I thought the best part of this little experience was listening to each families story of what happened. We all pretty much had the same story. Many of us lost our hats and sunglasses in the mini drop off but, I think the adults agreed if we hadn't had our kids to look after the drop would have been fun and exhilarating. Maybe next time we will play around a little more with this little drop as the kids watch from the bank.

After tubing down the river we headed to Gruene, Texas for some lunch. The best part about Gruene is that it is a little bit behind the times creating a great Texan atmosphere.

Gruene Hall is a bar and a dance hall that was built in the 1880's. It is the oldest dance hall in Texas and many country-singing stars and legends have performed here over the years.

We ate lunch at this yummy Texan Restaurant called the Mistgrill.

After waiting quite a long time the kids got restless waiting for our group of 45 to be seated so the kids decided they would climb a large tree right outside the restaurant.

Our good friends York and Stacy Richards (Native Texans) organized this trip. They always do such a great job in showing us a great time in Texas. Thanks Richard's for such an exciting adventurous day in the Lonestar State. You're the best!!

Another exciting announcement in our family

This ultrasound was taken at week 10

We are excited to say that we are expecting a little one in our family sometime this winter. If you ask the boys they will tell you that the baby will be here at Christmas but, Brandon and I are hoping a little after.

I am thirteen weeks along now and I guess you could say that I have suffered from a serious case of morning sickness. After finding out that I was extremely dehydrated I received a few I.V.'s, tried a few different anti-nausea medications, and finally my Dr. put me on a drug called Zofran that I now take every four hours.

It is a miracle drug, things are now looking up; two weeks ago I was finally able to run an errand which was huge (considering I hadn't run an errand in eight weeks). We are really excited and are looking forward to the upcoming months. :-)

We SCORED...

that is with Jace's soccer themed birthday party. He had so much fun playing a real soccer game and "kicking" the soccer ball pinata instead of hitting. Thanks to all of his close friends he had the best birthday party a five year old could ask for.

Check out the cute soccer invitations, thank you cards, and tableware from PotteryBarn Kids.

The party favors were easy. I found these cool soccer video games at Walmart for only a dollar.

The exciting game of (34 kids including siblings) that Brandon had the wonderful opportunity to ref. (a few of the kiddos sat out which definitely made playing and refereeing a little easier.)

Jace was a little overheated after playing such an intense game. :)

Yes, our entire family wore soccer jerseys (I guess we get a little carried away but, it made it fun).

Make a wish...you only turn five once. :-)

Thanks everyone for helping make Jace's birthday the best ever!!

Jace's Birthday Dinner

For Jace's birthday dinner we decided to eat at Chili's restaurant before we headed over to Times Square for some serious bowling.

As you know, most of the time Jace wants nothing to do with sweets. So, we were really shocked when he asked our waiter if he could have "cake" for his birthday. :)

All tired out after two rounds of bowling!!