those cute kiddos.

some random photos of the kids as of late...

 Brie & Hannah parading around in galoshes and parapluie...
ready for the rain!

 Brie taking a picture of her baby going potty for the first time.  Where in the world did she learn how to document EVERYTHING?! (And no, I did not take a picture of Brie using the potty for the first time ;0) just in case you were wondering...)

 Alex after his real first "hair cut" by Mom.

 Alex LOVES to "help" me vacuum.

 After the kids were no longer sickies we took ALL of their bedding, blankie and friends and threw them into the washer to get rid of any linger germs.  It was a pretty funny sight with Miss Bunny, Boucha, Lambie, Penguin and Blueberry all in there.  But poor kiddos, they are so attached... when they saw me throw them into the washer they both started to cry!

 We like making random objects into hats around here :0)

 Brie & Hannah got "overnight" curlers in their hair last Saturday night.  This was Brie as Shirley Temple the following Sunday.  She LOVED having curls!  She said, "it's like my birthday!"

 After church she put on my "high heels" and said that she was "Dr. Smith" and started playing doctor. It was too cute and TOO grownup.  Where does the time go?

 Brie & Layan.  So lame that they're moving in December :0(

 I finally made an "art wall" in our hall to display Brie's preschool projects and art.

 Miles, Cami and Brie during preschool at our house.  

We learned about the color green and FROGS :0)

LOVE the frogs flying through the air!

treasure hunting, take 3.

So I've been to the outlet more than 3 times, but I think this is the third list I've posted.  In any case, my Mom, Laura and I went treasure hunting a few weeks ago, and here's a list of the goods I got...

Me

2 maternity shirts

2 sweaters*

1 pair of maternity pants

1 {maternity} skirt

1 pair of exercise pants

Bry

3 shirts*

Brie

1 pair of pants

3 shirts

1 “tinkerbell” outfit

Alex

1 long-sleeved onesie

1 fire truck

1 police car

Baby Boy

1 pair snuggly jammies

2 pairs of adorable crib bumpers (1 for boy, 1 for girl---didn’t know the gender yet ;0))

Misc.

4 pillow cases

Grand total:

$14.69

**random side note: One funny thing about the "Outlet" (or "the Dive" as my Mom called it ;0)) is that on some items you can't quite tell if it's for a man or a woman.  For instance, the Abercrombie & Fitch shirt I got for Bry...that he put on and looked great in, but noticed that the buttons were on the opposite side as usual...not so sure if it's for a man or a woman.  And a brown zippered-sweater I wore last week?  Kept thinking that maybe I was wearing a man's sweater.  Hmm.  Oh well. Just keepin' things exciting ;0)**

(I didn't take a picture of all the stuff this time...

so here's me wearing one of the shirts I got.  Ann Taylor Loft)

Bompi & Mames and Uncle Tim.

 (12-17 September 2012)

A few weeks ago my Parents were accompanying my brother Tim to his annual checkup (at St. Jude in Memphis) and decided they were so close to St. Louis they might as well add it to their itinerary.  We're glad they did :0)  It was kind of a whirlwind 5 days...with lots of organizing projects, shopping, Stake Conference and sick kids (Hand, Foot, Mouth disease), but great to have them here nonetheless. Here are a few pictures from their visit...

 The kiddos love their Bompi & Mames

 Tim made the kids each their own "nest" when they were feeling sick.

 "Mames" (as Brie affectionately calls my Mom) helping out with the kiddos...the three of them took turns helping with the kids and I was so grateful!

 enjoying a meal together.  It's fun to cook for my 

family since growing up I had NO clue how to cook :0)

 Alex bringing "Bompi" his shoes.

Tim and I getting a meal ready.
We took turns being chef and sous chef ;0)

 Bompi, Uncle Tim and Brie assembling a shelf for the kids' room.

At the airport, after finding out that we're having a boy!

I can't forget to mention how thoughtful and generous my Parents are.  Not only was it like Christmas when they opened their suitcases and unloaded all the fun little treasures they had brought for us, but my Mom LOADED us up with food from Costco THEN bought a bunch of shelves and accessories (to organize our food storage and the kids' room) AND some maternity clothes for me.  THANK YOU!!!

Blueberries for a Boy.

Baby Graden #3 = a Boy!

We're SO excited :0)

Just Peachy.

Back in late Spring one of my friends, Cynthia, was getting ready to have an ultrasound for baby #3.  She already has two boys so I told her that if she found out she was having a girl that I would love to throw her a baby shower.  Well I jumped the gun and starting brainstorming ideas...a peaches & cream theme came to mind, since she was due in early Fall.  It turned out that they're well on their way for a basketball team (#3 being boy #3 ;0)) so I shifted gears a bit with the shower.  As the months went on and other friends found out that they were having girl #2, boy #3, etc...I thought it'd be fun to celebrate the latest crop of babies, and thus was born the "just peachy party." ;0)

All Summer the idea simmered in my mind, so it was especially fun to see the party come to life.  We ended up celebrating 9 moms (including me), with a peach-themed potluck lunch here at the Park Forest Club House. The morning of I underestimated how much time it would take to set up.  Bry was wonderful to watch the kids and Diana and Meghann came to my rescue and let me put them to work.  Speaking of behind-the-scenes help, Laura made garlands for me and Diana made our cute peach pom poms.  Not to mention ALL of the delicious food that was brought and the cute gifts.  Thank you, girls!!!

In order to "celebrate" each mom without putting them in the limelight, I posted up their picture with some information about them.  As each person arrived there was a little questionnaire for them to fill out and turn in for two drawings.  With a somewhat diverse group of girls, my hope was that it'd help people get to know each other and encourage mixing and mingling.

In any case, we had an awesome spread of dishes and desserts, Ruth Anne set up her beautiful jewelry on the side and we all enjoyed lunch together.  Afterward, Ruth Anne did two drawings (1-$25 gift certificate for her jewelry and 2-a triple strand of peach-colored fresh water pearls!  And she surprised me with a gorgeous peach necklace & earring set as a hostess gift.)  She is SO thoughtful and generous!

To finish off the afternoon we gathered the cutely-wrapped gifts that people had brought (one of their favorite baby items) and did a little "white elephant" gift exchange among the 9 moms.  It was fun to watch each person open their gift and made it feel even more like a real baby shower.

Before we cleaned things up we snapped a few group shots...

the nine of us expecting moms--look at all those cute baby bumps :0)

almost everyone who came--it was a really rainy weekend,

 but we still had about 25 people come, which was great.   

Throughout the party Danica was SO great to snap pictures AND to run this little "photo booth."  (A lot of the pictures in this post were taken by her.)  

Just peachy...

(fill in the blank)

Considering that not all woman are able to have children, it was especially touching to see these women (from somewhat different stages in life) come together to celebrate womanhood and motherhood...and these sweet babies that are coming to us from Heaven.  What a wonderful reason to celebrate, eh?    Plus, it's always nice to have an excuse to get together with just the girls ;0)  With everyone's help and participation it all came together.  So all in all, I'd say that the afternoon was just peachy :0)

Night Out at the Fox.

On our actual anniversary Bry was busy preparing for his end-of-the-summer presentation, so we officially celebrated a few days later.  I decided to check to see what was playing at the Fox Theater...the Lion King!  A play I've wanted to see for years.  Going on a Tuesday and sitting in limited visibility seats (like we couldn't see the left third of the stage ;0)) we were able to get pretty reasonably- priced tickets.  

We rarely have occasions to get dressed up so I wanted to make it a big deal.  Brie helped me lay out my outfit that afternoon (including the beautiful necklace that Bry had given me on our surprise getaway), then when the time came to get ready, she helped me slip my shoes on and got in on the lip gloss fun--I wanted her to know that it was a big deal going out on an anniversary date with her Dad :0)

                                 

Before Bry got home I typed up a letter, tucked it into a little card and set it out on my outfit. My letter had been inspired by my reading of "Heaven is Here" (by Stephanie Nielson of NieNieDialogues...such a great book!)  I addressed it to "my Mr. Graden" and outlined MANY of the things that I love about him.  As I took the time to type it up, my heart was filled with an even greater love and appreciation for him.  So at dinner that night I had him read it aloud...I knew I couldn't...heck I was crying through the whole letter just listening to it ;0)

We set out for the Theater just as the sun began to set.  It was a beautiful evening and so fun to be out on the town spending it with my handsome sweetie.  Not to mention him buying me an over-priced warm pretzel to avoid nausea hitting and THEN slipping out, just before intermission ended, to get me a drink (the drink that the woman next to me was drinking..it turned out being sprite with ice...I eyed it right as the lights were dimming and it looked so good and my pregnant self needed to have one right then.).  Thanks Bry ;0)

The theater itself was so unique and elaborate and the play was really colorful, lively and fun.  We especially enjoyed the African chants and songs, the artistic costuming and Rafiki.  And I personally loved holding Bry's hand throughout the evening.  Simple pleasures of life :0)

Thanks for a delightful evening, Bry.  Je t'aime fort!

Jonathans and Golden Delicious.

(25 August 2012)

Last year we ventured over to Eckert's Orchards in Belleville, Illinois to pick peaches and apples.  We had such a great time that we decided we'd go back again this year.  Unfortunately, because of the unusually dry and hot summer, the peaches were already done for the season so we just had apples to pick---jonathan and golden delicious.  I was a bit disappointed because I was most looking forward to the peaches (you can't beat fresh, juicy peaches straight from the tree!  Plus I had wanted to pick peaches from my upcoming "just peachy" party), but we had fun watching the kids romp around, Brie fill her bag, and Alex munch on the fruit :0)  The enjoyment has been extended as we've used our apples to bake...we made an apple pie for FHE the following Monday and then baked apple crisp for Sunday dessert.  Can't help but love those family outings!

Disneyland.

For the Sheets' Family Vacation this year my Parents flew us all out to California, stayed at the Grand California Resort and lived it up at Disneyland and California Adventure for three days.  It was SO much fun!  Definitely one of my favorite family vacations to date.  The only two downers were Bry having to do school work during most of it...and me not being able to ride any of the big rides.  But that's OK, just two good reasons to go back again, right? ;0)

One of the perks of staying at the resort was getting early entrance (7:00AM) to the park each day.  Having that extra hour, while it was still cool and before the crowds arrived, was awesome.  

Our first day there we headed straight to the newest and hottest land of Radiator Springs.  While the fam rode on the "big ride" (that usually has a CRAZY long wait), Mom was so sweet and came with me and the kiddos to ride on the "kid rides" in Car Land and Bug's Land.  Although not as fast-paced and thrilling a time, we had fun :0)  

My favorite was seeing Brie's smile as we rode around in the tractors AND Alex getting a huge kick out of the lady bug ride!

One or two times a day we had "Tinkerbell" leave little gifts for Brie.  Usually it was first thing in the morning or after naps.  Before the trip, Mom had collected little gifts to leave and Rach and I typed up some cute notes to go with each thing.  On our first full day there Tinkerbell delivered a special Snow White dress from the princesses, with a note explaining that it was to be worn to a special dinner that night.  (My Parents bought the trip package through Costco and it included a variety of "character dining" experiences.  They were some of the highlights of our stay.)  Brie was SO excited to say the least!

Here she is skipping and swinging with Uncle Tim and Bompa on the way to Ariel's Grotto for dinner with the princesses :0)  Honestly Ariel's Grotto wasn't our favorite dining experience, the place seemed a little run down and the food wasn't spectacular, but we LOVED seeing Brie light up each time a Princess came over to greet her.  (I should add, the only "princess movie" she's ever even seen is Tangled.  So before the trip we watched many a youtube clip to introduce her to the princesses and characters.  It was funny when she couldn't name them, but referred to them by a feature or color of dress ;0))

Earlier that day Bompa and Mémé had spent a pretty penny getting Alex Mickey Mouse Crocs.  Somehow while standing by the pier one of them slipped off and into the water.  Without hesitation Matt jumped over the railing and retrieved the shoe.  Good thing a Disney Cast Member didn't see him ;0)

Mom, Dad, Em, Brie and I rode up in the ferris wheel just before it closed for the evening.  What a gorgeous view of the parks all aglow.  (But thank heavens that we picked a non-swinging car.  I think I would have lost my dinner otherwise.)

After we got off the ferris wheel, our little princess danced and ran around, only with the confidence of a true princess ;0)  After a very full, fun and long day Uncle Matt carried her over to Disneyland so that we could see the castle lit up.  As we were approaching the gates, a very tired Brie said, "I can fall asleep in the castle." She had obviously been dreaming up the end to her evening.  If only we could have made that wish come true...

The next few days involved Soarin' over California...

Monster's Inc.

 (3 for 3 grand kids :0))

Figuring out that the Monorail saved us
lots of time and LOTS of extra walking.

 Dining with lots more Disney characters and 
subsequently Brie falling in love with Chip.  

 (She seriously had the biggest crush on 

that little rodent, oh my.  Just take a look at her face ;0))

 Strolling around the parks and many
more rides (including Peter Pan--one of my favorites :0))

An afternoon spent at the pool...

Getting lots of pictures and autographs...

and kissing of characters ;0)

Not to mention magical moments at the castle ;0)...

(including Brie being beside herself when she saw 

Tinkerbell fly over the castle after the firework show ;0))

 Delightful Tea Cups, a must do.

Little Green Men.  Does anyone else think they're the cutest?

Ice cream cones on Main Street.

 Dinner at the Blue Bayou...followed by dancing ;0)

And last but not least...Mickey Mouse ears.  A must, must, must :0)  

Mom & Dad, thank you does not come close to covering it.  But since I don't know what else to say, THANK YOU SO MUCH!  The trip was truly magical, especially being with all of you.