"REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!"

That was the song I was singing all weekend long when we went to pick Brady up from his basic training graduation at Ft. Leonard Wood. Maddie and I flew into St. Louis the night before and stayed on base with two of his brothers. The next morning, during an exciting graduation ceremony, we saw Brady for the first time in over 10 weeks. After the reception in a different location, we were finally able to hug and kiss him. It was one of the most anticipated and happiest days of my life!

Maddie kept her head buried in Brady's shoulder for a long time-it was so sweet.

Sgt. Patrick Harris, PFC Brady Harris, SSG Kurt Harris with their military faces on!

Brady in his Class A's and I-don't let it fool you though, he is totally ripped underneath there!

Brady with Drill Sgt. Davis. Brady mentioned how weird it was to be friendly and shake hands with one of his drill sergeants after being smoked so many times by him.

Taking pictures around base. It was different than I anticipated. Ft. Leonard Wood was really pretty and a very big base.

At a park on base. We had the day with Brady and went to lunch and hung out and had to have him back to his barrocks by 9pm. He wasn't released until the next day.

Maddie was exhausted by the end of the day and was carried by a very handsome gentleman!

After Brady was released, we drove to Nauvoo where Maddie dressed up like a pioneer-she really loved that.


Later that night, we went to a carnival taking place before we saw the Nauvoo Pageant. Here she is playing a pioneer game-she loved it and it is so much cheaper than some of the stuff I buy!

After Nauvoo, we drove to Carthage-this was seriously one of the coolest places that I have ever been (and I have traveled to over 11 countires)!

Here we are in front of Carthage Jail. Can you guess the photographer? Yep, our own little Madeline!

Next stop was downtown St. Louis. Here we are in the middle of Forest Park. This park is bigger than Central Park in NYC and has tons of free museums, zoo's and lots of water and sites. It was beautiful.

This one is in front of the St. Louis Art Museum.

Just us at the airport coming home. This was when I experienced my first military treatment. In SLC, the flight attendants asked all the passangers to stay seated so we could deplane first. Everyone was clapping as my belly hit them in their heads! Just kidding, I felt sort of silly but it was very sweet.

When we got home, my sister had brought D-train to the airport to see his dad. When he saw him, he ran up to him yelling "daddy!" It brought tears to my eyes.

I think Brady and I both learned a ton while we were apart for 10 weeks, but our time together for this weekend was so precious and full of experiences that I will never forget.

OVER HALFWAY THERE!!

So two exciting milestones have been reached. Brady (who has been gone to basic training in Missouri since May 18th) is more than halfway done. He will be done with his 10-week course on July 30th-hooray!! Madeline and I will be flying there with some of his family to attend his graduation and then make a trip to Nauvoo and St. Louis. The second milestone, I am 21 weeks through my pregnancy! Baby #3 is due the first part of November. I have not yet found out what it is though- we are waiting for when Brady gets home.

So after much discussion, contemplation and prayer, we decided it would be a wise career move for Brady to join the Military. He quit his job of 7 1/2 years at EMG and is now a full-time student at the University of Utah. He is getting his Russian degree with a minor in Middle-Eastern studies. He wants to apply with the CIA when he is finished with school. Here he is being sworn in by his father (retired Army) into the National Guard.

Bryant (brother-in-law), Katherine (sister) and Rob (father-in-law) here to support and witness.

Brother Kurt (Marine) and Patrick (Army)

Brady with his mom and dad

Here is D-man at our new house, just out of the tub.

Just a little family picture in front of our new house.

We are still getting used to living in Utah and missing our friends and life in Seattle. It is great to be around family especially with Brady joining the Guard. He is the fifth boy out of six to join the military-guess it is in their blood. Brady will be leaving for a 9-week basic training in May. Life will definitely be different then! CRAZY!!

Hello All

We have moved into our house now!! We moved in the week after Christmas and we are loving it so far. We still have no blinds so a huge Dora tent welcomes everyone to the front of our casa. Can anyone say W.T.?? Anyway, I will post some pictures when I get more on the ball.

Happy Birthday Diesel!

Last week Diesel turned 2 years old! I can't believe how fast time goes!

10 things I love about Diesel:

1. How he bops up and down instead of propelling himself forward when he runs.

2. How he is Maddie's little shadow.

3. How he walks around the house saying "hunwee" (hungry).

4. How he yells "lally" (daddy) when he sees Brady.

5. How he flexes in an Arnold pose when he gets angry.

6. How well he sleeps!

7. How he answers the phone all the time with a cute little "hello?" He even uses the right inflection.

8. How he loves music-I think he is going to be famous one day!

9. How he cuddles up to me when he is cold or scared.

10.How he gives me a sweet little kiss whenever I ask for it!

We went on a train ride to visit his great-grandparents and he was so excited the whole time-he just kept saying "choo-choo!"

Catch-Up

Maddie's collection of homemade dress-up dresses is growing. Here is the latest from my sewing fool of a mother-Glenda the Good Witch!

Maddie's 4th birthday party! She sat in a chair in the middle of the room, and whoever gave her a gift, sat next to her-she loved it!

We had a big treasure hunt with all the cousins-what fun!

First snow of the winter-back in October!

Diesel was not into a snowball fight that Maddie was trying to start.

Happy Halloween!

What a fun halloween we all had! Hope yours was great and sugar-fested as well. Maddie, Diesel and her cousins were all zoo animals. Maddie was a jaguar and Diesel was a lion. I had fun making Maddie's costume; it was just a tu-tu I made with jaguar print mixed in and a scarf. The only way she even resembled the feline was Brady's make-up job on her face! She was adorable though! As all the kids were going door to door, Diesel would run and yell "go, go, go." He couldn't believe he got from one house to the next getting candy. He didn't even say "trick-or-treat," it was just "a treat!" It was so fun to have Maddie with all of her cousins. I don't know if it was all the sugar or just sheer excitement, but they ran faster than I did around the block!