Little bit of sweetness and craziness

I wanted to update my kids pictures before our next one comes. Next time, I will hire someone to take them. It was so dang hot, I'm ready to have this baby, and my kids don't listen to me at all when the camera comes out. The shoot lasted only about 25 minutes...but 23 minutes too long. :) Afterwards we ate our picnic lunch and went to the visitors center for FHE. We ran into a family who happened to be in my sisters ward in Surprise and they had 5 kids, really close together, and a set of twins in there. The youngest was probably 6 or 7. We got to talking with them and Dan and I were so relieved to see them and know it's possible for us to survive the next few years. :) One day at a time!


Now for the sweets....

Gracie...she would pose herself and tell me when to take the picture. :)

















Reece..most of the time, not such a fan of having her picture taken. We did get some good ones though. :)











Violet...much more cooperative.











Now for the craziness...

Bryce Family Sealing...

I don't know how my sister Allison does it. She is such an amazing mom with 6 very well behaved kiddos. A couple weeks ago the remaining three kids, whose adoptions were finalized recently, got sealed to Allison and David. It was so cool to be there. I missed the sealing of the first three because I was in the hospital with the twins and couldn't make it. Luckily I was able to go to this one and we did a little family photo shoot to record the day. After the temple, most of my family met up at Amazing Jakes for the afternoon. We had such a blast and it was so fun to see my family.

Now I know I'm crazy...

I always get this way when it gets close to having another baby. I remember feeling super anxious before we had the twins but I felt like I was really prepared for them to come. With this one coming soon I don't know how I'm going to do it. This last Sunday we got to church early as usual and decided to try sitting on a side row instead of in the back chairs. We hoped they would stay contained and that we had enough distractions to keep them busy. We did not even make it two minutes before Dan and I looked at each other and decided it wasn't going to work. Violet chucked her bottle at me, getting milk all over my shirt and Reece was screaming so loud it was hurting the deaf man's ears who was sitting behind us. So we headed out into the foyer. The girls were screaming and somehow, I was carrying Violet, (the heavier one) and was chasing down our Bishop carrying a crumpled tithing envelope with milk and slobber all over it, trying to get it to him before the meeting started. I don't know what hit me but as I turned around to catch up with Dan to find a seat in the foyer on other side, I totally broke down. I have no idea how we are going to do this. People told me I was crazy for having another one so soon after the twins and I do know that. I know eventually I will be glad that we did but for now, I'm not even going to pretend that I think I can handle it and have it together. I'm totally anxious to meet this little one and I'm so excited that our family is growing but I think about certain situations and realize that there is going to be no way that I can even feed this one without two more babies crawling all over me. I can hardly go a day without breaking down and realizing that my "normal" is going to be very chaotic for the next few years. I look at my messy house and think that there is no way I can even get it cleaned before this little one comes or even keep up with it after she does. I don't even feel like there is one person that I can call to watch my kids while I probably end up driving myself to the hospital. So yes...now I know I'm crazy. If anyone has any advice whatsoever, it will totally be appreciated. It's always good to know that you're not the only one out there who has had these feelings. I just want to be a good mom....hopefully I can do this.
-Becky

Newest little niece...

Here is sweet Brooklyn. Dan's sister Becca and her husband Andrew had their first! She is super sweet and we had a blast doing this session. Here's just a peek. There are more posted on my website and photoblog. Credits to Dan on most of these amazing shots!

Maternity Pictures...

Last Sunday Dan and I took the girls to the Mesa Arts Center to take some pictures. We've always had an idea of how many kids we want. I've said 5-7 is a good size for me and Dan has always been cool with whatever. I don't know if it's just because I'm towards the end of this pregnancy or because its blazing hot, but I feel like I could be done and happy with 4. It used to sound like such a small number to me but now it seems like it would be just right. I knew after we had the twins that we would have another one for sure but with this little girl coming soon, I think I might be finished. Anyway, that's what's been on my mind lately and so we wanted to do a maternity shoot so we could always remember what I looked like when I was pregnant...just in case this is our last. You so easily forget what you looked like until you see a picture and then you remember the feeling of carrying around all that extra weight. :) I put some of these pictures on my photography blog but I never know if people even look at it. So I put some here just to update what we've been up to. We had such a great time and Dan did an amazing job. I didn't help him one bit. I'm excited to get another camera soon so we can team up in this business. After the shoot we took the girls to the Temple and let them run around in the grass. It was so fun being there as a family and Gracie kept begging to go inside. It was cute to see her so excited about being there. I'm so glad I have my family forever no matter what life brings our way. Hope everyone is doing great. -Becky

Here's just a few.

So far behind....

I'm going to get caught up! Last month my family had our annual reunion at Mt. Graham. I was especially looking forward to it because I wanted so badly to get out of the heat. The weather was perfect! So nice and cool and it rained just enough to keep it that way. Dan and I tented it this year. We hauled up our utility trailer and set up the porta-cribs for the twins and a toddler bed for Gracie. It was perfect for them because it kept them warm, dry, and was ventilated enough for us to keep the doors closed and safe from bears. Yes...there was a problem with bears the first day until they were shot at. We didn't see any after that! :) It was so nice in our tent though. We took two twin mattresses, a plush mattress cover and our feather comforter. We were sleeping in major comfort. The nights were so cool I didn't wake up constantly because I was burning up. I wish I could afford to keep our house as cool as it was there.
I hardly saw Gracie as she was having a blast with all her cousins that she hadn't seen for a month. We got in some good naps, reading time, great food, hikes, drives, and fun card games. I had so much fun and we didn't want to come home.

Pictures from the week...







Grandma's annual birthday party for everyone with the traditional pinata.











Of course, some crying over not getting all the candy she wanted. :)








The judges of the T-Shirt contest...


















Post Creek, Grant Creek...can't remember which one but it's my favorite place to see up there.









T-shirt making...compliments to Lisa. You do such a great job with the screen!



Spotlighting for deer.





Demon Horse! While the kids were spotlighting us adults came up with the greatest idea to scare the kids when they got back. A couple years ago Spencer created "Trashsquatch" He took a picture with a couple nephews, one sitting on the others shoulders and a trashbag over them that looked liked a huge sasquatch. Spencer would show the little kids and had them really scared for an entire day. Then later that night "Trashsquatch" walked into our camp while we were all sitting around the fire. It was hilarous to see all of them freak out! :) I know we are sick and twisted. Anyway...this year someone got ahold of a horse costume from a friend and we made Demon Horse! Some kids got super scared and some just laughed. I think it was funnier for me, seeing the adults come up with all the best way to scare the kiddos. :) What we do for entertainment. :)