Animals

 This boy LOVES animals! This summer has been animal filled. Even huge dogs that lick him in the face just make him laugh.

We start off with the Boise Aquarium. It is still very much under construction and a little ghetto, but Brex didn't mind. He was a happy boy petting the sting rays, sharks, and lizards.

 Here's Brady petting a hammerhead shark

 And now an iguana.

 Everything was so hands on. I'd never been to an aquarium quite like it.

 Brex was soaking wet by the end, but man did he love it!

 My review of the Boise Aquarium: We are glad we did it once, because like I said it is really hands on. I would suggest only taking your kids with one parent because it is so expensive and not to thrilling for adults. There is construction all throughout with a lot of empty exhibits. We will most likely not ever go again, but glad we did it once especially when brex is free!

 Afterwards Brady tried to prove that Cabellas is just as good but free. He may have been right. 

There was a big fish pool outside of Cabellas.

 And of course there were adorable puppies being sold outside of Cabellas also. Brex loves dogs!! (too much for my liking)

 Cabellas had way more fish in its aquarium.

 And turtles...the boise aquarium did not have turtles.

Later in the summer we went to the zoo for the first time. We started by chasing geese while waiting for Debbie and her kiddos.

 Brex is trying to swing like the monkeys.

 Sad that he would rather pet the statue than see the real giraffes.

 He really had so much fun and is getting so big.

 We also visited the Twin Falls Fair over labor day and saw big pigs, a bear show, and fed a lot of goats/sheep.

This kid is fearless when it comes to animals. It was so fun watching him.

 This last picture is from the Nature Walk in Downtown Boise. TONS of fish and we even saw a ginormous sturgeon fish! It was such a beautiful night and made me so excited for fall!!!

We love this little boy and are amazed by how big he is getting. He is such a little boy now! We are just loving each new stage in his childhood!

25th Birthday

We celebrated my 25th birthday the day after we got home from the cruise, by canoeing in centennial park. It was the perfect night for canoeing.

 Brexon did great and loved the water. He kept dragging his hand in the water as we rowed. 

 This boy loves his Grandpa and Grandma!!

 This lovely picture was taken by Brexon as I was eating my birthday cake. Thanks Brex.

Tucker Cruise 2012

We went on a cruise to the Caribbean in July to celebrate the return of our long lost parents. Tom and Annette have been serving a mission in Mississippi for three years and it was great to spend a week catching up with them while relaxing on a cruise ship. 

 The ship was The Freedom of The Seas with Royal Caribbean, and it was spectacular.

 It had an ice skating rink which was pretty neat. And the ice show was fun to watch.

 The best attraction was the Flow Rider, a surfing simulator. So Fun!! Way harder than it looks when you watch the instructors. The other attractions we had were; rock climbing, mini golf, tons of pools/hot tubs, and a promenade floor with little cafes and shops. 

 It also had a volleyball/basketball court. So when a volleyball tournament was announced, we of course had to enter. We actually won a game (without wearing bikinis or having a team of 6'5 guys). It was fun and we all realized that we need to play volleyball as a family way more often!

 The best part of the cruise ship was the dinning room. We got our own private balcony that the captain sits during the early dinner, and we sat during the late dinner. The food was delicious and the company was even  better! It was so nice being together as a family every night and having fun conversations.

 Our first stop was St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. It was beautiful! I can't say that enough. The water was crystal clear and sooo warm. And the snorkeling was great!

 

We spent most of the day shopping and the rest of it at the beach swimming, snorkeling, and playing beach volleyball.

 

The Beautiful streets of St Thomas.

 

Our next stop was St Maarten on the dutch side. The ship docked at a beautiful beach in St Petersburg that was easy to get too. We played there with Tom and Annette, while everyone else went zip lining through the forest. We did a little more shopping and just enjoyed the island.

 

 We had such a great time and still can't believe the timing worked out for the whole family (and our families back home that watched each kiddo). A HUGE thanks to my favorite sister Jaylynn who watched Brexon for us. She is such a good mom, Brex was sad to have me home. She got him going to bed at a normal hour and saying please, which has been SO nice, and he LOVES her kids. 

THANKS JAY!

Our New Home....for 2 months

Life has been a little crazy for us these past few months. We were planning to buy a house in the Boise area and the week we were going to sign the papers, we found out that Brady's last year of Pharmacy school would be primarily in Twin Falls. So we backed out of buying the house, my wonderful sister got me a hygiene job in Twin Falls for the summer, and Brady's wonderful parents let us stay at their rental home. We took the first week in Twin Falls (before Brady started Pharmacy rotations) to fix up the house. We painted all the walls on the main floor a warm tan color, and painted all the trim white. We then ripped out the carpet in the kitchen, the laundry room, and the wood in the front entryway, and replaced it with nice laminate wood flooring. It made such a difference. And after the main carpet got cleaned it practically looked brand new. There is also a basement that will be nice and cool in the summer and lots of open space for Brexon to run around in. We have absolutely loved living in this house and Brexon loves the space too. Although the week of painting was exhausting, it was worth it, and we are so grateful to all those who watched Brexon for us and helped us move. We will be here until August and then will spend August though October in Boise, then will be back to Twin Falls until Brady graduates in May 2013. We have already had so many blessings through this transition, mainly the timing of my jobs. The office I am at in Twin Falls right now only needs me until August, which is great because then I go back to Boise with Brady. And the office I worked at in Boise for the last 2 years needs me to cover a maternity leave from August to October. The timing is amazing and couldn't have worked out any better. The other blessings have come in the form of loving family, being close to the temple, and Brady being able to work in Twin Falls while we are here without having to commute like we usually do in the summers. 

Well here are the BEFORE pictures.

The kitchen

 the laundry room (i didn't take an after pic but the floor now has the same laminate flooring as the kitchen)

 the front room

 the front entry

 the dinning area

 The AFTER pictures

the front room

 the front entry

 the staircase

 the kitchen

 the dinning area

Thank you Tom and Annette for letting us live here! We love it and can't wait for you to come home!

Brady is now 27!! We had a barbeque and some cake and ice cream with my family. 

 Here is his birthday cake that I made. The layers are chocolate chip cookie, marshmallow cream, cheese cake, frosting, graham crackers, ghiridelli chocolate chip brownies, cheese cake, and cookie again all wrapped in homemade milk chocolate frosting.

 Here's Brexon in a chocolate coma.

 Happy Birthday Brady! We love you!!!