The Predicament

So Brynley is a somewhat mobile baby now. When I took this video she was just starting to push herself around. Now she gets around pretty good, she's not crawling but she can pretty much get anywhere. As I am sitting here she has figured out how to pull herself up to the coffee table and grab what she needs!!



Here is Zachary and Brynley playing together!! They are
pretty good buddies!


She had somehow backed herself under the swing. She is not there one minute and the next she is under here playing. We let her play under there for a while!

Last, here is a picture of Brynley eating her first piece of Halloween Candy! A Dum-Dum sucker. She had it down to a stick in no time!

Our little Gobblins!

This year for Halloween, Madison decided to be a cowgirl again! That was just fine with us because we didn't have to buy anything!!

For the past few years Zachary's costumes have always been pretty basic. We find thing that we already have, or I make them. This year since the girls costumes were pretty inexpensive, he got to pick out what he wanted. So he chose a Transformer! He was so excited to put it on and wear a mask! It even has built in muscles!!

Brynley was a cute little snow leopard! I wanted her to be warm, and yet functional!

Isn't she just adorable!!

This is Zachary and his best buddy Alec! These two have been best friends since birth! Zach is older by 2.5 months! Alec and his family (our good friends Scott and Michele) moved to Utah this week! It was sad to see them go! It was a great 5 year run!

One last one of Brynley! this is her "stink face" the kid taught her!!

We hope everyone has a great Halloween!!

The Amazing Brynley!

Earlier this month, Brynley discovered a new talent and boy are we proud!
Madison and Zachary were never this talented and really for the most part didn't put things in their mouths. Brynn puts everything in her mouth! We have to be careful with legos, and barbie shoes that frequently get left on the floor!

We were packing for our trip to Utah and one of us gave her a golf ball to play with and this is what happened!

"Hmmm, this looks like it can fit"

"Yep it did!"

Hope you enjoy out talented baby!

9 months already!

I can't believe that Brynley is 9 months old! She is such a joy to have in our family! I think she came at the perfect time!



In the last 9 months she has become quite the traveler. With trips to, Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah.


She decided that she likes to roll over and sit up. And since our trip to Utah she is more determined to crawl and pull herself up! Thanks Courtney for the example!


From our trip to the aerospace museum! Brynn learned how to fly a jet!

So here is our little star!
Brynley Grace McDowell
19lbs 12oz (50%)
28 inches long (50%)
Cute, adorable, funny, awesome, and totally lovable!!

Best Friends!

We had such a fun time visiting the Crockett's in Utah. We seen to get together about once a year and when we do the kids just seem to pick up right where we left off! All the kids get along so well, and have so much in common. Kristen and I kept sat how much the kids were alike!

Madison and Carly were about 2 when we became friends! They had such a fun time playing dress up, coloring, and make believe the whole weekend!

Zachary and Brandon have been buddies since birth!! Zach has is only 2 1/2 month older. The LOVE anything with wheels, and enjoyed having a boy to play with!

Brynley and Courtney are just 16 days apart!!! Brynn wasn't to sure of Courtney, since she was crawling and screeching at the top of her lungs!! But by the end of the weekend they bonded over cheerios and became friends!

Right before we left we took these good bye pictures! Thanks again Crockett family for having us! Hope to see you this coming summer!!!

Hill AFB and Aerospace Museum

On Saturday, while still in Utah we took the kids to the Hill Air Force Base Aerospace Museum. It was free and really fun. The grounds outside were filled with a bunch of retired aircraft. You could walk along the paths and read about each of the airplanes. I think Travis and Robert were a little more excited than the kids, but we all had a good time!

One of the first planes we came to, the kids look so small compared to the plane!


This picture shows Travis in proportion to the plane! It was HUGE!

This is the one that Travis and Zachary were most excited to see.


As we went around the back of the plane, I saw a cool picture opportunity. Then after we took pictures we read the sign that says please don't climb on the aircraft's! Oops!

The boys were more willing to try it out! Travis had to lift the kids over his head to get them up there. It was a good 8 ft off the ground, maybe more?


After we walked around outside we headed inside to look at 2 hangers full of planes and memorabilia.

Salt Lake City Here We Come!

This past week the kids had Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off from school so we decided to load up and head down to Utah. Our good friends the Crockett's live in Harrisville, UT and we hadn't been to see them since they had moved.

We left Thursday afternoon. We didn't tell the kids where we were going. They knew we were staying the night somewhere and that it would be fun!

We got to the Crockett's around dinner time, and the kids were so excited to see friends!!! Madison and Carly are 7 and 6 (only 7 months apart!) Zachary and Brandon are both 5 (only 2 1/2 month apart), and Brynley and Courtney are 9 month (Brynn is just 16 days older!) So you can imagine how much fun the kids had!

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On Friday Carly had school so we planned to take our family down to Temple square for the day. The kids had never been and have always asked what things were like down there.

The first stop on the tour was the Church Office Building. The elevator goes up 26 floors in 22 seconds!! The kids thought that was fun!

Travis, showing the kids Temple Square.

The nice tour guide took a picture of us!
(It was rainy and cold, about 60 degrees all day!)

Brynley was a good sport all day!

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On our way to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, we stopped for a picture.

You can't walk by the pedestal and not take a picture!

There were lot's of plaques and signs for Madison to read. This one is the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.

The Joseph Smith Memorial Building was celebrating 100 years. So inside there was a few displays, some old cars and period clothing that they would have worn in the early 1900's.

Here is one of the old cars they had on display.

Travis wanted a picture of him and Zachary at the Joseph Smith statue.

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Our next stop was the North and South Visitors centers.

Again, Madison had ample opportunities to catch up on her reading. She is reading about the Angle Moroni on top of the Temple.

The kids had never seen the statue of the Christus. They thought it was pretty cool. And so very big.

We ended the day with a tour of the Conference Center. The walking tour took about an hour. There were lot's of painting and art to look at.

This is the new bust of President Monson.

All Zachary wanted to do was go on the roof. And since it had been raining we weren't sure if they would let us. We got lucky and it had stopped.

This is the fountain on the roof of the Conference Center.

The view from the top was pretty cool!

There is a waterfall that comes down the front of the building.

Our last picture from our adventure! The kids were cold and ready to go home!
We had such a fun day and I am glad that the kids got to experience Temple Square!