The Brand Clan

It's over and oh so sad!

2009-06-19T10:26:00.002-05:00

Spencer's team went to the championship game. They lost by ONE run. There were some tears shed on that field. Let me start by explaining how close this team is.... they have been together for 3 years now. Same coaches, same kids, same parents. FUN! FUN! FUN! All these boys are such great kids and all the parents are very close. They love playing ball together!! They are a good team, but mostly we have just wanted them to have fun and have a good experience. The team they played against is SERIOUS about baseball. Like, really serious. You should have seen them warming up. It was kind-of funny actually. They really thought they would show up to this game and just wipe the field with us. Our boys were AMAZING!! And not to toot our own horn, but, Spencer hit two singles and a double (RBI's -- 2) and got two key outs. So, TOOT TOOT! They were actually ahead until the 4th inning when they just got too excited and pumped and started making really silly mistakes. We were tied, they had last ups and got one in. All the parents were telling them how great they played and what a great game it was. They all said they weren't crying over the fact that they'd lost the game. They were cryiing that it was their last game TOGETHER as a TEAM!!! Then, the mom's started cring with that.

Mom's handy work

2009-06-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

Fabulous mommy created a beach masterpiece for Spencer's room. She painted these palm trees, sand and sun on his wall. He loves them and makes everyone who comes over come up to his room. Thanks again mom!!!

ps. If you look closely at the "after" room, you will see our new, improved and DARKER carpet, so that if the kids decide to spill a gallon of apple juice on our carpet, you don't have to see it!

Before and After

2009-04-10T08:26:00.002-05:00

This picture was taken in December '08. Ron has
tired eyes. So he decided to correct that and have
his lids operated on. Not vain....he just couldn't see
out of the corner of his eyes.

First day after the operation.

The third day....a little bruising

Stitches out and looking young. He loves it.

2009-04-04T17:35:00.020-05:00

It was so much fun. I only wish ALL our mommies and daughters could have been here. Happy Easter everyone. (This may all appear backwards as this technically challenged grandma can't quite figure out how to blog. Hope you get the idea anyway.)

Then they took their bunny money to the bunny store and was able to buy a few little treats.

They found bunny money in their Easter Eggs

Then the girls went outside to hunt for Easter eggs.

We sat down to lunch which was egg salad sandwiches cut into egg shapes, carrots, celery stix and olives, potato chips, mac 'n cheese in the shape of Peter Cottontails bow tie and limeade/7up.

Then we decorated cupcakes with William Sonoma dark Chocolate icing and homemade buttercream frosting. I found cute little Easter picks to put on each cupcake and a fun store in Studio City, CA (Razzle Dazzle).

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Today we had a mother and daughter Easter party. Kristen and Abby, Brooke and Peyton came ready to have some fun. First of all we started with some crafts. Moms made these cute Easter baskets and the girls decorated brown paper bags to use for our Easter egg hunt.

Beach Wedding

2009-03-12T21:22:00.012-05:00

Jenny and Tom Martin were married on Friday, March 6, in a gazebo on top of the water at Pismo Beach. It was windy and cold but absolutely beautiful. The bride was stunning and the groom, handsome. They were surrounded by their 5 children. Blending a family is always tricky but they all seem to be pretty happy. They had 7 small glass vials of colored sand on a table in the gazebo. Jenny and Tom poured half of their sand, one at a time) into a large narrow vial.Then as each of the 5 children picked up a vial of colored sand, she would pour the sand into the larger vial....each one on top of the last one....while Tom expressed his feelings for each of the children and mentioned their strengths. After all the kids finished pouring their sand (each child with a different color), Jenny and Tom poured the remainder of their vials together into the top of the larger vial. It created a visual statement of each individual but blended together. It was a lovely wedding and we couldn't be happier for the newlyweds who are now on a cruise in the Caribbean.

these are a few of my favorite things....

2008-11-25T20:09:00.002-06:00

Here are the pictures my girlfriend Lisa took of the kids a few weeks ago. A little help from Photoshop and..... there you have it....

#8!!

2008-11-25T06:51:00.005-06:00

So, I realize that no one can be here for Spencer's baptism (why do I live here???) ~ but I just wanted to give you all the information.... JUST IN CASE you all come across $700 extra for a plane ticket and some free time during the holidays.

He will be baptized December 13th at 11:00 am. He is so excited. He just had his bishop's interview on Sunday. We were so glad that he was able to be interviewed by our bishop. We just found out Sunday that he is being released and we are being split. We absolutely LOVE our bishop and are sad to see him go. But we are glad Spencer had that experience with him. He told us that Spencer is honestly the most prepared 8 year old he's ever interviewed. He's just a special kid!!!

My girlfriend took pictures of all the kids and we are using this one for his baptism. He is precious (minus the gangely teeth).

SPOOKY!!!!

2008-11-02T14:50:00.002-06:00

And here they are........... Indiana Jones, Iron Man and our "blinged out" Dorthy.

The GREATEST time!

2008-10-26T08:42:00.003-05:00

So, it's official, we just got back from the greatest family vacation ever! I guess Disney just knows how to do it right! 3 days at Disney World then onto the 4 day cruise. Guess what... I dragged everyone to the Contemporary Hotel and we watched the lighted dragon go across the lake (new music, very sad). It's like my childhood all over again!!! Disney World was fun but it has nothing on Disneyland. The cruise however... Fabulous!

Our first full day was just at sea and we took the kids to the "oceaneer lab" where they made flubber and had treasure hunts and Allie helped Wendy find tinkerbell (she followed Wendy ALL over the ship). We went to their big show that night, played basketball and soccer in their outdoor sports court, went swimming and played on their waterslide, went to bingo and then to the High School Musical dance off. Don't forget... we ATE!!!

The 2nd day we stopped in the Bahamas and got to swim with dolphins. LOVED THAT!!! We looked around the Bahamas a little but then went back to the ship, went and saw Wall-E in their theatre, played ping pong, went to the pirate party on deck and watched the fireworks show then watched some of Pirates of the Carribean on their huge screen on deck and ATE!!!

Day 3 we were at Disney's private island, Castaway Cay. We swam, snorkled and ATE!!! The boys were especially impressed with the fact that the real 'Flying Dutchmen', from the Pirates of the Carribean movie, is docked right there. Later we swam on the ship, played more ping pong, played in the Oceaneer club again, went to another show and ATE!!!

When we got off the ship on Thursday morning we had about 8 hours before our flight left. We decided to take the kids over to the Kennedy Space Center. However, they wanted our first born child for an enrance fee (it would have cost us about $200 to take them in for 2 hours) so we just drove around and leanded out the window taking pictures. OH WELL!

It was a wonderful time. The kids keep asking when we can get back on the ship. We tell them... GET A JOB!

PS. I took over 200 pictures on the trip, so I really did pair it down!

Vacation baby!!

2008-09-23T06:05:00.002-05:00

Gregg and I just got back from an amazing 6 day vacation to Cancun (Riviera Maya actually). It was so beautiful there and we had a great time with our friends Monica and Brandon. AND.... I did my first ocean scuba dive. No sharks ~ so all was well!! Thanks again mom for coming out here and helping with the kids. We appreciate it sooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

2008-09-13T13:12:00.010-05:00

Just some of the things around my house that are me. It's kind of an exercise in identifying those things that are important to you....family (pictures on wall), things passed down from my parents, little treasures, my marriage, and the gospel. I hope you enjoy seeing just a little bit of me.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!

2008-09-04T15:44:00.002-05:00

BACK TO SCHOOL BABY!!! Josh is the big man on campus (2nd year in preschool) and Allie's the freshman (1st year preschool). They love being back and so does their mommy!!

Labor Day at the Sanderson Homestead

2008-09-04T15:40:00.001-05:00

We got to celebrate Carrie and Jonathan's birthdays while everyone was there. Great food, great time!

Labor Day at the Sanderson Homestead

2008-09-04T15:37:00.002-05:00

That's right......51 people (to be exact) showed up. We had a great time.

We've got fire

2008-08-25T20:24:00.002-05:00

That's right...these pics were taken just outside our back door today. The fire started about 12:00pm this afternoon and has spread over 5oo acres now and over 60 home evacuations. Luckily, even with the extremely close proximity to our house, we are not being evacuted and the fire is almost contained behind our house. Every once in a while we see a small flare up but the firefighters are right on it. It has gone over the mountains now and is spreading over there. My kids think this is the coolest thing EVER!! They've been watching the helicopters all day drop fire retardant and water. They constantley are flying directly over our house. It's like Disneyland over here....only, we're on fire! Don't worry, we're just fine.

Our Great VaCay in Utahr

2008-08-19T09:13:00.003-05:00

We had the best time! Even the 3,013 miles we drove was good (most of the time). Here are some highlights. Thank you Sandersons for always welcoming us and helping us have so much fun! Thank you Mom for driving with me and making the trip so great!

He's a big boy now!!

2008-08-18T21:04:00.002-05:00

Ok, now that Kristen has taught me how to blog, I'm a blogging fool! But since I'm so far away, this is my way of having you all be a part of our lives. Sooooo wish you could be here for all this stuff in person and not just looking at pictures. But since I can't change that any time soon.....

Today was Spencer's first day of school. That's right, my baby is a second grader. Don't ask me how that happened. He had a great day and seems to love his teacher. He's got lots of good buddies in his class with him so he's a happy camper. The great thing about Spenc is that I never have to worry about him much. He makes friends so easily and his teachers always love him. Spencer ROCKS! Two weeks from now I will also have 2 pre-schoolers. Josh on M-W-F and Allie will go T-TH. AHHHHH!!!!!

Fathers and Sons

2008-08-18T20:59:00.002-05:00

While Kristen and the kids and mom were here, Sam and Grayson got to go to Father's and Son's campout with Spenc, Josh and Gregg. First you need to know that Father's and Son's is a HUGE deal to my boys and it was just soooooooooooooooooo much better with their cousins there! We miss you guys.

Sanderson Oregon Trip

2008-08-14T11:06:00.004-05:00

We went back to the Oregon coast for 11 days in our RV. That's right, you heard me right....11 days in an RV with a family of 5. With all the craziness, dirt, and "family togetherness" we had a great time. Gregg served his mission in Oregon and we were able to visit some of his old families and friends from his mission and he took us to his old stomping grounds. We really did have a great time but don't think we will head out for another 11 days anytime soon.

Happy 40th Matt

2008-07-28T20:54:00.002-05:00

Everyone was over for Matt's birthday (one he'd rather forget). Wonderful food, company and a great, hot day for lots of fun in the pool. It's terribly hot right now so that beautiful blue water, (though 105 degree bathtub) is still quite refreshing.

Summer Adventures

2008-07-28T20:32:00.003-05:00

Ron and I have had an interesting summer. We've been able to travel a little more than usual since mom died. So here we are in Nashville, TN at the Rymann House where the original Grand 'Ol Opry was housed. We're a pickin' and a strummin' on stage where all the great country singers got their start. We visited the Country Western Hall of Fame and spent a couple of days going in and out of various saloons and music joints in old Nashville. We'd listen to a hillbilly singer in one place and a great blues singer in another. We then went to Utah to spend some time with Erik and Chelsey who now live in St. George. We enjoyed a weekend up in the Manti mountains with Chelsey's wonderful grandparents (younger than us) and the Manti Temple Pageant and then on to SLC to see Noelle, Gregg and the kids. It's always fun to be in UT. It's beautiful and we adore our little Draper kids so much.

Eight is Great!

2008-07-15T07:21:00.003-05:00

Here is our beautiful girl on her special baptism day. It really was a great day. I wish every one of you could have been here to share it with us. My baby girl is eight. . . and she chose to be baptized. She is an amazing girl and she makes my life sweeter, funnier, moodier, richer and more loving just by being in it. Congratulations, Abby on the choice you made to follow Heavenly Father and to take this path. You are the best girl in the history of girls!

Sweet Victory!

2008-06-23T18:08:00.002-05:00

Okay... for a baseball family, we all know that you win some and you lose some. The fun part right now is that Grayson and Sam are winning a lot recently. We've had plenty of times when that wasn't the case, but for now we are enjoying the wins. Here are a few recent pics reflecting what our summer is like. Between the 2 boys, they play about 130 baseball games from March - July. It can get crazy, but if you have to be out in the Tx heat, you may as well be sliding around in the dirt too. Sam is a catcher and Grayson a 2nd baseman. . . Abby is learning how to keep score when she's not busy playing with her friends and eating her 4th snocone.

Welcome Family!

2008-06-21T23:43:00.002-05:00

Okay... I put it out there. This is a blog for our family. For those of you who received an invitation to view it, you are able to enter a blog post. You can include pictures, video or just give us all a quick update. I thought this would be a great place for us to stay more connected in the day to day events of our lives. I can add other people to the "authors" list... I just need an email address and I'll take care of it. We may have a few hicups to work through until everyone can view the blog and post entries, but it is worth the effort to be able to stay closer. Once you get all the little details worked out, it is really easy. I'm posting a picture of Abby with my blog entry so you can see how the pictures are included with your entry. This is from her dance recital this last week.

If you would each send me a family picture, I'll post them on the side permenantly. We can add birthdays too. I just need everyones. You'll get the hang of it and it will be great.