Are We Crazy Or What!!!

So when Samantha was just a week old Josh came home from church with Collin and Amanda and this is how the conversation went: Josh: Honey, I have a crazy idea. Me: (Trying to guess the idea by reading his face) I am not gonna like it, aren't I? Josh: Probably not, but it came to me at church so I will give it a try. Me: K. Shoot. Josh: Well, the kids were crazy during the sacrament meeting and we had two High Counselmen speaking but one was actually interesting. But all I could get from his talk was that he got a flat tire on the way to Utah and had to drive 600 miles on a doughnut since he had to have a specially made tire for his SUV. So here is the crazy idea, since you are doing well, Samantha is perfect (at least in our eyes, and grandparents), why don’t we go to Utah for the 24th? Me: You mean drive to Utah? Josh: Yep, we have a minivan now, I have this whole week off for Paternity leave and we can drive and stop as much as we want. We can also surprise my grandparents and show up for the family reunion for the July 24th. Me: That sounds like a good idea. I just have to think about it some more. Josh: You mean you are actually considering it? Me: Why not? Josh: Ok. Let me call Tony (his brother who lives in Idaho) and let him know we are thinking about going and see what he says. So, we called Tony and talked to his wife since he was at work and told her our plan and had her swear not to tell a soul since we really wanted to surprise Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw. By Sunday evening we kind of talked ourselves out of going but Monday morning we get an e-mail from Tony and the title was, WE ARE GOING TOO. Then we for sure decided to go. We called and arranged with them and they were going to go straight to Beaver on Tuesday evening and we would go to Hurricane and spend the night with Josh’s aunt Nancy and met up with them on Wednesday morning and on Saturday we would all caravan to California together. So on Tuesday evening they went and surprised the heck out of Grandma but kept to themselves that there were more family coming. And on Wednesday morning we walked to Grandma’s living room with our then 10 day old baby. (Note that no one really locks their door in Beaver) She was half sleeping on the couch and when he saw Josh coming at first thought to herself whose baby is Tony carrying? (Josh and Tony do look a lot alike) but then realizes that it were us. She was very much surprised and excited to see us and we were so happy we did not cause heart attacks. Then we took the kids and drove to Grandpa’s Auto Shop and entered from the back door and surprised Grandpa with our presence and the new baby. That was way fun. We stayed at Beaver on Wednesday and watched the Parade on Thursday morning the 24th and met up with tons and tons of family. The star of the show was baby Samantha and everyone loved holding a new born. They just don’t stay that little for long .Then we head out to the John Flat campsite in the Beaver Canyon and pitched our tent and got ready for the reunion. We ate lots and lots, talked and talked, played and played and rode four wheelers and horses and had tons and tons of fun. On Thursday night my sister Kimia and her husband Jeff came down to Beaver from Provo and visited with us. We had not seen them since their wedding on February. It was wonderful seeing them. Then we headed back to California early in the Saturday morning with Tony and his family behind us and killed 5 birds in last 20 minutes before we left the Utah border. We were not sure why the birds were flying into our car but they kept coming and there was nothing we could do about it. We had a great time and the kids were fabulous thanks to the new born that slept most of the way and the portable DVD Player that we bought the last minute before we left home.

This is the Bradshaw's float. It says The Bradshaw's 6th and 7th Generations in Beaver since 1861.

Our spot at the campsite.

She picked these wild flowers for me. Isn's she just adorable?

Kimia and Amanda

From Left to Right: Josh and Amanda. Emily and Liahona and Tony and Collin.

This is what we found on our first pit stop.

Liahona came to our car for a visit to watch Elmo with Collin.

Sister Sunbaths

We cannot be held responsible for those of you in child bearing ages who view this post and stop using birth control!

Left: Samantha Right: Amanda

Josh's Garden - The Harvest

Not only are we raising kids but we're gardening while at it. Here we have starting with the basket of green beans going clockwise, yellow squash, carrots, cucumbers, white Patti Pan squash, Persian cucumbers, okra and zucchini. The green by the fence is lettuce, beets and some climbing green beans. After taking this picture yesterday morning I picked our first two tomatoes. We've been blessed with a bounteous harvest (and our neighbors have too).

Samantha Fern Bradshaw

Our baby girl Samantha joined our family on Sunday July 13, at 3:06am. She was 7 Pounds 11 Ounces and 20 and 1/4 inches long. The delivery was pretty quick and uncomplicated and we are very grateful for that. We named her Samantha and chose her middle name Fern for Josh's great grandmother. Words can not describe how much we love her and how much joy she has already brought to our lives.

We think she is a great mix between Collin and Amanda. She has Collin's chin and Amanda's eyes.

And she is already Daddy's little girl. It is going to be hard for Amanda to share her daddy with Samantha. Luckily, daddy can hold them both at the same time.

This is the first time Collin and Amanda met their new sister. It was love at the first sight.

We can't believe that our children have out-numbered us. It is going to be crazy and tons of fun.

Thank You Mack...

Collin finally pooped in the toilet for the first time yesterday. We have been trying to encourage him to do so for a very long time. We decided to take a positive approach into potty training by only making it fun and have him do it when he is ready. We tried to bribe with candy, his favorites M&M's, but he would flat out tell us that he did not want to. So, we left it at that. He would go pee pee in the toilet right before his bath but that was it. He was not potty trained. Until a couple of months ago, when Collin's cousin Walter who is exactly the same age was visiting from Arizona, Collin saw his toy Mack from the Cars movie and was in love. He loved it so much that I thought I would get it for him for Christmas or his birthday. But then it suddenly came to me and I told him that I would buy it for him if he goes poo poo in the toilet. I could tell he was torn. He still refused to go to the potty but every time I changed his poo poo, I kept telling him that he would get Mack if he does it in the toilet. I also realized that he has been telling me he has to go poo poo for the last few weeks, I just did not know it. He would come up to me and say, "Mommy, I am sick". Me thinking he has a upset stomach kept offering him a bowl in case he needs to barf. But after a while, we realized whenever he gets the cramps to go poo poo, he kept telling us he was sick. So, when we put two and two together, it happened. Yesterday, he told his daddy that he was sick. Josh told him to sit on the toilet and if he does poo poo, he will get Mack. And HE DID IT. The whole thing. He showed it to me and I screamed. Then I got Josh and he came then we both screamed. Collin kept saying, "Mommy, Daddy, that is too loud". Then we realized, we did not have Mack. So, out the door I run to Toys R Us to get Mack. When I came back huffing and puffing, Josh told me that I had not taken my cell and I could have gone into labor. Well, no such luck. When I got home, Collin had just got off the phone from calling grandparents to tell them the good news and was bouncing off the wall for Mack. So, Collin has Mack now and is beyond himself. We just loved watching him playing with it and look at his happy face. I could not come home empty handed for Amanda so I bought her Sally. You see, Amanda does not like dolls or girly stuff, and she was more than happy to get Sally.

Collin keeps wanting to play with Sally and I keep telling him that it is Amanda's but he can play with it when Amanda is sleep. So, this morning he is playing with McQueen, Mack and Sally and when Amanda woke up, she wanted her Sally. Collin told her, "Amanda, Sally needs to be with Lightning McQueen. They are going to get married in the temple". My ears perked up and I asked him what temple they are going to be married at. I thought he would say Oakland since that is the temple he knows but he said, "They are going to get married in the temple that cars get married at mommy." I thought that was so cute and I was so happy that he associated marriage with temple. Wow, our little ones are growing up fast and I bet when the time comes and I am at the temple for Collin's wedding, I would think that it was yesterday when he was playing with his cars and telling me that they would get married in the cars' temple.

So Spoiled and Blessed

Yesterday, my wonderful husband arranged for a sitter to come ALL day and sent me out to have fun and pretty much do whatever I wanted before the baby comes and things get super crazy. The first stop was to get a pedicure and a manicure and while I was there I cut my hair few inches shorter. Ahhhhhhh, the pedicure was out of this world. There is nothing like when you are 9 months pregnant with tired swollen feet and get the royal treatment. Everyone there kept asking how far along I was and could not believe this was my third child. I told them that I am not that young but I guess some people don't get married or have kids until much later in life. Anyways, the lady that was massaging my feet and legs, kept doing it for a long time. You get great services when you are pregnant. So, after 3 or 4 hours of getting spoiled, I went to the next door diner called "Diggers Diner" that has the best burgers in the world. The waiter came to check up on me two minutes after he brought my burger and it was gone. He said, "Wow, did you like your burger?". I said, "Yep, ate it in two bites." Then off to get some gas for the minivan, ouch, so pricey, then to target. Bought lots of odds and ends and some dippers for the new one to come. For the last two we did Huggies but this time I decided to try Pampers Baby Swaddler. We'll see. I heard babies don't leak with this one. I will let you know how that will work out. Then to Babies R Us and bought two potty seats. Yes, Josh wants to train Amanda while he is training Collin for the two weeks that he is going to stay home. We hope it works. She is showing a lot more interest than Collin but second children always have someone to look up to. Afterwards, I got a milkshake and went to Safeway for some grocery shopping and came home with cute toes, short hair ( a lot cooler for the summer and lighter) and nice fingernails. Thanks honey for spoiling me. I feel so much more relaxed and ready to tackle motherhood one more time. I also felt extremely blessed today. You know sometimes when you feel this deep gratitude in your heart towards Heavenly Father? Well, I was just reading Amanda some books, the kinds that she has to look and find stuff! Well, Collin came and said that he wanted to read her the book. I kind of wanted to read if myself because Amanda was being really cute and doing a great job but I let Collin try it. He was the cutest thing I have ever seen. He was sitting next to her on the couch and making her find all these different things and telling her what color they were. I loved it more when he was using his soft voice like he is an adult talking to a baby. It just melted my heart like no other. I felt extremely grateful for having these little angels and be trusted to be their mother.