Zoo Day

We finally took June to the Phoenix zoo for her first time. I haven't been since high school, so this felt new to me too. Except the smell, I remember the smell vividly.

Some highlights:
• We went with the Reids, who were good sports through June's snack breaks, animal observations, and eventual tantrum on the carousel. Plus, Cora makes the best "funny face".
• June's animal sounds throughout the entire time. (Monkeys: "AAH-oo-oo", Lions: "Neyum Neyum" which is June's cat sounds)
• The monkey cage, which is both amazing and terrifying. (Amazing because of how close the monkeys jump around you, and terrifying because I was thinking of the movie "Outbreak" the entire time we were inside.)

We'll see you again, Phoenix Zoo. That splash pad will be calling our name this summer.

World Premiere: "Christmas Club"

We decided for this year's song, we needed one that makes Santa want to stop in his tracks and dance until he's too tired to deliver toys. 

Sorry that Santa is too busy in da' club. 

(Obviously the best part is June's "It's a Ball" line. My baby girl's gots da beatz!)

And here's a list of our previous hits:

2011: "Frosting" - This song is like that feeling you get when you love someone and then you find out they have a 'Thug Life' tattoo, so you love them even more.

2010: "Baby It's NOT that Cold Outside" - This song is like that feeling you get when you love someone, but they had really bad breath, so now you want them to leave.

2009: "Gather Around (It's a Campfire Christmas)": This song is like that feeling you get when all your holiday to-do list is done, and you sit by the fire with a hot cocoa, and you stare at your beautiful Christmas tree, and wait for Christmas morning to arrive.

(video by Robz)

Bonus track from 2009: "Campfire Christmas"  Remix, called "Christmas Eve" - This song is like that extra cookie plate you unexpectedly get from a friend, and that amazing feeling you get eating the entire thing.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eat, Eat, Eat, Full, Eat more anyway...

We had the kind of Thanksgiving that makes me feel full for days, but it doesn't matter because I still eat as much as possible anyway.


























We prepared two turkeys (one cooked in a Dutch Oven), one ham, rolls, pies, 5-sticks of butter stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, fruit salad, and a cheesecake. It was enough to have at least 4 meals of leftovers. 

And on top of all that, June got an early Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa. As Alan would say, "Practicing for Black Friday": 

Thanks to my parents for letting us invade their house so we could have room to cook and eat. Thanks to William's parents for being generous and getting June some awesome gifts. Thanks to everyone else for the laughs and good times. Oh and we saw 'Lincoln', so thanks to Lincoln for being the best president ever.

Oh and speaking of Christmas, who's excited?

I guess I am.

Happy Trees

Greer, AZ

I've got a list of a thousand things to do, but I'm going to stop for one minute and share to everyone how much I love my family and friends right now.

Here's why:

· He loves to eat waffles at least twice a week, and plan fun outings, and drink soda late at night, and watch scary TV shows, and listen to music all the day long, and plant luscious green winter grass, and go for walks to look at holiday lawn decorations, and record an a m a z i n g album that I am so proud of.

· She has cute pigtails and curly hair, and loves "bubbus" and "doggies", and loves to chase around a ball, and give kisses with delayed 'smack' sounds, and obsess over new shoes, and push grocery carts, and eat an entire apple on a stick, and have dance parties.

· They invite us over for Sunday dinner every Sunday, and prepare us 72 hour kits so we don't have to, and take June to the carousel to ride at least 6 times, and they sew us curtains and blankets, and buy ten different kinds of cheeses, and challenge me to Tetris to which I win triumphantly or lose terribly.

· They throw parties at the last minute that look like it took weeks to prepare for, and serve soup in bread bowls, they recommend good music and TV because I'm so out of the loop, and they have pizza ovens in their backyard with every pizza topping you can dream of, and they are talented and help me to remember to push myself and, most importantly, they make me laugh.

This is terribly written, but it's true.

Oo-da-lolley golly what a day...

William's family came to town last week, so we spent the day at the fair. 

We rode the Ferris Wheel and ate plenty of fried foods.

While June seemed hypnotized by the color, lights, food, and noise, I was hypnotized by the inhabitants there. The fair makes for some fine people-watching.

A Book for June

I've been wanting to make a family book for June so she can start learning names with faces. I received a coupon for a free 8X8 photo book on my birthday from Shutterfly, and I figured this was the perfect opportunity to finally make one: 

Click here to view this photo book larger
(Click the rectangles to turn the pages)

The only reason June seems to like it is because she thinks it's a game to find Chubbs in the book.

So basically, Chubbs wins.

It's time to step it up, Bradfords and Coombs'.

Sometimes ups outnumber the downs

1. Good-looking cousins with good-looking kids.
2. Cornhole with June... a Utah staple.
3. A-COOL COOL COOL TRICKS.... YEAH!
4. Water-watchin' at City Creek
5. Good times and a good hair day on the Alpine coaster.
6. View on the bridge at City Creek
7. Locked out, but don't mind since we don't experience AZ weather in UT.
8. Booty shake with William's good-looking cousins
9. My first Park City visit. AHHHH-MAZING.


In July, June and I went to Utah twice.


The first time, we flew up with my mom and visited mostly her side of the family. The trip was so fun and again reiterated my belief that I have the funniest family on the planet. They are also the best storytellers (it helps that they also have the best stories to tell). Thanks to my mom for letting me come and treating us to shopping days and good eats. Thanks to my Aunt Carol and Judy for their amazing hospitality. Thanks to Jane and Susan (June's 3rd Grandma) for having such a beautiful home and a perfect lunch. Thanks to Katie and Aileen for traveling great distances to meet June. Thanks to Amy for just being plain awesome.


The second time we went to Utah, we went for a funeral. Then it turned into two funerals. I am so grateful that I got to know how wonderful Grandma B and Uncle Richard are. But I probably won't eat anymore funeral potatoes for a while. 


And of course, it's also always great to spend time with my in-laws: BBQs (my favorite meals), dance parties (complete with costumes), settling Cataan, and Alpine rides with NO BRAKES. Thanks to my in-laws for creating the best memories... and for being so good to June, even though times are tough for her when she's jet-lagged.


Now, a note:


Dear Uncle Reed,


While in Utah attending two funerals, hearing about your sneaky heart attack nearly gave me one. Please refrain from those Dana treat cravings.


Love,
Niece Jenny

A Festivus

Here's a story:

Before I even met William, I saw this video of him and his brothers:

I knew two things about William Bradford: (1) He likes apples. (2) The man can lip-synch. 

So when I met him for the first time ever, I said, "Hey I enjoyed your video." 

To which he replied, "Ummm.... yeah thanks." and then he completely changed the subject. I thought I had said something wrong. (He later told me that he didn't know how to respond.)

It was a really awkward first impression... it's a good thing he was cute and played the drums, otherwise I would have just walked away.

I learned real quickly that the Bradfords love making awkward videos. Thank goodness we have friends who do the same...

My lovely/talented friend Andrea has a very funny/creative husband named Camaron. He's putting on an Awkward Film Festival. Everyone should participate... The BradfordCollective have a great film up their sleeve for this event.

Hurry! It's on June 15th. And if you haven't already, watch the '80s Video Dating Montage' on the film festival page... It's incredible.


P.S. The guy in the above video with the mickey mouse hands is moving back to AZ. June is thrilled to have another uncle live nearby.

Tally ho

William and I spent the weekend in Utah to see Daniel off to the MTC.

Seeing a missionary leave is the definition of bittersweet. Daniel is going to be a great one.

Other highlights:

- JUNE FINALLY CRAWLED, and then hasn't crawled since. But at least we know now that she can...we were slightly worried before.

- Corn Hole Tournaments (I teamed with William, who sported a tight yellow turtleneck and a gold medallion. We lost.)

- Utah weather (it was warm, then it was cold, then it snowed, and then it was warm again)

- Walking with sleeping babies around the neighborhood with Laura

- Board games

- Name Game (specifically the round of charades where we saw Laura's impression of Big David and Little David's impression of Elton John)

- Hunger Games (the movie and the meals)

- Man in the theater repeatedly objecting to Katniss' victory. (NO!)

- Hunger Games Tailgate Party (it's just eating Little Caesar's pizzas in the parking lot)

- J Dawgs and Sammy's

- Watching June and Andrew playing together (and by 'playing together' I mean staring awkwardly and trying to take each other's toys)

- Tillamook Cake Batter Ice Cream

- Tintin, the movie (surprisingly good)

- Learning to crochet (HARD.)

- Bradford Boys Final Epic Wrestling Match Brawl (specifically Big David jumping in to fight this time)

This is what I look like all the time when I'm with the Bradfords:

And I love it.

The BEAST that had SKABS on his ABS

The Bradfords have a way of leaving their mark after they've stayed at your house for a weekend, sort of like a dog marking his territory (but in a less disgusting way).

Example #1 - My kitchen letters normally spell 'EAT'. Remember when Daniel did this? Well, this time they found more letters and spelled:

In addition to 'BEAST', 'ABS' and 'SKABS' adorned my kitchen shelf as well.

Example #2 - Before the Bradfords came, William and I declared ourselves loser status because our refrigerator was running very low. After the Bradfords came, somehow we tripled our condiment and snack supply. (The Bradfords love their sauces.)

Example #3 - June has been a slight grump because I can't compensate the amount of attention the Bradfords gave her all weekend.

She's also really sweaty too, for some reason.

Example #4 - Dirt Tooth Construction* returned and built us a new, solid desk:

I'll be sure to show a complete 'Before & After' in another post.

Bradfords, please come again soon... we're running out of snacks.

*Dirt Tooth was born during the time William, Daniel, and David built our backyard deck. They call it 'Dirt Tooth' because they all somehow got dirt on their teeth when they were constructing the deck. But usually when people ask what Dirt Tooth Construction is, I tell them it's just the Bradford Brothers arguing over who is the boss of their fake construction company while they fix something they just broke. The End.

You are my Family Tree

Last weekend was Baby Kensley's blessing, so the entire Bradford family came to town. It also happened to be the first time that ALL of the Bradfords were together in a several years. So of course we made some time to take family photos.

We lasted about twenty minutes with our photographer before we started taking our own pictures... senior portrait style?

All together now:

It's written in the stars...

...June's gonna have some good times with her cousins.

(I love this picture because it looks like their flying, so of course I had to add the stars.)

June got to meet some new cousins these last couple weeks.

The above cousin is Kensley, Alan and Jenny's new baby. She was born November 23rd (which also happens to be Kent's birthday... definitely a lucky day). I can't believe how huge June is compared to tiny Kensley. She is so beautiful. I can't wait to watch June and Kensley build forts and play house.

June was also privileged to meet Andrew (Laura and Steve's baby) when we went to Utah for Thanksgiving. Oh boy, is he a cutie. AND he was one of the most calm babies I've ever encountered, except in this picture:

I can't wait for Andrew and June to build forts and play ninjas.

Yes, it doesn't matter which cousin is involved, there WILL be plenty of forts being built.

June's First Band Photo?

Here's how it happened.

We were getting ready for the day. I put June's jeans on, then had William hold her while I went down into the basement to get her a shirt.

Within about 30 seconds of going downstairs, I opened the door and encountered this:

They also filmed my reaction:

When I look back, I was actually not THAT surprised to see everyone with their shirts off... why is that?

A Bacon Blankie to keep the Turkey warm.

Yeah you heard right... bacon blankie.

It's what David used to cover our turkey. Check out the beautiful weave pattern:

And that's pretty much how delicious our Thanksgiving meal was.

What is it about Thanksgiving that forces you to put hours of work into your meal...

... only to devour it in ten minutes?

It's a beautiful tradition.

Thankful Day 20-27

My goal to do a "Thankful" post everyday in the month of November was just a little too much for the week of Thanksgiving. You'll understand why as you read on.

I call this photo "RED HAIR."

I'm sad because not everyone we spent the fun week with is in the above photo. (We'll try again next time.)

The following is a list of things I am thankful for during my week spent in Utah with my in-laws (in no particular order):

Michael's Talk

Pandemic

Andrew's Blessing

Bradford Time Zone

DP Cheesesteaks (with Jalepeno cream cheese)

Shopping

Biscuits and Gravy

Minor Sheep Threat Shirt (see above photo)

Thanksgiving Dinner

Breath

Leather Jacket

Daniel's Red Scarf

Cafe Rio

Pumpkin Gas

Baby Kensley's arrival

Tetris

Ripped Diamondback Shirt

Double Features

80's Bully David

Vitamix Smoothies

Ikea

Bacon Wrapped Turkey

Surprising Big David and breaking his bed

Denting Big David's car with basketball hoop

Kitchen Cooking arguments

Bonanza

Dirt Tooth Construction Projects

Dirt Tooth arguments about job title positions

Sleepless Nights

Back Seat Drivers

Everyone yelling that the rolls were burning and they weren't

Chapstick Smoothie

Nelli's (Martinelli's)

Tates (Potatoes)

Walk through Bethlehem

Old Man Angel sitting on high perch hidden in the corner

22 people sleeping in one house

Jam Sessions

Purchasing one refillable beverage but sharing it

Robs mad

Five Guys

Sonic tots in freezing cold weather

Old Navy Quick Change

Walmart Trips

Triple Double Oreos

Leather Jacket Draw the Line Dance

Tight gas

Spent $20 beating the Terminator Salvation Arcade game in a leather jacket

Uncle David dancing to Atlanta Rhythm Section

Vernors and Egg Nog

Everyone getting tough in car rides

Doesn't this list sound like the greatest week ever? I'll elaborate on a few of those later.

Also, it might sound like I'm complaining on a few things listed, but I promise I'm not. It was all good times.

Thankful Day 2

#2 - I am thankful for photos like this:

These kinds of photos remind me to not take things too seriously (advice that I'm currently trying to apply).

Thanks, David. I hope your mom lets you keep your haircut (at least until we come for Thanksgiving).

Eat meat and other ramblings

This week we had William's brother, Daniel, come stay at our place. We ate, played Ticket to Ride, ate, watched movies, and ate.

It was a good time, as seen here:

I think William's shirt used to be the color of Daniel's.

AND we found out that Jenny and Alan (my sis and bro-in-laws) are having a baby girl. (Have you seen their announcement? It'll leave you speechless.) June is thrilled to have another girl cousin... she already has a great time with her older cousin, London, as seen in this picture:

On a completely unrelated subject, I love food. I love it so much, in fact, that while most families hang inspiring messages around their homes (i.e. "Return with honor", "Count your Blessings", or my personal favorite "Live Love Laugh"), I've decided to simply adorn our shelf in our kitchen with the word "EAT".

Daniel decided to change it up a bit:

I think he's on to something.

And finally, on yet another unrelated subject, everyone should have Martha Bradford for a mother-in-law (Hurry... there's only 4 Bradfords left.) She is one of the most genuine people I know. AND she loves to make things... like giant towel bibs:

June practically lives in these now, and thanks to Martha, she can. (Martha made, like, 8 of them.)

Thanks again Grandma!