Sunday, June 30, 2013

June Travels

Most of June was spent in either Utah or Kansas.  We got to spend lots of time with Andy's family in Utah and come home just in time to join my family to celebrate Ben coming home from his mission!

We thought we were really smart putting Isaac in our Ergo to get from our car through security.  He wasn't such a fan!  But hey, it kept him contained while we had our hands full and this way we didn't have to take a stroller.
One of our biggest blessings has been a child who sleeps on flights!  Almost every flight we've gone on he's slept through.

And when he wasn't sleeping he was happily listening to music with Andy.

Isaac was in LOVE with the play kitchen at Grandma and Grandpa Brasher's house!  
One of the less exciting (for Isaac) highlights of the trip was taking him in for his first haircut with clippers.  Despite a movie and a sucker Isaac was NOT happy about the clippers!  Luckily Ashlee was super fast and we were done before you know it.

Isaac's other one true love at Grandma and Grandpa's house was the car.  He would sit in there for quite awhile happily watching a movie.  That kid was made for the drive-in!

Andy and I were so excited to take Isaac to the Hogle Zoo while we were in Utah!  Seeing the bird show there every summer was always one of the highlights of a trip to Utah.  Isaac though, liked the statues better than the actual animals.  Partially because he could actually see them and climb all over them.  I've decided that zoos aren't very stroller friendly.  Sure you can get places easily with a stroller, but you can't easily see many of the animals from that height.






Playing at Crestwood Park



Isaac and Andy on Father's Day.

Trying on the helmet Great-Grandpa O'Bryant got for Father's Day to go with his new bike.

Isaac decided the helmet would be a good idea when driving his car around.

Andy's cousin Jack got an accordion for his birthday and once he opened it up, Isaac followed him around the rest of the evening because he thought it was so cool.  He thought Andy's cousins were generally pretty awesome once he got past his initial shyness.

Of course no trip to Utah is complete without a visit to BYU and some Graham Canyon ice cream.  Luckily Isaac enjoyed both, so we can keep him.


This was on the shuttle at the airport after our flight home.  Isaac thought that sitting there by himself was the coolest thing ever!

How do you keep a toddler happy while waiting for Dad to go get the car?  Let him push the biggest suitcase!

Taking an impromptu shower under a rain gutter

We got home from Utah on Tuesday afternoon, had a relaxing evening at home, and then the next day we loaded up the car to drive to Kansas!  We got there just in time to have dinner and then it was off to the airport to pick up my brother!

For the last two years my brother has been serving a mission for our church in Ventura, California (and the surrounding area).  Other than phone calls at Christmas and Mother's Day and weekly e-mails we didn't see or hear from him during those two years.  It's been the biggest blessing to see what happens when someone devotes 100% of their life for 2 years to doing the Lord's work.

We were so excited to see him though and get to introduce him to Isaac!  Ben left when I was pregnant with Isaac and came home to find me looking pretty much the same, but with a little boy tagging along.

At the church when he got released from his mission.  One last picture with his mission badge on.

Of course, no trip to Kansas is complete without Isaac helping Aunt Allie bake something delicious!


Giving loves to Ginny!  Watching Isaac with Ginny has given me a glimpse of how he's going to treat his little brother.  Sometimes it will be all loves and giggles...other times it will be more swats and "go away".

Hanging out with Uncle Ben.  One of the funniest things from this trip was my brother's reaction to Isaac's attachment to me.  Normally little boys pick Ben over me 100% of the time (who wouldn't... he's hugely tall and hilarious), but Isaac obviously thinks I'm pretty awesome.  One night Ben came up to me and asked, "What's the deal?  Why does he like you so much?"  I had to remind him that I was Isaac's mom.

Shining shoes for church.

Our trip to Kansas ended with Ben's homecoming talk at church.  I wish we could've stayed for his open house, but Andy had to be back at work the next day and we were anxious to take advantage of Isaac's nap so we could get a good chunk of the drive done with him asleep.