The Bradleys

Preschool Christmas Program

2008-12-18T13:45:00.004-07:00

Stella and Ruby had their Christmas performances today at preschool. They were both so cute. Stella did a great job singing all her songs. Ruby was quite a performer; I think she was the only singer in her class. It is always a lot of fun to see.

Molly Mouse's Sugar Plum Debut

2008-12-16T11:31:00.002-07:00

We took the girls to see the children's ballet "Molly Mouse" at Rose Wagner a few weeks ago and they had a blast. Stella went to the Nutcracker last year, and really enjoyed it, but in my opinion it is really long for a 2 and 4 year old to sit through. This ballet is geared toward the preschool set, and is a little over an hour long with a 15 minute intermission which is perfect for shorter attention spans. All the costumes are really colorful and all the characters are mice. Stella plans to audition for the part of Molly Mouse next year, even though you have to be 8 years old and as an afterthought said "maybe I should take some dance lessons this year."

Skiing!!!

2008-12-16T11:23:00.002-07:00

I don't really like cold weather, or snow for that matter, so I thought what better way to embrace the cold weather? We decided to purchase cross country ski's for the whole family. I have to say, I really enjoy it. It is a great family activity and is so much fun! And the girls are naturals on their ski's and absolutely love it! So, here are a few pictures from this past weekend.

October

2008-11-05T07:35:00.004-07:00

I'm not a very good blogger, I know it's been a long time, so mostly I will just post pictures from the month. October was a fun month; it felt like a really long Halloween. The pictures are from Garden After Dark at Red Butte Gardens, the school halloween party, leaf raking in our yard, and an annual Halloween party we attend. By the way, if you haven't been to Red Butte to the Garden After Dark, I highly recommend it. Every year they do a different theme, this year it was a storybook character theme, and they have face painting, crafts and games throught the entire garden. It is so much fun, for both kids and adults. You will notice in the pictures that Ruby was a few different princesses throughout the month. She had planned on being a dolphin, but at the last minute, decided to be a princess, which is very fitting for her since she wakes up and puts princess high heels on EVERY morning. And for those of you who don't know, Stella was Fancy Nancy.

First Day of School!

2008-09-08T14:23:00.002-07:00

Stella and Ruby both had their first day of preschool today. This being Stella's third year of preschool, there was no anxiety, only excitement. She walked right in, without turning around, just as I expected. I thought Ruby would cry, or at least be a little nervous, since she has never been away from me. She walked right into her classroom and started doing an art project without even saying "goodbye" to me. When I picked her up, she was so thrilled to tell me about her day. She is so proud of her art project, and has been singing a little song, and talking about school since we got home. It was a little strange for me to drop both girls off at school- I have 2 hours that they are both gone, and I honestly wasn't quite sure what to do with me time, since I haven't really had any free time for 4 1/2 years, but I'm sure I will be able to figure it out!

Biker Girls

2008-07-06T17:18:00.003-07:00

We have two bicycle loving girls. Over the last couple of weekends the girls have become riding fools. Stella is now cruising on her two wheel. She rode solo last week after just a couple runs with dad and then this week she was working on starting on her own. She learned so quick it was awesome. Ruby is a little cruiser herself. She was the most excited of all today to get out on her bike and ride a few laps at the elementary school parking lot. She has really gotten the hang of it. Hope you enjoy!!

Dads and Daughters

2008-07-05T17:07:00.001-07:00

Daughters Rule

4th of July

2008-07-05T17:01:00.002-07:00

A great neighborhood with great friends and fun things to do. A sense of community is important to us and we live in the right place.

Summer Fun

2008-07-05T16:54:00.003-07:00

A few recent images of sisters having fun

Ballerina Skills

2008-07-05T16:43:00.004-07:00

The two little ladies are formally working on their skills in the realm of dance.

They officially became ballerinas a few weeks ago. They so far love it and are always excited to put on their gear. Their mom is in heaven. I am learning the dance lingo and have fun watching their demos.

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T15:41:00.002-07:00

For Mother's Day, we went to Porcupine Grill for breakfast with my family which was great- I love their breakfast. We spent the afternoon with Jason's family. Since it was such a nice day, we planned to have a picnic which turned out to be a lot of fun. My in-law's live across the street from the Capital building, so we walked over there and the kids were able to run around and play soccer. We also brought a kite since it was so windy, and it was a lot of fun to watch Jason so patiently attempt to get it to fly. It was a nice, relaxing mother's day. On Friday night I went shopping by myself, which is what I really wanted to do for mother's day, and when I got home the girls surprised me with a really cute bag I wanted. They had to give it to me right when I walked through the door, because at 2 and 4, it is really hard to keep secrets! So, thanks Jason, it was a really nice weekend.

The many faces of Ruby

2008-05-11T15:32:00.002-07:00

Ruby is very expressive and is quite a little comedian. These are the different personalities we get to experience throughout the day. Her personality is definately blossoming right now; sometimes she is truly being naughty, but usually she is trying to make someone laugh and she will do any of her different faces on command. These are just a few.

Dinosaur Museum

2008-05-11T15:23:00.002-07:00

On Friday we headed down to Thanksgiving Point to the dinosaur museum with my sister-in-law Emily and my nephew Jaxon and Jason's cousins Katie and Jamie and all of their kids. The kids had a lot of fun seeing all the different exhibits, but mostly playing with eachother.

Dresses

2008-04-02T06:54:00.003-07:00

What am I going to do with this little girl? When I say she is obsessed with dresses, she truly is. She will only wear dresses, she is very particular with the color from day to day. She gets mad if they come above her knees; she will walk around the house screaming and crying, while attempting to pull them down to her feet. She is so serious about her dresses that she even sleeps in them, absolutely refusing to even wear pajamas. What am I going to do with all of her other clothes? Hopefully, this is just a passing phase.

Sisters

2008-04-02T06:41:00.003-07:00

These girls truly love eachother. If one of them isn't home, the other is constantly asking where they are and when they will be home. They are best friends.

We have been reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at night before bed; this is a recent conversation with Stella:

"Mommy, why are Charlie Bucket's grandparents old?"

"It's just what happens, everybody gets old Stella."

"Will I get old, mommy?"

"Yes."

"Will Ruby get old?"

"Yes."

"When we get old, can we be in the same box together?"

"What box are you talking about?"

"The box that goes in the dirt when your body stops working."

Stella really is a funny little girl- she just says the funniest things all the time. This particular conversation, albeit weird, just shows how much she really loves her sister.

California trip

2008-03-13T13:03:00.003-07:00

The girls and I went to California last week with my mom, sister and her 2 kids. 2 days before we were supposed to leave, Stella came down with the stomach flu. It was really sad; because of all the anticipation and the thought of not being able to go to Disneyland, she pretended that she felt fine even though she was vomiting all over our house. We still left on Monday as planned because Stella seemed to be doing alright, but during the plane landing she got really nervous and started crying until she finally vomited again in our rental car and again at the house we were staying at. So, the trip started out a bit rough, but we all ended up having a good time. We spent 2 days at the beach and went to Disneyland twice. On the last day of our trip, Ruby came down with the stomach bug and also fell and hit her head on the sidewalk and ended up with a slight head injury. Needless to say, the trip was a bit of a disaster, but I truly think despite all the problems, the kids had a great time! Better luck next time!!!

Gymnastics

2008-02-27T10:00:00.003-07:00

Ruby started gymnastics a few weeks ago, and she really loves it. She is in a class with 2 other two year olds, and she really does listen and follow the teacher's instructions, which I thought she may be a bit young to do. She just has to scream "hi, mommy" about every 5 minutes across the gym to make sure I am still there.

My little fashionista...

2008-02-27T09:55:00.002-07:00

I know it builds confidence, and she's just trying to express her independence, but honestly, does she really have to wear outfits like this to school? I don't think the pictures really do the outfit justice, so if you can't tell, she really is wearing striped tights, capri's with sunflowers on them, a pink tee shirt and a leopard print sweater. They really are cute clothes, just not all together.

Happy Birthday Ruby!

2008-02-24T15:03:00.002-07:00

Our little Rooster. Two years ago this week our little lady changed the way we view the world forever. Since day one always smiling, laughing, cuddling or dancing she has brought out the smiles and some old dance moves we probably wish were forgotten. Her infectious personality will find you smiling to yourself, laughing or jumping across the room as she tries to belt out a tune or glances at you with her goofy smile. The biggest cuddler we have ever seen and a serious one at that. Adoration for her sister and a love for her mom that are out of this world. Ruby Grace Bradley is a girl like no other.

2008-02-24T14:59:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Stella!

2008-02-09T20:08:00.001-07:00

Stella had her first birthday party this year. She had her party at a place called "The Kid Barn" where they have all the different inflatable bouncers. The kids had a great time. Stella thought it was pretty neat to have all her little friends play with her. She also got a new bike, which was pretty exciting. She got to ride it around the house since it is still so cold outside. She thinks it's pretty cool to be able to say she is 4 years old- she likes to trick people and tell them she is 44 or 104!

Chinese New Year Celebration

2008-02-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Stella's preschool teacher, Miss Becki, is from China and has been teaching the kids chinese all year. Last week, they had a chinese new year celebration, where they sang two chinese songs and had a dragon parade. She has also taught the kids to write their names in chinese and brought in different chinese dishes for the kids to try.

It's almost been 4 years!

2008-01-18T22:03:00.001-07:00

Where has the time gone? Stella's birthday is fast approaching- I really cannot believe she is going to be 4! It has been so great to have her in our lives, she truly is an amazing child. She is so happy and so full of passion. She loves to play with her babies and paint her nails when she's home, and loves to play power rangers and spiderman with the boys when she's at school. I call her my pirate princess. Stella is an extremely affectionate child, and needs to cuddle if at all possible. She has an unbelievable memory and is a little sponge when it comes to learning. If she could, she would do workbooks all day long. She is learning to read, and can read books on her own now. Stella is still doing gymnastics and wants to learn to play the guitar or violin- she can't decide. We love spending time with Stella. Everyday is a new adventure, and we can't wait to see what the next year brings for us.

More fun in the snow!!!

2007-12-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

First Christmas Performance

2007-12-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

Stella's school had a little Christmas program yesterday. It was really cute- she did a really good job!

Ruby and Jaxon

2007-12-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

I came across these pictures from last summer, and thought I would add them, since they are so cute! The bottom picture makes me laugh- Ruby looks like a giant on the bed next to little Jaxon. Ruby is growing up so fast! She has followed in Stella's footsteps, and during the busiest time of the year it seems, she has decided to potty train herself; it's a little inconvenient right now, but I guess we'll roll with it! She really wants to be just like Stella. Everything Stella says and does, good and bad, Ruby copies. It is really cute to watch them together, they really are best friends.

The Nutcracker

2007-12-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

We took Stella to see the Nutcracker last Sunday, and she had such a good time. I wasn't sure if she would be able to sit still for such a long time, but she did great. She is really excited for Christmas this year! She is such a funny kid. She asked me last week if there was really a Santa Clause, and I responded with "if there isn't a Santa Clause, then where do you think all the presents come from?" and she said "from you!" Yes, she is only 3!!! So, we are really hoping she will at least believe until kindergarten. Luckily, she woke up this morning and told me she thought she saw 2 reindeer last night outside her window, and one may have even been Rudolph.

Snowy Morning

2007-12-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

The girls have been waiting all year to be able to play in the snow. These pictures were taken at 7:30 in the morning- they couldn't wait any longer. Ruby is like the little boy in "Christmas Story"- she is bundled so tightly, that when she falls over she can't get up!

A glimpse of Christmas past

2007-12-01T07:54:00.001-07:00

Last night we took the kids to "This is the Place" for a Christmas celebration. It was so much fun! We had hot chocolate outside by the fire, rode the train, danced to old-time music, did crafts and met Father Christmas.

Chef Ruby

2007-12-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Ruby aspires to be like her uncle Pat. Every morning, sometimes all day, she wears her chef hat and apron and spends the day preparing food. It is the cutest thing!

Gymnastics

2007-11-14T07:39:00.001-07:00

Stella absolutely loves gymnastics, and would go everyday if she could. She was recently moved up from the 3 year old class to the 5 year old class- she is so proud!

Hi Mama.....

2007-11-11T12:45:00.001-07:00

Day at the Zoo

2007-11-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ruby wants to be just like Stella!

Do you think I'm cute?

2007-11-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

More Halloween Fun!

2007-11-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Let's go trick-or-treating!

2007-11-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

The days leading up to Halloween...

2007-10-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

2007-10-24T18:58:00.000-07:00

2007-10-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more fun than your first fish.

Here is Stella with hers. A nice little rainbow trout caught in Silver Lake. First rod - 2 ft princess, bait - pink sparkle power bait.

2007-10-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Sugarhouse