LIPS OF AN ANGEL...

Ainsley absolutely adores Trent & Tanya Halliday's little boy McKay. When we first got to know the Halliday family Ains & McKay were always at each others throats. They hated being around one another & believe me, it was no fun to try to make Ains cooperate & just get along. But over the last year they have become best buds. Don't get me wrong, they still torment each other to bits but they also play really well together.

Last night Tanya & the kids came over for a minute & of course Ains & McKay were instantly pestering one another. They shoveled some dirt, hit a few baseballs, & drew pictures on the sidewalk with the sidewalk chalk. When it was time for them to go, Ains chased McKay down & laid a big 'ol kiss on his cheek & said "Love Ya" then headed for the front door. Once she reached the front porch, she turned around & yelled, "Goodbye lips of an angel!" Tanya & I looked at each other & cracked up. We are certainly in trouble with these two but they sure are adorable.

CHUNKY MONKEY

I have been telling Danyette that Liv is the chubbiest baby I have ever had & so has everyone else. She just doesn't believe that I could have a chunky baby. Well here is the proof. (I told you she has rolls!!!)
Alivia is also 4 months old today. Here is an overall summary of the things she loves & the things she can do at this point in her life.

Alivia Loves...

Her Mommy

Her Daddy

Ains & Addi

Her Fingers

Mommy's Milk

Cartoons

Chewing on Her Clothes

Her Bouncer

Her Gymini

Being Tossed in the Air

Alivia Can...

Smile

Cry

Poop

Talk

Laugh

Eat Lots & Lots of Mommy's Milk

Splash in Her Tub

Roll from Her Belly to Her Back

Blow Raspberries

Grab Her Toys & Chew on Them

Entertain Everyone She is Around

We love you chunky monkey!!!!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY ELLIE BELLY!!!

Today is Ellie's 3rd birthday & it will be the first birthday we will miss because of "the move"(the kids' birthday's, that is). Addison asked if we were going to Ellie's party the day we mailed her gift & sadly I had to tell her no. Needless to say, she didn't quite understand.

We miss Ellie & her frequent streaking soooo much. We miss her BIG, CHEESY, SQUINTY EYE smile. We miss her low, raspy voice & her contagious laugh. We even miss her occasional "Ainsley like" meltdowns.

We hope you have an awesome, fun, exciting birthday Ellie Belly. We love you!!!

SNAP OUT OF IT!!!

Do you ever feel like everything, & I mean everything is spinning out of control? This month has been a whirlwind of emotion for me. Maybe it's because I am the mother of three beautiful young girls or because we are in the middle of opening a new store in Park City or because it is hunting season & my husband is gone even more than ususal, which I didn't think could happen at this moment or because my little sister is having complications with her pregnancy or because my other sister, who is also my very best friend, lives in Fairview, Tennessee?

Holy Moly!!!!!!!

Somedays I am so overwhelmed with the yucky, sad, crazy, out of control things in life that I just want to scream really, really loud. Then instantaniously all of this craziness seems to boil over until I become completely irrational & then it hits me, what would I do without the craziness? What would I do without three very young, beautiful, stinky girls who drive me completely insane sometimes? What would I do if Burns Saddlery just stayed "good ol" Burns Saddlery & never grew or expanded? What would I do if my husband never got to do the things that he really loved & enjoyed? What would I do without trials & hardships in my family? What would I do if I didn't have a best friend at all?

I don't really know the answers to all of those questions but I do know this, I would never learn or grow. I would never appreciate the "easy" times. I would never be grateful for the little things that always make life good, like squishy hugs or toot kisses. I would never understand the true meaning of humility & compassion. I would never be able to say, "Snap out of it you big baby & look at everything you have to be grateful for!?!"

So right now I am screaming very loudly, "SNAP OUT OF IT!!!" I know things are getting better right now because I am in control & I choose to "snap out of it."

EDWARD & BELLA FOREVER

On Tuesday, August 26th I started reading Twilight. By the time Labor Day weekend was over I had finished New Moon. A few days later I had Eclipse under my belt. But Breaking Dawn took me a little longer than I had expected due to our new venture in Park City with Burns Saddlery. On Wednesday, September 10th at about 1:30 am I finally ended the story & what an addictive, awesome, compelling, thrilling, lovely story it was. Can I just say that I LOVED IT?!?!? Everything that I had heard was completely true. I couldn't put it down & when I did I was analyzing & thinking about what had happened & wondering what was going to happen. I don't know what took me so long but I'm certainly glad I took the time to read these books. They are definitely going down as some of my favorite of all times. Now I can't wait to see what Hollywood has done with this fabulous story. Yay!!!

NEW PLACE, NEW FACE, NEW STORE

It's finally official, Burns Saddlery is headed to Park City. On Wednesday, September 3rd Braydan headed up to sign the lease agreement for our new location. It is located on historic Park City Main Street, which we could not be more excited about. The building is also just down the street from the famous Egyptian Theatre, home of the Sundance Film Festival. What a prime location!!!

So for the last week we have spent almost every day at the new store tearing things apart & rebuilding them to our liking. Grandpa Wayland & Bryson spent three whole days ( I am dead serious about whole days, like 12-13 hours) covering two huge pillars in the center of the store with blue pine. Man do they look great!!! Braydan tore apart shelving, ripped off base boards, removed doors, & spackled walls during that time. My Mom, Andy (my mom's awesome friend who totally didn't have to come help at all), the girls, & I headed up Saturday morning to help out. We had to pick out paint colors which was no easy task because we want this place to be perfect. We finally figured it out & went to painting. We have been painting ever since but we are almost done. Yay!!!



We decided to come home last night to catch up on paper work, laundry, housework, sleep, etc., etc., etc.... I'm sure we won't be home for long though because we plan on opening up the new store in October. Whoa!! We have sooooo much to do. We are so grateful for the knowledge we have in the western industry, the opportunities we have been given to pursue our dream of making Burns Saddlery bigger & better, & of course being able to do it as a family. We are truely living the dream & loving every minute of it!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RY GUY!

Seven years ago our beautiful nation was in shock & disbelief by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I remember well, huddling around a television set watching the horror over & over in the waiting room of the Sevier Valley Medical Center while Destiny was in labor. After a long, hard labor Rylan Dan Crane was here, strong & healthy. He was truely a miricle, a happy place we could all run to in this devestating moment in history.

Rylan is such a joy to be around. His love of tractors, dirt, & power tools is very contagious. In fact he is very good at persuading people to let him do things in the dirt on a tractor with power tools. He is also the hardest working seven year old I have ever met. He is always cleaning stalls with Papa, shipping with his Dad, & building things with Grandpa Wayland. The boy has a "stick to it" attitude & doesn't quit until the job is finished.

We hope you've had a great day buddy. Happy 7th Birthday!!!

MY BIG GIRLS

It's official, my babies are growing up way to fast!!! First of all, Alivia is already three months old. She entertains the whole family with her constant gooing. Second, Addison started her first year of preschool yesterday & was such a big girl. Braydan & I were so proud of her. She didn't hesitate a bit at the door, in fact she ran right in & loved every minute of it. Third, Ainsley started her first day of preschool today. This year will be her last year of preschool before she is off to the "big" school, as she calls it. How time flies!!! I know that sounds totally cliche, but holy moly it's so true. I am truly grateful for my beautiful blessings. I love my girls & am so proud of them.

LOTS OF DIRT, LOTS OF FUN

On Friday, September 29th we went camping for the first time as a family this year (pathetic, I know). We cleaned, packed, & loaded up the trailer to escape the valley for a few days. It was sooo nice to get away from ringing phones, blaring televisions, & work. We all needed it & had a great time. Grandma Mick & Aunt Britt were able to come up on Saturday afternoon & stay until Sunday evening. Us girls were all reading a book out of the Twilight series, I started New Moon & they each started Twilight. Of course none of us could put them down, so needless to say we weren't a lively, fun bunch. It was sure nice to sit back with a good book & relax though. Grandpa Shaw, Bryson, & Brady also came up on Saturday afternoon. Braydan & the boys spent their mornings & evenings in the hills chasing "the big one". Unfortunately, none of them were to lucky but they had a good time anyway. Ainsley & Addison spent most of their time outside "treasure hunting", which actually meant wandering around camp to find anything & everything they thought was pretty, yucky, muddy, dirty, sticky, & so on. Each of them found a rusty old can to fill with dirty rocks, sticky pine cones, twigs, garbage, dirt, & of course pretty flowers. They were sooooo dirty!!! There was no lack of fun had by those two.

Alivia hung out in the trailer with me most of the time. She is so content & happy all the time. We hope we are able to go camping a little more often next year. It is definitely something our family loves to do.