Blog much?

First off I must say I am such a hypocrite. I follow many blogs and I always get so frustrated when people don't update their blogs. Doesn't everyone know I need something to read when I am slow at work? But I can't be mad at everyone else because I NEVER blog anymore. So here is to starting over and blogging more. I have not posted anything in such a long time that it would be next to impossible to go back through the last year. So I will start with things now...

Lexi is in her first year of Kindergarten and every day she comes up with a different excuse as to why she shouldn't go to school. I cannot find the nerve to tell her that it only gets worse year after year. LOL She only goes 3 hours a day and she hates it! She thinks she is missing out on play time when she is at school. Lexi also started dance classes this year and she loves it! We have her in a class that is for 3-5 year olds and her little friend Maddi is in there with her. Lexi is so tall that she stuck out a little more than some of the girls in the recital but there is nothing wrong with that. Lexi is a great big sister to Maylie and sometimes a second Mom. I have to remind her that I am the Mom and if she is doing something naughty than I will handle it. It is great to have such a big helper. We are proud of Lexi and everything that she has learned and accomplished.

Maylie is officially one and a half and FULL of energy. She makes us laugh every day with her silly faces and jiberish. Maylie loves animals and she will chase Remington down and squeeze him and love him all day long. We are lucky we have such a tolerable dog. Maylie has started repeating a lot of words and it has been fun to see her personality really starting to shine through. It has become a full time job running after her and cleaning the toys up she leaves behind her. She has mastered all of the child proof locks so we have to keep a really close eye on her. Maylie has a crazy sleeping pattern that keeps the whole family on their toes. She goes through phases of sleeping through the night for a few weeks and then she goes back to waking up at midnight and four AM and will only sleep in our bed at other times. It can be exhausting waking up with her at night and then working the next day but we wouldn't trade her for anything.

As for Brody and I we just celebrated our 6Th year wedding anniversary. We celebrated by staying home for 2 days because the whole house (ourselves included) had a terrible flu. It was not the best way to celebrate but at least we got to be sick together. HA HA. We are both working full time and anxiously awaiting spring time and all the wonderful things it brings with it, racing camping, swimming, birthdays etc.

Here are a few randoms pictures taken with my phone so they are not the best quality but it's better than nothing.

Maylie playing in Lexi's bed. Photo taken by Lexi herself.

This is a RARE occasion. Maylie hates the bath never does she sit down in the tub she has to stand up or we have nothing but tears the entire time.

We went to the Car Show and had Lexi's face painted.

Lexi and her friend Maddi at their dance recital.

Ava, Swoop, and Lexi at the U of U Red Rocks gymnastics meet.

Lexi at her 1st day of Kindergarten.

Maylie's Earings

I took Maylie to get her ears pierced a couple weeks ago and I felt so bad for her. She was not a fan of being held down but within a few minutes after they were pierced she was just fine.

Maylie a few days before she had them pierced.

And an after picture. Apparently may likes to make this funny face.

If you do not want to see the super sad pictures of the process do not scroll down any further.

the first earing....

and the second.

Swimming

This summer has been so busy already but it has been so fun going to the pool. We will go swimming any chance that we get and Tara and Cory have invited us over to Corys parents house a couple times for swimming. Lexi loves going there because then she gets to swim with her best friends Carter and Ava.

Maylie and Daddy

Carter, Ava and Lexi swimming

Lexi has her eyes closed in this picture but its still cute.

Campbell Racing Team

Racing..... For those of you know know Brody well you know that he has had racing in his blood since he was born. All Campbell descendants have loved racing and it has been a hobby in their family for years. It started with Brody's grandpa Ray Campbell and then they whole family grew to enjoy it. This year Ray gave his permission for Mike Campbell (Brody's uncle) and Brody to take his old race car out to the track and race it. Brody and Mike spent a couple weeks getting the car ready to race again and they took it out to the track on June 10Th and took it for a few good runs. Mike Campbell took it down the track for the first time in 7 years. Next up was Brody and he was so nervous nothing he had ever raced before could compare to the power that Ray's Nova has. Brody did great and it was so neat to watch and I was so proud of him. He was able to get 2 shots at the quarter mile before it was time for eliminations. Brody was eliminated on the first round from getting a red light. For those of you who are not sure what that means, In a nutshell he went too soon and he only went 0.01 seconds too soon. You can not red light any less than that and had he waited 0.01 seconds he would have had a perfect light and received $100. Everyone was so proud of him for only being in the drivers seat twice before and doing so well. I have a feeling that this summer we will be spending a lot more time out at the race track. If anyone would like to join us please come out and support Brody and Mike in their love for racing, we would love to see you all out there. We had a few other people that were out at the track that first night but I am not sure how they were able to hide all night from the camera. Those who were present but not pictured...My mom, Phil, Ben, Josh, Letty and our precious Maylie.

I found this gem online and I am wishing that Michelle will do her hair like this again for old times sake. Pretty please Shelly????

Michelle and Syndal on the left. Mike Harris (Brody's dad) and Brody on the right. Brody and Syndal raced the juniors when they were younger along with their cousin Taylor. they always talk about letting Lexi race when she is older and I'm not so sure about it..... lol

Ray Campbell racing before he had his car painted purple the color it is now.

Mike Campbell in his race car.

From left to right, Aunt Tracie, Aunt Syndal, Lexi and Maddi. Enjoying some snacks and a little sun between runs.

Heather and baby Nolan.

Brody's wonderful grandpa Ray.

Me and Brody in the staging lanes. waiting for his turn

Brody's amazing mom Michelle. I made her take this picture and she just might kill me for posting it but its too funny not to share. Thanks for being a great sport Shelly.

Lexi and Maddi. These two are so darling together. Maddi is our good friends Josh and Heathers oldest and we just love her.

Aunt Syndal & Adam

Me and Syndal

I want to give a special thank you to Ray for allowing Brody and Mike to race the car this year and to Mike Campbell for helping Brody get the car ready, teaching him special tricks of the trade, spending so much time and money out at the track. This has been so much fun for the family to do together and it means so much to us.

These Days...

Since my last update we have had a lot of fun. We went to Las Vegas for the drag races and we decided to bring the girls along this year. Lexi was so excited to go and we told her all about the fun things there and she made a calendar to count down the the day that we left. Packing for a family of 4 is A LOT of stuff. We had the jeep packed so full and it was not the funnest car ride for me but the girls did great. 2 of the days that we were down there Brody went to the races and I stayed behind to play with the girls. Then on the last day of the races I tagged along with Brody while Clint, Jenna and Addi watched the girls for us. (thanks again guys!) Since we got back from Vegas we have just been playing at home. I hope you enjoy the pics below...

Maylie at the Red & White Utah Utes football game.

Lexi & May hanging by the pool in Vegas.

Swimming in the pool.

The girls in their matching outfits that we bought and then Lexi wanted to dance around all day in her dress.

We went to the Coke Factory and tasted flavors of soda from around the world. This is a MUST in Vegas. It is hilarious! Here is 1 of Brody as he tasted some.

One of Ben as he tries the worst one.... Beverly! Consider yourself warned.

Lexi even hates it and this girl likes most anything.

We had to get our pictures taken with Buzz & Woody because she wanted to show Carter and Ava when we got home.

Brody's parents were down in Vegas the same weekend but for the Celine Dion concert with Michelle's best friend Sandy and her fiance David. So we met up at Margaritaville for some dinner. As you can see in this picture Maylie is at the stage where she grabs everything she sees and she is always struggling to get away. That baby wants to be mobile already.

Mommy and Lexi at Margaritaville.

Mommy, Daddy, Maylie and Lexi.

The NHRA drag races.

Races again...

Lexi when she fell asleep at Rainforest cafe. The picture below was only taken about 15 minutes prior to her falling asleep.

The family at dinner in the MGM Grand after we saw the lions.

Swimming before we headed home.

Lexi sleeping in the car.

Maylie after playing Pretty Pretty Princess with Mommy and Lexi.

Lexi right before Kindergarten Orientation. She was so excited and we got to meet 3 out of the 4 teachers that will be teaching next year.

And then the most recent event in our house. Our 2 sickies.... Brody got food poisoning from some chicken that was not cooked all the way and then maylie was sick for a little bit as well. They are both well now and happy as ever.

Update

It has been a really really long time since I have updated the blog but it has been so hard for me to find the time to get around to it and I knew that I was going to have a HUGE post to catch up and it was not something that I was looking forward to. The last time I updated was right before Halloween and a few days after that post I was laid off from my job that I had been at for 4 years. It was a surprise to us but looking back now I think, how did I not see it coming? There were things that had happened that should have been red flags but I never really took the time to think about until after the fact. There are things that I wish I could have changed and I wish I had more time to prepare for it but things happen in life that you can’t control and as hard as it was and sometimes still is all you can do is land on your feet and keep moving forward. Which is exactly what I tried to do… I went on a job search and thanks to some friends I was able to hear of a job opening at another mortgage company. I applied for the job, went in for an interview and a few days later received a job offer. Even though I was able to land a job only 2 weeks after I was laid off, the last few months in life have taught me SO much. I have grown closer to Brody and cannot be more grateful for him. We just celebrated our 5 year anniversary and the last 5 years have been incredible. He has been such a great husband. He helped support our family while I was on maternity leave and then again a few weeks later when I got laid off and then again with Christmas. He also has been a great help with both kids as we adjust to having 2 kids instead of just Lexi. He has been the greatest dad, son, brother, husband, friend, neighbor, co-worker etc. to everyone he knows. I am sure anyone will tell you that they can always go to Brody when they need help with just about anything and he will be there for them. It is so nice to have a husband who works hard and is so willing to help when needed and can fix just about anything. I have also learned to not worry about the small stuff in life. Who cares if I have dishes that need to be washed…what matters most to me are my kids. I want to spend as much time with them as I can because I know how fast they grow up and I want to be a part of their greatest memories as they grow up. Lexi will be starting Kindergarten this fall and I feel such a mix of emotions. I am so excited for her to start a new chapter of her life and to make so many friends but at the same time I am sad that I can’t be there with her. Our Lexi is getting so big and she makes us so proud. Lexi has been the best big sister to our sweet baby Maylie. Lexi can make Maylie laugh any time, any day. There are times that I will try to get May to giggle and she just won’t until she sees Lexi. Maylie is now 5 months old (almost 6) and she is so fun. Maylie can roll over now both ways and she has 2 (yes you read that right…2) teeth. My kids have taken after their mother and they get their teeth early. At the age of 4 months I had 4 teeth, YIKES! Maylie is in the 20th % for her weight and height but you would never know it with the size of her fat rolls on her legs. That girl can eat…. We started giving her rice cereal and she just can’t seem to eat it fast enough. She has the tendency to cry between bites because you cannot get another bite for her quick enough. Some things that we have done over the past few months in no particular order include; play dates with friends (ours and the kids), birthday parties, adventures at bouncing off the walls and chucky E cheese, doctor appointments, dentist appointments, thanksgiving, shopping trips, Christmas, bowling, New Years, dinners at the grandparents, Valentine’s Day, Celebrating 5 years of marriage and last but not least my sister Jackie getting engaged! We are so excited for her and her fiancé Jon. He is a great guy and we are excited to welcome him into the family. I have a feeling the rest of this year will be just as busy and exciting with vacations, weddings, birthdays and everything else that comes along….Bring on the fun! I will post pictures as soon as I get them off my camera but here is one off of my phone so it is not the greatest but you need to have something cute to look at.

Papa Martin's Halloween Party

We went up to my dad's house for a Halloween Party and it was a lot of fun. Lexi was so excited to go up there and then once we got there she was really shy for a while but once she warmed up to everyone she did great. Lexi is a witch and her baby sister is her black cat. They looked so cute. Thanks for having us up Dad!

Sisters

My cute little witch

Maylie, Lexi & Papa Martin