Duck Hunt

Remember the good ole days when playing nintendo didn't make you car sick....

...and you had to get 3 inches from the television screen to shoot all those pesky ducks?

I miss being a kid.

Happy Birthday to Craig!

Today is a special day, it is Craig's 16th birthday!!!
That's right, you heard correctly ladies, Craigo is legal so save a spot on your dance cards!


(ask your parents what dance cards are if you're not sure)


In answer to you question, "Has Craig always been so handsome?" you can see below that yes, yes he has.

Craig has many fine attributes that make him quite awesome....

He is well dressed, as seen pictured here at our reception where he was a ton of help.


He is mysterious. You may think you know Craig, but he is like parfait, with many many layers.



He knows how to kick back and relax after a party.


He is warm and affectionate.

And what fair maiden can resist a strong California surfer dude?



We hope you had a Merry Happy Birthday Craig, we think you are a pretty awesome guy and we're lucky to have you as a brother!

Seven Wonders of My World

My sister chose me, so now I get to reveal seven little known facts about myself:

1. I have a pretty good nose and I hate everything that stinks. I can usually be found complaining about something that smells bad, to the dismay of Sam. If its not him its the trash, sink, Pleasant Grove, Happy Sumo, or some other form of awfulness around me. Everyone may think I will change my mind, but there will be no pets in this house. Children and husbands are all the stinky odor I can handle.

2. Counteracting my hatred for stink is my love for pleasant aromas. When I was a teenager I lit a candle in my room and almost burned our house down. It ruined the bed, carpet, wall, window treatments, and left a few burn marks on my parents and blanket. If my parents weren't quick thinkers in emergency situations it would have been really bad.

3. I don't usually make my bed in the morning, but at night, before I go to sleep I become a nazi about making the sheets straight and not bunchy. I have been known to wake up a sleeping Sam in a near panic because the mattress pad and sheets have started to pop off the mattress. I force him out of bed and make him help me fix and make the bed so the sheets and blankets are all perfectly straight and pulled tight.

4. When we were growing up my brother, sisters and I all had an agent that would send us on acting jobs. We were extras in a lot of commercials, television shows and movies in the 1990's. We all had a lot of fun missing school and being on the sets, until one Doritos commercial rolled around on the same day as my fifth grade Christmas party. For some reason I had my heart set on going to the party, so after a night full of arguing and fighting I refused to show up for the job, went to that silly Christmas party, and got my entire family fired.

5. I get a little crazy when it comes to brushing my teeth. I love having a clean mouth and and minty fresh teeth, but I usually get carried away and make myself gag, a lot. Not too long ago I apparently tried to brush my tonsils, and set my gag reflex off so badly I ended up barfing. It happened so suddenly I mostly missed the inside of the toilet, but did a good job of getting all around it. Luckily I have a sweet Sam who sent me out of the bathroom so the smell didn't make me vomit again, and he cleaned up my entire chunky mess. Needless to say it was pretty counter productive because I had to brush my teeth all over again to get the throw up taste out of my mouth.

6. I have always wanted to work for the CIA. My freshman year of college I used to watch alias in my dorm with my suite mate, and we would dream of what it would be like to be an international spy. The closest I will probably ever get was the day I went to work with my Dad. I pretended to be the girlfriend of one of my Dad's detectives. We pulled into a little corner shopping center where I jumped out of the car and broke up with him very loudly. I started walking away and he followed me, yelling back. People were running out of the shops and watching our huge scene. As we rounded the corner of the next block my Dad came flying up the street in his police car; we jumped in and next thing I know we are back in the parking lot, cops everywhere with their guns out, arresting two guys for trying to steal the car. It was such an adrenaline rush and one of the best days ever.

7. When it comes to sports and games I get very competitive and am a pretty sore loser. When we first got married Sam introduced me to a little game called Dr. Mario, and I became addicted fast. I have been known to force Sam to play with me for hours, until both of our heads are spinning and eyes are seeing weird colors. On one particular night I could not, for the life of me, beat Sam and I got so angry. Sam was so over the game, but I refused to let him stop until I legitimately won. The poor little guy fell asleep with the controller in his hand in the middle of the game and I had to keep kicking him awake because I did not want my win to be against a sleeping opponent.

All right, so there you have it, seven random things about me. Now I get to pick seven people to reveal their seven random stories. I choose......

Sam
Jana
Bianca
Shea
Liz
Meg
Makell

Bean Museum Adventure

In answer to all of your questions: Yes, the Bean Museum is still standing and it is as glorious as ever.

For our weekly adventure with cute little Wade we headed over to BYU to look at all the dead stuffed animals from all over the world. It is pretty creepy, and after looking at the bug section I don't know if I want to go to Africa anymore, but we had a lot of fun.

Wade was pretty mesmerized by the bugs, and he was pretty good with their names.



I, on the other hand, was grossed out and kept contemplating how fast I would be able to run if there every came a day that I saw one of these nasty things alive.



Sam was pretty busy pretending to be a bear...



...and practicing his modeling poses.

Wade loved the cougar eating the bird: blood, guts and all.

Leave it to Sam to always try to get his head stuck in everything:)

It took a little coaxing, but we finally managed to get Wade to sit next to me to take this picture. If you can't tell by his face, he was a little alarmed by the rhinos.



And lastly, i'm not sure what Sam is looking at, but it must be very interesting.

I'll be honest, I am not a big animal lover. I don't care much for the dirty or the stinky. So thank goodness for a Sam and a Wade who kept me entertained and laughing.

How Serious is Frost Bite?

A few specs on Sam's vehicle:

Its name is yoshi
It is very fuel efficient
Its top speed is about 35 mph (38 with a strong tail wind)
It has free air conditioning, whether you want it or not
Parking is never a problem (usually)



Unfortunately for Sam we live in Utah, not California, so even though he bought it in the summer, its still his method of transportation in the winter.

A few specs on the outfit:

Hat: $1.00 at the lost and found sale
Blue Coat: $Free because someone left it at his house
Black Coat Underneath: $6.00 at the lost and found sale
Warm Ups: $Free from "work"
Moccasins: $10.00 at the mall
Gloves: $Free because he has a good friend Eric that cares
Sunglasses: $0.50 at the lost and found sale



The reason for this purchase was strictly economical:

The Moto Ped: $900.00
Gas: $1.57 for 100 miles
Insurance for the year: $80.00
Outfit so he doesn't die: $17.50
The look on Sam's face when he gets home from that 7 mile ride from school: Priceless

I think I'll stick with my car...

Another Merry Birthday Shout Out

Today's Birthday shout out goes to Cory Lynn Braden, or in Sam's words, Pops!

I think this picture is pretty good proof of where Sam gets his black hair and blue eyes.

This is a cute picture of little "scampers" sitting next to his Dad on what I am pretty sure is the same brown couch we had in my house in the late 80's.

Such cute little kids. Jana looks like a little doll.

A nice shot of the boys, pre quinner-binner of course.

I already mentioned the black hair and blue eyes, but it looks like I also found the source for his rugged beard :)

The annual Braden Christmas get together always involves delicious food and entertaining athletic competitions. From what I understand Quinn, Cody, and Sam still have not found a single sport they can beat their Pops at.

This must be where Quinn developed his strong work ethic that he is using now in the mission field.

Sam's told me a few fishing stories about Parkcenter Pond and Silver Creek Plunge, but he never mentioned catching anything this big!

A great Dad, and now, thanks to Jana (and Chuck), a great Grandpa.

We hope you have a wonderful Birthday. We love you!

Jana's Birthday Shout Out

As many of you know, today is a special day. It is Jana's Birthday!

Since we think she is so great we felt the need to share a small tribute of her life to the world, or at least the folks that frequent this site.
(disclaimer: any and all stories referenced earlier than 2006 are from the sole memory of Sam and may or may not be true)

Look at those beautiful baby blues.



When Jana was little and you needed to find her, all you would have to do was listen for the sweet sound of her singing. It didn't matter if she was playing with dolls, making young quinnton play school with her, or doing her chores, (Which Sam says she mostly got out of because she was the only girl) she would always carry a merry tune.

Jana was fortunate enough to have three brothers to tease, annoy, poke, and in those important instances, look out for and protect her.

We aren't sure what the camera man said right before this picture was snapped, but we are pretty sure it was not "cheese." Whatever it was, it had a drastic, yet opposite effect on Jana and Quinn.

It may be hard for you to see Jana in this next picture because she is camouflaged, but if you look carefully for a cute seven month pregnant lady, wearing blue ear muffs, and firing off a black revolver you might be able to spot her.

So my first trip to Boise to meet Sam's family fell on the Labor Day weekend when Clyde was born. I had a lot of fun getting to know Jana very well as I sat in her hospital room with her for six hours while Sam left us to go play soccer with Quinn and Curtis.

Fortunatley for both of us, this picture was not taken during those six hours.

One thing I know for sure is that there are three boys who are very lucky to have Jana in their lives, and we are pretty happy about it too.

Happy Birthday Jana!!!! We love you and hope you have a wonderful day!!!

I Hate the Cold

I am ready for it to be warm again.......



....and for a few oranges off the tree.

Is it Biological Springtime Already?!

To Whom it May Concern:

It has come to my attention that at some point in the past several days I must have inadvertently come into close proximity with cupid, and am now carrying some of his magical power. I know this because of the excessive amount of pda that I am encountering everywhere I go on campus. Each time I have sat down in a computer lab since Monday there has been a couple sitting across from me who have apparently never been more in love at any point in there relationship then they are right then. I don't know how cupid tolerates it, I'm sure he must throw up a lot, because I know I am about to(I seriously just witnessed an ear nibble between the two monitors behind mine, they are close enough that I could reach out and give either one of them a fearsome wet-willy). At least Cupid gets to shoot people with arrows, I only wish I had a few right now...

Identity Crisis

So on my wedding day I was pretty sure I married Samuel Taylor Braden.

It was a very happy day.

(the following is a serious conversation I had with my husband, with a little commentary by me)

But I was recently informed (by Sam) that I am in fact married to........

Special Agent Jack Bauer during the day...

...even though Sam detests pain and admits he would spill his deepest secrets to avoid a proper noogie.

Batman at night...



....although he's got the voice down, he would definitely have to find a way to stay awake, with the ability to function like a human being, past 10:30pm.

And the transporter when we are on vacation....



Because lets face it, he is one heck of a good driver, most of the time.

So looks like its a 3 for 1 package! Who would have ever guessed how lucky I would get?

(I give it three weeks till he sees a new super hero movie and changes his mind again.)