Friday Foto: Costco Cuties

My grocery shopping buddies.

 Doesn't Cam look cute sitting up like a big boy in there? 

Also love how you can totally tell these two are related ; )

p.s. 15 minutes into shopping Cam decided he was done with the cart. He threw his head backwards and arched his back, screaming till I took him out. I had to lug that 20 lb beefcake around the store in one arm while pulling the cart with the other. Thought my arm was going to fall off! Probably won't try the cart thing again till noodle boy gets more comfortable holding his giant head up by himself ; )

Friday Foto: It's hard being the little sister

Poor Brinley is getting to that age where she wants to do EVERYTHING her big sister is doing but she's still a little too young.

Last week when Teya and I were getting ready to go on our Mommy/Daughter date she was trying to get into the pictures but mean old mom scooted her out.

She gave me a look that went something like this:

Don't worry Brinley, someday you'll get to do big girl things too : )

Friday Foto: Decisions decisions....

This picture is a flashback to 2005 when Taber was applying to MBA schools. He had been accepted to Notre Dame so we flew out there to check out the campus. Here he is standing in front of the famous Grotto

We loved the campus and decided that's where we wanted to go. We told everyone, they even published it in the school newspaper where I worked, "Mrs. Rigg moving to South Bend!"

But the BYU option kept coming back to us. We'd already been there for undergrad and it just didn't sound that exciting or adventurous to go back. But he was accepted there and they offered him a scholarship, hard to turn down. I finally agreed to fly out to Utah and check out the program with him. We went on a great tour and at the end it just felt so right. Looking back I can see why that was the best option. I ended up getting pregnant and don't know what I would've done without my family nearby to help with the baby after I had to go back to work. My sister also got cancer and I was so glad we were in Utah and close by to help out and support her through that. So many wonderful experiences came from choosing to go to BYU. It's funny how clear it is looking at it all in hindsight, but I remember at the time how agonizing making that decision was. Thank goodness for prayer and the spirit to comfort us when we're stepping out into the unknown.

Friday Foto: Moon Face

So this last week we've been in Utah with my family and I've been able to look at a lot of funny old pics of growing up. Here's a little treasure. The chubby moon faced two year old is me, and the chubby squishy baby is my little sister Naomi. I was obviously thrilled to take this picture. I'm gonna have to scan a bunch of the other gems I found and post them in later Friday Foto ops because it's really almost criminal to see some of the hair cuts my parents subjected me to. Anyway, love being with family right now and will be sad when it's time to go. : (

Friday Foto: Who needs Super Nanny?

Behold the hypnotic and calming power of Baby Einstein.

Note: I didn't even set them up like that. Turned on the video, walked out of the room, came back and this is what I found. Entertains all ages!

Friday Foto: 2 1/2 years ago...

A lot can happen in just 2 and 1/2 years.

Things that have changed since this picture was taken:

1) Taber is no longer a grad student
2) We don't live in my sister's basement anymore (where this pic was taken)
3) My sister doesn't even own that house anymore
4) My handsome nephew Devin, who was a freshman at BYU at the time, is now a handsome return missionary.
5) Teya can talk, has longer hair, doesn't suck a binky, doesn't sleep in a crib, is potty trained, and is now a big sister!

Things that are the same:

1) Taber still wears that shirt
2) We still cheer for the cougars
3) Devin is still a stud
4) Teya still has that adorable smile
5) and she still LOVES wearing footie pajamas.

Wonder what the next 2 1/2 years will bring...

Friday Foto: Alaska Grown

Taber got on a missing Alaska kick the other night so I thought I'd put up some good old AK pics. His parents don't live there anymore so we don't go back as much, but we did go 2 years ago when Teya was Brinley's age. Crazy thing about that first picture is you'd think it was taken in the middle of winter but that was actually taken in May!

Here's one more from that trip. I had to throw it in because Brinley is now rockin' the same sprout hair do that Teya did at her age!

Friday Foto (and video!)

Today's Friday Foto is from earlier this week when Teya had her very first visit to the Dentist. Doesn't she look so grown up in that chair? I can hardly stand it! She was so brave and did a great job.

Sadly she does have a cavity that we're going to have to get filled. I think it has to do with the fact that she hated brushing her teeth when she was little. We'd have to pin her down and she'd scream, kick, writhe and cry. It was so horrible that being a light weight 1st time mom I might've just skipped it a couple times. Luckily now she's a great brusher and the good news is she's taught Brinley to love brushing her teeth as well. So even though Brinley is pretty much guaranteed to need braces (the poor dear has her mother's crooked teeth) I don't think she'll have any cavities, at least not when she's three.

Here is a great video of the girls brushing their teeth together. Brinley spits and everything, all thanks to the good example of her big sissy. Gotta love the persuasive power of older siblings!

Friday Foto

I picked this one because I'm kind of missing my long hair today. Change is good, but I don't think I'll be able to braid it like this again for a LONG LONG TIME.

Friday Foto

In honor of the fast approaching football season. Go Cougs!

Friday Foto

Yesterday we had a grocery shopping breakthrough. Brinley is now big enough that the girls can ride in what I like to call, the Cadillac cart. This thing is huge and a pain to push but I can't believe how much smoother shopping went. Usually shopping brings on one, or more of the following problems with Teya:

1) tantrum because she wants to sit in the little kid seat part where Brinley is.
2) tantrum because when I stick her in the big part of the basket, she can't stand it when the groceries start touching her. "Ouch! Move them mom! This is my seat! Ahhhhh!!!"
3) tantrum because after taking her out of the basket to avoid the groceries touching her, she wants back in.
4) frantic moments of panic when she decides that being out of the basket is a good time to run like a wild animal all over the store or play hide and seek.

All these problems were solved with the Cadillac cart. No jealousy of the kid seat because they're both sitting in the same part together. Groceries don't touch her and she has no desire to run around the store because she's having so much fun in her special seat with Brins. So for now, we seem to have a good handle on the grocery shopping scene. At least until we decide to have another kid, then I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do!

Friday Foto(s)

Yesterday I got on a big reminiscing kick of our days at BYU. One of the highlights was dancing in Living Legends. We both danced in the Native section and got to learn a lot more about our Native American Cultures. I'm part Choctaw and Taber is part Kiowa Apache. While we were in the group we got to tour in San Francisco, Washington DC, Alaska and New Mexico. Taber was in the group for a year before I joined and he was able to dance in the opening ceremonies for the 2002 Olympics and the Light of the World production put on at the conference center in Salt Lake. Anyway, I found this picture and thought it would be perfect for a Friday Foto. Then I found a bunch more so I'm putting those in too : )

Taber and I after one of our shows.

We're on the far right in this picture (he's in the blue)

Taber and our friend Chauma acting as head man and head woman at the BYU pow wow during their senior year.

Taber doing the hoop dance.
He tried to teach me how to do it but I only ever got up to 5 hoops (he dances with 21)

Since graduating we've gone to a few pow wow's and Taber's done the hoop dance at various talent shows for church and in grad school. Lately though we haven't been doing much to keep up with it (or expose our girls to it) So now I'm feeling inspired to at least take them to a pow wow so they can get in touch with the part of their background (tiny though it may be) that happens to be Native American.

Friday Foto!

Okay, so I'm copying this idea from my brother Chris, who posts a random photo with a fun story every Friday. I like his idea so much that I thought I'd do it too.

Today's photo brings us back to 1983. My mom had scheduled an appointment to have the children's picture taken professionally. She couldn't be there and asked my dad to get us ready. As a mother myself, I know what getting kids ready for a photo shoot takes. Baths, hair styling, accessorizing, coordinating outfits, etc... But I guess my Dad didn't get the preparation memo because he just brought us to the studio as we were. My mom was furious at the time, but looking back, how can you not love the candid snapshot that was captured that day? My favorite details are our messy hairdos, the fact that I'm just wearing overalls with no shirt underneath, and that he brought Naomi (the baby) in nothing but a dirty onsie. No pants, no shoes, not even socks! Bless you Dad for undertaking such a tremendous task on your own. I have a hard time getting my 2 kids ready for pictures, let alone 4! You did good and I have to say, I think the picture turned out perfectly!