This is a picture I took of Brody yesterday after Church. It was taken with my phone, so it's not the best quality, but I think he looks handsome anyway :)
Jared, Brody, and I drove down to my parent's house in Texas on Friday night. We got in about 3:30 in the morning but it was a pretty good trip. Brody didn't sleep nearly as much as he was supposed to, but it was okay. The next morning was a 5K race for Make a Wish Foundation that my family was involved in. For those of you that don't know, my family has been granted two wishes from this wonderful foundation: one in 1995 and the other this year. The one in 1995 was for my sister Ashley when she had cancer. The one this year (you probably read about it in a previous post) was for my niece Kaylee (who my parents have guardianship of) who has congenital heart defects that are life-threatening. So, we have been greatly blessed by this foundation and wanted to give back. My Mom, Dad, Kaylee, and Cheyenne all walked the one mile fun walk and I ran the 5K. We raised some money and helped the North Texas Chapter grant more wishes for other families in this area.
Just a quick note on Make A Wish Foundation. There was a group there that was called "Caitlyn's Team". Caitlyn was 4, and at the end of August they found out she had an inoperable brain tumor that was wrapped around her spine. The Dr. called the Make A Wish Foundation and told them they were in need of a "rush" wish. By September 5th they were at Disneyworld in Florida. This little girl (and her older sister who is 7) got to spend a week doing what we did: forgetting about sickness, possible death, etc. and just be a little kid. Her Dad got up and said that was the most fun his daughter had ever had. On October 2nd Caitlyn passed away, just a month before her 5th birthday. So in this short period of time that her family had left with her they were able to have a bonding experience as a family that they will never forget because of this wonderful foundation. We are so grateful to still have the members of our family that were (and are) faced with illness, but I know there are many families that can't say that. So I guess it was just an emotional day for us to reflect on the experiences we've had as a family because of Make a Wish and be grateful for the blessings that we have to all still be here together. If you ever are inclined to donate to a great cause, that's one that I'm a big believer in. Okay, that's enough of my soapbox for the day on that, I just felt like I couldn't write this post without mentioning that. On to our pictures. (you can click on any of them to make them bigger...I finally figured out how to do that!)
This picture is misleading. If you are wondering why everyone is huddling the wrong way at the finish line, it's because the finish line doubled as the start line :) I just think it makes the picture look funny. I'm in there somewhere. Actually under the S, but you'd need a magnifying glass to see it, so you probably shouldn't try :)
This is of me as I'm almost to the finish line. I finished in 26 minutes which isn't great, but it was good for me. Seeing as last Thanksgiving when I ran the 5K Turkey Trot with Jared's family I finished in 38 minutes, it was definitely an improvement (granted I had just had a C-section 3 months before, so I wasn't exactly in peak physical shape). I'm just glad I beat the tall guy behind me. I was racing with him for quite a while.
This is my Dad, Cheyenne, Kaylee, and my Mom as they are almost to the finish line. Way to go guys!! I think my mom was pulling Kaylee by this point, but she finished! Way to go Kaylee! :)
This was actually before the race started. You can't really tell, but it was extremely cold outside. I know, you'd think Texas wouldn't be too bad, but I think it was only 32 degrees right then.
There was also face painting. Cheyenne wanted to be a wolf (her favorite animal right now) and I think the lady did a great job. When we got home Brody just stared at her! It was too funny. Kaylee was a princess. They are both holding the balloons they had made. It was so much fun!
Oh, this picture is out of order, but it's pretty funny. My Dad apparently thought he was going to die on the walk.
haha Kaylee thought he was funny!
His hair is looking more and more like his Dads :)
Brody, Grandma Burden, and I at the Los Angeles Temple
Brody liked to try and kiss Mickey's singers :) (or eat the light, I'm not quite sure which)
I think he really enjoyed having someone his own size. He'd wave to them every time he walked by
Now, I'm not typically a car person, but my uncle got a really cool car that I didn't know even existed in real life (I tend to think of them just as little figures that little boys play with). It's a Ford GT and it was so much fun to ride in. I can honestly say I have never received that much attention while driving around. I thought it was funny how short it was...I'm not very tall and I had to almost sit on the ground to get in it.
Brody took driving it very seriously. Uncle Jon was very kind to let Brody sit in it and play with the steering wheel and gear shifter.
Brody has been a real car guy lately. He loves his little cars and apparently likes real ones to!
Sorry, I know enough with the car pictures, but it's just so cool! This is Uncle Jon making his way out of the driveway....
Before we went to California we went to our Ward's Breakfast with Santa. Brody sat on Santa's lap and got a candy cane. He wasn't a huge fan, just because he really doesn't like sitting when we've let him run around for a while. We had lots of fun, though, and it was a great way to kick off the holidays for us. This is Brody with Santa...
One last picture for this post. I find Brody in his room a lot, on top of the arm of the glider we have in his room, peering out the window with his nose pressed to it. He loves being outside and he loves looking outside when he can't go out. We had just had a snow storm, so Brody was very curious why all the cars and road were white. He stayed like this for quite some time and had a very cold little nose when he was done!
