Our Trip to Oakley and Family

A Year Older

Thanks for the many birthday wishes I received! I can hardly believe another birthday has come and gone. I've gotten over the shock that I am now 26. I really don't mind it. I feel like I am in the prime of life. There are so many fun opportunities and endeavors coming up. 2009 will be the year of change for the Bradshaw family, but I'm definately looking forward to it.

My nephew Colton and I had very close birthdays. He turned 2!

He could blow out 1 candle at a time. Me and his mom (in the pic) helped blow out the rest!

Cute Cake Grandma Bradshaw made for us!

Not only was it my birthday but also the 6 month mark (27 weeks) of our pregnancy. I'm starting to pop out a bit!

Viva Las Vegas

I hope all of you had a great New Years. I always love setting new goals and having a new determination to achieve them. We spent New Years up at Midway (near Park City) with our friends David and Becky. Both Becky and I are pregnant and due 10 days apart, both of us also having our first child. It was really fun to hang out, play games, and fall asleep on the couch before midnight! Don't worry, we woke up in time to see the ball drop! We met up with friends Rode and Katie for breakfast the next morning. They live in Heber and just had the sweetest baby girl Olivia in July. Thanks you guys for a fun New Years!

On January 1st, we continued our vacation by driving down to Vegas. Benj and I decided to have one last getaway before baby Bradshaw comes. We knew we couldn't afford anything to extravagant, so we decided on sunny, warm Las Vegas! It's a 6-hour drive, but I think I did pretty well! Our baby has found my ribs now, so he had a fun time kicking those. It doesn't hurt (yet) but it does tickle. :)

Here are a few pictures from our trip:

At the Bellagio. The Christmas display was amazing!

M&M World. I love this place! We saw a 3D movie too. This is probably the only place I would feel comfortable taking my kids to.

Me trying to pose. I think I have a bigger belly that the M&M!

The Rainforest Cafe in MGM.


Benj has seen the real thing, but this is the closest I've ever been to going to New York!

We had to try the famous In-N-Out Burger. It was fine, but Pace's is definately better!

The biggest highlight was seeing a Cirque de Soleil show called KA. It was INCREDIBLE! This is in front of the theater.

Since we couldn't take pictures, here are a few images from KA:

Also in the MGM. These were real poinsettas. I'm so lucky to have shared a trip with my handsome hubby!

Christmas Cheer at 24 Weeks

A few highlights from Christmas:

Savior of the World at the Conference Center

Colton's favorite toy

Cameron's reindeer grin

A cute, little reindeer

24 Weeks - Christmas Eve

I loved Christmas, but it was definately busy! Between shopping at the last minute, family Christmas parties, and bad weather, I was ready to rest after my vacation! I'm heading to Las Vegas for the weekend. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

3 Years Ago

On a Saturday morning 3 years ago, December 16th, I woke up just like any other day. Benj and I were dating long distance (he was in Bountiful and I was in Logan), and I would stay at his house over the weekends. After getting up, Benj asked me what I wanted to do that day. I asked him the same question. He said something like, "Mmmm, I don't know." After breakfast, he told me he had an idea but wouldn't tell me what we were going to do.
We left the house and he started driving toward West Bountiful. I pointed out an airplane overhead, not knowing that minutes later we would turn into an airport parking lot. He told me that we were going for a ride for an early Christmas present. Yes, I was starting to wonder it this was THE day. I started getting really excited. The secretary casually said there was a plane waiting for us, and we got into a little 4-seater plane. Our pilot was making polite conversation as I kept looking outside for a "sign".
We were able to see Benj's house, the Bountiful golf course, and the Bountiful temple. It had just snowed so it was beautiful and white. Benj had a video camera out (yes, that was a good hint). I wasn't seeing any sign on the rooftops and the pilot started us back to the airport. I truly started thinking, "I guess this WAS just an early Christmas present."
As we started descending, the pilot told me to look out my opposite window. I was shocked to see a red sign saying WILL YOU MARRY ME right along the runway. Benj's sister, mom, nephew and our 2 friends Tony and Chris were waving both arms as we flew by! Truth be told I didn't see all of the sign and we were going so fast I couldn't make out who the people were! I looked at Benj, who was smiling and holding something in his hand. Our headsets weren't working all that great so I saw him mouth the words, "Amanda, will you marry me?" I had imagined this day all my life, thinking I would just scream "YES, YES!!!" However, I was speechless . . . couldn't mutter a word. Literally couldn't breathe. When I could say something that's what I said, "I can't breathe!" I was in shock to the point that I hadn't even looked down at the ring yet! Finally I shook my head up and down and quickly hugged him and started crying. I looked at the ring as he took it out of the box and placed it on my finger. At this point, the pilot asked, "What did she say?" He saw us kissing, which I think answered the question. We flew around again and I got a better view at the sign.

When we landed we just stood there and hugged for a good 10 minutes. We motioned to the family and friends to come over and we got to share our happiness with them.

It seems so long ago, but it's still a very clear, wonderful memory in my mind. I couldn't ask for a better husband. We are a "perfect fit" as we've told each other many times. We have grown and learned so much about each other the past 3+ years. I look forward to sharing every special moment in my life with him.

I love you sweetheart!

Christmas Cards

So I have kind of a wierd question. I'm debating about making Christmas cards this year. It's always cute to include a picture, to make it more personal, but Benj and I haven't changed all that much (ok, maybe I have a little). I always like the pictures and newsletters of the cute kids and updates on what's going on with the family. However, no kids yet, and do people really care what Benj and I are doing?

So question: should I do a personalized card with pictures or a letter or should I stick with a generic card? I think sending Christmas cards is a lost art. People just don't send them like they used to. It's sad! I want to fill up my card holder this year! I want to send you one too!

Thought you might like to see some of the Bradshaw Christmas cheer.

We don't have a fireplace so we opted for something different. We have one for baby too (but we haven't gotten his name embroidered yet).

I love having a real tree in the house. This year and last year Benj and I picked a tree that was a little big for our living room! We love it though. The first thing I smell when I get home is evergreen. It is so heavenly!

Now all we need is snow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's my 20 week belly shot for you to peek at. Taken right before the UTAH game. :) It'll probably be even bigger after the Thanksgiving dinner I'm planning on eating!Thought I'd also favor you with a candid of my hubby (this was his game face).
Hope all of you have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!