So I am officially the worst blogger ever! The past I don't even know how many months have been nuts and just flown right by! I thought I'd throw on a quick summary of the events of the past year and a few pics and then call that my fresh start!!!!!! Bryan's parents have a book that we all contribute to. Each family writes an 'entry' per say and then we add to the book each year.... so I am cheating a little and decided to just use our entry as my January post!
Bryan Westerberg Family 2011
2011… Oh, where do we even start?! This was a busy year for the Westerberg Family. We had lots and lots of snow to start with, which meant that in January and February we spent a lot of time playing in it. Kayson built his first snowman with Mom and he also decided that snow was good for eating as well as playing in. J We were able to go to Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Terry’s and play on the ever popular ‘tubing hill’ several times, which we all enjoyed! Kayson enjoyed riding the tubes almost as much as he enjoyed driving the snowmobile up and down the hill!! What a good time.
In February we were able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my Dad’s transplant, which was a huge milestone for him and for my family. My Mom and I, put together a dinner and an open house to say thank you to the community and to those who have been involved in the entire journey! It was a huge success and we were so happy to be spending such a special day with him. We spent the rest of February doing fun Valentine things and trying to keep a busy 2 year old occupied during cold yucky months!!!
With March, also came a visit from Aunt Meme, who helped us build a snowfort and kept Kayson busy playing nonstop. We also had fun on St. Patrick’s Day in Burley while I was doing one of my regular ‘6 week hair trips’ up there. With all of the snow, we had a very late spring which was great for transplanting tons of plants, of which Wendy and Grandma Arda were gracious enough to give us from their own yards. Bryan enjoyed putting in lots of new stuff and the results were fantastic. He’s worked so hard on our yard and really has it looking beautiful. Some of the major projects that he did this year included the patio area out our back door, and the fabulous table that he designed and built with some wood from the Cardall’s barn that he tore down. The whole thing really changed the look and feel of our yard!!! Also due to the large amounts of snow, we had a bit of a scare when it finally started to melt and there was a lot of runoff. The creek that runs through our backyard got alarmingly high and there were several times that we thought for sure it was going to come right over the bank and flood our house. We were very fortunate, and gratefully that never happened, but it sure had us worried for a while!!!
In May, I turned 26 and celebrated Mother’s Day all in the same day! Whoo hoo! Bry was able to go on his annual horn hunt in Jackson. This year was pretty serious and he even had to invest in a special flash light that would aid in his horn hunting endeavors. After hiking all night long his investment proved to be a success, he came home with 9 elk horns! YES!
June is when life really started to rock and roll! We made our first attempt at a garden. It was small, but we were able to plant zucchini, squash, cucumbers, green beans, yellow beans, carrots, tomatoes, and even some pumpkins. I did the planting and had to learn the hard way that you only need ONE zucchini plant and ONE squash plant….. I planted a whole row of each!! Needless to say we had both coming out our ears! Thanks to Bry for making sure to keep it watered, it was fun to have fresh veggies of our own! However, I think next year we will do it a little differently! Ya live and ya learn right?! Towards the middle of June, my sister (Jenna) and I were able to go back to the T Cross Ranch for the second time. We were there for 7 days, which was a long time to be away. I missed my boys a TON! We worked hard and definitely EARNED our money, but we had a lot of laughs, and made some good memories as well. We weren’t lucky enough to have any wildlife encounters this time, but it was a good experience non-the-less! At the end of June, we decided to embark on our first pet adventure. We got 2 kittens from my friend Kensy. Kayson was soooooo excited! He named them Sally (from the movie Cars) and Tiger (cause he looked like a tiger of course!) They were loved dearly. Unfortunately after a few short weeks we lost them both. We are not sure exactly what happened to them, but we chalk it up to other predators, possibly running away, or perhaps one of them felt the need to sleep near the motor in the truck. Whatever the cause for their disappearance we were sad, but life quickly moved on.
With July came summer! We started it out with a bang as usual by selling fireworks in Burley. Bry was able to come for a day or two and help sell which was kinda fun! Kayson really got into fireworks this year! His favorite thing was the simple yet classic SNAPS! He did several boxes a day. He also really loved the tanks! On the 9th, our baby turned a whopping 3 years old! Holy Smokes. We had a small party with some family and a T-Rex cake as per Kayson’s request. (He specifically said he wanted an orange T-Rex with green eyes and blue spikes.) I did my best and learned that I do not love decorating cakes! At least I tried and he loved it so that’s all that matters! Also, Aunt Kel and Uncle Dan loaned us their tramploline for the summer which we loved! Kayson and Bry Slept on it a few times and we enjoyed many hot days jumping with the sprinkler underneath! Super fun. At the end of July we had the opportunity to get 2 more baby kitties. Kayson named them Chocolate (aka- chalkie) and Rambo (There may have been a little bit of coaxing from his Dad on this one) Later we found out Rambo was infact a girl and her nickname became BoBo! These kitties, just like the first 2, were loved dearly and enjoyed destroying Bry’s flowers, but also, like the first 2, we eventually lost them both as well. 4 cats in 2 months! What can we say….. we are not meant to be cat people I guess!
At the end of July we put Kayson in swimming lessons. The session was 4 days a week for 2 weeks. The first day was a bit scary and he cried for a minute, but they quickly had him distracted and in the water. By the second and third days he was LOVING it! Throughout the 2 weeks he learned how to float on his back ,kick, hold his breath underwater, and even jump off the diving board ! I was so proud of him he did great! He ended up doing another session in August as well.
At the beginning of August, we found out that we are expecting another addition to our family. A baby girl due to arrive April 4, 2012!!! With this exciting news came overwhelming sickness, which resulted in me being confined to my bed for 3 to 4 months! With me being so sick and Bry being so busy with work and things, we were a little bit MIA for awhile. Kayson and Bryan were both troopers and somehow we got through it! We couldn’t be more excited and we eagerly anticipate her arrival!!
Some of our other summer activities included Bryan and Kayson trying out Grandpa Terry’s waterslide, which was awesome and we can’t wait to try it out in 2012! We also started working on our basement which we can proudly say has been a lot of work but well worth it! It has quickly turned into one of the coziest places in our house and we spend 90% of our time down there. It stays nice and warm, we absolutely LOVE it! It’s also nice to have the extra space and now an extra bedroom for company to stay in! In September Bry and I celebrated our 6th anniversary quietly at home! Goodness how time flies!! Bryan also had the opportunity to take his YM on a real ‘scout camp adventure’! They went on a 4 day,3 night trip and hiked Mt. Naomi, Mt. Gog, Cherry Peak, and Mt. Elmer!! Each boy and leader carried their own 50 lb. pack and they even had to walk through snow at some points, left behind from our huge winter! Along the way, they were able to see a Mt. Goat, which was a big deal and one of the highlights of the trip! Everyone seemed to have a great time and I am pretty sure they were all exhausted when they got back!
October was crazy! We were busy planning Jenna’s wedding on the 7th! Afterwards, I left Bryan and Kayson home, and I went with my family down to St. George for their open house! It was a quick trip but fun anyway! All in all the wedding was good and we are excited to have another Man in the family! For Halloween this year I made Kayson a skeleton costume (it even glowed in the dark). He loved it and looked pretty awesome! We went trick or treating with my friend Kensy and baby Addi! Kays had a ball and loved saying “Trick or treat” at every house!!
November came with Bryan’s 35 birthday. He also began training for a big ultra marathon called The Bear, that he plans to run in September of 2012! I am so proud of him and his dedication. He’s doing so well and will run his first marathon in January 2012…. A 20 miler near Nampa, ID, to help him get ready for the big 100 miler in the fall! Go Bry!! The holidays are a bit of blur. They came and went so fast! We spent Thanksgiving Day at the Westerbergs and had a great time. Kayson, Anna, and Audrey all play so cute together! Grandpa Terry even had some fun games planned. Kayson’s favorite was the ‘peanut game’. He talked about it for weeks! Thanksgiving weekend we headed to Burley to celebrate with my family! It's always a good time when we get everyone together. We missed Jenna and Colton, but had fun nonetheless. We spent Christmas at our house this year which was nice! It was pretty low key, but Santa found our house and Kayson was so fun this year! He woke up Christmas morning (at six AM) and said ,” What the heck! What the heck is all this stuff!?” SO funny! We spent the evening at Westerbergs and it was a perfect ending to a great day!
EveEven though we have had an incredibly busy year, we have had a lot of opportunities to learn and grow. We are truly so blessed! We have amazing families who we love and appreciate so much. We have Kayson and one another and we are so excited to have our baby girl coming next year! Most of all we are so grateful for the gospel and for our testimonies. We know that without it, we’d be lost and our life wouldn’t be the same! We are constantly reminded of the Lord’s hand in our lives and we are humbled. We love each other, and we love our Savior. Does life get any better than this?? 2011… it’s been a great ride, bring on 2012!!
We have been wanting a cool table in our backyard to enjoy through the summer months and this is what my husband came up with! He says he's not a "craftsman" but I beg to differ! I LOVE it and I think it turned out great! The flower pot can stay, as for the deer horns, I think they would be much happier in a flower bed somewhere :) ...............
Love this boy..... he is getting big so fast I can't believe it! I keep a notebook on my kitchen counter and when he says something that I want to remember I immediately go write it down. I wanted to share a few as of late.....
This has been what our backyard has looked like lately..... leaves, leaves, and more leaves. It's officially Fall!
I have also been in a super crafty mood lately and was in dire need of some fun Halloween decor.... so I decided to make a few things... these ghosts were first...... then my friend Darci helped me do this super cute plate. It says" The wicked witch and her little monsters live here."
This bumblebee was cute......
As soon as we got close to this one 
The kids were so cute.... they walked for quite some time holding hands. 
Jada, 
This was another one of my Halloween crafts... I saw them on a blog and decided to give 'em a try.... they turned out super cute and I think I spent $3 total!
This is my front porch.... 
The Young Men and Young Women in our ward always put on a fun Halloween carnival for all the primary kids, so we went to that and sadly this is the only picture I took... the Kids were lining up for the Costume parade. 
and for Breakfast I made orange pancakes with Chocolate chips.......
We did our "
At Grandma and Grandpa's house 
I snapped this picture on the way back from Preston... what a tired Monkey and we hadn't even gone trick or treating yet!
He's ready to go...........
When we got to Grandma Arda's Sydney and Shelby were there along with Jake and Clara! Perfect opportunity to take pics with Grandma AND almost everyone was smiling 
That's my little T Rex- he was in FULL costume all night growling and scratching stuff with his claws! He loved it. I love to dress up for Halloween so I decided that I would be a cave women and 
I wanted to give my little sister a shout out and tell her we love her...... On Sunday she came down with a nasty bug and has been in bed ever since. We hope you are feeling better and we can't wait till you can play again soon- thanks for coming out to spend the evening with us!
