A Special Birthday.

Happy Birthday Keely!

Today, is my sister, Keely's Birthday, today she would be 21 years old. 

I cant believe my little sister has been gone for 5 years. 

I remember being kids and we would combine our birthdays, we

would always have our family and friends come over, have dairy queen ice cream cake :), 

sometimes we would even get to go Fiesta Fun and have a blast!! 

I miss her so much, and am so happy for the 

memories that I have.

I LOVE and MISS YOU more and more each day! 

Keely has been our Angel and has defiantly watched

over us, and our family!

A Load Off.

This post is a babble post!! So.. Im sorry!!!

(For those who even read the blog??)

Rydgey..

Can I just say being sick, and having a sick little boy makes for a very tired mama! Rydgey is finally getting over his Pink Eye. 3 more days and well be done with the antibiotics!!! He looks like a brand new boy. Although he still has a cucky runny nose, and a cough that comes and goes. He has been such a trooper, he is still the crazy little boy when he is sick. He laughs, runs all over the place. Yells and screams, he is spunky, and gets frustrated over the silliest things. Lets just say if he has anger issues like his dad were in trouble! He is getting more and more teeth, those molars sure do take a tull on him. He doesnt eat the best, hell go in spurts, eats like no ones buisness, then hell eat like a little bird. He has always been tall and skinny, and I always get nervouse when he doesnt eat?? But I know its normal, and I know he isnt starving to death! SO!?

He is starting to the throw the bigest tantrums..oh my goodness! Sometimes I just have to walk away because they are ridiculous. This little boy is also a little dare devil he climbs everything and anything. He dunks his head under water, and rolls around in the tub. He scares me sometimes I have to sit in the bathroom with him, and take a bath myself because he is crazy!!! My whole bathroom gets showered!! He still is a little lover, out of all the crazy he is, i love his cuddles.

Me and the Hubs..

Brent and I are doing good! We do need to be better about "Date night" evenings with just the 2 of us. Our date nights consists of Rydge going to bed, and we lay in bed for an hour or 2 watching tv, munching on goodies.. (That I really should not be eating!!!) BUT.. ya know, at least we have that time to our selves!! So I cant complain.

The tire shop is doing sooo good!! Come summer theyll be doing even better! Brent definatly keeps busy! He is still doing his Coyote hobie. Can I tell you, that I really dont mind it.. because it so brings in some extra "Rainy Day" fun money!! :) He got his fur trapping license and wants to do that next year!

I am finally starting to come down from stress ville. This year has started out crazy, and im hoping that we are done!! 2 deaths in the family, A mini stroke, Whitney's whole ordeal.. uh! I am so done!! Sadly,  I had a friend get mad at me for not being there after a surgery, which I am never like that, I am always that person who checks up on ya, and makes sure if you need anything HERE i am! ... Well, For once I wasnt thinking of others, I really hadnt had time emotionally, and with everything in my life going on.. I didnt think of a her... Well im sorry!! Can I tell you, that  I am only one person, and

had to much on my plate already...and didnt have time to stop and think of anything else?? I do feel really bad, but at the same time i dont?? Is that so HORRIBLE for me to say..:/ Things are finally looking better, Whit is doing fantastic..My Grandpa is doing Great! The Fam is well,  and all we do now is move forward..wahoo!!

Another side note.. I have been the worst wife ever latelly, ive done alot better this week.:/ i think sometimes as a mom and wife you just get a little lazy with house work..laundry..ect. But then you bounce back and your doing a million things a day!!! GO MAMAS!!

I am loving the warm weather, cant wait for yard work, gardening, i am so excited for rydge to be outside!!! Brent and I are talking about doing a sand box, I cant wait!! Wahoo Spring.

 Sorry this post is just catch up and nothing to exciting!!! But...The brackens are all doing well, and staying pretty busy!!!

Yup,Pink Eye.

:( Do you see how misserable my little Boogie is.

The poor boy has pink eye!! WTH!

It all started Friday night, when he started getting boogery eyes? Didnt think much of it because he had a runny nose and cough. Well as the weekend went on his eyes got worse, and more redish, pink?? Talked to my friend Jen on Monday, before I was going into the Doctor when she said Kaylynns 2 boys had it, Kodi Jens little girl had it and Clay, Jessies boy. SO I knew Rydge had to have Pink Eye.. Because all last week the moms were crafting and visiting while the Kidlets were playing.

I do have to say JEN, told us ALL it was pink eye from the very begining but we didnt believe her, she is SO laughing in our faces ;) (Love ya Jen)

Anyway, I have drops and the first day his eyes alreaday look TONS better! Today, he woke up with NO boogery eyes and they are starting to clear up more and more. YAY!!!

Now, If I could just get rid of his nasty cold I would be a happy Mama! 

Elder Gary Bracken

WAHOO!!! Welcom Home Elder Bracken!!!

After 2 FULL (fast.. but long years) Brents Brother, Gary returned home from his mission in Hondorus on March 10th.

Brian and Bernice flew to Hondorus to pick him up, and tour around and meet the families that Gary taught/ baptised/ and became family to.

I can only imagine the excitment Bernice felt when she saw him!! She was pretty stoked when she left.

Anyway, we all made posters and were planning to be at the airport to greet him, well last minute Aubree calls me and says, Tash there stuck in Hondorus, the wont let Gary through customes! HA! I guess Hondorus really didnt want him to leave ;), so we waited!

Saturday LATE LATE Aub calls me and says theyll arrive in the St. George airport about 10, it was now 915ish.. We had to miss it :(, Rydge was asleep and there was no way we would of made it in time anyway, So Sunday rolls around, and we head to Meyas birthday (Auns little girl) and Gary arrives!!! It is so good to see him, He has a bit of an accent. Which is always fun to hear returned missionaries talk and try to think of english words.

Rydge is meeting his Uncle Gar for the first time ever!!! Rydge finally warmed up to him, and gave him hugs and stuff!!!

We did miss his home coming talk because Rydge was sick (Ill post that next) But, we were there in spirit and we are SO happy to have him home!!!

Whitney.

This poor Girl, has been through SO much this last month in a half..

This is RIGHT after she got home, she started at 110 pounds and dropped to 85 because she couldnt keep anything down :(

It all started with a head cold, a bad head cold. She went into the doctor and they gave her some antibotics, well a week later it is WORSE, so my mom took her into the E.R. I get a phone call telling me Whit is getting life flighted to Primary Childerns up in Salt Lake in an hour?? What... I hurry down to St. George, a mess.. I have been bawling my eyes out, sick to my stomach not knowing what is going on. I get to the hospital, and I get to the E.R and there she is.. this LITTLE tiny person (who looks so misserable) all I could do was cry, and hug her some more, apparently they took her in for a CAT Scan, and she had such a bad sinus infection that the fluid was in her brain and spreading fast.. About 20 min after I get there, they take off. At this point I am freaking out, not knowing what is going on! My mom calls me the next day, and tells me Whit went in for an MRI and they couldnt wait any longer for surgery, They had to go into her brain and drain out the fluid, and they went up into her nose and had to drain the pockets out of her nose. After about 5 hours of surgery :(, my mom calls me and tells me everything went really well, and she is very swollen and resting. When I saw swollen, the picture my Grandma sent me was a little scary. You couldnt even see her eyes.

A couple days pass, and she is doing great, very coherant, talkative, spunky! It was great... When everything turned again for the worse. My mom called me Friday early morning, which she never did so I knew something bad happened... Whit had a seizure Thursday late night, she didnt know who anyone was, she couldnt move, she looked right through you, it was like she wasnt even there. (My moms description scared me..) Anyway They took her in for another MRI Friday morning, and some more fliud had gotten into her brain which caused the seizure. They had to go in for an emergency surgery and open her brain again, and behold there was a pocket full of fluid that they had to drain. She had a great surgery, and everything went well.

Saturday early morning I headed up to SLC to visit. When I got there they were still in ICU and she was doing good, everything was looking great, she was resting! I felt SO bad for her, I just wanted to pick her up and hold her.. let her know everything was going to be ok. A few hours later, she was moved onto the floor, out of ICU.. YAY.. And she was on the road to recovery! Sunday I went back to her room, and just over night she looked AmAziNG!! All the swelling in her face was gone. She was eating, craving McDonald french Fries!!! She was sitting up, talking! Oh, it was such a great thing to see that moring!! I left for home that late afternoon, when my mom called and said that Whit gets to come home later that week if everything stays looking up! Well,, IT DID!!! She was home by the end of the week, a home nurse came in that first week they were there to show my mom how to work the meds, and check up on everything. This Monday she went in for a MRI and everything was looking fabulouse, the antibiotics are working, and she is getting her stitches out as we speak.

She will head to SLC next week for a complete check up on everything! And hopefully she will be able to get the IV out of her arm, and be getting her strenght back!

This has been so scary!!! And such an emotional roller coaster.. holy cow!! When I was up at Primary Childrens, my heart went out to ALL the families there, it broke my heart seeing all these helpless kids sick and hooked up to IV's :(.. Uh, My mom kept telling me.. Tash, its a good thing your not gonna be here longer because you couldnt handle it. And really I couldnt. I would have mini break downs in the bathroom. IT was so sad, and I pray for all the kids, and families there everyday!!

I am SOOOO thankful that Whitney is doing great, and that she is a fighter and made it through this! The Docs say that they usually see at least 2 or 3 of these sever sinus infections once a year, Which is so crazy.. I have never heard of this before!! And Im just thankful she got help as soon as she did!

                      FYI..She Would KILL me if she knew

                     I posted these pictures! So.. SHH!! ;)





This is her left side, were they had to do the 2nd surgery, the shaved more, and had to go more behind the ear to empty the pocket that was full of fluid.



The Right Side





I should take a NOW picture, because she has gained some of her weight and strength back. Her stitches are out, and her incesion looks amazing, she has life and color back into her! She looks my little Cork again. She is doing soo well, and such a trooper! She deffinatly had a few AMAZING angels looking after her :)!!

Love you Corky Pie.