Big Chief Little Chief

I've just got to say it. Right now I want some ice cream, a bowl of frosted mini wheat cereal, homemade whole wheat bread with a slice of butter melting on top of it, corn on the cob, french toast, broccoli cheese soup, homemade macaroni and cheese, gourmet thin crust pizza, lasagna, mud pie, cheese of any kind, fettuccine alfredo, sticky white rice, pad thai, a homemade juicy cheeseburger, chips and salsa, and MANY, MANY more things.

I'm going on 4 months with my allergen free diet, and I must say today is one of those days that I'm CRAVING all day long. I'll just have to satisfy those cravings by eating a vegetable or fruit or a spoonful of honey (that's my guilty pleasure, a spoonful of honey, ha!). NOT the same.

I already feel better by venting to the internet. The good news is, if I ever feel like eating one of those things, the thought of Brooks' having symptoms for days on end reminds me why I'm doing this!!!

We found out a few months ago that Kyle's 83 year old Nanny (term in New Zealand for grandmother) would be making a trip to the US to visit her whanau (Maori name for extended family). We prayed every day that she would be able to make the trip with good health. Well the time finally came for her to come, so Kyle took a week off of work and we went to Vancouver for 8 days. The entire trip was wonderful. We had a Pacific Northwest miracle, and had amazing weather the entire 8 days. Not one drop of rain!!! Nanny Mana is the sweetest lady and I could sit and listen to her tell stories for days with her thick New Zealand accent. Kyle's Uncle Sam also made the treck from Washington DC where he lives to see his mum and spend time with his whanau. The boys played outside all day everyday with their cousins, and had the greatest time. There are 7 boy cousins born all in a row ages 6 and under so things got a little wild! There will soon be 9 boy cousins 6 and under when Bryce and Alysia have their twin boys. The highlight of the trip for all the boys was going to the zoo together. It was a reduced price day at the zoo, so it was packed and crazy. We had one scare where we lost Preston for 5 minutes while we were eating lunch. There were hundreds and hundreds of people around and we couldn't find him. I was getting very nervous. Luckily some guy found him in some bushes and stayed with him until we came looking for him.

As I said, Nanny is awesome. I will have to get a video up of her sometime on here telling one of her stories. The highlight of the trip for her was when we all went to the temple together and did a session. The first time I met Nanny was in the Portland temple after I received my Endowment, so it was wonderful to go there again with her. A week after Kyle and I got married Nanny came to stay with us in our apartment for a whole week. We LOVED it, and tried to talk her into coming to extend her trip and stay with us again, but unfortunately there were too many logistics to figure out. We are hoping it's not another 6 years before we see her again!

I love this first picture. Nanny was on the phone and Preston wanted to kick back just like her. Some of the picture were taken at the cemetary where Kyle's dad is buried as well as our nephew.

We went to the cemetery to visit Kyle's dad's grave and our nephew's.

All of these were taken with my phone at the zoo. We'll definitely be going back!

Knocked out after a LONG day at the zoo.

The weather was so nice and we all went to the park to play on the playground and some soccer.

We love the beautiful Portland Temple. Married there 6 years ago!

Everyone was in town except for Kyle's younger brother Bryce.

These next pictures crack me up. Nanny knew that Brooks' couldn't eat anything because of his allergies, so when someone gave her a piece of cake she explained to Brooks' in the cutest accent voice that he couldn't have any cake. It was hilarious!