Summer Vacation

Can you find the 3 people that made our trip to Washington D.C. possible?...That's right! Bowman, Stephanie, and Rayna!!! They moved to Virginia for Exxon Mobil training in July and let us come and stay with them and showed us around.

Rayna was always looking after Brigham. As soon as she would wake up in the morning she would say "Bebe, bebe" (Baby! Baby!). She is going to be a great big sister for her future little brother :)

Steph was our tour guide/babysitter/gourmet chef/hostess/...a lot! Thanks Steph!!!

Bowman spent all his extra time with us and Hyrum loved joining him for a late night Korean drama! We went to Mount Vernon, George Washington's home (Hyrum and I's personal favorite).

This is the Korean War Memorial so of course we had to get a picture. Don't we look tough? I think my bunny slippers just ran for cover! (Name that movie!)

"People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be." "And in the end it is not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." "Whatever you are, be a good one." "The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend." "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right." "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." "Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." "The Best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

Aren't those quotes AMAZING?!?! Abraham Lincoln was a very wise man. I'd like to learn more about him!

The Smithsonian is huge!!! I didn't know the Smithsonian was not one building, but a collection of buildings! There were so many museums to see and so much inside the museums, we probably didn't even see 1/100th of it all! This man was earning some money using his homemade drumset, complete with traffic cones and shopping cart (that was the cymbals). It sounded great!

Song Suk Heung, a man Hyrum baptized on his mission, lives in Virginia now with his wife and 2 daughters. We had a Korean dinner with them and it was mashisoyo...aka "Delicious!"

We got to go to the D.C. temple while we were there and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! The grounds were pristine and well manicured, a stark contrast to the grounds around the national monuments.

Hyrum did an internship with DOW Chemical 2 summers ago and so on our way home we stopped by Texas to meet up with some friends. We ate lunch with all of Hyrum's friends from DOW, they were all so sweet and their accents were fun. All the people I met in Texas were kind, down to earth, personable, and friendly. They really look after each other and it feels like you're in one big family there...probably a tiny tiny taste of what it will feel like in heaven.

The ocean was SO WARM it was like you were in a bathtub!!! It will be fun when Brigham can run and play in the waves too.

Hyrum's cousin Julie and her husband David were so nice to let us stay at their home. We had a blast talking with them and playing Rook. Brigham enjoyed hanging out in the Bumbo (quite an amazing invention! A seat that lets little kids sit up...Brigham just loved getting a better look at everything that was going on around him!)

Once we got home from those travels we went on a ward campout.

Here's Daddy's little cowboy!

And when we finally got home from all of that we SLEPT!!!!

Family Pictures

Paige and Kaylee helped us take some family pictures while they were here.

Here's Daddy and Brigham!

Mommy and Brigham :)
One handsome little boy!!

Awesome Aunties!

Brigham loved spending time with his Aunt Kaylee and Aunt Paige in July! They were a great help! You read about our adventures in "Blogging With Paige" but I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to tell Paige and Kaylee how glad I am that they came to visit! We love you!

Blogging with Paige

Kaylee and Brigham enjoying a nice nap after a fun day at Grandmas House.
Three Generations of Cluffs.
A fun day a Lagoon!!!!! This was Kaylee's favorite ride.

Another fun ride! This one brought you up in the air and left you hanging upside down! It didn't help that there was water squirting you in the face the whole time either!!!!

Hyrum convinced Kaylee to go on the Rocket with him. I didn't think that she would ever get in line for that thing but,she did and said that it wasn't to bad.
On Tuesday we went to the Bean Museum, because Kaylee and I had never been before. After you got over the dead animal smell, it was really amazing to see alll of the animals.


We went camping on Thursday and Friday, we invited the Rays girlies to come party with us.
Here Hyrum is trying to boil water, and Kaylee is roasting a stick.(Neither worked out very well)
Hyrum said that me and Kaitlyn wouldn't be able to build a fire. So we had to prove him wrong of course!!! We actually got a fire going!!(thank you Girls Camp):)
Me and cute baby Brigham!! I am so glad that I got to come up and see him!! Pictures don't get even close to how cute he actually is!!!!
Hyrum made us try Tin Foil dinners while we were camping. Surprisingly, they didn't taste that bad, but they were defiantly interesting.
On our hike to the Hot Springs, Hyrum did a little Rock Climbing :)
At the Hot Springs, there is a big waterfall that you can walk right under, there is also a little window in the rocks so that you can put your head through the waterfall.
Of course we had to take some fun pictures in the pool of the Hot Springs.

Baby Days

I can't believe that 22 days ago, this little guy was still in my stomach.

He had low blood sugar when he was born, but he still got to stay his first night with Mom and Dad. In the morning they tested him again and sent him to NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit). He had low blood sugar and a high red blood cell count. He ended up being in the NICU for 12 days. He was such a trooper and so calm and patient through it all! We couldn't wait for him to come home. The pictures look scarier than it really was. All the wires were simply monitoring his heart and respiratory rate and they put some of his feedings through the tube in his nose. A lot of the babies there were in the NICU for much bigger problems and for a much longer time than Brigham was. It was very hard having him in the NICU but we have no room to complain, some of those babies are there for months!

After 2 days in the NICU his bilirubin levels were high and so he had to go under a UV light for 48 hours. He didn't like that because he couldn't be swaddled up in a blanket anymore.

He did get to wear those cool sunglasses though.

I had Dad try them out too :) The NICU can get pretty monotonous so you have to liven it up a bit every now and then.

Finally! No more light! Bring on the blanket! By the time the bilirubin levels went down, all of the other things (blood sugar, red blood cell count) were pretty stable too, the tricky thing was getting him to eat enough. In order to leave the NICU he had to eat full feedings from me for 48 hours (they weighed him before and after feedings and fed him the remainder of all of his feedings through a tube in his nose if he didn't get enough from me). He's a very slow eater and likes to fall asleep. We started singing fast-paced Primary songs to him during feeding time to help him stay awake. Ha! Ha! The nurses sure enjoyed it, and Brigham seemed to too.

Hyrum was such a great support through all of this. I didn't like going to NICU alone and Hyrum was a good sport and spent a lot of time with me on the 5th floor...even though it's definitely not the most happy or exciting place to visit. We were there for most of the day but only were with Brigham during feeding time so he could get lots of sleep. We spent the rest of the time in the Ronald McDonald Parent Room and chatted with all of the other parents.My Mom was wonderful too and flew in from Arizona to help out. In addition to spending lots of time at the NICU, she also kept us well fed and stocked our fridge. Thank you so much for coming Mom!!!Brigham came home from the NICU/hospital on Sunday, May 22nd. We are so glad that he's home with us! He is now 6 pounds 10 ounces and still growing! He has great facial expressions and smiles a lot more now. He looks quite handsome in his Sunday clothes (just like his Dad) if I do say so myself... I don't think he liked getting all dressed up though...but I've heard that a lot of boys don't.
Here's a picture of his first stroller ride. By the end he was sleeping in my arms and Hyrum was pushing an empty stroller. Who needs all the extra things when you have Mom and Dad?
We do a lot more sleeping these days. Naps are wonderful things!
Sometimes though, Brigham would much rather be awake.
We love Brigham so much and we are so happy that he is a part of our family!

Baby Brigham is Here!

So Hyrum spent the day with me at school on Tuesday, May 10th to see what a day in the life of a 3rd grade classroom was like. He picked the perfect day to come! Contractions started coming at 2:00 PM and they were 5-6 minutes apart. I had a doctor's appointment right after school and so Hyrum and I went there and the contractions started coming 2-3 minutes apart. They checked me and said I was dilated to a 4 or a 5 and should probably go to the hospital. I went back to the school for 15 minutes to put the finishing touches on my sub plans for the week, and then we picked up our hospital bag from home. We got to the hospital at 6 PM and it was packed!!! They only had 1 labor and delivery room open and had already had 14 babies born in the last shift. By the time we got to the hospital I was dilated to a 6. Two of the nurses on staff were Hyrum's friends...it's a small world! Here's me right after we were admitted to the hospital.



Labor progressed quickly!!! They weren't going to check me again until around 10 PM but at 7:30 I told Hyrum to call the nurse fast because I was pretty sure he was coming. Sure enough, I was dilated to a little over a 9. By the time the doctor got there I was trying (unsuccessfully) to keep from pushing. They set up everything in record time, broke my water, and a couple pushes later baby Brigham was born at 7:57 PM. Hyrum was so helpful and kind through it all, he is a great support (and a great photographer too)!


Brigham Hyrum Mitchell was born at 7:57 PM, weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces, and was 17 1/4 inches long. He has had low blood sugar and so they are watching him closely but all else looks well. We love his cute little features and hair! Thanks for all of your love and support! We are so excited to be parents! Here's some pictures of our new little boy :)

Our First Family Picture!

Daddy and Baby Brigham

Mom and Baby

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the women in the world!

I hope each of you feel just how special, important, and needed you are...especially today!
Hyrum surprised me with an extra special Mother's Day breakfast this morning. Pancakes, sugar cookies, and chocolate chips for breakfast. Yum! He's getting to know me well!
Our first date was on Mother's Day last year...Wow! I can't believe how much has happened since then! I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father leads us and guides us in life because I could have never imagined or planned that I'd be where I am right now just one year later. I am grateful for the wonderful man I had the opportunity to marry and for our baby boy who should be here any day :)