Neeley Family Blog

Last year, Brad and I had put our house up for sale with the hopes of moving before Fall time.  That, unfortunately did not happen.  Every time someone came to view the house they always said how nice it looked and how well maintained it was.  And then, they would say that it needed new carpet.  Yes, we knew this, but were trying to ignore it.  Well, no longer folks! After discussion and researching cheap solutions, let me show what has been done! Before: Getting ready! Here we go!!!!! In the midst of having banging from the hammer and vacuuming, here is Brylee fast asleep! Carpet is gone... Late at night (about midnight) here is the start. About 1am we went to sleep, so the start of the next day I had to go to work in the morning, but got off early to help finish the floor.  Brad and the boys had worked on it while I was gone and got A LOT done! Brayden was definitely a good little helper! He earned some money :) All DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! And After: I k...

Well, Father's Day has come and gone now, but it was a great weekend.  I worked early on Saturday and when I got home we took the family to see Toy Story 3.  It is super cute! Really! Brad and I enjoyed it as much as the boys.  Brylee was good too.  She watched a little, ate a little and slept a little- such a good movie goer! Sunday Brad and Brayden went to play 9 holes at a par 3 course near us called Eagle's Landing.  Brayden was soooo excited that morning when Brad woke him up and asked if he wanted to go play golf.  He ran in and said "Mama, I am going to play golf with Dadda !" Brock, Brylee and I hung out while they were gone. We secretly finished getting the presents together and cleaning up so things were ready when they got back home. We headed to brunch at McCormick's and Schmick's .  It was delicious! I did not take pictures in the restaurant though.  I was too busy keeping Brock in his seat and from hopping up and down and hol...

Brylee recently had a 4 month check up at the doctor.  We are happy to report that she is growing rapidly and is a healthy little girl.  She now weighs 16 and half pounds and is 25 inches long! Brylee is in the 95 percentile for height and weight.  Dr.Shah thinks she looks fabulous and is doing great.  We got the OK to start some rice cereal for a week or so, and then foods! I can't believe it!!!! It feels like we just brought her home the other day, but yet here she is growing up on us all ready.  Here are a couple recent photos of Brylee . Sweet little face! Check out the chubs down at her knees...so cute! Brylee is such a sweet girl.  She is still a very good baby.  She only cries when hungry or tired (which is when she should), or if Brock pokes her in the eye! Brylee has started talking more and more (little coos and squeals) and now is grabbing things and putting them in her mouth.  She started teething about a month ago, nothing...

Brayden's first year of Preschool is done! I know already! I still sometimes cannot believe what a little man he is becoming, but he is soooo smart and just a great little boy.  He last day was on the 11th of June.  This day consisted of having a Picnic at the park near his school, then going to the school for a potluck lunch. The boys loved playing on the playground with all the other kids from Brayden's class. And yes, Brock got to play like a big boy too.  He thinks he is such a BIG BOY, that he just fits right in.  On a side note, Brock is now a week into potty training and is doing AWESOME! Yeah! Only one kid in diapers! Brock is wearing his underwears all day and pull-ups at night.  He is really catching on to it and has had far less accidents than I anticipated.  Here are some photos from the playground: Brock planning his attack! Brayden getting a push from one of the parents. Now up Brock goes, the wrong way on a slide, but for some rea...

Well, Grandpa John celebrated his birthday on the 6th of June.  I will leave out his age and let you all take a guess!  He really does not look like a grandfather and people usually think he is my husband if we are out together or think the boys are his kids- a compliment for him and a little weird for me.  Moving right along, we baked him a cake and headed out to my parents house to celebrate with a barbeque.  Yes, he did all the grilling on his birthday, but he said he did not mind.  My sister and her family were there, as well as Bryant (John's oldest son), and my mom's best friend Patrice and her husband Steven (he was our wedding photographer and Patrice is Tony's mom).  It was a gorgeous day! The sunshine was out and the kids just played and played outside.  We all ate outside on the deck too. After dinner Brayden and Grandpa grabbed their guitars and played us a little number! They are too cute together! Grammy got her time with Miss Brylee...

Yes folks, Brad has taken on a new hobby. Well, maybe I shouldn't say hobby as it came more out of necessity than him wanting to work on his car. These days all of our pennies count and Brad recently had an oil change done at the dealership. During this visit they gave him a list of things that needed to be done to his car. For instance: new tires, new battery and a transmission flush. All of which will cost us about $600 easily! A day after his oil change, he started hearing a noise from his mustang- whom he affectionately calls "Violet." After doing some research, asking a co-worker who is a certified mechanic, calling his brother Eric, and calling his friend Tommy who works on his own mustang just about everyday, Brad figured out that he needed to replace the power steering pump and his serpentine belt. Again, this work would cost $800 if we took it in somewhere to be done. So my lovely husband got a wild hair up his butt and decided to do it himself....here we go kids...

Yeah for play dates! I received a coupon in the mail for a buy one get one free into the Portland Children's Museum a while back. I was cleaning things out and found it again! The only problem was that it would expire on the 28th of May and we were already on the 22nd. Whoops! So I decided to use it by the end of the week. I called up one of my friends (we met through Nordstrom and I use to manage with her husband) who has 2 little boys as well and asked if she would be up to a play date. Her oldest is Parker who is 2 and they just had their younger one 9 weeks ago, his name is Miles. They are adorable boys! Mandy said she would love to go, so off we went. The last time the boys and I had been there was a year ago for a birthday party for another friend's little girl. We were definitely due for a visit! The boys of course loved it and were entertained by everything there. They were nice to Parker and did not argue with each other at all. We stayed for a few hours and even manag...