Neeley Family Blog

Brock qualified to head off to the Oregon State Chess tournament! He picked up chess at the end of the last school when he participated in a after school club. Brock enjoyed it so much so that I asked one of our friends about the clubs/programs their kids were participating in to get some more information. She was super helpful in giving me information to get us started. Brock participated in 3 tournaments which was enough to qualify him for state. The state tournament was held in Seaside, Oregon (the beach).  We rented a house and loaded everyone and the dog up. There were pre-tournament games called, Bug House on Friday.  He didn't do that well in those.  I think a combination of nerves and time limits got the better of him.  Saturday he played really well, winning 2 out of 3 games. Sunday he had some tight matches, but ended up winning both. We were unsure about how he would place, due to their scholastic ranking changi...

So as stated in my last post, Brylee just turned 4. Our CO Neeley family decided to make a visit to see us, and it happen to fall the day after Brylee's birthday.  We planned some serious fun to happen on this visit. Brad and Eric wanted to venture to an arcade in Downtown Portland.  It has the "old school" arcade games from when they were a kid.  It is really an adult arcade.  They only let kids in until 5pm, then it is a 21 and over place only (they have a bar inside). Eric also wanted an '80's dance party. Since the one in Portland is again an adult function, we would need babysitters and have to deal with leaving all the kids.  I planned for an "in house" dance party. I ordered some '80's party favors and a wii dance party game that is music from the '80's and '90's.  Jenn and I got to spend our girl time chatting and hanging out together.  She lent moral support while I made Brylee's cake for her birthday ...

You may have wondered with the title, did Brionna get some nice new earrings? Nope. Brylee got her ears pierced!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had talked about doing this when she was 2, but Brad was hesitant and wanted to wait till she could decide for herself if she wanted them pierced.  I thought it would be better to do it earlier so she would not remember as much of it. A couple of weeks ago, she started asking to have "sparkles" in her ears like mine.  She had noticed my earring and kept mentioning she wanted some like momma's.  I told her to ask her daddy about that.  Well, she finally did and he was super surprised. We discussed it and said maybe we would do it in the next couple weeks. I totally jumped at the chance and took Brylee when she was home with me a few days later!! She was really good about it.  She picked out the earrings she wanted.  She sat in the chair like a big girl.  The lady working there even said maybe I should sit with...

We have a new first in the family, Brayden has lost his first baby tooth!! So exciting! He squealed with glee when it fell to the floor. He has been working on wiggling them as his two front teeth started to loosen.  I have even tried tying floss around them and pulling to no avail.  Just the other night he said, "mom will you try again? they are really loose now, especially this one (insert image of him grabbing one of his top front teeth and moving it around)." I reluctantly agreed. So we wrapped floss and pulled and.... the floss broke! HA! So we tried one more time and....ping to the floor it went!!! And squealing began! We will wait for the tooth fairy tonight and see what she brings. ;) He wanted me to send this picture to everyone too so they could see his new smile.  Brayden is heading back to being a toothless kid!

Easter was a much anticipated day for the Neeley kids.  They know the Easter Bunny visits and brings goodies, eggs to find and more treats! We decorated eggs, went to church and brunch, hunted eggs at our house, then ventured to my parents house (after watching the Louisville game) to hunt more eggs and have dinner. It was a very fun egg-citing day! ;)   Decorating Eggs...   Hunting Eggs...  A break to watch Basketball...  Ready to go hunting at Grammy and Grandpa's house...  I love Brylee's face!!! Ha! The girl decides when she wants to smile and when she doesn't!   And a video of the Neeley kiddos hunting at our house.     And last, but not least, our annual family picture that we take after church... Take One.  Take Two. (really like 3 or 4)  Take Three. (really 6) Someone in the family was eager to move on from picture taking, but I think we can settle for the last on...

We sadly, had to say our good-byes to our first "Neeley baby," Tinsley.  He was 10 1/2 years old.  Brad picked him up in his Mustang when he was just 8 weeks old.  Tinsley has danced at our wedding, moved to every house with us, and welcomed each of our kiddos home from the hospital.  Tinsley was a smart dog.  He was a little too smart I think.  It often got him into trouble.  Brad and I called him curious George.  He always wanted to sniff things, test things, just check them out.  He loved going for rides in our cars.  He would stick his head, nose, tip of the nose....whatever he could out the window.  Tinsley LOVED his food! Treats, scraps, just any food.   It is probably one of the reasons he became diabetic.  We then had to limit his food and could really only give him his prescription dog food, with an occasional treat.  I can still picture him now prancing across the yard with his fluffy whit...

Man, where has the time gone!?! Our littlest kiddo, the baby of the family is now 3 YEARS OLD! THREE people! I feel as though I have blinked and she went from a baby to a toddler. Brylee at three is.... Potty trained (just recently completed that adventure right before her birthday), into all things Hello Kitty, Dora, Disney Princesses or Jake and the Neverland Pirates (a Disney show).  She is still throwing tantrums, but I think they are tapering off now.  There is usually one a day, not handfuls as there was before.  I am still holding out hope we are near the end of them. ;)  Brylee is talking much more these days.  She is saying more complete sentences and really articulates what she is trying to say.  Brylee is still keeping up with her brothers in anything and everything they do.  She has found a new love of the iPad or our iPhones.  Brylee is getting into make-believe.  She makes up stories all the time and uses her toys as props fo...

Brad and I have made it to our 9th Wedding Anniversary on August 2nd! Yep, people we are almost in DOUBLE DIGITS for the anniversary.  We kept it pretty mellow this year since we have an upcoming trip planned, but we did manage to get a few hours by ourselves to just talk with one another, eat and see the Batman movie. My parents helped with the kids.  They took care of wearing them out, feeding them and bringing them home in time for bed.  A big THANK YOU to them for letting us have our "Date night!" We had a nice happy hour meal at Claim Jumper.  Then headed over to the movie theater.  It was a delightful few hours of adult time together with my Best Friend.  In 9 years we have: moved 2 times had 3 children visited 1 other country seen 10 states changed occupations bought 2 cars And had several crying and laughing sessions over various incidents! It has been a roller coaster of a ride for these 9 years and I look forward to what the futur...