Appropriate cousin relationships?

Kyle adores his cousin kalani! She conveniently lives across the street from us. Kyle and Lani spend most days together, and they have a very special friendship. A few weeks ago Cheryl had to go out of town, so Kyle and I volunteered to take care of Lani overnight. Kyle was overcome with joy at the thought of Lani being near him for a consistent amount of time.

Kyles first sleepover.......

We sincerely hope that Kyle will not be inviting ladies to spend the night in our guest-room EVER again!!!

Just thought I would add a cute one of Brody sleeping in his crib. Ahhh sweet dreams everyone!

The Yellow Dress Last week I was doing some easter shopping in "Ross", I took Kyle with me, I was very focused on what I was doing, and was'nt paying much attention to Kyle who was raking through all the girls clothing. Without warning he approached me with arms full of yellow netting, he proceeded to ask me..... "mommy, can we please, please, PLEASE buy this for Lani???" I took the dress out of his hands and turned to put it back on the rack, when he said... " I really wanted to take her to the dance!!!" Trying not to laugh, I bent down to his height, and before I could get a word out, He looked me in the eye and said.. " I want to be her partner!!" I examined the dress (and price) and figured that I could not let $10 stand in the way of innocent true love! So we purchased the special dress, and took it round to the "lady of the hour". Lani recieved the dress with much dramatic expression, and many squeeks of delight. It was at this moment, that we realized that we were indeed going to have to provide a dance for our love struck toddlers.

The planning began, and slowly things started to esculate into a sit down dinner, with menus, and waiters, not to mention, a back-drop for pictures etc etc. I asked Kyle if he was still planning on taking Lani to the dance and he said (very matter of fact) " I don't have a car or a man-suit!"





Mark could not let his boy go to his first dance without a "man-suit", So he bought a lovely suit for Kyle on his way home from work.



The Junior Spring Ball (the event of the year)

Venue: cheryls backyard

On the day of the dance, Lani was the perfect princess, but Kyle was very tired and grumpy, after all that effort, Kyle refused to dance with his maiden. We still think they look adorable!





We Love you Kyle and Lani

We hope you will always be close (maybe not quite as close!!) xxx

can't blame it on the jet-lag now!!

Visiting scotland........




Kyle standing outside Scone palace, Perth Scotland



Kyle loved looking at the river Tay with his "grandma chocolate buttons"My mum became "grandma chocolate buttons" because she spoiled Kyle with chocolate sweeties all day everyday! (please note the pacifier/dummy managed to sneek into this picture)

Ok, I have to establish the fact that, it was very cold!!!



kyle watching tv inside my mums house wrapped up in a blanket!

Ok, so it turns out, that Ronald McDonald is as scary in Scotland as he is in america! No wonder Brody is petrified!! I was too

Kyle and Brody sitting on grandma and grandads front step!

Kyle, Brody and their cousin Findley, having fun on the swings. P.s Mark proposed to me in this park 5 years ago!

This will have to do for now cos the photo thing is really annoying me!!! Anyway, we are all happy to be home! and soo excited for grandma and grandad and jenny and paul to come and see us next month!! I love my family!!! We are sooo blessed to have such amazing people to call our own!

p.s brody can finally walk!!!

I forgot to tell you all, Brody took his first steps a few weeks ago. He was 17 1/2 months old!!! we are all so proud of him! The late walking thing is definitely from the campbell side, My dad was 18 months, and my sister was a whopping 23 months!!! We might not be brainy, but we are think we are funny!!

where they say "och aye"

This comes to you all the way from scotland!!!
I cant believe we get to stay here for a MONTH!!!!!! We are having so much fun. Leaving Mark was not fun for any of us, especially kyle who kept saying he want to stay with "mark". It was a fine journey, but oh so long! and ... I am sorry but, the plane food really is minging! It is just disgusting! When the plane landed, the pilot announced that we should look around the "cabin" to make sure we had all of our belongings. Kyle turned to me excitedly and said.... " We are going to the CABIN mommy" anyway it turns out I didnt infact have all of my belongings, I left my mobile phone on the plane!!!! URGH It is highly anoying!!!! Anyway, we arrived here safe and sound. I almost didnt recognize my dad cos he has lost 4 stone since I last saw him (60 pounds-ish) he looks dead skinny now! everyone else looks just the same. I am so happy to be here! kyle and brody are having alot of fun too, At first Kyle didnt understand why I was trying to put a coat on him before he went out to play, he kept saying... "mom I am fine, I NOT cold mom!!" but he soon developed an appreciation for his coat and hat, and even requested that we get him some gloves. Yep the weather is a wee bit different over here! Our first meal that we had when we arrived was haggis neeps mince and tatties (haggis, turnips, ground beef, and potatoes) it was sooo good! I love burns supper. kyle and brody ate all their haggis too, which made me very proud. my little americans with a slice of scottish! Anyway we are all happy and enjoying getting spoiled from my mum and dad, missing mark, but keeping busy! LOVE you all!!!!!! beth kyle and brody xxxxx

MeRrY ChRiStMaS FrOm ThE pUgMiReS

We Love you all and hope that Christmas brings all the desires of your heart!!! With Love from Mark, Beth Kyle and Brody xxx

not a pretty picture!

I have never been an animal lover! I once had a goldfish, but he commit sucide within a couple of weeks in my care! I woke up to find him lifeless and stiff on my bedroom carpet. I guess he couldnt take it anymore, and ended it, by jumping out of his "never-been-changed" fish bowl. It was a sad discovery, and I mourned for about 10 minutes! My sister reminded me that there are plenty more fish in the sea, but that chapter of my life was over! I didnt care for the responsability.
Many years later, an impulsive weak moment, brought us an adorable puppy, that grew to be an obnoxious, loud, whyning dog. It was a decision that I instantly regretted. A few months later, we saw a notice informing us of puppies that cost only $10! I have never been able to resist a bargain! so, (once again) impulsively we brought another cute little puppy home. Within days, we had 2 obnoxious, attention-starved, highly annoying very LOUD dogs, taking over our backyard, eating our stuff, and pooping it out everywhere! We were not making friends very quickly in that neighbourhood! One "sad" day, both of our dogs decided that they too, were unhappy with the care we were providing for them, and they took off running. Mark and his brother searched everywhere, but they were gone! I tried my best "sad face" for Mark, but it was hard to hide my relief!
Mark is of the opinion, that every family needs a dog, to be considered as a "real" family! and so we decided impulsively to try our luck with a labrador. We brought her home, the beautiful little puppy! But within a week she was obnoxious too! I am just not a dog person I guess! But once again, our little "maggie" was unsatisfied and took to the road! Mark was particularly sad about losing maggie, because she was such a "good dog". I didnt agree.
We had a dog-free year or two, when the impusion to get a dog raised its head again! I either have a terrable memory, or I am too spontanious, or I am just plain crazy, but we brought home a sweet little beagle, we named her chloe. We have now had Chloe for over 2 years, which is definately a record for us! I don't hate her, but "like" would still be too strong a word.
Our friends were going a way for a while and asked us to dog-sit for them. (They obviously are unaware of our dog keeping history) So right now, we have.... One un-neutered female doggy, and two un-neutered male doggies! You can imagine the party in our back yard! It has been quite an education, and quite frankly, I dont know where to look!! One thing is for sure, Chloe is not the innocent little pup we thought she was! I am going to have to make an appointment for her to see the bishop!!! I have informed my friends that if pregnancy occurs, they will be responsable to take care of EVERYTHING! We have 4 lawyers in our family, and we are not afraid to use them!

send me your blog pages!!!!

I beautified my blog-page, and lost all my links in the process!! please email me your blog addresses so I can keep up-to date with you all!! I love you all
from bethy xxxxx

I am still full from thanksgiving dinner!!!!!

I have lived in america for nearly 5 years now. I get asked questions on a daily basis, some of my favorites are........ these are the responses I would like to give (but never do!)



1.Did you learn english when you moved over here? no comprehend?

2.Do you have color tv over there? nope we still shovel coal into the back of our black and white tvs!

3.I bet you think our hospitals are amazing? hmmm I think they are expensive!

4. I bet you're enjoying living in freedom now! because I lived in captivity in scotland?

5. do you celebrate 4th of july? independance from the uk? I am from the UK!

6.do you prefer to be called english or irish? Emmm.... SCOTTISH please!!!!

7. Do you know my great Uncle Alfred once removed, He is from Scotland? No I dont know him, or your great aunt Mabel or even your grandad Bert the 4th. dont know any of them!

8. Does this sound like a scottish accent? Not in the slightest!

9. do you celebrate thanksgiving in scotland? and the answer is ...no we do not celebrate thanksgiving in scotland, but to be honest with you, it is a holiday that I have had no trouble embracing!! anything that requires eating all day long, is defiately something I want to be part of!! and I think I do it like a full blood american!!! Thanksgiving was great!


ps dont be offended fellow americanos, I love you to bits!!!




Last weekend Mark and I drove to the cabin with the boys. It was soo c-c-c-old, We bundled up nice and warm. The cabin looks so pretty and we had a lot of fun together. The famous crying face!

CuTe LiTtLe BrOdY

Brody is 16 months and still can't walk! He crawls around wherever he needs to go, and the rest of the time he gets carried around by me. I am enjoying getting to keep him as a baby as long as I can! Although he can't walk, he can totally talk! He says whatever we ask him to say (we dont let him say "poo-poo" words) and honestly, nobody believes me about this, but.. he can sing!! He sings full songs and they are totally on tune and everything! he can sing twinkle twinkle, sunbeams, child of god, and little einsteins. but the catch is.... he wont perform for anyone but me and mark, mark is my witness that we have a musical genius in our family! watch this space because Brody is going to be a star!!!

FuNnY LiTtLe KyLe!

Kyle is really turning into a little man! He likes to keep us all in check! Lately he has been concerned with peoples choice of words. He is constantly listening out for "naughty" words. Like... "Oh man, dang it, or crap" (I was even told off for saying "thats cute!") kyle will gasp and exclaim horrified, "you said a bad word!" He is always telling brody off for his baby babble which can sometimes sound a little like "poo-poo" Kyle feels like it is his calling in life to make sure that no offensive words are spoken!

A few weeks ago, I was talking to Kyles pre-school teacher, and she said to me that he was the only child in the class that had never been asked to sit on the time-out chair. I was so proud of him, that I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest. Last week when I was driving him home from school, he proudly told me, " mommy I got to sit on the time out chair!!" He was VERY pleased with himself!!!

Kyle really is such a good boy, I am so glad that he is my oldest child, because he is such a good example to his little brother. He is very sensitive and always wants to make sure everyone is happy (especially his mum) The other day I gave him a bowl of ice-cream, and he said... "mommy you are such a good cooker! I lub ICE-CREAM!" It was dreyers, but it still made me feel good!! I do love my special little boys!!!

So you see.......... we are a Happy family!

don't mess with me!

oh dear!

Jades mom invited me to her house for a halloween party. So me and kyle went along. It was obvious that I was the only member there, (and kyle but I dont know if he counts) but anyway someone had rented a limo for all the kids to have a ride in. (some people over here have too much money) and jades mum shouted.."who wants to go in the limo?" and I was like..."definately me!!" so I got into the limo with kyle, and about 10 more kids ranging from age 8 to about 13 climbed in too. Then there was some commotion about needing an adult in there to supervise. and jades mum said..."its ok... beth is in there!! so they slammed the door shut and the driver took off. I was surrounded by all these kids that were completely out of control, then they started picking up wine glasses that were full of drinks, and I stood up and said as firm as I could.. "nobody drink anything" but nobody listened to my squeek so I shrivelled back into my seat and whispered in kyles ear..."dont you drink anything!" the kids were soo obnoxious , they kept shouting to the driver, "WE WANT MUSIC! WE WANT MUSIC!!! chant chant I hated them all!!! so anyway I am still as pathetic as ever. why is my family so rubbish in these situations? anyway it turned out that the alcohol was actually martinelli!! PHEW hahha it was horrable! anyway to top the evening off, kyle did a huge poop in his nappy, and of course this would be the day I didnt bring a spare nappy for him, so I took him in the bathroom, and started the process, the poop could not even be called a poop! it did not resemble anything brown or firm, it was however, green and liquidy, so much so that it had seeped out in all directions. And his "bumbum" (as kyle says) was red raw!! he cried as I tried my best to clean him with the wipes (that i found in a drawer) I then rummaged across a first aid box and thought.."hmm I bet there will be something soothing in here"... and sure enough, there was a bottle of aloe vera after-sun lotion. So I generously squeezed the solution on to his throbbing area, when he let out an almighty SCREAM!!! he was now SCREAMING at the top of his lungs!! Ok so I started with the stingy wipes again trying to wash off the offending lotion!! I dressed him and got out of there as fast as we could!! twas not a fun night for me (or kyle)

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN FrOm ThE pUgMiReS

We had so much fun at trunk or treat.
Kyle was dressed as his fave superhero..."the FLASH" Kyle wanted to wear his costume soo much that it had holes in it before

he even got to party in it!

We dressed brody up as a vampire because... 1. we hadnt bought him anything in time, 2. it was really easy to throw together. 3. It was free, 4. he has a natural widows peak in his hairline 5. he BITES like a vampire 6. I love edward cullan!

I dont really know what mark was meant to be, but I think he secretly enjoyed having a full head of hair for the night! and I was an angel (for obvious reasons) It was fun to see everyone dressed up!

I am an old granny

I just turned 29 !! I can't believe how old I am getting! Its not funny!
I am going through a midlife crisis!!! anyway so...... it was my birthday, and mark was soo amazing to me. He got off work for the day, and let me stay in bed while he gave the boys breakfast and got them both dressed. then he gave me some pressies, an ipod deck thingy, and giftcard, and a new singstar game. Then we went to the mall, and we got to have lunch at my fave restaurant which is.. firebird grill. I got a new necklace and a top. and we let kyle "build a bear" We let him choose whichever bear he wanted, and he managed to pick the ugliest thing in there! I was trying to steer him in the direction of the cute brown puppy, or the fluffy bear, but nope, he wanted the nasty green dragon type thing. and he didnt stop there, he dressed it in a hideous superman outfit! it looks ridiculous, and it cost us $30!!! I had a brilliant idea, but it came on too late. I was thinking it would have been a good idea, if we had kyle bring all his dummies (pacifiers) to build a bear workshop, and have him bury them in his bear, then they can sew it up with them inside. I know, its brilliant!!! but I didnt think about it until we were leaving the shop! and I am not paying $30 for another one, so we will have to put up with our overgrown baby for a few more months I think! anyway, yep so birthday evening, everyone came to my house and we have chips and salsa (which by the way, I made myself ) and we had ice cream birthday cake! we played singstar all night!! it was the best birthday EVER!!

anna and richard

A few weeks ago...... My sister anna came to visit me in arizona, She brought her boyfriend Richard with her. It was really nice to finally get to know him a bit. He is very polite and friendly, and Anna just seemed so relaxed and happy with him. I am soo glad because anna has been through a divorce and has had a terrable time throughout the past while. It has been lovely to be able to be around her and see for myself how happy Richard makes her. While they were here visiting me, They decided to get married impulsively in the phoenix courthouse. At first I thought they were joking around, but when I realised they were serious and they explained their reasoning behind it, it made perfect sense. My parents agreed that this was for the best. Due to previously being sealed, Anna and Richard were not able to be sealed at this time. So me and mark got to be part of their special day, which was an honour! The day before they were to be married, We all went to chandler mall, We spent the day there, getting dresses, shoes, a suit etc for richard, he even got a ring there. I LOVE chandler mall! We got our nails painted too. It was a really nice day, and anna found a beautiful dress!

The next day was the big day! Anna looked sooo beautiful, we met them down at the courthouse. Me, Mark, Kyle and Brody made up the entire congration. It was very simply done, and the judge pronounced them man and wife. (I never understand why they dont say.. "husband and wife") Mark and I were the witnesses. It was very special to be able to be such a big part of their day. Quite often I feel as though I miss out on so many of my family occasions, being so far away. This made it all worth it! After the ceremony, we all went out for a lovely steak, in a really fancy restaurant. It was soo good! It was a day I will always remember, and I feel priviliged to have been a part of. I dont think I have ever seen Anna as happy as she is now, and I wish her and Richard all the best in their adventures together. p.s kyle and Brody looked soo handsome in their kilts xxxxx

meet jade.......

I have a new job! I look after sweet little jade full-time! She is 10 months old and is really sweet and chubby. I am getting a bit of a girly fix having her around. I cant help but put piggy -tails in her hair and cute little dresses. Boys really are quite boring to dress, its a case of.. checkered or striped shirt. yawn! My sister-in-law has just started a boutique, and she is working on a whole line for boys too, which I think will be brill. check out her website http://www.fancypantsbowtique.com/ she makes everything herself!!

poor brody

OK I am finally able to move on from Brody's bad haircut!





I am going to show you some pics of my boy

first pic, is before any shaving began, look how sweet he is




The MONK!






Then cheryl tried to fix it for us, and it looked alot better. here is my wee Brody Glen with his big boy haircut!
I hated it at first, but to be honest, it has kind of grown on me, He looks so grown-up! He still can't walk though! 14 1/2 months old.
Love my wee pal! He is so different from Kyle, Brody gets really mad, and bites us all! and throws his head down on the floor in his raging temper tantrums!





anyway, so we shaved kyles head too, so they can both look like thugs!




My poor baby looks like a
monk!!!

Brody has very thick hair, and most of the time it looks kind of scruffy, but he is soo cute, I love his crazy hair. I decided to give in to Mark, and began trimming Brodys hair. I got it looking pretty good, when Mark decided he wanted it shorter, and completely shaved the whole back off!!! he left a big mop on the top!! My baby looked exactly like A MONK!!! I started crying, and banned Mark from ever touching either of the boys hair EVER again!!! but of course we couldnt leave poor brody looking like a monk, so I reluctantly let mark try to blend the rest of the hair, which kept getting shorter and shorter!! anyway.... long story short... my baby now looks like a missionary gone wrong!!! I am very very sad about it!!! will post pictures when I can see the funny side (which might be never)

brody and the couch

we got this couch on craigslist, and it was the bargain of the century!! we love it! but it was slightly worn on one of the arms, and brody has continued to scratch and pick at the worn patch until it made a little hole. He now enjoys trying to make the hole bigger and bigger!!! Does anyone know how to fix a leather hole, or stop a baby ripping it? all suggestions are welcome!