Written and Illustrated by Marshall Bradley

Marshall dictated his first story to me today. He was so proud (and I was even prouder)! As I wrote on each page, he would illustrate it before the story could continue. The main character Janick, he drew all by himself. I helped a little with the rest and then he traced it. Janick started out with only one eye. Here's the story:

Miss and Boom by Marshall Bradley

The missing dedicatory page would read: For my Mom. I'd like to thank her for not showering, planning the week's menu, writing the grocery list, or doing any other of her numerous chores and instead taking the time to help me write and illustrate my first book. Thank you mom, you mean the world to me. (Ah, Marsh, I love you!)

One day there was a very big boy named Janick Fafanick and he was so tall he almost bonked his head.

Then Janick Fafanick bonked his head on a pencil.

After he bonked his head he rubbed it with his hand.

Then he told his mom he bonked his head.

Then he laughed and they ate their food.
chicken, rice, broccoli, and tomatoes (which looks a lot like the dinner we had at my aunt's last night)

The End

Fourth of July

The Fourth of July. My family (the Marshall's) big holiday! I mark my calendar early in the year for this date. This year we rallied for a barbeque at Aunt Robin's new house in Park City before heading up to the Oakley Rodeo. It's a great time to catch up with cousins that I don't see all year and reminisce about the good old days at Aspen Grove together. I love the Fourth!!!

My family, left to right: brother Brandon, Me and Coen, John and his coke, Dad, sister Riley, Marshall, and brother Cooper

our lil' family

me and the sibs

my sibs get weird when we're together

and they always do this

and then this (see, they're weird)

Aunt Robin, Aunt Alecia, and Grandma Rose

Brandon

The second-generation Marshall cousins: Marshall, Henry, Jackson, Jetta
missing are AJ, Clara, Coen and 2 on the way

Jack and Marshall tackling Cooper

Mommy and Coen at the Rodeo, he loved watching the animals and was so good!

Marshall sure loves his Aunt Ry-Ry

Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point

In July we went down to Lehi to explore the Dinosaur Museum. We were supposed to meet up with some friends but John took both sets of keys to work by accident. By the time we got down there they were at the last exhibit, ready to leave. Marshall and I worked our way through the museum backwards after they left. I loved having the time with Marshall that I wouldn't have had if he was with his friend. We were able to go through slowly, I read the plaques to him, we did the hands-on activities, and learned about dinosaurs and other ancient animals.Aaaaaaaah!

I think the tusks are taller than Marshall

one of these was fossilized dung!

I love Marshall's expressions that go with his action noises, such a boy thing!

Afterwards John joined us at the cafe for lunch and ice cream. Then he took Marshall in to see where he worked. It was fun for Marshall to see where Dad goes every day.

Crawling

Coen started crawling at 7 and a half months and learned to pull himself up to standing in the same week. Marshall was 11 months when he crawled. It's funny to see how different two kids can be. With Coen I think he just wanted to be in on all the action he sees from the big kids, which Marshall didn't have around at that age. With Marshall he was so big I think it took him longer to coordinate all the muscle groups for crawling. Coen is much smaller and has LOTS of energy. He always likes to be on the move exploring.

Sleepy Baby

giving me the stink eye for waking him up

there's my happy boy!

I love when he looks at me like I'm the most interesting thing in the world...oh wait, he's looking at the camera

so relaxed

love the bum up in the air! marshall and i used to sleep like that when we were babies

Bouncin off the Walls

Before John started his new job, he helped me drive all 6 kids down to Bouncin off the Walls. They had so much fun sliding, climbing, and bouncing around.Marshall and his cousins Eve and Laine

Maddie had fun bouncing in the basketball jump

big smiles!

my nephew, James

Hike to Silver Lake

Back on May 30 we went on a nature walk around Silver Lake. John and I had lofty goals of hiking as a family ever Saturday morning this summer. We started out the first few weeks doing short, nature walk type hikes to break into it slowly and to warm Marshall up to bigger, longer hikes. We pack snacks to eat halfway and bring plenty of water in our Camelbacks. This particular hike was anything but pleasant and squelched our desires to do it again anytime soon. It started out warm and nice, but the trail still had snow on it, we were all in sandals, and it quickly turned overcast, cloudy, and then started pouring. Marshall complained, slipped on the snow, and whined most of the hike and the way down the canyon. Getting him excited for any subsequent hikes was a joke.
watching the fish in the water

we stopped and watched all the squirrels and other animals we came across

we read all the plaques to make it more educational for Marshall

here he is pointing out the beaver dam we'd just read about

dark, cloudy, and rainy