Our kiddies

Daddy's Big Shoes

This was right before leaving for Church--disregard Olivia's tantrum in the background--she was on her way to timeout. I couldn't tell you what for, but some days it's like that. I thought Matthew was really cute in this video.

Giggling kiddos

Olivia is saying "come back you," a line from Finding Nemo when Dory is trying to get a whale to come back to her and Marlin. Matthew just loves it, as you can see.

Happy Halloween

Step away from my wand!

"I'm a brave knight . . . I'm not dragon bate." That's a line from Franklin. Gotta love kid's shows.

Cutie

Our trip

Here is a slideshow of our trip to Florida. Are we ever glad that is over! As beautiful as it was, four days is a long time to be travelling in a car with two little kids. The countryside was gorgeous--it was great to see in person. So, here we are in our apartment--our stuff finally arrived. Yeah!!!! We're unpacked and settled and really enjoying this city.
Some big news is that Matthew is walking. We think that all the space in this apartment is what finally did the trick. :) It's really cute to see him ambling around. At the DMV this morning where we went to get our official Florida driver's licenses, one guy in line told us that we should have Matthew dress up as a Frankenstein for Halloween since he kind of walks like one with his arms stretched out. Lol. I think he's a doll. Olivia's got the sniffles right now, but hopefully those clear up so she can go to church Sunday. There are a whopping 4 kids in the nursery. What a change from Provo Peak 5th Ward. There really is no official nursery leader--members just take turns. Brent was just called as the 2nd counselor in the Young Men's Presidency--he's responsible for one deacon. There are 6 young men total. Unbelievable! You'd think this was a branch, but it's a ward. We really like it though. The members are warm and friendly. We've really enjoyed it here so far.

The 25 Day Campout

So, we had our house packed up and shipped out on September 27 from Provo. We arrived in Panama City Thursday October 2, moved into our apartment October 3rd, were told our items from home would be there around October 3-7th. They didn't come. Instead, they told us they would come beween October 15-18th. They told us October 15th they would be here between the 19th through the 21st--STILL haven't come. In the meantime, we have become experts at eating on paper plates, using plastic utensils, sleeping on blowup mattresses, sitting on the floor Korean style without our couch, watching movies on our mini DVD player, and wearing the same old clothes for the last three and a half weeks. Thank goodness we purchased a washer and dryer right away or we'd really be in trouble. Sorry we haven't posted any pictures--when we get our computer with our moving stuff they will be forthcoming.

Missionaries

Brent's parents entered the Missionary Training Center yesterday--they're headed to do missionary work on various military bases on Seoul, Korea for a period of eighteen months. Pretty exciting, especially considering that I was also called to Seoul, Korea. We'll have lots to talk about when they get home, I'm sure.

A little too early for Christmas

Olivia looks kind of like she's dressing up as Mary for Christmas here, but I love the picture--her expression is adorable.

Blockhead

Here's our funny little guy. This was Brent's idea to put the blocks on his head. I think he's cute.

Florida, here we come!

You guessed it! Brent got a job doing research on the Air Force base in Panama City, Florida. We're leaving in just under a month, so are we ever busy packing and making preparations. This is the last place we ever would have thought of going, but we are so excited. The job is temporary--the contract is just for a year, but with the option of renewing after a year, and maybe even more permanent possibilities after the two years. We shall see.

Of shoes and ships and sealing wax and cabbages and kings

Yesterday Olivia was having a "phone conversation," using my hairclip as a phone--she was talking to the Little Mermaid Ariel. She said "Ariel, please be happy--you're a girl." Later on, "Ariel, please don't swim anymore--you're married. You wear a dress." I had to stifle a laugh. You've gotta love three-year-old talk.

Our graduate

Brent got his Ph.D. last Thursday and Friday (technically I don't know which day, but I don't think it matters). Mom and Dad Pickett came down to celebrate with us, and it was a lot of fun. We're all really proud of him and his accomplishment.

Livvie and Louie

Our family went to the home of Brent's advisor Dr. Fletcher last Friday night for a barbecue for fellow chemical engineers. Dr. Fletcher has a little dog named Louie that Olivia just fell in love with. She spent the vast majority of her time running him ragged. She ran everywhere with him--they became good pals. Surprisingly Matthew didn't flinch when Louie came to say hi to him. I thought he'd start crying for sure, but not so.

We're all together again, we're here, we're here

Trip to Longview

We took the kids and headed out to Longview, Washington, Janae's hometown.  We spent 5 days there and just had a blast.  Amazingly, the car trips went very well both ways, considering that we had two toddlers in the car.  We took a lot of potty breaks, brushed off a lot of crumbs out of the car, listened to a lot of music, and Olivia enjoyed watching a lot more movies than she's used to, but she loved every minute of it.  It was great.  We got to play with Nannie and Grandpa Olson and Aunt Katy--we got to go to Lake Sacajawea and just to relax--it was much needed.  Enjoy the slideshow of all the pictures from our trip. 

Holding out on us

Okay, so Brent and I have been married almost four years and he has never made a dessert for us (except maybe no-bake cookies on occasion). I'm not complaining about that, but a couple Sundays ago he decided to experiment making an apple pie, including homemade filling and crust from scratch, and all I can say is "WOW!" That pie didn't last too long at our house.

A new grandma

Great Grandpa Kearsley was married this summer to Carol (I actually don't know her former last name), but they came down for a visit and it was a lot of fun. Olivia's favorite trick of Great Grandpa's is that he can take his teeth out. She's tried to get other people to do it, but we had to tell her that not everyone can do that. :)

True love's kiss

I told Olivia the story of Sleeping Beauty the other night before she went to sleep, including the part where the prince awakens Sleeping Beauty with the kiss of true love. The next day Olivia asked Brent if she could have true love's kiss. I thought that was cute.

Brent and Janae

Brent and Janae got married on August 14th, 2004 in the Portland, Oregon Temple--thus began the Brent and Janae Pickett family. Olivia came along the following year on July 6th and Matthew was born two years later on June 27th. We live in Provo, Utah and are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have a fabulous ward and great neighbors and have loved these past few years here. Brent finished his undergrad at BYU in Chemical Engineering and will graduate with a Ph.D in Chemical Engineering this August. After that, we'll see where we end up--we're still on the job hunt.

Livvie Kay

Here she is--our three-year-old, Olivia! She just celebrated her birthday on July 6th. This girl is a real character--she loves playing in the backyard (that is probably her favorite thing to do--especially when she gets to swim or dump water all over herself). She also enjoys looking at books and reading together with Mom or Dad, and lately she's really been enjoying Disney princesses. Livvie is also a great big sister! We love her.

Olivia's 3rd Birthday Slideshow

Matthew's 1st Birthday Slideshow

1-year-old Matthew

Here is Matthew, who celebrated his first birthday a couple weeks ago. He's a cutie. His favorite food is currently macaroni and cheese, although we must say that he really did enjoy this birthday cake. This little guy loves to crawl, walk along the couch, climb up onto Olivia's bed and come very close to falling off backwards, wipe his hands in his hair after eating a really messy meal, and be a really cute baby. We love him.

Brent and Janae Pickett Family Blog

Welcome to the Pickett family blog.