Lovell Family In Texas

We love Cedar City!

2010-06-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip to Cedar City. The boys loved meeting their new baby cousins Krue and Landon and had a blast with the grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Soft Green Grass!

2010-05-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who live in Texas and know what it's like to call dry, prickly weeds grass you will understand our boys' excitement over our new Utah lawn. They can actually enjoy playing in the yard. Yay!

Sold!

2010-03-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here she is... our new home! It's minutes away from an awesome family recreation center with pools & trails, a golf course, numerous stores and restaurants, and not too far from Grandpa Dan & Grandma Sheri. Kudos to Trav for flying out on a weekend and finding us the perfect house. :) Sorry for the blurry picture.

Lovell Family Leaving Texas

2010-03-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm not the most diligent blogger. It's been a year since I last posted. Oops! Anyway, our latest news to report is that on March 26th we'll packing up and leaving our beloved home and friends in Texas and moving back to Utah.

Travis got an amazing opportunity to work from the Merrill Lynch office (since Bank of America and Merrill Lynch are now merged). We haven't lived near our families for over six years now so this will be fun for our boys to get to know their grandparents and cousins, etc. better.

Our new home will be on the outskirts of West Valley City and Salt Lake - a 12 minute commute to downtown. We can't wait to reconnect with all of our friends back home. We'll also be sad to leave our Texas friends behind. Adios y'all and thanks for making the past four years so great!

The Unthinkable...

2009-05-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

On Friday Travis did something I never imagined possible... he sold his boat and posted all of his fishing gear (a serious motherload) for sale. He's decided to spend more time with the family and ease up our budget a bit by cutting out the heaviest expense (fishing). What a sweet Mother's Day present! He was getting a little antsy for some alone time by Saturday afternoon so he went out golfing instead. I have to say, I much prefer him golfing than fishing, as it is much cheaper and much less time consuming. Hooray for Trav!

The Scary Rabbit

2009-04-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Beckett couldn't stop laughing at the Easter Bunny and kept trying to feed him candy. Brandon made me come over with him and refused to look at the camera. It was a nice try though!

Prophet or President?

2009-04-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

So last weekend before General Conference we asked Brandon who the prophet is and he promptly responded "Obama." Time for a teaching moment. After repeatedly explaining to him that President Monson is the leader of our church and President Obama is the leader of our country he continues to argue that it's Obama. Yikes! Take that to Primary!

Not-so-happy egg hunter

2009-04-08T13:09:00.001-07:00

Beckett's Easter egg hunt at the Mother's Day Out didn't go as well as Brandon's. He was not a happy camper today!

Egg Hunt and Picnic

2009-04-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

I got to help with Brandon's preschool egg hunt and picnic today. Cute kids!

The Famous Duo

2009-03-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

I know, you're probably sick of all the fishing posts. But that's what you get when you have a couple of obsessed boys in the house. I need my own hobby! Anyway, it was cute of Bass Pro to create this for Brandon.

Fishing Champ

2009-02-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

Trav's getting pretty competitive at bass fishing lately, which is impressive considering the short amount of time he's been fishing (1 year). He took sixth place out of 100 boats in a tournament yesterday. Brandon can't wait to get bigger so he can be Dad's fishing partner.

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-14T09:34:00.001-08:00

The best thing about Valentines day are those sticky red heart suckers the boys can't get enough of.

Growing up fast!

2009-02-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

Our chubby little Beckett is growing up fast. He's 17 1/2 months (and not quite walking yet) and full of energy. His new favorite hobbies are splashing in the toilets, emptying the pots, pans, and tupperware out of the cupboards, and playing cars & transformers with Brandon.

Scary Fishing Mask

2009-02-14T09:26:00.001-08:00

Travis needed a cold weather fishing mask to protect his face against the wind during the winter. His first one got stolen, so Brandon picked out a freaky-looking skeleton one this time so it will "scare away the robbers."

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you who spoiled the boys! We hardley had to buy them anything. We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas as well.

Thanks for the cute matching pajamas and the Transformers Grandpa Nate & Grandma Cindy!

The Team GeoTrax airport was a huge hit. Thanks Grandpa Dan & Grandma Sheri!

Merry Christmas (almost) from the hospital

2008-12-25T04:49:00.000-08:00

On the 23rd I took Beckett to the pediatrician because his breathing was really fast and hard and he hadn't been eating or drinking much. The doctor declared that he was in respiratory distress, was dehydrated and could have RSV. After 3 hours in the doctor's office they sent us straight to the hospital to get Beckett some fluids through IV. After way too much poking and digging they couldn't find veins in his arms or feet so they put the IV through a vein in his head (gross!) and made a little cap out of a styrofoam cup so he wouldn't pull it out. They took some chest x-rays and discovered he also had some pneumonia in his lungs and need to spend the night to get some antibiotics in him. He was pretty lethargic that day, but the next day he was up playing and ready to go. We were so happy to be able to take him home in time for Christmas!

Happy Birthday Luke!

2008-12-25T04:46:00.001-08:00

For those of you who don't know, Luke is Brandon's stuffed animal dog and best friend. Brandon woke up the other day and was determined that it was Luke's birthday. He insisted on making a cake and singing to him.

Failed attempts at a picture Christmas card

2008-12-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

For three days straight I tried to take the boys' picture in front of the Christmas tree to send out some photo cards, but after about 50 tries I decided to give up hope that they would both sit still, look at the camera, and smile at the same time. Sorry no cards this year! Maybe next year...

Brandon's Christmas Program

2008-12-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Brandon's preschool had their Christmas program this morning. They've been practicing songs for the past few weeks. Brandon sang pretty well. Most of the kids were waving and yelling hi to their parents, but Brandon was Mr. Serious. The kids were super cute. Brandon was happy Dad took time off work to come and see him.

School Pictures

2008-10-27T10:09:00.001-07:00

No smiles for Brandon, but Beckett likes to pose for the camera. These are just scans of the proofs so sorry about the quality!

Pumpkin carving time!

2008-10-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

Brandon helped Dad carve our pumpkin. Beckett was more interested in the candy. He was eating both ends of a sucker. He doesn't like his new helmet so much. We need to get it decorated!

Costume Dilemma

2008-10-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Brandon was having a tough time deciding which costume to wear to the ward trunk-or-treat party, but he finally decided on the tool man.

Ouch!

2008-09-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend while fishing with some buddies from the ward, Trav got hooked in the thumb with a three-pronged fish hook. Rather than take him to the emergency room, the guys decided to have Jon (a dental student) operate. Jon had just brought home some local anesthetics the day before - totally inspired! They cut off the other prongs with some pliers before I could get a picture but I wish you could have seen it because it was wicked looking. Once Trav's thumb was numb the two guys started trying to yank the hook out. They were pulling as hard as they could, but the hook was stuck on some old scar tissue. We were all a little worried that they were having to tug so hard, but we were trying not to let Trav know they were having problems. After some serious sweating they got it out. A few hours later when the medicine wore off the throbbing started. Poor Trav! Brandon said a prayer for him but then gave him a lecture that he needed to be more careful next time.

New Best Friend

2008-09-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

Brandon got invited to birthday parties at Chuckee Cheeses two weeks in a row. He's getting really good at cheating on the skee ball game to win tickets (he climbs up the ramp and tosses the balls into the holes). Here's Brandon and his new best friend from preschool - Gage.

Pictures!

2008-08-26T13:00:00.001-07:00

Friends From The Start

2008-08-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

2008-08-26T12:56:00.001-07:00

The only way we could get him to get his picture taken was to let him play with Luke.

Too tired for cake

2008-08-25T18:48:00.001-07:00

Again, big brother helped make the little cake and blow out the candles. (He also insisted on putting three candles in it instead of one). Beckett was too tired to taste it and wasn't all that happy about the frosting he got on himself. Happy Birthday Beckett!

Beckett's 1st Birthday

2008-08-25T18:45:00.001-07:00

Brandon was a big help opening Beckett's presents for him and playing with them all day. Sometimes he lets Beckett have a brief turn with his toys.

Birthday fun at the zoo

2008-08-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

For his 3rd birthday Grandma Cindy took Brandon to the zoo. He loved it. Thanks Grandma Cindy!

Don't even try to take away that hose!

2008-08-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ridin' tuff on the Big Wheels

2008-08-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Beckett likes Brandon's new ride as much as his big brother does.

Surprise!

2008-07-22T16:19:00.000-07:00

The first time the phone rang this morning, Brandon and his little friend Kate decided to give Beckett an Oreo cookie. He loved it. Time for bath #2 of the day.

The second time I got caught on the phone, Brandon found a blue crayon and colored the entire couch, including the back side and the pillows. It took about 45 minutes of scrubbing and a full bottle of Shout to get it out. Sometimes I feel like all I do is clean up one mess after another!

Keeping cool in the pool

2008-07-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

Now instead of asking if he can take a bath 5 times a day he asks if he can go swimming.

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-05T18:20:00.001-07:00

The ward had a picnic and bike parade at the park but it was kind of hot and miserable. The boys enjoyed it for the most part though. We only lit two fireworks that night because Brandon got a little scared of the sparks and the noise and begged us all to go inside. Maybe next year he'll think they're more fun.

Big Catch

2008-07-05T18:16:00.001-07:00

Here are two large mouth bass Trav caught at a tournament on Lake Tawakoni. He usually throws them back but he had a live-well malfunction so these two didn't survive.

Bubbles in the doorway

2008-06-14T13:59:00.001-07:00

Even though it was raining outside, Brandon was still determined to blow those bubbles.

So much for a Father's Day surprise

2008-06-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

Brandon decided he wanted to get Dad a new Bass Cat hat for Father's Day, since his previous two blew off into the water while Trav was speeding across the lake. Brandon picked out the wrapping paper and bow and has been telling me all week not to ruin the surprise. "We can't tell Dad about his new hat until Sunday. We have to keep it a secret." But Travis never waits for surprises. Last night (Friday) he tricked Brandon into not only telling him about the present, but opening it up for him. Shameless!

More park pics

2008-06-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

Another day at the park.

21 lbs!

2008-05-30T16:13:00.000-07:00

Our healthy little sumo wrestler weighed in at a whopping 21 lbs. today for his nine month check-up. Surprisingly that only puts him in the 60th percentile. This is as close as Beckett has come to crawling. I'm sure he'll be moving around here soon enough.

A day at the pool

2008-05-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

Some friends invited us to the swim park in their neighborhood. Brandon enjoyed giving all of the girls car washes (dumping water on their heads).

Daddy's Boys

2008-05-30T15:38:00.000-07:00

Beckett absolutely adores his dad and Brandon adopts all of Trav's hobbies with a passion. We need another girl around here! (I better mention that it's going to be a while before that happens. Two is enough of a handful right now!).

The King of Snacks

2008-05-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

Who can resist such an adorable, chocolatey smile? Don't you love how kids manage to get whatever they're eating all over themselves and everything around them even when you think the food shouldn't be all that messy?

Brandon's Favorite Pastime

2008-05-22T20:54:00.000-07:00

Brandon loves throwing coins into the pond display at Bass Pro. Just about everyday he'll put some pennies in his pocket "just in case" we go to Bass Pro (even though we only go with Trav on Saturdays). He tells me he just wants to be ready. He usually tries to pack quite a handful. Luckily I've convinced him that the silver coins aren't good for the water, only the brown ones.

Yay for Summer!

2008-05-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Brandon has been looking forward to good park weather. He's always telling me his friends are waiting for him at the park.

"Beckett Monkey"

2008-05-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

The chubby little baby finally mastered sitting up by himself at eight months old!

Trav's second love

2008-05-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know Trav well know he gets a little obsessive about his hobbies. It used to be golf, but last December Trav bought himself a boat and now it's all about bass fishing. Brandon knows the name of every fish bait, lure, and piece of fishing equipment. He's always telling me how he needs something at Bass Pro.