love.hate

I feel like people usually have a love or hate relationship with Las Vegas.

Most people I have talked to either love.love.love going to Vegas or avoid it like the black plague. I have always been quite fond of it. It is a very nice change of pace from good ole Provo Utah. ....however..... This week I was not loving Vegas so much. Devin had the luxury of going there for work, which left me home...alone! I'm not going to lie I am a scaredy cat. Over the last (almost) 4 years of being married to that kid I have only had to spend the night away from him a few times. I am not ashamed to admit that on those rare occasions I slept at my moms house. Well I decided to be brave this week. I avoided every knock that came to our door and probably double our electricity bill becuase I had everylight on at all times but I did it, and am quiet proud of myself! :)

Working hard......

oh hey.....

I feel I have been treating my blog like an awkward friend from the past. Someone that you have not seen in forever. It has been so long that when you randomly do see this person you avoid making eye contact (like you really didn't see them).When you do happen to engage in coversation it is awkward. You just don't know what to say. So much life has happened that you don't know how to catch up. You feel like you are a different person since the last time you spoke to them and so you don't know how you'll get along any more.

I'm sorry blog I have been avoiding you! The first step is admiting it!

I can't make any promises. I could say I'll be a better blogger...but let's face it, I probably won't. But I'll try!

XOXO ~ Kara
(yeah...too much Gossip Girl this week)

IT'S SUMMER

I can't believe it is already July! I have a feeling the rest of summer is going to fly by without us knowing it. So far it has been filled with...warmth.snowcones.a wedding.sun.parties.cornhole.new niece.sun burns.parades.croquet.bbq's.shorts & sandals.fireworks.bike rides.walking lucy.hiking.playing with friends.popsicles.weekend in St. George.fresh fruit.extra freckles.girls camp.work.tan lines.temple trips.carnivals...just to name a few!

And we get to look forward to:

birthdays.reunions.more bbq's.moving(fingers crossed).devin not having to start school again.trips to the bear lake.lotoja(maybe).bike rides.going to the drive-in.hiking timp.best friends wedding.weekend trips.rodeos.and much much more:)

These are the only picture we have from this summer so far...

Strawberry Days Festival

(Taco Amigo fresh strawberry shakes...I love this time of year:))

The kids loved the rides at Strawberry Days!
THE HAPPY COUPLE

Jeff and Emmy got married on June 28th! The sealing and reception were both amazing...it was an awesome day!

Temple trip down to Manti! Drew went through for the first time...he leaves for the MTC so soon!

4th of July!!

Yes we made our awesome shirts. It was Jamie's idea! Unfortunately I got drentched by Benjamin before we got a picture of the 4 of us in our matching patriatic shirts!

Grandpa Brady got to ride on a tank in the parade. He is in the hat on the front right corner. He was adoarable with the biggest smile on his face! You could tell he was having so much fun!

Did i mention I won a fish! His name is Abraham!! And yes he is still alive even though I am the only one who thought he would live past a week!

A couple weeks ago this little treasure joined our family! Little Annie Mae! She is so stinking adorable! I love all my nieces and nephews...our family is getting so big!

We love our Chick-fil-a!

Hiking in St. George! A group of us were able to go down at the beginning of the summer. We did a lot of swimming, eating, relaxing and hiking:) It was a great way to kick off the summer!

When it Rains it POURS

If you are an avid follower of http://devinandkara.blogspot.com you'll know at least two things about Kara and I:

1 - In the last 2 1/2 years I never have posted a single thing on the blog...until today.

2 - About three weeks ago the late Nissan Maxima (our one and only car) was sold to a body shop after it got rear-ended on the freeway. Woof.

Since the tragic loss of the Nissan we have been borrowing cars from both of our parents which, luckily, hasn't been bad. Although we have spent hours looking for a new car we haven't found anything we like at a price that we can afford. I'm way to picky. It has been a nightmare and to add to our sad story...

On the way home from a car lot last night my dad an I happened upon a nasty wreck on 1-15 in American Fork. We were about 2 minutes behind the accident and got caught in traffic about 50 feet away from a rolled semi-truck.

Twenty feet ahead of us was a car with it's emergency lights on that looked like it was backing down the shoulder of the freeway right next to us. I thought to myself "Oh, someone stopped to help and now they are moving out of the way...how nice." About 4 seconds later I said to my dad, "He better turn or he is going to hit us" and I began to honk on the horn. Another 2.3 seconds later the car was 4 feet away and we, pinned in traffic, came to the realization that no one was in the car. Curse words #1, 2, & 3.

Two hours and a lot of flashing lights later, I had my 2nd accident report in less than 3 weeks and my dad's Corolla had a nice dent in the door.

When it rains it pours, and needless to say there is a gloomy gray cloud of curse words hanging over American Fork.

So here are 10 take aways from the last three weeks:

1 - ALWAYS set your park brake or leave your car in gear when you get out of it...especially on slight inclines. That one seems pretty obvious...but just in case.

2 - New cars are way over-rated because the car that hits you is always in worse shape.

3 - IF you are pinned in traffic, a car is rolling backwards right at you, and its reverse lights aren't on...there probably isn't anyone in the car and you are screwed.

4 - No amount of caution can keep you out of some accidents.

5 - Whiplash is so much worse than it sounds. Really though.

6 - 95% of the cars on KSL are either overpriced or wrecked.

7 - Good insurance is worth every penny.

8 - Asking "why me?" is a horrible idea because it may just happen again so that you can find out.

9 - Firefighters use kitty-litter to clean up oil/gas spills.

10 - People that text and drive and follow to close, literally give me nightmares. I'm not joking.

After all is said and done, I'm just happy that no one has been seriously hurt in any of the accidents. It's honestly a miracle. Drive safe :)

Family Birthday's

Birthday's galore for the Brady's!

We just got to celebrate Alex and Kristen's birthdays. And as our pictures will show...we had some CRAZY fun! Thursday we went to Tyler and Kristen's for Alex's 3rd birthday party! Then Friday we threw Kristen a party at mom and dad's! We tried to incorporate all of Kristen's favorite things
...adventure...pictures...yummy food...and lots of laugh's! After a jazzy photo shoot we went on our mini version of The Amazing Race. Krist, Ty & I were on a team ( the winning team might I add :)) and we raced against Benjamin, Kate & Devin!

It was so fun, I just love my family!

Team T Double K! We mean business!

Team BDK! They put up a good fight!

carless in provo

RIP MAXIMA

There is a tear in my eye and it's sad to say...this is all that we have left from the maxima! (I don't know how the license plate survived) It was our first car! We bought it together right after we got engaged! As much as that car was a pain in the butt it was a great car and will be missed! I was surprised to hear Devin say that he was really sad to see it go! (He and the maxima had a love hate relationship!)
Devin got in a bad wreck on the freeway last week. The cars in front of him stopped and so did he but unfortunately the car behind him didn't see, so the kid that hit Devin was going about 65 when he hit! Devin is doing okay...he is still sore but is fine! The Body Shop said it was going to cost more to fix then the poor maxima is worth. So instead we had to say our good byes! So now we are officially carless...and we thought having one car was sucky! HA! What a week!

BIRTHDAY TIME!!

Yes it was my birthday! I love birthdays I'm not going to lie. This year was so much fun! Devin was able to "work from home" (not much work was done...but i couldn't help that) We woke up bright and early and went to the temple, which was a great way to start my birthday! Then we went to Kneaders for breakfast! When we got home Devin did a little bit of work! For lunch Devin's dad took us to lunch at Applewood BBQ and it was super good! Oh the fun didn't stop there! My family threw an awesome party for Kate and I! Kristen was the mastermind behind our party. Her and my mom did an awesome job with food and games and decorations! We had a Hawaiian extravaganza! Aside from the 10 pounds I gained the week of my birthday everything was great!!

The Birthday Girls!!!



On Saturday Devin wanted to throw me a birthday party! He invited all my friends over and made homemade Cafe Rio salads with lots of yummy drinks. Then we played fun games until we were all wore out!! It was a blast and it was so fun getting together with everyone!!






Taryn kept winning all the prizes!! I think it was her teacher skills that helped her out on that one!!