Show me that smile.

Somebody's on the nice list.

Where the Sagebrush Grows!

For those like me who never saw this while attending school, this is what a celebration looks like at Romney Stadium.

While the bowl loss was disappointing, a W over Nevada is pretty awesome. Thanks to Coach A for righting the ship.

It's Been Four Weeks Since You Looked at Me...

Chockat Mulk...Hot

As you might imagine, life with two little girls is almost infinitely more busy than just one, but that certainly isn't stopping us from enjoying my favorite season of the year. I love fall. The crisp, cool air. The bright fall colors. And breaking out the cocoa-motion after its summer hibernation.
Apparently our love for hot chocolate is genetic, L loves it too. Curlers and all.

Our Tyler Bryn

To clear up some of the mystery behind the previous post regarding our recent addition, here's everything you should probably know.
While Krissey and I were told to expect a Halloween baby, I think both of us knew she'd be here a little early.
Krissey's mom flew down the weekend before to help K finish her nesting process. Luckily, we weren't trying to paint a nursery
 this go around. Monday morning K woke me up and informed me she had been having contractions most of the early morning. After hanging out for a couple hours, the contractions subsided and I went to work. K dropped her mom off at the airport that afternoon and I returned from the office looking forward to a quiet evening. It wasn't a quiet evening. K woke me up around 11:45 and told me we needed to go for a ride. We called our neighbor who had agreed to watch L, and quickly loaded up and headed out. The nice thing about driving to the hospital at midnight is traffic is non-existent, the bad thing is its still a twenty five minute drive, meaning K had to endure quite a few contractions on the way in. I dropped her off at the front doors, hurried and parked. She apparently had another contraction while waiting in the lobby, as the security guard offered to wheel her up and grabbed a wheelchair for her. She waited for me, and we cruised on up to triage. The doc checked her, asked if she wanted an epidural and when she answered in the affirmative, we were promptly greeted by two nurses who whisked us to delivery because K was dilated to a 7. After another round of pin the tail on K's arms (aka start an IV) the anesthesiologist finally got things taken care of. Two weeks later the swelling is finally down and the bruises are fading!
After a scare that K was too far a long and the epidural wouldn't kick in fast enough, K got her first bag of IV fluids in, and they got the epidural started just fine. Things were looking pretty smooth, when her contractions completely stopped. Apparently, a by-product of the increased fluid levels. So they got the pit going to keep her contractions regular. Krissey's doc was on call that night so the goal was to have the baby before her shift ended at 7am(and before the other two girls in labor at the same time) K and her nurse had a competition going with the other girls to see who could deliver first. Shortly before 7, we were ready and a few quick pushes later, Tyler was here! She was born at 6:44am, was 7lbs 3oz, and just over 20 inches long. She is long and skinny and after losing a lot of weight she is really skinny! She gets her looks from her Dad, it's that Soelberg nose that does it. Now maybe everyone will see that L really looks like her Mom and T looks like her Dad, but the girls look very similar. She has about the same amount and color of hair as L did, but it is straight instead of curly.
Hard to believe its already been two weeks, mom and the girls are all doing well (as long as L gets her naps!). L is a great big sister and loves her little sister a lot!!! She is adjusting pretty well for the most part.
Enjoy some pictures.

Oh, Beautiful

Before we get too excited with new baby posts, here's L remembering 9/11 in the only way she knows how.
Hard to believe the event that defined me and Krissey's generation will hardly be understood by our little ones. Either way "yay, America!"

Welcome!

Our little one was born this morning at 6:44!
No stats yet, stay tuned.

Dad's Brains, Mom's Looks

After dinner tonight, (Pei Wei btw, I don't care how much you love Panda--don't eat there in NM) L decided that she had watched her dad's chopsticks skills long enough to attack her own Lo Mein. Have to admit, she's pretty darn good.

Around and Around

Grandma B's in town. What does that mean? Horses! (aka the carousel in the mall) This is L's third or fourth ride on the carousel today:

 

Becky took us to dinner tonight and L didn't want to go, so Grandma sweetened the deal with a return trip back to the horses. Despite not having a nap, L somehow made it through dinner without too much drama and survived the near bedtime ride on the white horse. The best part was, somehow this shot managed to focus exactly where I wanted it...who needs a DSLR anyway? (oh yeah, me.)

Chicken Pox Induced Mood Swings

Don't you love how they the follow up a series of morning tantrums with absolute cuteness like this?

Bath Time!

Eating dinner tonight, Little B was so tired from our long weekend. Brady decided it was bath time. L looks at Krissey and I and informs us: "Big tub! Bib off! Down!"
I'm not gonna lie, that was ten minutes of quality entertainment.

Fiesta III

It's that time again, you know, that time of year when hundreds of hot air balloons wake me up as they buzz over my house with the sound of burning propane. That's right, Balloon Fiesta is here, and contrary to the tone which started this post we actually love it. A lot.
Being our third year in the Land of Enchantment, Fiesta was a little different this year. Not that it isn't spectacular to see hundreds of gorgeous balloons take off at the same time, but it does kind of have a "seen it" feel to it. I took my camera, but only took three pictures--of Londyn.
She was pretty funny this year, and made the trip completely worth it. I'm not sure anything can beat her new found skill of redirecting my head so she can point our the balloons that she likes. I'm pretty sure the elephant was her fav, but I'm hoping she secretly appreciated SpiderPig--even if she doesn't get the joke.
Once again we did get to host family for the event, my siblings had planned to come down since spring, and I think we all realize that Ty should be here us--but as sad as that thought its, it's been good to reminisce on our favorite memories. We've also discovered that Curt gets his stomach from my dad--as the massive increase of green chile into his diet.
Anyway, since you're really here for the pics, I did snap a few at the night glow and balloon race last night. Enjoy.

We Didnt Start the Fire

It's probably pretty sad that L got super excited when we pulled into Lowes' parking lot yesterday. A summer full of landscaping (almost done btw) has yielded numerous trips to the home improvement superstore, to the point where I know which associates can actually answer questions, and which ones can't.
Walking in, a lady flagged us down, very excited to tell us that L could build her own firetruck--I kind of laughed and said we'll see, but kinda glad we did.
L built an awesome looking truck (read: Dad put. It together while L got way too excited about the siren and stickers) and got to tour the RRFD's awesome trucks. Ambulances are a touchy subject in our house, but L loved it all--even if we couldn't get her to smile in most of these shots. So thanks RRFD, thanks Lowes, and thanks random lady for an awesome little activity.

Dough Up Your Nose

L wanted muffins for breakfast this morning. Apparently when she said muffins, she really meant muffin batter...

Bareback Riding

Just another Sunday morning...

A Little Thing We Forgot To Tell You

Coming Halloween 2011!

Pure Class

Sometimes things just don't happen as we plan, and sometimes we have
to make sure we follow through with the plan regardless of circumstance.
Tyler was a huge fan of our local MLS club, Real Salt Lake. Our fam
had planned on attending last nights match, and knew we needed to be
there--even without Ty. Always a class act, the team presented us with
an autographed jersey in Ty's memory. The game was a great W for the
team and they even saved all four of the goals for the second half,
right in front of our seats. Inspired play for an inspired person. We
miss you Ty, but thank you RSL for honoring such a great individual.
(Thanks for the pic, Megh!)

Somebody to Lean On.

Yesterday afternoon was a horrible day. Not just a plain bad horrible day. It was the worst of horrible days. A day that started with the promise of a great and wonderful day, and one that ended with the loss of my dear brother Tyler. This is the -third- fourth time I've tried to write down my thoughts and experiences today--I get the feeling that I'm not to share these thoughts--but I know that I need to put this out there.

For those who haven't already heard the news, Tyler was killed in a cycling accident Thursday afternoon. I had the privilege of being with him until emergency crews arrived. I've gotten a lot of questions regarding the details of the accident. Ty once said that anyone should be able to ask the question "why?" and expect a legitimate answer. I can't answer that, but I can answer the question "how?". I know Ty wouldn't have been satisfied with the lack of detail found in the news reports in the Trib and the Standard, so here it goes, slightly edited, but reader discretion still advised:

Those who know me, know of my love for cycling. Lance was wrong, it's ALL about the bike. Apparently, this love is infectious, and Ty somehow got stung with the bug. For the last year or so, we've talked about him getting a bike, Ty meticulously researched, test rode, and finally had decided it was time for a bike. Our youngest brother, Curtis, returned home from his mission a week ago Wednesday, the reunion of the family offered the perfect timing to finally purchase the bike. Ty, Curtis, myself, and our brother-in-law Brady, spent nearly 5 hours at the shop with Ty while he finalized his decision--just in time for our family getaway to the Ogden Valley and a condo at Wolf Creek. 

Thursday morning, the boys took a wonderful ride around Pine View. Ty was a natural (no big surprise there), you'd be hard pressed to tell who was the novice in the group. Following lunch, Curtis and my sister Shawnee shuttled, Brady, Ty and myself to the top of Powder Mountain Road for a quick downhill excursion. I led the way, with Brady and Ty behind me. About two miles down, I caught up to the Shawnee and Curtis and stopped as there was no way to safely pass them, yet the bikes couldn't maintain the slower pace. Brady soon joined me, and we waited for Ty--whom Brady had seen right behind him on the turn just above where we stopped. We both feared for the worst, and climbed as fast as we could back up the hill. I saw the bike first, lying to the side of the road in a ditch. Sprinting to the scene, my brother was on his side, in the fetal position. The bike frame had broke in three pieces, and I hoped that it had taken all the impact. Tyler was breathing. Breathing, but unconscious. No sooner had we arrived, then a UPS truck passed heading down. He quickly called 911 after traveling about 100 yards down the road to get cell service. Brady ran back and forth numerous times as we tried to relay information to and from emergency services. Help was on the way. 10 minutes. 10 long, wonderful minutes. Ty floated between levels of unconsciousness, often crying out in pain as he tried to move as I held him in a vain hope of minimizing his injuries. I removed his helmet--thinking somehow it would help his labored breathing. Upon inspection, the helmet looked perfect--except a spot just above his right ear. Between several of his attempted moves, I began to realize the extent of his injuries--road rash over his right hips and torso, for sure a broken clavicle, and possibly a dislocated shoulder. Holding my brother, trying to comfort him in his last moments, was perhaps the most bittersweet events of my life. When the paramedics finally arrived, I assisted them as they placed the C-collar on him, trying to convince him that they were here to help as he fought both the collar and the straps as we tried to secure him to the board. My family had been notified by another unknown group of angels--having seen us on the side of the road, and being ready and willing to help. I don't know if it was harder for them, the helpless onlookers, or for me, who got to actively participate in the presumed rescue, but either was once we had him in the ambulance, I felt a sense of relief. It was fully out of my control. Only two things came to mind as I watched the ambulance pull away. He was going to get a helicopter ride without me, and he has to tell me how it happened, because the pieces just didn't fit together (and still don't, completely).

LifeFlight was waiting at the resort, but shortly after arriving at the top, Ty went into cardiac arrest. Unable to perform CPR in the helicopter, the medics were forced to drive. On the way to the ER, he flat lined three times. The damage that wasn't obvious to me, was that in his head. It's believed the head trauma caused significant swelling, and the subsequent pressure wasn't treatable. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

My parents and Curtis had taken a police escort to the ER, while the rest of us returned to the condo to gather our things. The following scene was one you've seen before in countless film. I'll never forget the look on my sister's face as the phone rang and the news reached her. She immediately dropped the phone and dropped to her knees. She couldn't pass the word along, but everyone knew. Shawnee and I left our spouses as we quietly made the trip to join our family at the hospital. It simply did not--and does not--feel real. 

I had the opportunity to talk to the paramedics who so valiantly tried to save our brother. The only question I had was what more could I have done. I've never been told that I had done everything right, but still left with the feeling that somehow I had failed and knowing it was out of my hands. 

It's been a very emotional day and a half. I only wish that everyone could've had the chance to know my brother, Tyler. (If you didn't, you sure missed out). The out-pour of love and support to our family has been tremendous. Words can't begin to express the feeling of my heart for the thought and support of friends, family, and neighbors. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down!

And The Livin' Is Easy

Oh yeah, summertime. Nothing like a long day in the Sun, a little bit
of running through the sprinklers, and falling asleep before your head
hits the pillow. Mmm...summertime.

Rain, I Don't Mind

It finally decided to rain for a few seconds (minutes?) tonight, so we
rushed L outside to enjoy. It's been super dry this year so even a few
drops were enough reason for her to break out in a dance!

On the Wing

A few months ago, we had a surprise visitor smash itself into our
sliding glass door. When the sun sits just right, we get a little
reminder:

Mostly Smoky With a Chance Of Ash

As AZ continues to burn, we get stuck sitting right behind their
tailpipe. Where did the Sandia's go? Good question, our prayers go out
to those affected.

Long Day

It was Spring Break for some parts of the world this week, so we've
had several visitors staying with us this past week. By Saturday, both
my girls were pretty much exhausted. Admittedly, we were about two
hours past L's bedtime...