Life just keeps on Changing!

Isn't life exciting? A big part of me loves the reliable...knowing what to expect and when...but another part of me lives for the excitement of life changes. A few months ago mac started looking at schools for Air Traffic Control and since there are only 29 in the country, our options were slightly limited. However, Mac knew in like .5 seconds after looking at the list of schools which one he wanted to go to. University of Alaska Anchorage. Booya! Hahaha, surprisingly that was not my initial reaction. After all, have you ever talked to someone who says "you know, one day I'd really love to live in Alaska." I sure haven't. Anyway, when I asked Mac why Alaska he simply said he thought it would be really cool to live there. So, after a few weeks I jumped on board and am actually pretty excited for this next adventure in our lives! We are still waiting for his official acceptance into the school but the admissions lady basically said he was a shoe in with his experience in the military, private pilots training, etc. So we wait.....she said we should know around the beginning of December so keep your fingers crossed for us!

On to other items, life is going well for us. Work is pretty crazy for me and there are a lot of changes going on there as well. Sometimes I come home at night and I am so mentally exhausted that all I want to do is eat dinner and go to bed. It is so rewarding though. There are always hard clients who I have to try really hard to "leave at work" and not take the worry home with me. But at the same time, there are clients who I am just so proud of. I had a client today who was given her trial home placement with her children and she has worked so hard to get to where she is. It somehow just makes it all worth it in that moment when you see the look on her face when she hears the news.

Photography is more fun than ever--I just wish I had more time!! After working a 40 hour week I'm pretty protective of my "free time" and have to really work my editing around Mac's schedule so we can actually have some time to hang out together. I've learned so much in this first year of Photography and I can't wait to upgrade my camera and equipment and increase my knowledge of the art. Thanks to all my amazing clients who gave me a shot before I really even knew what I was doing, and who came back again this season for more photos. You guys are great!

So anyway, I usually post images on my photography blog but I figure I'll post a few favorites from the fall season on here too. Enjoy!

I'm so crafty!

Look how crafty I am!! The Brady family has a tradition of doing a craft night during the priesthood session of general conference. It is so fun to get together with all the women and kids and eat yummy delicious scrumptrulescent food and make fun holiday decorations!

The MIGHTY Hunters

What an amazing week!!! We left early Tuesday afternoon for the beautiful mountains of Manti. The Muzzleloader hunt started on Wednesday and my dad, and macs dad and brother all got tags. I've only ever been bow hunting with Mac so I wasn't sure what to expect from this hunt, but it turned out to be one of the best yet. I've never been to Manti when the leaves were changing and it was absolutely breathtaking. I rode up to our camp on the 4 wheeler with my dad and mac rode the dirt bike. The quakies were unbelievable. They were orange and yellow and already starting to lose their leaves! We rode up right as the sun was setting and you could see the rays through the yellow leaves. BEAUTIFUL. It was also really cool to have my mom and dad with us to show them why Mac and I love Manti so much. We got to take them to the family cabin and show them all our favorite spots.

We did a few hunts each day and then spent a lot of time relaxing at camp and eating good food. We had the best tin foil dinners and Fajitas. Mac even asked if we could make tin foil dinners at home--that's how good they were! We didn't bring home any deer but we saw a lot of them. It's really cool to be out in the middle of the pines and have a deer run right past you. I'm also surprised by how good I am getting at spotting the deer. All in all, it was a great week and a much needed break from all the craziness of our everyday lives. Can't wait for next summer so we can go camping in Manti again!

The MIGHTY hunters

Mentoring

Wonder of wonders, Miracle of Miracles! I made a new post on my photography blog. Shocking, I know. I'm working on getting better at this whole blogging thing. I had an awesome mentoring session with Andee Tate of Crave My Photography. She is amazing and super talented. Check it out at Jaime Brady Photography!!

So many things to write about!!

I'm so far behind I honestly don't know where to start!! I feel bad that things get missed in between my months of not posting, but I guess I'll just start with some of the most recent happenings.

Mac is almost finished with his private pilots license! I am usually so busy and our schedules overlap so much that I haven't been able to go flying with him at all. On Saturday morning he and his flight instructor scheduled a flight at 4am and for some crazy reason I thought it would be fun to tag along! After going to bed at 11:00, getting a call from macs little brother at 11:30 for a ride home, and then finally getting to sleep around midnight, the alarm going off at 3:30 am was not a friendly sound! It was so awesome to fly with mac and watch him as he just flew the plane like it was no big deal. I'll be honest, I was a little nervous at take off because I have never been in such a small plane and wasn't sure what to expect, but it was amazing! Here are some pictures:

This first one is a corn field we flew over somewhere around brigham city I think. I was cracking up!! It is eclipse and had bella, edward and jacob. People must have a lot of time on their hands!!!













Next we have a beautiful sunrise!! It was really neat to watch the sun rise from the plane and to be able to take pictures. I had a lot of fun with my camera during the flight!

Don't I have the sweetest Husband EVER?

So I don't think I mentioned this in my other posts, but we had a bit of a scare with macs eyes this week. He has started working for his old boss and is setting tile again. On Saturday morning he went in to work for a few hours before we headed out to go to Stadium of Fire.  While we were at Stadium of Fire watching the spectacular Carrie Underwood perform, he kept mentioning that his eye was bothering him and it felt like he had something in his eye.  Sunday morning we paid a visit to the Instacare (our home away from home...good thing it is close!).  Mac saw the doctor and was told he had scratches all over his right eye, likely from the tile dust mac thought he had gotten in his eye.  We were scared there might have been permanent damage but at his follow up appointment two days later the doctor said his eye looked great.  Phew!

Anyway, while I was at work this week I got totally fed up that I didn't have a pencil holder.  My pens, pencils, and highlighters were scattered all about it I had had enough.  I texted mac (since he was at home because he couldn't work since his eye was still healing) and asked him to pick me up a pencil holder.  When I got home from work mac had this adorable pencil holder for me!  His mom gave him the idea but he made the whole thing!  He rolled up pages out of a readers digest and glued them to the can.  I seriously love it.  Thanks Babe!

The Nasal Rinse

So I have been getting sinus infections pretty regularly over the last year-super annoying and a huge pain in the but!!  I had a CT Scan to see if I had a chronic infection, but the scan looked good so we aren't really sure why I have started getting them all of a sudden.  After this last infection the good doctor asked me if I had ever tried a nasal rinse.  I, of course, answered no and he proceeded to tell me how I might feel like I was drowning but it would really help keep my sinuses cleared out.  Drowning?  Thanks, but no thanks Doc. 

Mac on the other hand was completely intrigued by the idea.  We went to the store and bought the kit and it sat there staring at me all day long.  I was terrified.  I am not really sure why, but I REALLY did not want to try it.  Mac finally said he would do it first so I could see how it worked, and then it would be my turn.  I agreed.  So how it works, in case you have never had the pleasure of doing a nasal rinse, is this:  You pour the saline solution in one nostril, breathe out of your mouth so you don't start choking, and the solution comes out the other nostril!! GROSS!  I documented mac's first experience with the nasal rinse and I find it quite entertaining.  Here are a few funny pictures--ENJOY!

Girls Camp Rocked My Socks Off!

I don't really even know where to start when I think of what I want to share about my amazing week at girls camp.  I cannot speak enough good words about these amazing young women and how much I  learned form them.  They are truly daughters of God and they live as examples and representatives of him every day of their lives.  It has been a good five years since I was in the Young Womens Program but this experience reminded me of what a divinely inspired program it is.

We had a pretty small group--we started out with 7 girls, but one girl got sick and had to go home so we had only 6 left.  I am so glad we had such a small group because we were all able to really get to know one another and grow to love one another.  I have to be honest, I was TERRIFIED for girls camp!  I was put in the primary almost immediately after mac and I were married and moved into this ward so I really didn't know these girls-AT ALL!!  I look back and kinda chuckle that I was nervous they wouldn't like me or girls camp wouldn't be fun, because with girls like these there is no way it could have been lame!

I had a really special experience the first night we were at girls camp.  One of the stake camp directors had recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan and she shared her experience and a slide show of pictures from her time over there.  I think the girls were concerned their leader was slightly unstable (since I bawled through the entire fireside...like really, the whole thing) but they were still nice to me anyway.  With Mac being in the Utah Air National Guard and planning to have a life long military career, I have been plagued with fears about the day when he will be deployed overseas.  I try to be strong when we talk about it but the thought would always strike fear into my heart.  All the "what ifs" would fly through my mind and I would think of every worst case scenario.  I wasn't strong.  I would worry and worry again.  During this fireside something incredible happened.  I didn't feel afraid anymore.  I felt peace.  I felt confidence that no matter what happens, regardless of whether mac goes over seas and comes home or doesn't come home, Heavenly Father has a plan for me and knows what I need in my life.  My testimony in eternal families was strengthened and I felt such gratitude that I am sealed to Mac for eternity, and no earthly war can change that fact.  I realized I have to have faith and leave it in the Lords hands.  I feel so proud to be Macs wife.  He is truly one of the most selfless people I have ever known.  He is a leader in every sense of the word.  Some people try to lead by telling you what to do because they know more than you, but Mac leads by example.  He is one of those people who will be right next to those he is serving, doing the dirty work right along with them.  People are just drawn to him because of his optimistic personality.  I know he will be able to do great things wherever he is.

Here are some fun pictures from Camp:

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

This blog is a little late getting posted but man, have we been busy!  We celebrated our 1 year anniversary on June 19th.  It was such a special day and we enjoyed every minute of it.  I need to back up a little bit to the two weeks before our anniversary.  Mac left for Georgia on June 6 for a two week active duty training period.  He was scheduled to arrive home at 7pm on our anniversary.  I was kinda being a baby before mac left--I really have a hard time when he is gone and I guess I just had a bad attitude about it all together.  A couple days before he left I realized I wasn't being a very good support to him and I changed my ways.  I sent him off early on Sunday morning and vowed that I would be a good sport for the next two weeks.  I kept SUPER busy during those two weeks with work, photo shoots, girls camp, weddings, etc. but I still found plenty of time to miss my man.  It was kinda fun to go back to the days when he was in Logan and I was in Provo--where we would talk on the phone every day and we had to make that be enough until we could see each other again--that is what it felt like.  We talked and laughed and missed each other the whole two weeks.  Mac surprised me by changing his flight home so he arrived home at 1pm!  We went to dinner at Rodizio's Brazilian Grill and then went to see a movie.  We ate our delicious wedding cake and drank sparkling cider.  It was absolutely perfect and I am so lucky to have a husband like Mac.  I love you Honey!

Photography!

Hey everyone,  I know I have been neglecting this blog of late, but I've kept up to date posting on my photography blog!!  Check it out and let me know what you think!!

http://jaimebradyphotography.blogspot.com/

Insanity-Day 1

Well, I'm slightly ashamed to say that after our first encounter with INSANITY Mac and I took about a week to recover (I think I finally started walking normally again a few days ago) But now we are back and ready to go!  We did day 1 today which is plyometric cardio circuit training.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I'm exhausted!!  He kept saying to check your heart rate to make sure you are safe, and I'm pretty sure my heart has never beat that fast.  I took plenty of breaks but I'm proud that we finished the workout--a whole 45 minutes! I swear, the warm up is the first 10-15 minutes and we both felt like we could have been done after the warm up and still have felt like we worked our butts off!  Coming up tomorrow is Cardio power and resistance.....I'm not sure I like the sound of that!!  For those of you who work with me, or know the stages of change, I'm pretty sure I'm still in the contemplation stage--or maybe somewhere in between there and the action stage.  I'm doing the workouts, but I'm still struggling with the mental part of it all--if it weren't for Mac I would likely have sat on the couch and read a book all night.  Mac on the other hand is definitely in the action stage.  He is so motivated and has such a positive attitude about working out and being healthy.  Good thing I've got him!!

INSANITY

Have you ever heard of Insanity?  Not just the general insanity of every day life or work in general (if you have a job like mine) but the workout kind of Insanity.  Mac and I saw an infomercial the other day for this workout by the makers of P90X.  The workouts looked super intense but the cool part is that you don't need all kinds of crazy equipment to be able to do the workouts--which equals a lot of $$ saved.  Anyway, after some deep contemplation we decided it would be worth our money to give these workouts a shot and man, were we right!!  We got the DVD's in the mail today and did the "warm up" and "fitness test" tonight for a grand total of like 25 minutes including resting time.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I've never been so completely and totally exhausted in so few minutes.  After just the warm up I was gasping for air.  Anyways, we know it is going to be A LOT of HARD WORK but it will definitely be worth it.  There is just something about being able to work out in my own home that makes me a slightly more motivated to work out and get into shape.  So, we will keep you posted on our progress....and maybe if we commit to report our "progress" to you all on here then we will be a little more motivated to stick with it even though it is going to kick our butts!  So.....after Day 1 of our workout here are the results of our fitness tests.  Keep in mind that these are the number of reps in 1 minute of sheer craziness.....

                                          MAC                   JAIME
Switch Kicks:                     55                           45
Power Jacks:                       43                          45
Power Knees:                     86                           49
Power Jumps:                     22                           15
Globe Jumps:                      5                              8
Suicide Jumps:                   14                             7
Push-up Jacks:                   25                           12
Low Plank Obliques:         30                           32

Our next fitness test will be on Day 15, so if I am still alive by then I'll give you another update.  Wish us luck!!  And if it looks like I'm in pain as I walk the next time you see me....it is probably because I am.

Much Love!!

Blogging? Whats that?

I'm getting better....I promise!  It's only been a couple of weeks since my last post so that is improvement right there!  Life has been pretty busy for us lately.  Mac is in Moab this weekend Canyoneering with his class from the University of Utah.  I wish you could have all seen his face after going to class to hear about what they would be doing: repelling, rock climbing, swimming, etc. Basically whatever the canyon can throw at them.  I, on the other hand, sweetly asked my husband to come home without any dislocated or broken body parts.  I take the fact that I haven't gotten a call from the hospital yet as a very good sign.

My sister in law, Jessa, had her little baby boy on Wednesday April 7th at 12:45 am!!  I got a text from her in the morning on the 6th saying she was having contractions and I non-selfishly texted her back asking her to hold on until after midnight since I guessed she would have the baby on April 7th.  She graciously said she would do her best and sure enough, he was born on the 7th!  His name is Jack Sanders Layton and he is a beautiful little boy.  I can't wait to photograph him growing up!  Here are a few sneak peeks from the photo session at the hospital......

What a little cutie!  Anyway, things are going well for me, I'm working a lot and spending a lot of time taking pictures!  I'm now doing 3 full weddings (engagements, bridals, and wedding day), one wedding day, one reception, and some family photo sessions.  It seriously is so much fun and I wish I could do that 40 hours a week instead of being stressed out and exhausted from my job every day, but I'm just glad I get to spend some time having fun behind my camera.  I'm also glad that I have awesome family and friends who trust me enough to capture the moments of such important events in their lives!  Anywho, it's late so I guess I'll try to get some sleep now.  Remember to check out my photography blog, and remember it is a work in progress:

www.jaimebradyphotography.blogspot.com
http://jaimebradyphotography.blogspot.com/

The Rise of My New Photography Blog

http://jaimebradyphotography.blogspot.com/


Well Ladies and Gents, I'm obviously terrible at blogging (If you follow this blog...or rather don't follow it since there isn't much here).  I thought if I created a photography blog I could just post pictures for you to check out and then maybe I would be a little better at posting.  We shall see.  I've done a few photo shoots in the last little while and have quite a few coming up so keep checking back for new photos!

The Hoolidays!

These girls know how to sled!  Mac kept everybody on their toes with his mad sledding skills, but these girls were fearless...going off jumps, standing in front of people sledding down the hill and jumping out of the way at the very last moment (Those parts weren't planned, but they sure kept things exciting!)  I love this picture of mac, cali and lola.  So cute!

This is pretty much the only picture I'm in because I made Mac's Brother Eli take the pic so I could have proof that I was a part of the sledding adventure...even though my "part of it had little to do with me actually sledding.

We went to this really cool arts building thingy in San Francisco (I totally forgot the name) but it was GORGEOUS.  I literally could have taken pictures there all day if my flash hadn't gotten eaten when the batteries exploded and if the lighting would have been a little bit better.  Still a very fun day.

We tried to take advantage of a couple photo ops for Annie, Peter and the boys.  The boys were good sports but by the end the sight of the camera in my hands made them duck and run for cover!

We love our dad.  Really.  He is so much fun and so patient with us and our crazy ways.  It was awesome to spend so much time with everyone in such "close quarters".

Mikey man and Linky Lou grew to idolize mac by the end of the trip.  It's true, at first they were a little timid about his rough-housing and manly ways, but they were glued to his hip by the end of the trip.  They bonded over PS2 racing games, and looking at "for sale" cars on KSL.  It was fun to watch them love their uncle!

We got to visit the Golden Gate Bridge twice this visit since we went one afternoon, and then my Grandma flew in and she wanted to see it too.  It was gorgeous both of the days we went.

How cute is this picture?  I am seriously in love with this little face.  Mikey is finally in a stage where he will LET me take pictures of him.  I love this kid!

I just really like this picture.  Not sure why.  But I do.

Tee hee.  Cute little guy.

Another classic at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Every time I asked Mikey and Lincoln to show me a present, they would hold it up right smack in front of their faces.  It was awesome.