Our "new" place.

This is way, way, way old news. We moved in August. I've been telling our families how much we LOVE our new place and I figure it's better late than never. I guess we've only lived here for three and a half months. It took us two weeks to get settled so that's not my excuse...I've been meaning to take pictures for a while now. But a house with children is NEVER EVER immaculate enough for pictures. So, I guess I'm blaming it on Brielle and Braden for not posting earlier.:)

The layout of the condo is similar as our old place. We moved just about 3 block from where we used to live, so all of these condos are pretty similar. But there are a LOT of BIG little things that makes this place so much better than our other one. For one we have carpet. It IS white and I have to constantly use Resolve but it is so much quieter than hardwood floors. Then and this is the BIG one, we have so much MORE light!!! You should see my plants! They have come back from the "almost" dead. I used to think that I didn't have a green thumb, but now I know that the problem was lack of light!

I even, feel happier with more energy and ready to start my day with all of this light! It's wonderful! I took these pictures last month so that's why you see the pumpkins there. We now also have a fireplace. No mantel, but I still really like it...we used to have a built in armoire at our other place. I thought I was going to miss it, but I don't that much.

This is also part of the family room right under the stairs. I love this little area. This is where we gather to read scriptures and pray before bed. I got that little rocking chair at a thrift shop for 10 bucks. I was going to spray painted but I think I like it the way that it is.

The dining area and the kitchen are the exact same layout as the other place. Except, the dining room has carpet. It's very hard to keep it clean with the kids, but we are managing!:) I moved my little console table to this area though because I couldn't fit it in the same spot as the old place. I really like it there now.

Oh the kitchen, same ridiculous layout as the old place BUT, and this is a HUGE BUT...the appliances!!!!!!! NO MORE 1970's appliances and a dishwasher that you could hear a mile away! Our new dishwasher is so quiet, our oven doesn't burn stuff, our microwave actually defrosts stuff in a descent amount of time and our stove has one of those glass tops that you can just wipe when it gets dirty. It makes life bearable and even enjoyable in such a small kitchen.

And this is the BIGGEST difference between our other place and this one. The loft. We love it. My brother has been living with us and this is his "area" as he calls it. But we have the computer up here. It's such a nice space. Scott comes and studies here the few times that he studies at home, he just puts in his ear plugs and he can't hear the kids downstairs. There's a gate at the bottom of the stairs that the kids can't open, they don't come up here all that much. That door by the stairs is a HUGE storage closet! It's been VERY nice not to have anything stored under our bed for once!

I got a few little projects done at the end of the summer:

We couldn't fit our coffee table in the family room but we wanted something to set glasses on when we were in the living room and we also needed a drawer to store our remote controls. I got this little end table from Craigslist for $5! It was seriously such a bargain. It is pure wood and I didn't even have to change the handle. I sprayed painted it black. It was such an easy little project and it turned out just like what I was imagining.

I'm not quite done with this project...I told Scott that I would sew the new covers for the cushions but he had to spray painted it...that was back in August!!! ha ha! Once school starts, forget it! There's not time for anything...and I've been too lazy to do it! ha ha! I think that once we spray painted black, it going to look terrific!!! But still without the paint, what a change huh??? It took me FOREVER to find a fabric that I loved that was affordable but I finally found it at JoAnn's. It's amazing what a change in fabric will do!!!

P.S. Oh! and if you are interested in making the pictures on your blog bigger without using a third party (like Photobucket), check THIS out. I've been trying to find out how to do it forever now and I finally found a website that explains it in easy language...anyway, I thought I'd share!:)

We love you daddy.

This guy right here is my husband and future Dr. Scott. He's a pretty awesome man. He sacrifices a lot for us three, even his time with us sometimes. We understand. But we miss him terribly. In the last 4 weeks he has had 4 BIG tests, this semester feels like finals week, every week!!!...that makes for long nights studying, early mornings, stress and hardly any time with us.

But this last week he was able to hang out with us at least for a little bit each day. We enjoy our time with him. The kids LOVE this man! And really, what's not to love about him. He plays with them, he tickles them, he reads to them, he throws himself on the ground full of leaves and makes a leaf angel!

...and this is the joy Braden feels when he gets to play with his daddy!

They even got to ride their bikes this week because daddy was able to come with us!

This morning we went on a walk...

"Daddy! Wake up! Daddy! Let's go outside!", that is what Brielle told her daddy this morning...and so we did...it was such a pretty day!

"You have gum? daddy?"

Braden was grouchy during our walk...this little boy wears his crocks day and night, he does NOT want to wear anything else!!!...(I think it's time to throw them away!!!) but the ground was wet, so his feet were all wet...he was NOT a happy camper but he found comfort in his daddy.

Scott showed him how to climb the fence...

He got a LOT happier...

And then there's Brielle...she's such a sassy girl!:)

We are all so happy when we get to spend quality time with Scott. He makes us happy.

Walking back home...

We love walks.

We don't have a yard so we LOVE going on walks. I have two very energetic children and walks keeps the 3 of us sane!:) Braden loves to help out by taking one of the bathroom trash bags out to the garbage. He is a good little helper.

We live right by a golf course and I recently discovered the most beautiful area along the course. It's just a path that goes along the golf course and there is grass and open spaces for Brielle and Braden to run around.

These two have soooo much energy!

Playing with the leaves.

This little girl is a busy body...she has always been that way, even in the womb.

Mr. Braden is a happy go lucky kind of guy.

Walking with their tío Kem.

Braden: "Mommy, I tired. Hold me"

Me: "Braden, you have to walk buddy."

Braden: "Mommy, you too little to hold me?"

Me: "Yes, honey. I'm too little"

So instead, his big and strong tío Kem took him the rest of the way home!!!:)

Another day, we went out to play in the puddles.

Braden wanted to wear his bright orange gloves.

Sometimes, you just HAVE to let them get dirty...I think Braden needs some rainboots too though...his snowboots just ain't doing the job...

We love walks.

Halloween Festivities.

We have been enjoying this time of the year...as you can see by the plethora of pictures I have been taking. The fall colors are so amazing!

This little girl can drive me crazy! These pictures of us are so unusual because she never wants to pose for the camera...but I think things might be starting to change.

After a whole week of rain, we couldn't wait to go outside! We went on a walk and enjoyed a beautiful fall day last week.

Our Halloween festivities began the Wednesday before Halloween. Brielle brings all sorts of cute things home from preschool and she made this spooky spider...

Braden thought is was so cool!

On Thursday, the kids, my brother and I headed over to Cox Farms. Scott has been studying so much lately, he has NOT been enjoying his life being stuck at the library until very late almost every day. He's been missing some of the fun stuff we've been doing...but it's okay...he really appreciates all of the pictures...I do this blog for him as much as for our families (and friends) :)

Cox Farms was a blast!!! We stayed there for almost 5 hours. It was one fun thing after another. There were so many slides and fun things for the kids and even for adults! We went in almost all of the slides...over and over and over again!

I think Braden's favorite part of the farm were definitely the slides.

My brother taught Braden to raise his arms up high when they were sliding down. You can see how much he enjoyed it by the big smile on his face.

Brielle was loving life too...

This big slide was scary...I didn't let the kids go by themselves on this one...it was awesome!

Back for more...

My hair was in major need of a haircut, so I recently got it cut and colored it darker...now I'm miss my long hair and lighter color...isn't that the way it always goes...I think the dark hair makes me look older...but then again, I think I'm just going through a late twenty's crisis right now...ha!

We went on a hay ride and it was so relaxing after all the walking we had done! Brielle and Braden had so much fun pointing at things and being a little freaked out...I don't think they knew what to think about a few things they saw...

This little guy held on to me and sat on my lap the whole time!

Braden is such a boy...he was in heaven riding on this tractor.

Trying to get a descent picture of these kiddos with this cute background was very difficult...they were ready to call it a day when I took these pictures...

We had such a fun time taking pictures at the farm, we took soooo many...I wish I could post them all!

Mr. Braden is at such a fun stage right now saying the darnest things all day long! He is such a good little boy.

And Miss Bri...she's been singing the "You belong with me" by Taylor Swift song at the top of her lungs lately...she is SUCH a girl!

We will FOR SURE be returning to Cox Farms next year. It was worth EVERY penny! Hopefully, next year Scott will be able to make it!:)

After a long day at the farm, I still had to make some Halloween treats for Brielle to take to her preschool class the next day. I like how they turned out and it was fairly inexpensive to make.

On Friday, Brielle's preschool had a Halloween Costume Parade. Brielle was Snow White. Her whole class sang "I'm a little pumpkin". It was the cutest thing to watch these little kids singing. If you enlarge the picture you can see Brielle biting on her finger, I wonder if she was a little nervous. And it was so funny to realize that she is the shortest in her class!!!:) ha ha! It is DEFINITELY NOT surprising! I've ALWAYS been the shortest everywhere I go! We like it that way!!!:) She is definitely a Ramírez and a Jensen!

Brielle had been waiting to wear her Snow White costume for weeks!!!!!! Before going to bed, she would even open her closet door to see her costume hanging there.

Of course we also had to dress our little Mr. Braden for the parade too! He had also been waiting anxiously for weeks to wear his Woody from Toy Story costume...

Later, Brielle's favorite friend Bella came by to show us her cute Bee costume!

On Halloween Day, we headed to our ward's "Trunk" or Treat. Our stake recently went through a few boundary changes and now we find ourselves in a brand new ward. I have been sad about it. We had met and made friends with so many amazing people. After a year we were finally feeling like we were part of the ward. But that's the way it goes and there are a few people from our old ward in this new ward and I'm sure we will make new friendships again!...and of course we'll keep in touch with our friends from our old ward.

Mr. Braden as Woody at our ward's "Trunk" or Treat.

Brielle instantly made a friend with another Snow White!

Adorable children.

Braden loved "trunk" or treating...he was a little bit confused that people were just so willing to give him candy! We hardly ever have candy in our house, so he was in heaven!

They got so much candy at the "Trunk" or Treat.

My brother was teasing Braden...taking his bag full of candy away...he thought it was hilarious! I LOVE that big smile!

Braden's bag was getting too heavy for him to carry so he gave it to Bri.

After the "Trunk" or Treat, we took a short nap and then headed to our friends' the Chadaz's for a fun Halloween Party. Scott was a party pooper and had to stay home to study. We were both boring this year and didn't dress up...

The Chadaz's put together such a fun party. Brielle was having a blast trying to eat her hanging donut. Braden was being a grouch and didn't want to participate.

Thanks Allison for the fun night! It was nice to see everyone!:)

We carved our pumpkins the Monday after Halloween this year. A little late but they turned out so cool! The kids had a great time! Scott carved the surprised face and the little one and my brother carved the raccoon! Fun times!

And finally:

Mr. Braden got new glasses...he got a stronger perscription. He is scheduled for surgery on December 21st if this new percription doesn't keep his one eye straight...which so far is better but it is not straight all the way...so we are afraid that this surgery is a for sure thing. Anyway, I'm pretty confident in his doctor. He really is a very competent guy...it's a non-invasive surgery, but he will be put under for it and his eye will be bloodshot for a week or two. He's so little! You know, moms always tend to worry about things so please keep my little guy in your prayers!:)

I think he looks older with his new glasses...what do you think?