Cousin Fun

Brighton's World Under Construction, Please Pardon Dust

Hello, family & friends~
B's Blog has moved and so is currently a no-frills version of its former self. Soon, widgets and whozits and templates (oh my!) will be inserted, added, and in some cases bullied in to complicity to bring this site up to standard.
Thanks for your oh-so-patient understanding.

The publication seen at left is what I'm currently studying. I hope to move up to "How Not To Suck at Web Design" soon. ;)

CONGRATS GRAD DAD!

Brighton is so proud to announce that his very own Daddy has graduated with high marks from the University of Utah with his Master of Finance degree! Note how handsome they both looked on Grad night!


Also, a big giant THANK YOU to the Montana branch of the Bourne clan for coming down - it was fun to see you and the 'master' appreciates your support! :)

E. Bunny Comes To Town

Easter found us hanging out at the park, playing and hunting for those elusive eggs..






Brian went to Solitude to see if he could find any eggs up there.

B's First Birthday

In March, B turned ONE!! The last year has just flown by, as we have been having sooo much fun. To celebrate our little man's big day, we had a Mickey M0use party and invited some good friends over to join in the festivities..





The above pic is the only cake shot we got, unfortunately. (We were very bad parents and did not sufficiently charge our camera battery pre-party.) B was not that enamored with the whole cake thing anyway. While we imagined him tearing into it & making a delightful mess, in reality he was mildly amused at best. He seemed happier once we cleaned the frosting off....ah, well - it was fun for us overgrown kids, anyway!

B & His Daddy

B & His One-Man Chili Cookoff

Recently, Brighton showed impressive and genius-like behavior when he busted out the pots n pans and made a fabulous batch of chili!!!

Mom and I went to work as prep cooks, chopping veggies and mopping his brow on demand. He is really serious about cooking.

It was amazing to watch such an artiste at work!






The coolest thing, I think, is that he is humble about his gifts - always taking time out to laugh and joke.

Truly, a man of many talents!

Rodney C. Bright, superhero etc.

He kept at true good humour's mark
The social flow of pleasure's tide:
He never made a brow look dark,
Nor caused a tear, but when he died.
~Thomas Love Peacock











My wonderful Granddad passed on to the next world on the morning of February 15th just after reading the Sunday funnies (his favorite part of the paper). He was born in Salem, Oregon in 1928. He got an MBA from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!) and served during the Korean War. He was an exemplary man and everyone who came in contact with him was better off for the experience. He genuinely wanted to see others succeed and was funny, kind, and smart.

A true romantic, he held on through Valentine's Day to give my Grandma (his wife of 55 years) a card on which he drew (with help) a circle and wrote "Our love goes on and on forever." Smooth operator! :)

He was so active and healthy right up until the last few months. Had his prostate cancer been diagnosed years ago when it likely formed, it is probable that they could have beat it but it had spread deep into his bones and lymph nodes by the time he got a competent diagnosis. So, encourage the men in your life that are over 50 to get a prostate exam annually and make sure to always get a second opinion if you are unsure about a diagnosis (or lack thereof).

I'm so grateful that he and Brighton got to hang out and get to know each other a bit. I guess the price of having great people in your life is that it's so -well- sucky to lose them! Lucky for me, he taught me so much and I will have a lot of cool memories to share with little B.

Look Out World!!

On January 27th -at ten months old to the day - Brighton walked!!!! He has been all over the place ever since. Go, B, go!!








Other recent milestones include:
Waving and saying "Hi" (or more accurately, "Hi.Hi.Hi.Hi.Hi.")

Testing out his voice by screaming at the top of his lungs, then giggling because we have lost two years off of our lives thinking he was hurt or something.

Using a pen to scribble lovely pictures for us.

Says "Mom" and "Dad" - but "Mom" often gets translated to "Eeeaaaaaauuuugghhhhh!!!!" I'm not sure on the proper spelling on that, may have to look it up.

Every day he does something new and its more exciting than I could have imagined! We live for his daily discoveries and have become big, mushy softies who are totally wrapped around B's finger! We are gonna have to get ahold of ourselves! :)

Visiting Grandpa

Shortly after Christmas my grandpa, who has been battling prostate cancer that had spread to his bones, lost his ability to walk and became bedridden. Brighton, my dad, and I decided to head back down to spend some more time with him. B really cheered him up and I was thrilled to get to hang out with my amazing G'folks some more.






The two really entertained eachother and were a riot to watch. Brighton kept inspecting Grandpa's bed and "fixing" various parts of it as the hospice people had obviously not tightened everything to his specifications.

Christmas 2008

B's first Christmas was a big hit! We really made the rounds and drove up to Helena to see Grandma & Grandpa Bourne and the rest of the family. Isaac and Avrie have apparently inherited the Bourne secret agent genes since they are obviously masters of disguise. How long will it take you to spot them?

Santa was able to find Brighton up there with no problems.


Never again will I whine about the "cold" in Utah as it was around 18 below zero the day this was taken. That gnarly icicle is solidified laundry steam! Eep!! It was really beautiful, though, and it wasn't that cold the whole time. It certainly was invigorating!


What hunks, eh?


Here's Brian and Jaxon spending some quality time hangin' and talkin' sports.



Brighton also got to meet his Great Grandma and Grandpa Brace who flew in from Kansas City. It was my first time meeting them too & we're so glad they made the trip!

Then, we headed waaay down south to San Diego to finish out the holiday with my side of the family. From icicles to palm trees, we love it all!




Not surprisingly, Santa paid a visit to B's San Diego lodgings as well!



B also got to meet his Great Grandma and Grandpa Bright

We had to introduce the child to the beach, as well! Next time it will be warm enough to hop in!



We love Christmas! It was so great to see everyone. We're so lucky to have such awesome families!!