The Beckstead Family

First Day of School!!

2011-08-22T19:10:00.006-05:00

I cannot believe my baby is 5 and starting Kindergarten. I have been dreading this day since I had her. She is so sweet and my little companion all day, and she will be greatly missed. Brooklyn on the other hand could not have been more excited! In fact, we were asking the teacher a few questions and she looked up and said, "Will you guys just get out of this place already!" I think she is outgrowing us and she is only five. I did really well and didn't cry til about 5 minutes after I dropped her off and I was heading to the grocery store without her. I really miss her constant chatter all day and her desire to just hang out with me no matter what I was doing. I love you Brooklyn and I am so proud of you!!!!

She loved her first day in Mrs. Barrios class and can't wait for more.

Posing for the camera in her "fancy" outfit. She thought for sure her teacher would tell her how fancy she looked. I told her she looked just right, and all the kids would be wearing new clothes so if the teacher didn't say anything to know that she looked beautiful.

Lexie wanted to stay too!

Where to begin???

2011-04-02T21:16:00.003-05:00

It has clearly been awhile, so I am going to attempt to go back and blog the past at least 6 months. Life has been crazy to say the least, but it never seems to slow down. Check back and hopefully I will have updates for you more periodically. :)

Chinese New Year

2011-02-03T19:22:00.001-06:00

Dear China,

To celebrate the second day of Chinese New Year we would like to get Chinese chicken.

Love,
Brooklyn

(This letter is in lieu of the real thing. She would like China to know that this will be a new tradition. She wanted the first day, but we already had dinner plans. The third day was too late though.)

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"I Tied"

2011-01-12T20:38:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn and my conversation in the car today.

Brooklyn: I call that a tie.

Me: What do you call a tie?

Brooklyn: Today because half of the day I was a bad listener and half of the day I was a good listener. This whole time we have been shopping I have been a good listener and this morning I wasn't.

Me: I guess you're right then you did tie.

She is so funny sometimes. We definitely have a clever girl. I love you Brooklyn and you did more than tie today, you won!

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Random Fun

2010-12-29T15:07:00.001-06:00

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Baby's First Christmas

2010-12-29T15:01:00.001-06:00

We had a quiet Christmas at home this year. Lexie and Brooklyn were awesome and loved all their gifts.

We went to Cheesecake Factory for Christmas Eve dinner, read the Christmas story, opened pajamas, made cookies, and watched a Mickey Christmas. Lexie got her first taste of opening presents. She loves the paper like all babies and her and Brooklyn played and laughed ans ripped the paper.

Christmas morning came with Brooklyn tinkling bells to wake us up. The girls opened gifts slowly and it was super fun. We made dinner, played with the girls and had the missionaries over to eat.

It was an awesome low key Christmas and we loved all the family and play time with the girls!

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Pajama Day!

2010-12-21T12:59:00.000-06:00

Brooklyn had pajama day at school and they acted out the Polar Express. She had so much fun and looked so cute I just had to include this pic!

Christmas Dance Recital

2010-12-18T19:00:00.001-06:00

Brooklyn has been in dance since she turned 3. She loves it and we love to see her enjoy it so much. This December she had a little recital where they performed a number about angels being friends with the reindeer. They each had to come up with their own angel costume for the recital. I made a simple white dress to go along with her halo and wings. She was a BEAUTIFUL angel! She did amazingly well and we all enjoyed seeing her dance.

Halloween

2010-11-15T13:05:00.003-06:00

Halloween was spent in Las Vegas with family. The girls were able to go to two trunk-or-treats (one with the Pisciotta family and one at Aunt Becky and Uncle Garth's ward) and then trick-or-treating with her cousins. Daddy was able to be there and take them to a trunk-or-treat. Although we were in Las Vegas for unhappy circumstances, we were able to make the most of it. The girls were also able to go over and see Grandma Beckstead all dressed up on one of her last lucid days. It was definitely a joy to be there with her and I wish I had a picture from that time.

Lexie at 6 Months

2010-11-01T14:30:00.000-05:00

Lexie turned 6 months on October 28 while we were in Las Vegas. She had been scooting for a month and going from sitting to all fours and back again. Well now she is a crawler. A few days after she turned 6 months she was off. We have to chase her everywhere, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

A few things about Lexie at 6 months:
1. She loves to smile and play.
2. She is a very social baby and will crawl to most people, she especially loves kids.
3. She is starting food. It isn't her favorite thing, but we are working at it.
4. She is one tough cookie. She falls, pulls things on herself, hits herself, gets hurt by other kids and generally she keeps on smiling. I'm always waiting for the tears and they usually don't come.
5. She still is not a super sleeper. She sleeps in her bed for the first half of the night and then ends up with mommy & daddy.
6. She never stops moving! I mean never, not even to nurse. She has to be standing or wiggling or something. It is quite the site to see.

We love our sweet baby and all the loves she gives us. We love you Alexis!!!

The first meal. Rice cereal, yum!

Disney on Ice! She loved the first 15 minutes, then she was nuts.

Dinner, then a much needed bath. She is a messy eater and mommy is not super good at keeping her clean.

Showing her excitement for the first BYU game of the season.

Alexis LOVES Brooklyn!

Playing in the exer-saucer, and yup kissing the floor. Haha!

First trip to Downtown Disney

We love you baby!!!!

Girls Weekend

2010-09-24T13:48:00.005-05:00

While we lived in San Antonio I made the most fabulous friends you could ever ask for. Since we all met and became friends, four of us have moved away. Well last year we started a girls weekend (thanks Tracie) for the seven of us. We meet up each year for a wonderful weekend of chatting, eating, shopping and just spending time together. This year it was the last weekend of August.

These ladies are seriously the most awesome friends and we know A LOT about each other and that is what makes it so fun.

I even got to see one of my other fabulous friends Shannon while I was in San Antonio. It was so great to be back and see each of you. Thanks again for a FABULOUS weekend!!!

Lots of old friends at Taco Cabana.

The seven of us from left to right: Lauren, Me(Lexie), Suzie, Jackie, Tracie, Amy & Becca

Three of us all reading Mockingjay

Alexis and Olivia. Their older sisters were the best of friends and were only 3 weeks apart. These two are a few months apart and got to meet for the first time.

This is not from this weekend, but a picture of Brooklyn and Belle, Livi and Lexie's older sisters.

What to say about the mouth lumps... I didn't know it wasn't normal to have one. Becca did. We now have a picture because we both aren't normal. (hehe)

The six of us that stayed in the hotel right before we left. Yummy breakfast, sad to say goodbye to my friends.

Soccer!!!

2010-09-20T14:21:00.005-05:00

Brooklyn has been begging us to play soccer for probably the past two years since she saw a Dora episode with soccer on it. She finally got what she wanted and we signed her up to play soccer at a local baptist church. It is perfect for her first experience. They are 30 minute games and just having fun. She spends a lot of time running after the ball (at the back of the pack), but she is having a blast and loves it! During her second game she actually got her foot on the ball and has continued to at least make contact each game. Here are some of my favorite pics. I think she is one dang cute soccer player!

This is after her first and only practice. She was beat after all that running in the heat.

Here is a video I took of her second game where she actually kicked the ball. Ignore my annoying voice, its pretty loud. Its also very shaky since it was taken from my phone with a wiggly baby in my arms.

Zach & Seth

2010-09-20T14:09:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn, Alexis, and I took a trip to Las Vegas to visit family and let everyone meet Alexis in August. On our way home we brought my nephews Zach and Seth back with us for a week and a half. We were so excited to have them come visit and show them a little bit of Tampa. While they were here we swam, went to the MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) twice, had lots of movie nights, played board games, and of course went to the beach (post below). Here are some pictures from the visit. We had lots of fun and hope maybe they can come back again next Summer.

Going through the rope maze at the MOSI

Left: Brooklyn eating Seth's head

Zach in the dinosaur mouth. I couldn't get the kid in front to get out of the way.

Zach & Seth Beach

2010-09-20T13:14:00.005-05:00

I decided I needed a whole post just on the beach trip and it only ended up being a few hours thanks to a summer storm. Brad was taking the kids pretty far out in the water, but Zach only made it a little ways before the thought of stingrays sent him back to the beach. He spent the majority of his time finding cool seashells and sand dollars, and went home with quite a few. Seth loved being so far out and riding the waves. Brooklyn of course loves playing in the water, but she spends the whole time in her daddy's arms so who wouldn't. Lexie was good and pretty much just hung out.

This was the first time Lexie has been to the beach since she was a few weeks old.

The big kids going into the water and Zach coming back out.

Looking for sand dollars and shells.

Left: Building Brooklyn a mermaid tale
Right: Zach and in the specks in the distance next to him are Brooklyn, Seth & Brad

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-20T12:58:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn had her first day of preschool on August 16, 2010. She was SO excited!!! She attends VPK (Florida has free preschool, awesome right) at Bright Horizons. Her teachers are Ms. Mary and Ms Brittany and she is loving every minute of it.

We had company visiting for her first day so she got to have so many people she loved dropping her off. There was mommy, daddy, Lexie, and even her cousins Zach and Seth who were here from Las Vegas.

We can't believe how grown up she is and I miss her everyday. We are so proud of her and all that she is learning. Her favorite thing to do in preschool each day is Art. They are given time each day to go to different centers in the room and I don't think a day has gone by where she hasn't gone to the art center. Not only the art center, but also alphabet art. We have a growing stack of artwork, and she wants to keep it all. It has been so good for her and we couldn't be happier with her school or teachers.

Brooklyn recounting her first day:
"We made sticks with our names on them (to use at the centers). We had our first day of centers (stations they can go to each day). Our first day of art, computers and fun." She loved it and couldn't wait to go back the next day.

A Visit from the Grandparents

2010-09-20T12:34:00.002-05:00

We were lucky enough to have Brad's parents out to Tampa for a visit in July. Brad's mom (Diane) was diagnosed with a brain cancer while they were on their mission in the Philippines in February. We were so blessed to have been able to spend some time with her and them this Summer.

While they were here we discovered a new favorite, Your Weigh Frozen Yogurt. It is pricey, but so delicious and you don't feel guilty eating it at all.

We went for a few drives, ate a lot of good food (including lots of frozen yogurt), colored, watched some of Brooklyn's "shows", watched a lot of Fox news, and went on a short shopping trip.

We LOVED having them!! Thank you so much for coming.

Our Summer so far...

2010-07-01T13:33:00.004-05:00

Bought a swagger wagon
Sold Brad's car (which we both were sad to see go)
BBQs with friends
Lots of swimming
Brooklyn's dance recital
Father's Day
Swimming Lessons, gymnastics and dance (call me crazy!)
Brad & Brooklyn went to their first Tampa Bay Rays game
Ice skating
Tiff got a new calling (YW's advisor)
Brooklyn's first talk in primary
Lexie turned two months
Lots of Wii Fit

We can't wait to see what else this summer has in store. We are loving all that Florida has to offer but miss family and friends.

Lexie is Two Months!!!!

2010-06-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

On June 28th Alexis turned two months. We had her two month check up that day and she is growing like a weed. She was a champ for the doc and only cried a few seconds for her shots. Lexie is a joy to have around and she has started smiling on a regular basis. She has an adorable dimple in her left cheek and loves to snuggle. She has already started to roll over from her front to back and has even rolled from back to front once.

Alexis still has reflux and continues to lose her meal a few times a day, but she gives us plenty of notice and we usually are able to catch it in a bowl or sink. I know, gross, but now she will always know how she was as a baby. :)

Here are her two month stats and a few pics from the last month. I have to admit that I have not been the best photographer lately.

Height: 23.2 in (82%)
Weight: 11.5 lbs (68%)
Head: 15 in (32%)

Lexie's First Father's Day

Tampa Bay Rays Game, Ice Skating, and Wii Fit

2010-06-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

On June 25th Brad was given tickets to the Rays v. Diamondbacks game right above the dugout. He took Brooklyn and they had a ball. Here are some pictures of them at the game and a video of them on TV.

We went ice skating with Brad's work on Saturday June 26th. Lexie had been crying all morning so Brad decided to take my place ice skating with Brooklyn (he has never been). That lasted until they reached the ice and then we switched places. Brad had Lexie duty and Brooklyn and I were able to skate around the ice. We got pretty good together by the end and were able to make the loop fairly quickly.

We have also been playing WiiFit almost nightly for the last month. Brooklyn loves it and Brad and I keep trying to beat each others records. Brooklyn is so adorable and stands next to us and "helps" us with every game we do. Especially ski jump. Here is a couple pics of our wii play.

Our Little Twinkle Toes

2010-06-21T13:39:00.000-05:00

We enrolled Brooklyn in a dance program at the Tampa Parks and Rec Center the week after we arrived here. We enrolled in January and committed to a recital in June. We didn't know the date of the recital til March when we had already invested money in costumes, tickets, etc. It turned out to be Father's Day so our Father's Day was a little nontraditional this year. This recital was a PRODUCTION. It was in the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and it was no small show. Brooklyn did a great job and had so much fun. They performed a tap routine to the Andy Griffith theme show, that was so adorable, and a ballet routine about pelicans. Here are some pictures from before, after, and also some we were given from while she was backstage. She loves dance and can't wait for her recital next year.

Before the show outside the theatre.

Daddy with his little dancer on Father's day.Backstage getting ready for the show.

Brooklyn with her best friend from dance, Jaedyn.

After the recital with her flower. They had the dads walk across the stage for the final curtain call with their daughters and a flower. Brad also got her roses for her performance. We were so proud of our little dancer.

Lexie's Blessing Day

2010-06-06T21:00:00.000-05:00

On June 6th, 2010 we blessed Lexie in the Dade City Ward, in Dade City Florida and she was given her name that she will be known on the records of the church of Alexis Diane Beckstead. We were lucky to be able to have my dad and his wife Iva here for the blessing, but missed the rest of our family. Two friends from the ward were able to stand in as well (Jaime Rodriguez and Dave Bahr). She looked beautiful and we had a very happy day celebrating our newest little girl. We have grown to love this little girl so much and are so thankful she was sent to our little family.

It was so muggy and humid it was a little misty out.

I love this picture it cracks me up.

Sweet baby Lexie

The sisters: Brooklyn picked her blessing dress.

Daddy and his girls

Mommy & Alexis

Grandpa George, Iva and Lexie

Dates with Brooklyn

2010-05-28T13:02:00.000-05:00

After Alexis came we both took Brooklyn out on dates so she could have some alone time with her mommy and daddy.

My date with Brooklyn was Disney on Ice. We had so much fun and Brooklyn loved the show! We will definitely have to go again when they come back to Tampa.

Brad took Brooklyn to Hollywood Studios with our last Florida special tickets (we got 4 tickets for $99). They watched the Beauty and the Beast show and Little Mermaid twice, met Leo from the Little Einsteins and much more. They had a blast and tried to stay cool in the 93 degree heat with 80% humidity.

Curtsying after one of her princess shows.

Lexie's First Month

2010-05-27T18:45:00.011-05:00

Alexis (left) Brooklyn (right)

(1 month old)

I cannot believe that Alexis is one month old today! She is such a joy and we are so happy to have her in our family. She really is a great baby. Lexie is a great eater and her chubby cheeks are witnesses of that. Thankfully Alexis LOVES her pacifier and is usually easily calmed. She is also becoming a great sleeper. She sleeps much of the day away in her swing, bouncer, or mommy's arms and is up most of the evening. She has started to be a little colicky and only wants mommy during that time. She gets so upset that her whole body turns bright beet red from the tippy top of her head to the ends of her toes. We are even getting a little more sleep at night with a wedge made for reflux babies. She usually only wakes up once or twice a night and I no longer have to hold her at night for her to sleep. She does not have reflux like Brooklyn but she definitely has some form of it. She has to be burped constantly and she spits up from the time she eats until it is time to eat again. You can hear the milk coming up and her trying to send it back down where it belongs. We have thankfully only had projectile vomit 5 to 6 times so far, and I find this as a great blessing after Brooklyn. She loves to be naked and feels that her diaper being off is a signal to go to the bathroom, unfortunately we are not only talking about urine.

Brooklyn is doing well adapting to her sister. She is definitely not the all over her baby sister type. She is glad she is here but happy to keep her distance for the most part. She does play mommy much more often, and acts out things she sees me doing with the baby. Brooklyn is a great help with Lexie though. Anytime she hears that she has a dirty diaper she is running to get me a new one. She loves to pick out Lexie's clothes, blankets and burp rags for the day (we go through lots of these). She has also started to get more interested in her and will talk to her and get Lexie's pacifier when she starts to fuss and I am in the middle of something.

We are so thankful for our two sweet girls and cannot believe that this first month has flown by so quickly. I look at them growing and I am sad with each passing day as they each get bigger. I know they have to, but I just don't want them to.

We have also been blessed with visitors this month to help us get used to two children and no sleep. Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Malcolm were here for a week after her birth and helped us get settled. After another week with very little sleep, my awesome cousin Angie and her adorable daughter Chloe came out for a week to help. We were able to get in some fun time while they were here. Brad took the girls to the pool many nights. We even fit in a short trip to the beach where Lexie and I stayed under the beach umbrella enjoying the wonderful beach breeze. It was great to have them here. Angie and her family lived in Phoenix for part of the time we were there and we miss them so much. Chloe and Brooklyn played non-stop and it was great for Brooklyn to have someone to play with. Angie also took some adorable pics of Alexis and Brooklyn. Here are some pics from the last month.

At the beach

Lexie has a birthmark on her ankle in the shape of a perfect little heart. I love it!

Lexie on her sister's lap

Chloe and Lexie

Chloe and Brooklyn after the pool. (Brooklyn isn't cold that is her trying to smile.)

Going Private

2010-05-27T18:44:00.002-05:00

So after many random comments from people we don't know we are going private. Please leave your email address here and I will add you. I will also create another blog to tell you when I have updated so those of you that use reader can still see when things have changed. I will get back to you with that address.

Our Newest Addition

2010-05-18T15:50:00.006-05:00

Alexis Diane Beckstead was born April 28th, 2010 at 11:49pm. She was 6lb 12.3oz and was 21 inches long.

My labor was induced the morning of the 28th. It progressed fairly slowly, and by 8:00pm that evening I was only a 5 and barely 50% effaced. It appeared that my attempt at a VBAC was going to be unsuccessful. My doctor was great though and let me keep trying. She wasn't super optimistic but gave me more time and thankfully she did. At 10:00 they came in to check me and I was at a 10 and her head was in the birth canal. I pushed for almost two hours and our sweet little baby Alexis was born. She came out with a dark head of curly hair. The brown hair surprised us all. We thought we would have a blonde or another red head.

As soon as I started to push Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Malcolm pulled Brooklyn out of bed and made the trek back to the hospital to meet baby Alexis. My mom got to the room just before she arrived and was able to witness the birth. Brooklyn was very tired but so excited to meet her new sister.

Mommy, Alexis and Daddy spent the next two days in the hospital and they let us go home at 6:00 on Friday evening (April 30th).

Since then we have all been adjusting to life as a family of four. We have been blessed to have the help of wonderful family; my mom and Malcolm, and my fabulous cousin
Angie and her daughter Chloe. Alexis is a super sweet baby and is really quite good. She sleeps a lot, like most newborns, loves her paci, and only sleeps at night if she is being held.

Lexie will be three weeks old tomorrow and I find myself already wondering where the three weeks have gone. She is already getting so big and filling out and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Our first family of four picture.

Going home!!

First Bath

Overheard...

2010-04-14T20:14:00.000-05:00

This is what I overheard tonight while Brooklyn was playing with a friend.

"... I'm excited, its just that it feels like its never gonna come out! Do you know what I'm saying?" (This was in reference to the baby.)

Yes! I know what she is saying.

Moving... again

2010-04-13T12:38:00.003-05:00

We have been of course crazy busy the past month. It seems like life will never slow down, but we are happy and most of the crazy has been good crazy.

We finally moved into our house! Yay! We love it and are almost done unpacking. We have made quite a few trips to goodwill as our house has more usable rooms and space, but much less storage space. We have also had crazy construction going on at the same time. The day after we moved, thankfully before most of our stuff was here, we had our sewage back up in our downstairs bathroom. Apparently the power company had drilled through our sewage line. Two weeks later, we almost have a full functioning bathroom again and all is new and replaced in the bathroom and the den. It actually created quite a bit of water damage, but the builder has been great and done everything they can to get it fixed. Thanks to some help from my dad we were able to paint all the bedrooms and the toy room, hang up all the ceiling fans and blinds in the first few days. It has been crazy, but good. Things are definitely not finished but are not as a hectic of pace as the first few weeks. We love our new neighborhood and have already met all of our neighbors. We have never done this in the past. Everyone is super friendly and their are lots of kids playing. Just the type of neighborhood we were looking for.

We are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby Alexis. She is due in two weeks and I have been dilated to 1cm for the past two. We are finally starting to feel ready for this baby now that we are mostly unpacked and have clothes and a place for her to sleep. Brooklyn can't wait to meet her baby sister and see what she looks like. She also keeps telling me she can't wait for my little tummy to come back. I am quite huge and there is just no room for her to snuggle me anymore. My feet have also started to swell again. I still don't think they are anywhere near as bad as I was with Brooklyn, but I can't wear any of my shoes except flip flops.

Brooklyn is loving having her things back and having tons of space to play in.

Brad's new job is good and he has started to get really busy again.

We are enjoying Florida and all it has to offer. The humidity is definitely something to get used to though. I will post about how much we like Florida again after our first Summer... hurricanes, scary crazy thunderstorms, etc. For those of you that know me, I am terrified of severe weather. It will either drive me to the loony bin or make me stronger. Lets hope for the later. We also live right on a lake and their is supposedly a 3 ft alligator that takes his residence there, but have yet to have an up close sighting. We do have whooping cranes in our backyard everyday though. They come up to our backdoor and peck at their reflection all the time.

That's about it and I will post pictures later. We really haven't done much but house, house, house lately.

Spiders...

2010-03-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

This morning I was pretending to catch a fish with Brooklyn and was making small screamlike noises of excitement.

Brooklyn response was, "Mommy, its not a spider!"

I have had a few uncomfortable experiences with spiders/bugs lately and they have all resulted in an involuntary scream. What can you do? She made us laugh so hard this morning.

Celebrating 4

2010-03-10T14:04:00.006-06:00

It seems that every year Brooklyn's birthday is not a day, but a multi-day event. It is never really planned this way, but we always get carried away.

**Brooklyn's birthday this year started out with a party at Grandma Peggy's and Grandpa Malcolm's in Las Vegas with family. We had a cute little party for my brother Mike and Brooklyn. Mike's birthday was the 25th of Feb and hers is the 2nd of March.

Mike picked out a princess cake just for Brooklyn. We decorated with Princess Tiana and green for Mardi Gras. Everyone got a hat or silly ears and we all had a great time.

Here are a few pics from the night.

Somehow I didn't get one of the two birthday kids together, but oh well.

**Her birthday itself started with "4" pancakes, dress up she had bought with money from Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Malcolm, and a vanity for her new bedroom. We then got her dressed in her "4" shirt and hit the mall. She had birthday money to spend and she knew exactly what she wanted - the green Tiana dress up from Princess and the Frog. We picked out her dress up and some lipgloss from the Disney store and then grabbed some lunch together. Afterwards we picked up her Tinkerbell cake and headed home to have some quiet time with a movie. Daddy got off work early and we headed to Sonny's Bar B Que for her birthday dinner (her choice, but they do have killer mac n cheese). After Sonny's we had some cake and played together as a family for awhile. It was a great day and she kept saying all day how she "couldn't believe I am 4!"

**The birthday celebration ended this past weekend at Disneyworld Magic Kingdom. When we told Brooklyn we were moving to Florida we promised her we would take her to Disneyworld for her birthday and we were not about to renege on that promise. We had a fun-filled two day trip to the Magic Kingdom where she had an incredible time. We met princesses (dined with them too) and fairies, enjoyed lots of shows including Belle's Story Time three times (I think this was encouraged by daddy a little though), rode every ride she wanted to and some multiple times. Peter Pan's flight had to be her all time favorite ride, but she also LOVED Goofy's Barnstormer Rollercoaster. She couldn't wait to go again and again with her "Prince Daddy." It was a great time as a family and it helped us remember the benefits of being so far away from all those we love.

Happy Birthday Goose! We love you!

My Baby is Four

2010-03-10T13:28:00.004-06:00

(Brooklyn the morning of her birthday with her new Tiana wedding dress up already on getting ready to eat her "4" pancake.)

I can't believe that my baby Brooklyn is not only no longer a baby, but four years old. She is such a joy to us and everyone she is around. She has such a bright and bubbly personality and has an incredible imagination. Brooklyn is rarely "Brooklyn," she is always some other character from a movie or book and we must play along.

Here are my favorite things about Brooklyn right now.
1. She loves sharing.
2. Her imagination is constantly running.
3. She is my big girl, but still has to start the day with snuggles in my bed.
4. She loves learning. She is always asking questions and asking for more learning time.
5. She loves princess or fairy anything. She truly is our little princess and we love to spoil her and help her feel every bit that princess.
6. She is definitely a girly girl. She loves to have her nails painted, hair done, put on makeup, shop and anything else girly.
7. She loves her daddy/daughter dates. She is always thinking of what she wants to do on her next daddy/daughter date. Her daddy loves her so much and I am so glad he started taking her on dates so long ago.
8. Her daddy is her prince. No matter what movie/game/story she is acting out her daddy is her prince. It always ends with her marrying her daddy. They pretend to get married and have a dance. Most days are not complete without a wedding with daddy.
9. She loves artwork. We have been living in an apartment for the past 2 and 1/2 months waiting for our house to be done and she has filled her walls and ours with her artwork. She will spend hours coloring, drawing or creating something. It is definitely one of her favorite things. I think she will have some disappointment leaving the apartment because we have allowed her to decorate it and that will no longer be the case in the house.
10. She is hilarious! I love this girl. She always gives us a reason to laugh with some crazy story or silly behavior. She has been spending the last few weeks trying to come up with something funny to make her Grandma Beckstead laugh so she will feel better. They are definitely random, but it is funny to watch her try.
11. She is incredibly loving. Brooklyn loves so much and we couldn't be happier. She can't wait for her baby sister to come. She keeps talking about how much she will help me and how much fun it will be to play with her. She also keeps coming up with names for her and her favorite right now is "Elegant."
12. She loves to dance and sing. No matter where she goes she is always dancing and singing. Everytime I am not around whoever is watching her always comments on her dancing and singing. It is definitely one of her favorite things and our days would not be the same without her sweet voice and twirling around the room.
13. She has a mind of her own and she uses it. Brooklyn always knows what she wants. She rarely changes her mind and is determined to see something through. She loves to play with other kids, but if they don't want to play her game or if she isn't interested in what they are doing she entertains herself. I hope this quality continues through those tough preteen/teen years.

We love you Brooklyn! I am so glad you had a birthday so we could all remember that special day you joined our family and how much we love you. We are truly blessed to have you as part of our lives and I thank Heavenly Father every night for the treasure that you are. Happy Birthday princess!

Alexis???

2010-03-09T18:42:00.001-06:00

So right now we are thinking this baby is Alexis, but will probably call her Lexie. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Brad!

2010-02-28T13:59:00.000-06:00

I have let so many things pass us by in the blog the last 5 months with all the crazy moving and baby stuff. I cannot let Brad's birthday pass by without at least a Happy Birthday from us.

We love you Brad and we are so thankful to have you as part of our family!

We had no big plans and we weren't even together due to extenuating circumstances this year, but we love you and wished you a good birthday still the same. Happy Birthday "Prince Daddy!"

Scrapbooking

2010-01-19T13:51:00.002-06:00

So I am sooo behind in my scrapbooking. I made it through Brooklyn's first year and then all my scrapbooking buddies moved away. Needless to say, I needed their motivation. Thanks to my wonderful friend Tracie I was able to figure out how to digital scrapbook and I am loving it. Here are a few pages I have finished.

Shorty Got Low, Low, Low....

2010-01-18T21:59:00.002-06:00

This a post for the memories.

The other day we went to the University Mall (aka ghetto mall) to pick up something they only had at this mall. In seeing a movie at this mall last week, we had vowed never to return especially after dark. Unfortunately, the vow had to be broken but it was and only will be broken under very extenuating circumstances.

Upon walking into the mall we were given a one of a kind ghetto show. There was a ghetto blasting car "hoppin" along our parking aisle. He rolled down his window and yelled to the hood rat girl next to it something and the next thing we know... "She hit the floor... She turned around and gave that big booty a smack" to the tune of Shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low. She actually put her hand on the ground turned her head toward the car and shook her big old booty in the air.

For a second, we were glad we broke the vow.

The Wisdom of a Three Year Old

2010-01-14T19:45:00.004-06:00

So there have been a lot of funny things that Brooklyn has said and done over the past few months, but here are just a few.

This is the conversation that Brooklyn and I had yesterday as we were leaving Costco.
Brooklyn: "Mommy, will you be my friend?"

Me: "Of course sweetheart, I will always be your friend."

Brooklyn: "Ok thanks, but only until baby sister comes."

Me: "I can still be your friend even after baby sister comes. I will always be your friend. Baby sister won't change that.

Brooklyn: "Mommy after baby sister comes she will be my friend and I won't need you anymore."

Me: "Well can I still be your friend too."

Brooklyn: "I guess, but baby sister will be my best friend."

I am so glad that she has no insecurities about this baby and she only sees the positive. She cannot wait for her sister to come and hasn't questioned her place once. This I'm sure will still happen some, but I am thankful for the sweet little girl that can't wait for her new best friend.

**The other funny conversation we had that I wanted to make sure and write down happened while the two of us were in Las Vegas staying at my mom's house. We were leaving to go somewhere and I accidentally locked the keys in the car with my purse and cell. No one was home, our spare key was in Texas and I had just locked the house. I looked around the street about to break down in tears (at this time I was pregnant without my husband and generally in a pretty foul mood). We tried all the doors in the house and then we went and used a neighbor's phone. This is the conversation we had while we were waiting for my sister to come over and at least bring a phone.

Brooklyn: "Mommy, come here (patting a large chair shaped rock), sit down and lets have a talk.

Me: "Ok, what do you want to talk about?"

Brooklyn: "Mommy, sometimes bad things happen, and when they do you just have to deal with it. Come on, it will all work out, you'll see." (She says this as she pats my back and gives me loves.)

Me: "You are right, thanks for the talk. It made me feel better."

A few minutes later, Brooklyn runs up to me sitting waiting for my sister....

Brooklyn: "Mommy, I know what we can do! We can make a wish for help. I just know it will come true."

Me: "Ok, we can try, but I don't know how long it will take to come true."

Brooklyn: "Oh, I just know it will come true. I wish that we can get in our car."

As soon as she finished her "wish" my sister and her husband showed up.

Brooklyn: "See, I told ya."

She is such a sweet little girl and I am so thankful to be able to spend so much time with her. I even enjoyed the two months without Brad because I know there will be a new little person around soon and not so much one on one time with Brooklyn. We are so blessed to have such a unique, optimistic and loving little person in our house.

Any Suggestions???

2010-01-06T14:06:00.000-06:00

So in case you didn't know, we are having a girl. We are also having a very difficult time coming up with a name. If anyone still reads this, we would love any suggestions you may have.

In Case You Didn't Know...

2009-10-16T18:20:00.002-05:00

I don't know what it is about us and moving, but apparently it is good for us in the baby department. I had Brooklyn and we moved to San Antonio three weeks later, and two days before we found out we were moving to Tampa I found out I was pregnant again. We are very excited for this little one and hope it continues to grow and develop like it has. I am due April 27th, which makes me 12 1/2 weeks.

Brooklyn is also thrilled by the "baby in my tummy." She also now has not only one but two babies, "twins," in her tummy. She keeps telling us, "But don't worry mommy because my first baby is going to come out before Halloween and it is going to be a boy, but the second baby doesn't come out until right before Christmas, and that ones a girl." She cracks us up and we can't wait for her to have a baby brother or sister.

New Home in Tampa

2009-10-12T22:29:00.003-05:00

For those of you who have asked, here is a link to the house we are building in Tampa. We looked at lots of pretty tore up houses and decided that new was our only option. It won't be finished until March/April and we don't know where we are going to live until then, but I'm sure we will eventually figure it out.

New Haven Floor Plan

In other news, Brooklyn and I head out of San Antonio to Vegas in exactly three weeks. I am officially in denial.

Say Farewell to the Alamo

2009-09-15T19:03:00.002-05:00

It has taken me a long time to blog this, and in part it may be due to denial, but we are leaving the wonderful city of San Antonio and heading to Tampa, Florida. It is a good opportunity for Brad and for that we are excited, but we have grown to love San Antonio and will be leaving behind many good friends.

Our house is on the market and as soon as it sells Brooklyn and I will head off to Vegas to await living arrangements in Tampa. Brad has to be in Tampa January 4th and hopefully we will be there at the same time or shortly after.

Life is crazy and there are many unknowns, but I'm sure we will enjoy Tampa and all it has to offer. We will only be an hour to an hour and a half from Disneyworld so it can't be all bad, right?

Thirty, Flirty, and We Still Got It...

2009-08-26T14:29:00.004-05:00

This past weekend I was able to escape with two of my best friends Amy and Suzie to Austin. We all turned 30 this year and decided we were going to have a weekend to ourselves with no kids, husbands, and complete freedom. We had an awesome time!

We shopped the outlets on the way to Austin on Friday night and had a late dinner at a local favorite called The Magnolia Cafe. The food was good and it was a fun "Austin-y" place to eat. The next day we took our time getting out the door and we headed for IKEA. We did some more shopping and then headed back to the hotel to hang out for awhile and get cleaned up. That night we walked around downtown Austin until we found just the right spot to eat. We ended up at this super swanky steakhouse and the food was awesome!

Now being thirty, we just wanted to feel like we still had it. We walked down the famous 6th Street and were pleased that we kept being invited into bars.

To end the night we took a rickshaw ride back to the hotel. The driver (pedaler) had helped us find a place to eat and it was a fun time. We relaxed a bit in the hot tub and of course chatted.

It was a great time. Thanks girls!

Suzie, Me, and Amy in front of the capitol.

Trying to take our own picture of the three of us in the rickshaw.

A much better picture of the three of us, courtesy our rickshaw driver.

"Princess Stories"

2009-08-19T20:36:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn and I were sitting at the table tonight and she asked me to tell her a story, not one from a book just one I made up. So I started the story with a beautiful princess with red hair named Brooklyn. Then she stopped me (kind of like in the princess bride) and she told me I was telling the story wrong. I explained to her that it was one I was making up so I couldn't be telling it wrong. She disagreed and said she would tell me a bedtime story instead so she could show me how to do it. This was her story:

Once up a time in a far away land there lived a beautiful princess named Ariel and she loved to sing and dance and play. She was everyone's friend. Then, Belle appeared, and she told everyone that she wanted everyone to come to her birthday and she wanted everyone to do what she did. And then, Cinderella appeared and she didn't know what to wear for the party. (She asked for my help here.) And I said she should wear the blue dress. She said no, no, no, no her dress was bluish greenish pinkish. Then Cinderella went to the party and danced and danced and then snuggled up in her nice warm bed and went to sleep. Then Jasmine appeared, she was going on a magic carpet ride. She didn't know what to wear either and then suddenly she just found something and it was purplish pinkish bluish greenish. And they all lived happliy every after!

So in case you were wondering that is exactly how you tell your own made up "Princess Stories".

Visit to the Dentist

2009-08-13T16:20:00.001-05:00

Brooklyn had her first visit to the dentist on the 4th of August and she did great. They all said she looked like Princess Giselle and she was super thrilled they thought she was a princess. It was a super fun office. She wore princess sunglasses, got a new toothbrush, lots of stickers and rode on a toy horse. The dentist and hygienist wore flavored gloves and she got to pick her favorite flavor of everything. I love that her first experience to the dentist was a good one and I wish it were that fun for me to go to the dentist.

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy

2009-08-12T16:07:00.002-05:00

We have season passes to Six Flags this year and they have a summer concert series. On Thursday the 6th, none other than the Wiggles came to town. This wasn't a must see for Brooklyn, but I figured why not it was free.

We picked up her friend Meg on the way and headed to the park. At the entrance some very nice people asked me if we were going to the Wiggles show and I said that we were if there were still tickets left. They handed me four. I thanked them and was happy I didn't have to wait in line to get some, plus they said bleacher. It was over 100 degrees that day and I had no desire to sit on the hot shadeless lawn. We headed off and got to ride a few rides before the show in none other than (drum roll please...) the Wiggles World.

When we got to the show we realized we had special tickets. They were not any ordinary ticket, they were won on the radio and they entitled us to front row seats. Meg is 6 and was not too thrilled to see the Wiggles, but the front row seats made all the difference. They enjoyed the show, but looked like zombies the whole time because it was so stinking hot.

D-D-Dora the Explorer

2009-08-11T15:56:00.004-05:00

After our trip to Tampa, I had to go to camp for a week. Needless to say, Brooklyn was feeling a little lost. She is usually never away from us and it was a long week for you. Luckily, we had tickets to "Dora Live: City of the Lost Toys" that weekend and we promised her a "special day" for Brooklyn.

We started at BJ's for pizza. It is her favorite, then we headed downtown to the show. It was better than I expected and Brooklyn loved it. Afterwards, we grabbed some ice cream on the riverwalk and headed home. It was a great day and we are so glad we had such a sweet little girl to have a special day for.

Thank You Grandma & Grandpa

2009-08-11T15:46:00.003-05:00

My mom and Malcolm were kind enough to drive out to San Antonio from Las Vegas during July to stay the weekend with Brooklyn so Brad and I could head to Tampa. It was a quick trip, but so nice to have time alone together. We have only spent one night away from Brooklyn since she was born and that was our 10th wedding anniversary earlier this year. We really enjoyed the time together and had a great time seeing Tampa. We especially loved the beach. It was white sugar sand and the water was clear and warm.

Thanks again guys! It was awesome and we super appreciate it.

Our super yummy seafood dinner.

Fabulous Fourth!

2009-08-11T15:24:00.005-05:00

This is our trip continued, but the last post. Brooklyn and I got the chance to spend the 4th of July in Las Vegas with part of my family. We missed Brad dearly, but it was a fun time.

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to Nellis Air Force base with my cousins, grandma, and family to watch 4th of July fireworks. This year we were able to go again. They always play patriotic music (duh, its the base) and I love being surrounded by all the men and women that serve our country and this fabulous holiday. The fireworks are always pretty great too. This year was definitely no exception.

We had a picnic and hung out on the grass listening to live music while we waited for fireworks; the kids played and we all had a great time.

p.s. I also finally purchased the patriotic dress I had been coveting at Children's Place. It finally went on sale. I was so proud of myself for waiting.

Grandma getting loves from Grandma, this is where she spent most of her time. It was always about grandma!

Rhett enjoying a little ice cream.

Malcolm enjoying his sandwich. Your welcome, you know everybody loves pictures of themselves eating.

Mike just chillin'.

Sarah my sister-in-law making faces like always.

Rhett enjoying his dinner. Doesn't he look comfy?

I didn't get much of Brooklyn's time that night. She spent most of it with Grandma, but I did get a few snugs.

Brooklyn in her new dress (cute, huh?) sporting the princess pose she learned at Disneyland.

Gage, just chilling and waiting for the fireworks to start.

Two months of Craziness

2009-07-31T16:00:00.000-05:00

So the last two months have been great, but unbelievably crazy! We spent about 3 weeks on vacation, posted below, a week home, a weekend in Tampa, and then I spent 4 days at girls camp. Life is finally beginning to slow down this week and I fully plan on catching up with things that have been long neglected, including this blog so here goes. Read below to catch up on our past two months.

Vacation: Part 1

2009-07-31T14:02:00.000-05:00

On June 18th, we headed out of San Antonio around 4:00pm hoping to make it to Las Cruces, NM. Yes, we were driving, call us crazy, but it was really quite nice. It was a long day, but we made it and Brooklyn did awesome! We spent the night in Las Cruces and then headed for Phoenix. We haven't been back since we left and we were both excited to visit some of the old stomping grounds and see our old houses.

We stopped in Casa Grande, AZ for the night and spent some time with Brad's cousin Jared, his wife Melissa and their 4 kids. We used to hang out til all hours of the night chatting, playing games, and eating junk food on many a weekend in Phoenix. We had a great time catching up, playing cards, and getting to know the kids better. Thanks again guys!

Pictures of Brooklyn playing dress up with the cousins.

The only picture we got of Jared & Melissa while we were there.

The next day we headed into Phoenix to look around. We went by the old Chase building that Brad worked at in downtown Tempe, and it was almost like a ghost town. They have sinced closed the call center he worked at and you can tell the area has taken a hit. We grabbed some pizza from Slices (an old favorite) and headed to the west side of town to see the old houses. They both looked fairly good and it was fun to show Brooklyn where we lived and the house she was born in. That evening we went to dinner with our good friends the Vehars, did a little shopping, and stayed up way to late gabbing with them. Thanks again guys for the fun time and letting us stay! No pictures from here, but they are all adorable.

Vacation: Part 2

2009-07-31T14:01:00.000-05:00

On Sunday morning, the 21st (Father's Day), we got up and headed to Cali. We love Southern California! Who doesn't though, right? Anyways, we headed out to Anaheim to hit the beach and go to the happiest place on Earth. That afternoon we met my Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Malcolm (my mom and her husband) at our hotel and surprised Brooklyn. She did not know they were going to Disneyland with us and she was ecstatic.

We spent Sunday afternoon at the beach on Balboa Island. The water was surprisingly warm, but Brooklyn was not a fan of the water. She loved the beach though. She was perfectly content to build sand castles and play in the sand, and since grandma and grandpa were there Brad and I had a little time to play in the water. The waves were coming in pretty high and we had so much fun. In some of the pictures you cannot even see Brad because the waves have swallowed him up.

Brooklyn playing with the beach ball that we were informed beforehand was a must have for the beach.

This is her first feel of the water. She was definitely unsure of it, and surprised by the way it felt. The sand kept being swept away under her feet and I don't think she liked feeling so unsteady.

Under much duress we finally got her to play in the water with us for a few minutes. She was fine until a really big wave came up from behind and surprised us.This is the after picture. After this, she was content to play in the sand.

This is a picture of Brooklyn and I watching Brad about to get toasted by a wave. It was so much fun! He disappeared in this one for awhile.

Vacation: Part 3 (The Good Stuff)

2009-07-31T14:00:00.000-05:00

On Monday, we headed out to Disneyland for a magical adventure. Disneyland really is the happiest place on Earth. I feel like a big kid when I am there. I know some adults get over it, but I still LOVE that place! When we first got there, our first stop was Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This is what Brooklyn had been waiting for. She was so excited! They now have a portion of the castle you can walk through and it tells Sleeping Beauty's story. It was quite spooky in there and Brooklyn asked if it was real, and I said of course it is. Big mistake, she was scared after that and wouldn't go back in the castle. Oh well, I thought she wanted it to be real, apparently, no she did not.

Here she is getting her first look at the castle.

After the castle she took a ride on the carousel, Dumbo with grandma and grandpa, and had a spin in the tea cups, then it was time or the long awaited hour of meeting the princesses.
If you have never been, meeting the princesses is an attraction. They have 3 princesses at a time in a secluded area, you cannot see, and each child gets 30 seconds to a minute taking pictures and visiting each one. You never know who you will get until you get up there. The line has to be one of the longest in the park, but for all the girls waiting in line so worth it. While Brad was an awesome dad and did some standing in line, grandma took Brooklyn to the princess shop and adorned her with her very own Sleeping Beauty princess gown. She also bought her shoes and a little crown clip. There was no waiting to put that gown on, my little princess had to be dressed like a princess to meet her favorite people. It was all so magical for her. What a fun time! After we were all outfitted we still had a little over a half an hour wait. Thank heaven for Brad! What a guy.

On her first time through she met Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. She was super excited to have them sign her princess autograph book and was incredibly proud of her signatures she was collecting. It was nice to see some of her favorites at the beginning. She was so excited and quite star struck.
After we had been through and seen Ariel, Sleeping Beauty (probably her favorite) and Cinderella, all she wanted to do was find the rest of the princesses. We asked around and found out that you can sometimes catch Jasmine in Adventureland, so off we headed. When we got there she was nowhere to be found and our little princess had dozed so we grabbed some lunch and decided to check back. After lunch we were lucky enough to find Jasmine there and we caught her just before she left. And unbelievably enough, there was no line. It was fantastic!Now, we had only met four princesses and she was determined to meet all six. Stay tuned for the rest of the story.

Vacation: Part 4 (The good stuff cont.)

2009-07-31T13:59:00.000-05:00

After we met Jasmine it was time to go meet some fairies, don't worry the rest of the princesses will not be forgotten, but we will get to those later. They have the cutest little pixie hollow set up and the line for the fairies, while wasn't as long as the princesses, was still a good wait. And here, you only meet two fairies at a time. Again you never know who you will get, but Brooklyn was thrilled to see any of them and we were able to meet Iridessa and Silvermist. Silvermist is one of her very favorites, so it worked out nicely.

I love the look of awe and adoration on her face here. It truly was magical for her!

After we met the fairies, we headed over to Disney California to check it out. While we were there we decided to dine with the princesses. We had set up an appointment for the next night, but decided to go while grandma and grandpa were there. While we waited for our reservation Brad entertained Brooklyn by dancing with her on the pier. One of her favorite games is to play Sleeping Beauty. She sings "Once Upon a Dream" and her Prince Phillip happens upon her in the forest and they dance and sing together. There was no more fitting a place for her to play Sleeping Beauty than at Disneyland in her Sleeping Beauty gown. Brad was such a good sport to play along.After Brad and Brooklyn danced in the "forest" we headed in to grab our table and meet more princesses. We dined in a restaurant called Ariel's Grotto. It is a cute little sea themed restaurant and the food was fantastic. We all chose the tri-tip and it was quite delicious. But back to the princesses... Since it is Ariel's Grotto upon coming into the restaurant you get to sit and talk with none other than Ariel. This Ariel spent a large amount of time with Brooklyn and was pretty excited they both had red hair. She was super sweet and kind to her and Brooklyn ate it all up.

After meeting Ariel we headed to our table to await the arrival of the remaining four princesses we would meet during dinner. The first to arrive was Cinderella.

Even though she had met three of the princesses that she was going to meet at dinner already she insisted that they each sign her book again.

Next to arrive was a princess she was still waiting to meet, Snow White. I don't know if I have every seen a more permanent grin on her face than while we were meeting princesses at Disneyland, it was really too cute!

Next, we met Sleeping Beauty again. The dinner was neat because all the princesses spent so much time with Brooklyn.
And last, but definitely not least, and by far Brad's favorite, we met Belle. What more can I say about Brooklyn, she was obviously thrilled. She had now met all six princesses! She had not forgotten about Pocahontas, but I told her we probably wouldn't meet her before we started the day. We had accomplished our mission. Wahoo!!!Here is a picture of all of us at dinner.

We were able to get in a few other rides throughout the day, including the Jungle Cruise, but the day was really all about the princesses.

Vacation: Part 5

2009-07-31T13:58:00.000-05:00

We started out Tuesday well rested and ready to hit the park again. Brooklyn was determined to ride the big ferris wheel at Disney's California, so we started there. Our first stop was the Playhouse Disney show. She was very anxious to meet the Little Einsteins. You can't actually meet them, but they were in a show and she loved it. While we were there we rode the rides in A Bugs Life and the large Mickey Ferris Wheel. California is fun, but to me it is definitely no Disneyland. It does not hold the same kind of magic. Here are some pictures from our time there.
Next, it was back to Disneyland to spend the rest of our day. And you probably could have guessed the first place she wanted to go when we got back, was to meet the princesses again. So off we went. We waited in line for an hour and a half, part of which she slept on me for to meet the princesses again. Somehow we lucked out and were able to meet Pocahontas and Mulan on this return trip. Probably a disappointment to most other girls waiting in line, but definitely not for our girl. I don't know how we did it, but we were able to meet all eight princesses on our trip to Disneyland and this in and of itself made this trip the "best ever" in Brooklyn's eyes.
Seriously, we were still not done meeting characters. We still had to make one more visit to Pixie Hollow to try and meet Tinkerbell. We headed to Pixie Hollow and were able to meet Iridessa again and finally Tinkerbell. Our meeting of characters was complete after this visit and finally she wanted to ride some rides. Her favorite ride of the whole trip turned out to be the Storybook Canal because she saw miniature palaces and castles of all her favorite princesses.
And, a little dinner break...
Our time at Disneyland really was a dream come true for our little munchkin!

Vacation: Part 6

2009-07-31T13:57:00.000-05:00

After Disneyland we headed to Newport Beach and Thursday morning to our nieces swim meet in California. Here are some pictures from the beach where we built a sand castle and made Brooklyn a mermaid tail out of sand.

Our Beach Beauty

Our Little Mermaid

The finished sand castle

We enjoyed our time at Mallory's swim meet on Thursday and our super proud of her. She just made the national swim team and we have never been able to see her swim yet so it was a great opportunity. We had a great time and Brooklyn cheered her on in a whisper.

Later Thursday afternoon we headed to Vegas and on Friday morning we headed up to Beaver, Utah for a camping trip with my dad and my brothers and sisters. We had a great time camping and enjoyed seeing all of our nieces and nephews unfortunately our camera battery died as soon as we got there so we have no pictures. We had a blast though and Brooklyn caught her first fish. She is so my girl.

On Sunday morning we packed up and headed back to Vegas. After Brad had a quick shower and repacked we headed to the airport and sent him home. Brooklyn and I spent the next week in Vegas visiting family. Her cousin Sydney gave her some swim lessons and we had a great 4th of July at Nellis Air Force base, but I will have more on that later.

It was a great vacation and awesome family time. We are super blessed and grateful we were able to spend all that time together.

Swimming Lessons

2009-07-03T00:50:00.004-05:00

This is for you Brad!

I will post more from our trip later, but for now this is a video of Brooklyn in her swimming lessons with her awesome cousin Sydney.

More to Come...

2009-07-01T00:28:00.003-05:00

So here is a quick update, with much more to come.

Drove to Phoenix
Visited with cousins and good friends
Drove to California
Disneyland - met all 8 princesses, and 3 fairies
The real beach
Mallory's Swim Meet
Camping in Utah
Vegas
Home next week

Hooray for Summer!

2009-06-07T15:47:00.002-05:00

The last few weeks have been filled with lots of fun and things coming to a close.

Preschool has come to an end for the year, much to Brooklyn's disappointment and my relief. I loved teaching preschool this year! It has been lots of fun and I enjoyed seeing the kids get so excited about learning. Brooklyn now knows all of her capital ABCs and can recognize her numbers 1-12. She knows all kinds of information like to call 911 in an emergency, or that we need to take care of our hearts. It was however a lot of work. I can't do anything half way and I spent hours and I mean hours preparing for our 3 hours of preschool each week. I would love to do it again next year, but we shall see how everything goes with our family.

Dance for Brooklyn has also come to an end for the Summer and she had her show week this past week. She was absolutely adorable of course. We plan to enroll her again in the fall.

We have completed our foster care licensing so now we are just waiting for a baby. We will keep you posted.

We have also already started our Summer fun. On Memorial Day we went out to Landa Park as a family had a picnic, rented a paddleboat, kicked around a soccer ball and played frisbee. And last weekend we went to visit our good friends the Bertoldos in College Station.

We are so excited that Summer has finally arrived and we are looking to lots of fun!

If you want to keep reading about all the things we have done in the past few weeks. Read the posts that follow this.

Wicked!

2009-06-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

Friday night we were lucky enough to go to Wicked. My sweet husband bought us tickets to Wicked for our anniversary and I have been so excited to go ever since. We went with our good friends the Barrs. Dinner was at Paesanos on the river and then off to the show. It was awesome! I totally recommend seeing it if you ever get the chance. It was a great night! Here we are in front of the Majestic before we headed into the show.

Show Week

2009-06-03T16:34:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn has been in a dance/gymnastics class at the Little Gym since January and has loved every minute of it. She has had the best teacher who was very patient with her. The first few weeks Brooklyn did a lot more crying than dancing or gymnastics, but her teacher was great with her and finally there were no more tears and only smiles and lots of waves. Wednesday was her final class for the semester and they had their show week. I don't have any videos small enough to upload here so pictures will have to do. They did a tap routine, ballet routine, and then headed in the gym to do a balance beam routine. After they were all finished they were able to mount the medal platform and they all received medals for their hard work. Then the kids and parents just got to play in the gym together. On our way out, one of her cute friends from dance gave all the girls a lollipop bouquet. Brooklyn couldn't even jump when she started the class and has come a long way. She can't wait until she can start dance again in September.

Visit with the Bertoldos

2009-06-01T16:21:00.002-05:00

This past weekend we went to visit our good friends the Bertoldos in College Station. They used to live in San Antonio and their son Ryan was probably Brooklyn's first friend, or their moms were friends and they were babies who were together a lot. We got their Friday night and headed to bed pretty quickly. Saturday was a fun filled day. Brad and Nate headed off golfing in the early morning, the kids played in the sprinkler, we all went to the pool, had naps, and later went to a fundraiser event in the park. We later grabbed some dinner and headed back to their place for a movie night. The kids watched the Little Mermaid on our portable DVD. We didn't start the movie until almost 9 and thought for sure they would be asleep quickly, but we underestimated the 3 year olds stamina for movie night when M&Ms and popcorn were involved. Cute little Ryan kept coming out and filling the popcorn bowls for both them.

I don't know how Brooklyn has little boys doing her bidding at such a young age, but fellas watch out. It seems that everytime she is around a little boy they do anything they can to make her happy. Ryan was no different. Brooklyn was "his girl" and he let everybody know it. Brooklyn was scared that the baby had touched her chair and he made sure that his brother knew that Brooklyn was his and he shouldn't scare her anymore. Whenever Brooklyn needed anything, Ryan would come and tell us so to make sure she was taken care of. It was too cute and I was glad that she was so well taken care of by such a sweet little boy.

Thanks again guys for a super fun weekend!

Schools Out

2009-05-26T15:58:00.000-05:00

The last day of preschool was filled with fun activities. We did a little reviewing of letters, numbers and shapes inside and spent the rest of the day in the backyard having a field day. The kids loved it and it was lots of fun. It was not the normal preschool class, one little boy Gavin woke up sick that morning and could not come. We could not do all the games with just 3, so we invited over Caden Barr to join in on the fun. Here are some pictures from the last day.

Here they are trying to pop water balloons with their bums, none of them could pop them on their own. Finally Caden did and got so mad that he got wet. It was pretty funny. Eventually most of them gave up on popping them with their bums and went with the shoe, not Brooklyn though she was determined to play the game how it was supposed to be played and she just kept bouncing and bouncing on her balloons.

This is a picture of them trying to play Soccer. They had a good time kicking the ball, but their wasn't much soccer going on.

This was our outdoor art project for the day. I filled 4 squirt bottles with colored water and they spray painted their art.

Here are the four kids that were there that day.

We had a great time and did lots of other activities that I don't have pictured here. There was a race with the kids filling up cups with holes in them and racing to fill their buckets. They did really good and it was super funny to watch. We had a water balloon toss game with the parachute and they just loved to throw the water balloons and watch them pop. The last thing we did before everyone went home was have a treasure hunt through the house to find one last treasure that had a few little prizes for the kids to take home. I loved preschool this year and I was thankful for the time I had to spend with these fun little ones.

Memorial Day at Landa Park

2009-05-25T16:14:00.002-05:00

For Memorial Day we spent some time at Landa Park. We had a picnic in the back of our car because you have to pay $10 for a picnic table and lets face it we are cheap. Then we walked over to the boathouse and rented a paddleboat for a half an hour. It was a fun experience that Brooklyn said she really liked, but was happy when it was all done too. Then we headed back to where we were parked, fed some ducks along the way and just played in the grass. We had brought Brooklyn's Dora soccer ball and we kicked that around and tried to teach her how to play soccer on briefly. She was so upset we weren't playing it her way and she said she wanted to play by herself. So while she was playing soccer by herself Brad and I threw a frisbee around. After playing Brooklyn soccer by herself for awhile she decided it was okay if we played the real way. She also asked if she learned to play the real way, would we please put her in real soccer. We had a great time and are still debating the real soccer thing. Good thing it is summer and we don't have to make any decisions quite yet.

Family Pictures

2009-05-17T13:58:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Japanese Tea Gardens and had some family pictures taken by Natalie Layton. She is great and Brooklyn was so good. Here are a few preview pictures. I am hoping there is a better family one coming, but the ones of Brooklyn are so cute.

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T16:51:00.002-05:00

Brooklyn came down from her much needed nap this afternoon, ran to me gave me a big hug and said, "Happy Mother's Day Mommy!" She then turned to Brad and said, "What else was I supposed to say Daddy?"

However rehearsed this conversation was it was super cute and much appreciated. I love my little girl and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a mother. It was definitely hard to come by for us and I appreciate it so much. It also makes me appreciate my mother more and more especially when Brooklyn is having one of her moments (kicking, screaming, turning red tantrums). Thanks mom for always being there for me. I love you!

On another note, one of our favorite comments from Brooklyn recently that we forgot to blog was around Christmas when we went to Six Flags. We went for the evening and she only got a chance to ride one ride, the sled hill. We started to wait in line for the Ferris Wheel, which is her favorite, but it wasn't moving at all so we called it a night. When we were walking to the car she saw the ferris wheel from the parking lot and said, "Look, there's the ferris wheel. Bye bye ferris wheel. (waving the whole time) We will see you next time." In the car on the way home we asked her what her favorite part of the night was and she said, "Waiting in line for the ferris wheel." Needless to say the next time we went to Six Flags it was the first ride we hit. This girl provides lots of laughs in our household and we sure do love her!

Storytime

2009-05-08T10:11:00.004-05:00

Brooklyn loves to tell us stories. They usually have to do with what is in her eyesight, but they always crack us up. Here is one of her latest.

Gymastics!

2009-04-30T20:05:00.006-05:00

Brooklyn has been in a Dance/Gymnastics class since the beginning of February. She loves it and she is finally starting to get it. We practice all the time. Here is a video of her practicing her floor routine that she will be doing in show week. She can finally do a forward roll (somersault) and jump. She couldn't do either of these 3 months ago.

Our Very Own Personal Trainer

2009-04-21T22:00:00.003-05:00

(This is not the best picture, but all I got.)

This past weekend our good friend Josh came to town to visit. He was one of Brad's mission companions and has turned into one of his very best friends. Josh is a strength and conditioning coach at BYU, so while he was here we got our very own personal trainer. We went shopping for weights and miscellaneous equip, he set us up our very own workout that we videotaped, and he set us up on a nutrition plan.

Right now, I would have to say that I have a love/hate relationship with him personally. I love him most the time, but every time I move or sneeze not so much. All kidding aside, it has been great and we are super excited about it. Josh you are awesome! I am posting about this for two reasons, one to tell everyone what a great friend Josh is, and the other to make us more accountable. Brad wants to lose 30 pounds and I want to lose 15. I will keep you posted on our progress and hopefully it will all be good.

We didn't only workout while he was here though. Brad and Josh managed to hit the links 3 times, we had a day at Six Flags in the rain, and had a great time hanging out and catching up.

Changes

2009-04-18T23:18:00.001-05:00

I don't know if we will every be not busy. I was truly hoping to have more time after i quit working, but it was just replaced with other things.

The first thing that is or hopefully will be changing soon is our family. We have tried so many avenues to have children and are finally at a point where adoption is what we feel is the right thing to do for us. The foster to adopt process is crazy with hours and hours of training classes, paperwork, more paperwork, and more paperwork. We have to have a home study, TB tests, inspections from the health and fire inspectors and CPS. Criminal background checks, fingerprints, etc, etc, etc. It is also scary because any child placed in our home could go back to their parents. They say the chances are minimal, but they are there. Needless to say this has filled much of my spare time, but we hope it will all be worth it in the end and we will be able to bring a baby into our home that really needs one. It is a little different not knowing when it could happen, how old the baby will be, or what problems/conditions might exist, but I suppose we could call it an adventure. It is definitely hard to prepare with so much unknown. Brooklyn is very excited though and would love to have a sister.

Another change is my calling. I received an additional calling on Sunday as ward camp director. They haven't released me from nursery yet, but I keep hoping it will be soon. I was in the primary presidency for a year before nursery and Brad and I have been in nursery for 8 months now. I know it is not that long for some, but I am definitely ready for a change.

We are still loving life, but I can't wait for it to slow down just a little so we can take a little more of it in.

Easter

2009-04-18T22:44:00.003-05:00

With all the Easter activities we did, I'm pretty sure Brooklyn thinks Easter is a week long and not just one day but we had a blast.

We started the week by having an Easter egg hunt at our park with some friends. Our good friends Lauren Bertoldo and her two little boys Ryan and Jaxson were in town for the hunt which made it even more fun. It turned out to be a super cold day though so we found the Easter eggs quick and then headed to McDonalds for some playtime inside.

She already had a sweatsuit on but she wasn't warm enough, so her friend Daxon was nice enough to loan her one of his coats.

Brooklyn and her friend Lincoln from nursery.

We had another Easter Egg hunt in preschool on Tuesday and then she went to a third one on Saturday at a local high school event. She kept saying, but why am I not wearing my Easter dress if this is Easter. I had to keep explaining to her Easter was Sunday and it was really all about Jesus and not the Easter Bunny.

On Sunday she woke up to an Easter basket full of kid gardening tools, gardening gloves, a My Little Pony watercolor book, a soak in water egg that turns into an animal, Princess Dominos (which she LOVES!) and a few treats. She has a very large stash of Easter candy that she wants to eat from all the time.

Here are a few pics of the Easter egg hunt in the park and of her in her Easter Dress, I have been really bad with my camera the last few weeks. I am going to try and get better pictures of her in her dress again tomorrow. Sunday mornings are always difficult and Brad snapped just a few as I was finishing getting ready.

Visits with the Cousins

2009-04-18T22:04:00.004-05:00

We were lucky enough to have my brothers family and Brad's brothers family both visit us during the month of March. Brooklyn couldn't get enough of her cousins. She loved every minute of it.

First we had a visit from my younger brother Mike, his wife Sara and their two boys Rhett and Gage. They spent a week with us and we had lots of fun, but everything was packed. It was during spring break and I have never seen some of these places soooo busy. While they were here we did the drive-thru safari, the zoo, the San Marcos outlets, the San Antonio childrens museum, ate some good food, the girls got pedicures and had a lot of fun. Thanks for coming to visit.

My brother Mike and Brooklyn at the safari.

Mike's wife Sara, Gage and Rhett at the safari.

The kids playing in the aquarium at the childrens museum. (From left to right: Gage, Rhett, Brooklyn)

Brooklyn playing dentist at the childrens museum and my big mouth.

Rhett eating his ice cream cone from Freddy's. Ice cream cones in the car are never a super idea...

The Next Visit

The day before my brother left, Brad's brother Brian and his family made their way into San Antonio. They were staying at a time share at Canyon Lake, and we spent all day Wednesday with them. We went to the drive thru safari, but this time it was much less crowded and the animals were out and eating, had a fun lunch and then did some more shopping at the outlets. We spent Friday night with them grabbing some food and swimming in the pool at the timeshare. On Sunday they came to stay with us for a few days and we did some more shopping, eating and the kids had a blast playing together. We had a super fun time and Brooklyn can't stop talking about all her cousins!

Brooklyn with Auntie Priscilla and cousin Talei feeding the animals at the safari.

All the cousins from left to right Daniel, Brooklyn, Micah and Talei.

Playing at the house.

All the kids enjoying a horsie ride on Uncle Brian.

March....

2009-04-01T11:41:00.002-05:00

2 birthdays
10th anniversary
10 days in Vegas
2 weeks of family in town
more to come...

10 Days in Vegas

2009-03-10T21:03:00.002-05:00

On February 28th, Brooklyn and I went to Las Vegas to visit my family for 10 days. I started out the time going to a good friend's wedding, Cristy. It was great to see her and I am so happy that she found the right man for her.

On Sunday, March 1st, we had a little combined party for Brooklyn's 3rd birthday and my younger brother Mike's 27th birthday. Mike and Sara invited us over to their house and they decked it all out in princess for Brooklyn. Everytime we go to Vegas they spoil her rotten because there is only 2 girls in all of the grandkids. We had a great time and I decorated my first cake. Thanks for all the help mom! It turned out so cute and I was very proud of myself, I usually can't decorate a cake without getting all the cake in the icing. She got some lots of great presents, a my little pony, a tinkerbell tea party set, little mermaid dress up, princess dress up shoes and a little mermaid barbie.

We visited lots of family and while we were there we also went to the park and spent a day at the children's museum. We had a great time, but were glad to be home after 10 days.

Updating the Blog

2009-03-05T10:49:00.001-06:00

So, I am finally updating the blog, since I have like three months to update. I am starting at the newest and working back. If you are interested you will have to keep scrolling down to read the new posts. I am backdating them so they are in order of when they happened. Happy reading!

THE Dora Party

2009-03-04T18:23:00.002-06:00

One of Brooklyn's absolute favorite things is to have pretend parties. We have multiple parties a day with balloons and everything. She loves parties. So for her birthday we decided to have her the best party we could come up with. She loves so many things girly we had lots of options, but we were looking for something a little more unisex. So Dora it was.

I decided that we would go on a Dora adventure for her party and it was quite the undertaking. If you go on a Dora adventure you have to have backpacks, etc. She also wanted to make sure that none of her friends were left out. There were a total of 14 kids and they all seemed to have a blast.

To start they came in and we took there pictures with a posterboard drawing of Dora. There were tables set out with pictures to color and Dora on the TV. Once everyone got there we played "Pin the Tail on Boots." It went better than I thought and they all seemed to enjoy it. We then went into the living room and read a book. I had written a Dora book, called "Brooklyn's Special Day." I wrote and illustrated myself, so it wasn't fantastic but for my standards it was good. I wrote in each of the kids names that were at the party and they all seemed to get a kick out of hearing their own name. The story was all about getting the pinata back that Swiper had swiped from Brooklyn's birthday party. We then headed out to the backyard to find the real pinata. I gave all the kids backpacks to put their "loot" in and told them not to open them until we got outside. When they went outside there was no pinata, but there was a picture of Swiper pinned to the tree. Swiper had swiped the pinata and we had to find it. Inside their backpacks there was map. Map told them how to get the pinata back. They had to go through Isa's Flowery Garden, Past Crocodile Lake and over Shapes Bridge to Lollipop Forest. There were things in backpack to help along the way.

I was a little nervous about how the adventure would go over with 14 kids and with some of them being older, but they all seemed to have a good time. At the end they found the pinata, stopped Swiper from swiping, and broke open the pinata.

We then went had some Dora Cupcakes and opened presents. It took no longer than an hour and a half and she has been talking about it ever since. It was worth all the work and we had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came and made it so great!

Three Years Old

2009-03-02T17:05:00.003-06:00

I can't believe our little girl is 3 years old today! Brooklyn is simply the sweetest, most adorable little girl and we are sooo blessed to have her. Every day she feels like more and more of a miracle to us and the time seems to fly by faster and faster. She had two birthday parties one in San Antonio with friends and one in Las Vegas with family. Brooklyn had a great time at both and a description will come in a later post, but for now here is a little about her at 3.

1. Brooklyn loves all things girly. And when I say all things, I mean all things. (Dora, My Little Ponies, Princess anything, Strawberry Shortcake, dressup, etc., painted toenails, lip gloss, and anything else she can get away with)
2. She loves to sing. I always catch her singing some song to herself. (Last night, it was Here We are Together and the other night it was All The Single Ladies)
3. She loves to talk and it is quite often like an adult. It is nonstop and always entertaining. She is so much fun to be with all day long.
4. Brooklyn loves golf and now baseball.
5. One of her favorite restaurants is the "Peanut Store" (Texas Roadhouse). Her favorite food there is ribs and sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
6. She loves to jump and dance. Especially her dance and gymnastic class.
7. She loves to water.
8. She loves her funny ponytails. They will be seen in her Birthday party post.
9. She hates to have water in her face.
10. She loves theme park rides, the more wild the better.
11. She loves to snuggle in her big girl bed for "just a minute" at night.
12. Every night she asks us what our favorite stores are and her responses are Academy, Sharkies, Hobby Lobby and Walmart.

We love you Brooklyn. Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Brad!

2009-02-24T09:54:00.002-06:00

Happy birthday Brad! On Tuesday Brad turned 32. We celebrated on Saturday where he got a new set of golf clubs, went golfing with some friends, and then we went out to dinner as a family at PF Changs. We are so thankful for our husband and daddy. He is so good to both Brooklyn and I and we hope he had a good birthday. We love you Brad!

Just a quickie

2009-02-15T22:03:00.001-06:00

Don't be shocked this is not some grand update. That will be coming soon. I gave my two weeks on Friday and when I finally finish working I promise to update the blog, but for now just a cute little story about Brooklyn. This is for all of you are out there that have been giving me a hard time.

The other night Brooklyn fell out of her bed for the first time. She is not a crazy sleeper by any stretch of the imagination and her head ended up where her feet should have been if she had just rolled. So I asked her if she was awake and playing and fell, or if she was asleep when she fell. This was her response and it cracked me up. She said, "The thing is, when I rolled off my bed, I was awake." Not earth shattering, I know, but the way she talks like a little grown up cracks me up. She is still 2 for 2 more weeks and she talks like this all the time. What two year old says, "The thing is..." I talked to her the next day when she was more awake and she said she had fallen off while she was sleeping and had been woken up by hitting the floor.

Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T10:36:00.001-06:00

Valentine's in our house started with a party for preschool. The kids had a really great time. We decorated boxes to get our Valentine's in, made Valentine's for someone in our families, decorated cupcakes, and then exchanged Valentines. The kids all had a great time, and loved getting and giving Valentines with their friends.

On Valentine's Day, Brad came home with flowers and a heart balloon for both Brooklyn and I. Chocolates for Brooklyn. We ate heart shaped pizza together and then we had a babysitter for Brooklyn. Brad and I were able to go out to a movie, Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was a win-win for both of us. He loves Isla Fisher, and I love almost any type of chick flick. It was a nice relaxing night and it was nice to be able to go out on Valentines Day.

Snow, snow, snow...

2008-11-26T16:40:00.004-06:00

The title is a little misleading, it was quite a small patch of snow, but Brooklyn didn't care. We told Brooklyn that we would try to find some snow for her this trip while we were in Utah and we did find one small patch. While we were visiting my dad in Cedar City we headed up the mountain to Cedar Breaks and enjoyed a little bit of sledding. I emphasize the little bit. There was only a few patches of snow to be found, but we found a great little one perfect for us. Brooklyn loved it! Not that it is too surprising as she wants to ride on any roller coaster or ride she sees. She even sled a little ways on her own.

Tagged... 5 Things

2008-11-26T16:27:00.002-06:00

5 Things I was doing 10 yrs ago. . .

I was going to Dixie College, and attending most of my classes
Engaged to Brad
Traveling back and forth between St. George and Rexburg, sometimes meeting in the middle
Planning a wedding
Finding out my grandma had cancer

5 Things on my "to do" list today. . . I actually made one today too!

update my blog
relax
help with early Thanksgiving prep
Hang out at my brother Mike's house tonight
Make more money on mob wars (i'm on vacation!)

5 Snacks I enjoy. . .

Smart Food white cheddar popcorn
diet soda (not really a snack but a staple)
sweets of almost any kind
fruit and dip
veggies and dip

5 Things I would do If I were a millionaire. . .

pay off our house
travel on vacations that are not just to see family (no offense, but when you live away from family your vacation time is spent visiting not at fun places)
buy new cars
I'd save a lot
give to my family and friends

5 Places I have lived. . .

Driggs, ID
Beaver, UT
Las Vegas, NV
Avondale, AZ
San Antonio, TX

5 jobs I've had. . .there are many more that I can't even remember

legal secretary
home data entry operator
CPR and first aid teacher
high school math teacher (I've taught everything from algebra through calculus) and dept chair
math tutor

5 People I'm tagging. . .

No one! I am a party pooper. I don't forward or tag. If you want to do this I would love to see your answers.

Twilight Madness

2008-11-26T16:16:00.002-06:00

I was lucky enough to be in Las Vegas on Thursday night when the Twilight movie came out. It allowed me to go to the movie with my sister Heather, sister in law Sara, and my mom. We went to the midnight show. We bought our tickets beforehand and showed up to the theater an hour and a half early. The line was through the casino, out the door, down the street and around the building. We were not too far out the door. What madness!?! I have to say I was a little disappointed in the movie, but I didn't expect much. Come on, it is a great book, but the previews weren't the best. The whooing crowd only made for more cheese. It was a great time to spend with my family and we all sported Twilight shirts made by my sister. It was a super fun girls night and I am so glad I was able to be here for it. I also was not a big fan of the actor choice for Edward, but by the end I was sold. I really liked Edward (swoon, j/k). Not a movie I would recommend if you haven't read the books, but if you have you have to see it just because.

And another month passes...

2008-11-12T14:52:00.005-06:00

It seems like I am always writing how busy we have been. I sometimes wonder if things will ever slow down. We have taken a little more on as a family this fall because we are hoping that I can quit my typing job sometime in January. In order to do this I have taken on some other small jobs (tutoring and preschool) while I am still typing so I won't be quitting cold turkey. We keep saying January will be better, I truly hope we are not deluding ourselves and that life will slow down a little. For now though, we will be very very busy.

Here is a little about the last month.
Brooklyn, I and some friends headed out to the Pumpkin Patch in Medina to have some fall fun. Brooklyn painted pumpkins, found her way through a hay maze, brushed a horse, took a hayride and took some adorable pics.

In October my sister Heather and her two boys Zachary and Seth came to visit. We went to the zoo, had a picnic at Landa Park, and went to Sea World.

I was also able to go to Time Out for Women here in San Antonio with some great friends. Thanks to Jackie we had a hotel room for the night downtown. We all had a great time and it was a great break in the middle of the chaos that is my life.

The week of Halloween we had a preschool Halloween party, the trunk or treat, carved pumpkins and of course the actual day of trick or treating. Brooklyn enjoyed it all. Last year when we went trick or treating she never wanted to stop. She could barely walk and she said more houses. This year she had watched the Little Einsteins Halloween episode and once she got enough candy for her pretend Halloween party she said, "Okay, I think I have enough we can go now." What 2 year old says they have enough candy. We had a great time.

The last few weeks have been the same old same old and we leave next week to go to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving for two weeks. I won't have any work of any kind while we are they and I can't wait for the break.

Here are some pics from the last month. Enjoy!

Alive and Kicking

2008-10-18T16:25:00.003-05:00

Yes, we are alive. It is hard to believe. It seems that I haven't looked at any blogs or posted on my blog in ages, but we are still here. We have been crazy busy as a family. Brooklyn and I went to visit some family in Vegas at the beginning of the month and since we have been back we haven't stopped. In the past week and a half since we have been home we have:

1) Gone to six flags (more to come)

2) Brad volunteered 14 hours at the Valero Open

3) Hosted a baby shower

4) Gone to Dallas for the BYU v. TCU game (the game was not so hot, but we had a great time)

5) Had a great visit from Brad's sister Becky and her husband Garth who were in town for the dental convention

6) Had to live normal life while everything else was going on...

Things have been crazy, but we have had a blast. We are all so exhausted and Brooklyn hasn't napped for more than 30 minutes a day (and that was in the car) for the last 4 days. We will be doing a lot of sleeping the rest of the weekend.

********************************

The week of the 6th, Brad volunteered at the Valero open. I say volunteered, but I think he got a lot more out of it than he gave. He gets a free round of golf at LaCanterra, he got to meet the players, and we got a fun free night at Six Flags. Six Flags has a family night where they host the players and their families for 3 hours at the Boardwalk. There was free food, all the rides in the area were open and 15 tickets to play all the game booths. Since Brad volunteered in the area where they were helping the players and their families we got to go. He thought it was great because we were there with some famous golfers, we all thought it was fun because it was empty and we had a great time. Here is a picture of Brooklyn with her spoils from the different game booths. We even went home with extra tickets, and she won 2 of the Curious George dolls and Strawberry Shortcakes so she could share with her good friend Belle. Here is a picture of Brooklyn with all of her winnings.

Brooklyn the "Princess"

2008-10-02T16:59:00.002-05:00

Brooklyn always thinks she is a princess. It could be that we have called her a princess since she was born, but hey, who knows. Every time she gets dressed she says I look like a princess in this. So for Halloween we decided she would be a princess. Today, I found her the princess costume and she had to try it on. She was so excited and kept looking at her self and twirling in the mirror. Here is a picture of her doing a curtsy. She is definitely our little princess.

Daddy Daughter Date

2008-09-21T13:30:00.003-05:00

During the Spring when the weather was nice we were golfing a lot as a family. Brooklyn loved it and we bought her her very own putter. The other day she said, "Mommy, I go golfing with daddy tomorrow." I told her maybe daddy could take her golfing in a few days. Well as soon as Brad heard this, he was thrilled to say the least. Any of you that know Brad, know that one of his passions is golf. His favorite dream for his little girl is that she will like golf and want to golf with him. He immediately started working on a t-time for Saturday.

Brooklyn also loves Dora, and there is a Dora episode where Boots has a Special Day. We decided that this would be Brooklyn's special day with daddy. What a blast they had. They started out the morning golfing. Then daddy took her to Culvers, one of her favorite places to eat. We watched the BYU game, and then we took her out for a Jamba Juice. I don't know if it was Brad's or Brooklyn's special day, but they both loved it! Brad has vowed that he is going to start taking her on more daddy daughter dates. Here are some pics from the golf outing.

When we told her she was going golfing she said with my club and my purple ball. She is showing you her equipment.

Preschool

2008-09-18T21:57:00.009-05:00

I have started a little preschool for 2 year olds Brooklyn's age. It has been so much fun and I love the little kids. I have 3 toddlers including Brooklyn every Tuesday from 9 to 12. It is a long time, but you wouldn't believe how well they do with some varied activities. We start the day with a circle and the pledge. They don't repeat the pledge with me yet, but they put their hands on their hearts and love it when it is there turn to hold the flag. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks of their artwork. It is a great time and I consider myself blessed to be home with Brooklyn and have this time with her.

These were made with farm animal stamps. Huge mess, but also huge fun.

This is my sweet little tikes with their elephant puppets. Aren't they cute!

I love Sundays

2008-09-18T21:57:00.005-05:00

I love Sundays for many reasons. Definitely because they are one peaceful day in a week of chaos. I love the spirit our home takes on and I really love dressing Brooklyn up like a doll. Lately her Sunday outfits have been lacking. She is low on the dress supply and we need to go shopping as she keeps growing like a weed. On Sunday we put a dress on her we haven't put on in a while and she was absolutely adorable. Here are the pics. She insisted on having a necklace on like mommy. What a girly girl. I love it!

This is her picture smile, we can't get any pictures without it.

Notice the trendy side ponytail. Brooklyn said she wanted one ponytail and pointed right there. That is what she got.

"What's that?"

2008-09-17T20:14:00.003-05:00

I love the things that this kid says right now. She repeats everything and most things are much cuter said by a 2 year old. This morning I had just taken off Brooklyn's pull up and I was looking for panties. She reached back and was scratching her bum and found her bum crack. She was very distraught, and kept saying, "What is that??" over and over. I said honey that is your bum and she said, "No, that!" and grabbed at her bum crack. I was having a hard time not laughing now and I told her it was her bum crack. We all had bum cracks. I finally calmed her down (I had to show her we all had bum cracks) and she said my pee pee comes out there.

Touchdown BYU!!!

2008-08-30T23:31:00.003-05:00

As most of you know Brad is a huge BYU fan and has sucked me into his love for the game. We purchased a slingbox and my wonderful mom and her husband hooked it up in there home for us. It took many hours and multiple phone calls to get it working right, but we can watch all the BYU games in internet streaming glory. Not the best, but definitely workable.

Tonight we were watching the first BYU game of the season. This morning Brooklyn asked of her own free will to wear her BYU shirt (Brad tells me this is true, I am not 100% positive), and so she was decked out all day. After BYU scored their first touchdown this evening. We were excited and told Brooklyn to say, "Go Cougars, Go." She not only chanted our little chant, but took it to the next level on the fireplace. I believe she might make a great BYU cheerleader one day. Here is a video of her cheering on the Cougs.

Dance Party!!

2008-08-28T20:18:00.003-05:00

So, Brooklyn loves to dance. Last night, Brooklyn and I had a dance party. She likes to dress up, sing and dance. Here is a video of our dance party. Where she sang and danced for the camera. It is kind of long so watch at your own risk. She looks like my little gangsta. You should have seen her before she lost the clip on Dora earrings (aka bling) and her bunny ear belt. It was super nice. And right now, I will post just about anything to stop looking at those shorts. (Which if anyone is wondering the stain came out nicely.)

You know you need to clean your car when...

2008-08-13T20:51:00.004-05:00

So we went swimming this afternoon. While at the pool Brooklyn overcame some serious fears. She doesn't even like being in the big pool and she not only got in, but let us let go of her. She also swam (floated with some leg kicking) between Brad and I. To get her to do it we said we would take her to Chuck E Cheese.

So after the pool we were headed to Chuck E Cheese. We headed home (our car seats got wet from our wet clothes) changed back into our clothes and headed out. The seat was still damp when I got in and my bum was all wet when we finally got there. White shorts, a bad idea? Maybe, you say. Not because I spilled, but because all the grossness in our car seat came out on my shorts in the water that soaked in. After we had been there 20 minutes Brad noticed my entire bum was brown. I spent the entire time in these shorts. Super embarassing, right, but don't worry I played it off like it didn't matter. It so did! Here's a picture of the shorts. I will be cleaning my car seats very soon. So gross, looks like I had a different kind of accident for sure.

Shop Til You Drop

2008-08-13T20:42:00.002-05:00

There is no doubt that Brooklyn likes to shop. Most girls do, right? Well last Saturday we went shopping for Brooklyn new church shoes. Her feet have been growing a lot lately. It seems she is going to be cursed with my narrow very long feet. She has super narrow feet and finding shoes is next to impossible. Most babies have wide feet, but not mine. We spent 4 hours at the mall going in any store that sold even one pair of kids shoes to try and find her new church shoes, and we still left empty handed. It was almost 9:00 at night when we left and she said, "go to another store, keep shopping." We decided to try one more on the way home and we finally found her some shoes. Hallelujah!!!!! She was very excited to have new shoes, but disappointed because the shopping was over. She asked if we could still keep shopping. Brad and I were ready to drop. It is good to know that she can out shop us.

She went without a nap Sunday morning and all through church and she finally dropped after church. Here is a picture of Brooklyn in her new purchases.

No more diapers for us!

2008-07-31T07:15:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn is definitely no more my baby. She is growing up soooo fast! These are two recent pictures of her and she looks so old to me. It is definitely bittersweet and we are trying to enjoy all the moments of her becoming a little girl and no longer our baby. Over the past month Brooklyn has told me when she was going pee in her diaper. I decided when we got back from New York it was time to potty train. We made potty charts, bought stickers (which she LOVES), pull ups and all the necessities. We tried all week last week and #1 seemed to allude us. We finally put her in panties on Friday night and on Saturday she finally figured out how to pee in the potty. Once she figured it out, she was pretty much potty trained. She loves going on the potty like a big girl. We have to go everywhere we are out and many many times a day at home. We have only had 2 accidents the whole time and she is in panties unless she is sleeping and she usually wakes up with her pullups dry from those too. Woohoo, Brooklyn!!! I guess what they say is true, when they are ready, they are ready. I am just so glad she was ready. No more diapers for us!

Imaginary Friend???

2008-07-28T20:57:00.002-05:00

So, I think Dora is Brooklyn's new imaginary friend. Can Dora be an imaginary friend, I don't know. The other day when we were on our way home from our trip Brooklyn was talking her usual gibberish. We were trying to figure out where to eat in Cleveland and she was saying, "mommy, Dora is reeeeally super hungry." I said, "well Dora, is back at the hotel and I am sure she is getting something to eat there." She said yes and we continued on with our evening. At dinner she said she wanted mac and cheese and so did Dora. When we were all done she said that Dora didn't finish all her dinner. I said "really, how do you know. I thought Dora was back at the hotel." She pointed next to Brad and said, "Dora, right there." Imaginary friend, I don't know, but it sure does give us a chuckle.

Our Crazy Summer

2008-07-23T11:29:00.003-05:00

So I know that we have been missing for awhile and it is because we have been crazy busy. At the end of June my sister Heather her family and my mom came to visit for a week. We had a great time and I will blog about it in the future when I get some pictures. We took all the pictures on my sisters camera and I forgot to download them before she left.

On July 11th we headed out to Palmyra, NY via Cleveland, Ohio. We had free tickets and couldn't get into any of the airports in New York, so we chose Cleveland which allowed us to see Niagara Falls on the way and Kirtland on the way home. We headed out Friday night on a late flight, got into Cleveland and drove the Erie, PA the first night. When we got there we had a little mix-up with the hotel and didn't end up getting to bed until 2:30am, but we had started our trip and couldn't wait.

I have posted our trip day by day, mostly for our benefit so that we can publish it in a book later and it can be a form of a scrapbook. If you are interested in looking at it all, it may even continue onto the next page, but have at it. We took so many pictures we lost count and had an awesome time. We are thankful to be home, but are not super excited about getting back to normal life. We had such a great time, we just wanted it to keep going. Below is a recap of our trip.

Saturday & Sunday

2008-07-23T11:14:00.007-05:00

On Saturday we woke up in Erie, PA and headed for Niagara Falls. Brooklyn watched her movie and slept. She didn't make a peep. She really was such an angel the whole trip. On the way to and from Niagara Falls we probably paid close to $10 in tolls just to get to the falls and back. They were amazing and awesome. We crossed Rainbow Bridge and went to the Canadian side of the falls. Driving on the street along the falls our car was getting wet from the mist. It was almost like it was raining. It was truly a different experience. We walked up and down the falls and took lots of pictures. Brooklyn was so excited to see Niagara Falls thanks to the Little Einsteins, they head their on their butterfly mission. She watched it in the car on the way there. Here are just a few pics from the falls.

After the falls, we headed down to Palmyra, NY to visit and spend the week with Brad's parents.

Sunday was grandpa's birthday. We went to church, which was probably more crowded than a stake conference. We came home had a birthday lunch for Grandpa and then took naps. Later that day we went and spent some time in the Sacred Grove. It was a very peaceful day and the woods around that area are so beautiful.

American Falls

Horseshoe Falls

Monday

2008-07-23T10:51:00.005-05:00

On this day we went to the Strong Childrens Museum of Play. It was the most amazing children's museum. We were there for hours and Brooklyn still probably didn't see everything. It was the most fun place to play. There were so many cute pictures I finally had to create a slide show.

While there Brooklyn went shopping in a pint-sized grocery store. It was quite amazing they were able to not only shop, but scan their own groceries and print receipts. It even came equipped with a belt for the groceries to move on. This was her favorite place in the museum, but we also visited Sesame Street, Clifford's home and neighborhood, the Bernstein Bears exhibit, and so many more. She was so tired when we left she didn't even put up a fight. She fell asleep almost instantly.

That night we went to a park on Ontario lake and had a picnic. Our first of many. We played frisbee and catch and we all played on the slides and swings even grandma and grandpa.

Tuesday

2008-07-23T10:24:00.005-05:00

On Tuesday we went to Watkins Glen State Park which is at the very bottom of Seneca Lake, one of the New York fingerlakes. It was gorgeous. It was a 1.5 mile hike in and 1.5 mile hike out. For the majority of it Brad and Grandpa Beckstead carried Brooklyn. It was all stone walkways and it had over 800 stone stairs you had to climb to reach the top of the gorge. The brochure said it had 21 waterfalls, I am sure that was only the major ones because everywhere you looked there was waterfalls. It was one of the most amazing hikes I have ever been on. At the very end there is a part of the trail called Jacob's Ladder. It is 180 almost continuous stone steps up to the top. We were all very exhausted when we got to the top, but it was so worth it.

After we finished at Watkins Glen we found a park in the town and had a picnic and played in the park. On the way home we circled Keuka Lake, another of the fingerlakes. It was such a beautiful drive.

When we got home we all rested for a while and headed to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. It was a great time and we all enjoyed it. It was a little cold, but it seemed to keep the bugs away.

These are just some of the many pictures we took on our hike in Watkins Glen. We had taken over 150 pictures by this point in our trip.

Although you can't really see them, this picture is of Grandpa, Grandma, Brooklyn and Brad.

She looks well rested doesn't she, thanks to Brad and Grandpa.

We took a different trail down without so many steps. Here is Grandpa carrying Brooklyn on the way out.

They made it!

Wednesday

2008-07-23T10:16:00.004-05:00

Wednesday was a recovery day from the first few. We went to Wegman's grocery store, which is an even more glorified grocery store than HEB's central market, and had lunch. We went home and took a rest and then headed out to pick raspberries at Chase Farms. There are farms all over in upstate New York that will let you pick your own fruit when it is in season. It was so much fun. Brooklyn loved it and was quite good at it. We picked purple raspberries and she made sure that she only picked the purple ones. We ended up getting a pint more than we planned because it was such a good time and Brooklyn was too good at it. We left when a thunderstorm started to roll in. We missed it by minutes and were sure thankful when the rain started pounded down with no mercy.

Thursday

2008-07-23T10:07:00.004-05:00

Thursday we went to a beach in Sodus, New York on lake Ontario. They had an old lighthouse that we toured that was no longer in use. It was a beautiful area. We had a picnic lunch at the lighthouse and then headed over to the beach. This spot actually had a sandy beach and a fun park to play at. They only had a few swimming areas and all but one were closed due to high levels of ecoli. We also walked out on a pier. Brooklyn played in the park and then we waded in the water for a few minutes and she was ready to head back to Grandma's house.

That evening we went back to the pageant for a second time. It was an amazing production and Brooklyn asked to go again, so we did. It was warmer this time, but that also meant more mosquito bites.

We were almost out of room on the camera, so we didn't get a picture of the Old Sodus Lighthouse, but we have one of the functioning lighthouse on the pier. Here is a link to the picture of the Old Sodus Lighthouse. http://www.photography-plus.com/images/SodusBay/With%20copyright/SodusBayLt2_100205_36.jpg

Friday

2008-07-23T09:54:00.003-05:00

Friday was kind of a slow day. We really just wanted to enjoy the last little bit of relaxing time we had. We went to Tim Horton's in the morning because anyone who has been to Canada or anywhere that has Tim Horton's knows they are pretty good donuts. Went up and spent some time at the top of Cumorah Hill, and Brooklyn didn't want to leave. It was so pretty and there were flowers everywhere. She just loves the outdoors and thought this was the greatest place to rome around. That night we went to Canandaguia Lake to play at the park by the water. It was a nice relaxing day.

Here are a few pictures from the day...

This is the view from the top of the hill. There are 9,000 chairs set up below for the pageant.

Brooklyn sitting on the Angel Moroni monument at the hill.

Just smelling the flowers...

This is Brooklyn at a park in downtown Palmyra. I guess she got to go to two that day. They had these short little monkey bars. Brooklyn grabbed on and pulled herself up. I was just surprised she could do it.