what this weekend brought.

our weekend was relaxing and exhausting all at once. friday night was quite chill. kayla came over and we went and got dinner, did a little shopping, and then made some cornbread. we relaxed the rest of the evening and then set our alarms for an early morning.

i headed out the door at 7AM. i had a youth retreat to attend. the yw/ym had gone up friday, and i was going up to help with a planning meeting. but boy, i got to be a part of so much more. the youth in our ward are amazing. they're happy/strong/fun-loving kids that really are just happy to be where they are. they played hard and were also able to focus during planning meetings and a devotional. i was so impressed. 

watching them sled for hours, walk up this huge hill, and do it all over again and again really wore me right out. i took a nap when i got home that evening. i seriously needed it. 

(the ym leaders went up earlier in the week with their snow blowers to create this awesome hockey rink. the kids had a blast on it.)

sunday was also a bright and early start. getting used to 9AM church again will take a little while. we got up, got ready, scarfed down some breakfast, and were at church by ten to. sacrament meeting was great. i taught yw's, which is always a good learning experience. i'm teaching this whole month. i guess there's a lot i need to learn. 

as soon as we got home from church, james had brooklyn in her apron and helping him make wink-eyes. in case you're not familiar, toast with an egg cooked in the middle. brooklyn was ecstatic to get to help.

and she even enjoyed eating them. 

then it was naps. kayla and judd came over a little later and we had sunday dinner. roast, potatoes, carrots, ya know... the usual. they even cooked our potatoes and carrots in their electric pressure cooker. it was super fast and super delicious. 

afterwards, we relaxed and basically watched brooklyn run a muck of the house. she loves having company and wants to show them every toy she owns. it makes for quite a mess. little stinker. she is learning how to clean it up by herself though. with james and i giving her words of encouragement and often singing the 'clean-up' song, she gets the job done. 

16 weeks today and it feels so good! a quick little pregnancy update:

the nausea is completely gone

sleeping is rough (i'm a tummy/back sleeper)

i'm getting my energy back

so anxious and excited to find out what this little peanut is

craving juicy delicious fruit (too bad it's winter), like peaches and watermelon

h a p p y  m o n d a y

p.s. can't wait to put up my valentine decor! i'll wait til tuesday so it's up for exactly a month by valentine's day.

magical sunday.

today was one of those sundays that my heart felt like it might burst. burst right out of my chest. it was full of gratitude and love. gratitude because i was finally feeling better after my 'bout with a stomach bug all weekend, and also because it was just one of those magical sundays. ya know what i mean? those sundays where the weather, what you eat, who you're with, and everything is almost perfection. 

my heart was full of love for this little family of mine. brooklyn and james put up with me being sick all weekend. james changed brooklyn's diaper every time. we're talking six times in two hours. her tummy also didn't feel too swell friday night. brooklyn gave me plenty of loves and lots of "i so-wee"s. she also was a total rock star and marched right into nursery without one tear. so proud of her! she stayed the whole two hours and was thrilled to do it. she's getting so big and just growing right up. my heart bursts with love and sadness.

after james picked a bucket load of mint in the backyard this evening, we decided after talking about it for two years, it was high time we made our own mint limeade. i looked up a few recipes and then we just kinda dove in. what we came up with was a pretty tasty drink. i only took a sip because my tummy's still a tad iffy and one sip was enough to know it was good. no need to down a glass. but james did. and he loved it.

between rain storms brooklyn wanted to be outside. always outside. james obliged and played with her forever. she was in heaven. in only her diaper and a blanket for a cape, playing with her daddy on the tramp made her day.

then it started to rain again. drats. little did she know that her daddy had another fun activity in store. 

fort making.

she loved it. she wanted to be under it, on top of it, around it, and next to it all at the same time. if you've seen her in real life, you know what i mean. totally brooklyn style. 

(take note of the carpet burn on her cheek. aint no thang.) 

gosh these magical sundays make my week. especially because, i think, i don't have to go through those miserable sunday night blues any more. i don't dread 'going to work' monday morning. i love my job. i totally and completely love it. it's not easy. no no. teaching kindergarten was a lot easier in a lot of ways, but this job, being a stay at home mom, is sooo much better. in like a thousand ways, my new job totally rocks. i wouldn't trade it for all the money or clothes or purses or shoes or...you get the point. i wouldn't trade it for anything. it's something i try to remind myself of when i'm having a really bad mommy day. those days don't come super often, but when they come, i remind myself just how good i have it. i am blessed. totally blessed.

this week i'm praying for lots of good mommy days as we pack and prepare ourselves for our hawaii trip and flight. we're stoked for this vacation and only hope the prep, and journey there, will go smoothly. i've already made five lists. not even kidding. that's how we roll around here and it works. so send good karma and prayers our way. packing and flying with a toddler is cray-cray and we're about to do both. ahhh! 

but first, we've got a dinner party to host for the holmes crew here at cream gables tomorrow night (monday) and we're pumped. i'm thinking... hawaiian haystacks...

p.s. my team teacher in my church calling got married this weekend and gave away tomato plants to her guests as a welcome and guess what?! i scored three of them. bless her.

sunday barbeque.

our weekend was spent in coalville with my family. we did what we usually do: talk, eat, and then do that all over again a couple hundred times. it's good. just how i like it.

whit and i made a trip to park city to do a little shopping. two words. world market. i'm addicted! yep. addicted. great store. i can't wait to go back.

sunday morning after i got out of the shower (back at cream gables), i realized i had left my curling iron back in coalville. ugh. i hate leaving things behind. i really do. i thought i'd done a great sweep of my parents' house before i left, but lo and behold, i always forget something.

i called my mom. she confirmed that the curling iron had been left behind. drat. james suggested they come over for a bbq and bring the curling iron with them. perfect. it worked out great. once april hits, james and i have a habit/more of an obsession of having bbq food around. we're stocked up. Burgers, baked beans, chips, and all the paper goods. boy were we glad to be ready to roll for an on the spot bbq. i let all my other siblings know about it and waited for responses. i only heard back from whit and her little family was the only other of the holmes clan to make it. we missed kayla and dev and kenz, but hope they'll be at the next one. it's just not the same without you guys!!!

dinner was grand. the weather was so nice. we ate and then stayed outside for the rest of the evening. and we topped it off with brownie sundaes. we loved having everyone over, but it's always so sad when they leave. the next week is looking us straight in the eye. that's right, i'm talkin' to you monday! and we just love having the company. we're loving being in an actual house, even though we miss our t-ville apartment some days, because of the room it gives us to host people. 

we can't wait for all of the bbq's/dinner parties/movie parties cream gables will be hosting this summer. oh summer. love you. love you. love. you.

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h a p p y  m o n d a y

Special Sunday Edition

Sunday, for me, started out like this.

Sacrament meeting at the rest home in our ward.

 I was in charge of taking a few young women over so that they could help wheel those who would like to come to church down the hall and into the meeting room. They also were in charge of a musical number. I have awesome young women. The rest home is always an adventure/comedy waiting to happen. The people there are always sweet and very excited to be in attendance.

Then it was home for a bit and back to my regular meetings. James and I were pretty proud of ourselves because we'd let Brooklyn wear herself out and she fell asleep as we were walking into the chapel. Proud parents we were. That is until the sacrament was over. She was wide awake and ready to use those lungs of hers. I booked it out into the hall with her. She was waving and talking to everyone we passed in the hall. She was a happy church going baby.

(mother's lounge post feeding)

That is, until I took her into the mother's lounge to feed her during Sunday school. She's not a fan of nursing in there. She'd rather get down on the floor and play than eat. Little stinker. We did get to work on learning how to be reverent though. Didn't we Brookie?

(2 minutes after picture above)

She did fine in young women's until there was about thirty minutes left. Then, she'd had it. With hardly any nap at all and all the extra stimulation she'd had all day, she was done for. So, I took her out into the hall once again. 

After church and home teachers, Brooklyn has been taking the most glorious nap. Hopefully, recharging her happy battery. We have a big night ahead. The Oscars, big bowls of cereal, ya know, that kind of big stuff. We love Sundays at our house. And they just got  more interesting with a 7 month old in the house.

BEST NEWS of the day! I found one of Brooklyn's Aiden and Anais blankets that has been missing since November! It was in the lost and found at church. Prayers ARE answered. 

Here's a little sneak peek of what you'll be hearing about (reading about) tomorrow.

ahem...if you haven't made the switch over to randomforevers.blogspot.com --- now would be the perfect time!