Life

My day yesterday:

-fed Brooklyn

-bathed her

-dressed her

-showered and put my make-up on

-fed her a little more

-went to YW presidency meeting

-fed Brooklyn

-laid her down for a nap, and I tried to nap too...fail

-played with Brooklyn

-started a batch of wash - Brooklyn pooped on our sheets

-got dinner started

-James came home, I kissed him goodbye and went for a run

-came home to my sweet baby and husband enjoying the fall evening, she loves to be outside!

-showered

-my parents and sisters came for a visit

-we watched the premiers of The Middle & Modern Family - SOOO good!

-ate chips, chocolate, and drank cream soda

-said goodbye

-enjoyed the rest of the night with my little family

Not a very productive day, but I loved it. My days are good. They are filled with so much love and happiness. Brooklyn is such a light. I love caring for her. I love taking care of my home. I love doing things for my husband. I love when he comes home. I love when he holds our daughter. I love this life. It gives me butterflies just to think about. I cherish it. There's nothing else I would rather do. This is my life and I love it.

(Daddy wore her out)

She did have the cutest outfit on earlier to show her daddy, but she pooped in it. We'll give it another try today.

Steps

Brooklyn's day started off like this.

A nice nap.

We went on two walks and she absolutely loved it. She smiled and talked the whole time. After dinner, Daddy got her busy walking around. She loves to do this. James holds her up and she literally takes steps. It's adorable. I laugh every time.

Takin a break...

(look at those cheeks)

Walkin on Daddy. She even walked on his face. It melts our hearts.

Then it was my turn to work out. James and Brooklyn came along to keep an eye on me. I was so sore. I ran like an old lady. No joke. But it was good to get out there again. Brooklyn could sense that I was almost done and started screaming in her stroller. Fun for James. I finished as fast as I could and got back to the car to find James consoling her and Brooklyn sucking on her wrist. She was starving.  

So while James loaded up the stroller, I did my best to make her happy without actually feeding her.

It worked until I strapped her into her carseat. Darn it. She screamed the whole way home until she was in the process of eating.

It was such a good night though, being with my little family. Not only does that make me incredibly happy, but so does working out and warm fall nights. It was perfect outside. This time of year gives me the chills and I get so giddy. I love it.

I hope there are lots of these perfect fall nights with my family to come this fall. There's nothing better.



Endorphins +

Endorphins = h a p p y

I have missed working out sooo much! It felt great to lace up my Nike's, strap on my sports bra, and get my heart rate going. I kissed Brooklyn goodbye and put her in the care of her daddy for an hour. They got along very well. Daddy wore her out.

I went to a trail I used to run on pre-baby. The weather was perfect and there were lots of people around (I felt safe).

I am totally and completey out of shape. Wow. I've never gone this long without working out. My body felt every second of my 45 minute work-out. It didn't feel good, but somehow it did. I've been craving the sweat, the burn, and the challenge. My body will take awhile to adjust so I will be patient. But until then, I'll just enjoy getting out there again and gettin' my sweat on!



First Football Game

Look how cute my husband and daughter look

and

how rough and tired I look.

This was the beginning of our weekend.

It started in Coalville at the Homecoming football game. When we drove into town it was pouring rain so we watched the first half of the game from my parents' cozy couch. We listened to my dad announce the game on the tv broadcast. It was crazy to not see him down on the field with his headset on.

At half time we bundled Brooklyn up and headed to the game. Grandma Diane held her for the rest of the game which meant Brooklyn had a front row seat to watch Aunt Haley cheer. The game didn't end as we had hoped, but we got Aunt Haley to smile for a picture.



Back at my parents' we scarffed down pizza and parade candy. Brooklyn wore her Braves headband since she didn't get to wear it at the game. I loved seeing her in her beenie because it reminded me of how she looked in the hospital. Oh how tiny she was!

She slept with Aunt Haley and woke up only once to see Mommy. It was nice. And here she is in her cute weekend jammies and happy as a clam Saturday morning.

We enjoyed the rest of the day lounging and eating heaping bowls of my mom's homemade macaroni and cheese. Later that afternoon we headed to Clinton to watch the BYU game with James' family. Chelsea and I took off to do a little shopping/browsing and the boys took their turn watching Brooklyn. It was fun to get away for a little bit, not to mention it was topped off with a little raspberry gelato at Harmon's.

Upon our return, the boys headed out to get us all dinner from Sonic. Seriously, their grilled cheese is the best. We finished eating and got settled in for the game. This picture was taken before it started...obviously.

Even though the game ended terribly, James was able to get in the car to go home with a smile on his face. I think it has something to do with Brooklyn because before she came along, there was no smiling after a loss until the next day. Hopefully they'll do better next weekend so that as we celebrate James and Jeremy's birthdays it can actually be a celebration. It would be nice for all of us.

Here's to another great week, lots accomplished, and a fun birthday for my sweet husband. And of course, the start of my working out mania!!! (ok not mania, just regular working out!)

Blessing Pics...

Auntie Googs and Aunt Haley are constantly taking pictures of Brooklyn when they're around. I'm almost positive they have more pictures of her than I do.

But...

I am thankful.

Because even their phone cameras are better than my regular every day camera.

These are some pictures that Auntie Googs took on Brooklyn's blessing day, and I am so grateful for them.

Have a great weekend! We will be spending it with lots of family and lots of football! Which also means lotsa food, but that's ok because I am starting a workout schedule on Monday. And I can

hardly

WAIT!!!

Honored

Last night we made the short trip to Coalville to go to the alumni assembly for Homecoming week at NS.

My dad was being honored for coaching and I didn't want to miss it. It started out with a question on the game show "North Summit Stars": What event took place in 2000 to bring back the spirit of the Brave? The question went to Marge Simpson (Gina Black), "oh I know. It was when that cute Coach Holmes moved here." X gets the square.

There was then a musical number dedicated to my dad by a few students. It was the song from Wicked, For Good. I got emotional, my dad got emotional, we all got emotional. This was followed by a few of his past players talking about what they learned from him as players and as people. Then all of his past players in the audience came on stage to present him with a plaque. My dad was touched. He cried. There was a standing ovation. It was a touching moment. 

(the picture on the left is my dad and brother hugging after a state championship)

I'm so glad we could be there, including my siblings. It was a neat thing for my dad. It's times like those that make me never want to live far away. Far away enough that I miss things like that.



Best of Friends

Brooklyn and I had a few visitors yesterday...

(I love how he's lookin at his mom)

They wouldn't look at each other so Syd just sat Brooklyn right on top of him. He started to smile and wanted to play. Brooklyn was oblivious. But it was so dang cute.

(Duffy was holding her hand - so cute!)

I loved being able to hang out with Syd, Lilee, and cute little Duff-Man. I miss seeing my friends. We try to get together often, but we're all living in different places, and now with babies and kids it makes it a little harder to get together. But when we do get together it's always a good time and we can pick up right where we left off. I am grateful for the good friends that I have. I appreciate it more and more as I watch young people struggle through high school and beyond with problems with their supposed 'friends'.

Friends have your back. They are fun to be with and they want to hang out with you. They drop everything when you're having a rough day to come and lift you up without hesitation. They make you want to be a better person. They encourage you and don't drag you down. They really and truly care about you.

I'm grateful to have not only friends in my friends (make sense?), but I have friends in my family. My mom, dad, and my sisters are also my friends. Whitney and I were always friends because we were closest in age, but Kayla and Haley have definitely smuggled their way into being 2 of my other best friends. I love them! 

My sister-in-law Chelsea is also one of those family/friends. I'm so lucky to have her and we definitely have a good time together. Even if it's sitting for hours chatting and doing absolutely nothing else. We have a lot of the same interests and expectations. We have each other's backs.

I could go on and on ---my cousins, my aunts, my grandmas. They are great friends to me. I love and appreciate them so much!

My husband is also my friend. I'm afraid I don't quite fit that description for him. I'm not as fun as his friends. But he is definitely my best friend. We have been through a lot together. We have fun together. We love each other. We know each other. He's a great friend to have around and I love him.



* I'm sure everyone has heard by now...

but...

I am so excited for one of the new stores announced to be at the City Creek Center...

Tiffany & Co!

I really like this ring...

But I might just have to settle for a bag...

it's just as cute right?