Where did the time go?

Oh, my. I see the time has passed me by and we are now in December and I last posted in August! I guess I'll start up where I left off. Here are the Trial Lake pictures I promised!

The water was freeezing! Brooklyn enjoyed walking around in the mud and water, and even ventured to touch a fish Grandpa had hooked. Until it started flipping around and spraying her with water... Then she cried. 

 Handsome Bucket. A mountain goat at heart.

 And here is the sexy man I married.

 Brooklyn wanted to spent the whole time there with Grandma and Grandpa. She really had such a great time! I wonder where she gets those "outdoorsy" genes. Not from me.

Her very own campchair. She loved it so much! She kept falling over though. She loved the fire and the outdoors. And the marshmallows, of course! 

We didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked to, but it was a fun trial to see if Brooklyn will be able to handle camping better than her parents. Ha!

Hello, Stress!

Hello, Stress! It's so nice to see you again. It's been awhile, so I guess I'll take my turn with you.

I am going to de-stress for just a moment, so skip this paragraph if you don't want to hear it! I feel like a chicken with my head cut off. I'm trying to balance  - deep breath - starting school (2 classes that are both ridiculously hard), packing for our move, fixing up a house, dealing with a teething toddler, trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant (8 months and counting), doing massage, being a CureSearch committee member, teaching piano lessons and singing lessons, PLUS cooking, cleaning, studying, exercising, socializing, grocery shopping, laundry-ing, and being husbandless every night while he goes to the house! (All said in one big breath!) AHHHHH! I guess while I'm at it I should include breathing, sleeping, showering and did I mention having a cranky, whiny baby attached to my hip who won't eat or sleep? And I have bad hair days - every day. AND I've been sick! AND I've had a strained muscle in my shoulder for months that just won't go away, and that makes everything worse. Ugh! Does it never end?!?

I need a vacation.

Speaking of vacations, we went up to Trial Lake with Craig's family on Friday, and it was awesome. Brooklyn had a great time - pictures to come. Then she screamed for the entire hour and a half drive home. That helped my headache.

Luckily I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and gives me tender mercies! I have at least one moment a day when I look at Brooklyn and just love her (of course I always love her but I'm talking moments here). She is so beautiful and perfect and special in that moment. I am so blessed to have her, and to have Craig, who puts up with having a crazy wife. He is my rock and keeps me grounded (even if it means bursting my bubble every once in awhile). Really, my life is great. And crazy. And great.

Another house update to come as well!

We're Moving!

Yes, we are moving. FINALLY. After searching for a house to buy for 7 months, we finally signed on one. And we love it. After seeing the pictures, you might wonder WHY we love it. But when you rescue something and tlc it back to life you love it. More about that in a minuto.

In May, Craig and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary! We went to the Roof for dinner, stayed overnight at the Little America (it sure was nice to get a break from the kiddo, even though we love her!), then went to Temple Square the next day and enjoyed the scenery. It was beautiful. It renewed my love for church history and all the wonderful places here in Salt Lake City. What a wonderful day it was! And besides that, I got to spend it with the love of my life, and be reminded what a fun, amazing person he is. 

Here's a cute picture of Brooklyn. She rocks my world.

Here are the 'before' pictures of the house. We bought it in mid-July and will be working on it for about another month. We have a contractor who is doing the tile, carpet, finishwork, and other jobs, but we are doing a lot of it ourselves - which is a process because we've never done this stuff before! Craig has been over there 4-5 nights a week working on stuff. We did all the demolition (tearing out carpet, linoleum, and cabinets - I should say "cabinets"). Craig and John Carter (who is helping us a ton and teaching us how to fix up a house) have done all the caulking, priming, painting door frames, ceilings, and closets, taking down drywall, and who knows what else. I've helped wash walls, fill in the hundreds of tiny holes on the door frames and baseboards (they're new), paint the bedrooms, tape for painting, and entirely spent too much time there. :) It is hard work!

Master Bathroom

Living Room

Hallway/Dining Room

Kitchen

Basement

Basement Bedroom

Garage

Now let me share a little bit about the house. It's in South Jordan (close to the Oquirrh Mtn Temple), about 2500 sq feet, and in really bad shape, as you can see. It was a foreclosure and it seems that the former residents were pretty upset about that, because they destroyed the house before leaving. The grass is dead, the walls downstairs were bashed in, all the doors, toilets, drawers, shelves, and door frames were taken, the copper wiring cut, the air conditioning and plumbing cut... The list goes on. It also smelled really strongly of smoke and dog pee. :) But we love it. It has 5 bedrooms (3 up and 2 down, one will remain unfinished) and 3 bathrooms, a big shed in the back, and a large grassy community area behind the house. Our new ward is great, and are excited for us to move in. It really has potential to be a lovely house, and we are so excited to move in! 

Now, here are more current pictures.

 Living Room

 Dining Room

 Bathroom

 Master Bedroom

 Bedroom 2

 Kitchen

Laundry/PANTRY!

More pictures to come!

Mother's Day and More

I had such a wonderful Mother's Day! Craig took me to see a show at the Desert Star (we were supposed to be seeing Jon Schmidt but that show got cancelled so we saw The Princess Bridesmaid) and it was great! He also got me tickets to see Wicked in August at the Capitol Theater! Woo hoo! He knows how to make a girl happy. :) As long as that girl is me. We saw Man of La Mancha after his graduation, and that was amazing too. He's turning us into some regular theater goers. I couldn't be happier! He made me breakfast on Sunday and got me some beautiful flowers. I love my husband! I am the luckiest girl in the world. Not to mention the luckiest mom. See below :)

I also got to to to dinner and a movie with the girls on Saturday. It was so much fun! Melanie, Stacy, Kristin and Marianne. New Mother's Day tradition!


A few weeks ago we had an impromptu trip to Vegas. Brooklyn was pretty much an angel on the drive (for the most part at least), and loved being with Grandma and Grandpa Hanks! Bucket had fun with Toby too, of course. Haha I didn't get any pictures of the two of them. We had a great time swimming and playing games and hanging out!

Brooklyn met a new friend, Lydia.

These two were attached at the hip the whole trip! Brooklyn didn't want Grandpa out of her sight.

My goofy girl.

We had a friend over, little 6-week-old Irelynn, and I realized my "baby" is a giant now. She likes to sit in her bouncer and say, "Baby! Baby! Bounce!"

It appears she may be ready for a sibling!

I want to give a shout-out to my own mom, who has been such a beautiful example of what it is to be a mother. She is a wonderful, strong woman and I am so blessed she is my mom! Love you, Mom! Also to my sweet sisters and sister-in-laws who are always showing me what it is to be a devoted mother and wife. I love Mother's Day! A mother's calling is so hard, but so worth it. I'm so grateful for my little angel, Brooklyn. :)

"A lot of people go to college for 7 years." Yes, they're called.... Accountants.

Indeed they are. 

Ok so it was more like 6 years. Congratulations to Craiggy for graduating with his MASTERS DEGREE! I am so very proud of him and the hard work he put in to getting good grades and graduating! He walked on May 4, 2012, and had lots of family there to support him. He still has one last summer semester left (starting tomorrow, ugh) and then he'll be done! Of course, then there's the CPA exam that will take close to a year to complete, but hey. At least it's not school! I am ecstatic for him to be home again! Between a full time job, family, and night school, he is a busy, busy man. 

Surprisingly enough, Brooklyn survived the graduation ceremony. She made it through 3 hours with the help of Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Riley. She is having the time of her life with a "ba" (balloon) tied around her wrist.

We're so glad so many people could come out to support Craig in his accomplishment! Way to go!

And Grandpa is making sure Brooklyn knows the University of Utah is the place to be. :)

Little Bunny FooFoo

Easter. The best candy of the year.  :)  It's such a wonderful holiday - we celebrate the Resurrection of the Savior and spend the day with our family. We thought maybe this year would be more fun for Brooklyn, since she's older and might enjoy hunting for eggs. We were very, very wrong. 

She loved playing with the flowers and Grandma and Grandpa Davis's house, but when it came time for egg hunting, she was bored. She saw the eggs on the ground, and didn't want to to hold them, even when we'd hand them to her.

And instead of putting things IN her basket, she spent the day taking things OUT.

At Great Grandma Davis's, she saw the older kids and figured out what they were doing. She held on to this blue egg the entire time, and it dyed her hand blue. She was throwing it all around, eating it, and showing it to everyone. It was so cute!

This is what eggs are for.

Shoo, Flu!

Our house got hit with the flu. I guess I can't complain, because it's a short 24 hour one, and I didn't get it. But I would MUCH rather be sick than have Brooklyn be sick! Having a sick kid is the worst. Craig got sick on Saturday (luckily, so he didn't have to miss work), and Brooklyn on Monday. I have to say, since this was my first experience with the flu I was impressed with my innate ability to clean up puke without puking myself. In fact, Brooklyn threw up all over me and I didn't even say "Ew!!" At least not out loud. I just smiled and held her while she vomited all over the carpet, tile, clothes, towels, and in the bathtub. Poor baby. She slept a good deal of the day, and today is feeling much better. According to the pattern, I'll be getting it tomorrow. :)

Here are some pictures - I can't help but share how happy Brooklyn makes me! We watched my sister-in-law's dog Gunner, and Brooklyn was in heaven. She just followed him everywhere and laughed all day. It was hilarious. He's a French Bulldog, so he's smallish, but he's sturdy as a brick. Bucket and Brooklyn loved his visit :) I'm still getting used to being the "adult" in my life. When I turned my back, I found Brooklyn here. In Gunner's crate.

This is the tree in front of Craig's parents' house. Brooklyn spent lots of time exploring the tree, got tired and sat down. She's tiny compared to this huge tree!

You know, as a mother and adult I am often struck by how beautiful and perfect children are. They are the purest souls, and embody what we should be like as adults. They are so quick to forgive, eager to seek comfort, and (at least at Brooklyn's age) accept help from others. They aren't smug, and love without fear. I can see why they say that in a parent-child relationship, the child is often the teacher and the parent the student. I learn so much from Brooklyn! Her little smile and laugh bring me so much true joy, and to know we will be together forever takes my happiness to a whole new level.

When listening to General Conference this weekend, someone said something that really caught me off guard. He said that our children are not ours - they are Heavenly Father's children, and He is showing us how to be more like Him by teaching us what pure, unconditional love is. Something only children can teach us. I hugged Brooklyn a little tighter that day, feeling so grateful for what a gift she is to me! I was blessed with a perfect, sweet, loving little angel so I can feel what love is. I would do anything for her, just like our Heavenly Father would do anything for us. Just like the Savior gave his life for us. I know I would give my life for Brooklyn without a second thought, and so would Craig. And our parents would do the same for us. It's an amazing thing, the relationship parents have with their children, and I never want to take it for granted! I was a little chagrined to think that I often think of Brooklyn as mine. I want to take care of the precious soul that was entrusted to me - it's a huge responsibility! I want to be sure I am showing by example the things I teach her as well, because children learn from watching what their parents do more so than what they say.