Surprise Getaway

As you know, our anniversary was on Sunday. Due to a recent purchase, I figured that we weren't doing anything too big for the special day. Luckily the day was gorgeous, so Brenton made a lovely picnic lunch for us. I took some pictures of Ry-guy and we enjoyed the afternoon.

After lunch, I suggested some ideas to Brenton as to how to spend our evening, and he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, "What if I told you we won't be here for the evening?" After quickly packing, we rode up to my aunt and uncle's house, as Brenton had already planned with them to watch Ryan for the night. I still had no idea where we were going, but I was so excited!! We dropped off Little Buddy, which was a bit hard for me as I hadn't spent a night away from him since the NICU, then headed out.

We began driving higher into the mountains. The more we drove, the prettier it got. At last, Brenton pulled into a gorgeous bed and breakfast nestled in a canyon by a rushing stream. It was breathtaking. After checking in, Brenton lead me to the Denali Suite. It was lovely, and all set up with rose petals, sparkling cider, and chocolate covered strawberries. You could even hear the stream from our room! I loved that. Brenton took care of everything. I was so surprised. He's always thinking of sweet things for me. I'm so lucky to have him as a husband.

                   

We had a lovely evening. It was wonderful to feel like a couple again and celebrate the day we became a family. I'm always amazed at how Brenton continues to surprise me. He is such a wonderful man. It's incredible how one special day can completely rejuvenate your entire marriage. I love my sweetheart so much, and can't wait to spend the rest of forever with him.

Two Years

What more can I say about the amazing man that I married? Should I tell you how he always puts me first? Or  how he finds little ways to make me feel special every single day? I could go on for hours about how in his mind, I really am a princess, and am therefore treated as such. Maybe the best thing I could say is I'm pretty convinced the first thought that comes into his mind every morning is, "How can I make my sweet wife happy today?"

Two years ago I knelt across an alter and promised to love, honor, and cherish Brenton for time and all eternity. Every time I think about it my heart fills with gratitude for the Restoration of the gospel, and the blessings that come through faithful obedience to the ordinances of the temple. Marriage has brought me greater joy and prosperity than I ever imagined.

I'm amazed that two years have passed by since my wedding day. While that may have been the day I looked the prettiest, it isn't the day I've been the happiest. Yes, up to that point, it was. However, since being married to my best friend my happiness has only continued to increase. There have been challenges both emotionally and physically, but there have also been immense blessings, the greatest one being the birth of our son, Ryan. Nothing in this life can compare to the joy that comes from seeing your child for the very first time, and knowing that he is sealed to you and your spouse forever. Even if all you get to do that first time is feel his tiny hand wrapped around your finger as he lies in a NICU bed, the bond is still there.

To my dear husband, I love you, I adore you, and I admire you in so many ways. You are the best choice I ever made, and the best part of each day is discovering more reasons as to why you are the perfect fit for me. May this next year be as wonderful as the first two of our 50-year honeymoon, and once that honeymoon's over, let's start another one. Happy Anniversary, sweetheart.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Celebrations with Best Friends

Hurray for the weather starting to warm up! It seems like everything in life goes better when there's sunshine. It was a very fast semester for Brenton, but I'm so happy to see him doing so well in his classes and enjoying his major. When he wasn't studying, we spent some time with our best friends, celebrating graduations, birthdays, and friendships.

A few weeks ago we had Laura and Parker over for dinner. They have both been very dear friends of mine since college, and Parker will be moving very soon. We wanted to see him before he set out. It was a lovely dinner, but more importantly, lovely company. Parker brought his famous cheesecake, which surprisingly after all this time I still hadn't had. It definitely lived up to all the hype, and was amazingly delicious. It was great to see Parker before he headed off to the next big adventure in his life. Happy trials, dear friend!

Last Saturday was our friend Ethan's birthday. He came over and played Wii games with Brenton, while I made an inside-out Oreo cake for us to celebrate with. I even made my own chocolate frosting, and it was the first Martha Stewart recipe I didn't mess up. The frosting was amazing! It was fun to celebrate, and great to eat a yummy cake! Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Make a wish!

Right before he blew out the candles, Ryan let out a huge burp, and Ethan laughed so hard he couldn't blow out the candles.

Finally got em! 

I asked them to smile, and they both gave me this face .Are they best friends or what? 

That's better. 

Ryan enjoyed the cake, too. Most of it ended up in crumbs on the floor, but in his defense, cake is pretty hard to eat with your hands. 

Thanks to our best friends that we love spending time with. You bring so much love and joy to our family, and we are very grateful. Life is always a bit more merry when you have wonderful friends to share it with. We love you. 

A Day Like This

So mothers, tell me. Have you ever had a day like this?

Your days begins with a baby who peed so much in the night that his diaper is sodden and the sheets need to be washed. You get everything changed, including your baby, and get downstairs in attempt to start the laundry, but your baby is fussing so much that the laundry gets set aside. You get your baby a bottle which he refuses to drink unless you hold it for him, which means you completely forget about breakfast for yourself. Your baby is finally calm enough to play with some toys, and you remember that you need to eat. However, as you go into the kitchen, you hear your baby rip through his diaper in a massive blowout. You don't get there in time, which means he has pooped all the way up his back in his March Madness shirt that matches Daddy's, which they were going to wear that  night while watching the championship game. Not only did he blow through his shirt, but it also seeped into the carpet.

By the time you get everything cleaned up, your baby is sitting in just a diaper while you run the dirty one out to the dumpster, and run upstairs to grab him a new outfit. On your way to start the laundry and get his shirt clean, you receive a text from your bank informing you that your credit card payment is overdue, even though you paid the bill over a week ago. You spend the next half hour battling with customer service to get the problem resolved, and forget all about the laundry.

After feeding your baby cereal with sweet potatoes, which in turn gets all over the tablecloth you just washed the day before, you look over at your sink which is piled high with dirty dishes. You begin scrubbing pots and pans, and while you're up to your elbows in sudsy water, your baby drops his toy and begins screaming. You dry yourself off, put him in his swing for a nap with Baby Einstein on, and go back to the dishes. By the time you get all the dishes done and the dishwasher started, you remember you never started the laundry. However, you remember that you can't have the dishwasher and the clothes washer running at the same time, or your laundry room will flood. On the plus side, your baby is finally asleep, and you can go upstairs, fix your hair, and put on some makeup.

You go into the bedroom to make the bed, when you hear your baby crying. Naptime's over, apparently. As you pull your baby out of the swing, you see that he has yet again, pooped through his diaper and consequently, all over the swing. You spend the next hour cleaning your baby, putting him in yet another outfit, and cleaning the swing. The good news is now the dishwasher's done, and you can begin the laundry.

Now that the laundry's started, the day has flown by and you need to get dinner started. It then dawns on you that you've had virtually nothing to eat that day, so you munch on the vegetables you're simultaneously chopping while singing "Old MacDonald" to your fussy baby to keep him happy.

Somehow, the laundry gets done, the house is cleaned up, dinner is prepared, and the baby is in his matching t-shirt for when Daddy gets home. You eat dinner as a family and watch the game together, with your stomach full for the first time all day. You watch your baby smile and giggle as you play with him, and wonder how you ever were happy without him. Then you look at your husband, who is so in love with you, and so in love with his baby boy, and you realize you're the luckiest girl in the world.

Now mothers, have you ever had a day like this? I'm guessing the answer is, "when have I NOT had a day like this?"

Italian Surprises and My Best Friend

This is a tribute to my dearest friend, Laura. I could write dozens of posts about her, and most likely will as time passes. This is just another example of why I treasure her so much.

A few weeks ago I was looking for a fun way to surprise Brenton with a date. He's always coming up with great ideas for us to do, and so I wanted to give him a night off. As I tried to come up with ideas, nothing sounded fun. While talking to Laura about it, she came up with the great idea to turn our kitchen into an Italian restaurant. More than that, she even came over to help me transform the kitchen and make the meal. I constantly feel that Laura does so much for me that I can never repay her kindness. This was again one of those times.

In between taking care of Ryan and finishing the laundry, Laura made bread stick dough, while I prepared an antipasti and pasta dough. That's right, we made pasta from scratch. I'd never tried to make my own pasta before, but Laura brought a recipe with her by an actual Italian. I was surprised at how simple the dough was to make. We rolled the dough out super thin, and cut it into linguini-sized strips. We took turns entertaining Ryan as he got fussy, too. I was so grateful to have Laura there. Ryan loves spending time with her.

As the afternoon flashed by, Laura cut out several silver stars to hang from our ceiling above the table to give the room a fun romantic look. Yes, she's that thoughtful and amazing. I whipped together a quick playlist of italian music and ran upstairs to change. Then it was time to start boiling pasta and set the table. Before we knew it, Brenton was home, and very surprised! 

Everything turned out lovely. The pasta was delicious, and so fun to make. Brenton was very excited!

I'm so grateful for Laura. She goes above and beyond what I would ever imagine, every time. Her kindness, friendship, and love have meant so much to me. Having a best girl friend is indispensable, and I couldn't ask for a better friend than Laura. I love you, sweet, beautiful girl. Thank you for being my best friend. 

Celebrating Early is the Way to Go!

Brenton and I decided that we could save a lot of money if we simply celebrated Valentine's Day a few days earlier than the 14th. So on Wednesday the 9th Brenton took a half day at work and took me out to lunch. Earlier in the day a beautiful bouquet of roses was delivered to our door. I was not expecting that at all.

We ate lunch at Tucanos Brazilian Grill. It's one of our favorite places. Brenton had a $50 for $25 coupon, and so we were even able to get dessert! The food is so delicious, and it felt great to get dressed up, get out of the house, and spend time with my sweetheart. 

Upon arriving home, I noticed another package on our doorstep. As I picked it up I read, "Godiva" on the side. My dear husband had sent me chocolates, too. And not just any chocolates, but Godiva!!! You don't eat Godiva chocolates, you experience them. It's a symphony for your mouth every time. I'm in love with their chocolate. 

In addition to these lovely tokens of affection, Brenton bought me a hat in the style of my favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn. I love her style. I think she is such a classy, timeless lady, and I love emulating her fashion sense. I was so excited to wear it to church this past Sunday. 

And now the real question you're all asking is, "but on actual Valentine's Day, didn't you feel left out?" The answer is, "nope!" I had beautiful flowers to look at, amazing chocolate to eat, and a flooded dishwasher and disposal to take care of. If we hadn't have celebrated early, that would have ruined my day, but since we'd already done something special, I could attack the problem, get it fixed, and be grateful it didn't spoil any plans that we had made. A win-win in my book!!! 

Life's moving on, and I'm so grateful to be married to my best friend. He is more than I could have ever hoped for in a spouse. I am continually amazed by his sincere love for me, his kindness, generosity, and adoration. He is my hero, and I love him with all my heart. Not to mention we have the most incredible, adorable, sweet baby boy in the whole world. My boys are amazing and my cup runneth over. 

A Formal Apology

Well, men, as it turns out I owe all of you an apology. For years and years I have been baffled that there are certain words in the English vernacular that when uttered cause an immediate chuckle, smirk, snort, or burst of laughter from each of you. "Really?" I've thought to myself as a boyish grin crosses my husband's face. Really? I would expect this from a twelve-year-old boy, not a grown adult. I have rolled my eyes on many an occasion as these common words slip through a normal conversation, and every man in the room snorts into his shoulder. Can't you just grow up and let that kind of humor go? Don't you realize how juvenile you appear by laughing at that? Little did I know that it is part of the Y chromosome to react in a laughing manner whenever a bodily function word is uttered. I had no idea!!

How did I figure out that men don't really have any control over their reactions to the choice words relating to bodily functions, you ask? Well, it happened just last week. It was Brenton's late night for classes, which means I put Ryan to bed myself. I was just about to give him a bath, and was pulling off his diaper when I noticed he was not finished loading it up. So I simply said, "Oh, do you need to poop?" Ryan looked at me and burst out with a giggle. Surprised, I quickly told myself, "Oh, he just thought the way I said that sentence was funny." So I tried saying a few different words, such as, "ketchup," and "pumpernickel." Zero reactions. Nothing. Then I tried funnier words like, "dribble," and "flobbywobble." Again, nothing. I resigned myself, looked straight at my son, and said, "poop." He gave a huge smile and a big chuckle. I couldn't believe it! At only five months old my little boy knew there are certain words that are just funny because he's a boy, poop being one of them. I was shocked!

So to all you men, I apologize. I didn't know that you literally have no control over laughing at these simple words. For every time I rolled my eyes at you, poked fun at your inability to compose yourselves, and even got ticked off, I'm sorry. It turns out you were right all along, and you can't help it. My apologies.