Duthries

Tile Mania

2011-06-19T20:15:00.001-07:00

Vinyl flooring before...

After tearing up this lovely vinyl our house was so stinky! It smelt a little better after the rock board was screwed down and thankfully it was gone completely after two days.

Rock board in place

Starting to lay the tile down.. which went late into the night.

And finished!! Mike and I grouted it Saturday night, which proved to be another late one.

We love the diagonal lines.

All this was possible thanks to our neighbor Darin Harris and Mike for putting in tons of hours! We still need to bring back in the appliances and finish the trim, but are so excited for the new flooring! Stay tuned for future posts of new counter tops and back splashes as we slowly work on remodeling our kitchen!

Africa and Montana Adventures

2011-05-22T21:26:00.000-07:00

It is that time again.. Mike is in Africa! He is visiting Uganda, Tanzania and this year Kenya. Our friends Taylor and Mandy Mackay are currently living in Kenya and he will be able to spend some time with them during his trip. It has been two weeks now since he has been gone and about 1 1/2 weeks until he gets back. He will be scoping out Paris on his way back home as well to find suitable places for us to visit in the future. :) It has been a little crazy this year in Uganda with protests and riots going on, but the teams have been safe and able to continue on with their projects.

Brinley and I took a trip to Montana to visit my parents while Mike has been away. It was so much fun and great to be able to spend time with them. It went by so quickly and we miss them!

We stopped by Rosauers for some yummy donuts! I think they make the best maple bars I have ever had!

When visiting Libby, MT, a trip to the Kootenai Falls and swinging bring is practically mandatory! My brother Richard came to see us as well during our trip.

The Kootenai River is in the background and it was super high..not flooding stages yet though. The wind was blowing like crazy during our little hike.. I even witnessed a tree falling over! That was a bit scary.. thankfully we survived.

Brinley loved my parents' cat, Chucky. She wasn't a huge fan of Richard's dog though.. she screamed every time he got too close and no one was able to pick her up. The visit was splendid and we wish we could do it more often.

Our Happenings

2011-04-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

I have been a slacker, and there are so many things to blog about so this is just going to be a jumble of things that have been going on.

Brinley holding Andrew Heath. She loves babies!.. just one of the many times she has held him. I think she will love having a baby sister.

Success! I finally managed to make a delicious batch of dinner rolls! My first attempt at this recipe was not quite as good because I over-activated the yeast and they smelt like alcohol. However, the amazing recipe I used can be found at ourbestbites.com!

Brinley and I had a wonderful visit with our friends Lindsey, Josh and Porter Nardone at Zupas! Miss you guys! Also, I was able to catch up with my old roommate Kaela Wheeler with her little guy, Bennett, on a walk on the Provo River trail. BUT I forgot my camera.. again. So good to catch up with you Kaela!

Mike's mom and sister came to visit us as well! It was so fun to be able to hang out with them even for a short while..hopefully Alanna won't cry every time Brinley comes near her next time we get together! haha

Brinley sandwich! She loves it when we give her the "smooshie face."

Way back in February, Brinley and I went to the Hogle Zoo on free day with our neighbors, the Harris's. She loved the animals and running around in the different exhibits. Right behind her is her friend, Haydon, who is just 2 weeks younger than her.

And the Peanut is......

2011-02-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

A GIRL!!

I found this dress on target.com and I think it is super cute.. it just may have to be the first one I buy for her! You know what is funny?! We have her nickname already picked out - little duck - but no decisions for her actual name. Any name suggestions are welcome :)

Heavenly Flooring

2011-02-22T10:49:00.000-08:00

Out with the old, in with the new - we got new carpets on the main level of our house last Friday!! WOOHOO! Soo nice! It was quite the process of moving all of our stuff into our kitchen and carport, but it was worth it! Here are some pictures of the process and the before and after.

DISASTER AREA!! aka our kitchen

I watched the show "Clean House" the other day while I was at the gym and people actually live with their house in this much disarray!! Crazy!

Camping out in the living room.. you may notice the ice cream cake next to Mike.. we treated ourselves after a night's worth of hard work!! :)

Aaah! So comfy!!

See that beautiful texture and color! I am a big fan of the blend of auburn, gold, brown, tan and green threads which you can't really see in this picture, but it is really nice!

What do I love, love, love about our new carpet??? Visible vacuum lines!!

I don't mind the white fireplace as much with our new carpets either!

Hallway

I love this picture because Brinley is smiling and waving at the camera.. which is the first time she has done that!

All in all super pleased with our decision to get new carpets. Only one downfall has occurred from the change - some of our doors are a wee bit too long for the thicker carpet. However, we will just use a table saw to trim the doors on the bottom so they can open and close easier.

Grandpa Brumbaugh Visit

2011-02-04T12:41:00.000-08:00

My dad came to visit for a week and we had a great time! We all wished that Grandma B could have been here too! We were able to get a lot accomplished during his visit including the bathroom from the previous post and do a bunch of other cool things too. We miss him already! Thanks for coming!!

Brinley loved story time with Grandpa!

GAME TIME! My brother John and his friend Andrew drove down from Logan just to watch the BYU vs SDSU game. We prepped for the game by downing a couple of pizzas and playing some Kinect bowling. It was an awesome game to watch..even a couple of rows from the top. :)

We drove up to Pocatello, ID to watch my brother Richard throw the shot for U of Montana. But beforehand we met up with John and Liz in Logan to take John and Jenny with us. Sam took this picture of his parents, so I am posting it for him. :)

Yogurt time!

Sweet Jenny! She and Brinley love playing together. I wish I had gotten a picture of when they were hugging each other it was adorable. Jenny even called Brinley her new best friend after playing with her for about a half an hour.. making friends apparently is a lot easier when you are younger! haha

Sam was striking some funny poses! Brin sure loved their car.

Cousin Jenny wandered around the arena, but stopped for a picture. Brinley hadn't seen uncle Richard in quite a while and she was afraid of him at first. Grandpa tried passing Brin off to him but she ended up crying and getting upset with Grandpa too! haha Anyways, toward the end of the night she actually went to him and played with him.

Richard receiving a little prep talk

Richard throwing the shot a phenomenal distance! His personal best of 51'6" with a 16 lb shot.. I can only beat that distance on the Kinect. haha

Brinley helping Grandpa with the yarn.. well she wasn't very helpful but she did like to play with it! My dad managed to whip out 4 hot pads in just a couple of days while staying with us! We are definitely reaping the benefits of his hard work. :)

A Small Project

2011-01-26T11:28:00.000-08:00

I really didn't like the gold accents in our bathroom and yesterday we got a new faucet and some new drawer knobs. My dad has been visiting and helped put in our new faucet and I love the new look!! It doesn't seem like much, but I think it has improved so much by these little changes!

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Brinley trying on Daddy's climbing helmet.

Playing with the ipod.. little stinker got a hold of it!

And pregger pictures at 15 weeks for those that want to watch me inflate :)

18 Month Old Brinley!

2011-01-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, as crazy as it seems, we have a year and a half old now! Sometimes I feel like I am still a teenager inside and too young to have so many responsibilities, yet my very life is defined by her and providing everything for her. Brinley adds so much life to our lives. Her happy disposition is contagious and she will often find new playmates wherever she goes. Here are somethings you may or may not know about our little Brinley bug:

She is 31 inches long
Weighs 21 lbs
Loves oranges or cuties
She is very observant - learned that I always wipe down the shopping cart before we go shopping, and now she does the same to her own shopping cart.
She is very caring - Brin has her own baby doll named Baby CeeCee and she will rock it in the rocking chair, swaddle her up with my help and pat her gently on the back. Occasionally she will drop it on the ground, but only when she gets distracted.
When I mention bath time, she will start yelling "bath, bath, bath" and run into the bathroom so she can jump in the tub.
Probably one of her happiest times of the day is when Daddy comes home. She will hear the door open and close and start jumping up and down screaming "Dads or Daths!!" She also loves to watch him pull into the driveway and walk in the door. They have made a habit to cuddle and watch a little bit of a movie sometime in the evening. Mike LOVES his daddy/daughter cuddle time. He will always try to extend it as much as possible.
She is very good at prayer time - well most of the time. Sometimes it is cute to watch her during the prayer, especially if she has a snack. She will have her arms folded while staring at her food, then take a bite and fold her arms back up until the prayer is finished.

Well.. Update I Suppose!

2011-01-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, I have been a slacker lately at blogging. Here are some pictures from Christmas. We had a lovely time at home though all of us were sick.

Here Brinley is opening presents..

Mike more excited than Brinley about the Strawberry Ann doll from great Grandma Duthrie.

Focused on drinking and opening at the same time.. she is also a great multi-tasker while talking on the phone!

And this is another little gift:

We are excited to announce baby Duthrie #2 coming July 15!!! This pregnancy has been a little more nauseous than the last... though I can't complain because last time I didn't have any. I am feeling great for the most part and I am definitely starting to show earlier this time. I had my first appointment this week and Mike and Brinley were able to join me. Brinley didn't particularly enjoy it, but Mike and I were both very excited to see the little duck moving around and the little heartbeat flutter.

I took a few predictor tests online to "guess" the gender. Anyways they are pretty silly, but fun to do. The ring test proved to be confusing to me--it swayed side to side while slightly spinning.. not exactly sure what that is supposed to mean. I took the Old Wives test which said I was having a boy. And then I looked at the lunar Chinese calendar which according to my age and month of conception claimed that I will have a boy. However, I have little faith in that calendar because then Brinley should have been a boy. Maybe it is reverse for me, in that case I will have a girl. I guess I am 1 for boy and 1 for girl!

A Good Weekend

2010-11-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Mike, Ashlee, Brin and I traveled down to St. George for this!!:

Mike was able to baptize and confirm his sister, Krista, last weekend! It was an AMAZING experience! What a happy family!.. Ashlee did me a favor by cutting off my left side in this picture.. it didn't look all that great that day anyways. ;)

Then we dressed up the babes for Halloween! I made Brinley's tutu skirt (which was super cheap - $2 and easy to make!) and the headbands for the sweet cousins...though we didn't actually go out because they were tired and Brinley wasn't feeling very well.

This picture was about the closest of Alanna and Brinley together as we could get. They kept wandering around and wouldn't stay put. The headbands and wings didn't stay on for very long either.

Brinley's full outfit

Daddy feeding Brinley Reese's!

Alanna on Papa's lap. She looked so stinkin' cute.. and I loved the little sequenced net bows around her feet!

Krista's baptism was such a wonderful and special experience. Attending her baptism was a great opportunity to reflect on the covenants that I made with Heavenly Father and my relationship with Him and His son, Jesus Christ. I rejoiced with her when she received the gift of the Holy Ghost... which I have had for so long, and that I am sure I often take for granted. I am grateful for her faith, and to have been able to witness Mike performing the ordinance. I know that this meant alot to him as it does for me and especially our Heavenly Father.

Mr. Fix It.

2010-10-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is a call out for my amazing husband!! We have ran into some problems since we have moved into our "new" house and Mike has been incredible at fixing them! Some are much more of a feat than others; however, I have been super impressed at my little handyman! :)

Problem: I broke the pull down string for the light in Brinley's room so we weren't able to turn on the light.

Solution: Mike took it apart, analyzed the problem (the pullstring thing-a-miggy was broken), replaced the broken part and now Brinley's room has light!

Problem: The upstairs toilet leaked into the downstairs bathroom whenever we flushed... The wax ring on our toilet had broken.

Solution: Mike with our neighbor, Darren's assistance, replaced the wax ring and sealed the toilet more securely. No more leaks! :)

Problem: Our gas dryer caused our laundry to smell strongly like smoke.

Solution: We bought a new electric dryer.

Problem: We had to unhook and plug the pipe to the gas for our old gas dryer.

Solution: Mike did it and our old dryer is gone! Thanks to Mike's dad for advice as well!

Problem: We plugged in the electric dryer to try it out, and it didn't turn on. - The outlet was not hooked up to a breaker.

Solution: Mike rewired some of the breakers to make room for a new one to hook the electric dryer to and now we have POWER! I tried our new dryer last night.. my clothes were dry and smelt clean breeze fresh!

We love fixing things on our own because we love saving money! I am so grateful to my husband for his skills and abilities, because no doubt we would have had to pay a plumber and electrician more than $200, but we spent less than $50! Hopefully one day soon we will be doing more improvements than fixes, but for now, I am so lucky to be married to a Mr. Fix-it! :)

Our Little Helper

2010-10-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

Are all children so willing and excited to clean or am I just lucky?? As a 15 month old, Brinley loves to be of service to her mother and father! And we praise her up the wazoo for it! :) She likes to sit on the dishwasher lid and help me unload it. (Though I usually don't like her to because I'm afraid she might break it.) She hands me silverware to put away with a very distinct face and words you know intended to be something along the lines of "Here ya go, Mom," but come out in her own tongue.

She likes to grab baby wash clothes or paper towels and "wipe down" the floor, the toilet, or counter tops, and this morning it was her favorite red chair (probably the best dollar purchase I have made in my life.)

And as of late, Brinley Bug has discovered the garbage can. I was pretty nervous about this at first because she used to take things out of it and play with them! YUCK! Then she learned that the garbage can holds trash, like tissues and fruit snack wrappers. We have been sick at our house the past week so there have been a few tissues on the table and couch. Brinley decided to pick them up. Here she is on her third trip to the living room, finding another tissue and throwing it away...

Home Sweet Home

2010-09-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I suppose it is finally time for me to post some pictures of our new place! We moved in about two weeks ago, so not all of the rooms are completely organized and looking how I want them to look. For example, our kitchen floor and curtains aren't my favorite. I suppose I should take before and after pictures before we do finally change them. Anyways, I apologize because you really are only going to see a couple rooms in the house. I will post more later.

I know I mentioned in an earlier post of us moving to Eagle Mountain, well that house actually fell through, and we are in Orem instead! We love our neighborhood and our neighbors, and it is great to not live so close to BYU campus anymore!

Here is our bathroom

Living room (not a fan of the lovely white fireplace, but oh well.. we'll live with it for now)

Living room again

Basement living room

A Welcome Home

2010-09-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

When we got back from Connecticut, I had a couple surprises waiting for me -

1 - Mockingjay!!

Loved this book! Just as good as the others and so many awesome twists to the plot. Honestly, I wasn't quite sure where Collins was going to go with the 3rd book .. and how she was going to occupy a storyline for a complete novel. Oh boy, she sure did! Definitely worth the read.

5 out of 5 stars for sure.

2 - a massive spider in our bathtub! This picture really doesn't do it justice because I was still at least 6 inches above it when I took it. It was huuuge! Mike killed it and tried to rinse it done the drain, but it wouldn't fit.

Visit to Connecticut

2010-09-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

We took a trip out to CT to visit family for a week. Most of Mike's extended family live there and he hasn't seen them for about 10 years, and I had never met them before. Plus my wonderful twin, Leslie lives there! The picture above is of when Brinley attacked a Dunkin Donut. She was covered in it! Great Grandma Duthrie was very helpful in cleaning her off.

Cousin Spencer (age 8 - soon to be 9) and Brinley. Spencer loved Brinley! And she enjoyed playing with him most of the time.

Leslie and her roommate Kira in a fight til the death! Well not really, but they were ferocious

! Leslie and I didn't have any pictures together.. Leslie, I blame that one on you. :)

Brin and I.. and some pleasant man walking behind us at the beach. It was my first time ever going to the beach and stepping foot into the ocean!! It felt nice, but I definitely am not a fan of tasting it. Well, I didn't literally lick the surface or anything, but all I could think of gurgling salt water when I am sick.. and those aren't very pleasant memories. Brinley was a bit cold and afraid of the waves.(Which were very small. haha)

Cousin Meghan, Mike and Uncle Jeff hanging out by the pool.

Me and Brinley - wearing the super cute swimsuit cousin Spencer picked out for her

Most of us together after the pool party at Uncle Dave's. I am too lazy to list everyone.

Cousin Calli, Grandma Duthrie, Brin and Mike at the park.

Cousin Calli and Brin at the park - they loved playing together.. well when Brinley wasn't whining and crawling after me.

Grandma Duthrie embracing Mike and great granddaughter Brinley

We loved the trip! I wish I had taken more pictures and had more patience to blog about the experiences and memories that we had. Duthrie family is amazing and my sister is awesome. I wish we could see more of them. Everyone was so hospitable, caring, and thoughtful of us. I left feeling so loved and grateful for family.

A New Wall to Scale

2010-08-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well, here is Brinley in one of her most favorite things to do: explore through the fridge!! While Mike has been busy scaling alpine routes on the Grand Teton in Wyoming, this is what his daughter has been summiting... of course she hasn't really reached the top, but no doubt she would keep going up if the freezer were opened!

Notice the look before the ascent.

What??! Am I not supposed to be up here?

Happy little girl after a safe descent with help from mom.

Mike on the way up the Grand Teton on a first attempt. His team didn't end up summiting so back they went again and they were successful!

Brett Francis, Sarah Handley and Mike at the top of the Grand Teton!! Yay they made it and survived as well! :)

Another happy note - Mike and I celebrated our 4th anniversary earlier this week! I am married to the most amazing man in the world and our last 4 years of marriage have been just wonderful. We celebrated by going to the temple and eating Sub Zero ice cream.

A Taste of Nursery

2010-08-01T21:09:00.000-07:00

I took Brinley into nursery for the first time on her own today. Yes, she just might be 6 months too young for normal family wards, but we are blessed enough to be in a ward where there are few kids in nursery so she can go! She was the only one in there at first and then another girl came later.

I had some mixed emotions about the whole thing - I mean I am grateful to not have to sit outside meetings while she is going crazy during Sunday school and Relief Society, but at the same time I am kinda sad to think that she is already in nursery.. without me or Mike.. and doing fine on her own. Oh, my little girl is growing up so fast!

It was soooooo cute when I went to pick her up. I didn't see her at first, but then I noticed her in the corner. She had fallen asleep on a play rug with her legs tucked in and her little butt in the air with the binkie off to the side of her hand. Oh I wish I had a camera to capture that precious moment that was so special to me.

Brinley is One!

2010-07-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

We have a toddler! So crazy! A few things our one year old loves is:
- to be scared
- game of chase
- string cheese
- pretending to share and sometimes actually doing it.

At her one year appointment, Brinley weighed in at 18 lbs 14 oz and was 29.25 inches long.

I gave a go at cake decorating. Sheep were chosen because Brinley has a stuffed lamb that she loves. I think they turned out ok.

We had a double birthday party for Grandpa B and Brinley at the park. It was a good time. Thanks to all who participated whether in person or in thoughts. :)

Offer Approved.

2010-07-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Back in February Mike and I put in an offer for a town home in Eagle Mountain, UT. It was a short sale.. and about 5 months later we got approval!! I'm not quite sure why short sale homes are called "short sales," because the average closure time is 4-6 months. We have been blessed with how things have turned out though. We will be able to get the rural housing loan and receive the tax credit for new home-buyers.

If all goes well, we should close and be moved in in about a month. Pictures to come later. :)

P.S. Slight disappointment about this buy.. "free" trip to Cancun is canceled. It actually costs about 200 dollars just for the processing fee and additional fees are tacked on as well. Granted it is still a steal of a deal, but it turns out buying home is kind of expensive.

Babies Drumming

2010-07-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Brinley and Isaac were going crazy while Mike was drumming. Then Isaac started drumming along with Mike. They are so cute!

Stadium of Fire

2010-07-04T08:50:00.001-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a month since my last post! Crazy! Mike made it back from Uganda in good health and we are very happy to have him back home with us. I almost feel like this is a journal that I need to update what we have been doing the last month, but let's be honest, that's not going to happen because it would be a ridiculously long post! Although, I hope I can get Mike to write at least one post about his experience in Africa.

Anyway, happy Independence Day everyone! Mike and I were able to go to Stadium of Fire this year to watch Carrie Underwood! It was awesome. I was surprised at all of the different things included in the event from giving away motorcycles, five different musical acts, to a very large court of honor.

It was a fairly emotional evening for me. I lost count of all the times I teared up throughout the night. Let me just recount a few..

They represented each military branch with a small troop in uniform with each branch's flag and song playing as they marched on to the field. Oh and when each branch was called, people of the audience stood up if they were a part of it.
Four military jets flew overhead right after the national anthem was sung by Carrie Underwood... I don't know why either.. My thoughts must have been along the lines of, "Oh cool!! Real jets!"... then tears built up.
A 98 year old man that was the founder or something of Boy Scouts of America starting the court of honor ceremony.
A 2-3 year old girl dressed in a red, white and blue dress with glitter and ribbons in her hair sitting next to us getting excited about the concert and watching her parents faces light up with excitement as well.
A gorgeous firework that I could only describe as a celestial chandelier. It wasn't big either, but the fans of white sparks against the night sky was a spectacle of beauty like I had never seen before in a fireworks show.

Seriously, I could add several more to my list. Probably what touched me the most was a particular song sung by Carrie Underwood. Let me just say she is AMAZING to watch live. She brings so much spirit, power and talent to her performances. She precluded this song by saying of all the songs she has written, this is her proudest work as a song writer. So, I thought it was going to be a song I was familiar with, but it wasn't. I hadn't heard it before. Though, I'm sure many of you have. It is called Temporary Home. Literally, tears running down my cheeks. A new round of tears came with every verse too. I felt rather lame because no one else was crying around me... haha oh well! Here is a link to watch it on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraOiHUltak

Anyway, Stadium of Fire was awesome and if you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Petting Zoo!

2010-06-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

During our visit to Seattle, Brinley and I went to the petting zoo with Kilee and Easton Nickels. Brinley loved the animals, but did not want to touch them. She was so excited to see them and was talking like crazy. Easton just ran around the place like the little independent guy he is.

Brinley and me posing with the sheep! Kilee and Easton with her favorite farm animal, baby pigs!

Brinley and Easton checking out the pigs.

Peeking at the baby chicks.

Brinley looking in awe.. but not touching!

Easton and a baby cow.

Tools of the Trade Stainless Steel Pots and Pans Review

2010-06-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Boy, this is posting day! I have been on the hunt for some stainless steel pots and pans. The other day I was in Macy's and found a brand I hadn't heard of on sale for half off. I was a little skeptical of the brand because it wasn't mentioned when I was doing my research on what kind to buy. However, I still bought the 12-piece mirror-polished set.

Before I opened them, I read quite a few reviews about them. Usually 1/5 or 5/5 stars from consumers who had bought them. Needless to say I had some mixed feelings about the pans. The overall rating was about a 4.3/5. So, yesterday I decided to try one. I wanted to cook something easy to see how well it worked. I had read a lot about needing to use butter or cooking spray on the frying pan to make sure it didn't stick . The meal I chose to try was a grilled cheese sandwich with the bread buttered on each side on low heat. Simple enough right?

Here is what happened to my pan...

Maybe I didn't use enough butter? It took a solid 5-7 minute scrub with really hot water to get this off. Annoying to say the least.

My rating: 1/5 stars.

They will be returned this week.

Art City 5k

2010-06-06T15:03:00.000-07:00

I ran a 5k with some friends and family this weekend in Springville. It was a lot of fun. There was a rather steep hill that I couldn't make it all the way up with a stroller and had to walk about half way. Man, it was tough! I hope to do another one or another race in the future too. I enjoyed the week of training and the goodies afterward. Plus, it was a cheap race :). Thanks to my friends Ashlee, Dalyn, Lindsey, Austin, and Liz for running it with me. And to my brother John and his wife Liz for recommending it to me. I would love to run it again next year!

Liz B., John, Dalyn, and me before the run with our kiddos and strollers. John took 3rd in the stroller division! Woohoo!

My cute little bug ready to go for a ride

Me, Ashlee and Dalyn right before the gun went off.

Brinley was exhausted after the race and needed some hydration!...Ashlee also fed her ice cream for the first time!

Our matching pants

Yes, I was very sweaty after the run. And it was pretty warm too.

Babes that went on a ride: (left to right) Brinley, Porter Nardone and Isaac Heath

Chilling after the race, waiting for the drawings to begin!

These pictures were borrowed from different cameras seeing how ours is in Africa with Mike, so I don't have all of the pictures that I wanted to post. Lindsey and Liz H. - I love you too! :)

Adjusting to Life in Uganda

2010-06-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Things are going really well here. I am finally getting used to the incredibly hot weather combined by the crazy humidity. I am understanding the local English dialect better, which is making it much easier to communicate.

I have been meeting with a lot of local leaders and many owners of the local private schools. They are incredibly underfunded. Most of classrooms have dirt floors and are sometimes taught with several classes going on in the same room. It makes it very distracting for the children and hard to learn. There are also at times a 1 to 100 teacher student ratio. This makes personal tutoring almost impossible. The local curriculum is horrible and most of the children are taught to memorize rather than use any form of strategic thinking/problem solving.

This is compounded by the fact that they do not have running water and a great number of the students are orphaned. Many of the teachers do not have any certification or training and teach things that are incorrect. As I go from school to school I often become more and more discouraged, but have been also gaining a greater resolve to find solutions and implement those solutions.

I often see little ones digging through the garbage trying to find something to eat and it makes me think of Brinley. Hard to keep all together. I would look ridiculous breaking down in front of a bunch of infant/toddlers when they are smiling from ear to ear. It seems that regardless of their situation they are happy and making the most of what little they have. I am learning some really important lessons while I am here, lessons that I won't be able to really articulate until I get home and have a better computer with better internet, and more time.

On my down time I have been going to the local orphanage and playing soccer with the children. Many of them have HIV/Aids that was giving to them by their parents who are now gone. Even still, it is amazing to see how much life in them. They make the majority of our daily worries in the lives of the typical American seem almost comical. The word for white people is "Muzungu". So when I walk down the street the little children clap and yell "Muzungu, Muzungu, hello Muzungu!". They will run over and hold my hand for ages while I walk down the street. Many of them only 2 years old. Once again, reminding me of Brinely and life I would want for her. I have secured funding for many projects and have been met with much gratitude. The biggest issue is when you look at the poverty, suffering, and corruption that exists here it is only a small piece of the pie. But hey, I guess we can just keep pushing.

**Note - He finally received his luggage after a few days there! Yay!

Update from Mike

2010-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give concerned friends and family a little update about Mike. I just received an email from him this morning. He missed his connecting flight in Chicago to London due to delays, so he had to get on another one about three hours later. He made it and here is a little of what I heard from him today:

"I don't have very much time do to some incredibly slow internet and a tight schedule so I just wanted to let you know that I did make it. None of my bags did, but I did. So it will be pretty interesting getting by with one pair of everything. I'll probably borrow some clothes. The airline is looking into the bags. The Ugandan airline....so that will be interesting. Anywho, other than that bag thing, all is well and Uganda is absolutely amazing. The trip has already been emotionally exhilarating...from the beautiful sights to wall of Ruben's paintings, picasso's sunflowers, Monet's waterlillies, and Raphael and Caravaggio...the list goes on. And now I am pushing to survive in Uganda.

The country side is beautiful and quite raw. The people are kind and careful, despite the economic circumstances."

I had a feeling that when he got the different flight his baggage might not arrive with him. He will probably be posting some of his adventures soon with pictures :).

Off and Away

2010-05-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

I dropped Mike off at the airport today. He is flying to Uganda and Tanzania for 3 weeks for work. It was a little more of an emotional departure for both of us than expected. Every morning before Mike leaves we work with Brinley on waving goodbye. Well, she finally waved goodbye to him at the airport. I could tell Mike got a little choked up and just grabbed his bags and left to avoid it. Brinley watched him enter the doors and continued to look at them for a few minutes after he had gone in. Poor little bug is going to miss her daddy! Of course I had a little bit of break down on the drive back. Listening to Keith Urban's "Baby, your my better half" didn't really help either.. I am happy for him and know it will be a life-changing experience for him.

Anyways, somethings I will be doing/looking forward to while he is gone:

Running a 5k
Visiting my friends the Nickels in Seattle
road trips to Pahrump, NV, St. George or Logan to visit family.. hopefully
reading
working out
doing scrap booking
maybe even painting

I think I will survive these next few weeks well. :)

I love giggles

2010-05-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

I should have posted this earlier. This is a little clip of Ashlee playing with Brinley, and Brinley cracking up! She loves her Auntie Ashlee.

Biiig Bad Richard!!

2010-05-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we headed up to Odgen to watch my brother Richard throw the javelin. He throws for the University of Montana and this was the first time that we have been able to watch him throw at the collegiate level.

We sat out in a thunderstorm for about a half an hour before his event got going. The track meet was postponed due to the lightning. That was kind of a bummer, but at least the weather turned nice and sunny toward the end of his event. As his flight came up I got all excited because I actually remembered my camera and I was going to get some nice video clips and pictures of him... then I found out that I had forgotten my memory card!! Ugh! I was so frustrated with myself! (This picture is courtesy from Richard's FB. haha)

Anyways, Richard did great! He was first heading into the finals and ended up taking 3rd with a throw of 209 ft!! Unfortunately he didn't beat his personal best, but still did pretty amazing! I mean really.. I don't think I can get anything to go that far on my own. Maybe a kickball.. if rolling is taken into consideration... or bouncy ball with the bounces.

Here is an interview of him on youtube: High Expectations; Richard Brumbaugh.

Way to go Richy! We love you!

Oooh Goodness!

2010-05-11T12:30:00.000-07:00

I was on facebook today and read this comment:

"Obama = the anti-christ. He's doing the same thing Hitler did."

I don't even know the person who wrote it, but really, how do they even compare?!

Completely ridiculous.

New Things to Love

2010-05-07T20:09:00.000-07:00

As Mike was heading out the door for work the other day, he bent down to give Brinley a hug goodbye. When he set her down and stepped to open the door, Brinley opened her little arms up to him and started to whimper. Mike looked into her pleading face and crumbled. He quickly picked her back up and stayed for a few minutes longer.

Brinley sits on my lap when we read books. I bounce her as we "chug-a-chug-a-chug" along with the train. Today she recognized the chu-chu train when I turned the page. She started kicking her legs to "bounce." I laughed.

I received my first "raspberry" from Brinley yesterday. I giggled and told her to do it again. She gave me a big smile, moved her head to my leg, opened her mouth wide and stuck it to my leg. It was more or less like an opened-mouth kiss on my knee. As soon as she took her mouth off my leg she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and smiled. She didn't know to blow, but she will get it soon.

I was feeding Brinley dinner in her highchair when I heard Mike pull in the driveway.
"Brinley, Daddy's home!" I said.
Brinley cocks her head to the side and looks around me to see where he comes in the door.
"Listen carefully and you can hear him come down the steps and through the door."
Brinley stretches her neck even further and starts kicking her legs with anticipation.
Mike enters.
"Hello Brinley!" Mike says.
Brinley squeals and a smile spreads across her face as she kicks harder and bangs herself against the back of the highchair.
She isn't completely satisfied until he picks her up either.
Brinley LOVES her daddy and I love to see the love expressed between them.

I got a text today from our real estate agent stating something along the lines that moving into our house will make life even better. I stopped to think about it for a second. I am happy now. I don't think a new house will improve our lives. It may even cause more challenges for us. I am grateful for what I have now, and so grateful for the choice to focus on my blessings. (By the way we haven't heard back about our offer on the house yet so we won't be moving anytime soon.)

I did it!

2010-05-05T10:51:00.002-07:00

Last night Mike and I had our appointment with a travel agency and met with a salesman more or less similar to the guy pictured above. Our main reason for going was to score a free, all-inclusive 4 night 3 day trip to Cancun.

When I read the first requirement, "You and your family must go on vacations and/or love to go on vacations," (something along those lines) I laughed. What do you consider a vacation? In almost 4 years of marriage, about 90% of our "vacations" have been within the continental US visiting family and maybe staying in a hotel twice. Or in Mike's case there have been a lot of fishing or climbing trips where he camped. And we have driven to all of our destinations. In all honesty, the poor company really didn't have much of a chance with us.

Anyways, after about a 2 and a half hour sales pitch, we finally walked away with our gift. Mike was dead set on saying no before we even got there. Our visit would have ended about an hour earlier, but Mike turned over the voice/decision to me at the end. Of course I really didn't want the membership (though if you travel to resorts throughout the world it would have been a deceit money-saver), but it was harder for me to say no to the guy. I didn't want to upset him, and I felt bad about the company losing money on our gift. However, I am proud to say that I did it! I said no. :)

Cancun, we will meet each other soon!

Graduation and Our Little Crawler!

2010-04-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Mike's big day finally arrived! I'm so proud of him! It was a long road, but the hard work has finally paid off! He graduated with his master's of accountancy. His parents came up to celebrate this special occasion with us. It was great! However, I wish Brinley would have been a little better behaved during the convocation. She wiggled and wormed in my arms and was only relatively happy if she was standing or eating. She dropped her binkie several times, once a very long way down the stairs. Thank goodness it was in the Marriott Center with so many other people with children there as well because she let out some screeches.

Mother and son

Father and son.. accidentally cut off their heads in this picture.. oops!
And here is a clip of Brinley crawling! She started this last week! (My voice is a bit overpowering in the video.)

For the Love of Turkey

2010-04-13T14:18:00.000-07:00

So much has happened since my last post I just don't know where to begin! I guess I will start by briefly recapping Easter weekend. We headed down to St. George in a white-out blizzard a few days before Easter. It took us quite a bit longer to get there than we would have liked, but at least it was in one piece! It was so good to be able to spend time with the Duthrie side of the family, enjoy nice weather, and to listen to conference. Thanks for letting us come visit! We love you!

Last week my ward basketball team lost out of tournament play. It was quite a bummer, but we made it pretty far considering I was the point guard and it was a WARD team. I had a lot of fun with the girls and I am sad the season is over.

I made my first turkey dinner last Sunday! I love turkey dinners! Mmmmm delicious! I love my mom's homemade crescent rolls (of course she wasn't there to make them for us, so I had to do it myself which was a bearable substitute) and stuffing covered in gravy! I am upset that I forgot to take pictures after finishing the meal, but it turned out pretty good! (even though I didn't take out the neck of turkey because maybe I didn't know where to.. :) ) The side dishes included stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade crescent rolls, orange poof, and broccoli. Dessert was Snicker's truffle dessert and brownies. The evening was even better with great company. Brinley had her first taste of mashed potatoes and gravy. She preferred the rolls.

The countdown til Mike graduates is..... 10 days! Wooohooo! His birthday is on the 19th a few days before he graduates. He will be turning 25! I am trying to think of some creative ideas for his birthday. I have thought about giving him 25 quarters or 25 little gifts around his birthday.. Any suggestions? I guess I probably won't be getting too many seeing how long my post is, but if you have some you wouldn't mind sharing please let me know!

If you are interested...

2010-04-01T08:45:00.001-07:00

My friend, Ashlee, has started up a blog that I think you all might like to read. She is amazing. We have known each other basically since we graduated from diapers. I told her to write a book about her experience, but she has decided to write a blog instead. So, click on the hyperlink if you want some inspirational reading

divorcedinprovo.blogspot.com. (It is also on my Friends and Fam bar if you want just want to click on it there.)

Alas, a tooth!

2010-03-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

Brinley's first tooth finally poked through this week! She has been kinda cranky and drooling for quite sometime and we were wondering when we would finally meet the reason behind it all. It just barely surfaced, so I will take pictures when it is a little more visible.

Other news, I entered the couponing world about a month ago... and now I am leaving it. I saw friends getting major deals and thought I would be successful too. But, I found myself purchasing things that I normally wouldn't and ended up spending more for groceries than I usually did. Maybe I didn't give it enough time. I think I will try again later.

I went rock climbing yesterday for the first time in two years. I made it up one route successfully!!.. and not on another. It was cold and windy. My fingers were a little numb and I was jumping around to keep warm.. I think I will be more successful next time. I am lucky to have a husband that is willing to take me on easy routes. :)

Mike graduates in less than a month and has 14 more days of school left!!! We are so excited for him! Graduation party anyone??

Dream Cutter

2010-03-13T19:48:00.001-08:00

Mike, Brinley, and I went to the Home and Garden Expo in Salt Lake today. We heard from a friend about an extremely discounted trip to Cancun and decided to go check it out. If all pans out with this travel agency we will be going for an all inclusive (air, hotel, AND food) trip to Cancun, Cabo, Cozumel or Dominican Republic for virtually 200 dollars total!!!! YES, PLEASE!!!

I can picture me on this beach in the near future..... sigh :)

While we were there we ended up watching a cooking demonstrating for about 45 minutes for Lifetime Cookware by West Bend. This cutter is A M A Z I N G. Seriously, we are talking about reducing your veggie prep time by about 80%. Maybe it only takes you 5 minutes to chop your veggies, well with this baby it will now take you 30 seconds. I didn't research a demo online, but if there is one, you will want to watch it!! And cutting vegetables has to be one of my least favorite things to do for cooking.

Yes, I want one. Very badly. But I can't seem to justify paying over $250 for one at the moment.

P.S. Huge fan of the expo. I totally recommend going if you have one in your area.

Better Bug

2010-03-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Brinley is doing just super now! She has barely coughed at all today and I have only had to wipe her nose once! Here Brinley is during a mini photo shoot taken today by me.

I can't believe how big she is getting!

Brinley: want do you want mom?
Are you happy now that you took my binkie away??
News: I bought an exersaucer. Sad as it is, I'm not sure if I'm sold on it. I researched it quite a bit before I went to pick it up. So far Brinley only likes it if I'm in the same room as her. Maybe that will change.

ER Action

2010-03-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I had my first trip to the emergency room with Brinley, hopefully last.

Around 11 pm she woke up crying and gasping for breath. She kinda sounded like a seal when breathing. We picked her up, but as she continued to cry her breathing was hoarse and she had a barking cough. After she settled down a bit, her breathing was a little better, but not completely normal. Talk about heart stopping listening to your child struggling to breathe! I took her into the ER to have her checked out.

Diagnosis: Croup.

Apparently it is a thread of the common cold, but the main difference is that the child has difficulty breathing because the area around the voice box and vocal chords swells up. If you want more information on croup go here. I can't think of where she might have been exposed to it, but those in my area beware. Croup is on the lose!

She knows Him

2010-03-02T20:56:00.000-08:00

She surprises me everyday, but this is time it meant more.

I play with Brinley in front of a mirror in our bedroom. I usually bounce her up and down or make faces at her. Sometimes I point to different things to help her learn about her surroundings. One day while I was doing it and I noticed she looked away from our play. I followed her gaze to see her looking at a picture of Jesus Christ hanging nearby. She was giving Him a big smile. Then she started to wave her arms up and down and get all stiff like she does when she gets excited. She looked back at me still smiling and then back to the picture doing the same thrilled motions.

I teared up a little, happy that she recognizes His face with very little teaching. She knows so much more than me. She is the reason I want to be the best mother I can be. Brinley helps me to reflect upon my relationship with Jesus Christ.

I know He lives, but I know I need to be better like my Brinley.

Retired Bumbo

2010-02-20T13:33:00.000-08:00

First, Mike was able to get a hold of Experian. It looks like things are on their way to being fixed. Whew! Hopefully everything else aligns for us to be in a new home this summer. :)

Anyways, Brinley's long-time friend and companion, lilac bumbo, is retiring. Brinley is now too big for her favorite chair. I already miss how convenient it was to be able to plop her in it. We are now on to the high chair. We will miss you bumbo!!

This is not a dispute, it is a complaint.

2010-02-17T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I was laughing about this earlier.. but now it is just plain frustrating! Mike and I are in the process of trying to buy a home, yay!! HOWEVER, we have encounter a minor bump in the road. It appears that Experian (major credit report bureau) has combined the credit scores of Mike, Mike's Father, and Mike (my husband). This has happened because both have the same first and last names and middle initial: Michael J. Duthrie. They do however, have DIFFERENT middle names and social security numbers!

What does this mean to us?

This hinders the process of us buying a home because we have to get an approval for the mortage. And is:

A waste of money. If you have a problem on your credit reportand needs to be fixed, then you have to dispute it. Disputes cost you money. Seriously, why should we have to pay for an error that the credit bureau made?? Yes, I think it is lame.

A waste of time. We need to contact Experian to fix this. That isn't the waste of time, but listening to automidated messages over and over again trying figure out where your problem fits in the list or finding a representative to talk to is. I listen intently through every single option, none fits exactly what I need. So, I push 1, 2, 3, hoping I will get directed to someone I can talk to. That doesn't work, so then I default to pushing zero again and again, wishing that I will hear the magical dial tone to transfer me to a real person to talk to.

URGH!!!!

Schedule

2010-02-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

About a week ago I decided to be firm about Brinley's schedule. I thought it was going to take weeks to master! Interestingly enough, it was really only one day! It almost seems as though she was waiting for me to do it.

Feedings have been lengthened to 3-4 hours, and didn't phase her at all. In fact the first day she went close to 5 hours apart! The bottle is out, so I think I am just going to stick with nursing and not supplement the formula.

Two naps a day: morning and afternoon. 45 mins - 1 hour long. The length kinda varies, but at least they are only 2x a day in relatively the same times! Most of the time she even will just go to sleep on her own if I wrap her up and lay her in her crib.

Bedtime routine down. We usually shower/bathe her, read a book, feed her and then lay her down. She only eats once during the night now.

Hallelujah! I can't believe how lucky I am!

Not Bottleless!

2010-01-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

Brinley has decided that she will no longer take bottles. She hasn't had one since Christmas, so about a month. Yesterday Mike and I tried to give her one before bed and she just screamed. I tried again today hoping that my horrible fears aren't real. I tried three different nipple types, but no luck. She purses her lips and wails. What am I to do??

Growing little Bug

2010-01-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

Brinley is a 1/2 year old! Crazy! I had her 6 month check up today, and this is what I learned:

Weight: 15.1 ... which is less than when I last had her weighed. (About 2 weeks ago) 23% for her weight. The doc is concerned about her gaining weight. Apparently my breast milk might not have enough fat to butter Brin up. Really?! I didn't think that was possible.. I thought it was equivalent to whole milk, but apparently not. Formula may be supplemented to bulk her up!
Height: 27.5 - 90 something percentile
Eating habits - Brin usually eats every 2-3 hours. Now, I need to push that back to about every 3-4. She has started eating oatmeal, squash, carrots, bananas, apples and some more foods. I have to set up a schedule for her eating times.
Sleeping habits - I need to cut the nighttime feedings down to one, so she can get a longer stretch of sleep. Doctor recommended that after bedtime routine is finished and Brin is put down, she needs to learn to go to bed on her own. I have officially been given the OK to let her cry herself to sleep. Mike and I have been having a disagreement here, but I am happy to say I was right! Oh and naps... she is the catnap queen! No consistent schedule whatsoever. So, I am going to try to change that. We'll see how that goes.
Movement skills - Brin is a good sitter. She can sit up very well on her own for long periods of time. Also, she has rolled over from back to stomach and stomach to back. However, she chooses not to roll. She used to roll over to get something she wanted, but now just cries if she can't reach it. LAZY! Anyways, she is capable of doing so, but just doesn't want to.
Communication - she is saying "dada" all the time! Mike just loves it!! I think she understands that he is "dada" or "daddy" but hasn't said it yet as a form of communication.

Basically it all boils down to me being more strict with her schedule/routine. I kinda feel like an irresponsible mother... well live and learn I guess. At least she is a happy and well tempered little bug. :)

Down with Audit!!

2010-01-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

So, it has only been two and a half weeks into the semester, and we aren't a fan of it. I miss Mike, Brinley misses her daddy, and Mike hates school. Thankfully it is his last semester in the Master's program! Anyways, here is Brinley "throwing down" the audit book to demonstrate her disgust. I don't think I have ever seen her laugh so hard before!!

Pictures and Holiday Update

2010-01-08T19:30:00.001-08:00

We took a few family pictures before Christmas break. Taylor Mackay was our great photographer. :) I love how they turned out. Here are a few of them:

This year my parents and younger brother, Richard, came for Christmas. It was so much fun to have them here with us. Richard, Mike and I watched Avatar in 3D. (This is the second time we have been to the "real" movie theater in our 3 and 1/2 years of marriage! And our first 3D movie ever too!) It was soo cool!

My mom and I made a Christmas dinner with ham and twice-baked potatoes. She also made some very delicious cinnamon rolls that were shaped as Christmas trees. She was also able to start and finish Twilight while she was visiting for the two days. Grandpa B (my dad) enjoyed taking long naps with our little bug. Unfortunately Mike, Brin and I had colds during the break, but we are now fully recovered.

We also took a trip up to Logan to visit my brother John and his family. There we took a little sleigh ride to see some elk. I forgot my camera in the car so I wasn't able to take any pictures of it. Our feet were frozen, but it was still a fun experience.

Here Mike is entertaining Brinley while Grandpa Brumbaugh is watching.

Here we are just lounging at John's. Richard is the pink lump to the left.

Brinley enjoying her first Christmas by eating a book. YUM!

Thanks to Lindsey Nardone for the Santa antlers! Here comes the cutest little reindeer you have ever seen! Haha!!

O Christmas Tree!

2009-12-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

Our dear Christmas tree 3 years ago, fresh out of the package! Decorated with 3 different colored strings of light and maybe 4 ornaments... apparently invisible in this picture. And yes Mike looks quite charming in my slippers. He might be wearing them right now too. :)

I set up our Christmas tree the other day. I would have to say it has made much progress in the last 3 years. It is nothing spectacular, but I'm definitely happy with the improvement!

And some recent pics of our little bundle of joy....
Tummy time with friend Isaac Heath

A little nap time with Papa D during Thanksgiving break

Oh I just love Brinner's smiles! It is like her eyes have smiles of their own as well!! She is getting so big.. 5 months this Saturday!!

So hot right now

2009-11-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

What I'm really loving:
*Spending time with Mike and Brin
*Harry Potter (finally reading them!)
*P90X
*Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
and...

The other day I bought this, Vanilla Almond Shredded Wheat, the most amazing cereal. Ever. I can eat it for every meal and snacks in between. It is really that good. If I was daydreaming of Christmas presents, then one would be ten boxes of it stacked under the tree. Mmmm mmm good!

I didn't want this post to be entirely about me.. so here are some of Brinley and Mike's favorites as well.

Mike:
*Playing with Brinley and trying to make her laugh
*24
*and some more 24 (note - he is trying to catch up to the current season and is a little behind)

Brinley:
*MILK!! haha (I thought that once she got a little older her feedings would be less often.. but no she is still eating just about every two hours excluding nights.)
*being held and getting lots of attention from mom and dad
*giving smiles to everyone!!
*sucking her fingers

Hunters, Tigers, Giraffes and More!

2009-11-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I think that Halloween has to be one of the most popular blogging topics for parents everywhere! And I will be adding to the list as well!

We had a great time with our little giraffe at our ward Halloween party. Our friend, Ashlee Villordo, found the costume at Babies 'R' Us for only $10! Of course I had to make her costume a little more girlie by throwing on the flower and bracelet! :) We tied in our costumes to Brinley's by Mike being a giraffe hunter and I, the zoo-keeper. Brinley went trick or treating for the first time down a dark and spooky hallway! (It was in our church). Such fun!

Way to stick to the healthier option: fingers over candy!

Probably my favorite picture of the night. All the commotion of the evening tired our little bug out!

Smilin' away

I don't think I looked too much like a zoo-keeper... oh well! ;)

Austin Heath and Mike had similar roles but different costumes.

Me and Brinley, Liz and Isaac (vicious tiger!) Heath, and Jenna and Katelyn (pink tiger) Ralph. We often take trips to the library together. And we were on the same volleyball team :)

Our friends, the Nardones. I loved the speed bump!! Baby Porter will have such creative and wonderful parents!

Love this picture!! My husband is such a hunk!!!

Actual Halloween night was a date night for Mike and I! I was planning to surprise him with a date at the Corn Belly Maze at Thanksgiving Point, but it actually closed at 6!! (Really, being a Halloween attraction it should stay open much later on Halloween.. perhaps the actual time that is advertised on the website: 11pm!!) Such a disappointment because we really wanted to go. But, we enjoyed guryos at Burger Supreme instead. Any night with my hubby is a good one even if it doesn't turn out how I plan. :)

Caramel Apple Goodness!!

2009-10-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made my first caramel apples! Well, I might have made them when I was younger, but I don't remember if I did. Anyways, I decided that I wanted to go all out and make them extra super delicious. We used white chocolate chips, toffee bits and chocolate drizzle to make these scrumptious delights! The best gourmet apples I have ever tasted! Our friends Dan and Cat Reid joined us for FHE to make them. Mike doesn't even really like caramel apples and said that they were really good too!

My creations :)

Dan and Cat Reid enjoying their apples

Dan, Mike, Brinley, Cat and I after eating our delicious treat :)

I just had to put up some recent pictures of our delightful little girl. She is getting so big! According to our home measurements last Sunday, she was around 14 lbs and 25.5 inches long! I love watching her develop and learn about herself and her surroundings. She is such a blessing and we are just so grateful for her in our lives.

Brinners in her cute little outfit and chillin' on her new play gym!

Hmmm.. interesting red light from the camera

Grabbing hold of the little frog for the first time

Volleyball Intramural Champions!

2009-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I just had to post some pictures of my amazing volleyball team after we won the top division of BYU's intramural volleyball championship!! As some of you may know, I had surgery the previous day so I wasn't able to play. I had half of my thyroid removed and a lump on the other side. Thus, the reason for my scarf. :) And hooray it wasn't cancer!!

You can't really tell from the pictures, but on the front shirt is stated, "The most coveted shirt on campus." Then on the back it says, "Thou shall not covet." Truly, I was very excited about my volleyball team. A small part of me wishes that Mike wasn't graduating so I could play with them another year!

Left to right: Patrice, Cathrine, Chanda, Melissa, Jenna, Sarah, Liz and Me

My two biggest fans :)

Just a picture of me playing during the tournament... evidence that I did play! :) (I am the one blocking middle if you didn't know)

Is it worth it...

2009-10-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

To buy this adorable, super cute and very precious Halloween costume for $30 that Brinley will only wear once? She won't be eating any candy and really won't remember it unless I take a picture of her in it. And if it is just the picture that I want, maybe it would be better if I just went to a store, dressed her up in it for 3 minutes and take the picture. Of course I would love to play the role of a proud mom showing off her cute little bunny at our ward social or around the town, but we don't plan on dressing up. That interact will last at most 3 hours... so I ask again, is it worth it?

Another 26.2

2009-10-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

This last weekend Mike ran his second marathon! This one was in St. George and he improved his time by about 10 minutes! Wooohooo go Mike! His chip time was 3 h 42 m. I'm proud of my little stud. (I definitely would never want to run one!) We were able to stay with Mike's parents and family since they just recently moved to St. George and that was a blast. We spent time recovering by watching general conference. It was a great weekend!

Mike on the final stretch

Scott and his wife, Christie, with us after the race. Scott and Mike trained together for the race.

Mike distracted... Brinley eating the carrier... :)

Mike: Ugh, what a miserable race... I wonder when I will do it again?

Good thing Brinley and I were there to support him! :)

Brinley and I reading together. She just loves books!

Asleep in Alanna's swing

Alanna and Brinley

Smiley bug

We are mentally preparing for the race by watching cartoons the day before the race. Brinley and I were ready! Brinley was wearing her running shoes and outfit too! :)

Leslie's Visit and Trip to Logan

2009-09-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

Leslie, my twin, came to visit last weekend from Connecticut! She hadn't met her precious little niece yet, and had a wonderful time with her! Well, Brinley actually had a little spell of fussiness while she was here, but Leslie was excited nonetheless! :) We went shopping and took a trip up to Logan to visit our brother John, his wife Liz, and their kids Sam and Jenny. Brinley wasn't a huge fan of shopping or driving. Leslie also introduced me to the exciting hobby of scrapebooking! I'm not a fanatic, but it is fun to do on occassions.

While in Logan we played Blockus, watched "New in Town," and John made some amazing milkshakes! It was great to relive a Brumbaugh tradition of milkshakes and popcorn for Sunday dinner. :) Thanks for coming Leslie!

Sam carefully holding Brinley

Leslie and Brinley

Liz and John

Cute little Jenny

It was difficult to get Jenny to smile on camera... this was close :)

I loved this outfit on her! Kilee and Soren got us this cute skirt.. and she would be wearing the shirt but it was dirty.

Leslie and Brinley taking a nap

Little Women

2009-09-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I am near to finishing up the novel, and I am primarily sharing this post because I think most of you have watched the movie or read the book... but if you have done neither and plan to in the future, STOP reading my post now.

It has been very detailed and at times too detailed, and I have mainly kept on reading with high hopes for Jo and Laurie to get together. (Honestly, I didn't expect the vocabulary to be so.. um.. advanced. Well, I am sure I sound unintelligent, but really I had never read some of the words in that book before! haha) Anyways, sad to say that last night when I read that Laurie and Amy ended up getting married I cried! MISERABLE! Of course I know everything will end up just fine with Jo and whoever, but it is awful that Louisa Alcott (the author) persuaded me to believe so heartily that they would end up together. (It just might have been mine own doing too :) ) I am going to finish it today with a still bitter taste in my mouth of the whole situation, but I am sure it will probably sweeten up with a happy ending of some sort.

Flying Nemo... Well kind of

2009-09-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

Brinley has reached 2 months! She is growing up so fast! It is crazy to think about how small she used to be. Here are her 2 month measurements:

Weight: 11 lbs 8 oz - 69 %tile
Length: 23.5 in - 87 %tile
Head Cir: 38 cm - 29 %tile

I think it is kinda funny that she her head circumference is lower in percentile. I definitely think she looks normal and totally cute! She is sleeping great at night. We no longer need to bounce or walk her around to get her to sleep. Now, we just need to swaddle her, give her the bink, and cuddle her next to us. She didn't used to sleep with us before we went to MT, but now it is more frequent than I would like. As soon as our upcoming family visits come and go, we are going to try to get her to sleep in her own crib again.

Mike has started school and is a busy beaver! I do get to see him at nights... but I can't wait until grad school is over with in April! We both are on a volleyball team. It is most likely our last year playing intramural sports, so we are taking advantage of it. My team pretty much rocks. I am hoping to win a t-shirt this year! :) I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to play on a competitive all-girl team again. Anyways, here are some recent pictures.

Daddy loves his little bug wrapped up in Aunt Leslie's cute quilt! :)

She is starting to eat her fists.

I love this look!

Her adorable smile we just can't get enough of!

Brinley is sporting the cute Nike shoes Papa and Gramma D got her.

Brinley is a fan of her bouncer now. Before we started taping, she was giggling as she kicked the "Nemo" fish. I wasn't able to get her giggling on tape, but she kicked the fish! You can hear Mike cutting vegetables and talking a bit in the background. Sorry for the length, I editted it a bit, but it is still a little long.

Happiest Baby on the Block

2009-08-31T11:05:00.001-07:00

Some of you may have heard of this book or the dvd... and I pretty much just want to put my testimonial out there for it. I wasn't totally sold on all the five techniques mentioned in his research, particularly the "white noise" or "shhhing" sound. I always felt kinda ridiculous making loud "shhhing" noises in Brinley's ear; however, that all changed yesterday!

Mike and I were driving back from Odgen from my brother's birthday dinner when Brinley started to fuss. She finally got sick of me coaxing her binkie back in her mouth and was virtually inconsolable. Then, I decided to try the loud "shhing" in her ear... and to my surprise she momentarily stopped crying (I was getting out of breath shhing for so long!) Mike heard me "shhhing" in her ear, and remembered the doctor saying that radio stations with the loud buzzing noise was also effective. So, he quickly found a station with a good buzz and turn it up so it was fairly loud. The next forty minutes was music to my ears... Brinley stopped crying!! She was still awake, and just looking around, completely calm. Granted we had to listen to radio fuzz the rest of the way home, but much better than her crying!! I started laughing to myself because I couldn't believe it really worked! IF you are near or at the frustration point with your baby's fussiness, then I highly recommend trying the strategies out!

Brinley's Baby Blessing

2009-08-28T16:34:00.001-07:00

As I had mentioned earlier, last Sunday we were able to bless Brinley at our hometown ward in Libby, MT. We really appreciated Mike's parents, my parents and Richard for being there for her blessing. Of course we would have loved to have all of our family and friends there, but we realized that that wasn't possible. It was crazy to be back in the ward where both Mike and I grew in Christ's Gospel... only now to be blessing our first child. So many great examples and friendships have been welcomed into our lives from there and other places as well.

I can't help but think of a couple monumental days in our lives years ago that have directed us to where we are now. They were also in August. First was Mike's baptism in August 2002. (Isn't he just a hunk!!)

Then four years later, on August 19, 2006, we were married. :)

And then, three years after we tied the knot, the blessing of our little one!

I think she looks like a floating angel in this picture.

I almost captured her cute smile!

The fam there... Richard had left before the pictures were taken.

Our family in front of the same church building 6 years down the road. :)

Montana, I love you!

2009-08-25T12:42:00.001-07:00

We went up to visit some family this last weekend in Montana. We thought the ride up was going to be just miserable with a 1-month old in a car seat for 12 hours. However, the 12 hour drive wasn't too bad. Brinley slept for about 10 of the hours, and luckily still slept at night! We were very grateful for that. The first day we were there, we surprised Mike's mom at her work... well sorta, she knew we were coming to Libby, but didn't know we were going to be showing up at work to visit her. She was super excited to she her first granddaughter. Mike's dad showed up while we were there and convinced Mike to go golfing. Mike was a little rusty at first, but soon polished his skills throughout the game. :)

We hung out with the Duthrie family later on that evening and were able to meet Krista's (Mike's sister) 3 week old girl, Alanna, for the first time. She is so precious! Grandpa and Grandma D were so excited to have both granddaughters and kids at the house. :) It was wonderful spending time with them.

The next morning we went on a hike to Granite Falls with my parents. We didn't actually make it to the falls because the trail was washed out, but it was still fun. I was so excited to get back into Montana mountains! AAaah I love MT!

Friday night my mom made homemade pizza, pretty much the most amazing pizza ever! And Richard, my youngest brother, made some hot wings. Mike was so excited about the wings, and I think between the two of them, they ate around 4 lbs of hot wings. Then we watched 17 Again.. which I have now seen 3 times.

Sunday was a very special day. Mike was able to bless Brinley at church and both of our parents were there. Richard came for it as well. We always enjoy seeing old friends who have had a good impact in our lives. I will post more pictures and thoughts about Brinley's blessing later.

Brinley was also able to meet her Uncle Thomas and Uncle Richard for the first time. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of them together... (I'm just getting used to all of this picture taking.) Now she only has Aunt Leslie left to meet. Anyways, we made it back to Provo safely with Brinley only crying for about an hour! I think we are done for long car trips for awhile. Here are some pictures of the trip:

Brinley's first hike! Doesn't she look excited?!! The first half was spent sleeping... at least she saw some of the scenery on the way back :)

A quick breather!

Some of the gorgeous scenery along the trail

On Thursday, August 20, Brinley really started to smile. My mom was holding her and she was just letting loose some adorable smiles and cooing away! It was so cute and I was so happy to get some of them with the camra.

Grandma B with our smiling angel.

The Duthrie family - Top to bottom - Me, Mike, Matt, Krista, Grandma D, Brinley, Alanna and Grandpa D.

Krista and I put Alanna and Brinley next to each other to see who is bigger. I think they are close to the same size, but when holding Brinley, she feels heavier than Alanna. Brinley is the one with the eyes open.

Grandma Duthrie enjoying Brinley.

Mike and his father with Brinley.

Grandpa Duthrie holding Brinley and Alanna.

Brinley and Easton

2009-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Kilee took these pictures of Brinley and Easton together and I just had to post them on our blog. Kilee and I have decided that if arranged marriages were still in place, Brinley and Easton would be betrothed. So, needless to say, we wanted to take some pictures of them together... and boy are they classic! Brinley had just woken up from a nap and was hungry... and Easton is playing the typical role of a confused male.. Haha! I love it!

Looks like Brinley is going in for a big smooch!

Enjoying our little one

2009-08-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

Mike and I are enjoying Brinley TONS! She has grown so much since birth. Brinley had her two week appointment last Friday and weighed in at 9 lbs 1 oz and measured 21.5 inches long! Sometimes I wonder if she has grown so much in length because she stretches out her little legs so much! I have been making small attempts at light runs with Brinley. Jogging strollers take some getting used to and obviously the jogs are a slow start. Mike has still been training for the St. George marathon that is coming up in October. His poor toes are in pretty bad shape with blood blisters forming underneath his nails from the long runs. Is there any prevention for that? Anyways he will be finishing up summer term here in about a week and I am super excited! We might be heading up to MT for a visit or maybe just hanging around here. But at least Brinley and I will be able to spend more time with him... like cooking meals together! :)

Other good news: Mike's sister, Krista, is scheduled for a c-section tomorrow. So, Brinley will have a new cousin! We hope everything goes well for her.

Here are a couple of new things that Brinley enjoys:

*Taking a bath in the tub and moving her legs like a little frog.. so cute!

*Peeing in her towel after she gets out of the tub

*Mike or I taking her for a nightly walk... (someone NEEDS to be holding her, it NEEDS to be outside and ALWAYS past 10 pm).. our funny little kid!

Brinley is not a big fan of:

*Getting out of the tub

*Vibrating chairs

*Not being held

Brinley's First Week of Life!!

2009-07-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, Brinley has had a fairly eventful first week in our home. Friends and family have come to see her and she is continuing to develop a regular eating/sleeping routine. She is just amazing, truly a blessing in our lives. She has been so patient with both Mike and I as we continue to learn and become more efficient in nurturing her. I feel she is so close to the spirit, and on more than one occasion, she has been an answer to my prayers. Anyways, here are some highlights this week!

Brinley and I took my parent's dog, Sarg, out to go to the bathroom. Then Sarg nearly attacked and chased down the mailman. I had to quickly give Brinley to the girls upstairs and run down the dog. Luckily, Sarg wasn't hit by a car on the way back. The rest of the afternoon Sarg continued to bark. Brinley, the champ, slept through the whole thing! I wished I could have done the same.

Brinley discovered that sunlight is much to bright for her little eyes, but she still enjoys going outside.

Brinley's first bath. She got a little cold and shivered a bit. My dad said she would cry.. but Brinley proved him wrong! :)

Brinley after her first bath.

Grandpa Brumbaugh holding Brinley.

Brinley's first time at church! She did great! :)

Grandpa and grandma Brumbaugh holding Brinley.

Welcome Brinley Ann Duthrie!!

2009-07-13T18:41:00.000-07:00

We checked into the hospital around 3:30 in the afternoon Saturday. Later on she was born Sunday morning at 2 am. She weighed seven pounds two ounces, and 18.5 inches long. Brinley was a little conehead at first, but her head has really rounded out. We are so happy to finally have her here. She is such a wonderful little blessing in our lives. Even though she has only been here for two days, it feels like she has been here forever. She is perfect.

My parents are staying with us for the next week or so. My last prenatal appointment was on Friday, and it was looking like I was going to have to be induced... which was when my parents would be leaving. However, she ended up coming virtually the next day and on my dad's birthday! (I know he is excited for such a wonderful new granddaughter!) We are so very grateful for their company and all of their help.

Growing garden and belly!

2009-06-21T18:37:00.001-07:00

First, Happy Father's Day to Mike and fathers everywhere! We celebrated with a delicious huckleberry pancake and bacon breakfast. Mike is my hero in so many different ways. He is so patient and understanding. He brings so much happiness into my life and I know he will just love and be adored by our little girl too. I mean can't you just see how close she likes to be to him?? ;)

Here are some pictures of our garden. Last week we had a FHE weeding and thinning out some of the veggies with the Pickups. It was fun the first time, but I'm not enjoying it as much since I am getting bigger. In the picture below you can see our corn, squash plants, onions and peas.

This one includes our zealous tomato plants (back right), string beans (with the strings), pepper plants (front middle) and carrots (middle back.) Mike and Brian came up with the ingenious string method for the string beans to grow up on. It is looking promising so far, and was definitely the most economical idea. We had planted radishes earlier and they have actually already been harvested. Do you like radishes? Call me or leave a comment if you are interested because Mike and I have a few too many for our liking.

Lastly, another belly shot of me nearing 37 weeks... close to full term! Hurray!

So... how about a name!

2009-06-05T19:17:00.000-07:00

BRINLEY... BRINLEE.... BRYNLEY... BRYNLEE... or BRYNLEIGH??!!

I think we have finally found the right name! The name came to me and kind of just stuck one Sunday morning. I was sitting in church and "Brinley" popped into my head. I had a good feeling about it, and I think our little girl liked it too. What the biggest surprise was that Mike actually approved of it! :) So, now how to spell it. I think my personal favorite is Brynlee, but I have a feeling that might not go over well with Mike. His favorite spelling is Brinley. I guess we'll see which spelling wins!... Stay tuned... the results will be posted!

Life is wonderful

2009-05-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks have been by going so quickly! I can't believe that I'm already 31 weeks and that I only have 3 weeks of school left! It has definitely been a lot of fun. Mike has started going to school spring term and is looking into some other job opportunities and he is hoping to get drawn for the St. George Marathon.

This last week was testing week for my students. I don't know if they were stressed at all, but it definitely nice to have that out of the way. On Friday one of my room moms threw a baby shower for me and it was fun to watch my students play games and to open all of the gifts that they gave to me. The boys got sick of hearing all the "ooos" and "awhhs" from the girls and it turned out to be a competition towards the end of the party. I was very grateful that opening the gifts didn't last that long. My class is so wonderful. They are a big reason why choosing not to teach next year was difficult.

Anyways, Mike and I are enjoying the nice weather by planting a garden and spending time outside. The flowers Heather and JJ planted last year are looking beautiful. I am excited for the irises that are starting to bloom. We are looking forward to the arrival of our little girl with each passing day. And I look forward to losing some of the weight I have gained!

Oh and thanks to Kris for doing my hair! I love it! :)

Happy Birthday to Mike!

2009-04-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

For Mike's birthday, I surprised him with a trip to Arches and a one night stay at a bed and breakfast! His birthday isn't until Sunday, but seeing how I have spring break, I wanted to do something special.

The picture below is of our adventure up to the delicate arch. It was so incredibly windy! (As the picture shows) You can tell that it was pretty dusty out... and then it started to rain.. mud! We were speckled with mud. When we got back to our car, it was covered with wet, red sand. I think that our little girl had a great time though. She wasn't exposed to the harsh weather, but the bumpy hike! :)

Mike is my best friend. I have loved being able to spend so much time with him especially after him being gone for so long. Happy 24th birthday to my amazing man!

26 weeks and New Drums

2009-04-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hurray!! Mike has been back for a whole week now! I love having my best friend home with me. He is so amazing and makes me very happy! Well, here is an update of how I look at 26 weeks. I feel like this picture or maybe the outfit makes me look a little smaller than I really am, but I am ok with that. :) Yesterday Mike and I scored big with some baby stuff. We got a high chair, stroller, car seat, baby books, nursing pillow, baby bjorn carrier, baby tub and some more stuff for free! My old boss had some stuff that he was just going to throw out so he gave it to us! We are very grateful to be receipents of his generousity. I am feeling justified in spending more on her crib, dresser and jogging stroller.. :) By the way any suggestions for baby girl names? We are having a hard time finding the right one for her. We both like Allesyn and call her Ally, but I have a niece named Alli. We also like Shaylynn, Keira, MaKennzie, Alyssa, and Madisyn, so if you have any suggestions we are all ear.

Also, another update in our lives is the new addition of some electronic drums. I got these for Mike for his birthday present. He absolutely loves them and enjoys keeping his skills up to par... and improving them as well. They are currently situated in our spare bedroom and will need to be moved once we get furniture for our little girl.

Quilts and More Quilts!

2009-03-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

As I was looking for a new blog template, I found this one and thought it was only appropriate for me to put it on here! Our stake Relief Society just had our annual Relief Society birthday celebration! We had a variety of service projects including tying quilts. It was a lot of fun and I have definitely expanded my knowledge of quilts and my tying abilities... so pretty much I am a professional. But don't plan on asking me for quilting help in the near future...I have had my fix of quilting for about the next 2 years. I might be a little more willing then. :)

22 Weeks

2009-03-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I have finally taken some pictures of my prego belly. These were taken after a large Sunday meal.. so I might be a little bit smaller on a regular basis. I tried on some different shirts to show a little bit of variety with my belly. I am feeling great and my little girl is doing well too. We are both excited for Mike to be coming home from his internship in 3 weeks!

What a blessing... President Monson!

2009-03-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today I was reading through the first presidency message, and I absolutely loved the address and I just had to share some of my favorite parts of his words.

Personal Counselor
"One human resource officer assigned to handle petty grievances concluded an unusually hectic day by placing facetiously a little sign on his desk for those with unsolved problems. It read, “Have you tried prayer?” What he may not have realized was that this simple counsel would solve more problems, alleviate more suffering, prevent more transgression, and bring about greater peace and contentment in the human soul than could be obtained in any other way."

Choose One or the Other
"We cannot know what faith is if we have never had it, and we cannot obtain it as long as we deny it. Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other."

Source of Power
"Times have not really changed. Prayer continues to provide power—spiritual power. Prayer continues to provide peace—spiritual peace."

I know the Lord truly has blessed us all by restoring the gospel to the earth and a prophet to guide and direct us. I especially loved the article because a portion of it relates personally to Mike and I. We are very grateful for prayer and power we receive from it. I know that many, many of my problems have been overcome because of prayer... and I am so very thankful for the Lord's merciful hand in my life and in the lives of so many others. Here is one last quote to end on:

"Through personal prayer, through family prayer, by trusting in God with faith, nothing wavering, we can call down to our rescue His mighty power. His call to us is as it has ever been: “Come unto me.”

-for further reading click here

Our Baby Girl!

2009-02-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

Our beautiful little girl! :)

Her cute little foot!

This is a 3D picture that they took. The image in the right corner is in 3D.

A shot between her legs... This one was pretty clear to me that she is a girl.

It's a baby girl!

2009-02-14T22:55:00.000-08:00

We were excited to find out that we are expecting a little girl! She is quite the wiggler! The ultrasound tech had a difficult time getting some good shots of her. They asked us if we were able to tell the sex... and Mike and I both had no clue! Although later on we were able to see a decent angle that was obvious to us that she was a girl.

We were able to see our little girl in 3D too. That was pretty neat... and kind of disturbing all at the same time! Anyway, we have brought our selection of names down to 3: Madisyn, MaKennzie, and Shaylynn. Any input? I'll be posting the pictures later on. :)

Here comes the weekend!

2009-02-10T18:00:00.001-08:00

There are a couple of things that I'm really looking forward to this weekend:

1. Mike is coming home to visit! It is virtually all I can think about and I am so excited to be home with him.. especially on Valentine's Day!

2. Saturday afternoon we are going to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl! I don't really care which one it is, but the sooner we know, the sooner I can start shopping for adorable outfits and baby stuff. :)

3. Three-day weekend. I love my students, I really do. But I am really looking forward to having Monday off.

Life is wonderful!

Precious Gifts

2009-02-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was able to meet with an amazing person. Her name was Char, she is an English professor from Denver. Although what she had said wasn't new to me, I was grateful for her thoughts. I don't exactly remember what we were talking about during our discussion, but she began to share her thoughts about helping others. She had said that in order to serve others, we need to first find the divinity within ourselves, and then once we find the divinity within ourselves, we will be able to see the great divinity within others.

I had learned this same principle earlier, but I was impressed with the understanding that God had given her. Today I was reading out of "A Heart Like His." A thought stuck out to me from Alma 24:8, "I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts." Last weekend when my car was towed, I was on the verge of tears and trying really hard not to be upset. I said a little prayer in my heart that I would respond to this situation in the way that Heavenly Father would want me to. I felt His support, and that testified to me of God's great love for His children and His willingness to help us change.

I know that as we become aware of our weaknesses and ask for help, God will answer our prayers. He will help us to realize our true identity and then the true identity of others. I know that it is through faith in Jesus Christ that we are able to change and through the gift of the Holy Ghost that the change comes about. For these things I am so very grateful for, and for good examples like all of you that help me take those small steps closer to God. I know I still have a long way to go, but I am grateful nonetheless for what I have been given.

Denver visit and more!

2009-01-29T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I was able to visit Mike in Denver! It was so good to see him after being three weeks apart! It was quite the exciting trip to view his previous disgusting apartment, downtown Denver, and his office. We had a great time despite the 3 and 1/2 delayed flight to Denver and then my car being towed when I arrived back home Sunday evening! That was a bummer! But, all is going well nonetheless. Mike is spending countless hours doing monotonous work, staring at a computer screen... but is happy to have a job! :)

I had a doctor's appointment last Tuesday. Our baby is apparently shy because we had a hard time listening to the heart beat again. But, I got to see her/him through an ultrasound instead! This time the baby looked a lot more like a human. I could see the vertebrae and skeleton really well, and he/she is still doing flips and turns still. I think he/she will be great at volleyball. :)

I finally told my students that I am pregnant today... they were quite a bit more excited then I expected them to be! A couple were so excited they ran up to me and gave me a hug! I wish I could have had it on video tape! They were hilarious! Right now they are making a list of the "perfect name" for my baby. I guess we'll see if they come up with any that I might use. I'm somewhat surprised they haven't put any joke names on there yet. They are just great!

Here comes... a baby!

2009-01-02T20:35:00.000-08:00

This last Monday Mike and I were fortunate enough to listen to the heartbeat and see our little baby! I'll be honest, I didn't really think it looked too much like a human besides the head and feet. However, it was so incredible to see the little body jumping around! It still feels a little unreal that something so small is doing flips and kicks inside of me without me feeling it! It seemed as though I was watching a movie of someone else's ultrasound... not my own. I'm sure that will change in a short while. We are so excited for this pending addition to our lives. We realize how truly blessed we are for this opportunity to have children and even more importantly to teach him/her about the light and life of Jesus Christ-and what amazing qualities we can emulate in our own lives.

You know, now that I think about it a little more, I may have not felt any physical differences thus far in my pregnancy, but there is something different... (not the hormones either) I do feel like there is another spiritual life in me. It is kind of hard to explain... or to rightly put into words what exactly it feels like. I suppose it would be similar to or just like God giving to you a small portion of His light and love in a box, and asking you to hold on to it. You don't see it, but you can feel it... something special. It motivates you to be a better person, to live a righteous life because of the love that radiates from it (essentially from God.) Well, it is like Heavenly Father entrusted me with light and love for a short while, before he/she reaches the breath of mortality. Of course there are several emotions associated with such an important task, but right now the most prevalent feeling would be gratitude.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2008-12-22T09:53:00.000-08:00

Today Mike and I enjoyed a lovely morning playing in the snow. It was pretty wet and just perfect to make a snowman! We thought he turned out cute with his ivy hair and apple eyes!

Some pics

2008-12-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

So... I wanted some nice pictures of Mike and I. It felt like we were taking engagement pictures again! We were excited as to how they turned out. Here are a couple of them.

8 Tags

2008-11-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

Thanks Kilee... :)

8 TV Shows I like to watch:
1. I admit.. I do like some Office episodes.
2. So You Think You Can Dance?!
3. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
4. Man vs. Wild
5. Planet Earth
6. What Not to Wear
7. Human Body.. it is pretty interesting
8. Rug Rats... kind of old school.. :)

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. I woke up at four because I had a dream that I was having twins and I got super sick early on in my pregnancy and I couldn't teach for the rest of the year until April... my fourth grade team was really mad at me! (in my dream)
2. I taught my amazing fourth graders!
3. I drove home from Cedar Hills.
4. I ate some left over chicken pillows with Mike.
5. I drank/ate a spoon full of honey to get over a sore throat and it was disgusting!
6. I corrected papers
7. I corrected some more papers.
8. I read a "scary story" that one of my students wrote about me eating some of my other students... which was hilarious!

8 Favorite Places to Eat:
1. Zupas!
2. Brick Oven
3. Cafe Rio
4. The Blue Boar Inn!
5. Mimi's Cafe
6. Bombay House
7. Chef''s Table
8. Olive Garden

8 Things I'm Looking Forward to:
1. The weekend!
2. Mike and I's next big date!
3. Having my own little tyke
4. Thanksgiving
5. The next time I have chocolate
6. The minute/hour/day after my observation is over
7. When I become a "master teacher"
8. Cuddling with Mike tonight and every night!

I tag: Emily, Heather, and whoever else might read this.

Quirky Tag

2008-11-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

6 Quirky things about you.

Rules: Thank the person who tagged you and mention these rules on your blog.
Tell 6 UNSPECTACULAR Quirks about yourself and tag 6 fellow bloggers.

Thanks Emily!

1. Mike just recently told me that I stick my tongue out partially while I'm brushing my teeth. He thinks it is so cute, but I honestly don't think I have ever seen it.

2. I am missing 10 teeth. I still have four baby teeth, I don't have 2 top 12 year molars, and I never had any wisdom teeth (4). Actually I guess you could say that I'm missing 12 because my front two are fake.

3. I had a tumor in my right big toe when I was a senior in high school. It was found during basketball season, and removed right before my senior prom.

4. I don't like hamburgers. The patty and bun combination is disgusting! I can eat hamburger meat in other dishes like tacos or spaghetti though.

5. I like reading picture books with my husband at night... bedtime stories together!

6. I like dipping peanut-buttered toast in hot chocolate! It tastes great!

I tag whoever reads this.

New Decision

2008-10-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, right now Mike is in Denver interviewing with Ernst and Young and McGladrey and Pullen for an internship this winter. He already has one offer on the table, so we know that he will be leaving for sure this winter. I will be staying in Utah and teaching while he will be gone from Jan - April. I guess those months will just be full of work for the both of us!

Gotta love apartments...

2008-10-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

So, last night was pretty exciting. As I was talking to Kilee on the phone I heard something dripping from our ceiling. I quickly flipped on the lights to see that water was drizzling out of our cupboards and above our bathroom door frame. My first thought was that the girls' bathtub upstairs had exploded, and we were going to drown! Then, I thought the water pipes burst! I ran up stairs to see what was going on.. if anything. Our neighbor opened the door to inform me that their toilet had overflowed. Sweet-smelling goodness! We were fortunate enough to have our cupboards, walls and floor rained on with urine/feces water! Luckily none of our food was contaminated nor any of the furniture, clothing or carpets. We were also grateful we didn't see any large particles. Pretty much it doesn't matter where we live, Mike and I will always have exciting times like this one!

Octoberness

2008-10-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Mike and I have been pretty busy with school. Next week mike will be flying out to Denver for an interview with KPMG. We both will be flying out to Denver later on this month as well. We are excited for a free trip! :) My students are absolutely wonderful! I'm so happy to be in the fourth grade with such great children. I really feel so blessed to be with such great kids. It makes my job so much easier. Life is great and we are enjoying the many blessings and challenges that come our way. Fall is beautiful!

Our lives in 2008!

2008-07-21T22:44:00.001-07:00

Well, it has been awhile since I have posted any information, but here is a little update of what has been happening lately. I have just recently graduated from BYU this past April with a BS in elementary education. I will begin teaching 4th grade at Deerfield Elementary in Cedar Hills this upcoming fall. I ran my first and last half marathon on April 19 in Salt Lake. Mike ran his first marathon up in Ogden during mid-May... it is still to be determined whether or not he will run another one.

Mike is working full time as a manager of Hansen's Mountaineering in Orem. He has been very busy expanding the climbing gym into the wee hours of the night. However, he was able to find sometime to climb Lone Peak, which is pictured above. The hike/climb included awesome climbs and death-defying moments, such as repelling down a 500 ft cliff during the night. Sometimes he makes decisions that would leave me husband-less!

We have expanded our vehicles to two: a new motorcycle. I don't feel comfortable driving it, but I enjoy riding it with Mike. Our most exciting news is that we will be moving into a new apartment at the end of this month! Hopefully no more water leaks into our bedroom!