As Of Late

As of late it seems we've been busy, but doing what? I'm not exactly sure. Brooks is loving the warmer weather and it's made me feel like spring fever has kicked into full gear. But we have had fun spending our days with friends, celebrating birthdays, doing oodles of laundry (why won't it ever end!) reading books and watching a few shows.

It's taken him three years to really discover ice cream. And now that he has, he can't seem to get enough "balilla." We find him like this all too often.

Brooks is obsessed with... Wall E. He loves Wall E and always tries to imitate him and Eve. Every night before Brooks goes to bed, he promises he'll have good dreams about Eve and Wall E.

We have also been reading a lot of books. Right now I am loving his two favorites, Are You My Mother? and The Best Nest. Both books were given to me for my second birthday. My mom read them to me all the time. I still remember the tune she used to sing the little song to. It's fun to see things go full circle. So, it was super cool when Amma came down a few nights ago and read to Brooks. He thought it was pretty great...so did I.


Brooks also recently shared a scripture in primary. He was so excited all week to get a turn to talk in the microphone. He had his scripture memorized and couldn't’t wait for Sunday to arrive. Just when Sunday seemed it would never come, we made it to primary and he was ready and roaring to go, but he had to wait through the prayer, then singing time, then announcements. Well, Brooks was fed up with waiting, so he just hopped right up next to the lady giving the announcements and looked up at her pretending to listen. I was watching in the back row and was rather embarrassed and so I started motioning for him to sit down. I was mouthing the words “sit down Brooks, it’s not your turn yet.” All of a sudden, he yelled at me from across the room “What? I can’t hear you mom!” I sat down and the nice announcement lady said she was fine giving the announcements with Brooks by her side. She finally finished and he gleefully gave his scripture, then he skipped over to his class. All was well with the world, at least for that Sunday anyway.

We also had a little luncheon to celebrate St. Patrick's day with Brooks' cousin Myles. We ate lots of green treats and they played to their hearts content. I think it is amazing to see what a sweet relationship cousins have. Somehow, even when they are young, they seem to understand that this little buddy is family. Brooks thinks Myles is terrific, and he is.

Last, but not least, we are into full March Madness swing with brackets and all. I keep calling Bryan to rub in a win, on the rare occasion it occurs. See, I choose my teams based on a few criteria: cute uni's, team mascot, whether or not I think it's a cool school, and occasionally the actual ranking comes into play.

Bryan takes his picks a bit more seriously; weeks of research and study, he listens to each and every ESPN analyst and is sure to check the current standing/scores every day and night and sometimes twice at night while watching Sports Center.

Even thought I tease him, I love this time of year. So GO MEMPHIS!

VICTORY!

I recently fell in love with this . . .

but not the price and since we are in a recession, I just couldn't justify the purchase. However, I couldn't get the fresh, fruity, floral aroma out of my head I had to find a way to get it. So I thought how can I be frugal about this?

eBay was my answer. Fortunately, I found it on eBay. Unfortunately, I did not find if for the cost-effective, recession-proof price I was hoping for. So I found this . . .

And yes, the price was just right. I quickly bid on the item as the auction was soon coming to an end. Disclaimer, I don't shop eBay very much and don't have the best track record, so I was a little nervous. This beautiful bottle of smooth body butter could fall into the wrong persons hands. Brooks and I were out so I had to call Bryan to see if, hope that, maybe I won the auction.

Well the magic words were heard, "you got it, you won! You bid on . . . (wait for it) body lotion?"

Yes I did and I couldn't be happier. I looked for a bargain and I found one. Besides I am sure to smell delish. I am proud to say that I saved the family money one health and beauty product at a time. Not to mention the incredible feeling and validation I got from winning this bid.

Yes, I am a WINNER! And it only cost me the small price of $8.99 plus shipping and handling.

Happy Things

It's raining on top of old, brownish, yucky snow dashing all desires to venture out. So even though we are stuck in the house, I thought I would share a few of my current favorites from right inside my very own abode. I suppose it doesn't have to be a beautiful day outside to enjoy some pretty things inside. I got this idea from designmom and I think it's a great way to beat the wintertime blues, for today anyway.

I just got this Linnea calendar for $8.00 at Tabularasa. I think February is sweet as can be.

Brooks has been a big helper this morning. He got himself sufficiently dressed(according to B.) and even made his bed all by himself.

And last but certainly not least, my favorite way to enjoy a gray day...a cup of hot chocolate. My recipe includes milk, chocolate syrup, vanilla and a touch of cinnamon
all swirled together into a frothy wonder by none other than my favorite Cocomotion.
And of course I had to add some whipped cream...it's raining!

So what is making you smile around your house today?

. . . And My Heart Came Back Alive!

Aloha! All I needed was a lot of warm sun, the ocean, and my charming husband to uplift my very soul, that I didn't even know needed uplifting. Bryan and I celebrated our 10 years of wedded bliss in Maui. It was the trip of a lifetime and I will share a little sunshine with you all. (notice: a little long.)


So Excited to be there! One of the highlights was taking a shuttle up to 10,000 feet above sea level to see the Haleakala Crater, an old volcano. We got up at 2:45 to make sure we could get to the top of the crater before the sunrise. It was early and clearly, freezing cold (34 degrees) at the top, but oh so worth it!




From there they shuttled us down to 6500 ft., and we got to ride bikes down the rest of the way. It was about 40 miles, but all downhill and all beautiful. We rode through farms and meadows and eucalyptus groves.


We also stopped at one of my favorites, the Kula Lodge for breakfast where we ran into my younger brother Trent, who is currently serving a church mission in the Philippines. Crazy huh? Only this Trent had a Swedish accent.



Another highlight was riding a catamaran out to Molekini to snorkel. We saw beutiful fish and coral and on the way back we got to jump in and swim with the sea turtles. There were about six all around us. They are protected so don't touch, and apparently, don't take pictures. Sorry,nothing to show for that. But we did see some whales on that outing. There were two about 30 yds from the boat. So cool.



(Apparently I was pretty into jazz hands for pictures. Don't ask?)

Another highlight for Bryan was the golf. The course he played in Wailea was beautiful. Bry was so excited for golf that morning that he did the running man for me in the hotel room. Yep, I swear. Even I was taken so off guard, I didn't have the camer ready. So sorry.



This towel proved extremely valuable. Someone left theirs on the beach and so we took it to the awesome hotel next door and found our very own hot tub up above the pools just in time to see the sun set. So scandalous, so fun.




We ate incredible food, and went on delightful outings. We enjoyed every bit of the serenity pool at the hotel and just couldn't get enough of the beach.










All I can think to say is thank you, Bryan, for the time of my life. Happy ten years, babe. Let's celebrate again next year, and the next, and the next. And a very, very special thanks to Amma and Pappa and Grandma and Grandpa Massey for watching Brooks. I think he had as much fun as we did.

Aloha! Mahalo!

And Then He Was Three

It really does seem like yesterday that he was born. How did we get here?


I love that all of my Christmas memories will involve Brooks, not only because he is my son, but he was born at Christmastime in 2005, which, I am sure will always be my favorite Christmas.

Brooks' birthday officially started off the season for us this year and rightfully so. It has been a great year for Brooks with many ups and some down times too.

Ups Include:
Busy, happy boy
Curious boy
Talkative boy
Running in circles
Big Boy Bed
Big Boy Undies
The "news" house
Grandmas and Grandpas
Super swimming
Joy School
Music Class
New Teeth
Great singing
Lots of tractors

Downs Include:
Busy, happy boy
Curious boy
Talkative boy,
Running in circles etc., etc., etc.

I did make a mad dash late one Saturday night in frantic search of a book about parenting toddlers. My methods certainly seemed inadequate at the time. But, what makes Brooks sometimes difficult to parent are the very reasons we love him. He is the light in our lives and brings so much joy and energy to our home everyday. He loves people and life and considers everyone his "friend." I have a heart full of gratitude that three years ago, he came into our world. We journey together, and there aren't any others I would rather be on this journey with. I love you Brooks. Happy 3rd Birthday.

The Christmas Sweaters

Bryan and I started dating the day after Thanksgiving and our first kiss was right at Christmastime. On the night of our first kiss, Bryan was wearing a new sweater. I must have commented on the sweater in front of my brothers and so the next morning when my brothers learned of our kiss, they swore it was the magic of the new sweater. Of course, Mike and Trent couldn't stop teasing me about our first kiss, but when Bryan walked in the next night in another new sweater, it was over. The comments about the next new sweater wouldn't stop. Kissing noises could be heard all around my house, "two little lovers sitting in a tree," and so on.

As our courtship continued Bryan received more sweaters and luckily, I received more kisses. New sweaters were noticed probably more than is humanly possible by two young boys. The best part was that Bryan would walk in the house and point out a new sweater to Mike and Trent then raise his eyebrows a few times. My brothers took to Bryan instantly, as did I.

Tonight is our 10 year anniversary. It seems like just yesterday I was awkwardly waiting around a Christmas tree for that very first kiss. I am so happy that still, 10 years later, the butterflies are there. Bryan is smart, handsome, honest, determined, a perfectionist and he grounds me, which is hard to do.

Happy Anniversary Bryan! Here's to the next 10 and here's to many more sweaters.

Love,
The luckiest girl alive.

Get Your Groove On

On a long car ride, sometimes the silliest ideas are the best. Here is one piece of inspiration that came from our heads that made for hours of entertanment.

We call it the ipod game (clever, I know.) Directions as follows:

1. Put your ipod on shuffle, no cheating.
2. One player puts earphones on and doo-doo's or hums to whatever song comes on.
3. Other players have to guess the song before the start of the second verse and must get three songs correct in order to get the point.
4. Then switch.
5. The player/team with the most points at the end of alotted time wins!


Harder than you think, but so worth it. You can come up with prizes on your own. You'll thank me later.