What a wonderful man . . .

As I heard the news of President Gordon B. Hinckley's passing on Sunday evening, I have been trying to think of adequate words to describe him and pay tribute to him. He had been the prophet for such a huge amount of my life; listening to his words, hearing his testimony, has always been a comfort to me. He was such a cute little man with such wit and a wonderful sense of humor. While I was attending BYU-Idaho, he came for the dedication of the Gordon B. Hinckley building, and I was so touched by his remarks, that I went home and wrote them down hoping never to forget his words. He said, "I love you kids, for your great faith, strength, willingness, capacity, and prayers. . . God bless you for what you are and who you are . . . You don't have to be perfect, just do your very best . . . May your tears be few and your smiles many." What a wonderful example of a selfless, loving, and service filled life. I am sad to know that he had passed, but so happy that he had such a wonderful life and is now reunited with his sweet wife.

Brooklyn's latest work . . .

Here are a few of Brooklyn's latest pictures, she wasn't as smiley(is that a word?) this time, but they still turned out super cute!

Update on us!!!

So, I have been neglecting the blog for awhile, sorry about that. Not much is going on really . . . Ben is still working LONG hours, and I am working long hours here with little Brooklyn. Brooklyn is as fun as ever, she is talking more - she says "da da" and "na na" (whatever that means) and loves to jump in her jumper most of the time. She still isn't crawling, or rolling from her stomach to back for that matter, she is just perfectly happy sitting and playing or being carted around by one of us. : ) She is also getting quite the little personality, she will "yell" if you take something away from her or if she is still hungry. She is a little night owl, staying up until about 11:00/11:30, but then she will usually sleep until about 6, not too bad. She is so fun though, here are some of her latest pics.

Brooklyn LOVES bathtime!!!

Helping Daddy on the computer!
She still loves the carousel too, I think we will have to buy a pass!

Tagged!!!

My Friend ( Jen) tagged me, so here it goes !GETTING TO KNOW ME, A - Z

A - Attached or Single: Happily attached

B - Best Friend: My sweet husband Ben and my little Brooklyn!

C - Cake or Pie: I love cake! Anything chocolate, but especially German chocolate!

D - Day of choice: Friday and Saturday, I love weekends!

E - Essential Item: I love Diet Coke and lately I love Propel Fitness Water too!

F - Favorite Color: Brown and blue

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Worms, the Trolli sour ones!

H - Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho

I - Indulgence(s): My new Margaritaville machine for virgin margaritas and daiquiris.

J - January or July: July without a doubt! I love the summertime and hate the winter!

K - Kids: So far, one little sweet baby girl, Brooklyn Nicole who just turned 8 months. Maybe 2 or 3 more (if Ben agrees) to come!

L - Life is incomplete without: My family, friends, church, and laughter.

M - Marriage Date: August 6, 2004

N - Number of Siblings: 3: 2 sisters, 1 brother

O - Oranges or Apples: Apples. But I love both kinds of juices.

P - Phobias or Fears: Claustrophobia, I don't like to be in confined spaces or underneath blankets, water, etc.

Q - Quotes: "The greatest work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home."
~ Harold B. Lee

R - Reason to smile: My sweet baby girl, we laugh together ALL day long, and I love when Ben comes home from work.

S - Season: Summer all the way! I love the sun, how it stays light late, watermelon, baseball games, swimming, 4th of July, etc!

T - Tag Three Friends: I choose 5: Hannah, Jenni, Erica (we need a new update), Kandis, and Kellie!

U - Unknown fact about me: I met my husband, Ben, on the first day I moved up to college.

V - Very favorite Store: I have so many, Brooklyn is my little shopping partner. We love: American Eagle, Baby Gap, and Super Target for sure!

W - Worst habit: Picking at my split ends.

X - X-ray or Ultrasound: Definitely ultrasounds. I loved seeing my little girl in there.

Y - Your favorite food: I have five foods I could eat all the time! : ) McDonald's breakfast burritos, Diet Coke, Twinkies, 3 musketeers, and Taco Time stuffed mexi fries.

Z - Zodiac: Sagittarius

Brooklyn's 1st Date

On Saturday night, we went out with our friends Curt and Jen, and their cute little boy Cache, to Outback. Brooklyn and Cache loved sitting by each other in their high chairs, eating cereal puffs, and talking on their cell phones. Brooklyn can't wait to go out with Cache again, after all, he is an older man (almost a year old) !!! : )

Look at those two blond, blue - eyed babes!

Back from vacation . . .

Sorry about the long wait for this post, it has been a long time! On December 19, we flew to Idaho Falls (a direct flight too, you can't beat that) to spend my birthday, Christmas, and New Year's with my family. It was so nice to have 2 weeks just to do whatever, and spend time with the family. Both of my sisters were there and my brother, and my grandparents came over from Boise too, so we had a lot of fun. Brooklyn was the center of attention the whole time, and after warming up to my family, she was so funny. We had such a nice Christmas, with A LOT of snow, more than I really wanted. : ) On Christmas morning, Brooklyn wasn't feeling that well, so we didn't get many pictures of her, she just wasn't that excited, she didn't even want to play with the paper. While in Idaho, we played a lot of games (Ticket to Ride - we highly recommend it), went to National Treasure: Book of Secrets, hit up the mall too many times to count, ate tons, visited with friends and family, took a couple of trips to beautiful Rexburg, attended to Rexburg Temple Open House (it was amazing), and got all caught up on our sleeping! Whew, it was so fun to get away, but it is nice to be back too. These are just some random pictures before and during our trip to Idaho.

Brooklyn's new favorite game - being pulled around in the laundry basket by my mom and dad. My dad would say "hold on" and she would grab the sides. : )
Some of her new Christmas toys.
Our gingerbread house - we made it before we left.
Watching the train with Grandpa Watts.
Cheesing it up and matching Daddy.
Christmas morning with her stash.
Getting her hair done - we give her a mohawk now, it is so funny!

Brooklyn's new toy from Grandpa

So, Brooklyn LOVES her jumper from Grandpa Watts. She is so good at jumping now, I will post a video soon. It is so nice to have because it gives me a few minutes to get some things done, and little Brooklyn gets a good workout. Too cute.