Trousseau of Dreams

When I was in Young Women's growing up (teenage girls ages 12-18; learn about it here), every May we had this Mother-Daughter activity called Trousseau of Dreams. It was definitely one of the most looked-forward to and loved activity we had each year. The whole point of the activity was to focus on temple marriage and being sealed to our families for eternity. It was always an all-out sort of activity. Our leaders decorated the room with wedding dresses, and to look like a wedding reception. We had wedding cake for dessert. We had speakers, usually a recently married couple that we all knew, who would talk about preparing to enter the temple with their spouse. And then the mom's presented their daughters with a gift, which was intended for the daughter's wedding day or for her future home as wife/mother. 

Needless to say, I loved this activity, and I still have great memories of it. Lucky for me, I got to share my first 5 years with my sister as well. Sometimes we were given the same gifts, and sometimes we were given things a bit more individualized. My senior year, my leaders cancelled the activity, and I was pretty disappointed. 

This is my fourth time serving as a leader in the Young Women's program in all the different places I have lived since I graduated from high school. I sure do love being with the young women. I have loved my girls in each ward. I definitely feel a significant responsibility from Heavenly Father to help His daughters come closer to Him and to reach their full potential. Like I said, I've been a leader several times, but this was the first time I had thought to suggest re-creating the activity for the girls I serve. Lucky for me, the other members of the presidency that I serve with were very excited about the activity, and we even invited the other ward to join us. It was very exciting for me to share this with these sweet girls that I love.

I only snapped pictures of the decorations, but that is better than nothing. As far as the program went, I ended up singing a solo called "What Heaven Sees in You." Tho I enjoy singing, singing solos is definitely NOT my thing. When I first started practicing, I was very overcome with emotion and sobbed for quite some time, just thinking of these sweet girls and how much love Heavenly Father has for them. Thankfully, I got my cry out that first time through, and the rest of my rehearsal time was a bit more productive. On the night of the activity, I didn't get nervous until right before I stood up to sing. I had kinda forgotten all about the nerves part. Unfortunately, they kicked in more than I would have liked. So it wasn't my best performance. And as long as I didn't actually look at anyone while I was singing (because moms and daughters were already starting to cry), I held my emotions and it all went fine. 

After that, the new 2nd counselor of our brand new Stake Presidency and his wife (who are in our neighboring ward) were our speakers. We didn't have any "newly married or sealed" couples to ask to speak, so we kinda went the opposite route; I believe they have been married 50 years or something like that. The wife shared some sweet love letters that they wrote back and forth. It was really cute!

Alright, that's enough words. Now here's some pictures of the decorations, which we followed a White and Gold theme for, plus the wedding and temple dresses of moms and leaders, and temple and wedding pictures from all of us as well. 

Entry Arch

Series of Wedding and Temple pictures along the stage, 

plus the Activity Girls' painting of the Salt Lake Temple.

Back wall with wedding dresses

Opposite wall of stage with more wedding and temple dresses. We ran out of lights for the last one.

 We had large temple pictures on either side

 Tables and centerpieces. Similar but all a little bit different

 Napkins, prior to one of the girls getting all pretty-display with the napkins, plates, and forks.

 

And finally, the cake.

Looking forward to *hopefully* continuing this tradition with these girls next year, and after that.

Final Storytime at the Library

Since we moved here to Bridgeport, Brek and I have attended the Storytime at the local library. I seriously have turned down other things on those days so that we can always be there. We have rarely missed. It has been such a good thing for both of us. We have made friends. And basically, the women I have met there have not only been incredible resources as a newby, but they've also become my friends. And Brek has made great friends too. I'm so grateful for our local librarians and all the effort they put into this program. Brek loves his library day, playing with friends, having snack, making crafts, and I think his favorite part is getting to stamp the return date when he checks out a book. 

So here's a couple *random* photos from our last day this year. I think the only thing that gets me excited about school starting up again in the fall is for our weekly library adventures to begin again.

Miss Meadow reading the story.
Brek right here in front, sitting next to Corbin, Logan, and one of the twins on Chris' lap.

Craft time. Sitting next to Hannah and then Corbin.

Also at the table, around to the right are Logan, a twin, and Hunter.

More Brek and Hannah putting stickers in their "gumball machines."

Snack time with Hannah.

Mother's Day 2013

I wish I had documented the tasty food that Joe spoiled me with - For breakfast he made me strawberry shortcake, bacon, and orange julius. For dinner, we grilled hamburgers on the new grill Joe "bought" me. (He had tried to buy it, but here in town he couldn't find it for the price listed in the paper, so he asked me to pick it up while I was in the city. So technically, I bought it. I found it to be a funny gift idea, but we have enjoyed it.) Our burgers had all the fixings - meat, tomato, lettuce, avocado, bacon, and your typical mustard and mayo. Joe also grilled some asparagus, zucchini, and red pepper which had been marinating in some sort of special sauce. It was a pretty awesome meal!

Of course, got to document the whole joy of being a mom. Granted, not all days or moments are joys, but despite it all, I love my boy. The first picture isn't my favorite of me, but I'm learning to just love it all anyway.

I've been laughing all afternoon

So I can't decide if I should just write the punch line, or give the back story so it makes sense. Maybe both, but in reverse order.

Today at church, I was waiting with Brek in his nursery class. Some of the other little kids were there, but his teacher was not. So we waited. One little girl asked if she could turn off the lights, and I told her it was probably better to leave them on for now. Immediately following my response, Brek turned to me and said, "I slept with Allie."

Now do you see why I've been laughing? I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to. Granted, I don't consider myself to be a very clever or funny person, but that's beside the point. My 2-year-old son told me he slept with a girl. And not just any girl. Allie.

Allie is one of my 15-year-old young women that I work with at church. Allie sings, is a cheerleader, super sweetheart, and down right beautiful. I'm so glad I get to be her leader so we can be friends, because if we were the same age, I would be that nerdy girl in the corner that wishes she'd notice me and say hi or something. She's just that amazing.

Yesterday, Allie was watching Brek at the church while I was in a meeting with her mom. They were playing in the nursery room, and romping about the building, having a grand time. (We were the only people in the building.) Brek took Allie on a "Dora and Boots" adventure and they ate ice cream, and apparently, they took a nap. From what Allie tells me, Brek turned the lights off in the room, laid down on the ground, curled up, closed his eyes, and took a nap for 30 seconds. Then he "woke" up and said, "That was a great nap!"

So today, being back in nursery and hearing about lights going off, reminded him of his nap with Allie.

Later this afternoon Joe was trying to ask Brek about the story, and asked him if the nap took place in nursery. To which Brek replied, "No, in a bed."

This kid cracks up! I told Allie & her mom today too. Because who wouldn't want laugh at a Brek story? Hope you got a good laugh.

Outrun a Cop 5K

Mid April, we learned that our local police department was sponsoring a 5K to help the Wounded Warrior Project. Joe & I had only been exercising a few weeks, but we decided to give it a go. So, with less than 2 weeks of "real" training, and only a couple of those exercise days able to be outside, we ran our first 5K race together on Saturday, May 4th. The race took us out around the lake and back.

Unlike my unofficial 5K that I ran with my sister last August, after 3 months of training, I wasn't able to run the whole thing. For one, Joe's pacing is way faster than mine or my sisters. I told him he didn't have to stick with me, but he wanted to do it together, so that was fine too. I was able to run the first 15 minutes without stopping, which got us just past the 1-mile marker. Then we walked for 2 minutes while I took off my sweatshirt and re-pinned my race bib. Then we ran for another 5 minutes before I needed to walk again, which was another 1 1/2 minutes. Joe was then hoping we could run for 7 or 8 minutes, but I didn't last that long. Shortly after passing the 2-mile marker, I needed to walk. I didn't time that that stretch, but I know where it was on the course (aka, the paved road). Once we turned off the paved road and back on to the gravel, I was able to run the rest of the way, which was probably about 3/4 of a mile or so.

Our final time was 41:40.

As far as out-running a cop, (they had all the police guys start 3 minutes after the rest of us), we only saw 4 pass us. Granted, we don't know how many there were to begin with, but it seemed like a bigger group than that. So, we're pretty sure we outran at least one, maybe more. :) If they do this next year, I'm totally dressing us up in black and white striped shirts, with little bandit masks. :)

It was a great turnout, and I loved that though the police department was just doing a fundraiser, they turned it into something a bit more meaningful for the community. There were plenty of kids/students from the school, who all liked saying hello to Joe. And of course, several of them didn't hesitate to tell us how slow we were because they ran faster than  us. :)

I couldn't walk for the rest of the day. Totally killed my calves. But by the next day, I was totally fine. I even wore heels to church. :)

Joe is hoping we can get our pace to under 35 minutes by the end of summer. We shall see!

Random April and May

I have not been good at taking pictures. And, I need to figure out how to get a few more off my phone and onto the blog. But for now, here's a few random events from April and May:

The school FFA program hosted a petting zoo, and we were invited to go over and see the animals. There were rabbits, goats, pigs, a horse, donkey, cows, dogs, chickens, and ducks.  Brek decided he wasn't afraid of the cows this time.

We did a playdate with Brek's bestie Matthew, and Matthew's mommy, my good friend Martha. Usually when Brek gets to play with Matthew, the moms don't get the chance to "play" too, but this time, we spent the whole day together, chatting, playing, eating, and even including a trip to the zoo. They got to feed the fish/ducks, play on the playground (which is Brek's favorite part of the zoo), and hear the lions roar. It was a fun sun-shiny day. We're already looking forward to our next playdate!

Brek the Monkey and Matthew the Lion

Matthew the Zebra and Brek the Lion

Brek the Zebra and Matthew the Lion

March

Oh, the random happenings of March.

First, Joe had a concert and his high school students wanted to give their parents a flower. So Brek got to come with me to the flower shop and pick out flowers. He wanted RED! When he watched the students on stage go pick up a flower and give it to their parents, he kept yelling, "My Flowers! My Flowers!" Luckily, there was one extra, so Brek got to bring it home, and he played with it for several days. 

We had some friends over for Thai food. Both Brek and Emma were being really shy around each other, even tho they both had been talking about their "playdate" all day. Emma's mom Joey, is hoping that Brek will be her son-in-law. :)

Just a blurry, but still cute picture of me and my boy:

We celebrated Brek's 2nd Sealing-versary, with our traditional Hostess cupcakes. Brek wanted candles, and we ended up singing "Happy Birthday" (cuz we weren't sure what else to do.) But then he refused to blow out the candles. He's a silly boy. But we're sure glad he's ours. :)

The Ag teacher at Joe's school asked us to check in on some new baby chickens over the weekend, and she told us that Brek could hold them if he wanted to. There were brown ones and yellow ones. For days after, he kept talking about seeing the "wickens at Daddy's school."

Such a happy boy!

Following our chicken check-in, we went to the zoo. It had been sunny and warm earlier in the week, so we weren't expecting the cold weather. But we enjoyed the zoo anyway. Brek thought the peacocks were scary. It was cool to see them roaming around, and we even got to see some of the boys showing off all their feathers for the girls. 

The monkeys were our favorite. Joe had a 20-minute grunt fest with this one. The chimps were great too. One of them hit a big barrel with a stick like a drum - Brek still talks about it.3

Can't forget the tigers.

Following the zoo, we walked around the little mall, had some lunch, and Brek got to drive the school bus.

So, you know how for Valentine's Day, I said that celebrating these little holidays aren't really my thing, but I did something new and made cookies. Well, for St. Patrick's day we made special pancakes. They look awesome, but I didn't think they tasted all that great. I did enjoy the full bag of marshmallows I got to pick out of the cereal - every child's dream, right?

Here's Joe playing our new piano. We got it from the school for free, so I can help accompany the choirs. It's pretty beat up, but once it got tuned, it's been great. We have to keep reminding Brek that it is "Mommy's piano," but we take turns. :) I have really enjoyed playing on such a regular basis.

Just one of the boy:

Capturing one of my most favorite parenting moments - "My Baby." Brek insists on this after every bath, and when he wants to cuddle. He gets wrapped up in his towel, picked up and carried, and he says, "My baby," and he makes sure he gets to look in the mirror. It's dang cute, and I love it!

Brek showing off his "mustache" - aka, he colored on his face with marker.

Our local fire department sponsored an Easter Egg Hunt at the park the day before Easter. It was a well-attended event. I seriously didn't know that many people lived in this town. I think Brek picked up 3 eggs and a whistle. Then he got to play at the park, so he was happy. Oh, and he's also sporting his new hair-do. We got lice, and the pharmacist said the easiest way for the boys was to shave it, so both Brek and Joe got shaved. Unfortunately, I was the one with the lice, and tho I desperately would have liked to shave my head, I didn't. It was a pain, but we survived. Oh, and regarding the Easter Egg Hunt, Brek got to be in the paper for the first time, as the local paper did an article that week. I saved the paper for his book.