Thank You Vetrans

Thank you vetrans for serving our country. Thank you Granpa Parry for serving in WWII and sharing your stories with us. We need to hear them. Thank you Matt for serving in Iraq and keeping in touch while you were there.
Every country around the world is full of wonderful people, but it's just a fact that America is blessed.
So turn on some country music and do some square dancing!

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Ready for New Adventures.

I love California. I love the people here. But my soul is already itching for a new adventure. I think we'll get our new call to move around December. It's so fun! It feels like we're on a mission! Except I don't have to get up early or work very hard.
Of course I'm crossing my fingers for Utah or Japan. But if we go to Missouri or North Dakota, that's ok to. There are plenty of cool people to meet everywhere and I can't wait to meet them all.
I always wondered if I would get homesick moving around so much. Yes, I miss my family and cousins, but where Brett and the baby are is home for me.
Here's a quote to make your day:

"It is in the home that we form our attitutes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destryoed. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God's Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells." -President Monson

3 Years and we keep on truckin'

It's been 3 really great years with Brett. But enough's enough. Kidding, I love this life! It just keeps getting better.

So last night I was putting up these cutesy decals on my walls. Marie's says "Always Kiss Me Goodnight." I planned to put one in my kitchen that says "A Happy Family is but an Earlier Heaven." Well I started by pulling off the protector sheet, exposing the sticky side and mother nature called with an urgency. I come back and my sheet of words had fell to the floor sticking all over each other. It was the ultimate cutesy-mormon-decor disaster. But I feared not. I spent the next 2 hours picking the letters appart and sticking them to the wall (which did I mention is super high and hard to get to?). I figured it was a challenge. It was symbolic of life with my little family and enduring to the end. Some parts will be easier than others and some parts will make me swear. But I got it up. The "F" in "family" is twisted, and a "B" and a "L" are obviously crooked, but it works and it's up there. So eat it Satan.

Brett has a court tomorrow. Apparently people are still doing drugs and getting in trouble for it. Our fancy dinner will wait until tomorrow. I'm choosing Tahoe Joe's. It's good, and hey- its not Applebees.

However, tonight it's dinner on the floor with Marie. And yes, we eat on the floor.

Today Brett got me roses. I got him strawberries and red wine- Martinelli style. And tomorrow? The kicker of all- Brett said he would watch Twilight with me.... or Paul Blart, Mall Cop. Gee, we'll see which one wins out. Thats ok, Twilight is for "mommy time."

However, side story, it is ironic that he said he would watch Twilight. While grocery shopping today I wanted to do a "symbolic dinner" and pick courses that represent our 4 years together (dating included). And when I met Brett he always bought Red apples (because they were the cheapest) and always had them on hand. Then I realize Edward (from Twilight) and the red apple symbolism! Maybe it's true! Brett's my non creepy Vampire!!! But better looking (but Robert Pattinson is ok.) Which reminds me, today the paralegals said a client voted Brett the "sexiest in the office." Oh boy. Looks like I better sharpen my claws!

Ok, thats enough.

Brett I love you and I don't care who knows it! (what movie is that from?)

Lastly, we get to open our "anniversary letters!" It's a tradition I made up on our first anniversary when we were away from each other. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to commit to a lot of pressure on your anniversary. Sometimes you can't be with each other on those days, and sometimes you don't have money. But every year you can write each other a letter and open last year's letter.

Also I would like to recognize that the 20th is the anniversary of Harriett's passing. We love her and miss her so much. We got to visit her grave while in Utah 2 weeks ago. Marie loves Grandma, but for now Marie enjoys Grandpa Millburn

I give myself all the credit for John getting married.

It was a horrible wedding. Everything went wrong, and worst of all nobody said Marie was cute. NOT! What a freaking awesome week we just had. I’m typing this up on Brett’s laptop as we drive home because I don’t want to forget to journal anything. That’s right, this is now my journal, so put your pjs and slippers on and get ready to sleep like Marie in her carseat.

John lent us his room, per usual. Very good. I went through all his things and didn’t find anything incriminating, so he’s in the clear. Marie did a pretty good job sleeping in her playpen. My new trick is to layer 4’’ of memory foam in it. Her body then becomes molded into the bed and she is forced into a coma that only a mother could dream up.

Wednesday produced an incredible girls day out. Ange just happened to stop by and we decided to get hair cuts. We were able to trade the kids off as each of us updated our mommy look to- “good looking mommy” hair cuts.
Then we met up with Steph and had some CHEESECAKE FACTORY AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! I know- your jealous, but contain yourself. It was so good. Steph and I got the original cheesecake layered with fudge cake. Ange got beets and goat cheese. Nope, not joking. Steph and I will never let her live that down. We love you Ange. We also love cheesecake.
We did a little shopping trying to look for new dresses for the wedding. It was quite the spectacle. None of us shop, and I only shop at Ross so we wondered around the mall like we had never seen one before. Later Ange and Steph found some good things to wear at Ross.

Later we went to Cassie’s bridal shower, which was a non-scandalous kitchen shower. Ange and I got her some pyrex containers that I wish I had. (Truly the mark of old age- craving high quality plastic containers). Marie came with us, and had a great time. She loves people, but nothing more than dogs. And there was a dog there that looks like her Grandpa Youngberg’s so she got a kick out of that.

Thursday Stephanie’s sister-in-law let me put the cake together at her house. She has a large granite countertop that I’ve been fantasizing about ever since. Stephanie is so clever. She got Brett, Matt, and Ron to come over, stay and play scrabble while I did the cake. Can anyone spell “Cake Party?”

Friday Ron and I picked up all the food for the reception. Props to my friend the wedding planner who suggested serving ham. It was a hit, and very easy. Also props to the many people involved with the baked potatoes. Tammi brought them down scrubbed and wrapped fresh from Idaho. Larkin, Bobby, and Heather then baked them the morning of and brought them to the luncheon in coolers. Genius! Who thinks of these things?! No one complained about how hard it was, but it would not have happened without them. And I must note that not everyone got the thanks I did. At the luncheon Cassie actually asked everyone to give me "a round of applause." Don't worry, Brett is going to the store to get a pin to pop my huge ego. It's sufficating anyone in a 2 mile radius of me.

I didn’t start decorating the cake until 5pm on Friday. My mom came and watched Marie so that was fun.

Saturday ran so smoothly. Except Patrice wasn’t there to be in the wedding pictures, oh well. My mom did burn her hand, but she wouldn’t want me to talk about that so I won’t mention it further. But just so everyone knows, it was looked at and she’s ok now.
Tammi, Larkin, and Cody really helped things get started and then the volunteers just started flowing in. And that was really what I had been looking forward to for months. I knew if we did this wedding the right way, it would do nothing but bring me closer to Brett’s sweet family and help good memories be made. Watching gawdy weddings with crazy brides on TV is one thing, but in reality family and temple weddings are the best! On their own, each is pretty special but when they combine it’s better than chocolate and peanut butter! Reeses eat your heart out!

The Goose is Loose and Looking Good!

Mormon Fact 435: Mormons DON'T eat wedding cake! It's just a fact of life.

Ok, the whole wedding I just wanted a picture of Marie and Cassie... and she pulls this face!? Come on! She's been pulling this face all week.

Here is Marie dancin' it up to.... Lady Gaga!!! Didn't I blog about how bad she is? Oh Marie! Where are your morals?

Delicious cake. My next endevor? Marie's 1 year birthday cake. I am thinking sugar bubbles for an underwater theme.

Swine Flu? Might as well have been! ... Stupid pigs.

Oh man. Longest. Week. Ever.
Just last Sunday I thought " I will start blogging everday! I will keep a family journal on the blog! It will be AMAZING!!!"
Then Marie got sick.
The kind of sick where she just screams and screams and screams. She has to be held every second OR have both me and Brett sitting by her.
This isn't what I had in mind for my family journal entries. She's staring me as I blog. The guilt stare.

So we go into the Dr. today. We had to go through the E.R. because Pediatrics was closed. Marie hammed it up for the Dr. and then had the audacity to give him the best temperature she's had all week- 98.8. I'm sure they thought I was paranoid about Swine Flu and I was lying!!! Ok, probably not, the staff was great. But still- come on Marie! All week she's sweating and crying. Then in the waiting room she's flirting with everybody and their dog. Thats my girl!


She will be fine. It turned out to be an ear ache. This will be her first time on antibotics and her first E.R. visit. Hopefully the last.

Other noteworty things:

Her 9 month appointment was on Tuesday. She is a solid 15.1 lbs! Since her 7 month check up she has gone from the 10% percentile in weight to the 5%. We got a very different reaction from this Dr. than the last. The lady Dr. was a little peeved that Marie was so small. This gentleman said she is petite due to gentics and is very very healthy. I also liked him because I asked him about using cloth diapers to help the enviroment, and he said "it's a wash if you consider all the energy you use washing and drying them." So that Planet Green Channel can go chew on a organic stick... or whatever. (That's me easing my conscience... and it looks like ((wait, still enjoy using aerosol hairspray? yep. Like the tast of genetically modified, pesticied layden oranges? Yep)) ...it worked).

Actually no. I still feel bad. I'm opening up the door to any good advice on the subject. But for the record, I hate poo.


Speaking of organics and planets, while at my Dad's I saw the coolest show. It's called Stranger among the Bears. These bear people are insane, the Grizzly Man and this new guy, but they sure are fun to watch. I'm 20% sure this is a guy I worked for in 2007 pruning trees. Weird dude.