Turning 31

I wanted to take the time and thank my cute family for a FUN birthday! I didn't think turning 31 would be such a happy day but it was! It actually felt like all my other birthdays where I feel like I am not aging and feel pretty much the same.  I have been thinking about where I am at at age 31 and what I have accomplished thus far and still continue to do... To name a few... I still play basketball every Wednesday night in a competitive league, I weigh less now than I did in high school, I served an LDS mission in beautiful Portland, Oregon, I graduated from college and have a successful job, I have a great husband and such a cute sweet daughter, I have the Gospel in my life and honestly can't even fathom my life without it, and I could say more but I don't want to sound all snotty. I am just grateful for things I have been able to accomplish in my life thus far and hope to continue to achieve more!

For my birthday:

CAKE: 

Matt surprised me with a huge "YUMMY" chocolate cake at the UVU alumni basketball game I played in the day before my birthday. I was able to see alot of my former teammates and see my coach as well!

FLOWERS and CARD: 

On the morning of my birthday, sweet Brooklyn woke me up and handed me this basket of flowers along with the card. She said, "Mommy, today is your birthday day!"

EGGS and PANCAKES:

Matt had made me a delicious breakfast before church and boy was it yummy! You haven't tasted scrambled eggs if you haven't tried Matt's. There is a certain method in cooking the eggs that I haven't quite figured out yet but they are oh sooo fabuloso! That night we went to my parents for a yummy stir fry dinner and apple crisp for my cake! I was stuffed and thankful for all my family who came! 

BUCKLE PANTS:

Just before the alumni game Matt whisked me into the mall and we tried on some pants, we found them quite quick as I was almost late to the game. If you're like me and can't find pants long enough... the BUCKLE is the place to go! Yes its pricey but its worth it if you don't want to look like you are wearing high water pants!

OIIVE GARDEN:

Last but not least, Matt took me to dinner two days after my birthday! I just loved how he tried to stretch celebrating my birthday as much as he could! We enjoyed a great dinner and got a movie to watch at home... It was a Great Birthday! Thank you honey and little sweet angel.

Another birthday gift from Brooklyn... she is potty trained! Way to go big girl! You made it to the Big Girl Toilet! Brooklyn is doing well though she has some accidents here and there and I am partly to blame.... I have a very small bladder... I think Brooklyn inherited too! So no drinks on long rides! (for mom and dad... Wink Wink)

I just had to post this grown up picture of Brooklyn. She is showing the latest fashion trend by being all matchy and cutesy! My my my.... she sure is growing up so fast! She looks so smart too and she really is! The other day she was playing with a magnet on the fridge and she said, "Look Daddy, its upside down!" Then she turned the magnet right side up and said, "Look Daddy, now its upside up!"  .....(speechless look on my face right now.....) Ok... how did she know how to say that? I was definitely not that smart when I was her age! I wonder what her IQ is?

At a loss for words....

Does anyone have any advice.....? Sometimes I feel like my little girl doesn't love me...  but I know she does. It's hard because I don't get to be a stay at home mom right now. At this time it just isn't meant for me to be home each day with my little girl as we need both Matt and I to work to make ends meet. Each time I go pick up my cute little girl she doesn't want to go home with me... It makes it hard for me. Is this normal for any kid who goes with a babysitter and wants to stay with them? I love my little girl so much and just don't know what to do....  I have cried so many times over this and just feel lost.....  Advice Anyone?

Cute Little Devils!

Halloween was such a fun time for Brooklyn!

I think she is starting to realize what Halloween is all about.... CANDY and putting on her COSTUME!  Brooklyn loved her costume this year and all the candy she got! Halloween this year felt more festive to me than it has in the past few years. The reason being, we actually did things to make it really feel like it was HaLlOwEeN! First Matt and I took Brooklyn to a Halloween festival which you can read about a couple of blogs before this one, then we took Brooklyn and her friend Hailey who also dressed as a devil to get their pictures taken at Tilt Photography. It was cheap and fun! We also attended a Ward Halloween party which was a big hit with lots of chili, pumpkin desserts and root beer! The party ended by trunk or treating out in the parking lot and that was definitely Brooklyn's favorite thing to do! Matt unfortunately had to work both that night and Halloween night, we missed having him with us!

The cutest little devils! (My cute little angel actually is a devil sometimes!) Don't you love the little tail?

Best Friends Forever!

Oh but really, we are angels....

Trunk or Treating! Brooklyn had a blast gathering all the candy! She wanted to do another round! Oh boy I am going to have one hyper little gal for the next long while! Well... maybe not... I managed to hide all the candy in a big plastic bag and put it in the cupboard... She seems to have forgotten all about it!

Me, Brooklyn, Hailey, and Stacy (her mom). Stacy is such a sweet friend of mine and we both help each other out by watching each other's kid while we work. Thanks Stacy for being a great friend! I think she won best costume! Don't the ripe grapes look delicious to eat! 

Amazing Nie Nie

I don't know if you have heard about a special family, especially their mother, Nie Nie, as they call her. You'll noticed I have a button on my blog that says, "Nie Recovery", click on in and you'll see why this family is so special. I happened to run over this article and was not prepared to read such a sweet but sorrowful story. I just bawled as I read this story and am in awe of the love this family has received from many and for the love the immediate family has shown.  I pray for Nie Nie and her husband Christian... Nie Nie your blogs inspire me to be a better person... the way you show your love for your children and make everything in their life seem like a big deal when it should be, the way you love your husband and keep it romantic, the way you bask in life, the way you love life.... 

Nie Nie has a long road to recovery and it's so comforting to know she has a wonderful family both in laws and her own to help her every step of the way.  God bless you Nie Nie and Christian.

Family Pictures!

We finally got our yearly family photos taken! Brooklyn is growing so fast I can't believe it! As you can tell, she has much more hair than last year. My hair is brown and not so BLEACH blonde! Matt's hair is pretty much the same, aaahhsss.... I love his hair just the way it is! 

Halloween Festival

The other day I found out about a Halloween Festival and I thought it would be fun for Matt and I to take Brooklyn. It was put on by the Young Living Farm in Mona which is about 45 minutes south of Saratoga Springs. The drive down was just beautiful and Matt was drooling over all the open land. Matt is a cowboy at heart and he would love to own some land so that his house is the only one around. Maybe his dreams will come true one day? (wink wink)

Going to the festival turned out to be a HIT, especially for Brooklyn. The cost was FREE for adults and children 2 and under. They had all sorts of fun things for kids to enjoy and again it was all free. The only thing we paid for was $3.00 for  3 bags of smores we were able to cook over a huge pit of fire with a band playing in the background. The smores were heaven with thick pieces of chocolate!  Below are some pictures of the fun filled night. Matt and I have decided we want to make this yearly tradition since we enjoy traveling together.  Come join us next year!

Brooklyn fishing for a prize! She won a sucker, her favorite kind of candy!

Hanging with the scarecrow, she sure doesn't look scared!

Brooklyn's favorite thing to do is JUMP, JUMP, JUMP! She spend a good 15 minutes inside the blow-up trampoline. The second she got inside she was like the engergizer bunny jumping and jumping and jumping. She kept trying to catch her breath as she interacted gleefully with us through the net... I, (gasp), am (gasp), having (gasp), FUN! 

Getting her face painted! This is a first for Brooklyn and she threw a fit when we washed it off before she went to bed. We were able to calm her down by telling her we would do it again sometime soon... We better keep our word or will she forget? She chose a bluish color for a spider web and sat so still as a tight drum! 

Now what does Mr. "Sheriff" Bailey think he is doing? You're supposed to clean up this town, not make a mess of it by drinking ROOTBEER!

Sheriff Bailey's sweet wife standing inside her store, trying to keep a bird's eye watch on her ROOTBEER drunk husband!

Brooklyn's first pony ride and she absolutely enjoyed it (though the picture doesn't seem to show much enthusiasm)! The pony's name is Sobe and he was quite the stubborn one. He had to be dragged and pulled by one of the volunteers. 

We had a grand ole time together and stopped off a Chinese place for some yummy food! Brooklyn love the miso and egg drop soup that she took the small bowl and cupped it in her sweet small hands and drank it! She's becoming a true Bailey like her parents, eating all sorts of foreign foods.

Canning!

I wanted to share with you my first experience with canning! Well... My the first time canning as a Mom! I can vaguely remember my mom canning some applesauce when I was younger. I think that was the last time I was near any canning other than the Church Cannery.  I was able to can peaches, freeze peaches, can salsa and pears as well! They all taste so yummy! I wasn't so sure about the salsa but boy it was delicious! Add some cottage cheese and scoop some chips in it and there ya go! My brother Cody and Matt ate a whole jar themselves! 

I was happy to increase our food storage as I have been feeling guilty not having a "good supply" of food storage. I just get so overwhelmed so I never know where to start and then I just give up.... I do however have lots of cake mix and store bought peaches which make great homemade dutch oven peach cobbler! A friend of mine pointed out to me that those were great food storage items and I just didn't think of it that way but now I see that it can be! I just figure that I will be the peach cobbler lady if ever we all have to live on storage food. I am happy to share so in times of stress and you don't have food, come on over and I will make us some yummy peach cobbler! And now that I have my own canned peaches they will taste even better. I so look forward to next year for more canning! I can't wait!