The little Brimhall family

Sea World and MORE!

2012-02-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

So before the big trip and found Maycee one morning "playing the drums"... just thought she was so smart so I wanted to share.

Then there was this huge or should I say long change....

SO LONG.....

And now shorter....

Do you see what shes holding?? ^

Notice her grumpy face in this one...

(she was sick of the pictures, little did she know I had many more to take)

All styled!!!

I was sad to see the 4 and 1/2 inches go but she really needed it... it was getting string-ish. It will grow back :)

Went on a bike ride later that day to get the mail... it was fun :) The girls like that.

Its hard biking into the wind...

A week later we left to go to Mesa (to then head to San Diego for a extended Family Trip)

The girls cousin Emery drove with us and helped entertain girls.... She covered lydia with the stickers and then sent a picture to my brother (who had the chicken pox) and he got a great laugh.

Here is Blake and I in the front, we look spiffy, don't we?

We drove strait to the beach from Mesa...

The girls LOVED the beach...

Kimee Tink (cousin) liked it too.

Does she have cute red hair?!

Of coarse Lydia had to try out the sand.

Love this picture!

The Family :) We look so great!

The next day we got all dressed up in matching shirts to head to Sea World!

Here is Koby and Brody (cousins) We shared a room with them...

Do you love how Koby is posing for the picture?

That morning before we left we had our cousin gift exchange (christmas gifts)

Darby gave to Lydia...

She loved opening the gift

Avie gave to Maycee

The 2 cousins are so sweet! They are 4 months apart (minus a day) AND they share a middle name, Rae. So cute! I hope they are best friends forever :)

Aren't they just so cute!!!

Here is Kimee Tink again, doesn't she look comfy! I wish I slept this easy.

Maycee and Blake went on this ride very first, and they both enjoyed themselves.

I stayed behind and watched this one, I was happy too.

Then of coarse the Shamu show...

Maycee loved all the shows! Lydia enjoyed them too. Maycee really got into them. Everytime the trainer would get the animal to do something, Maycee would imitate. It was awesome! Her face would light up when they would jump out of the water or splash. The best part of the trip was watching her face light up.

Here are all the cousins...

And all the younger girls cousins

Notcie several of them have matching shoes... Gramma Kimmy got these all for the younger girls... THEY SQUEAK! People we walked by where either "Aww, so cute, where can I get those" or "Seriously?! Why would you put those on your kids! So Annoying!"

Next day we all walked the Board-walk in the morning and some so cool things.

There was a guy with a bunch of tropical birds and he let anyone that wanted a turn hold them.

Maycee didn't want to hold it but she watched and....

She liked it!... to bad I didn't get the whole picture...

Gramma Kimmy liked them :)

Next to the U.S.S. Midway (ship in the backround) Is this large statue....

WE HAD TO GET A PICK!

We fished the rest of Saturday at Sea World again...

Then on Sunday, we visited the Mormon Battalion Visitor Center. Very neat place. If you are ever in San Diego I would highly suggest visiting. The tour there ended with a free Family photo. Drove back to Mesa on Sunday. Then back to Kirtland on Monday. We took a detour on the way home and stopped to see Grandpa Shum in the hospital. He was in very good spirits. It was nice to see him and grandma Kathy, along with Aunt Ann and Aunt Bet. Sure love you guys...

Once we got home the "sand toys" that Lydia got from Darby where quickly put to use...

To bad we don't have sand...

This morning these little girls where happy as could be... Lydia is ready for Nursery! She will set and play with this puzzle for quite some time. To bad she is still 5 1/2 months away :(

They will stand at this window and "wacth the chickens"

Mom & Dad, Thanx for the awesome trip to San Diego. We had a blast! Can't wait for the next family get together :) LOVE YOU ALL!!!

This week...

2012-01-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

Monday:

Blake and I started a new thing..... So I loath doing the kitchen dishes and Blake, if he could choose only one room that I kept clean it would be the KITCHEN! Ugh, hate that! So we mad a deal... I do dishes week days and he does weekend (Friday is included on the weekend). It has been going real well I have been able to stay on top of the dishes all week and in turn it has help me stay on top of the rest of the house too.... :) I like a clean house... who doesn't!?!

Wednesday:

We all woke up to the snow coming down...

Maycee immediately wanted to play in it...

Friday:

We had some visitors!!!

Blake's cousin Tiffany and her husband Jordan and Tiffany's parents, Uncle Shea and Aunt Bet, stayed with us for a night before J and T moved into their new place they will call home for the next two years. Jordan has decided to start the same program at school that Blake is doing. They have a 3 week old, ins't he cute?! T Rush Tenney.

Maycee really enjoyed holding him and just seeing a brand new baby. (Lydia really did too). One of his little socks came off and I showed it to her, pointing out that it was so tiny, she had the cutest reaction! (she is not doing it in this picture, she wouldn't repeat it for the camera) She threw her hands to her mouth with a gasp and an "awwwe" You know like girls do when they see something so tiny and cute. Loved it.

And then there was Lydia right there giving this face...... glad I caught it......

not very cute.... but not cute in a way that makes you laugh so hard! Its like on of those "fat booth" pictures that people do on there phones..... still laughing about it!

Sunday:

Look closely at the picture....

Here is a close up of whats going on.....

Thats right..... The girls BOTH fell asleep watching football with dad... they like the game about as much as their mom :)

Nothing better than a baby that falls asleep in your arms, I LOVE THAT!

Also I wanted to give a shout out to "Uncle Bet" and "Aunt Shea" wink ;) wink ;) (I know I got it backwards... you had to be there) Thanx so much for coming this weekend and having a good time with us! My girls LOVED having you here, especially Friday night. They were loving being the center of attention! Thanx for bring a couple of things, that really helped :) And thanx to Uncle Shea for doing the dishes after every meal. Blake got off easy his first weekend of dishes duty :)

Guess who's 1 TODAY?!

2012-01-15T19:16:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Lydia!!!

Can't believe my baby is 1 today! This last week its seems like all the sudden she has just grown up. her personality is starting to REALLY come through and girl, she will just about snap a "z" for you! What I mean is that she is just not scared to tell you what she is thinking ( I guess is the bast way to put it). She uses a a lot of tone, and fluctuation when she jabbers. It is actually really cute. She can show you were her nose is. She can tell you what a chicken says. She is walking all over and is very curious about everything. She will climb on anything that she can. She is a real tease too! Just so different than Maycee.... At stake conference today she was making friends with ANYONE that would look at her. I mean "real" friends, asking for there treats, or there crayons, or just want to sit on thier laps. A real Chamer. Really not familar with Stranger- Danger. It is so fun to have a little one that is so out going!!! Oh we love her!!!

We made today special for her....

Does it look familar?? It is almost identical to Maycee's 1st cake.

Blake insisted that the cake "maker" get her picture taken.

Lydia loved her birthday gift!

We celebrated over at the "other" grandparents house. (thanx Lance and Danene)

She was so excited for her cake!

She did not hesitate at all! She jumped right in!

(there is a video at the very bottom of the post that you may be able to watch)

Our great neighbors had a little gift for her, she really liked watching it! Can you tell?

The night ended with 2 baths! First was with dad and the dishes!

She loves helping!

...and Maycee does too...

2nd bath was with sister. These 2 really love eachother.

We sure LOVE having Lydia in our family. She is so special to us and we all love her so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYDIA!!!

I also have to add this, while im at it. While we were over at our "other " grandparents house, Lacie commented on how Maycee is a great Multi-tasker. I quick grabbed a picture...

taking notes. caring for baby. talking on the phone.

she usually has some kind of phone anytime of day.

Then while we were all admiring her (without her knowing) she jumped on the horse yousee behind while.... WHILE CONTINUING TO DO THE OTHER 3 THINGS!!! It was awesome! We all had a good laugh :)

ALSO...

I have to brag on myself a little....

This is what was keeping us busy during Christmas.

We made 5 of these, a lot of work and a lot of fun!

Holidays are OVER!

2012-01-09T20:06:00.000-08:00

WOW! What a crazy last few weeks!

Here is the the 5 min. over view....

Girls are growing up! This here is Lydia's Favorite place to hide lately....

And loves to play in Maycee's toy car...

We were lucking enough to spend all the "Holidays" with family. My Grandmother (on my dad's side) past away just before Thanksgiving which opened up a window of opportunity for us to make it home for Thanksgiving. (to attend the funeral)

Please let me say a few quick words about my Grandma Ruth Mickelson. She was pretty amazing! live to 93 and a half, was an AMAZING seamstress, spent her life serving others and was one of the most Christ like people I know!

My awesome dad was looking out for all of his daughters and was able to pick out a piece of jewelry, that was my grandmothers, for each one of his daughters.

Here we are showing them off!

The same night of the funeral we had our first Mickelson Family Talent Show! It was a blast!

Aunt Ruthie's Talent was this....

She sewed this adorable dress for Maycee and had her model it for everyone! She did awesome and Maycee was so cute!

Thanksgiving was in the valley but with Blakes Family, and I am sure like everyone else's there was TONS of good foods :) I miss it all ready :)

It was a long drive home but we were happy to get here....

Then, all of the sudden we got to jump back in the car and drive back to the valley for Christmas!

Christmas was with my family.

Every Christmas eve my family goes Christmas Carolling... we all put on santa hats and head out around the neighborhood....

Here is Maycee getting ready....

Here is all of us!

Look at these two cuties...

And these girls look all right too :)

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!

Okay, so if you know my mom, you know that she has a tendicy to get cold when she is doing work at the computer.... my dad thought it would be nice to get her some really warm pj's this year..... so..... he did....

Can you see them there in the back round....

(and I dont know what was with Kurtis and the sunglasses)

here is a better shot....

My mom is awesome!

And if you know my sister Ruth, you know she LOVES shoes! Remember this?? (scroll down)

Well she spoiled Lydia with two pairs of shoes for herself and it looks like Lydia LOVES them...

Grandma Kathy made these for ALL of her daughters/ grand-daughters/ great-grand daughters!

These girls loved all of their gifts!

The drive home was long again but we were happy to get here :)

Blake and I were able to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary this last weekend! Thanks to Blakes parents for coming to watch the girls so we could get away for the night. We drove into Durango and road the "Steam Engine". It was a beautiful ride!

(check out the sun flairs Angie! Are you proud??)

The scenery was AMAZING!

It was a wonderful weekend and Wonderful holidays! We were so happy to see all the family :)

Next up..... SEA WORLD!!! That will be at the beginning of feb. To bad its a 13 hour drive :(

Didn't make the cut

2011-11-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again! I got my girls all dressed up and took them outside for some pictures for this years Christmas card...

Here is was you will NOT be seeing on the card...

"CHEESE"

Can you see her saying it?

She is trying so hard to get the word right that she forgot to really smile :)

Look how BEAUTIFUL her hair is!!! Jealous!

"Kiss"

I told her to kiss the tree...

looks like she is getting ready to take a bite!

"No way"

This little cutie kept throwing her hands up in front of the camera like, "Don't you dare take a picture of me!" but as you can see her smile was saying otherwise...

"Hands up!"

again

Anyone recognize the outfit she is wearing???

Probably not.... so i'll just tell you.... Its the same thing Maycee wore for our Christmas cards last year! (what can I say, I like green)

This little girl is growing like a weed, and is much much bigger than Maycee was at Lydia's age.

"and again..."

"Look what my tongue can do"

I don't know what Maycee was thinking... do you?

"Almost"

Cute girls, crappy backround

And thats it!!!

(I mean I took alot more but I didn't want to bore you)

Ironically the very first picture I took turned out the best, you can enjoy it in a few weeks :)

Employment!

2011-11-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have been COLD!

I mean wind blowing all day, no sun, frost in the mornings and even a little snow!

Its so different for me to be in conditions like this. Blake says to me this morning (in response to me talking about the cold) he says, "Ya know, it wouldn't be so bad f this was as cold as it got..." and im like "WHAT?! It's gonna get worse!!!" Aw shoot! I am in trouble!

Since it has been cold we have been doing things like this...

Yesterday Blake had the morning off so we took advantage of some family time!

Notice we are all still in P.J.'s and we had soup for lunch, so fun!

We really have to take advantage of the time we have together now since BLAKE GOT A JOB!!!

He is your newest Walmart Associate!

He stokes shelves in the grocery department :)

We came out here think school was going to be most of Blakes time but soon found out that was not the case... not for this semester anyway's. We have been so spoiled having him around almost all the time! Now we will be lucky to have him around AT ALL. Bitter/sweet. We decided it would be easier in the long run not to have so much "debt" in student loans when we were done with school.

The kids have so much fun playing in all the leaves!

Betty has agreed that she will pay us if we can keep up with the falling leaves. So far the leaves are winning... by ALOT! Betty has many MATURE trees on her land. They really are kicking our trash. We got up and racked this morning, and now you can't even tell where. But it is kind of fun. (that might sound weird but it is)

AND AS PROMISED...

The girls costumes...

Maycee was a cowgirl. I just used a picture from this summer's reunion...

Just imagine her with a pink sweater underneath, and no cute hat. (she destroyed it, the stinker)

And Lydia was a DOLL! Well actually she was a bunny, but she was as cute as a doll...

Here you have to think of warm costumes cause its so chilly in the evenings. So what I did was just add some bunny ears to her... I don't know what you would call it but its really puffy and really warm...

... and a bunny tail of coarse!

I think she quite enjoyed it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-11-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Well, no pictures of the girls in their costumes yet but I have everything else from yesterday...

Betty's birthday was the 28th but it worked out better for us to celebrate it on Halloween. We had a yummy soup night next door at the Browns!

5 choices: Cream of Broccoli (Blake)

Potatoe n veggie (Megan)

Pumpkin Curry (Megan)

Chessy Tomatoe (Betty)

Clam Chowder (Betty)

and we ate our soup in these...

Pumpkin looking bread bowls!

and for dessert...

Betty surprised us all with a great costume!

All the kids got a kick out of her hat, it danced and sang songs...

Megan (Brown) made thses really cute bats that we hung on the ceiling aorund the table

We shared alot of laughs through out the night...

in this foto I told the guys to smile add this is what I got...

I think the pumpkin bread bowls and soup are going to become a Halloween traditon.

And are pumpkins this year...

Blake's

and

April's

I feel like I was slacking this year on my pumpkin, but oh well... next year! :)

All in all we had a great Halloween Holiday :)

Brimhall Hotel

2011-10-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

We have been here a little over 2 months and lets just say.....

IF YOU HAVEN'T COME TO VISIT YET... YOU ARE MISSING OUT!!!

We have been having so much fun getting to know are neighbors and hosting all of our family that has come to visit! Infact Grandpa Shum and Grandma Kathy just left this morning with Kamy to head back home. Oh what fun we have had with everyone!

In no particular order here are the pictures from our adventures so far...

Maycee had been towing all her friends in this...

Now we tow them in this...

Its not much to look at but it has been SOOOO much fun!

(It is currently under some cosmetic surgery, so stay tuned for updates)

The neighbors have some "pocket" bikes and the kids enjoy them...

We have been shooting...

Maycee finally got to shoot the gun she got for her birthday...

Well she posed for a picture anyway, she did shoot the 22 though...

It was a windy day, but lots of fun!

This little girl has hit 9 months and she is a blast to have, she even helps with the dishes!

Took a trip to Sutherland Farms for the "Green Chile Festival"

Here in NM everyone uses green chile in everything, EVERYTHING! You can walk into any restaurant here and order green chile on just about anything, that includes the franchises like McDonalds and Burger King. They even sale green chile dip next to the french onion dip at the super markets. (We, of coarse, have bought our fare share of green chile and bottled it)

My family payed us a visit. This was our scenery on the drive up to Durango during there stay. And let me tell you, this picture did NOT do it JUSTICE !

We rented this fun little bike in Durago and road along the river. We of coarse all didn't fit at once so we brought some other bikes and just rotated.

Best $20 we spent the whole time they were here.

We weren't totally prepared for the snow, but we stopped on the way into Silverton and "played" for a while. Rachel, the one in the middle, was SUPER excited because she had never played in the snow while it was snowing.

WE SURE MISSED YOU ANGIE!!!

If you haven't heard of Bolacks, here is a taste of it!

Its a musem of animals that one man, Tom Bolack, hunted in his life time. There are over 2000 species of animals in this place and let me tell you, it is worth the visit! This crock is about 12 FEET long, record size. You have to see it for yourself!

Here is Maycee and Kamy together, from the visit just these last couple of days. These two sure had alot of fun together!

It was awesome to have Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Shum here! It was just a flyin-in trip but we made the best of all there time here. We started out at Bolacks and then stopped in durago for lunch and then onto Cortez and had a tour of the Cortez Flour Mill there, which was amazing, and then back down through Shiprock and home again. Beautiful country we drove through!

Grandma made us some amazing biscuits and gravy while they were here! Blake has been that happy in a long time :)

We have been having so much fun with everyone here! Hope the rest of you can make it soon :)

Home and Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our "trailer" house, as promised :)

I debated about putting these up for two reasons

1.) The house wasn't the cleanest when I took them. But then I decided "Aw heck! My house is never gonna stay clean long enough for "clean" pictures anyway"

AND

2.) I don't want this to be an excuse for people that they don't have to come visit because they have "already seen the place".... So you can only look if you still promise to come visit.

Blake has always wanted a yellow house, now he's got one :)

The set up is kind of funny. This is the front door, but if you really pay attention to the layout of the house this should actually be the back door. So our back door has a doorbell. Anyway...

Our front "nook"

Betty pulled up one day in her golf cart and said "What a cute little nook you have."

Isn't it though??

Here is the entry way when you come inside...

and then you walk right into our living room...

(im still working on curtains and other decorations)

then if you walk up those stairs in the living room you pass through the small kitchen and dining room and then walk into the play room... As you can see it also currently doubling as a clothes line. We don't have a dryer yet! Can't tell you how much I miss my fluffy towels!!

We also were almost a whole month without a microwave but we have one now :) So funny all the conveniences we can't live without!

For labor day weekend we had yet another family reunion! We have been to three this summer! And I am really sorry that none of them were with my family :( I mean don't get me wrong, Blake's family was a blast to hang out with all summer, BUT I wish my family would get together more often for reunions or just planned party's in general. (Yes, that was a stab to my family, hopefully it will motivate them to put something together :) )

Maycee enjoyed her weekend with Avie at the reunion!

They have turned out to be the best of friends!

Aren't they adorable?!

We had some good laughs at the reunion. One of which involved these "Mobys" (Moby's are these wraps that are made to hold your babies)

Some of us were finding other things to hold in them... like adults! It was great! Can't wait to do it again next year.

Maycee finds some many things to do at home. She is always playing with her neighbor friends Jacob and Ellie and Betty too. This place is great for her!

The stairs inside are fun for the girls too. Maycee will jump from the very top occasionally. And I did find Lydia had climbed the whole way up yesterday. That girl can get around, even if it is still an army crawl.

This girl's favorite breakfast is eggs. Im not sure if even half of it gets in her mouth but she LOVES to feed herself.

Blake is staying busy with school and he did get a job. Don't know how long it will last... he is making minimum wage :( Better than nothing but he is WAY better than that! He is working as a lock smith but really all he has done so far is scoffer(sp?) a tech around.

No church callings yet... But we hope they will be soon :)

Moved OUT- Moved IN

2011-08-25T12:15:00.000-07:00

Well as most of you know "were not in Arizona anymore"!

There are things I miss about my old house and being close to family but, let me tell you, I am really happy with how things have turned out here.

The double wide is... well.... a double wide. Its not the nicest thing in the world but there are a lot of things here we didn't have there...

Tons more space - about 400 sq ft more

3 car garage- that we can actually park our cars in :)

HUGE backyard

much larger master bedroom and bathroom

2 walk in closets in the master bedroom (its amazing. enough said.)

Lots of new friends (some of which I wish would go away, I'll explain later)

The set up here is really nice! Betty is our sweet sweet land lord. She is 80 years old and has a hard time getting around. But let me tell you she is wonderful. There are three houses here that kind of make a triangle. Betty's house is one and then two others are both double wides, ours and the Brown's (no relation to my moms side, that we have found... yet). The two double wide's share a back yard and then Betty's is just kind of right there. Maycee spends most of her day playing with the two Brown children, they are always at one of the 3 houses. Betty loves it! She looks forward to the kids coming over everyday. She has a drawer dedicated to treats for them. And is always taking them on rides around her property. She has about 5 acres just right here by us. We have already had a dinner with all 3 families and it was fun. Its going to be really nice here with the little group we have already.

We are just down from the river here and Blake has already tried fishing. The mosquitoes were really really bad though :( We have a tripped planned for Colorado soon, since its only 45 minutes away, so Blake can go do some real fishing.

There are some things that I have had to adjust to, or I should say still adjusting to....

The bugs. The bugs here are so different. Not like in Mesa, AT ALL. There are TONS of bees and wasps and TONS of other spiders and bugs that I am not familiar with. UGH! Bugs gross me out. I shiver just thinking about them.

The noises. The noises my house makes are so different. That may sound funny to you but it is really wierd all the different creeks and moans it makes, especially at night. I am still trying to learn them all.

The driving. The driving here is WILD if you ask me. On the main road through town there is no left turning lane to get to the other side, just a big wash basically. And you are welcome to pull into it anytime you would like, with no warning to the others and turn left when its clear. Its crazy!

The gas. Are stove is gas, thats different. Blake keeps talking about how it is so great. Im still kind of timid about using it. I think im gonna blow the house up every time I turn it on. It will grow on me, hopefully :)

The friends. The neighbors are great! The friends, not so much. Well its not really a friend, I wish it would go away. We saw a house scamper across the kitchen this morning. Not cool.

Ted. Ted is cool. Maycee is still scared of him. He tries to keep our porch free of bugs. We noticed him the other day and have seen him most days since. Blake gave him that nickname Ted becasue.... he is a toad :)

There are a couple unfortunates... actually just one that really gets to me.

The carpet. Betty is old and I think has a bit of a memory issue, as sweet as she is. Before we saw the place we were told the carpet was only 3 years old, which really isn't that bad. However when we got here we found out that she had confused it with the other double wide. Our carpet is original and it is AWFUL. (probably from the 80's) Not just the color though, I could handle the color, it really is just FILTHY. I dont go anywhere with out shoes or socks in this house :( I feel bad because the day we got here Betty had a carpet guy just finishing up inside. When I saw who the company was I just hung my head. Having a dad as a carpet cleaner you kind of know a few things about carpet. The company that was here has a terrible reputation for cleaning carpets. They basically put a ton of soap on your carpet and then don't get half of it up because there machines are not that great. So then it feels like you are walking on dried suds :( I put Lydia's clothes on her, and with in 15 min. she has a brown smear down the front of her from scooting around. It kinda makes me gag.

Really everything is going pretty good so far. Blake really likes all of his classes and teachers and he has started looking for a job. His schedule is much more ope than we thought i was going to be. We have been to church once and I couldn't really tell what people were like or how things are gonna be there becasue we got a new Bishop and everything was kind of crazy with that. Hopefully we get callings soon.

Check back soon for pictures of the place and are great neighbors :) Book your visits soon because weekends to come and visit are going fast! Blake and I have already checked out a few cool places we want to take you when you come stay :)

Summer 2011

2011-08-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

What a roller coaster ride the summer has been... and its not over yet :) / :(

Have I mentioned Maycee loves "makin' dinner"

She loves to get ALL the dishes out where ever she is (she will help her self to the dishes in ANYBODY'S house) and as many spoons as I will allow and just go to town. She is the next Julia Child. This will keep her occupied for hours. Her favorite thing to make is cake.

For the 4th of July we headed up to Snowflake. Maycee LOVED playing in the irrigation at Grandma Kathy's and Grandpa Shum's. Lunch was fantastic, Thank you :)

Maycee and Megan

Lydia and Daddy, Blake. This girls smile is contagious!!!

Had to throw this one of me in there.

The kids found a snake and surprisingly Maycee was excited to touch it.

Maycee and Avie...

This picture is seriously bringing tears to my eyes... UGH! I am gonna miss this!!!

All ready for the RODEO!

Not the best angle, but these girls are just so cute!

(Don't know why they were chewing on them... weirdo's)

After the 4th we took a trip up to farmington to settle on a house to rent...

The girls did pretty well. It seemed to drag on forever for me. You guys got to see the drive... its a lot of NOTHING. And unfortunately the trip was VERY unsuccessful :( We had a couple of places lined up and they ALL fell threw... fell threw like a pair of bad apples falling threw the branches on their way down to the wet grass where they would sit and rot into the earth. If you can't tell I was not to happy with that trip :) Things are better now.

We came back 2 days later from Farimngton to The PSR Reunion (Blakes mothers side)

WE HAD A BLAST AT THE REUNION!!!

Here is Maycee... Notice the belt (its a rope). Uncle Bart was helping her out :) Always making sure her shirt was tucked in.

There was so much to do there! Traditionally the PSR is held at "Sherwood Forest" in Nutrioso but because of the Wallow Fire we were forced else where. Ironically we where able to stay with Blake's dad's parents. They live on a ranch in Pindale known as the B-13 Ranch. And like I said there was so much to do there! We had an inflatable pool. We had a slip-n-slide that would top any slip-n-slide you have ever seen. We had Zumba. We had amazing food. We had each other. AND we had RODEO!!!!!!!!

The rodeo was a BLAST! I went over the top this year with my girls out fits. I made them both and was so happy with how they turned out.

In my bias opinion Maycee was the cutest COWgirl there! (notice the cow print)

She was complete with vest, chaps, belt buckle, hat, rhinestones, boots, gun, holster,and smile!

(for a while anyway) Notice in the next picture she isn't to happy.

Lydia, on the other hand, was our cutest COW!

As you can see I over estimated on the ear size of a young calf. She was called "Yoda Cow"

Her dress was complete with a tail in the back. Wish I had a better picture of just the dress.

These girls were a hit!

Our rodeo had boot racing, barrel racing with our very own had made stick horses, and bull riding! The older boys were the bulls. I got a lot of great video. It was awesome!!! Wouldn't mind doing it again next year :)

We came home from the reunion ready to pack up the house. Lydia came home ready to start scootin' around, you should see this girl go. She will beat anyone in an army crawl across the floor.

I came home and had a small project to finish before I could start filling boxes. I made four "Tongan" skirts and this dress for a family in our ward. They turned out pretty good.

So we packed and moved out, just last Saturday. Just like that. We are out. Its still weird to think we don't live there anymore. Didn't go far. Just down the street to my parents house. We needed to get out so our renters (Blake's cousin jay and his Wife Brittany and their daughter Eden) could move in but we still didn't have anything lined up in Farmington and Blake was still working so to my parents house we went. AND I AM HAPPY TO SAY...

AS of this morning, I think we found a place to rent :) Please keep your fingers crossed. If anyone has heard the story of us trying to get a place you know its not been easy (like a pair of bad apples). So we are seriously praying continually that this will work out. I haven't seen it, don't know what it looks like or where its specific location is just know this... 1. In Kirtland (which butts up to Farmington) 2. Is a 3 bed, 2bath double wide trailer and 3. Rent is in our budget. Beggars can't be choosers right? Well I have been Beggin for about 4 weeks now so I am happy with this!!!

We still have another reunion and then the big move before summer is over. I am still kind of in shock about everything. I can't believe this is the way my life is playing out. I don't know why change is so hard for me (I believe I inherited it from my farther.) I feel at times I am excited for something new and then at others I am digging in my heels. However in the end.... I will have my girls... and my Blake... and we will be happy... because... there is no other option :)

Lately...

2011-06-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Lately, these girls have been so much fun to play with!!!

Lydia ALWAYS has a smile to show off

Maycee too!!

Or should I say TWO!!

Everything for Maycee is all about 2. She knows she is growing up and she likes it.

She is always weraing my shoes all over, it is so fun!

She is always jumping off everything, and she does pretty good too! Here she is jumping off the tv stand. Look at that air and she lands on her 90% of the time. Am I a bad parent for encouraging this?

Notice Kung Fu Panda on in the back round. This is a big deal at our house. She always asks to watch this or Despicable Me, which she calls "Gru". She wont sit down and watch the whole

thing, its like she just wants it on. As back round noise or something.

She likes being the big sister. She wants Lydia to enjoy everything she does. Here she is trying to let Lydia have a turn with the vacuum.

Lydia loves to play with her sister!

My little Lydia is totally "by the book".

The DAY she was 4 months old, she rolled over.

The DAY she was 5 months old, she got her first tooth.

I predict...

The DAY she is 6months old she will be sitting (unassisted)

7 months, crawling...

We will see??

Here she is with her cousin, the Miss kimee Tink.

They are 2 months apart. Kimee is a little bean and Lydia is chunkiness!

(look at the difference in head size!)

Speaking of heads....

Check out this one!

Say Hello to a brother of mine, Dallin Mickelson.

If you haven't met Dallin before, you are missing out. He is a neat guy. Notice the funny purple cape Dallin is sporting. I have been bugging Dallin to let me cut his hair for over a year! If you

know Dallin you know he likes to wear his hair long, always has. I have really been talking up the missionary hair cut for a while, we all have. I finally convinced him of it. I hand a pretty good angle I think. I told him, lets do it the day after school gets out and then if you absolutely can't stand it, you can grow it back out before school starts again. He took the bait. So here we are with the purple-hair-cuttin'-cape.

He was a good sport for letting me take pictures.

More than half way!

Finished Product!

And he was happy about it!!!

Once it was all done I looked at him and said, "Hey, you look like a celebrity!"

Compare these pictures...

Totally alike if you ask me!

We are getting ready for camping soon.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Man's best friend

2011-06-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Its said that a Man's best friend is a dog.

Blake has been telling me for a while that one of these days he is just going to come home with a dog....

AND WELL....

It has not happened yet. But that sure is a cute little puppy!....... Maybe someday

What about a womans best friend? Some say Chocolate... another's say diamonds... for Ruth Mickelson it is... SHOES!!!

If anyone knows Ruth, they know that she LOVES SHOES!

So I did her some vinyl for her car...

It says, " Shoes can change a girls life!"

Complete with several high heels...

The car was dirty when I took the picture :( But its clean now, thanx to our sweet brother Dallin. The picture doesn't do the shoes justice, the sun was to bright. They are hot pink, light pink and gold! Loved it!!!

Maycee and Milk

2011-06-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Maycee likes Milk

She is very aware of where her milk comes from and she can tell you where Lydia's milk comes from too.

She also knows what goes great with milk... her favorite lately... Waffles... or a she says it "Faffles"

When Maycee wakes up in the morning, first thing she does is comes into our room. That is my que to get out of bed. Well last week Blake was at scout camp. Both mornings I was waken by Maycee, but I soon realized I was not her first stop. Both Mornings she greeted me with a smile and a bottle of homemade maple syrup with the plead, "Faffles? Faffles Mom?" I couldn't help but laugh.

She is becoming very good friends with the fridge. Blake says she is "gonna wear that door out", Im just happy she closes it 95% of the time after opening it. At least daily I will hear Maycee making her way to me from the kitchen. Grutting, panting, and using all her muscle I always know what I am going to see next. Her little self trying to HAUL a sometimes FULL GALLON OF MILK and of coarse a sippy cup. She brings them to me and says "Mulk.?" And, no, that is not a type-o, She say "Mulk".

Infact shes says alot of funny things lately.

We say: 1..2..3.. She says: 2. 4. 2. 4.

We say: I love you too..... She just says: too (always with a smile)

We say rock..... She says fock.... :/

Lydia is learning new things too. Put her on her back, and she flips over like a top heavy toy ship in the bath tub. Poor thing, can't figure out how to get back the other way.

Loves sucking on her toys.

Loves chewing on her fingers.

Loves to smile and giggle!

In case you missed the story...

2011-05-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Maycee turned 2!!!

Last Sunday we had the family over for cupcakes (Maycee's favorite) and ice cream.

I didn't do a big party or anything, just kept it simple....

This was Maycee's BIG cupcake with the candles on it that she got all for herself.

She loved hearing every body sing "Happy Birthday" to her....

She had a hard time blowing the candles out. It took her several attempts.

HOORAY! She was so proud of herself.

Had a good turn out I thought...

(Nice Ricky)

Got to love those wild sisters of mine!

Is anybody noticing the trampoline in the back round in a lot of these pictures? NO MAT!!!

Cute guys!

We had a good game of frisbee going for a while...

Then it was time for gifts.....

They were simple..... at first.....

The "other" Brimhalls (Chad and Caskie) gave her a cute Fancy Nacy boa

a cute book

a magic wond with a star (Shown above)

a crown

and

a necklace (also above)

Mom and Dad (Blake and I) gave her

A coloring book

crayons

and

a new swim suit

simple right??

Well then Grandpa Mickelson decided to whip out the big guns... LITERALLY!!

Maycee had the choice between three 12 gage shot guns!!!

Grandpa said, "Maybe daddy can help you choose one."

So with a wave of her wand HER gun was chosen.

You see a few months ago Blake had been asking if he could get a shot gun. He had been asking my dad a lot of questions about which one was best and blah blah blah...

I received a phone call a few days later. My mom told me not to let Blake buy a gun. She said my dad was ready to down size..... a little. He wanted to give one to "Maycee" for her birthday.... Wink Wink! Don't tell Blake!

None the less Blake was very happy for Maycee's gift.

On her real Birthday, the 24th, she received a few more gifts...

Uncle Brandon and Aunt Allee stopped by with a pictures book (cute)

and her nursery leader came by with balloons and m &m's

AND...

Blake couldn't resist...

He got her one of these....

SPOILED LITTLE GIRL!!!

She has no idea!

We were invited to a little party for a boy down the street that same day. Had to get pictures of these girls in their swim suits.

LOOK AT THOSE ROLLS!

It was a great Birthday Celebration. Thanx to everyone :)

We won't be able to top it next year but, WHO CARES! You only turn 2 once right??

If I think this is bad then...

2011-05-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am probably in trouble. If taking family pictures is this hard with 2 children I am definitely in a for a treat when more come along.

A couple of days ago I decided it was a good day to go get some pictures of The "Blake Brimhall" Family. Nothing fancy just with my digital camera and some help from family. Just something I could put up on my wall that is some what put together and cute. So we set out to the temple to give the 'shoot' a shot!

Disclaimer: I am not going to post all the pictures but I do want you to get the picture (no pun intended). So if you get bored, sorry.

It was a joint effort really. I ask my mom to come to keep the girls entertained and smiling.

I didn't dress the girls till we were at the temple so there clothes wouldn't get wrinkly while sitting in the car seats.

Here you can see all of us working to get them ready. I'm in the back round, bent over dressing Lydia.

Meet the photographer...... Ruth Mickelson!

She is not a professional but she can work a camera and thats all I was looking for really. She did a really good job!

Here we are onto our destination, I had a tree in mind. As you can see I am still getting ready. It seems like no matter how much you prepare for pictures there are always last minutes things. Pictures stress me out.

And the first picture. Drum roll please...........

Okay. Wow. If this is any indication of how the session was going to turn out, things were not in our favor!

Better. But are you noticing the people in the back round...

Different angle. Much better. But now....

the girls are not looking to happy.

Try again.

The milk is about to fall out of Lydia's mouth, can you see it?

Cute, but not gonna work for "The" photo.

"Maycee put your tongue back in."

"Both you girls, put those tongues back in."

"Lydia what kind of face is that?"

Okay, lets try a new spot maybe that will work.

Maybe not.

Just if Maycee's eyes were open ....

Hey!!! I know someone that is great at photo shop :)

This is a good possibility...

Is Blake's leg awkward though??

What about this one?? Its pretty good.

I wish Lydia had some sort of smile though.... How picky am I allowed to be?

Photoshop is still flashing in my head.

Also a contender (but still no smile from Lydia)

(Come on Grandma that is what you came for! Just kidding.... really. You should have seen her! She was all over the place. Flapping her arms like a birdy and everything! Way to go mom!!!)

(Maybe thats the problem Lydia only likes to smile when grandma is close)

This one could work.... maybe?

Well onto something new... New place. New pose. How about just the girls?

Cute. Lighting is a little funny on Lydia. But still cute.

Lets add Blake... AND A FLASH!!!

Way better with the flash! Guess it was to much for Maycee.

Looking better :)

And dad with the girls....

Wait. Where is Maycee? Oh. She is watching the birdies over there take a bath in the water.

I know! We will work with that. We will just move around her...

Grandma was doing crazy things let me tell you! Maycee was like "huh" instead of "haha". Blake got a kick out of it though!

There must be something cool OVER there! All 3 are checking it out.

Wait! Now it is UP there!

Then I decided I wanted to go back to the sun flowers, those were pretty... And now we have to flash on remember??

Would have been perfect, we even fixed Blake's leg! But as you can see Lydia has got something weird going on.

Then we started arguing about I don't even remember...

Then all the sudden the photographer yells...

"KISS!"

so we did and the girls followed suit :)

This one could work but...

What am I doing? Stretching or what? My nostrils are exposed, I CAN TELL YOU THAT!

We would tell Maycee, "put your hands down" and this is what she would do...

Last but not least...

I don't know guys... They look pretty... NOT so great. Like I said I didn't put them all in but these are some of the best. I think I am going to need Angie on this one with her skills. Come Angie :) You know you want to photo shop a little for me!

A Day for Mothers

2011-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Mothers Day to MYSELF!!!

And of coarse to all the other Mothers out there that are trying so hard.

I had a wonderful Mothers Day! Don't we look all look so great!?

(Maycee took this picture, I thought she did a pretty good job, so I had to throw it in)

Blake had to take a lot of pictures he was ready to be DONE!!!

You know how it is with kids... You have to taken 27 pictures and just 1 of those will turn out right. Well Blake took about 28....

Blake was so good to me on Sunday. He made me breakfast. Made me lunch. And got me a brand new set of scriptures with my married name engraved in gold on them. He is so thoughtful. They are really nice and I love using the new set. Thank you Sweetheart!!!

I have two beautiful little girls that I am a Mother to!

Maycee is really starting to grow up and become her own little self. She has hit that "independent" stage. She refuses help putting on her shoes or just about anything for that matter. Just the other day she spent 15MINUTES trying to put her socks on. And of coarse I let her. She is actually getting pretty good at it.

Here she is with her sandals... They can be tricky for her sometimes, but never the less, she always succeeds!

I love her smile :)

Maycee is so much like her DAD, its sometimes scary....

*Wants to be in her underwear as MUCH as possible.

*Thinks BOOTS are the only way to go when out in the yard.

*And always has some CRACK for whoever is behind her!!!

My other little girl is this doll baby!

Isn't she the sweetest thing! Always has a smile to give and a laugh to share with anyone.

Its so fun spending time with her because she is ALWAYS happy, and its soooo contagious.

Little girl is growing too! You should see her try and try to roll over. She gets on her side and arches her back. But that darn arm always gets in the way and never allows her to complete her task. It will be soon though.

I am so grateful for the mothers I have in my life. Karla Mickelson and Kimberly Brimhall. They really have both taught me so much. I am so blessed to know these women. They are both truly remarkable. I love you both and I am so grateful for your examples.

Spring Time

2011-04-27T10:52:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air!

I love spring time.

I love that you get to enjoy the great weather outside, smell the blossoms, AND you get to color coordinate with your family on Easter Sunday. :)

This years edition was brought to you by Grandma Kimmy. She made beautiful matching easter dresses for all her grand daughters... ALL NINE!!! She did a wonderful job. Thank you so much Grandma Kimmy!!

As you can see Lydia wasn't to excited about the photo session. It was her nap time.

~~~~~~~~

A couple weeks ago we had the chance for all the "Brimhalls" to go camping. Keith and Kim Brimhall. Chad and Caskie Brimhall with their kids; Camden, Kaja, Ryker and Avie.

And US...Blake, April, Maycee and Lydia Brimhall.

It was a Blast! We learned A LOT.

We learned Maycee really likes to ride the quads. (thats her in the back)

We learned Maycee has some sort of power struggle with Avie...... Sorry Avie. I'm sure some day you two will be best friends. (Avie and Maycee together on the quad)

We also learned that you should never turn your head while going around a corner, ESPECIALLY when there is a shear cliff on the other side...... Right David?

And also that you should never give the quad to much gas when loading in the trailer.... right Dallin?

And that we should never throw rocks at vehicles.... right Grandpa Keith?

~~~~~~~~~

The garden is plentiful!

We Helped dad fix a busted pipe. Since that pipe was fixed, about 2 weeks ago, it has since busted again in another place. I Four-see(?) our project list getting longer....

~~~~~~~~

Here is something FUN! My scanner wasn't working so I had to take a picture of a picture. Results... A fuzy picture of Blake when he was nursery age. Saw this the other day and realized how much him and Maycee look alike.

What do you think?

And here is more of Maycee vs. Lydia...

I think they look like sisters but are starting to develop their own look.

~~~~~~~~~~

Just an FYI: We are taking a trip to Farmington this weekend. We have appointments with administration counselors, college professors, and financial aid advisors at San Juan College to get all of Blake's schooling squared away and hopefully have a better idea of what to expect come August. We also have a couple different rentals that we plan to look at, hopefully we can get a better idea of where we will live while we are there. We are also hoping to visit some family and get acquainted with them. And Also, I think there is a really good chance that we will check out the local Olive Garden there as well, make sure its just like the one here.

Gravity

2011-04-18T20:46:00.001-07:00

The law of gravity basically states that:

What goes up, must come down.

This statement came to my mind the other day. Let me first explain this...

As some of you know Blake and I have decided to take our lives in a new direction.

WE ARE MOVING!!!

Blake has found a place in New Mexico that he would really like to go to school. San Juan College. It is in Farmington which is up by the four corners area. There he will be studying electrical controls and instrumentation. It is a 2 year program that has great job placement after school is over. San Juan's Technical department is ranked #1 in the United States, and has remarkable funding from power and petroleum plants all over the U.S.

At first I was very hesitant about going. I have lots of family here and a HOUSE for goodness sake!!! I was think about it every day. The other day the "gravity" thing hit me and I couldn't keep the tears back.

What goes up, must come down.

The pictures went up and soon they will come down.

The small hand prints Maycee has put on our walls and windows went up and those will soon come down.

All the memories we have made here I will always have but soon I won't be making memories here any more. It made me sad to think about. Change is so hard for me. I was expecting to live in this house for at least a few more years. And then stay in the area at least for a while after that. It was just all the sudden. I didn't really have time to wrap my head around it.

However.... I am now coming to terms with the idea of moving and I am getting very excited about it. I just want to get there, get my new house set up, start making new and more memories with my family.

I have tried to learn as much as I can online about the state of New Mexico and the City of Farmington (and surrounding area's.) Seems like it will be a pretty neat Place. Here are 3 things that I learned...

Population: about 45,000 (to put that in perspective snowflake/taylor is about 15,000. Mesa is about 455,000)

LDS Population: about 20% (Mesa is about 13%)

Stores? LOTS! Walmart, Sams Club, Target, Good Will, A whole Mall!! (including Dillard's and JCPenny) Two different theaters and drum roll please...... AN OLIVE GARDEN!!!

If you are interested to hear more about Blake's program or more about where we might live please ask, we would love to talk about.

We don't know details yet about the exact place we will live or who will rent or buy the house we live in now. If you know any place we could stay or anyone that would like to rent/buy or house. Let us know :)

I will miss my family but everyone I have talked to has promised to come visit. Who knows maybe we will fall in love with a new place.......

This is what it looks like when...

2011-04-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

This is what it looks like when.....

Your husband can finally drive his own car to work again.

(Blake had been using mine for the last month because his was not available)

both babies don't fit in the back.

You really want beans for lunch but your can opener is not working.

You have a CUTIE (clementine) for a CUTIE (maycee)

All you friends get together and go to the lake...

You have a finger in your mouth.

The guys cook dinner.

Blake goes fishing.

Lydia is trying to get out of the wind.

You CUT your hair!

You have oreo's in your teeth.

You eat 3 oreo's at once!

You have spit up down your shirt.

The men are at priesthood session.

You decide you want to play "Just Dance" with heels on.

Dad brings home a "bumbo" from work and both these girls want to sit in it.

Long Monday

2011-04-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

See these empty baskets.....

Laundry's done :)

Maycee and the door

2011-04-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well folks, its official!!

As of yesterday Maycee can now open any door in the house!!!

A couple months ago it was any of the doors with the lever handles. Then just the other day she figure out the front door, which is just a regular nob. And yesterday I put her down for a nap. A few minutes later there she was.... She had walked right out of her own room after I shut the door.

Guess its time to talk to my lock smith.

Dentist

2011-04-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

So Thursday I am at the dentist. Routine cleaning. (No cavities I would like to add)

The way my dentist's office is set up is real cool, I think. Each chair is in its own space with these sort-of half walls for privacy. Each dental chair faces a window to help ease the anxiety some patients have.

Here is a picture to help illustrate. You can double click to make it bigger. Anyway....

The layout isn't a huge part of the story I'm going tell but it will help make more sense.

So Im sittting. Waiting. They had done a little work and had to go do a couple things before we could finish so I had a few minutes to my self. As you can see in the picture when you are sitting in the chair there is now way you can SEE the other clients but becasue of the "openings" in the wall you can hear EVERYTHING that is being said by the other paitents and such.

So while I am waiting they bring in two other clients one on my left and one on my right. The left was an older gentleman. Probably about 60. The other on my right mid 20's. Im guessing of coarse, only heard them. And its really not much of a story I guess ... just more of you should have heard these GROWN MEN!!!!! BIGGEST BABIES EVER!!!!!

The younger one was having a cavity fixed. He kept saying that he wanted more general anesthesia because he has a low pain tolerance when it comes to his teeth but then he was trying to be all cool and cover it up with comments like "oh but Im not a baby" " I can take a hit in the face and not even flinch" The hygienist's could see right through it and it was funny because they were TOTALLY making fun of him! Funniest part was the longer he talked the sillier he started sounding because he was going numb and he mouth stopped working properly.

The older guy was having a crown worked on. The Dr. said "Oh your lucky today, you wont need any anesthesia because the tooth we are working on is dead." The man replied very nervously, " Well, can I can I get some anyway or Im going to boucning all over in this chair!"

I don't know maybe you just had to be there..... It was just so funny to me. Here I am in my chair just had some work done and I'm fine. A perfect patient. And then here are these MEN that are acting like BABIES! I know I am not the tuffest.... but I guess Im just saying at least I was more tuff than these guys.

last month or so...

2011-03-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Life has been lots of fun lately. Here are a few things...

Maycee loves hangin' out with her Aunt Ruthie and Aunt Ruthie LOVES being with her little Maycee. Everytime they are together Aunt Ruth does her up in some way or another. Painted nails. Braided hair. She does it all!!!

Ruth has a real talent with braiding, she can do just about anything you want.

Thanx Aunt Ruth for being an AWESOME AUNT!!!

These next few pictures are all of us waiting for my brother Kevin to get off the plane from his 2 year mission for our church.

Maycee with her only other girl cousins on my side of the family. Ashlyn and Maylie. Hopefuly that will change soon :) (good luck Larry and Karri)

My Grandma and Grandpa Brown

Angie and Myself... We had fun taking these. Took about 5. Never got one with us both smiling. love ya Angie! Miss you!

Here He is finally off the Plane with all the brothers (and Henry) David still has a few inches to grow.

Angie had cut her hair right before coming back to AZ for Kevin's homecoming. She cut off several inches (inspired me) and of coarse brought it with her to show everyone. Dallin thought it would be funny to do this....

Kevin being a clean cut missionary for the past 2 years freak out when he saw it and had to make sure it was not real. He jerked the hat off Dallin and the hair went flying everywhere!! It as quite a sight to see.

Even though Kimee Tink is here now, I wanted to show pictures of the shower. There was alot of work that went into it, and I want to show it off.

The cupcakes were devine! Caskie did a fabulous job with those hanging "poof" balls!

In this photo. Allee's belly (Kimee Tink) and the mirror with her name on it. And some veggies :)

Maycee loves this little car. Plays with it daily. She loves to sing, infact, she is singing in this photo.

Please take note of the book she also has in her hands, She loves to look at and color in books. We have to watch her closely. Also notice the real keys that are in the ignition. Thanx to Blake"s current job she LOVES keys and always have a set. If our keys are ever missing we can usually ask her where they are and she will get them.

Little Miss Lydia is growing and growing. She always has a smile and a sweet sound to share.

With Kimee Tink's arrival we had lots of time to spend with Grandma Kimmy and Grandpa Keith. Here Maycee was lucky enough to get a Neilsen's cone from them

Thanx Grandpa Keith!!!

Maycee loves any slide. This one is at the zoo. We went twice when Angie was in town. It sure was alot of fun!

Family Prayer

2011-03-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

I couldn't be more proud as a mother :)

We had just sat down to the table for dinner (sloppy joes if anyone was wondering) We all folded our arms and Blake looked at Maycee.

Maycee always folds her arms for prayer and she usually says some form of "Amen", but we have NEVER been able to get her to say the prayer. We haven't been able to get her to repeat what we say. Try and try as we have she just will look at us through her half closed eyes and give us a sheepish smile. Last night Blake looked at Maycee and asked "Would you like to say it Maycee?"

She gave the same response she always does.... that sheepish shy smile. So he began. But he said it slow enough so that she could repeat if she wanted to. AND YOU KNOW WHAT?!

SHE REPEATED EVERY WORD!!!

Of coarse it was in her little Maycee Language of some correct and some weird sounds, but you could understand every bit of it! When she started I was so surprised and happy! I couldn't believe what I was hearing!! She did so good!!!

After we all said Amen Blake and praised her like you wouldn't believe. We kind of looked at eachother with that look that says, "you dont have to say anything. I know exactly what you are thinking." We were both so happy and accomplished feeling.

We couldn't believe Maycee had just said her first prayer!

Lydia's Special Day

2011-03-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Lydia was blessed March 6th by her Dad. It was a beautiful blessing and we had WONDERFUL support from both families. There were a remarkable 14 men in the circle assisting with the blessing. 2 bishopric members. Blake. Both of our fathers. 4 of Blakes brothers/in-laws. 3 of my brothers and both of Blake's grandfathers. It was really neat to see my Mother-in-law get up and bear her testimony along with Blakes Grandpa Shum. Thank you to everyone for all you did.

Here is the princess in her beautiful dress!

This is the dress that I was blessed in along with 2 of my sisters, Angie and Ruth.

I made the headband to go with it.

Ruth made this bracelet especially for her blessing day. It took her several hours and had to "tresspass" into the high school jewelry class to make it. (she graduated last year. she is good friends with the teacher so it worked out okay)

The slip under the dress was sew by me with lots of help from my mother-in-law, thanx Mom!!

The slip was once my grandma Mickelson's. We cut it up and made it Lydia's size.

The blanket was crochetted by Blake's Grandma Kathy and it is Beautiful! Thank you Grandma Kathy!

Mickelson side...

Brimhall side

Again Thank you to everyone for coming to the blessing and brining food to share afterwards. Turned out great! We love you all and our so glad that you are apart of our lives!

Maycee and Cousin Kalvin

2011-03-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Notice anything wrong with this picture??

What about this one?? See it yet??

If you noticed the gash above Maycee's left eye, you would be correct!!

I know my sister is going to be rolling eye's that I blogged about this but, its okay Angie, accidents happen.

Angie is visiting from New York, its so fun when she comes. Always new exciting things to do :) This visit has been a whirlwind for Maycee. Well at least just two of the days....

Angie and the boys were over the other morning. They were playing out on the back porch. All the sudden we hear Mayccee crying. I ran to see what the problem was. First thing I saw Maycee holding her eye and blood coming out of her closed hand. I panicked... bad! Sweet Kalvin was trying to console her, but I still freaked out.

"Kalvin! What did you do?!" The golf club that I saw him playing with earlier was laying right there at the sceen of the crime. My head had put two and two together. I knew she was hit with the club, I just didn't know how bad. I picked her up and took her inside. We got her calmed down and drugged. The damage really wasnt that bad. I thought it might need stich but after looking at it a couple times we new it would be fine. i think she actually took it pretty well. Not me though. I need to work on not freakin' out.... I had some practice with that the next day.

The next picture doesn't really show it very well but she has a nice bruise on cheek. Right above her cheek bone.

Again, it was Kalvin. Her pushed her into the end table at my parents house. This time Angie asked him... "What happened Kalvin? Was it on purpose or an accident?" He paused, and then innocently said, "Ummm, I think it was on purpose"

Kids will be kids. She is just about healed. Kalvin was sweet enough that night to bring over a milk shake and a sorry letter that he wrote all himself!! It was very sweet.

We love you Kalvin and we are glad you came to visit.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

2011-03-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

The girls are in there green for this "pinch-free" day. I'm not though :/ I know Blake is going to give it to me when he gets home.

Also.... A Happy Birthday to Kimee Tink! She is on her way as we speak :) She will be here before the day is through. Congrats To Brandon and Allee on there first little bundle of joy!

2011-03-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

This picture is about a month old but I wanted to share...

It is so wonderful being a mother!!! I absolutely LOVE it!!! I know that it is my divine right to be such. It makes me so happy! I am so lucky to have the opportunity to have wonderful little children that just love me unconditionally. They don't know any other way...... yet.

(hope my teenagers are nice to me. I know I was not a nice teenager. And I see my mother still raising teenagers at home and I feel so so bad for her at times. Teenagers are hard. I told Blake that I will take care of them years 1-12 and her gets the rest :) This is all in good fun of coarse, thats why its in parentheses)

Anyway, I really do love being a mother.

Its interesting, after Maycee was born I had no desire for more children AT ALL until she was almost a year old. Its not that I was scared, its just that I was happy and content with my one little angel. Now Lydia is here and I already want another one. I am not sure why the change but its great! Maybe its that I realized you can love more than one child at the same time. I love being a stay at home mom with my little girls. I love dressing them up, doing hair, kissing there little faces, and putting a smile on their lips. There are things that I wish didn't come with being a mom like 3 am wake up calls, or running noses, but I wouldn't CHANGE it for anything. I LOVE BEING A MOM! I don't know how else to put it :)

Blake has had a change in his ward calling, kind of. Still in scouts, but now he works with the 11 year olds ( just until they graduate from primary, which is in March and April. Then he will be back with the 12 year olds) This is a picture of him and Keaton. Its SO fun to watch him work with the boys. He knows so much and he is so good at molding their soft minds. The boys just adore him!!! They look up to him so much, and really respect him, I think. Keaton has come up to me every Sunday since Blake was put in and has been asked, "Is brother Brimhall here? I would like to talk to him." I asked Blake later what Keaton wanted and its usually just to say Hi and discuss what they will be doing for scouts that week. They just really love hangin out with Brother Brimhall. (Both boys come from family's where both parents work and so I think they enjoy having someone else around that they can look up to.)

Lydia had shots today :(

She is going so fast! The Dr. was very happy/impressed with her weight gain. She is 11lbs 80z and 23 1/4in long (tall if you prefer)(They are still laying down so much at this age it makes more sense to me to say long cause really they only stick off the ground 6 inches or so, make sense) So that 75th percentile for both. I'm so glad I have strong healthy babies. Tis a blessing :)

2 months today!!

Maycee still loves being a big sister. We have had a couple insidenses(sp?) where we have found Maycee on top of a crying Lydia. But I think its all done with love, really. She just always wants to kiss her and hug her and hold her. She just has a hard time understanding how small her sister is.

The other day I went grocery shopping. Lydia was in her carseat and in the basket. Maycee was sitting in the seat of the Cart. When we were done I left them where they were and started

loading the grocery's in the car. I look back and Maycee is turned around waving to her little sister and saying "Hi" and making some "happy" sounds/squeals at her. I looked down at Lydia and she was LOVING it. She was smiling right back at her and cooing. It was adorable, I took a mental picture. Oh I hope these two girls know how lucky they are to be sisters and so close in age. I hope they continue to love each other and realize how lucky they are to have eachother.

As for me...

(Maycee took this picture the other day. It wasn't possed, I was just busy doing other things so the camera didn't get taken away until after a few pictures where taken)

I am staying plenty busy. This picture is actually pretty accurate. Not that I am always on the phone, but

1. I am ALWAYS multi-tasking. A God given gift to women :) And thank goodness for it to! I am always doing at least two things at once, it feels like anyway.

2. This picture was taken probably after 2pm and I am still NOT showered. It usually doesn't happen until Blake gets home. I just don't feel comfortable leaving the girls alone yet. Maybe when Lydia is a little older and can keep Maycee off her :)

All in all...

The Brimhalls are loving life and couldn't be happier. We are enjoying are spring break with bike rides, house projects (new roof, painting out door trim, leveling backyard) and family get togethers!!

Sisters

2011-02-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

I hope these two girls stay best friends forever...

Maycee loves having her little sister here! Since the first time they road in the car together this is how its been. Maycee gets upset when Lydia's hand is not in reach. She loves having her little sister close! And she is awesome at fetching diaper and wipes whenever I ask.

"When mom and dad don't understand my sister always will"

Just for Angie

2011-02-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

I hear its cold in New York...... NOT HERE!

Can't wait for you and the boys to get here and enjoy this wonderful weather!!!

If your wondering what to pack, take Maycee's lead........PACK LIGHT!

Compare and Contrast

2011-01-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

Here are photos of the labor and delivery through 2 weeks old of the girls. It was completely unplanned but many of the pictures have the same "poses"! Kinda cool. Anyway, enjoy and leave your comments weather you think these girls look alike or not.

Maycee's pictures will always be on the left, Lydia's always on the right.

You can double click on any photo to enlarge it.

First up...

"KISSY FACE"

Similarities: *I am in the same robe. (delivered at the same hospital)

*Blake is in a polo (Go figure! Thats all he owns!)

Contrasts: *Blake's "pre-labor haircut" with Maycee looks WAY better

"LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT"

With Maycee I was actually crying, tears of joy. Lydia, no tears. But still so very happy to have her here!Don't they look alike already?

"15 HOURS VS. 4 HOURS"

If you ask me, no matter how long the labor you still look awful afterwards. (Unless you are Karri Mickelson! She always looks fabulous after delivery. Jealous!)

"BABY'S WEIGHT"

(we won't be discussing my weight, ha ha)

Only a 4 oz. difference.

Lydia was larger.

Lydia's weight was the same as

Blake's at birth.

"FAMILY PHOTO"

"DADDY LOVE"

This is on of the two pictures I did plan on getting ahead of time. I love the picture of Blake and

Maycee together because you can just

see in his face how happy and how proud a dad he is! I have always loved that picture of them so I knew going into this next delivery I wanted to get another picture just like it. This will be a traditional picture that we take with every pregnancy.

"PRETTY IN PURPLE"

Do you notice how they both have purple bows in? Thats something the

nurses at the hospital did. Mayce was close to 24 hours old when the photo

was taken were as Lydia was just about 2 hours old... you can tell she still looks "fresh outta the womb" (ie. swollen face, white tinted skin, etc.) So this isn't a very good picture to compare faces but however this is a fabulous picture to compare HAIR! Maycee just has sooo so so much more than Lydia. Its been kinda funny because people have been saying "Wow! Lydia has a lot of hair!" Blake and I just look at each other, laugh, and say "No, not really, Not compared to her sister anyway."

"BABY BURRITO"

Maycee is in a dresser drawer with blankets, where as Lydia is high rollin' in her very own bassinet! (Thanx Kristina)

"BABY FACE"

I don't know about you but I think they look very similar. I wish I could put more hair on Lydia to see if I could tell them apart....

"SISTERS"

Anything look different to you?

To me, their "looks" are very close however their demeanor's are very different. Lydia is a little more needy I think. She likes to be held and likes you to bounce her to sleep. She is very vocal. Doesn't cry much but makes lots of noises when shes awake, and even sometimes when she is asleep. Sometimes it sounds like laughing. Its cute. Maycee never made ANY noise, except when she would sleep she would grunt ALOT. Maycee was much more alert and continent to just be there. Its fun to see how they are different already. It will be fun to see Lydia grow up and become her own little self.

Home Life

2011-01-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

The last 12 days have been ...... everything! Good, bad, worse, wonderful, amazing, sleepless, and completely perfect!!!

Being a mother to TWO is a whole different ball game (and i'm sure each time a new one comes along it is like that)

Lydia is such a sweet little thing. So fun to snuggle with.

Here she is the night we got home all ready for bed.

I have a very similar picture of Maycee at the same age. My next blog post is going to be comparisons of the two girls.... be expecting it.

Most of the time its like this...... Happy

and other times like this....

Here is the little one that is taking over all of our lives...

So innocent!

Here is Aunt Ruth on one of here "visit's"

She is very fun to sleep with if you can't tell!

I was working in the kitchen the other day and looked up and saw this. I wanted to cry. It was just so beautiful. My house was clean. (Thanx mom) My girls were happy and content. The sun was shinning in through the the windows. It was just a special moment! I couldn't be a more blessed mother, wife, or women!

Maycee has been adjusting pretty well I think. She loves her little sitter so much and wants to show it all the time.

We have been getting the garden ready for spring planting. Maycee like to use the shovel.

Lydia's first adventure outside. It only lasted a few minutes.

The next day we did go on a trip to the park to feed the ducks some bread (wink wink mom Brimhall)

Maycee rode in the back and Lydia in the front. Only at the park though. I actually drove Lydia and myself there. Blake biked with Maycee.

Maycee loves to play on the toys!

I have tried to take a picture of her everyday. They change so fast! I think the camera added so weight to those cheeks. I don't think they are quite that big in real life.... maybe.

Maycee has been loving these lately.

Blake has been looking very forward for Lydia to come. Of coarse just because he was excited for a new little one but also because he knew that him and Maycee were going to become new best buds. And Boy has she!!! Maycee has always been a ma ma's girl, but as of lately she has really REALLY been enjoying her time with Blake.

BLAKE HAS BEEN LOVING IT!!!

One of there favorite things lately is to go outside, night or day, and lay on this blanket and see what there is to see..... birds, planes, stars, everything. And Maycee comes in and tells me all about it. They sure have a blast together.

This little girl is really growing up! I love this picture!

Her hair is not done and her shoes are not on but look at that face! She is Beautiful! It is so fun to watch her develop her own little personality. And she is getting so smart! I wish I could tell all of the stories about her....

Grandma Kimmy bought her the dress she has one and one for Lydia to match...

Still working on getting them a picture together in the dresses. It'll come.

She also bought these dresses...

Notice her hair.... I curled it. She looks like Goldy Locks!

Here it is in the back...

This is not a mug shot. I was just trying to get a picture of the hair and you can see she was not to thrilled about it.

This is Maycee's favorite thing to do lately.... She loves to get the mail. We check it several time a day. Its nice to get out :)

Look at this! Can you believe that she holds a pencil like this? Thats something you learn when you are in kindergarten..... isn't it???

She is growing up to fast. I had a moment the other day, while eating breakfast. I realized she is never again going to be the little girl that I remember. I started crying. I love watching her grow up but it kills me almost to let her!

I hope I can remember these special moments forever and enjoy every little bit of it!

Love you both so much!!!

Visitors

2011-01-27T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here is the little bundle of joy!

Lydia Celeste Brimhall

(I hate picture right after the baby is out, I look just fabulous)

Lydia has had many visitors..... The first was Grandma Mickelson

Then Grandma Kimmy...

And then this sweet little reunion! It was a bitter/sweet moment for me when Maycee came to meet her little sister for the first time. She saw me sitting in the hospital bed and didn't want a thing to do with me! It hurt my feelings really bad :( Its like she was scared. She was in a new place and I was in a weird gown. She had been spending the last day with all her aunts and uncles and i'm sure they had been spoiling her like crazy! I guess I should have expected it.

Anyway it was cute because you could see her scanning the room for Lydia. Everyone had been telling her that she was going to meet her sister. And then when she saw her it was like love at first sight! She immediately pointed and gasped and wanted to hold her right away. She was so enthralled with this new little sister. She wanted to touch her eyes and ears and mouth and nose and hands and toes and kept giving her kiss after kiss after kiss. I couldn't have been happier with the outcome!

This was the best picture I got. I'm sure my mom has some better ones. Maybe she could post them. (wink wink)

Grandpa Mickelson

Aunt Ruthie

And yes, she has kept up with the tradition. She has come over several days to just sit and hold Little Miss Lydia. (She did this when Maycee was born too. Came over every other day for the first month just to sit and hold Maycee.) (And sorry your head is fuzzy, Rachel was taking pictures)

Aunt Rachel

These were my best attempts to try to make myself more appealing to Maycee. Put a shirt over the gown and tried sitting on the couch instead of the bed. No luck, I never did get a hug or a kiss from her that night. Heart breaking really. I wanted to cry.

Here is Ricky and Brittany. They just found out they are having a boy. Congrats guys :)

(sorry about the blurriness)

Larry and Karri also came to visit us in the hospital. Along with one of my good friends from college, Brienne. Thanx so much to everyone for coming to visit!

Blake is such a proud Daddy! He loves to show her off :)

The next day we were able to come home. It was so much fun!! Literally. We had a house full. Grandma Kimmy, Aunt Allee, Uncle Brandon, Grandma Mickelson, Aunt Ruthie, Uncle Dallin Aunt Rachel and Uncle David. They had beans on the stove and bread almost in the oven. And did I mentioned they cleaned my house. It was so wonderful!!!

More visitors followed that evening, Vaughn and Kindra came, Kurtis mad and appearance and the Reidhead family all came to meet Lydia.

One of the family traditions that we have is that "daddy", Blake, gets to pick out the outfit that baby comes home in. In this case he picked out an outfit for Lydia and Maycee. Maycee had just woken up from a nap and didn't quite get all of hers on. None the less, they still make a cute little couple :) Maycee was still so excited to see her little sister the next day. (and still is everyday)

Here she is very interested in her little toes... She didn't really get to see them at the hospital because Lydia was all bundled up.

Blake's Three Little Girls

(I can say that about myself, right?)

One BIG happy Family of 4!!! Its still weird for me to say... that there is 4 of us now, wow!

Lydia also had visit's from the Great-Grandparents Kathy and Shum...

This is the Great Grandma Kathy that made Lydia's blessing blanket that I showed you in a previous post. Thank you again Grandma :)

Karl and Ruth Brown

Many others came to stop by and 'Im sorry if you were not mentioned. We are so happy to have such wonderful supportive family! Thank you to all for the wonderful help that you have all been. Especially my mothers, you guys have been so much help! Thank you, thank you!!!

So I don't forget the details...

2011-01-26T14:24:00.000-08:00

Woke up Saturday morning, the 15th of January, feeling like it was any other Saturday. Blake and I were laying I bed talking.

After my last Doctors visit, on the previous Wednesday, I just figured that I was going to have to be induced again. I was still dilated to a 3, no change from the previous week. Having a baby that day was not on my mind AT ALL. In fact I was thinking as I lay in bed talking to Blake ..."There is no way she is coming today."

"So Honey, what are we going to do today? What project can we tackle?" I said to Blake as we both lay there. We were waiting for Maycee to wake up so we would have a good excuse to get out of bed.

There was nothing that we really "HAD" to do that day. Blake did have a scout thing at 9 and I also had a massage scheduled for the same time, which I was looking very forward too :)

Our ideas for what we could do that day were interrupted by our little princess Maycee, running in our room with a big smile that said, "Time to get up sleepyheads! Time to get out of bed!" So there our day began...

I made one of my favorite breakfasts, hash browns and eggs. We sat down to eat about 8 o'clock. While we ate I noticed I was having some discomfort in my "stomach area". I know this is a T.M.I. but it felt like I had to go to the bathroom, #2. It felt like menstrual cramps. I had had contractions before, but they never felt like this. I had a couple of these "discomforts" during breakfast but really didn't think anything of them. I let Blake know they were happening, but told him I wasn't sure what they were. I thought it was gas or something. After breakfast I did try going to the bathroom, nothing came. However, the "discomforts" did keep coming.

It was 8:30 now and breakfast was over. I had tried getting a hold of my mom to ask if this is what contractions/labor felt like. I was really in denial about this being labor. Of coarse the one time I REALLY needed her to answer the phone and she didn't have it!! (she was at a song practice) So I started timing these (now we will call them contractions) contractions. They we pretty steady, coming every 4-5 minutes... lasting roughly 30-45 seconds. Blake was out front with Maycee, cleaning out his car. Had been since breakfast was over, so he hadn't seen me in the discomfort that I was now frequently experiencing. I poked my head outside about ten till 9 and said, "Honey, you need to come inside..... we need to talk."

Blake came in with Maycee. I told him he should probably call the scout master and let him know that he was probably not going to make it, that he thought maybe his wife was in labor. He called. By this time I had also cancelled my massage. (sad moment)

I have been told by a few people that if you think you are in labor, change what your activity. If its false labor the contractions will go away. If its true labor the contractions will continue.

I told Blake we needed to try out this theory. I was sure that this must be false labor. I still didn't think my body would really be doing this on its own..... silly me. So we put Maycee in the stroller and headed off around the block with our walking shoes, stop watch, and cell phone. (still had been trying to get a hold of my mom) It was a wild walk! We went around the block just once, I couldn't go any further. Those contractions were coming very often and VERY painfully! As we were walking up the driveway here comes my mom, flying around the corner in her car. She jumped out. Before she could say anything I said, "Where is your phone?!" (maybe with just a LITTLE attitude :) Not to mention I was right in the middle of a contraction at that point) She responded with, " How far apart are they?" (referring to the contractions)

"2 minutes," I said. They had been that way since we started the walk at about 9:15. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE?! GET TO THE HOSPITAL!" Deep down inside I knew she was right but I was nervous. I had been waiting for this moment for several days. It was here. I was scared. Still in denial I said, "No, no, I'm not in labor." Mom just laughed. We exchanged a few more words and then she got Maycee's things and left with her. She did convince us that we need to go to the hospital. After I got a shower of coarse :)

Once showered and in the car it was about 9:45. Contractions still strong, REALLY strong. Did my make up in the car. Sent "the" text message to family that we were on our way to the hospital. Parked. Had to finish another contraction before we could get out. Made our way inside. Even though I had pre- registered at the hospital they still had to ask us a bunch of questions.... Still living at......? Still working for.......? Phone number is........? Blah. Blah. Blah. Can you just let me in all ready?! Anyway, before we went into triage I looked at the clock, 10:00am straight up.

They put us in a half room and gave me the "robe." As I was changing behind the curtain I could hear the nurses outside.... "We are going to admit her. I can tell by the look on her face its time." That was kinda nice to hear. I could be rest assured now this was "real labor". Two Nurses came in shortly thereafter. One to ask more questions and the other to see how dilated I was. Nurse #1..... "When was the last time you ate?" I explained my morning breakfast. They were all amazed that I had got up and made breakfast. That made me kind of proud :) Nurse #2 was checking me now. (Remember at my last appointment I was only a 3. I had only been having contractions for about an hour and a half so I figured I would be at a 5 by now.) Nurse #2 said, "Well you are at a 7."

"WHAT!? Am I going to have time for an epidural?!" I blurted out. I was a little panicky now. I couldn't believe I was already at a 7! And I needed some medicine before anything else happened!

The next 30 min were crazy! I was wheeled into an actual room now. More nurses joined the other two. They were flying everywhere! Preparing things. Hooking my belly up to monitors. Having me sign legal papers. Calling out orders. Starting me on an I.V. Drawing blood. All sorts of crazy stuff. All while I am still having these crazy contractions! And they were still asking questions, I could hardly focus on the answers they needed. But then "She" came in, Sara, and I knew everything was going to be better in just a few minutes.

Sara gave me an epidural :)

Awwwwww........ Much better now. Everything started to slow down. All the extra nurses were gone now. Just Cherie was with us, my labor nurse. I had a cup of ice. From the waist down I was warm and tingly. A good tingle. Not that kind you have when a body part falls asleep. Things were good :)

About 12:00 I was checked again. Still at a 7. The epidural had really slowed things down. But wait..... what was that..... I could feel warm water. When Cherie checked, my water broke.

12:25. (I remember the time because I told Blake he could quote me later on it) I remember looking at the clock and telling Blake, "She is going to be here with in a hour. I can just tell. Its gonna be soon."

Cherie came in just then and asked if I was feeling any pressure. I told her just the slightest bit. She went ahead and checked me again. "Your at a 9." At this point she went ahead and helped me roll over. I had been lying on my right side because the epidural was not numbing that side as well. As soon as she rolled me over I could feel things happening. The pressure to push was getting more and more intense with each contraction. I had about 4 more contractions and told Cherie it was time to push, I could feel it. She checked me again and I was at a 10. Lydia was right there just waiting.

She had already been preparing the room for delivery. She went and called the doctor. Dr. Beck was the on call Dr. My Doctor, Dr. Layton was out of town.... skiing. What a bum! :( (really I was okay with it.)

Dr. Beck arrived. I had done one "practice" push with Cherie before he arrived. Blake was watching and said, "She's bald!" That was a shock to me. Especially after having Maycee with all that hair!!

Dr. Beck suited up and I pushed again. Head was out. Another contraction came, and I pushed again. Dr. said give me everything you got. (shoulders were tight fit. Stuck for a bit. Blake said from his angle Dr. Beck was tugging pretty hard on her) She was out after that second push. WOO HOO!!! 12:48pm and Lydia was here! 8lbs. 3 0z. 20 and 1/4in.

It was an amazing experience! They plopped her up on me. Blake and I got to hold and talk to her for about 10 minutes before they whisked her away to measure and weigh and do all they do.

We are so happy to have her here with us. She is such a pleasant little thing. And oh so precious! We love our Litte Miss Lydia :)

*****************************************************************

Okay, So I have to point out a few things..... I was so proud of myself :)

Did you happen to notice the time line?! From the time I started having contractions to the time the baby was here was only 4 HOURS!!! (and 18 minutes) WOW!!! That was super fast! Especially compared to my induction with Maycee that was 15 hours...... I just really couldn't believe it was so fast.

So ya, I chickened out and got the epidural again. Maybe some day I'll be brave :)

Also, two pushes! really?! Thats Aweesome April! Way to go. (I pushed for about 20 minutes with Maycee, so this was an improvement from last time.)

Welcome Little Miss Lydia!

2011-01-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

here she is our cute little new addition to the family! 8 lbs 3 oz and 20.25 inches. She is happy and doing well as is April.

PUSH! PUSH! PUSH!

2011-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

They say it is time. So we are getting ready. Gunna have a baby here in just a little bit! Yeah we are so excited!

just got checked (grimace)

2011-01-15T11:14:00.000-08:00

We are now at a 9 and she says that the cervix is mostly gone and that little Lydia is at a 0 station so she still needs to come on down just a bit. But she should be here before you know it!

At the hospital

2011-01-15T09:46:00.000-08:00

Ok we are here just got settled down good. April is dilated to a 7 and she also just got an epidural so we things are just settling down a little bit. we are excited!

No other way to put it than... BUSY!

2011-01-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well if these last two weeks haven't been crazy busy, I don't know what has!!

I have been putting the finishing touches on the "re-do" of the girls room. I don't really like this picture, it looks better in person. There are still a couple things to do. Example: The hardware for the dresser is not correct. Just "won" the real stuff I wanted on e-bay last night. It should be here in a week. And there are other little "nick-nacks" that I have planned, just haven't made it that far yet. The dresser was a craiglist find. $20. Sanded it, painted it white, and put a brown glaze over the top to give it that "aged" look.

Here is the BEAUTIFUL crib! Still needs a lacy skirt. But it will come in time... Hopefully :)

Here is a close up of the bedding. It took a long time to make so I have to show it off! The bumper was something new for me to try, as was the fitted sheet. The beautiful crochet(sp?) blanket is from Lydia's Great Grandma Kathy. I asked her to make it as a blessing blanket. She did a wonderful job. It is something Lydia and I will treasure always. Thank you Grandma Kathy.

This stencil wraps around the entire room. I wish there was a little more contrast so you could see it a little better. This took me about three days to do. I won't be doing it again... EVER, but I am glad that I stuck it out and finished it :)

Her is Maycee's little bed. The blanket here was the entire inspiration for the room. It is something her Grandma Kimmy made her before she was born and when I saw it I feel in love with it, the colors, the style, everything. I knew that I would eventually decorate the room around it. So here we are two years later and I finally did it.

If you want to hear a cool story, ask me how I got a hold of the coordinating fabric. It was a miracle!

My wonderful husband has been busting his rear around the house too!

He constructed this awesome vinyl holder for me. Just waiting on a little more dowel so I can put the rest of the vinyl up. It is so nice to have and helps keep the office clean. Thank you honey!!! I love you :)

And I had to put this in.... Beside the vinyl holder is this picture of Maycee! Boy this little girl has us all wrapped around her little fingers. When my sister was in town last time from NY she snapped this priceless picture of Maycee. We all fell in love with it. My mom decided to blow it up and give it to us.... it is POSTER size!!!

here is another house project that Blake has finished. Cabinets in the garage! To keep all of his things organized, and he has done a pretty good job with it :) lets check back in a month and see if its still organized :)

And another..... Shelves in the laundry room. Best idea ever!

And how could we forget the garden..... if anyone would like carrot's, beets, brocolli, cauliflower, cabbage, green onions, celery, or lettuce.... we have got plenty!

A few other things I should mention that have kept us busy.

Computer crashed a few days before Christmas. Got a new one. Its nice.

My wallet was stolen New Years Eve Day. Before we could cancel all my cards (which was less than 24 hours from when it was stollen) there had already been a couple thousand dollars spent. That was a big headache trying to get that taken care... gave me some real good contractions! Spent the next couple days at various banks signing all sorts of things... I felt like my life would never be normal again.

Two days latter my bishop called and asked me to speak in church the following Sunday.

Day after that at my Dr. appointment found out I was dilated to a 3 and that Lydia could be here any day. He said let me strip your membranes. I said no, my list of things to do was to long.

Started wondering about my talk and if I should even write it....

Did you know that when you lose a wallet or have it stolen you are not only supposed to let your credit card companies know but you should also file a police report. I found this out the hard way. With a "knock knock knock" on my door Friday night, just two days after the call from my bishop. Two police officers showed up and wanted to arrest me!!! Someone had tried to use my driver licence and cancelled bank card to cash a fraudulent check. The police didn't know that my wallet was stolen so they came to arrest me for the crime. After some explaining, and a police report they decided to let me go.

Saturday I decided to write my talk. Good thing too, no baby yet. But you figured she would have with all the contractions I had been having with all the "events"

Sunday, talk came and went with out a hitch. No cool story to tell about my water breaking at the pulpit..... bummer. I did finish my list of things "to do" that I wanted to finish before Lydia came.

Monday came with a primary presidency meeting and a new list of things "to do"...

and here it is Tuesday, another Dr. appointment in a few hours and this time I'm gonna let him strip my membranes!

Oh and did I mention TODAY is our 3 year wedding ANNIVERSARY!!! 3 wonderful year :)

I have been busy busy busy! I think that Lydia needs to come today so I can have a few days of sitting around.... what do you think?

Happy Holiday!

2011-01-11T05:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas was fabulous this year! We spent most of it with the Brimhall side. Blake and I were lucky enough to be "in charge" of the Christmas eve plans. We decided we would do some caroling around the neighborhood with the family and then the grandchildren acted out the Christmas Nativity. It was wonderful! The kids really enjoyed and I think most of the adults did too. "Long story shorter" we ended up opening gifts at the Reidhead's home. Maycee wasn't excited about any of her gifts becasue she had got up to early.

Here we are as a family Christmas morning. Maycee had just opened her dolly.

After a yummy breakfast it was time to head back to the other Brimhalls (so Maycee could get a nap) so we could spend more time with the family before the men had to leave to work.

This is Blake all "packed" up to head out to the car.... Silly guy.

(notice the dolly and the stroller, that is what Blake and I gave her, and then two unopened gifts. We figured we better wait until she was a little happier to open the rest. Santa brought her a broom. And a friend, Jack, gave her a cute little tea set that sings.)

This was the day after Christmas. Just had to show you how cute she looked in the little apron that Grandma Kimmy and I had fashioned for her. And the little vacuum that Grandma and Grandpa Mickelson got her for Christmas.... which by the way she loves both.

Every time I get out my vacuum Maycee wants to get her's out too. In fact just the other day we did catch her making a mess just so she could get her vacuum out to clean it up. It was really funny. Cool thing is the vacuum really sucks!

Also the day after Christmas. This is Maycees cousin Randy. They were both enjoying Maycee's gift that came from Grandma Kimmy and Grandpa Keith.

We don't have much of a yard at the moment so we keep the car inside. She plays in this car everyday. She will take all of her most prized possessions and put them in the car. Then she squeezes herself in there and just plays, like its a little house.

And one of the cutest gifts that the little princess got where theses adorable boots that her two aunts, Ruth and Rachel, gave her. She sure is a loved and spoiled little girl! Just look how adorable they are on her!

Thank you to all the family for making our Christmas wonderful!

What were you for Halloween?

2010-11-02T11:07:00.000-07:00

You already saw Maycee was a cute little butterfly... but what About Blake and I right?

Well I just assumed that Blake and I wouldn't dress up this year. For many reasons: Halloween was on a Sunday, we didn't really have any where to go, I have this big belly I didn't want to work around, and Blake's not huge into dressing up (church is about as far as he pushes the envelope).

Wednesday before Halloween my sister Ruth asked if I would trim her hair. (she has me do this from time to time, don't know why she trusts me to do it) She came over and we were taking about her costume. She asked what I was going to be and I gave her my excuses. She was just in awe that I wasn't dressing up, I always do. I love a good costume, whether it is spirit week, Halloween, a family reunion, or any other good excuse for dressing up, count me in!

I was feeling a little guilty about not living up to my... I don't know... normal self. So I asked her, "Well what can I be with this belly? Can't be anything normal, a costume wont fit it."

She said, "give me a minute...." We sat quite for a while then she said, "I got it, I totally know what you could be!"

I was excited..... "A TROLL," she said!

Remember these little guys that everyone collected...

They were cool for a while, remember?

I thought this was a great idea! They have big bellies.... I have a big belly.... Blake's belly hasn't been the smallest lately.... It would totally work out. So Ruth ran to Wal mart with me and we got what I thought we would need.

This was our rendition.....

I think we could have done more with the costume if the idea would have come to me sooner. Like it would have been fun to do some pointy ears, and a big nose. But all-in-all I think we got the important things the belly jewel and the hair.

We did end up having a party to attend too. Our good friends Matt and Kaylee Smith invited a good group of people over for some Halloween festivities. We had a fabulous time!

And yes the hair was not fun to take down. Blake's was easy just a couple washes, mine on the other hand..... Lets just say I wont be doing that again anything soon. Three complete washes and it seemed like an hour of brushing. Head was a bit tender the next day.

We did get around to carving pumpkins too! Blake and I both spent sometime thinking and looking online for good picture "helps" for our pumpkins.

Blake's was a skull, which kinda looks like a monkey.

Mine was a fetus, tried to make it an accurate size of Lydia. Kind of a weird idea, I know... But kinda cool too right?

Can't wait for the next Holiday, THANKSGIVING!!! Just what we need, more food....

Annual Halloween Carnival

2010-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Last night was my parents annual Halloween neighborhood Carnival that is put on by the church. I can always remember going to this event as a kid. It has always been the high light of Halloween for me. Everyone dresses up and they have lots of food and games for the kids. Its fun because all the friends that I grew up with all come back and I get to see a lot of old familiar faces and catch up with them. It is held in one of the cul-de-sacs in the ward.

Here we are at the party, just finished eating our pizza and nachos.
Surprisingly still clean :) (we were bums for not dressing up, next year we are gonna be something fabulous!)

Maycee stayed in her costume the entire time. This was the only time that she allowed us to put the head piece on her. So we quick got a picture. She was by far the cutest butterfly there!

I know this picture is funky but i had to put it in so you could see her cute little smile :)

This year they had a petting zoo. Maycee was funny about it. She waited in line so patiently and kept pointing to the animals jabbering about them. She wanted to see them sooooo bad. We got in and this is how she was.... very VERY hesitant to touch them.

Mostly she just wanted to point and squeal.

There was a pretty good variety of animals.... goats, a cute little big, rabbits that looked about 25 lbs., so weird breed of chickens, and this cute little pony which was incredibly soft! This is the only animal Maycee touched on her own, and really she didn't hesitate about this one. She takes after her mom, she likes the hoarse's the best :)

Maycee was so excited to see her other cousins there. She immediately gave Randy a hug. Doesn't he make a cute Thomas the train!
She even gave little Henry a kiss. Not just a "butterfly" kiss, it was right on the lips! Mom and daddy set a good example :)

Another friend that Maycee liked to be with was "Uncle Sam" we like to call him Uncle Dallin.

A little patriotic for Halloween you say?
Well its the only costume that works when your 10 FEET TALL!!!

Remember those Powerizers the kids got for Christmas. Well Dallin is pretty much a pro on these babies! He was showing off at the party. Bouncing really high, hoppin' on one foot, etc. He said he is still working on the front flip. He wants to wait until track season so he can go make good use of the high jump mats at Meas High, ya know, just in case the front flip doesn't work out like he is hoping.

Maycee with Aunt Rachel, she was a very cute black cat.

Aunt Ruthie I do apologize for not getting a picture of you and Maycee. However, you were a beautiful greek goddess if I may say :)

One of the games Blake has enjoyed over the few years that he has gone to this party is this one.

You get three attempts to throw the ball as fast as you can! Someone is behind a net recording the speed. (I'd hate that job) From what we remeber he has improved every year. Last night he topped out at 68mph! Great job honey! The guys always get real competitive with this game because they have a white board posted at the front of the line that is broken down into age brackets with who is throwing the fastest and what there speed is.

It was a fun evening! By 8:30 we were all ready to be done.

Maycee really did have a good time, we all did :)
Can't wait for next years....

A Sign of Relief

2010-10-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

I can breathe easy, finally.

It really is a girl.

My only 2 ultra sounds have failed to show any "positive, for sure" girl signs. They have always been "Ya, I don't see any boy parts", "its probably a girl". Those thoughts just haven't been sitting well. I wanted a for sure "ITS A GIRL!" answer. I finally got one!!!

I had an appointment today and my awesome Dr. took a quick look for me. We got a, "positive, for sure, ITS A GIRL!"answer. Glad to have the relief :)

Now I feel like I can tell people the name we have chosen for our sweet little girl :)

Lydia Celeste Brimhall

They are both family names.

Lydia Is Blake's Great (x5) Grandmothers name. We became acquainted with this name at the last Brimhall reunion over the summer. It was a big "50th" reunion and so each family had a display about their line of the family. We noticed this name on a family pedigree chart, and both told each other we liked it. It wasn't until that evening that we found out a little bit more about Lydia. One of the family members had put together a movie about the family. Where the Brimhall family name comes from, ancestors, neat stories etc. If my memory services me correctly Lydia gave birth to her last child on a boat coming down the Mississippi River and so they decided to name him Noah. There were some other things said about her that aren't coming to my mind at the moment but she seemed like a really neat lady. (hopefully we will be getting a copy of that movie soon)

Celeste is after me. It is my middle name. I am the 2nd daughter of 4 girls in my family. I always thought it would be fun to name my 2nd daughter after me. So we are :)

Now you all have a name you can add to your prayers.....
Lydia Celeste

Still not convinced... but we are rollin with it!

2010-08-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well had my ultra sound yesterday :) wasn't to impressed with the tech :( I mean, I had Blake and Maycee in there plus my mother and younger sister came. This was the first time Rachel had ever seen an ultra sound done and the tech was just a DUD!!! She didnt explain anything and when you asked a question she gave the shortest answer she could and was back to her business. She just didn't make it enjoyable at all.... Oh well..... not alot I can do about it.

The tech of coarse checked for the gender (since we did not get a "for sure" answer from the doctor) and unfortunately we got the same response form the tech. "Well, im not really seeing a whole lot going on down there..... it looks like its a girl." Not very reassuring AT ALL!!!! However, we have heard that twice now from two different resources so odds are ITS A GIRL!!!! (there still is that very slim doubt in my mind, hopefully that will pass.... Im just terrified that I will have been "bonding" with a girl for 9 months and then they hand me a boy..... that would be really hard for me I think)

ANOTHER GIRL THOUGH.... How exciting!! Blake and I are really happy about it. We are excited for Maycee to have a little sister that she can be best buds with (hopefully) and that we can dress them with matching outfits and stuff :) Plus we already have a ton of pink so financially that is better for us :)

Anyway, with the good news out of the way lets move on to some more good news.....

I promised a prize for the person that picked the correct gender :)

19 out of 30 of you picked GIRL in the post that I did a while ago but I only picked 1 lucky winner from the hat! That winner is ....... drum roll please.............

ASHLEY KELEPOLO!!!!!

Congratulations you have won a NEW SONIC GIFT CARD with the amount of 5 dollars attached! (You have a Sonic in Egar right?)

Better luck to the rest of you next time :)

Ooo I love the way you...

2010-08-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

I LOVE BLAKE!!!

I love the way that he loves Maycee!

Just the last few days I have really noticed how much he really loves his little girl! I mean it has always been obvious, but lately its just been really profound. It is so amazing to see! These two love playing together!!! Only Blake can get her to actually LAUGH! I love to hear her laugh, and I love that Blake can get her to do it. She loves her dad so much!

Today I was getting ready to leave for work and Blake called to let me know that he was on the way home. He said that he wanted Maycee to stay with him while I went to work. I was kinda surprised. You could tell he really wanted her there, not just to give me a break.

I am just so greatful that I am blessed with such a loving husband that loves me and our little girl! I am excited to see the two become even better friends when the new baby gets here.

I love you Blake!

News. Thoughts. And a whole lot of nonsense.

2010-08-05T11:51:00.001-07:00

LUNCH doesn't get any better than: Homemade turkey and avocado sandwich on a whole wheat bun with miracle whip and brown spicy mustard. Choice of fruit on the side and a cold glass of filtered water. :) Even Maycee scarfed it down!

Our yard is One CAR Less: The camry has left our presence forever! Bitter Sweet. Jose and his friends came and picked it and the title up last night for $500. They got a smokin' deal. Literally. The car drives but it has problems. We don't know exactly what is wrong with it. It could last another year, it could last another day. We weren't willing to find out :) That poor car has seen better days but we were happy to see it go!

I just love the sound that a knife makes when you pull it out of the block.... ZWING! Mine do anyway. Anyone else?

Click... Click... Click! Maycee has learned to click her tongue. She walks around the house, click... click... click. Little stinker won't let me get it on video though!

Why haven't I learned that its so much easier to WASH the DISH (pot or pan) right after dinner is over. I always seem to wait several days, its a terrible, terrible habit.

Blake is all registered for SCHOOL! Its gonna be a fun semester. Only 2 classes but its what we both need right now.

I have an official date for the drawing of the "unknown prize". It will be on the 31st of August, sometime after I get home from my next ultra sound. I will know for sure by then if this baby inside is truly a girl or, on the slim chance, a slow developing boy.

Oh! And I almost forgot.... drumb roll please..... my last day of work is this coming TUESDAY!!! After 4 years and about 9 days I have decided its time to be a Stay-at-Home MOM! Of coarse I am sad to not be able to spend time with Jack and his family so much but this is what MY FAMILY needs right now, ME! I am so grataeful for the friendship that the Thomas Family has show to me (and Blake and Maycee). They have truly been a blessing in our lives.

Growing Up: Maycee sleeps on a "Big Girl Bed" now! Well its just a toddler bed but I can't believe it! She transitioned so well. Slept great on it the first time and hasn't gone back. Now we just need to decide if we keep her in the same room with new little sister or split them up? Blake and I are in disagreement about this one. Good thing we have about 5 months to decide. Whats your advice?

NOT Official

2010-08-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

POLES ARE CLOSED!!!

Thank you to everyone that participated in the recent voting.

Poles are closed however no winner will be decided until further notice. :)

I had my first doctors visit today. I wasn't sure if Dr. was going to do an ultra sound but he did!!!! I was so excited when he mentioned that he was. However it was a limited ultra sound and we couldn't get a supper good picture of the "gender area" (he DID give it a valiant effort, the little peanut was uncooperative)

He asked, "Do you want to know what it is"?

"Yes", I said with like a "duh" sound in my voice (but not in a rude way).

He said, "Well its a......................................................................................." It was seriously like 10 seconds. "Well, I'm not getting a very good picture but it looks like a girl."

We talked about it for a bit. He couldn't get a very good shot but he wasn't really seeing anything "protruding" and also did say he saw what look like the female anatomy. He gave me very good odds for a baby girl. 90%. I told him those were pretty good odds. :)

So there you have it. It looks like a GIRL!!! I don't want to pull any names out of a hat until we have a FOR SURE. So give me about 3 more weeks (that's when my complete ultra sound is scheduled) and we will pick an official winner then.

Blake and I are both VERY excited for the little one! :) Now we just need a name......

If anyone is curious...... the baby was measuring a week smaller which puts my due date around the 21st of January. But he said until another ultra sound he doesn't want to move the due date. So it is still 1-11-11 :) I did kind joke that it would be cool if he could induce me on the 11th because it would be a cool birthday and he said "we could probably work that out" Which kinda surprised me that he was up for it...... but we will see.....

VOTE

2010-07-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Alright Everyone! Time for a vote....

I am getting so anxious about what this baby is gonna be! And I have no clue as to boy or girl!?! One day I hope so bad for a boy and the next day same thing about a girl.

Blake and I would be happy with either and Maycee is not telling us what she wants for some reason. :)

Were gonna take a vote. Leave a comment with your guess either boy or girl. Once we find out what it is (should be anytime now) we will put all the correct guesses in a hat and pull a name out. the winner will get a surprise! I say surprise cause I am not sure what it is yet. Ha ha! But its gonna be something neat!!!

I will edit the post as more votes come in...

ME- Undecided- I'm the only one that can vote this way :)

Mom Mickelson- Boy
Mom Brimhall- Boy
Angie Ellsworth- Boy
Donna Webster- Girl
Kim Higham- Girl
Jenny Carpenter- Girl
Whitney Groscost- Boy
Lindsey Robison- Girl
Allee Johnson- Boy
Marjolein Reman- Girl
Ashley Kelepolo- Girl
Darby Reidhead- Boy
Emery Reidhead- Girl
David Mickelson- Boy
Rachel Mickelson- Boy
Dallin Mickelson- Boy
Kurtis Mickelson- Boy
Larry Mickelson- Girl
Karri Mickelson- Girl
Shea & Yvette Flake- Girl
Yvonne Judd- Boy
Sharon Judd- Girl
Elder Mickelson- Girl
Raena Tellez- Girl
Mike and Kristy- Girl

One Saturday Morning

2010-07-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

A few Saturdays ago we woke and said, "Hey lets go watch the Reidhead girls dive meet!" It was going to be last one that they would be able to compete in. So we did!!

It was the best weather you could hope for, for an Arizona summer morning that is. A little humid but cloud cover and a little breeze.

Maycee had her sunglasses and she was good to go!

This is Emery flying through the air! They both dive great on their 5 dives and had great scores.

If I would have realized we were so close to the end of the meet I would have tried harder to get a picture of Darby in the air. I realized to late. So here she is with Maycee and Josie.

The sunglasses were a hit with Josie too. She liked to wear them upside down.

Abby is always so good at thinking of cute poses!

It was fun to go and watch all the kids compete. Both Darby and Emery qualified for the city meet BUT they were both at the PSR Reunion and missed it. Next time you see either of these girls give them a high five, they are great divers!

5th of July

2010-07-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

So our 4th of July was the pits! I mean we were of coarse proud to be Americans and flew our Country's flag but our "celebration" was lame. I blame myself. We planned to go see fireworks at my Uncle Morris lynn and Aunt Susan's house (we've been in the past, and they have had a good firework show). I don't know what the deal was this year but the fireworks didn't shoot into the air like the normal ones do. This was just like a ground display. And since we were at their house, not the church where they were being launched from, it was the LAMEST show ever!!! Even if we would have been at the church, the show still would have been awful! However, we made up for it the next day.....

Our 5th of July was AWESOME !!! :) Blake had read about this camping place online called Workman's Creek. We decided that we would get up and go check it out. We packed a lunch and after a 2 and half our drive we were there. The beautiful Arizona mountains. Blake had read that this place had several different camp grounds, a creek that is stocked yearly, and a 200 ft. waterfall.... our hopes were high!

When we got there we found the camp grounds. They weren't to big. Each one could hold about 5 or 6 family's (In my mind I was expecting something like Sherwood Forest) There were pretty nice camp sights. They had toilets :)

Maycee loved to be out in nature. After we got out and stretched we set off to find the creek and this waterfall that was on the internet.

Maycee is headed to the creek!

We found this cool little place to take a family picture. Couldn't resist it. it was fun to prop the camera and use the timer. It took a couple of try's. Had a few pictures with my back side instead of my face :)

We came to this little waterfall and hoped this was not what everyone was raving about...

Then we found lots of little waterfalls! This was a cool little place where the rocks were chilled away and it looked like a bunch of little steps for dolls or something..... it was cooler in person.
(if you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see the steps a little better)

After about a 45min. hike up and back the creek we decided we would get lunch and then see if we could find the fall in the using the car. It wasn't bad to hike in the creek, in fact it was a lot of fun it was just had cause we had to carry Maycee the whole time. She might be a lite weight but she gets heavy fast when your trying to jump up rocks.

Lunch was good. Chicken salad sandwiches :) Made them here at this make-shift table/bench Blake made for us. A plank he found on a rock and a stump. He is so handy :)

During lunch, Maycee found a favorite place. This stump was just her size.

We jumped in the car and took off up the road. Ran into, (not literally), some hikers. They told us the fall was just up the road...... we were getting excited :)

And Then there it was...... Beautiful!

They had a small pond right before the fall and we did see 1 fish in it. Can you see it? Its very camouflaged.... upper left hand corner.... well more middle-left of the picture I guess... kinda green looking..... you can see its shadow in the bottom of the pond, just underneath it.

After admiring this we got back in the car and headed further up the road and found a look out tower. talked to a funny old guy for a while and saw some more amazing sights!

After we were satisfied we headed back down the mountain.

Blake wanted to go see the new dam that was put in at Roosevelt Lake so we went and checked that out and then of coarse had to stop for some fishing. Didn't catch anything so it was more of just hanging out with a fishing pole in hand. We had fun though :)

Even though the water was cool Maycee and I enjoyed it :)

Blake doing his thing....
Us doing ours.....

The ride home was even fun.... Maycee started in on this apple and I was surprised what she could do with those 6 front teeth.

Half way gone!

The whole day was great! It was just fun to get away just us, and for pretty cheap too. Just a tank of gas. We decided we will have to go back to actually go camping with a small group of friends or family..... maybe you will be the lucky ones :)