My Golden Birthday

I turned 27 on December 27th..my golden birthday! I used to be way crazy about my birthday, and made sure the world revolved around me on that day, but honestly, since having kids, it's more like just another day. And that's ok. Curt's day off happened to fall on my b-day which was nice. Everyone felt a little sick, so it was a stay-at-home-and-chill kind of day. We relaxed, got some mexican food for dinner and had Nana and Papa and Madi over for brownie sundaes (my fav!) My parents were in CA at Disneyland, so it was a quiet celebration. The girls loved the balloons that Curt got me and had fun celebrating. I'm so lucky to have Curt and our cute daughters and can't wait to see what 27 holds! 

Christmas 2013

We had such a fun Christmas season. Christmas is SO SO magical and has always been my favorite holiday! Having kids that have such sweet and innocent excitement about it makes it even better than I ever could have imagined. We did lots of fun activities, and since it was so long ago, I'm sure I won't remember everything. But I'll write what I can remember. We went to "Winter Wonderland" at Riverside State Park, where we went on a hayride and saw Christmas lights, learned about and saw a live owl, saw Santa, and walked across the lit swinging bridge (except Curt didn't..he's afraid of heights, especially on things that move). It was a cold night, but there were fires set up all along the trails and it was nice to be able to warm up! If we do it next year, we'll definitely bring stuff for smore's! We went Christmas light looking LOTS of times, and Brooke especially loved spotting the Grinch (her major obsession!). We found lots of cool houses and never got bored of that. The girls are gooood Christmas light lookers. We did the Lake Coeur d'Alene cruise to the North Pole and had so much fun doing that with the cousins. The conservatory at Manito Park was beautiful as always. We sang lots and lots of Christmas songs and read so many Christmas books and loved everything about Christmas! My mom and I took the girls downtown on Christmas eve day to watch "Arthur Christmas" at the IMAX and rode the carousel that was way fun. We had a quiet Christmas eve with just our family and Gma and Gpa and played ring toss, clothespin game, and the dice game, our annual traditions. As well as read and acted out the Nativity, opened PJ's, and of course ate yummy food. We left out cookies and milk for Santa and Brooke was insistent that we leave carrots for the reindeer, so that we did! 

Aside from all the festivities, we really tried to emphasize to the girls the importance of Christmas, because of Christ. That He truly is the reason for the season. I'm grateful for the time of year to focus even more on our Savior and to be able to spend time teaching about Him and what He has done for us.

 Things I want to remember:
-How Brynlee would yell "Santa" every time we saw him on the corner of Sullivan and Sprague. No matter what direction we were coming from, she always spotted the blow up Santa and the Santa on top of the Christmas tree stand amazingly fast. It was totally her gauge for where we were at!
-How much the girls loved singing Christmas songs. They love music and were totally hooked on Christmas music (as am I).
-The magic that was in their eyes on seeing what Santa left. They were totally spoiled (Santa needs to learn some self-control) and they soaked it all in.
-A new tradition we started by writing our gift to Jesus on a piece of paper and wrapping it up. Our "gifts" are still in our rooms, and help us remember what we are trying to be better at.
-The wonderful time I spent with my little family, enjoying the warm, peaceful feelings that come with the Christmas season. We took Brooklyn to the store to pick out a toy to give to a child who wouldn't have presents otherwise and she chose the Doc Mcstuffins doctor kit (the one she wanted so bad) to give away. She picked it knowing that she would give it away, and did is so willingly and with such a pure heart. She really is so sweet.

Christmas Dresses

Grandma Murphey got the girls beautiful Christmas dresses! Usually by the time we get home from church, we are so ready for nap time that we never get cute pictures of the girls all dressed up (and taking pics before 9am church..umm yah right!) But since it was their Christmas dresses, we attempted some pictures by our Christmas tree. With not the most cooperative subjects, I'd say a couple turned out alright! And when I look at them, I'm reminded how challenging it is to get a picture of only 2 kids! 

Thanks Grandma for the dresses! We had a wonderful Sacrament Meeting the Sunday before Christmas, with lots of beautiful musical numbers. Christmas music has to be one of my most favorite things about the season! Despite wrestling these two beauties (one of whom spilled Cheerios EVERYWHERE in Sacrament Meeting), we felt the Spirit testify of the divinty of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He really is the reason for the season and we are forever indebted to him for his life and sacrifice for us. 

Snow!

A week before Christmas, we finally got some snow! Okay, I wasn't actually that excited about it, but Brooklyn sure was. And so we spent like half an hour getting all our winter gear on to play in the snow for about 20 minutes..haha. But it was worth it! The girls loved it and the snow didn't stick around too long so it was good to get some use of it right away!

 Brooklyn Rose

 Brynlee Ann

Brooke loved making snow angels! The snow was too fluffy for a snowman, so we attempted sledding down the little hill in the backyard. After a crash into the rocks and a bruised bottom for me, we stuck with playing in the snow :) Brynlee enjoyed trying to slide down the hill on her bum. Love that these little girls help me find joy, even in things I'm not usually excited about. It's so fun to see things through the eyes of a child! 

Disneyland!

Better late than never...We had an awesome summer vacation! The Barnes' took the whole family (except Curt's brother/wife who couldn't come) to Disneyland in August! Seriously, so fun! I loved Disneyland before kids, but it was so magical with our little girls. We stayed in a hotel right across the street, which was so nice! We got to CA on Saturday, ate lunch at In n' Out, shopped a little, went out to dinner and relaxed. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday were our Disneyland days. We pretty much opened the park, and closed it up (except the first night), and loved every minute! 

Lovin the airplane ride! She had fun watching movies on the itouch and listening with her new Minnie Mouse headphones! 

Monday morning Brooklyn and Kylee got to go to the Bippity Boppity Boutique, where they got their hair, nails and makeup done. Brooke had been SO excited about these, and had being doing chores to save money for it for months. (And she did an awesome job at her chores, for the record!) They were so adorable in their dresses that nana made, all prettied up! And they loved it. Then it was time for some rides. Brooke is quite timid when it comes to "scary" things, so we had some tears, some kicking and screaming, but we made her go anyways (P.S. Snow White's "Scary" Adventure should not have been so traumatic..haha). But when we went on Dumbo (all five or so times), she was in heaven! She loved the teacups, the Ferris Wheel, meeting the characters, and especially having lunch with the Princesses. We would totally do that again. It was SO fun! Brooke was so full of energy, I was amazed! Curt took Bryn home each day for a nap, and 2 of the 3 days, Brooke and I stayed and rode rides and had fun. She was in such a good mood the whole time, no whining and was in awe at everything around her. She never got impatient waiting in lines and was so excited and happy the whole trip. She is seriously so much fun to have around. She's easy going, fun loving and genuinely is excited about pretty much everything. We tricked her into going on Radiator Racers in Cars Land..there was no crying, but there was also no way we could talk her into going a second time, haha. Tuesday wasn't exactly ideal as Curtis got sick (like throwing up super nauseous sick), so he missed out on the 2nd half of the day, but the rest of us had fun (even though we wished he were there). Nana and Papa helped a ton with the girls (we had two strollers, so I couldn't have done it without them), and we had fun riding rides and watching the fireworks.

On Wednesday, our "relax" day, we went to Huntington Beach. We were so excited to lay on the beach and chill, but we didn't anticipate that it might be windy. Like really windy! So after a few minutes of playing in the water, and building a sand castle, we decided being chilly and pelted by sand wasn't our idea of a relaxing time. So we packed up and walked around some shops and had lunch. Not the beautiful day at the beach we had anticipated, but memorable nonetheless! Bryn loved the ocean and Brooke had fun doing sand angels, so what little time we did spend at the beach was fun. 

Thursday was our last Disneyland day and we lived it up. We hit up all Brooke's favorite rides, filled up her autograph books by meeting lots of characters, and sweated in the 97 degree weather. It was HOT! But we were so busy having fun we didn't really notice (if it weren't for iphones, I wouldn't have guessed it was THAT hot!) We made sure everyone was drinking lots. I haven't mentioned Bryn much. That's because she mostly just hung out in the stroller. One day we even forgot to bring her shoes into the park so really didn't walk around at all, poor girl. She was such a trooper, and had fun looking at all the fun things going on around her. Next time we go (not for a while I'm sure), she'll be able to enjoy more of the experience. For being a very busy little girl, she sure was an angel and {mostly} liked the rides she was able to go on. She was most definitely NOT a fan of characters though..it's crazy how young kids learn to be afraid of things..almost innate. She wanted nothing to do them, especially Chip and Dale. The firework show on the last night was bittersweet. Bitter because the magic was coming to an end, but sweet because of all the memories made. I might have cried a little during the firework show :) We are so grateful for Nana and Papa for the wonderful trip. Brooke talks about it all the time, and loves looking at the pins she traded (one of her favorite things to do at Disneyland), and even asked one morning after she woke up "What are we doing today? Going to Disneyland?" Oh how we wish we could :) 

Friday we took the girls to Build-a-Bear in Downtown Disney to make a bear for a souvenir. Guess what bear Brooke picked?! Princess! haha. She had a lot of fun doing it and soaked it up. Bryn on the other hand..didn't care. And we knew she wouldn't but we still wanted her to have a memory (and she does love her bear). Brooke named her bear Aurora (very creative..since she picked out the Sleeping Beauty dress..ha!), and we named Bryn's bear "Pookie bear" since that's what Curtis affectionately calls Brynlee. We had a relaxing final day in Anaheim, albeit a bit bittersweet. We shopped a bit and just relaxed before getting everything packed up and ready to go.

We flew out Saturday (after a stop by Chick-fil-A on the way to the airport..my first time), and everything went smoothly with getting home. The trip was magical! I hope I always remember the look of excitement and wonder on Brooklyn's face, how she basically ran everywhere because she was so excited. How she noticed every detail around her and especially how her dreams came true meeting the Princesses in real life. Much of her little world revolves around Princesses and that was a highlight of the trip for her. We have told her that we hope to go back in the next 5 years...not sure if that is even realistic, but we will try our best! I love how the excitement and energy of children is contagious! 

Brooke's Halloween Party

Brooke had some of her friends over for a super fun Halloween party! I had accumulated so much awesome stuff the past couple years in anticipation for the day Brooke would be old enough for a party. And it didn't disappoint! We had a ghoulish lunch with mummy hot dogs, vampire apple teeth, pumpkin poop (cheetos puffs), witches's brooms (pretzel w/ string cheese), and eye balls (grapes), decorated sugar cookies, made a picture frame craft, played pin the hat on the witch, read Halloween stories, and "broke" a pumpkin pinata (with some serious adult help..haha). 

I was a little worried with 8 little people, but with the help of my mom and a couple of the kids' moms, everything was great! It seemed like the kids had a lot of fun, and Brooke loved handing out the goody bags and telling everyone thanks for coming. I only made a dent in our Halloween goody tote so we might just be having another party next year...

Our Utah Trip (back in October...)

The girls and I got back last week from a two and a half week trip to Utah. And we had FUN! While we were there, my mom, sister and I went to an awesome Pinner's Conference, where my sister-in-law presented a class on Journaling. It inspired me to be a better journaler, but since we've been home so far I haven't actually followed through with my big dreams! So here's to better documenting my daily ins and outs, feelings and happenings!

Our Utah trip was filled with fun. One of the things I love most about being a mom is the energy my little girls bring into my life. Brooke has an excitement for life that fills me with joy! As fall approached, she noticed every changing leaf, and pointed them out to me so excitedly. And she had so much fun playing in the leaves with her cousins. I am so grateful for the fun we had with my sister and her family! The time went so fast because we were busy having such a good time. After the kids were in bed, we played games, something I've really missed (we haven't done it often since having kids). We went to the dollar movie theater a couple times with the kids (they were in heaven), and Brooke now loves the Smurfs (I thought it was a little weird, but I was just glad she wasn't scared!) Bryn learned to say/recognize "Jeshus" while we were down there after looking at pictures of Jesus in the hall during church (yes, we spend some time in the hall with that curly haired cutie!). Much of our fun was documented in pictures, as always!

The BYU Homecoming parade...so awesome! The kids were way into it and loved the candy! My mom and I were able to go to the homecoming game that night with Troy and Tyler and it brought back so many memories from "the good ol' days." (Thanks Alyssa and Spencer for watching my girls). There is such a fun excitement with homecoming weekend and we loved being a part of it all! 

The kids played dress up, and had some serious fun in the leaves! 5 kids made for some pretty crazy bath nights. Cousins are just so much fun! (It took Brynlee a while but she finally {kinda} bonded with her uncles! Ohh how she's a momma's girl!)

There was so much to do at Hee Haw's farm..a hay ride (Brooke's personal fav), a corn maze, awesome slide, corn pit, petting zoo, horse ride...ahh so much fun! We also enjoyed making/decorating sugar cookies and haunted houses. And we might have liked eating them too :)

We knew Boo at the Zoo would be insane (and it was) so we went to the Zoo on a calmer day to see all the animals. Brynlee learned what a monkey says and if you ask her, she says, "ah, ah, ah." It's quite adorable! It was a gorgeous day and we loved enjoying the sunshine! Zoos are always so much fun with the excitement of kids. 

Way too early in the morning we threw some costumes together from the dress up box and headed to the Zoo again. Seriously, it was INSANE! SO MANY people. If I lived there, it would be more like a every few years thing (long enough to forget how crazy it was) but we were glad we went. The kids loved trick-or-treating and the cats were out on the prowl (something that apparently doesn't happen often.) It was pretty awesome to see the tiger pacing and hear it's growl. Brynlee was totally unamused that we woke her up for such chaos and her expression showed it for a good half hour (it's the longest she's ever stayed still for haha). The kids loved their candy and we were {mostly} glad we woke up at the crack of dawn for it :)

After the zoo, we just weren't quite worn out enough (ha!) so we stopped at my favorite temple to "bride watch" and enjoy the lovely views. Brooke really loves the temple and it's always fun to take her there and tell her about when daddy and I were married.

Our entire trip was so full of fun! I love hanging out with my sister and niece/nephews. And it was fun with to see my brothers as well. Grandma spoiled the kids during the trip and Brooke is always talking about going to Utah again (although I'm not ready for the drive again anytime soon!) Thanks James' for the fun trip!!

Greenbluff 2013

At the beginning of October, we went to Greenbluff. We went with grandma and grandpa (Curt had to work so we tried not to have too much fun without him!) We loved going through the hay bale maze, watching chunkin pumpkins, picking out a pumpkin, eating pumpkin donuts and picking apples. Brooke even got to go on her first horse ride! We went after grandpa's half marathon but he was a trooper! The girls loved it all.

Grandpa rocked the half marathon, coming in under 2 hours! And we loved cheering him on along the way!

Greenbluff fall festival is one of our favorite annual traditions. We had so much fun (but don't tell Curtis!)

The Winter Sickies

Usually I blog about how life is just peachy (and it usually is pretty dang good), but winter sometimes gets the best of us. As I write, it kills me to hear my little girls coughing so hard during their naps. Sick kids make me so sad. Brooke has been spiking a fever randomly (like 4 times in like a month), so I took her to the dr. today to see if it's something more severe than just a virus. I haven't heard yet, but I'm sure it's just that winter just kinda stinks. Between the two girls, I have been awake no less than 5 times every night for the past week. It's taking a toll on my mental health and I'm often on the verge of tears. And even when I try to be nice in the middle of the night because I know they are sick, I don't always succeed. Sometimes I'm just too tired to deal with it the nice way. But..on the flip side, I am so so very grateful that I get to be the one to snuggle this precious little girls when they need it most. I feel blessed that I am so needed in their lives. A few nights ago, Bryn was having a rough night and I went in and scooped her up her body just molded into me. It was honestly one of the sweetest feelings I've ever had. I felt enveloped by her love. I rocked her and my heart was full. So amongst the sickness and sadness that comes with sickness, I'm grateful for the ray of sunshine. For the extra snuggles and hugs, and especially how it has helped me to appreciate the times when we are healthy (which is most of the time, thankfully). I'm really trying to work on figuring out what I need to learn, in the midst of a trial. Not just waiting for it to be over. It has helped me to see the love of our Heavenly Father during hard times and to be grateful for this life of growth and progression. I have a long way to go, but I'm grateful for the journey.

If this is any indication of what is to come...

Brooke convinced Grandma that she had already napped when she came over to watch the girls {I finally got my hair cut..first time in 8 months!} and man, it made for a 'fun' night! Our sweet little Brooklyn turned into a psychotic, crying, out-of-control little person. She. was. crazy! If this is any indication of what she'll be like as a teenager...we're in trouble! She was crying so hard that even after she stopped, she had a hard time catching her breath. She said, "My hiccups won't go away." Ha! I tried to stick to my guns and not tuck her back in like I had threatened, but I. Just. Couldn't. Do. It. Parenting is so hard! I just had to snuggle her to help her calm down. And then I let her call grandpa. She told him, "I can't skip my nap anymore." And because she's spoiled, grandma and grandpa came up to tell her goodnight. She went right to sleep after that. I'm so not good at tough love...I'd rather have cuddles. I love being a mom, but sometimes I  feel torn between helping my kids feel loved vs. teaching a lesson. One of the many challenges of parenting! Sure do love sweet Brooklyn and hoping she'll be back tomorrow after a good night's sleep!