Baptism Day!

 Saturday, February 2nd Brinnley Beth was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  The party started Friday when Grandma, Grandpa, Madison and Logan came.  Grandpa took the 5 grandkids swimming for an hour and a half at our Rec Center.  They had a great time!  Our Rec Center is awesome and that was our first time going there. 

Friday night I was putting the finishing touches on the food.  I saw this cupcake dress on Pinterest and knew I had to make it for her baptism.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  It's hard to tell, but that is a heart-shaped broach with purple stones on the corner of the ribbon.  I think Brinnley thought it was pretty cool.

Friday night we were expecting Kasey, Tracy, Lacey, Lily, and Brent.  About 10:30 p.m. I got a call from Kasey saying Brent fell off the bleachers at Lance's basketball game and broke his arm and they were in the ER.  They didn't get to our house until 4 in the morning.  I couldn't believe after that they still came, but I was so glad they did and I know Brinnley was too.  Kirk, Tyler, and Easton left Ashton about the time Kasey got to our house.  They pulled into my driveway about 8:30 a.m. and made it to the church by 8:50, with the baptism service starting at 9:00 a.m.  Crazies!

 This is the outfit that Brinnley picked out with Grandma months ago.  It has been hanging in the closet patiently waiting for this day to arrive.  Brinnley chose this dress and I think it was perfect for her.  Understated but beautiful!

 You may be wondering why the pictures of the hair.  Well, I have been contemplating what to do with Brinnley's hair for weeks.  See, this lady has a head full of thick, gorgeous hair and it looks beautiful down.  But, I wanted to do something that could last getting wet without having to restyle it.  I found this style on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect.  But Friday I tried it out on her hair for school and I struggled.  It's just so dang thick!  I didn't know how to contain the braid on one side while I worked on the other.  But I couldn't find anything else I wanted to try.  So Saturday morning I was up at 6:00 so I could get myself ready and have lots of time to perfect Little Lady's look.  We turned Wizards of Waverly Place on the I-Pad and I got to work.  And it took an entire episode for me to get this thing done.  Yes, that's right, 25 minutes for two French braids and a ponytail.  And you should have seen me when I finished.  I was literally whooping for joy and hi-5ing everyone.  Seriously I couldn't get the smile off my face.  I think it looked amazing.  And, it made it through being wet still looking fabulous.  I was pretty dang proud of myself!  GO ME!

 She looked so pretty!

 And Ainsley chose her own outfit as well.  This is her favorite skirt.  She was a bright ray of sunshine!

 At the church before getting changed.

A proud mom with her beautiful girl.
In their whites and ready to go.

 Before the baptism, Tyler gave a talk on baptism.  Brinnley specifically asked him to speak.  She thought he would be a great choice since he just got off his mission, "he knows about this stuff."  So I had her call him herself.  She was so excited when he said yes.  And he did a great job!  He spoke on their level and it just really clicked.  He talked about making covenants.  Brinnley was sitting next to me and she poked me and said, "Mom!  We talked about this!"  Yes, we did. 

Then it was time to head to the font and for Chant to perform the baptism.  I didn't shed a single tear the entire day, but I was filled with this peace and joy.  Watching my beautiful girl go under the water, my heart was just so happy.  I am so grateful for this girl and her beautiful spirit.  I am so thankful for the Church and peace it brings into my life.  Seeing her make this covenant was just beautiful.   

After the baptism we heard a talk about the Holy Ghost and then Chant was joined by friends and family in a circle to put their hands on Brinnley's head and give her the gift of the Holy Ghost.  That too was amazing.  Just so happy! 

 After that we all went to a different church building to celebrate with food, family, and friends.  Before food,  I insisted we take a picture of Brinn, with Grandpa, and the men in the circle. 
Left to right:  Braedon Goudie, Sam Young, Mike, Chant, Kasey, Grandpa, Easton, Tyler, and Kirk.

 Then it was time to eat and chat.  (Brent, Porter, and Brinn)

 Kristy, Mike, and Will

 Tyler (with his eyes barely open since being awake since 4:00 a.m.), Kasey, and Grandma

 Chant and Jen

 Maddie and Logan

 Jennie and Sam Young

 Gran and Brinn

 Grandma and Grandpa

After leaving the church, it was back to the Rec Center for another few hours of swimming. 

It was a beautiful day and I was so happy that our friends and family could be there to celebrate it with us. 

8th Birthday!

 Brinnley's birthday this year landed on a Saturday.  Yay!  I love Saturday birthdays.  Before we even had breakfast, the birthday girl got to open her presents.  She got an owl CTR necklace in her favorite colors, lime green and turquoise.  And I gave her a journal. 

 She also got lots of paper and fun shaped scissors for her crafting.   I think she was a happy girl. 

 After breakfast and getting ready we headed downtown to meet Gran and Jen.  Gran bought Brinnley a CTR ring.  She chose a dark blue one.  It's really pretty and she loves it! 

 Next we stopped at three Deseret Industries.  Brinnley had some birthday money and she chose to spend some of it on a Lacrosse stick and a pink jersey.  Love this girl! 

 The last stop of our outing was Scheels.  Brinnley wanted to ride the ferris wheel.  The other kids thought they wanted to, until they saw it.  And then both of them chickened out.  But I was okay with that because I didn't want to go up there either.  No thank you!  So while Chant and Brinnley stood in line, Porter, Ainsley, and I checked out the awesome fish tanks and the animals.  Then we took up residency in a corner of the railing so we could watch them.  (The picture above is me looking down on them.  Below is while we waited for them to move up in line.)

 Here they go!

 Up higher...

 And higher still.  I had planned on taking one of them at the very top, but I couldn't do it.  I was getting sick to my stomach just looking up at them.  By the time they got off I was really queasy!  I was glad when they were both back on the ground.  But my adventurous Brinnley loved it!  She had a great time and was all smiles.  Chant said his stomach was rolling a bit. 

 The friendly welcome bear.

Back at the house, we got ready for party number two with the family.  Margi, Mike, Kristy and Will, Jen, and Kerry all came.  We had an awesome dinner of chicken patty sandwiches and salads.  Brinnley loves those sandwiches so she had both of her faves, pizza with friends and sandwiches with family.  

 After dinner we opening presents.  Mike and Kristy got her a book on Baptism and these awesome cards on the people from the scriptures that summarize their story.  (Here she's wearing the pink jersey she bought.)

 This cool candy gram from Jen talked about what they are going to do on their Girls' Day Out this weekend.  So cute and fun!

 Next came cake, yes another cake but the same.  She loved it! 

I hope this girl had a fabulous day and that she knows how much she is loved!

Party Time!

 Brinnley Beth turned 8 on January 26.  She's 8!  I know I say this every year, but I really cannot believe she is this old.  This little lady is so sweet and tender-hearted.  She cares about everyone and is such a great friend, and has great friends as well.  She is aware of others and works hard to make them feel special and included.  She loves science and math, creating things, and learning about animals.  She adores her teacher and loves school!  She loves to read, mostly books about animals and other informative books.  She loves making art and is very creative with her supplies.  (She loves raiding the recycling bin.)  She has her own sense of style, but she's still my t-shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes girl.  Her favorite colors are lime green and turquoise.  She loves Legos!  In a word, she's awesome!  I love this girl and am so thankful she's mine! 

This year she wanted to do the zebra and cheetah thing.  It took some creativity and planning on my part, but I think it turned out great.  Her cake was zebra on top and colorful cheetah spots on the bottom.

 We found these awesome zebra balloons and hung black and white streamers in the living room and kitchen.

 I had to snap this picture of the kids before the girls headed off to school Friday the 25th, the day of Brinnley's friend party. 

 While they were at school I made these nail polish treats.  (Marshmallows with frosting on them and Tootsie Rolls stuck on the top.)  These were a big hit with the girls.

 My sweet birthday girl!

 This year Brinnley decided to keep her guest list small.  She invited 4 girls, but only 2 were able to make it.  But we had an awesome time! 
(Ainsley, Kelsey, Ashlyn, Porter, and Brinn)

After eating their nail polish marshmallows, we made pop can tab bracelets.  It took a minute to get them going, but once the girls got a few on the ribbon they had a great time.  While they were making bracelets, we put Chant to work stirring.  We made Kool-Aid lipgloss and Chant got the lucky job of stirring until the Kool-Aid melted into the Vaseline.

After bracelets we had the perfect birthday dinner, pizza.

 

 Then it was present time.  Ainsley made Brinnley a sweet card.  SO thoughtful!  And Ashlyn and Kelsey both got Brinn Legos, the same set actually.  But Brinnley was super excited about it.  I thought it showed how well her friends know her because Brinnley loves horses and that's what the Legos sets had.

 Next was cake time.  She was pretty surprised and excited about it.  We kept the cake hidden until it was time for it.

 And of course we had to save time for dancing and crazy contortionist moves.  So fun! 

 I think everyone had a great time.  I know my kids went to bed with smiles on their faces.  Party number one was a huge success!

January Happenings

 January was a busy month for us.  We've had some good times!  The 4th our business partner had her baby, Greyson.  The kids love him.  He is totally hugable and kissable and we did all of it when we went to visit him for the first time. 

 Brinnley made her own robot outfit our of boxes.  I was impressed!  She did a great job.

 Porter continues to enjoy dressing-up.  The outfit is ever-evolving.  Who knew PJ pants could make for such great hair?

 One Sunday afternoon the  girls hijacked the I-Pad and went to Mom and Dad's room to watch Disney Channel.  I went into my room to grab something and I had to get the camera.  I loved seeing them all curled up together.  SO sweet!

 Porter and Chant brushed up on their skills with their swords. 

 Porter's version of the Eiffel Tower.  Very creative! 

I used some scraps of fabric to make a wreath for the girls' bedroom door.  The left side is a little floppy, but around here we just say it has character.

And that was just the first half of the month!