Some extra info

When I posted about our Valentine's Day project, I forgot to let you all know where I got the idea. I wish I could take credit for it, but, alas, I'm not that creative! (I'm good at copying other people's creations!) ;0) The website is called "A Little Hut" and is found here. So many cute ideas!!

Also, a few people have asked where I got Paige's Ballerina book. It's an Usbourne book. You can get it from any Usbourne book consultant (my mom is one). My sister is actually hosting an e-show in the next few weeks, so if you want to see what other books there are, let me know and I'll send you a link to the e-show. They are amazing books and my kids LOVE them!

I think that's all on that front. Austin had a big day today with a couple firsts. He went down the stairs by himself for the first time today. He's been going up forever, but he's always been too chicken to go down. He's finally jumped that hurdle! Yeah!! He also tried to say "peek-a-boo". It was so cute. It came out more like "a-ga-oo", but I knew what he was saying, especially because he was playing peek-a-boo with his bedroom door! :0) He also stood by himself for a couple minutes. Seriously, he's been the biggest chicken when it comes to standing or walking, so this is huge!! ;0) He will walk if he's holding onto one of our hands, but no solo attempts. I'll keep you posted!

I hope you're having a great week!! Tomorrow's FRIDAY, yeah!!

Some random pics and videos

Paige's new dance steps. (Don't you love her outfit?)

Taking Baby for a ride on her Barbie bike
Tamale dinner videos

Fun in the...

SNOW!!

I was surprised how much Austin liked the snow. That is, until he realized how frustrating it was to crawl and not go anywhere because his snow suit was so big and slippery. Oh well. Next year, Austin, next year!! :0)

Once there was a snowman...

Paige wanted to build a snowman so badly, that Brian decided to help her out. The bad thing was the snow was so powdery that Paige and Brian had to add water to it. That's what Paige is doing in the picture below. Taking a bucket of water to Daddy so the snowman won't crumble to pieces!

Paige giving her snow buddy a hug.
It snowed quite a bit the next day and Paige was a little worried that her snowman wouldn't be able to see, but all was well. Too bad we had a minor heat wave soon after and her snowman melted. You should have seen her sad face whenever she looked outside and saw it drooping a little more each day!

Valentine's Day 2008

Here's Paige's Valentine's Day project. It's made out of a cardboard egg carton. Paige painted each of the egg carton cups and I glued them on the background papers. She did such a great job and was very proud of the finished product, as you can see! :0)
Here are the V-day gifts for Paige, Brian and Austin. Paige and Austin absolutely LOVE their books. Paige's book shows her how to do dances, such as "The Sugarplum Fairy dance", a Clogging dance, a dance from "Swan Lake" and a few others. It came with a CD of the music from several ballets. She loves, loves, loves it!! Austin has really gotten into his books lately and loves his "Find the Teddy" book. Brian's present was a candy bouquet and each candy bar had a little "love note" on it. It's cheesy, I know, but very cute, right?!? :0) I think my favorite one was "My heart plays 'Twix' on me whenever you smile!" :0) There are others that I don't think are quite appropriate to post on here, but Brian sure liked them! :0)

I hope all of you had a great Valentine's Day. Oh yeah. Brian's present to me was....

Yes, that's right, Jim Brickman's "An Evening of Romance" concert!! It was such a fun date! He is such an amazing pianist. Thank you, Brian, for enduring the jokes your friends made about going to his concert and taking me. :0) I love you!!

Oops!

One of my friends pointed out that I spelled my husband's name wrong. Brain instead of Brian. Oops! I really do know how to spell his name, I promise! :0) He is a brain, though, because he's so darn smart! Thanks, Gwen, for pointing it out!! :0)

A little something about my sweet hubby

A couple pictures of my one and only. I absolutely LOVE this picture of him with Paige. Such a sweet daddy, isn't he?!?

What is his name? Brain Patrick

How long have you been married? 6 ½ years

How long did you date? We worked together the summer of 2000 and then dated for 6 months after that. It took him all summer to actually hold a true conversation with me! (Just kidding, but not by much!) :0) We were engaged for 4 months and sealed for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Temple on August 16th, 2001.

Who said I love you first? Brian

Who is taller? Brian

Who can sing better? We both sing a little, but I have to say that I really love Brian's voice. He's very good at singing parts. I've finally been able to get him to sing in the Ward Choir, but only because I'm the director! :0)

Who is smarter? I'd have to say Brian. He just amazes me.

Who does the laundry? Me

Who pays the bills? Me. I have to agree with Laurie and Heather...thank goodness for online bill pay! I even pay our rent online. So nice!!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brian. He has to deal with the alarm in the morning, but I have to deal with Paige coming into our bed in the morning because I'm closest to the door.

Who mows the lawn? Brian and sometimes our sweet neighbor who just does it to be nice! Seriously, we are very lucky with the neighbors we have. To return the favor, Brian shovels the snow in his driveway.

Who cooks dinner? Me! Unless putting a frozen pizza in the oven counts as making dinner. Brian's very good at that! :0)

Who drives? Brian. I don't mind one bit!

Who is more stubborn? I think we're pretty even with this one. We can see this quality in our children also. Makes life interesting, that's for sure! :0)

Who kissed who first? Brian kissed me first, but he teases me that I wanted it more.

Who asked who out first? Brian asked me out. I was working with Intramural Volleyball as a supervisor and he was working as a lifeguard in the RB on BYU's campus. He saw me in the hall and asked me. Very romantic, I know. :0)

Who proposed? Brian. He put my engagment ring on my finger while I was asleep. I woke up a little confused and then full realization came and all I could say was, "Yes, yes, yes". Even before he asked me formally! :0)

Who has more siblings? Brian. He has 4 brothers and a sister. I have 3 brothers and a sister.

Who wears the pants? Depends on the issue at hand!

I love you, Brian, with all my heart! Thank you for all you do for the kids and me!

*** I tag Tammy A., Gwen A., and Brittany B.

Crazy 8's

OK, Tammy. I have to apologize for taking so long in answering your tag. This is a fun one, too, but life just seems to get in the way (especially when you have a sick baby). Austin is finally feeling better so here it goes! :0)

~Eight things I'm passionate about
1. My husband (more about him in a future post!) :0)
2. My two beautiful children
3. The Gospel of Jesus Christ
4. Playing the piano
5. Reading
6. Volleyball
7. Card making
8. Almost any other craft, especially paper crafts

~Eight things I want to do before I die
1. Go to Germany
2. Vacation in Hawaii (Can you tell I need a vacation?!?) :0)
3. Visit all of the Church History sites (Winter Quarters, Kirtland and Nauvoo are already checked off the list
4. Go on a cruise...that's right, I've never been on one. How sad is that!
5. Learn the correct way to lead a choir (I do the best I can right now with my ward choir, but I know I'm just winging it the entire time!)
6. Learn how to play the violin
7. Learn how to play the guitar
8. See all of my children sealed to their sweetheart in the temple

~Eight things I say often
1. Please make good choices!
2. I love you!
3. Oh my goodness
4. Be nice to Austin
5. Hey, bud!
6. Hurry home
7. It's clean up time
8. What do you want for dinner?

~Eight books I have read recently
1. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
2. The Prelude to Glory series by Ron Carter (I'm on book 7 of 9)
3. The Elm Creek Quilts books by Jennifer Chiaverini
4. Sleeping Beauty
5. Little Mermaid
6. Pocahantas
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. 101 Dalmations (#4-8 have been about 1000 times in the last month. They rotate for each naptime and bedtime....exciting, I know)

~Eight songs I could listen to over and over
1. Any song by Jack Johnson
2. Any song by Jim Brickman (Brian's taking me to his concert for Valentine's Day, by the way!!)
3. The Prayer by Josh Groban and Charlotte Church
4. Bedtime Girl by Ralph Covert
5. Can't Stop Now by Keane
6. The Les Miserables Soundtrack
7. You're Beautiful by James Blunt
8. Two Points of Honesty by Guster

~Eight things I have learned this past year
1. Never have a baby and then 3 months later have your husband graduate from professional school and move across the country. It all worked out, but was VERY hectic!
2. How much I like living in a small town again.
3. Having 2 kids isn't as hard as I thought it would be (most of the time, anyway) :0)
4. It is wonderful to finally have an income and not have to live off of savings and school loans!!!
5. That I love my family more than anything!
6. I have the most dedicated husband who does an amazing job being a father and is also an amazing optometrist!
7. It is so nice living closer to family after living in Ohio for 4 years
8. We can all be guided by the Holy Ghost to make the best choices in our lives if we just listen!

~Eight lucky friends who get to do the "Crazy 8's"!!
1. Alecia R.
2. Laurie G.
3. Kiki C.
4. Kara H.
5. Kristy G.
6. Nancie M.
7. Tricia P.
8. Emily A.

Have fun!!