Future Mrs. Brooke Beck

 

My oldest and dearest friend Brooke Graham (soon to be Brooke Beck) is getting married! It is probably the most exciting thing that is happening on the planet on June 11...actually definitely the most exciting thing.  But before we get to the wedding we obviously had to do a bridal shower! It was such a fun day! It was at my parents house, and so many wonderful women were there to shower Brookie with love.  It had a vintage theme, we served the fruit in tea cups and the other snacks on glass plates.  The flowers were all in mason jars...it was so fun! We had such a great time planning it and putting it all together.  Brooke is such a kind person and it was such a great experience to be able to do this for her.  We had a great time! And Cam was even represented on video tape answering a few questions about Brooke.  My favorite question that was asked is "What is something about Brooke that she doesn't think you know?" Sorta a hard question...I know, I made it up...But he had a great answer, he said "She is really intelligent"  How sweet is that right? He must really love love love her, just like I do...well he might love her a little more than I do...he better, or I will scratch his eyes out! I can't wait until June 11th, the Newport Beach Temple is going to be the best day in a long time! I love her, and I wish her luck on this new adventure with Cam.  GO BECKS!! YOU ROCK!

My Mom did these arrangements...aren't they outrageously gorgeous?? She rocks!

A Hiking We Will Go

 

We went on a hike one day as a little family...it was pretty fun! Marilyn loved it! She saw some bugs and climbed on huge rocks! She was pretty tired after the whole thing and it was such a fun day in beautiful St George! This is the Pioneer Park, we call it the rock park, because there are huge rocks there to climb on...pretty good name right? Love that! Loved this day!

Seriously? Look at that little nose....it's TOO cute!

It's Official!

It's official! I am a Certified Master Preserver! Pretty exciting stuff! As you know, Kristin and I have been taking a class through the USU extension office about all things canning and we are proud to say we officially passed the test, got our certificate and are now the most fabulous canners the world has ever known. (OK this might be a slight exaggeration...but I am pretty sure we are at least on the list!) We met some fun friends like Janie and her daughter Lauren. 

Janie and Lauren pretty much were already masters....but I am glad they came! We were paired up to make things together and we laughed and talked the whole time every week! I hope that one day I can be as cool as Janie.  She rocks!

We had to take a test, which is freaky, but I got 100% so I rocked it! We learned about pressure canning, water bath canning, pickling, making jams and jelly, making pie fillings, and dehydrating.  It was such a cool class and it really inspired me to try some new things and I have been starting to experiment a little with canning! Last weekend I made jalapeno jelly....which is weird, but I have a super adventurous husband so it will be well worth it! Here are some pictures of our last class (courtesy of Janie)

This is our teacher, Carolyn, she rocked and knows everything there is to know about canning...seriously if you have a question call the USU extension office and ask her...she will know!

This is us taking the test...it was pretty intense

These are all the delicious things we pickled, cauliflower, carrots, beans, pears and a few salsas (which we didn't pickle)

It was such a fun class.  I feel like I have a handle on canning and have the knowledge to build up a food storage for my family! Booyah...I am a Master Preserver!

A Suprise Jeff Day

I woke up on Thursday to my phone ringing, the only person that ever calls me in the morning is my mom.  Usually I am the one that calls her early in the morning with little worries or things I am wondering about.  But this morning, she was calling me.  I jumped out of bed and ran to my phone, I knew something was up because she was particularly chipper...she said "Guess what?" Obviously, I responded with "WHAT?" She said "Jeff is coming home!"

Jeff (my younger brother) has been serving a mission in Boise, Idaho.  He has been scheduled to come home on June 2, so it was defiantly surprise when we heard those words.  My parents have been in contact with Jeff's mission president because he has been sick.  If you know Jeff at all you know he has a huge personality and is a really strong dude.  We missed him a lot, because without his HUGE personality there is a huge hole in our family.  Because of this big spirit Jeff has, we were NOT worried that he would have a hard time in Idaho.  He had a lot of crazy experiences (like inseminating 2 cows, and of course he sent pictures which were super gross, I WILL NOT POST THEM ON THIS BLOG). The doctors think that the reason he got sick was from drinking unpasteurized milk. It is a little ironic that he went to arguably one of the most boring places in the world and came home with serious infection.  Now, don't get me wrong...he came home 2 years after he went out.  He served a whole faithful mission and we are too proud of him.  The doctors thought he should see a specialist and there happened to be one in Orange County, CA.  My mom was pretty stoked that the magically worked out (coincidence right? haha)

We left that night.  We drove to my parents house and started the preparation.  There was a lot to do because he was coming 3 weeks early! Of course, Marilyn and Camille needed Matching outfits for the airport and we need to make outrageous signs for everyone at the airport.  We also needed to get his room ready and make it a little more manly, now that a grown man and not a weird teenage boy would be living in it.  We ate a lot and I am proud to say that even through this crazy weekend I stayed away from Diet Coke for the most part! (Big news in my life) It seemed to take forever but the time had finally come.  It was 3:00 on Saturday, time to leave our house for the airport. 

We might have gotten to the airport a little too early, about 30 minutes, because it felt like I was going to die there.  The little girls were running around like maniacs and I think we literally asked every worker there where gate 12 would come down to baggage claim. They all seemed a little too annoyed, but we didn't care time was passing...he was coming! Here is a picture of us waiting...

Jeff left days after Camille was born and about 7 weeks before Marilyn was born, so basically he has never me them...

The girls had a blast running like little maniacs holding hands the whole time...

After an eternity of waiting, it literally seemed like longer than the entire 2 years... people started coming down the escalator.  Since the flight came from Salt Lake City everyone knew what was up.  We had people congratulating us and telling us how fun it was to see and Elder on the plane.  Some one said he is coming and another person told us she sat by him...the suspense was killing us...is it killing you?

Finally we saw him, we saw his cute face and his bright smile.  Everyone broke into tears as he came down the escalator.  We knew that this hard thing was over...he was home safe and sound and our worries were done...HE WAS HOME!

All the first hugs were so special, please excuse my crying face, I couldn't help myself. It was such a special day and the feeling was so special...we loved every moment.  He is home.  He is here.  And he better come visit, ASAP.   

Pinewood Derby

In our ward, I am the cub master.  I know, I know, it is shocking...especially since I have no boys and I didn't really take interest in my brothers cub scouting.  I knew nothing about scouting when I was called in almost 3 years ago.  It was pretty intimidating.  The only thing I remember from my brothers days in scouts was that his cub master made all the boys call her Akela (which is awesome) and that my brother and my dad made an Oscar Meyer Wiener car for the pinewood derby.  I have learned a lot and finally feel like I have a grasp on what this calling entails.  Our last pack meeting was the pinewood derby, which is the best pack meeting of the year.  I got there super early to get the room ready and meet the guy who we rented the track from. 

We had a great time, all the cars were AWESOME.  It made me remember that even though the calling has some weird hard things that go along with it, in the end it is really really fun. I love seeing how are the boys worked on those cars and how proud they were of them. 

First the boys had to weigh in their cars, they had to be 5 ounces.  There were a few disputes over the weights, but for the most part the cars were right on the spot. 

PS don't I look so rad decked out in my leader shirt? Awesome..

Then they put their cars on this table to wait for their turn to race...

Everyone had a good time watching the cars race, the boys were cheering and screaming every time a race started and finished!

This was my favorite car, seriously a piece of watermelon? I LOVED it...I gave him the "Cubmaster's Favorite" award...so creative!