Brenna at 5 Months

Wow! Five months already. Brenna is such an angelic little baby. I can set her down with a few toys and she'll play contentedly for thirty minutes.

Brenna loves to smile, though I have not heard her truly laugh yet. She tries and will open her mouth up really, really wide when others laugh. When you tickle her she kind of laughs, but not quite. She hasn't rolled over yet, but she is very close. She is our happy, cute, fat little girl.

Almost smiling

Lauren at 5 months for comparison

Brenna and Lauren

Can Brenna sit yet?
Almost.

More cute Brenna

Big Decisions: Part I

I don't like making big decisions. I always waffle between the options and second guess myself. I often wonder "what if. . ." after making decisions. I like to keep options open and cutting things off by being decisive is just not something I am good at.

There has been one decision, one of the biggest of my life, which I know I made correctly. Nine years ago I married a man who is perfect for me. I have learned things about myself, the gospel, life, marriage, the Priesthood, sacrifice, love, and service from him and in such ways that only he could teach me. I am so grateful God answered my prayers 10 years ago and to this day I do not doubt marrying Ben was the right choice.

Marriage is interesting, exciting, perplexing, frustrating, fun, exhausting, exhilarating, hilarious, hard, satisfying, humbling, comforting. . .in a word, wonderful. I have the best companion by my side forever and I'm so grateful for him and love him with all my heart. I find as he travels now that I am not whole without him. I love all the jokes we share simply by saying a single word or phrase. I do not fear the future for I know he will be with me. Each day I learn more from him and with him and I look forward, happily, to the future, whatever it may hold. Happy Anniversary, Ben.

There and Back Again: The Epic Drive

Three thousand nine hundred forty. That's a big number. It's a dauntingly terrifying task when that is the number of miles you must be cooped up in a car with three children. The dvd player in our minivan literally made the trip possible. We decided to take a family trip for Lauren's Spring Break so we drove out to Utah and then Iowa. It was such fun to see family. The trip had it's moments, especially the slushy, icy roads in Wyoming that forced a detour around closed portions of I-80. We all lived and have some great pictures of our adventures.

We saw three of my brothers in Utah. William, Matthew, and Andrew. Fun looking uncles.

Matthew's wife and son were also there. We all met at the Cougar Eat for some good old BYU nostalgia. Happily we were introduced to the Creamery's "Cookies and Cream" milk. Liquid heaven. It alone would be worth moving to Utah.

Ben's older Brother Timothy and his wife graciously let us stay with them in Utah. They have a fabulous house and we had so much fun seeing them. We got to tour UVU where Timothy works. The kids liked the tour, especially with Lincoln's additions. Here they are enjoying the break room with suckers. Lincoln, Spencer, Lauren, and Sam.

After four days in Utah it was off to Iowa. We did some Easter egg hunting, which the kids loved. Had to throw in a picture of the mountain car for the memories.

Spencer left his mark at Grandma and Grandpa Snow's house.

Brenna took a bath. Go ahead and say it, she is really really fat.
Our family photo just before leaving Iowa.

While in Iowa we headed to Nauvoo to see how the pioneers lived. We learned about bread making, pottery, coopering, candle making, spinning, and rope making. It sounds like no one had any time to get into mischief. Here Grandma is testing the bricks to see if the oven is hot enough to bake the bread. Spencer and Lauren knew better than to go near the oven.

The rope making was pretty cool and we got to keep our rope.

Berry cute little girl. Aunt Emma used to wear this dress.