Brenna's Christmas Pictures

Hi Brenna here. Just bloggin about some pictures I took with my new camera from Christmas. This is Luke giving me a face that says," stop taking pictures of me with that camera!"
This is cute little Regan in her new warm hat she got from Grandma Joyce ( we all got one of those hats).
Now this is me (Brenna) with Regan wearing our new hats from Grandma Joyce. And of course,
Regan with her whistle in her mouth. This Christmas, me and the rest of the kids got new magazines that we'll get every month, from Grandma Sandra and Grandpa Keith. Then, from Luke, I got a hat-making kit! I've already made one doll hat for Regan's doll. My second favorite present was from Mom and Dad. It was a nice sized craft box! Perfect for me, since I love to craft.

Happiness

I have no pictures to show, only a story to tell. Today proved to be a busy one in our home. It started out with swimming lessons for the kids and choir practice for me. After those we headed downtown to pick up gifts at Silver Key. This is an organization set up to help elderly individuals in the Springs. Each Christmas our ward takes this on as a service project and asks each family to help deliver gifts to these shut ins. Garret was less than enthused but we headed out for our service project. Three people later and about 2.5 hours later we were happy. We'd met one older man who lost his wife of 63 yrs in May. I ask him what the key was, he said love each other and don't fight. He had the most beautiful pictures to show us of his early years with his wife. He loved her...that was clear. Even the kids understood the sorry he had in losing his wife, we were blessed to meet him. Our next visit was to a mexican woman just up the street that greeted us with hugs and a smokey house. In spite of the nasty smoke smell we found out she had four kids, too many grandchildren to number, and had been married to her husband if he was still alive for 64 yrs. What a special thing to meet her. She was so generous and gave us some of her yummy homemade tamales, saving them for Christmas Eve.
Our last visit was to another elderly woman who had actually raised her four children in the house she lived in now. Over 50 yrs I think. She let the kids help decorate her Christmas tree and gave them each a stuffed animal she didn't want anymore. I think all of us were so happy we got to meet these people(even Garret)
To end our day we all went to see the Nutcracker. It was beautiful and filled me with joy as I saw the beautiful costumes and dancing and heard the music.
So, happiness is, making a committment and keeping it, serving others, doing fun things as a family, just hanging out watching a movie together. I am happy and love my family and especially Todd. He's the best and I'm grateful for all that he does for us.
I'm just happy!

First Day of School

Love the first day of school. All the kids had a great time. Garret wouldn't let me take his pictue!

It's only 10:45am

This blog is not to brag however to give you an idea of what my life is like. I woke this morning at 4:45am without an alarm. Went to spinning class. Came home and realized the dishwasher did not run last night. Called Sears,made an appointment. Spent an hour washing the dishes. Figured out the disposal is not working either so, called a friend who said it's the outlet. Cancelled the appt and am graciously waiting for Eric Hansen to come and save my electrical problem. Fed the kids breakfast, made a pasta salad for dinner, took a shower, got the kids to tidy up rooms and make bed. Put together a baby blanket for one of my counselors, oh and I did Regan's hair REALLY cute today. So, here I sit on the porch eating carrots and peanut butter before the next wave of business begins. I think I'm ready for bed!

The Sound of Music

Not quite sure why but today after church I told the kids we were going to watch The Sound of Music. None of them remembers ever seeing it so the 5 of us sat down to watch. I was so excited to tell them about Maria and the Von Trapp family. The tears began to roll from the first song for me. I love it when Maria teaches the children Do Re Mi-probably one of my favorite scenes! And then, Captain Von Trapp discovers his children singing and joins in. Just hand me the whole Kleenex box at this point. I'm not quite sure why this musical moved me so much but I have a few ideas...1. I grew up with this stuff, Mom and Dad were musical and it's in my blood. 2. Deep down I'd love to be in the Von Trapp family, singing , performing, etc. but here I sit singing primary songs to my kids at night. 3. I'm 37 and old, I seem to cry more than I use to. Wish I could stop but it's kinda like my bladder and uncontrollable(oops, probably tmi). Anyway I love The Sound of Music, it makes me happy and I am better for having spent 3hours watching today!

Homemade Chipotle

Last night I made an awesome dinner(if I do say so myself). I thought I'd share in case anyone wants to try. I took frozen chicken breast and popped them in the crockpot. Poured my favorite salsa over the top and let them cook. When they were ready I had black beans, rice, and all the fixins to make your own chipotle/quedoba burrito. The chicken was so yummy and fell apart. You could make this hot or mild depending on your own taste. Happy cooking!

Garret's HOT!

My sweet 11yr old who is entering 6th grade made a funny comment this week that I thought was worth sharing. He said "I'm going to have lots of girlfriends because I'm Hot!" How's that for self esteem? Of course he knows we don't allow dating until he's 16. Lately he's been talking a lot about what he's going to do when he grows up. Whatever makes the most money is his idea of a good job. He actually talks a lot about following in his father's footsteps in medicine. We are trying to direct him other places that are easier and more family friendly. Anyway just thought you'd all like to know that Garret is HOT!

Mommy and Daddy Cancun trip!

So on occasion Todd and I have an opportunity to go away by ourselves. It refreshes our relationship and helps the kids appreciate us more. We decided to go to Cancun and risk the swine flu! After a few mishaps with flights at the airport we finally made our way to Mexico. We stayed at an all inclusive resort which means all the free food, virgin Pina Coladas and Diet Cokes we wanted. We spent our first day there relaxing by the pool, swimming and eating. We decided the other days we'd take small excursions. We went and saw Tulum(Todd now says this word for fun) anyway, these are Mayan ruins that are located right on the Caribbean sea. So amazing to see something thousands of years old still standing. We had lots of conversations about whether this was a Lamanite or Nephite spot. It was a smartly designed village and we even found an LDS tour guide who gave us some special LDS historical info! We also went on this same day to a place called XelHa. It's a natural coral reef that the mexicans are making a killing at. You can snorkel all over the place and then walk in the jungle which was infested with large Iguanas. There was a rope swing and cliff jumping as well.
We also did a boat tour where we actually drove our own boat and went out to the ocean to snorkel.
We had more mishaps at the airport, gave us a 16hour trip home. All in all a great trip. I love Todd, we have fun together and I am so glad to spend eternity with him.

Cousins and Mountains

Two weeks ago I packed up the kids, bikes, and lots of food and we headed to Estes Park, Co to meet up with our Bleak cousins from Utah. Phillip ask me to meet him there and I must say that this has been one of the highlights of our summer. Brenna is the same age as Phillip's youngest Summit. Garret is the same age as Phillip's Anders and then there was Boyce who Regan loves to death. He is a great teenager-he's 14 and as sweet as they come.

We spent a lot of time at the YMCA craft center tyedying shirts, painting, model airplane building and such. We went swimming and played put put golf and played on the playground.
I rented a cabin there so the nine of us could stay together and it was awesome! The kids just loved being together. We spent hours hiking on rocks, crossing waterfalls, and eating my famous monster cookies(Phillip and Boyce love those). All in all a great week. Planning to go again next year with the whole Bleak family!

Naughty little Regan

No pictures, only a story. Yesterday Regan was in the backyard by herself. I was not far away, inside at the table trying to figure out my new Mac. Anyway, this morning we noticed the three eggs we'd been watching in the nest next to our back door had hatched. We were all so excited to see those little tiny birds. I guess Regan was a little too excited and decided to move a chair over to the nest so she could see them closer. Then she decided he needed to hold one of those babies so she reached in, grabbed it and was headed inside when I caught with a very mischievous and red face. She said she just wanted to see the baby bird. I quickly started crying and explaining to her that you can't take a baby from it's mommy. I tried to place the baby back in the nest but a couple hours later it was gone. Pretty sure the mom didn't want it after my slimy three yr old had handled it. Chalk it up to Regan being Regan!

Summer Field Trip

I decided this summer that we would explore Colorado Springs. We went to the Visitor's Bureau and got all the pamphlets and are discovering the city we live in this summer. Today we visited Bear Creek Nature Center. As you can see the kids got to hold deer hooves, skunk skin and they even had antlers there. They had a bee hive where the guy even pointed out the queen bee. Pretty cool. After exploring all the stuffed animals from bears to snakes and finding out what kind of a foot print they would make we headed outdoors for a hike. We went with the Hansen's so the extra kids in the pictures are theirs. Matthew is Regan's best friend and Krystal and I turned around to find those two holding hands, sooo cute! Luke is always the leader when we hike. He's pretty bossy and tells us where to go but I don't mind 'cause at least he's not crying.
After hiking we stopped at the local candy factory. The kids went with their Aunt Amy when I was gone but this time they were actually making candy and we got to watch them do it. Sooo cool and the kids behaved fabulously, the lady doing the tour even commented. Whew, we are tired now and ready to watch a movie and play on computer. Now time to plan our next field trip!

Happy Father's Day!

Just want to post a quick thing about two important father's in my life. I married Todd 13yrs ago and knew that he was wonderful but had no idea what a great dad he would make. He is the best "throw in the air" dad, "really fun to play with" dad. He teaches the kids to play ball-I am not athletic. At the children's museum in Omaha he got busted for have a war with Garret with the fake fruit. I love that he is young at heart and knows how to have a good time. He also has put up with my bossiness for this long. He's a great guy.
The other father is my father-Earl. He gave me a great life! We practically saw the world with him. He taught me to respect other people and their beliefs and religions. He also taught me to share my testimony with others. In spite of the struggles near the end of his life, I love him deeply and wish he was here to be with my kids. Happy Father's Day to two great guys!!

Slides, Jungles, heat!

We just got back from our family vacation to...Omaha. Yes I know, it sounds exciting so I'll give you the reasons. Brenna was born there and has wanted to go back to see her birthplace. Todd did medical school there. And to top it off the College World Series was happening. Garret and Todd got to see ASU play at Rosenblatt stadium. We all got to see the zoo which has change a great deal over the last 7yrs. The coolest addition was the butterfly pavilion. I'll include a picture of just one of the butterflies. Luke loved the jungle and tried to scare me at a corner by growling..."are you ready to visit the sins of your death?" Todd proceeded to jump out of a dark corner and scare me to death. He knows that freaks me out. We went to the much improved children's museum, the "free" slides in Glen Leahy mall and a new free waterfountain near the riverfront bridge that crosses to Iowa. We saw Winter Quarters and in spite of the stifling heat we wandered the cemetery looking for any sign of letters on the headstones.
All in all a fun time had by all. Can't believe I lived there for 4 yrs but pretty sure I know why the Saints left! So glad to be back in the cool mountain air!

Girls Camp

So many of you may know that in February I was called to be the y.w. president. I stewed and prayed about this calling for weeks and was not sure I could do it. Mainly because in June I'd have to leave my family and go to Daughter's of Promise(our stake's version of girls camp) with the girls 14-18yrs old. Luckily Todd's sister Amy agreed to accept a paid vacation to the Springs with her family and come stay with the kids while Todd was working and I was off to girls camp.
It's been some years since I've been so I was hoping for a nice place to sleep and warm showers with running toilets(not much of a camper anymore.).
As a y.w. president the only responsibility I had was to "love on my girls". We had 16 girls going from our ward. I was grateful to be in a small cabin with three other presidents sleeping on pillow top mattresses and an adjoining bathroom with shower and toilet. Ahhh the Lord does answer prayers. Felt a little guilty when my Laurel advisor was stuck sleeping in a huge cabin with 30-40 girls on horrible thin mattresses and a bouncy thing underneath. I offered my shower and toilet anytime she wanted.
I could blog for hours about camp but I will only tell you that it was a wonderful, spiritual, tiring experience. I feel like I know the girls better, I climbed a 70 foot tree and rang the bell at the top and was scared to death. I ate more heavy food than one 37yr old woman should and as a result and banning sugar and bread for a few days. I am also grateful for the spirit that touched me and strengthened my testimony. I think I'll be a better Mom, wife and person.
Now, on to pack for a trip to Omaha tomorrow with the family.

Snow, Snow, Everywhere

Living above 6.000 ft proves to have lots of surprises. Here in the Springs we've NEVER had an outdoor Easter Egg hunt in the 3 yrs here. The picture of our backyard was on Easter morning. It snowed all day and started to rain at night. The pictures of the kids, Brenna and Luke were taken today. It's been snowing since morning here. We've probably gotten 6 inches and the district called a snow day. We took it all in by sledding, making our beds, video gaming, movie watching, and just enjoying the day off. I think even when I lived in New England we had better weather than this. By the way, as I type I see the blue sky coming and the snow is beginning to melt. It will probably be 70 degrees tomorrow!!

Spray Paint

I should have known something was wrong this morning when Garret was downstairs with Luke playing and there was no fighting. While taking a bathroom(30 seconds is all I get or the house falls in), I hear screaming and crying. I quickly finish my business and find Brenna crying in the mud room. She says, "Garret hit me...their spray painting down there!" This is a pretty reliable source(okay the best source in the house) for honesty. So I holler down to Garret and Luke" are you spraypainting?" Garret says, " Well you just leave it out for anyone to get into". Luke says,"I didn't know there was anything wrong with spraypainting hotwheels cars". So, I screamed a little but am laughing now because I can't believe I have to hide spray paint from a 10 almost 11 yr old. My three yr old yes...my 10yr old NO!

Luke is turning six!

So, all of Luke's baby pictures are pre digital camera. I will tell you he's been a happy kid from day one. He was my one delivery without an epidural(thought I was going to die!) Luke is a gentle, loving boy with a heart of gold. He notices the new dresses and new hairdo's at school and home. As a young child he could fall asleep anywhere. Once even on the stairs into the house from the garage. Numerous times he compliments me on my hair or outfit or food I've cooked. In fact, right now I am baking him a chocolate cheesecake for him birthday. Tomorrow is his birthday and will will have the official celebration at the hospital where daddy is working tomorrow. I love this boy so much and I'm really glad he's my kid. I look forward to watching him grow in to a loving young man.

Valentine's Day

So, Yesterday was Valentines day and I decided to do something different. We had fondue for dinner. We had a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue. Both were a big hit and Brenna thinks we should do this for birthdays and not have cake. This pictures so Regan in good form, making a mess and being cute.

The Worst Decision Ever...

So, my last post involved our puppy Pike. A day after he came home Todd said, "This is the worst decision you've ever made in our 13yrs of marriage." After a week with the dog I agreed with him. It's not that I don't love the dog but I have a three year old that is trouble with a capital T. I tried hard to keep the dog busy an occupied but he loved to steal food, eat paper, and sneak into the basement to mark his territory. I finally made the decision that he needed a different home with someone who had the time for him. I felt like he spent way too much time in the crate with all my running around. Posted him on Craigslist and had quite a few inquiries. Found a single older guy who needed a best friend. I felt like this weight was lifted from my shoulders after the exchange of ownership. Garret is begging for a new dog but I know better. It's not the right time for our family. I'm sorry for all of you animal lovers who this I've done a disservice. I feel I did the responsible thing by not taking him to the humane society. So, no more dog food, poop pick up and doggie park. I wish i could do a cheer!!

A Boy and His Dog

After months of pleading we gave in. Yesterday we took the kids to Petsmart and found a dog to adopt. We think he's about 7mths old, red heeler mix. He's house trained and quickly learning to sit and not put his paws on my counter. His bed is set up in Garret's room and he only woke once last night to go out and pee. I'm loving that he cleans the floor, maybe my sweeping days are over! By the way, His name was WallE but we've renamed him Pike!

Good Kids

I just got back from Lunch Bunch at friends house. We get together and talk and eat...right up my alley. Anyway one girl was there that has had both Garret and Brenna in Primary. She said Garret always had the right answers and knew tons. Then she went on to say Brenna was great because she knew all the Articles of Faith. I do have great kids and I'm glad someone else realizes that and reminds me. I'm glad to be their mom!!

New Look

After way too long working on the blog I finally figured out how to make it cute(thanks Tonia). Hopefully it's a little more exciting, not sure that you care but hope to keep up with the times since all my friends have cute blogs. My thought today is: Why is it when you have the most to do you don't want to do it?

So here are a few shots from our trip to Copper Mountain. We rented a condo right at the resort and had a blast. We could WALK to the lifts. Brenna and Garret improved greatly in their ability and are now strong intermediate. Luke had three days of ski school and is quite confident on the slopes. Regan stayed in the daycare and cried the second day pretty hard since she knew I wouldn't be back for a while. It was another chilly ski trip with face masks required. I came back with a beastly bruise on my leg but, everyone else seemed to fair well.

Christmas Craziness

Sorry for the late blog on Christmas. I did take some pictures but then my camera said I needed a new battery charge. The kids were up at the bright and early hour of 6am and the craziness was done by 6.45am. Next to make the Ebelskivers and play with toys. Guitar Hero, Sing It, and Lego Star Wars and Lego Indiana Jones are the favorites this year. This officially makes us a video game playing family...not sure I like that.