Thursday, April 16, 2009
Kid-sized!
Brooklyn, Tierney and I went grocery shopping this morning at a new grocery store that just opened yesterday. The store is the largest of its kind in Colorado. It really has everything including a large organic section, a section devoted to selling kitchenware, plates and utensils and a Starbucks near the entrance. The best part besides it being close to our house and being new is they have kid-sized carts. I saw them the minute we entered the store and had Brooklyn go and grab one. So, we both walked through the store pushing our own carts and filling them. We both had the best time grocery shopping. We're definitely going back to that store! And, one day when Tierney can walk and push a cart, I won't even need to get one.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Bye, Bye Bunny Hutch
About a month before Easter, my grandmas (Brooklyn's and Tierney's great-grandmas) came up to our house and decorated a gingerbread bunny hutch with Brooklyn. The bunny hutch turned out really cute and Brooklyn did a wonderul job doing the icing and decorating it with little candies. It's been sitting in the middle of our dining room table for weeks and weeks now. And while we have enjoyed looking at it and moving it for every meal, the time came to take it down. It's not like we could save it for next year, and we really couldn't eat it, or rather I wouldn't let us. We've all touched it, meaning it's germy, and it's really hard anyhow, meaning we'd break a tooth if we even attempted to eat it. So instead of walking it to the trashcan, we walked it to our driveway. What took about an hour to decorate took less than five minutes to disable with the help of a hammer and 2x4. Here are some photos of the destruction...
The Bunny Hutch BEFORE
The Bunny Hutch AFTER
Sunday, April 05, 2009
It's been six years!
It's been six years since I walked down the aisle with my arm interlocked with my dad's on my way to the beginning of a new exciting and challenging journey. I had never been so nervous, but a good nervous, in my entire life. I swear my dad had to hold me up and help me walk the entire way. I kept my eyes locked to the front of the church where my prince charming stood waiting for me. I distinctly remember he had his hand on the front of the pew right in front of his parents and had this incredible smile on his face and our eyes locked the minute we saw each other. After my dad raised my veil and kissed me on the cheek, my prince and I held hands and continued on with our wedding ceremony where we promised to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part. We exchanged our rings and the pastor announced us husband and wife. Ahhh .. at last!
Kevin and I met in the fifth grade. I'd say it was love at first fight - we were brutal back then. We spent our entire fifth grade year in an on again, off again type of relationship. We were both too young to actually date, or really even to talk on the phone, but during recess, we were pretty much married every other day. Kevin was quite the lady's man at age 11. After elementary school, we parted ways and went our own directions. I went east and he went north - meaning to different middle schools. We kind of lost touch for about four years. There was the occasional sighting of each other, which isn't too surprising considering we lived two blocks away from one another. But, it wasn't until the second semester of our sophomore year when my dad and I went to the high school play where we spotted Kevin in the chorus that we really noticed each other's existence. My reaction was "Oh look, there's Kevin, he's gotten ugly!" And Kevin's reaction was "Oh look, there's Malisa, what's she doing here?" Nice, huh?! The end of sophomore year, I asked a mutual Carissa (I would say friend, but we neither one thought of her that way, she was just a girl we both knew) to have Kevin sign my yearbook. Odd, I know, after never having spoken to him the entire half year. But, whatever, I needed signatures in my yearbook to make me feel special. Kevin wrote: Have a good summer. Nothing about let's keep in touch, which seemed to be the main thing kids wrote in each other's yearbooks.
Fast forward to February 1997, our junior year, and Kevin is sitting in our newspaper class expressing frustrations over the lack of knowledge about how to ask this horrid girl he works with to a movie. Moves were really a big deal to him back then, and he wasn't sure what to do, when to do and if he even should do it. I volunteered to be the guinea pig. Little did I know that one smooth move of putting his arm around me would send me into such a whirlwind. I had a boyfriend at the time, but that really didn't seem to phase me. A mutual friend of ours invited us to join her and her boyfriend to a boy's basketball game in Evergreen. I, trying to be a good girlfriend, invited my boyfriend and he declined because he didn't believe in supporting a team that didn't support his half-nelsons, so I went with Kevin. I won't deny it, there was some major flirting that took place, ending in a ride home on the bus where I fell asleep laying my head on Kevin's shoulder while he kissed my forehead. That night changed my life forever. It wasn't long after that the boyfriend was gone and Kevin and I started the relationship we were both destined to be a part of.
We graduated high school and college together; went on a memorable trip to Puerto Vallarta as our high school graduation trip; took many a trips back and forth from Gunnison and even spun out and ended in a snow bank on Monarch Pass; worked until wee hours each week working on the college newspaper; enjoyed a nice, long walk in the middle of a Gunnison blizzard to see the movie Stepmom; were competitive in college courses we took together, all the while becoming closer and closer and interwining our lives even more.
On August 3, 2000, we went to the Dixie Chicks concert. We spent the whole day downtown eating lunch, walking the 16th Street Mall, taking the whole experience in. The concert was amazing. The Dixie Chicks are by far my favorite group and I would see them in concert any day. After the concert, we headed to Kevin's parent's house to hang out for a bit before I went home. Kevin had the brillant idea to head out on the front porch, sit in the swing and watch the stars. He went inside and then a few minutes later, he came out and flipped the bright porch light on. I immediately was getting a bit annoyed and wondered why the light was on, after all it was pretty late and I thought the plan was to watch the stars. Instead of coming to sit beside me on the swing and take in the late night, Kevin kneeled in front of me with a green velvet box in his hand. He told me that he loved me, that he'd always loved me and always would, and wanted to know if I would be his wife and marry him. My eyes starting welling up with tears, as I said "Yes!!"
On our honeymoon, we went to Estes Park. We found this amazing cabin by the river to stay at and we spent our week in the hot tub, walking around town, walking around Estes Lake, visiting the Stanley Hotel, eating, drinking, playing pool and just spending one-on-one time as husband and wife. It was such a treasured time. Estes Park will always hold a special place in our hearts and anytime we get the chance to return, we do.
And, then in December 2005 and October 2008, our love really blossomed even more when our two precious baby girls were born completing us and completing our desires for a family.
It's been quite a journey. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us, but I will say, I definitely want to grow old with my prince charming. He's the most amazing man I've ever met and I consider myself such a lucky girl every single day. Not everyone gets the chance at love, and I promise that it's nothing I will ever take for granted. Part of me can't believe we've been married six years and another part of me can't believe it's only been six years.
Happy Anniversary, My Love! I will love you always.
Kevin and I met in the fifth grade. I'd say it was love at first fight - we were brutal back then. We spent our entire fifth grade year in an on again, off again type of relationship. We were both too young to actually date, or really even to talk on the phone, but during recess, we were pretty much married every other day. Kevin was quite the lady's man at age 11. After elementary school, we parted ways and went our own directions. I went east and he went north - meaning to different middle schools. We kind of lost touch for about four years. There was the occasional sighting of each other, which isn't too surprising considering we lived two blocks away from one another. But, it wasn't until the second semester of our sophomore year when my dad and I went to the high school play where we spotted Kevin in the chorus that we really noticed each other's existence. My reaction was "Oh look, there's Kevin, he's gotten ugly!" And Kevin's reaction was "Oh look, there's Malisa, what's she doing here?" Nice, huh?! The end of sophomore year, I asked a mutual Carissa (I would say friend, but we neither one thought of her that way, she was just a girl we both knew) to have Kevin sign my yearbook. Odd, I know, after never having spoken to him the entire half year. But, whatever, I needed signatures in my yearbook to make me feel special. Kevin wrote: Have a good summer. Nothing about let's keep in touch, which seemed to be the main thing kids wrote in each other's yearbooks.
Fast forward to February 1997, our junior year, and Kevin is sitting in our newspaper class expressing frustrations over the lack of knowledge about how to ask this horrid girl he works with to a movie. Moves were really a big deal to him back then, and he wasn't sure what to do, when to do and if he even should do it. I volunteered to be the guinea pig. Little did I know that one smooth move of putting his arm around me would send me into such a whirlwind. I had a boyfriend at the time, but that really didn't seem to phase me. A mutual friend of ours invited us to join her and her boyfriend to a boy's basketball game in Evergreen. I, trying to be a good girlfriend, invited my boyfriend and he declined because he didn't believe in supporting a team that didn't support his half-nelsons, so I went with Kevin. I won't deny it, there was some major flirting that took place, ending in a ride home on the bus where I fell asleep laying my head on Kevin's shoulder while he kissed my forehead. That night changed my life forever. It wasn't long after that the boyfriend was gone and Kevin and I started the relationship we were both destined to be a part of.
We graduated high school and college together; went on a memorable trip to Puerto Vallarta as our high school graduation trip; took many a trips back and forth from Gunnison and even spun out and ended in a snow bank on Monarch Pass; worked until wee hours each week working on the college newspaper; enjoyed a nice, long walk in the middle of a Gunnison blizzard to see the movie Stepmom; were competitive in college courses we took together, all the while becoming closer and closer and interwining our lives even more.
On August 3, 2000, we went to the Dixie Chicks concert. We spent the whole day downtown eating lunch, walking the 16th Street Mall, taking the whole experience in. The concert was amazing. The Dixie Chicks are by far my favorite group and I would see them in concert any day. After the concert, we headed to Kevin's parent's house to hang out for a bit before I went home. Kevin had the brillant idea to head out on the front porch, sit in the swing and watch the stars. He went inside and then a few minutes later, he came out and flipped the bright porch light on. I immediately was getting a bit annoyed and wondered why the light was on, after all it was pretty late and I thought the plan was to watch the stars. Instead of coming to sit beside me on the swing and take in the late night, Kevin kneeled in front of me with a green velvet box in his hand. He told me that he loved me, that he'd always loved me and always would, and wanted to know if I would be his wife and marry him. My eyes starting welling up with tears, as I said "Yes!!"
On our honeymoon, we went to Estes Park. We found this amazing cabin by the river to stay at and we spent our week in the hot tub, walking around town, walking around Estes Lake, visiting the Stanley Hotel, eating, drinking, playing pool and just spending one-on-one time as husband and wife. It was such a treasured time. Estes Park will always hold a special place in our hearts and anytime we get the chance to return, we do.
And, then in December 2005 and October 2008, our love really blossomed even more when our two precious baby girls were born completing us and completing our desires for a family.
It's been quite a journey. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us, but I will say, I definitely want to grow old with my prince charming. He's the most amazing man I've ever met and I consider myself such a lucky girl every single day. Not everyone gets the chance at love, and I promise that it's nothing I will ever take for granted. Part of me can't believe we've been married six years and another part of me can't believe it's only been six years.
Happy Anniversary, My Love! I will love you always.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What happens when it snows
Here's what our family does when it hasn't snowed more than 2 inches in over 2 months. We were all pretty psyched to get out in the snow and play.
Brooklyn sledding down the driveway
Brooklyn and Daddy tackling each other
Brooklyn sledding down the Daddy-made hill
And, Tierney being a baby slept through it all
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Too much alike!
Like mother...
Like daughter...
Apparently we both need to learn how to put our shoes away!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A mom's heart
Being a mom is the hardest but most rewarding job I will ever have. It's a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, awake in the middle of the night, then up for the day at the crack of dawn and exhausted before the 10 o'clock news kind of job. It's a job where you're on-call all the time and have to be prepared for anything that is thrown your way. It's a job where you are paid in hugs and kisses. And, it's a job that you will have for the rest of your life. Sure the day-to-day duties will change, but a job that involves your heart, sweat and tears is one that will stick around forever. And, I'm so glad God choose me to be mom to my amazing little girls! I work every day to be the best version of myself for them, not because they demand it but because they deserve it. I want to be a good role model for each of them, and I truly desire for them to both grow up with a sense of who they are, feeling secure in that, and ready to take on the world.
Recently, I have had the chance to just sit back and watch Brooklyn interact with others, and it makes my heart feel so warm. She does listen to everything Kevin and I tell her. She does hear us and she does pay attention. It's a very rewarding feeling. At home, she definitely tests her boundaries (what kid doesn't though!?), and we've both come to the realization that we can be pretty strict with her. I don't know if it's because she's the first child and being a first child myself I know that parents can tend to hold that child to a higher standard than their siblings, or if it's because we know what she is capable of and always want that from her. But, she is a kid after all, and a darn good one, if I do say so myself! She's got an amazing sense of humor, loves to play mommy to all her babies and stuffed animals (she even nurses them!), is quite fiery, but loves a good snuggle.
Tierney's personality is just starting to blossom and I love the chance to get to know my baby girl that much more. I can already tell, she's going to be a risk taker. There isn't much we try with her that she objects to. She'll try anything at least once before she decides if she doesn't like it. She's a pretty calm baby, simply loving to people (especially kid and other baby) watch, but she does love to be held. She's very grabby, gets her hands on anything and everything she can, and boy is she quick! I can't wait to see the person she's growing into. She may be and probably will be my last baby and I am just soaking up everything all the time.
My girls are so very important to me and how they turn out is a reflection of how they were raised. I want them to be responsible, loving, caring, independent, inspiring, strong, courageous, honest, Godly women. And, when they look back on their childhoods, I want them to have the fondest memories. And, when they grow older, I want to be their best friend and the person they can turn to for anything and everything in life because I will always be here for them no matter what. I love them both unconditionally and completely now and forever.
Recently, I have had the chance to just sit back and watch Brooklyn interact with others, and it makes my heart feel so warm. She does listen to everything Kevin and I tell her. She does hear us and she does pay attention. It's a very rewarding feeling. At home, she definitely tests her boundaries (what kid doesn't though!?), and we've both come to the realization that we can be pretty strict with her. I don't know if it's because she's the first child and being a first child myself I know that parents can tend to hold that child to a higher standard than their siblings, or if it's because we know what she is capable of and always want that from her. But, she is a kid after all, and a darn good one, if I do say so myself! She's got an amazing sense of humor, loves to play mommy to all her babies and stuffed animals (she even nurses them!), is quite fiery, but loves a good snuggle.
Tierney's personality is just starting to blossom and I love the chance to get to know my baby girl that much more. I can already tell, she's going to be a risk taker. There isn't much we try with her that she objects to. She'll try anything at least once before she decides if she doesn't like it. She's a pretty calm baby, simply loving to people (especially kid and other baby) watch, but she does love to be held. She's very grabby, gets her hands on anything and everything she can, and boy is she quick! I can't wait to see the person she's growing into. She may be and probably will be my last baby and I am just soaking up everything all the time.
My girls are so very important to me and how they turn out is a reflection of how they were raised. I want them to be responsible, loving, caring, independent, inspiring, strong, courageous, honest, Godly women. And, when they look back on their childhoods, I want them to have the fondest memories. And, when they grow older, I want to be their best friend and the person they can turn to for anything and everything in life because I will always be here for them no matter what. I love them both unconditionally and completely now and forever.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
My Blast from the Past
Brooklyn was a few months shy of turning two when this video was shot. I found it today on the computer while I was looking for something else and oh my gosh, she was so tiny, had the cutest curly hair, her voice sounds so little and her vocab wasn't as advanced as now. It's hard to remember those days!! So, enjoy with me, my blast from the past...
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