my valentine

yesterday morning i texted brig. he texted back. how precious.

for valentines day i asked brig if he could have any meal what would it be? he responded, “steak, corn on the cob or squash & zucchini, and mashed potatoes. but since im in a competition…chicken instead of steak.”

i grilled up some marinated garlic lemon chicken, sauted some rosemary squash and zucchini, and whipped up some fluffy cream cheese/sour cream mashed potatoes!

it was pretty delish. we enjoyed the meal with a lit candle, baby in bed, and some sparkling cider!

{and later we ate pisookies of course.}

maddix helped me decorate :)

oh and brig treated me with an awesome back rub…my personal favorite.

love story {caution: mushy stuff}

    

{pic 1: dating} {pic 2: night he proposed} {pic 3: engagements} {pic 4: married}

i’d like to consider myself a pretty lucky lady. at 18, fresh out of high school, i fell in love with a young 21 year old, fresh off the mish. when he came to pick me up on our blind date i thought he was THE most handsome guy i had ever met. i was pretty excited to be able to go on a date with such a good looking guy! he was so down to earth, honest, sweet, easy to talk to, fun, spontaneous, and charming.
first we went to mesa frozen yogurt. i ate his leftovers. on a blind date. embarrassing? kinda, but i felt so comfortable and was totally able to act my normal self. after fro yo we went to freestone park with another couple and went long boarding. he showed off his amazing skills in a humble way, while i pretended like i knew what i was doing. we were both having a blast! we raced down the hills, ran through the sprinklers, star gazed on our long boards, and walked around the park and talked. we hit it off so quick. i wanted to hang out with him over and over and over again.
i didnt want the night to end. i absolutely loved being with him. he made me feel so good about myself. he made me smile SO big! when i walked in the house after the date, i went to say goodnight to my parents. i could not stop smiling! they knew right away that something was up. i told them that i had an amazing time and that he was an incredible guy. then i went to bed. i could NOT sleep! i kept replaying the night over and over in my head. i was afraid that he would go home and realize that i wasnt good enough or cute enough or whatever.
but nope, i cannot explain how excited i was when i got that text from him that next day and found out that he couldnt sleep that night either! crazy. we ended up going and playing tennis that night, desert the next night with some friends, tennis again the next night with family stuff, and the pattern continues. we did not want to miss a day of seeing each other and we didnt.  im pretty sure my friends  thought i fell off the face of the earth. i was head over heels!
after dating for four months, he proposed. we were hiking at usery pass and when we got to a turn, there it was. a blanket with a pizza that had a heart made out of olives, candles and an ice chest. {his sister and brother in law helped out a lot! and recorded the whole thing :)} he began to tell me how much he loved me, and all that good stuff. then he got down on his knee and popped the question. im pretty sure i didnt say yes or no or look at the ring. i was so happy and emotional i just hugged him so tight! but the ring did fit and i loved it. and later i did say yes :)
2 years ago today, we were married for time and all eternity in the mesa arizona temple. this was such an incredible feeling and such a spiritual experience to know that i was being sealed to my best friend for FOREVER.
we have had an amazing two years. including having an adorable baby boy :) we are loving married life.  we learn from the rough times and come out stronger than ever. i am so lucky to have a husband that i can communicate so well with and have so much fun with. can’t imagine life any other way. 
happy anniversary brigham! i love you so much!
 

waking up

there is nothing better than waking up to these two handsome beyond handsome guys in the morning.

 

 

this little guy is a rascal, let me tell ya.

chord in one hand, walking from his walker toy to the chair at the same time & to add to the kaos…he’s got crazy bed hair!

but that’s why i love my little man in the sleeper.

he always wakes up so happy and ready to play in the morning {probably because he’s in mommy & daddy’s bed}!

this is another reason why i love him…he is very spontaneous & creative just like his pops!

{if you’re wondering what on earth he is doing…he is climbing over the bar on the bottom of the kitchen chair. you’re wondering why he didnt just go around the chair? because he likes to make everything interesting!}

back to what i was saying before, i have the best big man & little man around. i love them SO much. they make me so happy everyday & definitely keep me on my toes! glad to have them for forever :)

{adorable pics of brigham & maddix by sarah webb}

feeling grateful

the past couple of days ive been feeling very grateful for so many things.
i am so grateful for my family. my husband is so hardworking, loving, handsome, hilarious, patient, talented & fun. i’m so lucky to be married to him for eternity!! and there’s sweet little maddix. he keeps us so entertained and makes us so happy! plus he’s super handsome :) i love my family SO much and i’m glad they keep me around!
      
i am grateful for my Savior. the other night brigham & i were talking about how excited we are for the the second coming. it is going to be the neatest thing ever to see his face. we were talking about how we are so happy now that we can’t even imagine the amount of happiness that we are going to have at that time. i love my Savior & i am so grateful for the atonement that allows me to constantly repent & be forgiven of my mistakes.

i am grateful for my healthy body. i am so fortunate to have a body that functions well and allows me to exercise and to do the things that i love to do. this past weekend i ran my first 1/2 marathon with my sister in law katie. it went really well! it was so much fun to finally race after all the training i did! my time ended up being 1:52:30. I beat my goal so i was happy!  a couple weeks ago brig did a triathlon and competed against some family members! it was great.

i am grateful for the prophet and all of our church leaders. this past weekend we had stake conference. we were able to hear from the president monson & some of our other general leaders. we are so lucky to have satellite broadcast so that we can hear from our prophet and leaders so often. i know that they are called of God and that their messages are revelation from Him.

i am grateful for all of the comforts of life that i enjoy. my house, food, clothing, bed, furniture, car, and everything else!

i am grateful for my talents. i know that sometimes i complain and think that i dont have any talents, but i realized that i need to be grateful for the talents that i do have because my Heavenly Father has blessed me so much. 

i am grateful for this beautiful weather & time of year. i love that maddix and i can go for walks every morning & play at the park without being drenched in sweat. i love that i can run in the afternoon without dying of a heat stroke. i love the smell of Christmas. i was so excited to buy my autumn spice candle! it totally sets the Thanksgiving/Christmas mood in our house. i love the green garland with gold berries and sparkly red pinecones & Christmas light sitting on our ledge. i love that my husband simply cannot wait to put up the Christmas tree, watch Christmas movies, go see Christmas lights, and bake/eat Christmas goodies with me :) i love that i can open the windows all day long! i love that i can finally put maddix in his snuggly sleepers and me in my comfy sweats :)
  
 
thanksgiving: 9 days. Christmas: 34 days. 2 year anniversary: 43 days.
im a happy lady :) especially at this time of the year!

self esteem booster

first off..last night brig & i went to dinner with one of my best friends from high school & her husband {Lauren & Brent Herman}. we went to BJ’s. sooo good. we both agreed it was the best pizza we’ve ever tasted. it was so good to see lauren!! she’s the cutest sweetest girl ever. love her!

sometimes i have days where i just feel ugly or inadequate & i feel down on myself. last night was one of those nights. brig could tell something was wrong…like always. he reads me like a book! without me even admitting to him how i was feeling, he began to tell me how grateful he is for all i do & he let me know everything he loves about me. then he just held me & said “have you looked in the mirror lately? come on…right now. lets go!” he managed to pull me over to the bathroom mirror& made me stare at myself while telling me how beautiful i am, especially when i smile.
i love my husband so much! he always makes me feel 100% better! i am pretty much the luckiest girl ever :)
 
whoever said you cant find true love at 18..think again. ive got all the love i need from this man.

This is

bliss

i love being a mommy. i wouldn’t change where i am in life for anything. i sometimes feel overwhelmed, stressed for no reason, emotional, inadequate & whatever other crazy feelings that us girls feel. then when i get over myself, i think about how i have every reason in the world to be happy. lately i’ve been getting so emotional every time i look maddix in the eyes and he smiles at me so big. i love that little guy so much. he brings the spirit so strong into our home. i realized that i need to enjoy every single minute i have with him. he’s growing way too fast. it is so obvious how much brigham loves maddix. the other week my mom watched maddix while we went and saw a movie. i was in heaven. we had so much fun together. it was good for us. it takes a real man to go see a cheesy movie like that with his wife {the last song}. anyways, during the movie, brigham was missing maddix like crazy. he loves being with his little boy. the other night we were trying to get maddix to sleep in his crib finally. brigham was missing maddix too much so we ended up putting him back in our room for the night. it was precious. however, he will be back in his crib tonight. sorry brig!

so. my new nickname, thanks to brigham, is flavor of the week, i am constantly thinking of something new each week that i want to do or buy or learn. recently it’s been wanting to teach piano, buy a guitar & get better at it, take up running as a hobby , make headbands, eat healthier, and start back up with school. ever since i’ve become a stay at home mom, i have become determined. i want to be well rounded {you know what i mean} & get better at the talents that i already have. i WILL teach piano lessons. i WILL get better at guitar. i WILL start running more {i have to, i already signed up for a 1/2 marathon! so no getting out of that one}. i WILL eat healthier {not sure what my plan of attack will be since no sweets during the week wasn’t working for us. we used every excuse we could possible think of to “cheat”. my personal favorite was the playoffs. we had to have pasookies during playoffs. it was a must. well for me it was.} and i WILL start back up with school {most likely online & night classes}. anyone know of anyone selling a piano for cheap? or better yet, giving one away? :) how about a guitar? i’m all about used, cheap stuff. now i just need to face the fact that sleeping in is overrated, so that i can wake up at 5 to go running {the only time possible for me to get out & run due to brig’s work schedule & the scorching heat}. to any of you who didnt know, i have decided to go a different route with school. for several beyond several reasons. even though i’m not doing hygiene anymore, i am still determined to get a degree. now i just need to decide what to get my degree in…help please. things that interest me include anything that involves nutrition or health or pyschology{no to biology, math, english, or astrology. thanks tho.}

back to why i love life. i am a healthy girl. {let me rephrase that}. my body is healthy. i might not always eat the healthiest, but luckily my body performs the functions that it needs to! i have a roof over my head. i have a husband that loves me more than anything & treats me like a princess & is a worthy priesthood holder. i have a baby boy who is more adorable than ever. he always makes us smile. i have wonderful family & friends. i have the gospel in my life & a strong testimony. i am going to try to please my Heavenly Father every day by trying to be grateful for what i have. im not a fan of the side of me that complains. its so not attractive. ive come to realize that the heros in my life & those i look up to are always ones that are so happy even when life is rough. they find the good in the bad. the most attractive people to me are the happy ones. my husband is such an example of this. when he’s at home, he is the happiest. he loves being with his family.

am i rambling? sorry, this was much needed. thanks to those who listened.

now on to the fun stuff. my recent captures of life :)

      

p.s. i almost forgot. swimming season is here! we went swimming in our pool on saturday for the first time {the 1st time meaning longer than 2 minutes}. so fun. & it felt perfect. word of advice. if you’re going to play “toothpick”, use a “toothpick” not a bobby pin. just saying.

p.s.s. this weekend i found out that my husband knows every single primary song. impressive.

p.s.s.s. do i blog too much about my baby & husband? brig said that the readers might be getting sick of the same posts over & over. sorry guys, it’s my life!

thats all for now. promise.

Time flies

and Mr. Maddix is already 2 months old! our little man is growing like no other! he is surprising us with new things everyday.
things we {love} about MADDIX.
he is now smiling lots. he is sleeping a whoppin’ 5 hours before his middle of the night feeding. doesn’t cry during diaper changes. learning to like {not cry during} his baths. loves to suck on his wrist, not his thumb…his wrist. loves lights-he could stare at them in silence for awhile, awhile meaning no longer than 10 minutes. loves music, he prefers primary songs & colbie caillat :) {as does his mommy. although, dad would argue that he prefers country & maybe a little rap}. needs to be constantly moving {we blame this one on his daddy}. gaining lots & lots of chub, which = more rolls. which = more to love. looks like his daddy. has lots of crazy dark brown hair. big blue eyes. has big lips. loves to track things with his eyes. loves to cuddle.
MADDIX already has several nicknames.
stinkerbottomous. london {as in london bridges falling down. dont ask. brig gave it to him!}. maddeex. maddy. mad dog. mr. maddix. bud. little man.


 




cutest grandkids.                                                                    {tessa lynn.mckenna allison.trevin joseph.olivia ann.maddix brigham}
We love you Maddix & couldn’t live without you!!!
………………………………………………………
***did i mention that along with dirty tubberware & a smelly gym bag, yesterday brigham brought home the following…

i have the sweetest husband. no, we did not get in a fight, he just is spontaneous & awesome like that. he proceded to thank me for being the awesomest wife ever. did i mention he made me greesy tacos for dinner as well? well he did. so yummy!
he sure knows how to make me feel like a thousand bucks! i love you brig!
{to answer your question- yes. we do get dairy queen blizzards several times a week. dont judge.}