Last summer in Utah Tessa and Collin invited us to Sunday dinner at Tessa's fam's house, the Brummers. Ever since then I have been dying to hear some of Judy's (Tessa's mom) stories. We were thrilled to find out that Judy was coming into town to visit and speak at a youth fireside.
Last Sunday we drove down to Cardiff to hear her speak. For those of you that don't know, Tessa's fam is South African. Her mom is a real firecracker! She gave an inspiring talk on her life experiences. She made us laugh, cry, and laugh all over again.
I know trying to do a recap on her talk will not do it any justice. But I will say a few cool things about her.
Judy is a convert to the LDS church. She converted in South Africa and later served a mission in Africa. Aside from English, Judy grew up speaking the Bushman Tribe clicking language (forgot what it's called!). Later she helped translate the Book of Mormon into click.
The Brummer family has worked through adversity with a tremendous amount of faith and love. I am honored to have had to the opportunity to hear Sister Brummer speak and am so thankful for our friendship with Tessa and Collin.
I hear that Sister Brummer has "groupies" that go to hear her speak up in Utah all the time! I would for sure be a groupie!
If you ever get the chance, don't miss out on hearing her story.

Cried Like A Baby...

When we first moved into our apartment I was thrilled to know that our next door neighbors were a young couple with a little boy Jillian's age! I couldn't wait for them to stop by and introduce themselves! I was way to shy and intimidated by their height (both over 6 ft) to make the first move. Typical me! I got too restless to wait, so I broke out of my shell and walked over one day. The rest is history.

Kyle would surf with Jesse in the evenings and on weekends. Heidi and I would spend time together during the day watching the kids. Jillian and Keanae became the best of friends. It was so nice having them right next door! We developed a very casual and comfortable relationship with each other.

Some things must come to an end.

The Alo's decided to move. Jesse is going to be doing sales for the summer in Chicago and then attend the LDS Business School in Salt Lake. Can you believe they made all of these decisions without even asking us? The nerve!

Jenn and I decided to throw a little girls night at Claim Jumper to say goodbye to Heidi. It was tons of fun and it made Heidi feel really good to know that she will be missed.

Before they headed out on the 30+ hour drive to Chicago on Friday Jillian wanted to give Keanae a little Spiderman toy to remember her by. He LOVES Spiderman.

On Saturday I was in the worst mood and could not figure out why. Finally I just excepted that it was because my bud Heidi was gone and I cried like a baby. Poor Kyle! Jillian doesn't quite get that Keanae is gone. She wanted to go ask him if he would like to go to the park with us the other day and I walked her over to their empty house in an attempt to help her understand. I don't think it worked. Just made me cry...again...

Heidi called yesterday and let me know that they got to Chicago safely despite some car problems and two crazy kids, I guess they weren't so crazy on the drive! She said it is definitely the windy city! I guess their apartment is way nice too. I am thrilled that they get to have this little adventure. We will miss them but are so grateful that we have been blessed with such good neighbors.

Here's to the memories...

Easter

Before Easter Sunday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt that Jenn does every year. The kids had a blast! It was perfect. Jillian had so much fun gathering the eggs into her basket. Once she opened the eggs to expose the hidden candy inside she didn't chow then all down as fast as she could like I had expected! Instead she shared! What a sweetheart!

On Easter Sunday we headed on over to my Mom's ward for church. A reminder as to what it all is really about. Church is a pretty good place to get things put right back into perspective! How very grateful I am for Christ and the sacrifice He made.

Afterward we had a big yummy lunch my Mom had prepared. Uncle Matt was heading back to Utah that afternoon, so it was nice to get us all together one last time.

When we got home after it all we were very surprised to find our place decked out! The Easter bunny surprised all of us this year! It was magical. Eggs hanging everywhere along with Jillian's basket and a Tinkerbell lunch pale! The eggs weren't just filled with candy, but with goldfish and jewelry too! Thanks so much Easter Bunny!

A special thanks to everyone who put effort into making this Easter extra special! It was beyond our dreams! Thanks!

Last week we were stoked to have my baby brother come and visit. Except he's not so little anymore. He has a couple inches on me now and on his trip we went to go and get his license. Can you believe it?! He's a growin' up! We loved spending time with him, in between his surf sessions of course. Saturday he headed up to Huntington for an Occy contest and made it into the semis. Not too shabby for a kid living in Utah. We were also able to see Aunt Gail and Uncle Cliff who were visiting from Oregon. The whole gang including Aunt Lin and cousin Danny got together for dinner at Fidel's (where else?).

fReCkLeS!

Yep! She's got 'em!

Bro Date

Kyle's schedule has been a little funky lately. There are some days when he is home during the day, works all night, then has to be in to work the very next (same) morning. Does that make sense? Anyways, he has been consistently having Monday day off of work and working Monday evening. Luck for him his good pal Collin doesn't go into work until Monday afternoon, therefor they have "bro dates" on Mondays. They usually go surfing from spot to spot and have been known to on occasion go for some all-you-can-eat sushi. Man am I glad Kyle has a good friend who will kill two three birds with one stone for me!

1. Sushi Fix

2. Boarding

3. Guy time

Thank you Collin!

My Job

I am so blessed to have such a loving and supporting husband. Everyday Kyle works hard to financially support our little fam so that I can stay home with our daughter, Jillian. I appreciate that he has faith in me as a mother to raise, direct, nurture, teach, discipline, and LOVE our daughter all day long. It is not always the easiest thing in the world to do.

There are the days when I find Jillian

on top of the fridge

OR

peeing on the carpet

OR

coloring on the wall
OR

smearing Mommy's waterproof mascara on anything and everything

OR

throwing a terrible twos tantrum

OR

having a food fight with herself

ETC.

But with all hard things there are the good. Trust me the bad are nothing compared to the good. One of the many blessings of being a stay at home mom is that I get to experience the firsts.

The first breaths, smiles, waves, noises, words, steps, laughs, etc.

This last week I had the opportunity to witness a few other firsts...

First encounter with a ladybug

First time you let your imagination take you on unforgetable adventures with a cardboard box

First time surfing with Daddy

Call me selfish, but I wouldn't trade my job for any other job in the world! I couldn't let anyone else experience those memories and bonding moments with my daughter but me, her Mommy.

Spring Break!

My two best friends from high school are away at college, but I am so grateful they are able to come home from vacations at school. I get to occasionally see them each individually, but it is a real treat to get the three of us all together. We all got together for lunch and I did not want to say goodbye. It is truly hard to find good friends. I will never forget all the crazy memories we have together, all the times we were there for each other, and all the more to come. Thanks gals for being my buds through it all.

March Madness!

We have so many March birthdays to celebrate every year! Here is a special belated shout out to all you march madness peeps! Sorry it is so belated...

March 21st Happy 89th birthday Grandma Hendershot!

Hopefully next year we will be able to come up and celebrate with you for your 90th! I can't wait!

March 16th Happy 80th Nana Yetta!

We had a blast in New York! I was really nice being able to go and spend time with the Fishman clan. You are a doll...

March 5th Nana!

We are so glad to have you so close and be able to get together for family dinners. You make the best food! We owe you big time! Hope you enjoyed your bday!

March 25th Papa Surf!

Happy birthday Dad! We were really bummed we couldn't see you on your big day. We are so grateful to have you in our lives, thanks for everything you do for us! We miss you!