Brooks

Ever since Brooks was about 1, he has become one mischievous little guy. He likes to get into things and make messes. Some days that's all I do, chase him from mess to mess. Sometimes I feel like I just can't keep up.

I've decided to compile some of our MONSTER pictures...

Our Little Monster Man

But sometimes, just sometimes, he can be very helpful.

Women's Conference

I was so lucky to go to an incredible Women's Conference last Saturday. Julie B. Beck was the speaker. How awesome is that?! She came here to Rexburg to speak to over 13,000 women at the new BYU-I center.

I was so lucky that Brett had the day off and he didn't have any sandblasting to do, making it super easy for me to go. It was a bonus that I was able to go with some of my good friends!

So, this post is basically for me. I want to put my notes somewhere I won't lose them so that I can come back and review them when I need to. Chances are, I'm the only one who will understand my discombobulated thoughts. So, here goes...

• We should not have any other goal in life but to help our Heavenly Father in His work.
• The Lord expects us to declare His word with love and tenderness.
• If we have the spirit, we're okay. If not, we can't get the guidance we need. D&C 11:12-14
• How do we find balance? We need to set boundaries and prioritize correctly:

1. Essential things - scripture reading, prayers, temple
2. Necessary things - work, take care of house, take care of kids, cook
3. Nice to do things - hobbies, reading, movies, friends

• Your best effort, the Lord accepts.
• Anytime we can go to the temple, we take the spirit back into our homes.
• If you want to have a friend, begin by being a friend.
• The most important thing we can do to prepare for the Lord's coming is to prepare our homes. We need to have a climate that nurtures the Spirit.
• We have the ability to control the climate in our home. The Spirit needs to be in our homes.
• We need to have the words of the scriptures in us to have them come out of us for missionary work.
• The Lord wants us to be a mother first.
• He sends us his toughest spirits and they need leadership.
• The greatest trial is to have a gift, but to not follow our dreams and raise a family instead.
• Get over our issues (about visiting teaching and everything else).
• Visiting Teaching is a sacred opportunity. It's about our hearts and our hands.
• We need to live for the gospel and not for ourselves.
• We don't have to worry; we just need to be faithful.

I was discussing the meeting with some other women from my ward and they were talking about some things leaving me to wonder what meeting they went to. Then I realized that the Spirit was teaching me the things that I needed to know to help me in my own life. I'm so thankful for the teachings that Heavenly Father gives me. I only hope that I can make the changes that I know I need to and become more of a servant for Him.

Brynnlee's 3!!

We celebrated Brynnlee's third birthday Wednesday. It's just incredible how fast these kids grow! Austin started out the day with a birthday banner that everyone helped to color. I love how thoughtful and creative he is.

While Austin and Aubree were waiting for the bus, we let Brynn open up two presents. She was ecstatic to say the least!

She was having a Princess Party later that morning and had been quite worried about what she was going to wear since we didn't have any princess dress-up clothes.

But now she was all set with a Dora princess dress and Dora jewelry to go with.

Pretty soon, all of the other princesses arrived...

From left: Princess Paisley, Princess Oakley, Princess Macie, and Princess Brynnlee

Her party was filled with dancing, painting fingernails, playing with balloons, a princess lunch, decorating crown brownies, opening presents, and more playing.

It was her first real birthday party with friends. They all had so much fun! I was so happy!!

While Brynnlee had her beauty sleep, I finished decorating her castle cake. When she woke up to find it done, she was overjoyed!!! (That's the best part of going through all the hassle to make these special cakes for my kids.) It made me so happy once again.

Then later that evening, Grandma and Grandpa Robinson came over for cake and ice cream.

Brynn really struggles blowing candles out. It is the funniest thing! So I took a video of it.

As I tucked her into bed that night, I asked her if she had a good birthday. She said that she loved it. That makes everything worth it!

We love Brynn so much!! She definitely brings a different dynamic to our family. She likes to be the leader and tell everyone what to do. She speaks VERY well and will say the funniest things. Sometimes Brett and I wonder where she ever came from, but we're sure glad she's with us. She makes our lives so very interesting! We sure love her!!!

Quick Visit

We always enjoy having my mom come visit! This time, weather delayed her trip to our house so she was here for two days. The first day I was so busy preparing for New Beginnings with the young women in my ward. So I didn't get to do much with her. And the second day, we just had to continue our tradition of baking all day. But in between all of our business, my mom brought a fun project for the kids to do - a dinosaur dig! All of the kids got in on the action and absolutely LOVED it!

Like I said, we love having my mom come and visit!!

Basement Bathroom

After having my mom and my grandma come to visit over Christmas, Brett and I decided that we would finish the bathroom in the basement before the next visit. We were thinking that my mom would be coming again around April sometime, but when she called to see if she could come on President's Day (which was Feb. 21st), we had to really get a move on things to have them ready in about three weeks.

Thankfully the drywall had been hung and it had been taped and textured. So we had to start by priming the walls and the ceiling and then painting over everything.

The kids were so excited to help!

But Brooks was more of a hindrance than a help.

We got the paining done, the light fixtures in and the tile laid.

Unfortunately I totally slacked and didn't get picture of the cabinets being put in. Probably because it was Brett and I heaving and pulling, and pushing, in and out and around until we finally got it just right. Then came the toilet, sink, and faucets.

Unfortunately again, that's as far as we got when my mom got here. The shower worked and the toilet worked, but the counter top wasn't finished, so we couldn't hook up the sink. But it still partially worked for while my mom was here.

But as of Wednesday (yesterday) the rest of the trim is up, the counter top is done, the sink is working, hooks are up on the wall for towels, and the drawers are stocked. So, now this is what it looks like...

Now all that I have left to do is to seal the grout, get a big mirror, and some rugs, trash can, toilet paper holder, and a towel ring. So close! But still usable for company to come!!