The Happy Hooker

I made this scarf on the way home from our trip to Logan. It is the first "real" thing that I have made. It was fun and I am once again addicted.

Pictures from our Christmas vacation

We Are Home!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we made it home safely. We had a great Christmas and it was fun to visit with everyone. Pictures coming soon....

Bath Time

This is Sierra and Maddie's first bath together. They both had so much fun.

We are headed off in the morning to spend Christmas in Logan. Merry Christmas to everyone!

WARNING!!!

When I went to plug in our Christmas lights this evening, half of the strand wasn't working. As I did some investigating I found out that our lights had melted together and into the carpet. The lights are around the window in the room that Maddie sleeps in. The strand was too big for the window, so I bundled the extra and set them on the floor. I guess I didn't think that that would be a fire hazard. Well, it is. Make sure you NEVER leave your Christmas lights unattended. I think we were lucky that a fire didn't break out.

My Santa Baby

This is just a cute little picture that I took of Maddie. I can't believe she is 6 months already!

She is such a girl.

"No running in the tub!"

That is one sentence that I never thought I would hear....

Pink and Purple

Sierra sitting on Maddie's lap.

Yay, we got snow again! It has been so warm lately that it melted all of our snow. Earlier today, Sierra, Maddie and I went outside to play. Sierra didn't want to be pulled in her sled, so we put her babies in it and pulled them around. Sierra thought it was so cool. Maddie was getting pretty heavy for me to carry, so I put her in the sled with the babies and pulled her around the yard. It put her right to sleep.

Maddie looking so cute in her new pink snowsuit.


Sleeping babies

In December.

I saw a rainbow today.
In December.
It has reached 50 degrees today.
In December.
In Montana.
It rained today.
In December.

Oh, how cute.

Santa

Sierra, Madison and my niece Kylee visiting with Santa.

Angels

Every year my mom, my sisters and I make a Christmas ornament. This year my sisters and I made angel Christmas tree toppers. The little girls (Kylee, Sierra and Maddie) made angel ornaments with a little help from grandma. They turned out really cute. My mom has a similar Angel topper that we grew up with and all loved. We were all excited to finally have one of our own. For the record (Tami and Brandi), no, I didn't crochet the angels. My mom did.

On another note......
Maddie is a sitter!!! Yay!

Cookies!!!

My friend from work invited us to her house for some cookie decorating. She invited all the girls that I work with (I work with a bunch of young moms). There were four moms and eight kids - all under the age of 3. This was the first time Sierra has decorated cookies. She was the only kid that stayed and decorated until they were all done. All of the other kids went off and played. Her favorite was squishing her hands in the big tub of multicolored sprinkles- yum, yum. It was so much fun! It is always fun when all of us girls from work get together with our kids.

The big kids decorating cookies


Dumping a big pile of sprinkles on her cookie.

Too Many

Sometimes I feel like I post too many pictures... but I can't help it. I love pictures.

Our front yard the other day. Of course, it melted.

So Big

Brooke's Six Things

• I love lettuce. I can never have too much lettuce on anything (with the exception of a salad). I just love huge piles of lettuce on tacos or sandwiches or anything else that comes with lettuce. My favorite kinds are red and green leaf lettuces, but I like them all.

• I eat a salad almost everyday for lunch. I have been doing this for a few years now. I make my salad fresh, the same way, every day, since day one. I chop up my own lettuce (red leaf lettuce), carrots, cucumbers, olives, bacon bits, craisins and cheese. No salad dressing. The craisins take the place of the salad dressing and add a nice, sweet taste to the salad. Yum!
  

• When I was in elementary school I used to clog. I really loved it. I think I was pretty good for my class. I ended up quitting because a new girl joined our class and she was better than me. I sort of regret quitting so early.

• I don't eat ground beef. It grosses me out.

• I have a big birthmark next to my belly button. It is little bit bigger than a quarter and dark - very noticeable. I was always sort of embarrassed of it growing up, but I got over that probably in my teen years. I used to always think "What is my husband going to think of it? Is he going to be grossed out by it?". So, Jake, what do you think of it?

• I am sort of a lawn freak. I would prefer to mow the lawn myself, that way I know it will get mowed perfectly (although my lawn is way to big to mow it by myself right now). I hate weeds and dead spots. I would prefer that it gets weed whacked everytime it is mowed, but once again, our yard is way too big to have the extra energy to do that after you have just mowed it. It makes me feel relaxed to have a freshly mowed lawn.

I tag Lena and Jamie.

Peace

I was folding the laundry this morning. Then I noticed it was quiet. Nobody was crying, whining or hanging on me. I went and checked on the girls, this is what I found.

Sierra was playing with Maddie. It was so nice to have those few moments of peace.

6 Things

I've been tagged by Aunt Debbie to come up with six things about myself and since I'm usually a party-pooper when it comes to this kind of stuff, I decided to stop being lazy, sit down, and do it. Who knows, I might actually enjoy it and someone may learn something about me. So, here it goes.


- My favorite time of year is tied between Fall and Winter. I enjoy the cool-down with the crisp cool air and the colors of fall. I like the snow and solitude of winter. I like how it muffles the sounds of everything around. I like to heat the house with wood heat, and of course I love to ski.

- My favorite time of day is the early morning. I like to watch the sun come up. I like the quietness of the morning. No cars and no crazy kids running around the house like crazy animals.

- My favorite kind of music is bluegrass. I love to listen to a good string band, especially if its live. I really enjoy listening to the banjo and mandolin. I like good ol' rock and roll and always have, but bluegrass is my favorite.

- My passion in life is to fish. I love to fish! I like river fishing, trolling, ice fishing, ocean fishing, any kind of fishing really. If I could fish every day, I would. River fishing is my probably my favorite though.

- I always have to be doing something. I have to be out of the house by at least 10 in the morning or I get major cabin fever and I can get a little ornery. I like to be physical. I like to build things and tinker on things to keep me busy.

- I am pretty much a home body. I don't really like going to town. If I have enough stuff to do at home then I am totally content staying there. I don't really even like to eat out, but we do so Mama can have a break. If I do have to go to town I am usually out the door and to my destination when it opens. There arn't as many people and it leaves me the rest of the day to do what I want.


I tag Richard. That's all, just Richard. I know if you don't see this (Richard), Lena will, and she'll tell you to do it. So, I look forward to seeing your six very interesting facts about yourself. Thanks Aunt Debbie.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! This year (as well as last year) we went Trick-or-Treating at the mall. It seems to be the thing to do - with small kids. It was a lot of fun. Sierra really seemed to enjoy it. She even blurted out a "Trick-or-Treat" every now and then. Jake and I got in the action this year and dressed up. Jake was a redneck, Sierra was black cat, I was a flower and Maddie was my little bumble bee.

Redneck Jake with his cute little cat. Meow!

Mama flower with her little bumble bee.


Those two were so cute walking around together. There is nothing cuter than seeing a Papa holding hands with his little girl.

Me and my two girls

Pumpkins

Obsession

I just started to learn how to crochet this week. It's kind of funny, Jake has known how to crochet for a few years, but I have never bothered to learn. It has now become an obsession. I am still working on perfecting the single crochet stitch, but I think I've got it down pretty good. I am working on a blanket for one of Sierra's favorite stuffed animals and Jake is working on a cute scarf for Sierra. Yesterday morning, when Sierra woke up, the first thing she did was grab some yarn and needles and started to "crochet". She wants to do everything we do.

My girls and me.

Sisters

Happy 6 Year Anniversary

Happy number six babe. It's been a great six years. Actually its been almost 10 since we started dating. I am truly blessed to have been lucky enough to have you in my life. You are a wonderful wife and great mother and I am lucky to be able to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you babe and happy anniversary.

Love,
Jake

Party Time!

Sierra's Birthday was a success! She really loved opening her presents. It's fun now that she is old enough to know what to do with the presents. She couldn't wait to play with all of her new toys. Of course, she got to stay up late and play. It would be so much fun to be little again.

She really got into it this year!


Sierra's monkey cake that I made. I am very happy with the way it turned out. I almost didn't want to eat it.

Blowing out the candles. There might have been a little spit in there too.

Her new tent and tunnel set.

Happy Birthday Sierra!

It's Official

Maddie is a roller!

Snow

Our first snowfall of the season has arrived - right on time. It seems like we usually get some snow before Sierra's birthday.

Children's Museum

Today we all went to the Children's Museum. Sierra had so much fun. I had never been there and am glad that I finally went. It is a big open room with about 15 different stations like sand, blocks, magnets, puppets, basketball.... You can just sit down on the couch and let your kids free. I have a feeling we will be going to there a lot this winter.

Nice magnet man.


Sierra and a girl learning to share.

Finger Paints

This morning, Sierra and I finger painted. I made some homemade finger paints and we went to town. Sierra had tons of fun and made a HUGE mess. I knew it would be messy, but I didn't think it would be that messy! Paint splatters all over the wall, floor, chairs, table...


After we were finished Sierra continued her fun in the tub. She LOVES to take a bath. It was a fun morning and I feel good that Sierra got to spend the morning doing something fun and something a little different than normal.

Squeaky clean after finger painting

Marshmallow Roasting Stick

This is a marshmallow roasting stick the Jake and I made. We are thinking about making these and selling them at the local Farmers Market next summer. What do you think? We would like any kind of feedback please. Do you think it is something that people would be interested in buying? How much would you pay for a single or a pack of four or six? I will make some bags to carry and store them in. Anyway, just curious about what other people think. We would be using different types of wood.