Ben, Marcie and Brooklyn

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T22:20:00.003-07:00

We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day today. I worked this morning and the rest of the day was just Brooklyn and I because Ben worked tonight. Before Ben left for work he gave me some candy from Little Sweet Pea and 2 adorable cards that Brooklyn colored for me. Mom and Dad came by to visit for a minute in the afternoon, and then Brookie and I went down to their house tonight to have dinner and watch the Jazz game. Happy Valentine's Day! xoxoxo

State Drill Team at UVU

2012-02-14T22:00:00.009-07:00

Last Saturday (February 4th) we got up early and headed to Orem to watch the State Drill Team competition. My bosses daughter, Alysse is on the U'ettes and we wouldn't miss going to watch her. They're just like family to us. We also got to watch my cousin Charis, because San Juan was in the 2A competition, so it was a double bonus. I spent my day running back and forth because the 2A and 3A were facing opposite directions when they would perform. I got to visit with my Aunt Adele a lot and had a lot of fun seeing her. Uintah did awesome and took 1st! It was so fun to watch them and see how excited they were!

We barely made it within minutes before Uintah's first dance, because when we were driving through Daniel's, Brooklyn got a little car sick and threw up all over! It was all over her and her car seat. Luckily she was still in her pajamas, I was planning on getting her ready once we got there. We had to pull over and attempt to clean it up as best as we could with wipeys, and then rush to the competition. I think we sat down as the team right before Uintah was performing. A little too close for comfort, but I'm glad we made it!

Brooklyn was ready to go by this point and was in no mood for pictures.

I stole this picture from the paper. It was actually at region, but I couldn't find one of State. Go Uintah!-3A State Champions!!

Tommi and Luken's Birthdays

2012-02-14T17:17:00.006-07:00

Tommi turned 12 on January 27th and Luken turned 7 on January 31st. On Tommi's birthday, Shannon, Shannon's mom, Tommi and I all drove over to Roosevelt to watch the Region Drill Team competition. We had a lot of fun and Uintah took 1st! Tommi had her birthday party the following night, and then we were back at their house a few days later for more fun for Luken's party.

Little Miss squinty eyes with the birthday girl

Brooklyn and Zuri

Luken, Zuri and Brooklyn

Dinosaur Museum

2012-02-14T17:03:00.012-07:00

Misti and her family came out to Vernal the end of January and stayed with us for a couple days. On Saturday we took the kids to the Dinosaur Museum. Grandma Batty came with us too. Afterwards, we met the guys for lunch at Winger's. Ben has been working on finishing a spare bedroom down in our basement this winter, and Dustin helped him sheetrock the room that day. He was a huge help, and I'm so grateful to him, Dale and Ben's Dad for all they've done!!

I looked back through my pictures and found this. It's the last time we went to the Dinosaur Museum, and I thought it was worth sharing. It was in October of 2010, so Brooklyn was only 6 months old here. I remember she slept the whole time we were there. She looks so cute and little! My baby is growing up too fast!

Brookie LOVES her cousins Brandt and Cason! She's also going through this squinty eye phase. She does this in EVERY picture!

Brandt didn't like the noises in this room.

I think the digging was Brooklyn's favorite part.

Park in January!!??!

2012-02-14T16:46:00.004-07:00

We have had an absolutely GORGEOUS winter this year! The weather has been beautiful, and the sun has been shining almost every day! It's definitely the opposite of what our long, cold winters are usually like! One Friday afternoon, it was so warm, Ben and I decided to take Brooklyn to the park. She had a blast, and we just couldn't believe it was the middle of January!! It sure gave me a major case of Spring Fever!

Monica's 30th Birthday Surprise

2012-02-14T16:25:00.008-07:00

Monica's birthday was on January 13th. I worked for a little while in the morning, and then Mom and I headed down to Moroni to surprise her. We made a poster and had cookies, cupcakes, balloons and presents waiting for her. I parked my car at the health clinic across the street from her house so that she wouldn't see it. We got everything ready, and then waited for her to get home from school. When she walked in her back door, she saw all the things on her kitchen table and was thinking some of her friends had come over and done something. Then, I had Brooklyn walk around the corner and when Monica saw her she was so surprised! It was so much fun! I was so glad we were able to pull it off and that we were able to celebrate her birthday with her!

The next day we all drove down to Richfield to watch my cousin Charis, who was dancing in a drill team competition. Kyler rode down with us too. We went to lunch with my Aunt Adele, Uncle Shelby, and cousin Dresden, and then went to the competition and watched her perform. Ben's sister Misti lives in Richfield now, so before Mom and I headed home, we stopped to see them for a little while. It was fun to see their new home and visit with them. Misti was watching Ben's other sister, Amanda's kids that week while Amanda and John were on a cruise, so we also got to see her girls. It was a great trip and it was so nice to see so much family, even if it was only for a short time.

Kaleb

Charis, Adele and Brooklyn

Ellie and Brooklyn

Ellie, Me, Brooklyn, Monica, Kaleb and Kyler

January

2012-02-14T14:31:00.010-07:00

There's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

I love my afternoons home with my girl!

Lounging in her car watching "Mouse"

Silly girl!

New Years Eve

2012-02-13T17:08:00.007-07:00

We had a pretty low key New Years Eve. Miika, Brandon and Easton came over to our house and we just ate lots of snacks and played games. It was a fun night with GREAT friends!

Monica visiting

2012-02-13T16:43:00.004-07:00

A few days after Christmas, Monica came out to Vernal with the kids to visit. She had the week between Christmas and New Years off for Christmas break. As always, it was fun to have them here.

Kaleb is about 7 months here. He's getting so big!

Brookie and Ellie always have fun playing together.

Monica's birthday is on January 13, so since she was here, I made dinner and was going to have everyone over for a little birthday party. Unfortunately Kaleb got sick, so they had to stay down at my Mom's. Monica did sneak away with Ellie for a minute though, and Brookie and I gave her the cupcake we had made for her.

Monica and the kids, before little Kaleb got sick :(

These girls love their Grandpa!

Merry Christmas

2012-02-13T16:16:00.005-07:00

Christmas morning was so much fun with Brooklyn this year. She got a Cozy Coupe car, and I was so excited for her to come out and see it. She was so excited! She got right in it, and kept saying ca, ca (car). The only problem was that it was kind of hard to get her to open the rest of her presents because all she wanted to do was play in her car. Ben got a new shotgun and he surprised me with a Kindle! I was so excited. We went to my parent's ward for church because my dad was speaking. He did a great job on his talk. I was so glad their church wasn't until 1:00, because it gave us plenty of time in the morning and we didn't feel rushed. After church, we spent the rest of the day visiting family, it was a great Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

2012-02-13T14:33:00.007-07:00

On Christmas Eve, we had Cason and Brandt come over and decorate cookies for Santa. Brooklyn loves putting the sprinkles on, so her cookies had TONS of sprinkles. Yum!

We went over to my parent's house for dinner that evening. Grandma Monsen, MiKell, Lee, Kaden and Kenadee were there also, and Kyler was home from school for Christmas break. Kaden and I played some Christmas songs together, and we watched the story of Christ's birth on TV. My mom then gave us our presents, and gave the grandkids their Christmas jammies.

When we came home, Brooklyn watched the Grinch before she went to bed.

Here's just a couple pics I took after Brookie went to bed, just before Santa came.

Monsen Family Christmas Party

2012-02-09T15:58:00.006-07:00

We had our annual Monsen Family Christmas party over at my parents house this year. It was a lot of fun.

Brooklyn squints her eyes like this in every picture I take of her lately.

Brookie and Kyler

L to R: Grandma, Sherry, Donald, MiKell, Kaden and Kyler

Me and Alexis' new baby Gage

Brooklyn and Julie

Kenadee's 1st Birthday

2012-02-09T15:18:00.004-07:00

Kenadee turned one on December 20th. We went over to their house to celebrate. I can't believe she's already one! She's such a little sweetheart and has been so much fun to have in our family!

Cousins

2012-02-08T20:33:00.003-07:00

Misti, Dustin, Brandt and Cason came out to Vernal a few days before Christmas. They stayed at our house for part of the time and we had so much fun! Brooklyn was in heaven having her cousins here. She had so much fun playing with them, and every night when Misti put the boys to bed, Brooklyn would go climb in and cuddle up right in between them. It was so cute. We had a lot of late nights staying up and visiting, playing Dance Central on the Kinect, and playing Phase 10. We were all sad when it was time for them to go home.

December Happenings

2012-02-08T20:11:00.009-07:00

As always, the holidays came and went in a hurry. We had a lot going on with work parties, ward parties and family visiting, and we had a lot of fun!

These were our Christmas cards this year

Brooklyn helping daddy put the star on top of the tree.

I was a little worried about Brookie not leaving my tree alone this year, so I helped her decorate her own little tree. We went to the store and she picked out some little pink ornaments. Any time she tried to bother my big tree, I just told her to go play with her tree, and she would. She probably took her ornaments on and off a hundred times, but she left mine alone ;) She loved to show her tree to everyone that came to visit, and she was so proud of it.

Cute little girly, all ready to go Christmas shopping.

This is Brooklyn visiting Santa at our ward party. She wasn't quite sure about him until he gave her a big bag of Skittles.....then she liked him.

Thanksgiving 2011

2012-02-08T13:51:00.006-07:00

For Thanksgiving this year we went out to Amanda's. We left Wednesday morning and did a lot of Christmas shopping that day. We had Thanksgiving dinner with Amanda's family, Dan, Nikki and Wake, Nikki's parents and brothers, and Ben's mom and dad. It was great food and great company. After we ate, Amanda had little gifts for the kids and then the adults did a gift exchange. Then almost everyone went to the movies. While they were gone we went with Alan to visit Ben's Aunt Renee and Uncle Steve. It was fun to see them, it had been a while. After that, it was on to the Black Friday shopping. We did a lot of it online which was really nice! Ben went to Wal-Mart with John to get some DVD players for the car and some X-Box games. They had games that are normally $50 on sale for $15. Ben stood in line for those and when the time came that they could grab them, Ben grabbed what he needed and hit the floor, with the games under his belly, because people were trying to take them out of his hands. Then people were trampling over him, and when they realized he had games under him, they were still trying to steal them out from underneath him. He was finally able to escape and go check out, but he came home with scratches on his arms and face! He was so proud of himself. He loves Black Friday! People turn into such nuts, including my husband! I was glad to be the one sitting at Amanda's on my laptop doing my shopping in my pajamas! On Friday we did a little more shopping before heading home.

I did not take one picture of Thanksgiving dinner, the only ones I got were in the car on the way out, and then in the car while we were shopping on Friday.

Monica came out to Vernal for Thanksgiving, so once we got home Friday, we got to hang out with her a little. On Saturday we went to lunch with MiKell, Mom and Grandma. Then we went to Santa's Workshop at the Middle School and the Festival of Trees at the Western Park.

Grandma Monsen's 90th Birthday!

2012-02-08T13:30:00.004-07:00

My sweet Grandma Monsen turned 90 years old on November 13, 2011. We had a reunion/birthday celebration back in August when most of my aunts, uncles and cousins were in Vernal, so on her actual birthday it was a little more low key. We had cake and ice cream at my parent's house and had presents for her to open.

My Grandma is truly my best friend. I love her more than words can say. We have always had a special bond. She has always been there for me, supporting me in whatever I'm doing. She loves Brooklyn and really looks forward to us coming over to her house to visit. She is such a kind-hearted woman, and I love spending time with her. We both love the Jazz, and we've spent many nights sitting in her living room on the recliners screaming at the TV. I could go on and on, she is just the best, and I'm so lucky to have her in my life. Happy birthday Grandma, I love you the mostest!

Halloween 2011

2012-01-30T23:15:00.008-07:00

Halloween was so much fun this year! I've decided that kids just make every holiday better, period. Brooklyn was the cutest little cupcake around.

She was a little scared of Dad's Russian hat.

She was also a little scared of Dale. He always has the funniest costumes!

Grandma and Grandpa Batty at the "Trunk or Treat"

Great Grandma Monsen

She even got in on the fun. Isn't she cute?

Kenadee was an adorable little Ladybug

Brookie kissing Grandma's scarecrow

Grandma and Grandpa Monsen

Easton was a cute little Tiger

By the time Smuin's came over, Brooklyn was more than ready to be out of her costume and in bed!

Their friend was Justin Bieber and the girls were his groupies, they were so funny!

Jensen Pumpkin Festival

2012-01-30T23:08:00.005-07:00

After we had our family pictures we headed to Jensen for the annual Pumpkin Festival. This is something I really enjoy going to every year. There were a lot of really neat displays, but the one of the American flag was my favorite. I love doing things together as a family.

She fell asleep the second we got in the car to head home. We wore the poor girl out.

Family Pictures 2011

2012-01-30T22:52:00.008-07:00

The end of October we had Kristi Simmons take some family pictures of us and I was so happy with them. She does an amazing job. Brooklyn wasn't smiling very good until we started playing in the leaves and then she just lit up. At the end of the session, Kristi was trying to get a couple of pictures of just Ben and I and Brooklyn was over chasing the chickens around. We were all cracking up. She was trying to get a serious pic of us and we just couldn't do it, so instead she turned around and got an adorable picture of Brooklyn and the chickens, which turned out to be one of my favorites.

Carving Pumpkins

2012-01-30T20:42:00.010-07:00

We had Mom and Dad, MiKell, Lee, Kaden and Kenadee over to carve pumpkins and watch the World Series. Brooklyn loved digging in and getting dirty, and as always Ben and Kaden's pumpkins turned out great.

The eyes on Ben's pumpkin were a trace of Brooklyn's hands, it was so cool.

Kaden always carves an awesome pumpkin too

First Day of Nursery

2012-01-30T20:30:00.004-07:00

Brooklyn turned 18 months old on October 22nd, so she was finally able to go to Nursery at church. I was happy, because she was so happy! She loves nursery and gets so excited every week to go. When we're out in the hall during Sacrament meeting, she always walks to the nursery room and wants to go in. I'm so glad that she loves it so much and that she doesn't cry when I drop her off.

Fall Break

2012-01-30T19:59:00.005-07:00

Monica and Kyler came out to Vernal for fall break, and we had a lot of fun while they were here. We went to the park, watched lots of movies, and just had fun being together.

Trip to Moroni

2012-01-30T19:29:00.005-07:00

My mom, Brooklyn and I went down to Moroni in October to visit Kyler and Monica. First we went to Ephraim and picked up Kyler and went to McDonald's. He was a good sport and played with Brooklyn in the play place. She loves her Uncle Kyler.

Then we headed to Moroni and hung out at Monica's house.

Cute Little Kaleb

The next day, we drove up to Provo and met my Aunt Natalie and cousin Katie and went shopping and had lunch.

Silly girl pretending she's asleep

Brooklyn and Kenadee

2012-01-30T19:21:00.006-07:00

These two little girls have a lot of fun together. They are so cute!

Brooklyn-October 2011

2012-01-30T13:41:00.010-07:00

Brooklyn loves her binkies! I don't look forward to the day that I have to get rid of them! I swear she has hidden stashes of them around the house.

All ready for church

This is her famous scowl face.

She loves to put on my high heels and walk around the house. She's actually really good at it!

This was the first snow of the season. She just stood at the back door and watched it in amazement.

Every time I take her picture she says "cheese" with her big toothy grin, and cheesy it is! :)

Anniversary/Lagoon

2012-01-29T23:09:00.008-07:00

Our 7th anniversary was on October 1st, 2011. We went out to Salt Lake for the weekend. On Friday, Amanda watched Brooklyn while we went to dinner. After dinner, Ben had set up a massage for me, which was so nice! I was in heaven. The next day, which was our actual anniversary, we went to Lagoon. We had such a fun day! Monica and her family met us there, along with Amanda's family and Dale and Shannon's family. Brooklyn loved all of the rides, and I can't wait to take her back next year!

Brooklyn and Ellie

Me, Brooklyn, Ellie, Monica & Kaleb

These cars were by far Brooklyn's favorite ride. She wanted to ride them over and over. I love the look on her face in all the pictures, she is having the time of her life!

Me and Brookie riding Puff (you can barely see her little head)

Gross!

The cars again. Look at her face, it's priceless! :)

Ben and his new girlfriends. Aren't they pretty?!?

Tommi, Luken and Jett waiting to ride the go-carts.

Do you think Brooklyn had fun or what? We love Lagoon!!

Dry Fork with the Brunson's

2012-01-29T22:16:00.005-07:00

The end of September, we went up to Dry Fork with Miika, Brandon and Easton and had a picnic. It was a really fun night, and we're so grateful for good friends.

First Hair Cut

2012-01-29T22:02:00.004-07:00

Brooklyn got her first haircut from Tammy Gurr on September 26th, 2011. All she did was cut about a quarter of an inch off her bangs in the front, and Brookie hated every minute of it. She cried the whole time.

Picking Pumpkins

2012-01-29T21:48:00.005-07:00

Grandpa Batty planted some pumpkins in the garden this year, and Brooklyn had so much fun picking them and putting them in the wheel barrow. She loved walking out to the garden all summer and fall and picking and eating the peas and the little cherry tomatoes.

Autumn Nights

2012-01-29T21:39:00.005-07:00

We took full advantage of every nice day this fall before it got cold. We spent a lot of evenings going for walks, playing at the park, picking vegetables out of the garden, and roasting marshmallows over at Ben's parents house. We really enjoyed the beautiful weather that we had this year. Brooklyn loved going for rides with Ben on the lawn mower and the tractor.

Fat Lip :(

2012-01-29T21:23:00.006-07:00

One evening while I was making dinner Brooklyn was climbing on something and fell and hit her lip on the tile. Poor little girl was so sad! Her lip was huge! The last picture cracks me up though, it looks like a mug shot. After we got her cleaned up and feeling better, we took her down to the park to play and then stopped and got some ice cream on the way home.

Brooklyn-September 2011

2012-01-29T21:19:00.002-07:00

I love this little girl so much!

Lazy Sunday afternoons

2012-01-29T21:13:00.003-07:00

What happens when we get bored on Sunday afternoons? It gets a little scary around here.

Tommi, Brooklyn, Ben and Zuri

Even Grandpa Batty got in on the fun!

Grandma Monsen's B-day/Monsen Reunion

2012-01-28T22:18:00.008-07:00

On August 19th and 20th we got together and had a Monsen family reunion and celebrated Grandma's 90th birthday. Her birthday isn't until November, but a lot of the family was here this weekend, so it worked out better for everyone to get together. On Friday evening we met at the Naples Park and had a nice dinner, played games and had cake. Then Saturday morning we met for a big family picture, then went back to the park where they had balloon animals for the kids and we had lunch. It was so much fun to see a lot of my cousins who I haven't seen for years. The only downside of the weekend was I had a horrible ear infection, and was in so much pain on Friday night, I ended up going into the ER early Saturday morning so I could get an antibiotic. The antibiotic they gave me there didn't work like it should have, so I ended up having to go to the Dr. Monday and get a stronger antibiotic and some pain meds. The pain meds made me really, really sick that night though, so it was a little rough for a few days! Despite all of that, it was a great weekend with family, and I hope we can get together again soon.

Yard

2012-01-28T21:49:00.003-07:00

This summer we got a lot done on our front yard. We got our rock wall finished, our trees planted, our decorative curbing done and finally got our sod laid in August. I can't believe I never took any pictures of the yard after the sod was in, so I'll have to do that in the spring.

Playing in the cupboard

2012-01-28T17:06:00.006-07:00

I couldn't find Brooklyn one day and then I walked into the kitchen and saw two cute little feet coming from under the cupboard. She was hiding from me, so I pretended I didn't see her, and was saying "Where's Brooklyn?, I can't find her." She was just giggling like crazy in there, it was so cute!

Sgt. Daniel Gurr

2012-01-28T16:37:00.007-07:00

On August 5th, a marine from Vernal was killed in action in Afghanistan. His name was Daniel Gurr. He was truly a hometown hero. Daniel was Kyler's age in school, and we got to know him pretty well when he played soccer with Kyler. He is also the cousin and nephew to our good friends Tammy, Rick, Cody, Miika and Shon Gurr. Daniel's body was flown into Vernal on August 11th, and then was taken from the airport, on a final drive past his house, down the highway, main street and on to the funeral home. Thousands of people lined the streets to welcome him home, and I'm so glad I got to witness it. I've never seen anything like it in my life, and it's something I know I will never forget.

The feeling of patriotism in our town that whole week of the funeral was amazing. Every business in town waved their flags at half mast, and all of the marquees thanked him for his service.

Ben, Brooklyn and I went to watch the procession with Grandma Monsen, Mom, MiKell, Kaden and Kenadee.

As the hearse and all of his family drove by, there was such a silent hush on the street. It was like everything kind of stood still for that moment, and it was a very peaceful, sad, and patriotic feeling.

It was truly amazing, the crowds that came out to support our fallen soldier.

On Saturday, we watched cute little Easton while Miika and Brandon went to the funeral.

When school started later in the month, Uintah retired Daniel's soccer jersey. I was so proud of our little town of Vernal and how everyone came together and showed their love and support to Daniel's family. Miika told me that as they drove through town when they were bringing Daniel's body home, that they were truly overwhelmed with all of the people that came out to show their appreciation for Daniel and his sacrifice. Daniel Gurr is a true hero, who we can all look up to. He will be greatly missed and will never be forgotten.

Kaleb's Blessing

2012-01-25T15:04:00.006-07:00

August 5-7 we went down to Monica's for Kaleb's blessing. It was a great weekend. Saturday evening we took the kids to the park. Brooklyn could not get enough of the park this summer. We went there every chance we got.

We spent the rest of the night getting all the food ready for the blessing luncheon. Brooklyn kept playing with the cantaloupes and calling them "balls"

Brooklyn and Ellie in their matching jammies

Monsen Family

Monica, Dwain, Ellie and baby Kaleb

Kenadee and Brooklyn

MiKell, Kyler, Me and Monica

Ben and Kaleb

July 2011

2012-01-20T15:18:00.006-07:00

Stadium of Fire

On July 2nd, we drove out to Provo and went to Stadium of Fire with Kyler and his friend Martha. We left Brooklyn at Dan and Nikki's so she could play with Wake, and we had a fun night out.

David Archuleta

Brad Paisley!

4th of July 2011

2012-01-10T20:41:00.010-07:00

At the parade with Daddy, Kenadee and Kaden

After the parade we went over to Kenadee and Kaden's house and swam in their little pool, and to slip n slide.

Grandma and Grandpa Monsen

Every year we go to the fireworks with Craig and Rhonda, and Alan and Connie. Kyler joined us this year too!

Brooklyn absolutely LOVED the sparklers!

Watching the fireworks. I love this picture, she looks so sweet!

Bear Lake

2011-11-08T22:26:00.004-07:00

In July, my sister-in-law Nikki's mom and dad invited us all up to Bear Lake to celebrate Dan's birthday. Connie rode up with us, Dale's family and Amanda's family went, Dan, Nikki and Wake, and of course her parents. They have a really nice, grassy property there that's really close to the beach. We set up tents on the grass and "camped" if you could even call it that. They even built a nice bathroom there with a running sink, toilet and hot shower. We had fun on the jet skis and playing in the sand during the day and playing games at night. They said they want to make it a yearly tradition, so hopefully we will be able to go again.

As usual this girl loves to get dirty!

She had a lot of fun playing with her little cousin Wakefield

She loves her cousins Tommi and Brilynn too!

We got home from Bear Lake and Connie's birthday was the following Tuesday, July 12th. This is the only picture I got! Happy birthday!! We love you!

Summer Fun

2011-11-08T18:07:00.006-07:00

We had lots of fun this summer playing with cousins, swimming, playing at the park and going to the water slide.

Ellie, Kaden, and Brooklyn

All 5 Monsen grandkids: Ellie, Brooklyn, Kenadee, Kaden, and Kaleb

Kenadee

Kaleb

Swimming at Kaden's house

Daddy's work water slide party

Brooklyn with Kenna and Addison Dudley

Mia Maid Class Activity

2011-11-08T17:13:00.006-07:00

For our Mia Maid class activity in July we had a BBQ/water party at Aubryn Talbot's home. We had an awesome home made slip n slide and also played water balloon volleyball. We had Jade Timothy, Aubryn Talbot, Audrey Fitchette and Cami Adams there that night. I've said it so many times, but they are all such amazing girls and Brooklyn and I always have so much fun with them!

Planting trees

2011-11-08T16:58:00.004-07:00

Ben has been working really hard on our yard and landscaping all summer. In July, we planted our trees. We did a TON of research on trees for months, and finally decided on ornamental pear trees. We planted four of them in the front yard, and I think we'll be really happy with them.

Brooklyn loved being outside this summer and has no problems getting in the mud and getting dirty.

Lee's Birthday

2011-11-08T16:05:00.007-07:00

Lee's birthday was on July 21st. We went over to their house to celebrate.

Brooklyn's eyes look psycho in this picture, but this is her with the birthday boy.

Mom and Kenadee

Monica and baby Kaleb

Bunco at Red Canyon Lodge

2011-11-08T15:57:00.005-07:00

For Bunco in July, we drove up to Red Canyon Lodge for dinner. I always have a lot of fun with these girls, they all have become such great friends! It was fun to do something a little different for Bunco this time. (I stole these pics from Jessica's blog).

L to R: Alice Dudley, Andrea Newman

L to R: Me, Debra Slaugh, Chelina Samuels (she's not technically in our group, but was so much fun, I hope she comes back)!

L to R: Jada Dudley, Jessica Spafford, Alison Dudley

24th of July

2011-11-08T14:43:00.007-07:00

We had a fun 24th of July weekend. My oldest friend, BriAnn and her husband Derek and cute baby Isaac came to visit. They got to Vernal on Friday afternoon and left Sunday morning. Monica and her family were also here that weekend. On Friday we went over to my mom and dad's for a BBQ.

Brookie can NOT sit still long enough for a picture!

MiKell and Kenadee

Monica, Kaleb and Ellie

BriAnn and Isaac with me and Brooklyn.

Brooklyn loved sparklers this year!

Saturday morning BriAnn and I got up and went to the parade while Ben, Derek and Kyler went fishing.

This fish was from a totally different fishing trip, but it was also in July.

After we all got home we took a nap, had lunch and then went up to Dry Fork for a little while. We played in the stream, then played at the park at Remember the Maine.

Isaac is about 8 months old here. BriAnn is pregnant and about a week after they left our house, she had her ultrasound and found out that they were having TWIN boys!! How lucky for Isaac to have two little buddies to play with!

We had to take a picture by this sign, because it's what Ben did for his Eagle project back in 2001.

We finished the weekend off with pizza and S'mores at Ben's mom and dad's house with the whole gang. What a fun weekend with friends and family! I'm so glad that the Christensen's came to visit, and I hope they make it a yearly tradition. BriAnn and I have been friends since we were in grade school and I'm so glad that we've stayed in touch all of these years. I can't wait to meet her new little bundles of joy!

Uintah County Fair

2011-11-08T14:09:00.009-07:00

On Friday afternoon my mom, MiKell and I took the kids down to the Uintah County Fair to go check everything out. The thing Brooklyn loved the most (and the only thing I took pictures of) was the "Little Red Barn." Brooklyn was once again in heaven being around all the animals!

The next morning we took Brooklyn down to the Western Park for the Baby show. That's definitely something I will never do again. It really wasn't the best experience.

I promise I'm not a sore loser, but she didn't win ANYTHING! Not even cutest hair, cutest eyelashes, cutest smile, NOTHING! I know every mom there obviously thought that her baby was the cutest thing on the planet, but really?! I left there feeling like the biggest loser ever and I felt guilty for subjecting poor little Brooklyn to it all. I guess I learned the hard way that I don't need a stranger's approval to know that my daughter is the cutest, most adorable baby ever!! :)

Glines 5th Ward Young Women

2011-11-07T17:59:00.005-07:00

I love my calling as the Mia Maid Adviser in Young Women's. I have loved getting to know all the girls better and I love teaching them. They are so sweet. When I was first put into YW, Kristy Sinks was the 1st counselor, so she was the counselor over Mia Maids and the one I got to know the best. Her daughter, Natalie was also in my class and she is such a sweetheart too. Sadly, the Sinks moved to Colorado in July, so this is a picture of all of us in YW on their last Sunday. There were quite a few girls gone that day because it was the 4th of July weekend.

Back L to R: Shannon Deets (Laurel adviser), Jade Timothy, Liz Timothy (Beehive adviser), Holly Talbot (Secretary)

Middle L to R: Leisa Hardman (2nd counselor), Janine Smith (President), Kristy Sinks (1st counselor), Rachyl Hardman, Lindsey Hunt, Lauren Talbot, Alyssa Blackham, Breanne Timothy, Aubryn Talbot, Me and Brooklyn

Front L to R: Taylor Arnold, Brittany Harvery, Shaelee Blackham, Mallory Petersen, Natalie Sinks, Emilee Hardman

Baby Kaleb & Visit to Moroni

2011-11-03T16:37:00.009-06:00

Monica had her baby on June 1st, 2011. They named him Kaleb Howard Finlinson. He was 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 19 inches. That's 3 babies in a row that were 6 lbs. 8 oz. on the Monsen side: Brooklyn, Kenadee and Kaleb. I thought that was kind of funny. Monica had a rough go the first couple weeks of his life, ending up back in the hospital for a few days because of high blood pressure and some other problems. Luckily my mom was down there the whole time to help take care of the baby and Monica. It was a really hard time for Monica, not being able to be home to take care of Ellie and her brand new baby, and I'm so grateful that she is home and healthy now!

Brooklyn and I went down once she got home from the hospital and stayed for the weekend. As always, Brooklyn and Ellie had fun playing together.

He is adorable. We love him so much!

We spent one evening at the park. Brooklyn is so cheesy in pictures lately! She cracks me up!

Cute little cousins: Ellie, Brooklyn and Kaleb

Young Women Girls Camp

2011-11-03T16:29:00.010-06:00

I was called to be the Mia Maid adviser in January of 2011. I was a little nervous when I received this calling, but I grew to love these girls very quickly! They are all so special to me and I love them so much! I know this is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm grateful for them! They have taught me way more then I could ever teach them!

Our stake went on the trek in July this year, but it's only for ages 14 and up, so our ward did a little girls camp at the beginning of June so that the Beehives could go to camp. It was up at the Morton's (a couple in our ward) cabin in Dry Fork. It was a beautiful place and so nice for the girls! I wasn't able to go up and stay because of work, but I went up on Thursday and Friday night to hang out with them. Thursday I drove up with Brooklyn and had dinner. That night each class did their skits, which were so cute. On Friday I took Brooklyn to MiKell's and rode up with Alan and Connie. That was the night the Bishopric and their wives were invited up for dinner.

After dinner that night, we did the "Lehi's Dream" program. The leaders really put a lot of hard work into it. The girls were blind folded and had to walk along the iron rod, past the Great and Spacious building (which had a bunch of people mocking and persuading them to let go), and we had leaders trying to get them to let go the entire walk, until they got up to the top. I'm so mad I didn't take pictures of it, but they had a tree all lit up with white Christmas lights, where they were given a caramel apple and sat under the tree and listened to a little thought that was given by Shannon Deets (our Laurel adviser). My part in the program was to stand at the very end of the iron rod and stop each one of them, give them a big hug, take off their blind fold and tell them they had made it to the tree of life. It was such a spiritual experience, and I'm so glad I got to do it. Almost all of the girls started crying when they got there, like they were so relieved and so happy to have made it. The spirit was so strong that night, and I hope it's something they will never forget.

My cute Mia Maids

Back Left to right: Natalie Sinks, Jade Timothy, Aubryn Talbot, Annie Luck, Emily Hamson

Front Left to right: Audrey Fitchette, Cami Adams

Brooklyn absolutely LOVES these girls! She gets so excited when she sees them every week at church. Look at her in this picture, she thinks she is just one of them!

All the Mia Maids with me and Kristy Sinks (1st counselor) Love her too!!

This was the end of the Mia Maid skit. It was so cute!

Love these girls!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-11-03T16:28:00.004-06:00

Ben's 2nd Father's Day! He had to work which was kind of a bummer! Brooklyn's shirt said "My Daddy makes me smile" Oh, how true that is! She LOVES her daddy! He is such a great husband and dad, I'm so grateful for him!

Uncle Don's Cabin

2011-11-03T16:25:00.004-06:00

Donald and Sherry invited mom and dad up to their cabin to stay for the weekend, so after church on Sunday I picked up Grandma Monsen and we drove up for the evening. Sherry made a yummy dinner and Brooklyn had a lot of fun running around.

This little girl sure loves her "Bompa" as she calls him. She calls my mom "Mom mom"

Brooklyn-June

2011-11-03T16:20:00.004-06:00

Brooklyn loves standing at the back door and looking outside. She'll watch daddy and Grandpa Batty working outside all day, and occasionally she catches a glimpse of the deer that live back there and eat our garden!

She's such a little mischief maker, and is into everything! She loves playing with anything she can get her hands on in the pantry.

Anytime I open the dishwasher, she comes running! She loves to "help" me load and unload the dishes. She is so busy, but so much fun!

South Dakota-Day 1

2011-11-02T17:09:00.008-06:00

This year for our vacation we wanted to go somewhere we hadn't been before, but also somewhere that wasn't too far away so that we could just drive and not fly. We decided that the perfect place was to drive to South Dakota and go see Mount Rushmore. We left on Wednesday, June 22nd and came home on Saturday the 25th. Ben and I both happened to have all those days off at the same time so it was a perfect time to go. The only thing I was sad about was missing our 10 year high school reunion. It was that same weekend. 10 years! Are we really that old!?

We got up super early Wednesday morning in hopes that Brooklyn would sleep for at least half the drive. She slept the first 2 hours, woke up and ate, then slept for another 2 hours. The rest of the time she was awake, but she was an angel the whole way. We didn't hear a peep from her. It took us about 8 hours to get there. We stayed in the town of Hill City, SD which is about 13 miles from Mt. Rushmore. We went and checked into our hotel and then headed over to "Old MacDonald's Farm." I wanted to go somewhere that Brooklyn could run around and have fun at because we had been in the car all day. It's a little petting zoo, that I knew Brooklyn would love, and boy did she love it! She was in heaven! She got right in the pens with all the animals and wasn't scared of them at all. Her face in all these pictures says it all.

After the petting farm, we went to Flying T's for a BBQ dinner and show. The food was delicious, although Ben and I had to take turns eating and chasing a one year old. What we saw of the cowboy singers was great too, but we left about halfway through because Brooklyn had had enough for the day. She was so tired, so we decided to head back to the hotel and call it a day. I think we were all in bed and asleep by 9:00 that night! That never happens!

This was her the next morning...still so tired!

South Dakota-Day 2

2011-11-02T14:10:00.020-06:00

Day 2 we got up really early because we had tickets to go through Jewel Cave. The cave was awesome, but I didn't enjoy the tour as much as I could have because I was worried about Brooklyn the whole time. At the first of the tour, the guide stopped a lot and the group would just be standing there listening to him for like 10-15 minutes at a time. She was fine with us holding and carrying her as long as we were constantly moving, but when he would stop to talk, she just cried to get down and run around. That's not so easy when you're in a dark cave and there are cliffs all the way around you. We both thought we were going to have to turn around and not finish the tour because she was being so loud and distracting, but then we started moving a little faster and she eventually fell asleep on Ben's shoulder. It wasn't until then that I could finally relax a little. There were several other caves in the area that looked interesting but after that morning we decided it wasn't such a good idea with our little monkey.

After the cave, we stopped at a little ghost town called Four Mile. It had a bank, jail, saloon, hotel and a bunch of other things. It was fun to walk around and look at them all.

Then we headed over to Crazy Horse Monument. It was really cool to see.

After Crazy Horse, we took the 2 hour drive through Custer State Park on our way to Mount Rushmore. We weren't going to, but someone there suggested that if we had time, it is worth the drive. I'm so glad that we did. It ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was a beautiful drive with beautiful scenery! We went on Needles highway which has a bunch of tunnels that you drive through. Brooklyn slept the whole ride, so she got a good nap in and was really happy once we got to Mt. Rushmore.

Our first view of Mt. Rushmore was through one of these tunnels! So cool!

Mount Rushmore was awesome! Definitely worth seeing in person.

I loved the patriotic feeling there! They have all the state flags and pillars with each state with the date they entered the union. Of course we had to take our picture by Utah.

Little Miss Independent!

They do a lighting ceremony every night, and we wanted to see that, but we had a couple hours to kill, so we headed over to Keystone and played a round of miniature golf.

Back at the lighting ceremony, Brooklyn and this little girl became fast friends. Brooklyn wouldn't leave her alone, she kept going up and hugging her. Her parents were really nice, we talked quite a bit with them. They were from Texas and they said that we were the first people they had ever met from Utah.

Horrible picture, but it did look really cool all lit up.

South Dakota-Day 3

2011-11-02T13:38:00.011-06:00

The first thing we did this day was head over to Keystone to do the Alpine slide. This place had a really neat little resturant up on a hill that we had to ride a ski lift up to. There was kind of a side view of Mt. Rushmore up there, but it was pretty far away. Ben rode the slide down the hill so I had to ride the lift back down by myself with Brooklyn. Talk about scary! She is so wiggly that I was terrified the whole time that she was going to fall out! We made it though, and Ben loved the slide!

I love this picture!

We went to Rapid City for the afternoon and rode go-carts. Way fun! Brookie loved it!

On our way out of town we stopped at Cosmo's. It's a little place out in the woods that has all sorts of tricky little things, like balls and water rolling uphill, people standing on a level surface, then switching places and one of them is way taller than the other. The whole place just has this weird magnetic feel, that makes you feel completely off balance. When we were through, and walking to our car I felt really sick to my stomach. I was glad it was the last thing we had planned on doing because it took me awhile before I felt normal again.

While we were driving home, we decided to stop at Devil's Gate and the Martin's Cove visitor's Center. I hadn't been there since I went on the pioneer trek when I was 14 or 15 and Ben had never been. We got there about 10 minutes after they had closed, but a nice Elderly missionary came and talked to us and actually ended up opening it back up and giving us our own personal tour. It was so nice of him, and I was so glad Ben got to see it.

We had such a great trip, and it was so fun to spend some time together!

May 2011

2011-08-26T16:50:00.003-06:00

We went over to celebrate Kyler's 22nd birthday! He got home from his mission last November, and headed to Snow College in January. He has been home for the summer working for Vernal City doing maintenance at the cemeteries. It's been so much fun to have him home all summer. He's planning on going back to Snow for another year in August. We love Uncle Kyler!!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-08-26T15:53:00.007-06:00

In honor of Mother's Day I wanted to show how hard it is to get one good picture of Brooklyn:

This isn't even including the 900 more we have of the same pose :)

Grandma Batty and Grandma Monsen

Great Grandma-Dolores Monsen

Brooklyn and Kenadee with Grandma and Grandpa Monsen

Dan and Nikki came out for Mother's Day, so Brookie got to play with her cute little cousin Wakefield. They are two little troublemakers!

I know I say this all the time, but I am so grateful for my baby girl!! She is my world!

My 28th Birthday

2011-08-26T15:30:00.007-06:00

My birthday was pretty low key this year. Ben and I both had the day off so we just hung out as a family. We tried to go for a Jeep ride, but it was kind of a rainy, yucky day and everywhere was too muddy, so we ended up just taking a little drive up Dry Fork. That night we had our family over for cake and ice cream.

Baby Easton

2011-08-26T15:20:00.004-06:00

Easton Matthew Brunson

Baby Easton was born to our good friends Miika and Brandon on May 16, 2011. He weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces and was 18 inches long. We drove over to Roosevelt to visit them in the hospital. He is such an adorable little guy, and we're so excited for Brooklyn to have another little friend to play with!

Brooklyn Mae

2011-08-26T15:01:00.003-06:00

Memorial Day

2011-08-26T14:50:00.003-06:00

On Memorial Day we had our annual gathering up at the cemetery with the Monsen's to visit Grandpa's and Linda's graves. Then Ben, Brooklyn and I went over to see the graves of his Grandpa Rex and Grandma Mae.

Biggest Loser

2011-08-26T14:27:00.006-06:00

Ben was in the "Biggest Loser" contest at work. The contest ran from the end of January until the end of May. Ben has won this contest twice before and the prize is usually cash. This year the prize was an XBox 360 with Kinect. He wanted it so bad and was really dedicated to losing his weight. He WON! He lost a total of 50 pounds!! I was so proud of him, and he's done really well to keep it off this time around.

This picture is just from last Christmas

BEFORE:

And these two pictures were taken at his work BBQ the day they announced the winner!

AFTER:

Doesn't he look great!! :) Way to go sweetie!

We had a dance party at our house to celebrate with the new Kinect! It's so much fun! Sorry Amanda and John, you're the only two I took pictures of for some reason!

Family Pictures

2011-08-26T14:03:00.009-06:00

When Ben's sister, Amanda and her family were out in Vernal for Memorial weekend, she took some family pictures and did some one year old pictures of Brooklyn. I thought they turned out so cute. She is really talented. These were all taken in our backyard! Thanks again, Amanda, we love you!

Brooklyn-1 year old!

2011-08-25T21:22:00.009-06:00

Brooklyn turned one on April 22nd. I can't believe how fast that year went by! Everyone says that time flies when you have kids but now I know how true it really is. I have loved every moment of being a mom, I love this little girl more than words can say! She truly is the light of my life!! What a special blessing it has been to have her in our home!

I made Brooklyn's cupcakes the night before her birthday party, so I let her try one out for practice for the big day! She LOVED it!

Cute little birthday girl!

Birthday Party!

2011-08-25T21:15:00.007-06:00

We had Brooklyn's birthday party at the Naples park on the day after her birthday. The people who came to help us celebrate were: Ben's mom and dad, Dale and Shannon's family, MiKell and Lee's family, my mom and dad, Grandma Monsen, and Donald. Sherry had to work that day. It was hard for some of the other people we invited to make it because it was on Easter weekend. We were so grateful for all those who came! We served a little lunch, then had Brooklyn open her presents, and then let her tear into her cupcake. It was freezing cold, it was raining on and off and the wind was blowing pretty good the whole time, so we made it pretty quick, but it was still a really fun day.

At first she didn't really want to touch her cake, and she was just staring at everyone like she was wondering why we were all watching her. Once she ate a little frosting and realized what it was, she tore into it and loved it!

This must be the "it" toy this year! She got 3 of them! Haha!

The little pumpkin was so worn out after her big day!!

Happy birthday Brooklyn, you are so loved!!

Easter 2011

2011-08-25T21:15:00.005-06:00

MiKell, Lee, Kaden and Kenadee came over and dyed Easter eggs with us. We had so much fun!!

Happy Easter!! Brooklyn looked adorable in her cute little Easter dress!

April Fun

2011-08-25T16:07:00.006-06:00

Brooklyn and Kenadee with Grandma Monsen

Smuin's came over to visit Brooklyn a few days after her birthday and gave her some fun presents. She loves these kids!

Brooklyn and Mommy

She always falls asleep in her high chair

One day I came home from work and found these two like this! It was too cute!

Brookie in her cute little sweatsuit

Bath time!

March 2011

2011-07-27T17:01:00.006-06:00

Since I went back to work after having Brooklyn, Ben and I have been able to work out our schedules so that between the two of us, one of us is home with Brooklyn, and we haven't needed to take her to a babysitter or daycare. Ben works 7 days on, 7 days off, so on his weeks off, I work full time. Then on his weeks on, his shift is from 1:00 pm-11:00 pm, so those weeks I only work until noon. I'm so thankful that I work for such great people who understand the importance of family and have allowed me to be so flexible with my schedule. They are even so good about Brooklyn coming down to the office if needed. It's definitely a lot easier getting up and going to work every day knowing that she's just home with Ben. He takes such good care of her, and I can see that they are really close because they get to spend so much time together. That's not something that many dads get to do, and I think that its actually a really good thing for both of them. It is hard though, some mornings, to get out of bed and go to work while these two sleep in!

Brooklyn's definitely a girly girl. She loves playing with my jewelry. She'll take my necklaces and bracelets and put them on and take them off for hours. Every time we go over to my mom's she heads straight to her bedroom and gets in her jewelry box and puts her necklaces on.

She loves phones! Every time she picks one up she puts it up to her ear and says "dad".

2011-07-27T16:46:00.004-06:00

She's always been such a good little eater

Don't worry, she's not really drinking the Mt. Dew, she just loves to play with the bottles.

She loves eating suckers, but I'll only let her have them when she's in the bathtub, then she doesn't get herself and the whole house sticky. It's perfect!

2011-07-27T16:26:00.003-06:00

Fun playing in the bathroom cupboard!

Playing games with mom, dad and Kyler

Wearing green for St. Patrick's day!

11 Months Old!

2011-07-27T16:18:00.004-06:00

Brookie turned 11 months old on March 22nd! She loves playing with her daddy!!

February 2011

2011-07-13T17:14:00.005-06:00

Everytime the fridge is open, Brooklyn runs to it. She likes to climb clear up into it, its so cute!

She wasn't too happy with me when I tried to put her down for a nap. She's never been a very good napper. 20-30 minutes is about all we get, and sometimes its only once a day.

She loves to play under the kitchen table and climb around the chairs.

In February, we also had our first ER visit. I was getting ready to head to Bunco, and was planning on taking Brooklyn to Smuin's for them to watch her. I was running around like crazy, trying to get things put together and get her diaper bag packed, and she was sitting in her Bumbo seat on the kitchen counter. I ran from the kitchen to the living room, for 2 seconds, just to grab a couple diapers. That's when I heard a big thump, and my heart sunk. She had crawled out of her Bumbo and fell onto the tile floor. She cried and cried, I've never heard her cry so long and hard. I was scared to death. Ben was working so I took her down to the hospital and they did a CT scan on her head. Everything was okay, luckily she didn't have any fractures or anything, probably just a major headache. I felt so bad and guilty. I had been trying so hard to be careful and not leave her in it except when I was right next to her, and the one time I do, she falls out of it. I'm just so thankful that she was okay. Needless to say, we don't have the Bumbo on the counter anymore!

Valentine's Day

2011-07-13T17:05:00.004-06:00

Every holiday is so much more fun with this little sweetheart in our home! I love these two so much!! They both bring so much joy into my life!

Really mom? More pictures?? :)

10 Months old!!

2011-07-13T16:57:00.004-06:00

Brooklyn turned 10 months old on February 22nd! She started walking right around that time. She was taking quite a few little steps all month, but really started taking off around her 10 month birthday. It is so cute to watch her wobble around the house! I love it!

Ben's Birthday!!

2011-07-13T16:36:00.005-06:00

Ben turned 28 on the 26th of February. We went out of town for a fun weekend, and took Brookie swimming for the first time. She LOVED it. I wasn't sure if she would or not, because she was going through a phase of absolutely hating her baths. She loved playing and splashing in the water. I thought it might cure her of being terrified of the bathtub, but no such luck, she still screams every time I put her in there.

We had a little birthday party at our house with our families.

I'm pretty sure ice cream is Brookie's favorite food. She loves it! I loved these pictures of Ben's mom feeding her, she looks like a little baby bird.

January 2011

2011-07-13T16:07:00.002-06:00

Bath time

2011-07-13T16:04:00.002-06:00

More cute bath time pictures!

Who needs toys??

2011-07-13T15:56:00.005-06:00

More fun playing in mom and dad's closet! One of her favorite past times!

She also loves playing in the hamper. What a silly girl!

Baby Einstein

2011-07-13T15:39:00.003-06:00

Brooklyn's favorite shows to watch are Baby Einstein, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street. I hate to admit it, but she loves to watch T.V.

9 month shots :(

2011-07-13T15:36:00.004-06:00

As always, Brookie did amazing with her shots. She is such a happy baby!

9 months old!

2011-07-13T15:31:00.002-06:00

Brooklyn turned 9 months old on January 22nd!!

December 2010

2011-06-30T13:54:00.003-06:00

Helping Dad put up the Christmas tree!

2011-06-30T13:44:00.007-06:00

Just a bunch of pictures of my sweetheart!

She was crawling around everywhere and pulling herself up to everything.

I hosted Bunco at my house in December, and we had an ugly sweater party. It was a lot of fun! I wish I would have gotten individual pictures of everyone though, some of them came up with some winners!! I love these girls, they are so much fun.

Kenadee Elizabeth Watkins

2011-06-30T12:24:00.009-06:00

MiKell and Lee had their beautiful baby girl, Kenadee on December 20, 2010. Kaden spent the night with Ben and I the night before because MiKell was being started that next morning. The day she was born we had a HUGE snowstorm! It snowed the whole entire day and the next. I took care of Kaden that day, getting him to and from school, and to and from basketball practice, and the rest of the time we were just patiently waiting at the hospital for his baby sister to get here. She finally arrived at 9:16 pm and was 6 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches long. They named her Kenadee Elizabeth Watkins.

She is such a special little girl. They've waited a long, long time for her, and she has brought so much joy into all of our lives. I'm so happy for their little family, I love them so much!

December Happenings

2011-06-30T11:32:00.005-06:00

We had a lot of fun at our ward party. It was the second time she had seen Santa, once before at Santa's Workshop at the Middle School. She wasn't afraid of him at all, she just stared at him and then smiled. We'll see how she does next year ;)

I went with my mom and Kyler to their stake's Christmas program and afterwards, we came back to my house. Kyler introduced Brooklyn to Oreos, and she absolutely LOVED them. She's been addicted ever since. I love these pictures!

One day after church she was playing in my closet, and was so fascinated by my mirror. It was so funny to watch her. She would pound on the mirror and jabber to herself and she would kiss herself. I'm sure she thought her reflection was just another baby playing with her!

It was a struggle all month to keep her out of the presents. She just wanted to tear into them. There was one big present that she messed with all the time. While Ben was watching her one night, she tore into it when he wasn't looking and he said it was so funny, and he couldn't resist just letting her go at it. She was so excited to finally be able to tear the wrapping paper off!

8 Months Old!

2011-06-29T20:48:00.004-06:00

2011-06-29T20:39:00.002-06:00

Christmas Eve

2011-06-29T20:17:00.003-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve with my family, first going over to my mom and dad's for dinner, and then we went over to MiKell and Lee's house to hang out, because they didn't want to go out with the brand new baby. Grandma Monsen also joined us. Afterwards, we came home and opened our Christmas jammies. Brooklyn was so happy that she could finally tear into a present, but it was funny, I think she was a little confused because we had been keeping her from them all month, but now we were telling her to open them. It took her a minute, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly!! It was fun to watch her be so excited!

Christmas Day

2011-06-29T16:20:00.005-06:00

Christmas was so much fun this year with Brooklyn. She got really spoiled, but of course loved chewing on the wrapping paper best of all! She was so excited unwrapping all her presents, it was so much fun to watch her. After a while I think she was a little overwhelmed by it all. She had so many new toys to play with she didn't even know where to start. I'd have to say her very favorite has been the little princess car she got from Grandma Batty. She loves it, and pushes it all around the house. She walks really well with it, and is also walking along all the furniture. She is growing so fast!!

MiKell and Lee's cute little family on Christmas Day.

November 2010

2011-06-06T22:54:00.006-06:00

Kyler came home from serving in the Canada, Halifax mission on November 5, 2010. We were so excited to see him!! Brookie was born while he was gone, so he got to meet her for the first time. We made her this cute shirt in honor of the occasion.

Waiting impatiently at the airport!

Kaden made this cute sign for Uncle Kyler from the nieces and nephew!

Yay! Elder Monsen, we missed you!!

The very first thing Kyler said to Brooklyn was "You're chubby!" haha.

We love you Kyler and are so happy you're home! We're so proud of you for serving an honorable mission, you are such a great example to all of us!!

2011-06-06T22:44:00.005-06:00

Brooklyn turned 7 months on November 22nd!

What a cutie pie!!

Grandpa Batty got her hooked on licorice! She loves anything sweet!!

Jazz Game

2011-06-06T18:36:00.007-06:00

The day before Thanksgiving we took Kyler out to Salt Lake to go to the Jazz game. We made a quick stop at Temple Square, but it was sooo cold that day, so we didn't do too much! The Jazz played the Hornets, and won. We had great seats, and it was so much fun!!

Brookie's first Jazz game!! She's already a big fan!

I was pretty worried about how she would do with all the noise, but she LOVED it! We got her some little ear plugs and she did great. She loved watching all the people, and would get so excited when the crowd would cheer, but she would cry when the crowd booed! There were a couple of incidents with the Jazz Bear and a Hornets fan that got the crowd pretty wound up during a time out, and the crowd was booing so loud, it scared her and Ben ended up having to take her out for the 4th quarter. She's such a sensitive little thing and she'll always cry when she can sense that people are upset, but the majority of the time, she had a big smile on her face and was dancing and bouncing on our laps!

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-06-06T16:50:00.006-06:00

We spent Brooklyn's first Thanksgiving at my mom and dad's house this year because Ben had to work and it was Kyler's first Thanksgiving home. Grandma Monsen was also with us, it was a lot of fun.