.washington trip.

.i L.O.V.E.D. being home.

.loved, loved, loved it.

.did not want to leave.

.we flew for the first time with both kids. and i have to say it was a total success. both kids slept the ENTIRE time on the way there. we looked like a circus act walking in the airport with 3 suitcases (small, medium and large) a duffel bag, 2 car seats and 2 kids. thank goodness for debbie...we wouldnt have been able to do it without her. so the flight was great. we got there at 10:30am and spent the rest of the day running errands for bre's wedding.

.wednesday we cleaned house,  made a riduclous amount of brownies for the wedding, drove to and from the airport and went and got bre's wedding dress fixed. it was a busy day, but enjoyable. mom and i went to get the church keys, and lucky us we drove past this farm that had old farm/country items. mom jumped out and asked the guy if he rented them out, and he informed us we could use whatever we wanted for FREE. love that...free!

.thursday we did more for the wedding stuff in the morning. than my sister and i left to meet bre and the rest of the family at the temple, as she went through for the first time. funny thing is, no matter how many times we have been there... we got lost...twice. it took us 1.5 hours to get there, when it should of took us 40 minutes. awesome (not!). however, we got there in time, and we have a good laugh about it. it was really fun to spend time with kristina...i remember going to the store with her at 4am and standing on a milk crate and sharing a little debbie snack. delicious. 

.friday was a day full of flower arrangements, setting up the reception, setting up for the reception, and setting up for the reception. it was crazy. thankfully we got it done and it looked country. pictures dont do justice, but it turned out really cute.

.saturday we got bre ready and my mom and sent them off...than we got ready and met them over at the temple. watched bre and lehi get sealed, took a few pictures, and headed over to the church to get everything ready. thank goodness for cathy peterson watching my kids, and allowing me to attend the sealing. and thank goodness for BURGERVILLE shakes filling out tummies before heading over to set up for the reception. it was beautiful. and fun to see so many faces i hadn't seen in a while.

.sunday we barely made it to church. we were all so tired. but just relaxed before and after church.

.monday we made a bunch of returns and did a little shopping before my sisters (ronnie and kris) fly home. it was fun to spend time with them. andrew's first day of work was this day, so he stayed home and worked, while i had fun with my sisters.

.tuesday & wednesday mom had class for school, we we visited friends in the evening, and just hung out at home. thursday my mom threw me a baby shower and it was alot of fun and so enjoyable to see the kirby family. it was so much fun to see this family. kian and holly have gotten so big, and are still so much fun. i also went to lunch with my good friend and "mom" tammy schwanz. i LOVE how much we still laugh and are able to talk. she is so good to me and my family.

.thursday my mom threw an amazing baby shower for me. we cleaned all day long for it, but it was so worth it. we played alot of fun games, and parker was spoiled with so many clothes....he is going to be such a well dressed stud. it was so much fun to talk and catch up with friends too.

.friday and saturday we worked and worked and worked in my mom's classroom. i am not kidding about working...we seriously worked until midnight on friday night and one in the morning on saturday night. i also got the chance to attend a baby shower for my good good friend megan schultz. it was so much fun to watch her daughter and brooklynn play.

.sunday we went to church again, and also saw ashley bigler and her boyfriend and her doggie. it was SO GOOD to catch up.

.monday we worked again in the classroom until open house. thank goodness when that was over because my mom was so tired, and we were too. dad went fishing that day and brought home salmon....i passed on that dinner (cant stand seafood)....so he grilled up some beef for teriyaki rice bowl instead. it was delicious. 

.tuesday we packed a bit, did laundry, went out to dinner with my parents, and than went and visited the oneal family. brooklynn was in lala land running around after their dog. it was so much fun to catch up with them too. we went back home, and packed until early in the morning.

.wednesday we got up early and said goodbye to my mom, and dad took us to the airport. we looked like a circus act coming through the airport with 4 bags, 2 carry ons, 2 carseats and 2 kids. we get there and are 4 pounds over on one bag and 10 pouonds over on another...ARE YOU KIDDING ME>!?! so we shuffle things around to the other bags and finally got the weight even. thank goodness. off we flew to utah. parker slept the entire way....as well as his dad, and brooklynn and i stayed up and played with her dolls, and read books. it was still a great flight even with brooklynn awake the entire time.

.it was a great trip....i loved being home. i miss it so much. i LOVED being around my sisters again, and i LOVED spending time with my mom...as always. overall i great trip....hopefully i go back again this summer with my sister and all our kids.....me, my sister and 6 kids....should be fun!

.pictures from our trip.

 .parker and adilynn. 2.5 months apart.

 .parker is ridiculously tall compared to adilynn.

 .kian kirby and parker.

 .kian and parer.

 .holly and parker.

 .it was hollys birthday when we came to visit!

 .my beautiful b girl. 

 .proof that i am capable of doing her hair cute.

 .my handome parker boy.

 .his feet almost hang out already.

 .uh?

 .this is parker's pout face.

 .parker in his daddy's tie.

 .blue eyed boy and his paci.

 .he has LONG toes.

 .where the bride and groom stood.

 .mr and mrs sign my sister made.

 .decor.

 .entry table and where the presents went.

 .entry table.

. sound system hidden.

 .fence where people's advice for the couple was hung.

.food table.

.cake.

.food table.

 .big garden buckets where we served ice cream out of.

.sign my sister made.

.tables.

.like i said pictures dont do justice... it looked awesome.

thanks for such a GREAT trip

.learning how to juggle.

.since having parker, i have been learning to juggle. 

.learning to juggle andrew time, brooklynn time, cleaning time, me time, etc.

.and let me tell you its not easy.

.i was texting a good friend of mine, Tammy Kirby one night, when Andrew and I were out running a few errands while Debbie/Roger were watching the kids for us. it was so nice to catch up with this lovely lady. when she asked the question, "how are you?" i just let it all out (poor tammy, she seems to get my emotional venting every time we catch up....thanks tammy!).

.i feel like a horrible mom. before having parker it was brooklynn and i. it was our time. it was me and her 100% and 24/7. than parker came along, and i realized the demands of a newborn. (dont think i regret having parker, because by NO means do i....i would do it the same again.). i just forgot how demanding a newborn was, especially with breastfeeding. 

.i have not slept in the same bed with andrew since having parker....i take that back, we slept in the hide-a-bed 3 times since having parker boy (3 weeks ago)....because parker has been fighting gas in the evening and will cry and cry, and so i have been sleeping in the hide-a-bed with him so andrew and brooklynn can both sleep.

.one morning, i woke up to parker sleeping between andrew and i... and i felt like i was punishing brooklynn who was in our bedroom sleeping in her pack and play. it hit me hard how that use to be brooklynn cuddling between us. on weekends, when brooklynn would wake up, i would put her between andrew and i and we would all cuddle and play...it was a great start to our weekend.

.many times brooklynn would cry and cry and just reach out for me. she needed me. she needed her mom. i felt like she was trying to tell me, "mom, look here, i need you too." it was just hard to give brooklynn the time she needed and parker the time he needed. i felt i was really dropping the ball on being a mom, in my attempt of learning to juggle.

.it is getting better. i know its a matter of time of figuring out a routine, and parker getting a little older. this last week, all 3 of us cuddled....brooklynn, parker and i. it was great. (sorry daddy). i try to keep brooklynn engaged in something while i feed parker...and when i need her help, i ask her to help me. she is a GREAT helper. when i am changing parkers diaper, she is right next to him, giving him his paci, and throwing diapers in the garbage (without me asking). she goes to parker when he starts to whine, and gives him his paci, or gives him his blanket. she rocks the swing when he is in there, and gives him hugs every morning when she wakes up.

.brooklynn and i cuddled this last week, and watched video after video after video of brooklynn....from her birth, all the way until now. it was so fun seeing how much she has grown and how much love she brought into our home (and how much she has had her dad wrapped around her finger since birth). i loved this, and brooklynn did too. we just cuddled together and watched and she would laugh and point.

.i sure miss my brooklynn time, but i love my brooklynn parker time. she is such a great sister, and he is such a great brother. i honestly would not change it at all. i love how close they are, and love how close they are going to be as they grow older. they both bring such a special spirit into our home.

.so this post is not to be a "downer", because its not. i have learned that i CAN juggle. i CAN balance both my children, it just takes time. i have days where i drop the ball in my juggling act of being a mommy, but i am starting to get real good at the whole juggling thing overall. 

.so to end this post, of course I have to post pictures of my babies.

 .parker boy.

 .so brooklynn does this face when you take her paci.

 .this is her face when you wont give it back.

 .this is her upset face (can you tell?? haha)

 .and this is JUST before she is really to scream at you to give her paci back.

 .she loves touching his little face.

 .she ALWAYS asks to hold him.

 .love this picture.

 .my beautiful blue eyed beauty.

.parker found his thumb.

.my babies.

.end of one chapter, beginning of another.

.tomorrow we leave texas.

.and to be honest, i am not sure how i feel about it.

.i am ready to be around family...but i have really enjoyed my time here in texas.

.even with what seemed to be the endless hours in a hotel room, the hot hot sun (which i enjoy, Andrew is a different story), being pregnant here, moving here knowing NO ONE, having a baby here-with a doctor i didnt know (whom i found to LOVE), feeling like i was the only one to deal with brooklynn's attitude and tantums..i could continue with the negative, but really the positive is MUCH better.

.being away from family and only being able to rely on Andrew. i feel we grew closer together and being away from family forced us to talk more, and check in on each other. this move made me grow closer to brooklynn. i seriously love this girl, but watching her grow and become more of her own little person just made me happy. this move also helped me grow a deeper love for andrew, and his hard work and dedication to his family. . . that even on hard days when brooklynn was a pill, i was able to be there for her...not a babysitter, not a daycare, --ME!. moving to texas forced me to be a bit more social, and learn more about the ladies in my ward, and grow friendships here...it also pushed me to ask for help when i needed things, because i didnt have anyone else around to ask, no best friends, no family. i grew a deeper learning of faith- having faith in the Lord and that things will work out for our family. i wont lie, i cried and cried coming here, and cried and cried when we got here, but I just had to rely on the Lord that he knew my needs and worries. this move made me grow a deeper love for my mom, and for her sacrifice for me and my family. for her love for me, and her worries for me. i have grown a deeper understanding for prayer, and for the connection we need to have with our Father in Heaven...that family prayer is important, even if your toddler is running around throughout the whole thing. i learned how much i take the priesthood for granted, and the comfort it continually brings to me when I need it. one of the biggest things i will miss about texas is the memories we have made here in this chapter of our lives....but it has come to a close, time to start our next chapter in our lives, and continue to "reread" the old chapters. to be reminded of the lessons we learned, the trials we went through, the strength we have gained, and the memories that were made.

 .we will miss our texas beach trips.

 .our playgroups.

 .our pool time.

 .playing with our toys, in a HOTEL room.

 .our trips to the alamo.

 .daddy/daughter riverwalk.

 .the san antonio zoo.

 .our seaworld trip.

 .aquatica-seaworld's waterpark.

 .waterpark with daddy.

 .our sonic happy hour trips.

 .our mommy/brooklynn time.

 .being 39 weeks pregnant.

 .we will remember our special day in texas we introduced a new member to our family.

 .the special day brooklynn became a big sister.

 .learning the outdoor plumbing of a boy.

 .funtastic playland friend.

 .endless amounts of ice cream.

 .thank you texas for the many memories, but our FAVORITE is becoming a family of four.