Balloon Festival

Once again we had the chance to wake up extra early and enjoy the hot air balloon launch not far from our neighborhood. It was the most beautiful morning. I didn't even need my jacket. We were blessed with many friends to attend with us. We followed it up with a yummy breakfast at Gunther Toody's Diner. YUMMY!

This cowboy balloon was airbrushed on. It took them over 2000 hours to complete it.

Brooklyn, Kate, Parker, Allison, Sidney, Tara, Josiah, Christopher, and Logan all tried to squeeze on the little blanket.

Garden Planting Time

Brandon and the kids were busy Sunday planting the salsa garden. Brandon really missed not having a garden last year. He enjoys all of the aspects of gardening. I think that he gets it from his mom. The kids really wanted to help so Brandon, being the good dad he is, let them jump in and help. I just sat back and drank my coffee since it was mother's day and playing in the dirt really isn't my thing.

This is the bleeding heart plant that I have in my flower garden.

I just love the flowers.

Our Honeymoon

We got back from Cozumel on Friday night. It was worth waiting 10 years for a honeymoon. We had the most wonderful time. The weather was beautiful, the water was warm, the people were friendly, the hotel was great. No complaints will come from me. We are already planning our next trip. It may take us a couple of years to save for but it will be worth it. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called the Melia Cozumel. I would give it 2 thumbs up for sure. I even won a bottle of Tequila after one of the shows. WooHoo! Brandon also got groped by the Village People. Just ask him! I am sure that he will love to tell you all about it.

Our hotel was right on the beach. That's where we spent most of our time. It was the most soft, white, beautiful sand.

There were several iguanas wondering around the resort. They are kind of big and a little intimidating.

This is my favorite picture. It is the view coming out of the restaurants.

We went down town to do a little shopping and these guys were more than happy to pose for a picture.

This sunset was beautiful. I don't think that the picture does it much justice.

Brandon and I did one touristy thing we took a boat trip on the Fury. It took us to a couple of reefs and to a private beach for dinner and more beach fun.

Brandon discovered his new favorite hobby. He loved snorkeling. He was amazed that he could float. He has never been able to before. If he hadn't fried his back after his first time I am sure he would have snorkeled even more.

We discovered that the best snorkeling was at the resort next to ours. There were so many fish. People would feed them bread and they would come from all over. It was pretty amazing.

I will put a plug in for the resort. I would stay there again.

Just For Fun

Thought that I would give my blog a new do and a new name. We are a bunch of busy bees here at the Brinker house so I thought that it fit well. Brandon and I do get to relax this weekend as we head off to Mexico. I can't wait. I will be thinking about you when I am soaking up the sun on the beach.

Japanese Speak Spanish? Who Knew!

Here is another little conversation that I had with Zach. He is just at the cutest age and I don't know where he comes up with this stuff.

Zach says to me "oh my gosh" and I reply "That doesn't sound very good. Let's not say that." After thinking a bit he says "You know mom other Americans say that and the Japanese too. No wait! The Japanese speak Spanish."

A Weirdo

I have always been told that I should write down the cute things that my kids say so that I can look back and remember so I will start today. I know that my kids are getting older but they still say the cutest things.
I was teasing Zach when he got home from school the other day about how he was more than welcome to come into our house and stay awhile. I gave him a tour of the house and he kept saying "Mom I live here" but I just ignored him and continued on the tour. Towards the end of our tour he turns to me and says "Mom, Jesus sure did make you a weirdo!". That was the end of the tour because I broke down in laughter. I love those times.

Destination Imagination

Brooklyn has been working for a few months with an after school club called Destination Imagination. They meet together twice a week and brainstorm. Their team name is Myth Busters and they busted a myth that you can make wings out of wax and feathers that will fly or something like that. They have been working hard and on Saturday they had the regional competition and they placed 2nd. WooHoo! Now they get to go on to the state tournament later this month.

Mrs. Mowry put in a lot of time with these kids. She was wonderful.

They are a Great group of kids!
Brooklyn was so excited to get her medal. She can't wait for the next competition.

Easter Sunday

Easter Is On Its Way

A Fine Day At The Zoo

Zach and I were invited to the zoo with out wonderful neighbors Jolie and Parker. The girls were in school so we took advantage of the outing. If was a beautiful day to be at the zoo and the animals were putting on quite a show. I think that the animals are ready for summer too.

10 Years Ago

Where was I 10 years ago on March 10th? Oh yeah! I was in the hospital giving birth to a beautiful baby girl who weighed in at 7lbs. Brooklyn turned 10 this year. Her golden birthday she calls it because she is 10 on the 10th. She has always made us smile from picking her nose, to wearing goop on her chin, to wearing crooked goggles in a pool where she probably never put her head in the water.

Where have the years gone? She wanted to have a sleepover for her party. 7 little girls can make for quite an interesting evening. She is growing up to be a beautiful person. I love you Brook!

Oh Happy Day!

What do you celebrate today? Do you celebrate the love that you share with someone? Do you celebrate that you are single like many who consider this day Singles Awareness Day? Do you spend the day complaining that this is another holiday thought up by someone trying to make a buck and the fact that they have succeeded because you have already gone out and spent money for the day? Whatever you celebrate I hope that your day is simply wonderful!

Almost February

It's almost February. The month of love. I need a change of weather and a change of blog and since I can't control the weather I went for the blog change. Do you have any plans for the one you love? If you do let me know because I need some ideas to show the one I love just how much I love him. Yes, it's Brandon.

What Would Wii Wear?

What is the proper Wii attire? At our house I discovered that pretty much anything goes. I walked out into the living room tonight and there was my husband in his snowman boxers and husker sweat shirt. He was too involved in the game to even fight me over taking the pictures. I hope that the curtains are closed.

Crazy Times In Steamboat

We took off on a weekend to Steamboat Springs. Emmaus hooked us up with a place to stay and food, a little angel hooked us up with gas money, and it was a recipe for a fun time. It was beautiful but it was snowy. I can't imagine living with that much snow all of the time. It was at least 4 feet deep, EVERYWHERE. It didn't stop us from blazing a sledding trail. The kids and the parents all had fun flying down the hill. Our only injuries were a bloody nose(Brandon), whip lash(Sidney), and sore muscles(all of us) from climbing up and down the hill.

The view from our sledding hill.

The sun didn't shine a whole lot while we were there but it didn't stop us.

The kids are ready for some fun.
These 2 were troopers.

Zach landed on his head and was still smiling.

What a rascal!

They are secretly arguing about who will be the first down the hill.

It's alot of work coming back up.
Fun Times Were Had By All Until...

The ride home. Bessy(the van who has seen better days) decided that the heater would only work on high so we were either freezing or roasting. We were mostly roasting because if we didn't keep it on the windows would fog over. After we got down the mountain Bessy decided that she wanted new rotors and our brakes started making this awful grinding noise. The Cheeks van(I don't know what it's name is) also decided that it didn't want to have power steering so there trip down the mountain was also quite the experience. I am glad that we are all home safe and sound.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to everyone. We hope that this year finds you well. We all have big plans for the new year, mine start with getting the laundry done. WooHoo! Do you know how awesome it would be to start the new year off without a huge pile of laundry? Very awesome indeed! So get out there and start your new year adventure. I will be in the basement doing mine.

The Christmas Story...Emmaus Style

Emmaus Road put on its first Christmas pageant last Saturday night. Justina and the kids worked for a few weeks on the skit that Justina wrote. It was the cutest thing. We had kids ranging in age from 9 to under 1. House church hasn't lended itself to a huge growth spurt in the number of kids so we were able to use everyone of them. You may be wondering who the "weirdo with the Beardo" is? Well you guessed it, it's Brooklyn. She had the honor of playing Joseph because she was one of the three kids (girls only) that can read. She was actually kind of excited about it. Sidney was the angel and loved that she got to look beautiful. Zach was not so thrilled about being a shepard and refused to wear anything on his head (I know you are thinking surely not Zach). Both of the girls had solos. Sidney is ready to sing again at any time but Brooklyn didn't enjoy that part quite as much. The play went off without a hitch and it made for a great evening.

Luke 2:9-12 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

A Little Christmas Humor

Character Counts

On Friday Brooklyn won a special award at school for her service. Each month they work on a new character trait and she received the honor for her service work at school. She is such a sweetie and always willing to help. We are so proud of her.