Christmas Lesson

I know I will look back on this one day and it won't bring me to tears.  I know it will make me smile.  It will make me feel grateful for the lessons we are learning as poor college students. But right now, this story is fresh and stings a little.

Money has been a little tight since we have been married. We do not go without anything. We have everything we need, but when it comes to extras and fun we really have to be picky and careful. This year, we set a Christmas Budget that was almost completely taken up by our big purchase of a new Canon Camera that we are SO excited to use!! All other presents have been necessities. Socks, shoes and new sweaters.

Sweet Mike lets me do my own shopping for Christmas and my birthday every year. I am picky and so he lets me choose exactly what I want. But Mike always sneaks in one present that I have NO idea about and it is always spot on! Its usually something that I have randomly commented on in passing. He is so sweet. I know he loves doing this so much! His face when he sees me open this special gift is pure joy every time. I can't tell you how observant and sweet he is. These presents melt me every. single. time.

Last night, he walked in from work and ran straight to our guest room, which is also currently the Christmas present wrapping station and shut the door and told me not to come in! When he walked out I asked him if he spent a lot of money. He said not to worry about it. I told him if it was more than $25 or $30 we really didn't have it in the budget this month and it had to be returned. He then revealed that he spent well over $30. I told him sorry but we really had to take it back. He walked back into the room and took off the bow and unwrapped the present. As he silently did this I began to cry. I knew I was crushing him. He really loves doing this every year and it is honestly the sweetest most tender thing. He opened the box and I saw that he bought me the temple bag I had picked out randomly back in the fall. I remember the moment perfectly. I saw it on the wall at Deseret Book and walked directly to it, it is BEAUTIFUL!! I remember commenting on how pretty it was and then I pulled out the price tag and chuckled, it was way too expensive for a temple bag. Especially when I already had a perfectly functioning temple bag. That was the one and only conversation we had about that bag. He remembered it for months. Gosh I can't get over how sweet he is. Anyways, as he threw away the wrapping and grabbed the receipt. We walked to the door to take it back and he turned into me to hug me and began to cry. I think I have seen Mike cry a total of 3 times ever. He doesn't cry. I felt awful. But I knew we had to take back the bag. He whispered that he wished he could do more for me. And that this present meant more to him than any other part of Christmas. And my heart broke even more. He works his butt off for us!! It was a hard night.

I couldn't imagine not writing this memory down and I know we will be grateful to have it down the road. I am so grateful for my sweet Mike and all he does for me. I am the luckiest wife. He my greatest blessing next to my knowledge of and belief in the Gospel. We will have a wonderful Christmas without the surprise overpriced temple bag. I was overwhelmed with my husband's Christ-like example of love and service. I want to be more like him. And even though I crushed him and we returned the prettiest temple bag I have ever seen, the message of this gift hit me hard. I hope to remember these feelings over the next few days as we celebrate Christ's birth.

Lots of love,
Brookeydee

Fall Break

We had the opportunity to join my family for a fun long weekend in St. George for fall break! Luckily between all of us in college- Rachel is the only one graduated besides mom and dad- we all had the same fall break! We headed down on Thursday for some warm and fun in Southern Utah!  We stayed at a beautiful home by the Ledges golf course and we went on two hikes right outside of Snow Canyon, ate lots of food, did a temple trip, saw Thriller at Tuacahn , and just enjoyed being together. All of it was SO NICE! Also, Ruby is at the most fun stage right now! she is funny and developing her personality and an awareness of others and she is learning to talk (and count, little smarty pants!) and its just SO fun to interact with her!

Grandpa

I have only known two biological grandparents in my lifetime, my mom's father and my dad's mother. So you can imagine, I hold tight to these two. They have spoiled me and loved me to pieces and I am so grateful to have them. I'm also grateful for their spouses who have loved me and accepted me as their own.

My mom's side of the family has a history of heart problems, and grandpa took a turn for the worst about a week and a half ago. He went in for a valve replacement this morning and had a heart attack on the table. I am grateful for his wise medical team who stopped and knew that they could not proceed with the operation. But I am so sad that my grandpa didn't get this operation that he needs and that he is still sick and very uncomfortable. We are hoping and praying that he will get a quick transfer to another cardiologist that can perform a different surgery to open his valves. Please pray for my Grandpa today.

My memories of my grandpa include fun trips to Disneyland, being oh so spoiled on birthdays and Christmases, and trips to the beach.  Grandpa isn't a man of many words, but I have learned that when he does speak, I listen. What he says is either very important or just hilarious. There is something about him that is very calming and peaceful and I always know that when I am with him I am safe to sit there and say nothing or tell him anything that is on my mind. I love him so much and I am so grateful for him!

Praying for my sweet grandpa today,
Brookey

Falling for the weekend

This last weekend we got a spontaneous invitation to join my parents in Park City. Normally, I am not very spontaneous, but this weekend, we needed a break and we went running!

The drive up through Provo Canyon was absolutely breath-taking. Do yourself a favor and take someone(s) you love on that drive, its worth it. My parents were staying at the beautiful St. Regis in Park City. We chilled, we hiked, we shopped, we ate, and we finally got our pictures done.  It was such a great break from the go go go.

Mikey works for Vivint and they did an exclusive One Republic concert for employees on Saturday night. I don't have the words to do justice to the experience we had. One Republic was energizing, uplifting, fun, inspiring, and they are SO TALENTED. When the concert ended I didn't want to leave. It was honestly amazing.

We had a great weekend. Here is proof in pictures. One of these will most likely be a Christmas card, so spoiler alert.

Lots, of love,
Brookeydee

A whole year

Mikey and I are celebrating our first year anniversary today. In many ways it feels like we got married last Friday, but in other ways it feels like we have been married forever. I cant remember what my life was like without him in it.

Many have said that the first year of marriage is the hardest, we had our moments no doubt, but it was truly bliss. Mike is my best friend.  He has changed me, he pushes me, loves me, humbles me, builds me up, teaches me, uses so much patience toward me, he makes me laugh everyday, he forgives me, he keeps me interested, and he serves me to no end. I am so grateful that I have him. I am so glad that I chose him. And I will always feel so blessed that he chose me too.

Here is a quick recap of our last year:
We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Draper Utah Temple. We moved into our first apartment together. We took classes together. We finished 2 semesters of school. He started a new job. We bought a car. We traveled to Maui, Disneyland, St. George, Cedar City, Manti, Logan, Oceanside, and Lake Powell. We went on a date every week. We began some of our own traditions and made so many memories.  I know its cliche but I cannot imagine how much more I will love him in 70 years, if I love him this much more after one fast year.

My good friend Parker did our wedding video and he did an amazing job, the link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdSYJM5MPBU

Cheers to us babe! Happy first anniversary!
lots of love,
Brookeydee

First anniversary

Mike and I wanted to make sure to take the time to make this anniversary a big deal.  We talked about going to Park city for the weekend or somewhere in Salt Lake.  In the last month, we spent 16 days in Lake Powell and we could not justify spending money on a hotel for a weekend with our absence from our jobs.  The more we talked the more I became comfortable with just staying home and going to dinner.

Our anniversary fell on a Sunday, so it allowed us to celebrate all weekend long! On Saturday we woke up and went on a hike to donut falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  That is one of my favorite hikes and it was so fun to take Mike cause he hasn't ever done it!

On the way home, we had to stop and get dorito tacos from Taco Bell, we are a little addicted right now, they are SO good! We quickly got ready and went to do sealings at the Provo City Center temple! That temple is absolutely gorgeous! We decided to make a tradition to do sealings for our anniversary every year, I can't think of a more fitting way to remember what we are celebrating!

After the temple we went to the Riverwoods to eat dinner at Tucanos and to do some shopping.  Our dinner was so so good! But we were both too full. Like sick full. After dinner we went home and could only lay down to watch a movie cause we ate ourselves sick.  I didn't want any food until the afternoon of the next day because I was so sick. HAHA!  How do you go to Tucanos without eating so much food?  We both need help.

Sunday was our real anniversary, we decided to forgo our regular Sunday dinner with family to just spend time together and I am so happy we did!! After church we came home and Mike made us tacos for lunch, yes, tacos for lunch two days in a row, don't judge us. Then we watched our wedding video twice. lol! Then we watched Rush Hour 2 are we the only ones that find those movies too funny? haha! After the movie we made a yummy dinner of grilled asparagus, red mashed potatoes, and Effies chicken. It was so yummy!

After dinner we drove up to Draper to one of our favorite little trails that has a super good lookout of the draper temple and the perfect place to watch the sunset. We walked back, its like a mile walk so two miles round trip, it was really cold and windy for some reason, its July.. haha! so we froze! But we stuck through and watched the sunset while trying to stay warm! After the sunset Mike drove us down to the temple parking lot, and turned on our wedding song and asked me to dance with him in the parking lot. How cute is he?? I love that boy. We had a great anniversary and I am so glad we didn't spend money on a hotel because we had so much fun staying home!

Lots of love,
Brookeydee

Our Best Day

Mike and I have been married for a year! That seems so crazy to me! Apart from the Gospel, our marriage is my greatest blessing. I love him and I am so grateful for the partnership and union we have created.

I wanted to take time to recap what I remember from our actual wedding before time fades what I haven't taken the time to write quite yet.

7.9.15 our wedding celebrations began with our wedding dinner.  The Delahunty's hosted a beautiful dinner. Everything was decorated in cream, blush and navy to correspond with our wedding colors and it was gorgeous! We ate a yummy meal of roast, potatoes, rolls, salad, and endless coke zero and mtn dew- haha! I remember feeling so excited to have so many dear ones there to celebrate with us.  Chris, Mike's angel father, started the evening with a little speech about Mike growing up and our relationship up to that point, he had the room laughing and crying. He then turned the time to my father, who made me literally weep, all who know me know that my relationship with my dad is deep and tender. Dad had all the right things to say funny and sweet. After our fathers spoke he turned the time over to the rest of our little gathering where most of our siblings showed us some love in their words and a few uncles and grandparents too. At the close of the evening I distinctly remember two main things. 1) I was overwhelmed with gratitude for our love, lives, family, friends, and the Gospel. There was no better way to start a marriage than with that foundation supporting us. 2) I was absolutely elated that it was my final night saying goodbye to my love.

7.10.15 I woke up around 6:00 am and went down the street to get my hair done by my dear friend and hair dresser of many years. She was curling and curling and kept me entertained with stories and advice from her wedding day and marriage and recounting the countless memories I had in her home with her and her family! After hair I went back home to do my makeup and got everything ready to take to the temple. Around 8:00 I jumped in the car with my mom and dad and we drove over the mountain to the temple.  I don't remember much from that time in the car, but I do remember feeling the spirit strongly as we discussed and enjoyed my last few moments of single-hood.

We arrived at the temple, before Mike... I love the man, but he is not very punctual! He arrived just a minute after we did and I got to give Chris a big pre sealing hug and took Mikey by the hand and we went in to be sealed.  Our sealer took a lot of time to sit down with us and the whole time was just sacred. I remember walking into our sealing room and seeing our family there and I could not hold in my emotions, again, I was so grateful for the immense support and this strong foundation of our marriage, I was also overcome that this day was finally happening.  I was so grateful to have found my eternal companion and to be starting our marriage in the Holy temple making covenants with God. After the sealing I finally got to put on my wedding dress! I had my mom and my mother in law, Camille, with me in the bride's room they were busy attaching all of the buttons and putting on my flower crown and fixing and tweaking my hair and Make up.  They left outside and I got to see Mikey all dressed up.  Then we exited the temple to cheers from our family and friends and the pictures began.  We spent about an hour taking pictures (we had already taken our bridals so it was less stress on the day of).

After our pictures were done my dad invited the bridesmaids and groomsmen to cafe rio for lunch so we all took off to eat.  My mom accidentally took all my stuff with her up to the reception center immediately following group pictures so I had to go to Cafe Rio in my whole bride get up. I felt so embarrassed but these cute little girls kept coming up to tell me my dress was pretty so that made it better.

After lunch we went to the reception center, it was about 3 in the afternoon by this point.  I had been there the day before putting up some decorations but when we walked in this time it was breath taking. My mom Mike and I spent so much time dreaming and creating everything and I was so happy to see it all come together so beautifully. My mom had done an amazing job putting everything together! I honestly couldn't imagine it looking any better.  It exceeded all of my expectations. The decorations were all so beautiful and the flowers were dreamy! The rooms were filled with plants (because it was a greenhouse) but the flowers we had ordered were amazing and filled the room with a soft romantic feel I was aiming for. We did a few more group pictures before the reception.  And I got to have a little dance party with my maids. Then we all scarfed down some pizza, thanks again to my dad- he knew to keep us fed! And then the guests started piling in. Originally I only wanted to hold a two hour reception but my mom was wise and said to hold it for three hours.  She nailed it because from 6 pm to 9 pm we had a constant line of guests that we wanted to spend time talking with!  At 9 we had to run through the remaining line and say a quick hello to everyone that we didn't get to see so we could cut our cake, throw the bouquet and dance. The reception ended up being just under four hours and we didn't end up having a big dance party like we had planned, we only did the traditional mother/son daddy/daughter and first dances. And then Mikey and I were off to start our honeymoon!

It was the prefect day.  I would relive it over and over again. I am so grateful for our marriage!

lots and lots of love,
brookeydee

Favorite Utah Hikes

Mike and I love being outside and we frequently hike together or with our family and friends!

Below is a list of some of our favorite hikes that are close by:

Horse Tail Falls in Alpine- just did this one for the first time last weekend and I am pretty sure we are going again this weekend! It was breath taking!!

The Y in Provo

















Bridal Veil Falls in Provo- this is paved and flat so its more of a walking or running trail than a hike.  I love to go running on this trail!

Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove

Ghost Falls in Draper (multiple trail heads here!)- Mike proposed to me on this trail so it has a special spot in my heart. I don't have any pictures of this one.

Timpanogos Cave

Donut Falls in Little Cottonwood Canyon- This requires some technical climbing to actually get to the "donut" if you can do it, it is so worth it!  

Potato Hill in Draper (multiple trail heads here and they are all wonderful!)- We took some of our wedding pictures here!

Stewart Falls in Provo- also so breath taking!

I have realized that I love waterfall hikes! I always feel like you can only see waterfalls in tropical places- like the road to hana in Maui ;)- I am always so surprised with how many we have all around us in Utah! Utah is rad!

lots of love,
Brookeydee