FLEXIBILITY

I promised in my last post that I would post about upcoming summer events such as Ali's Wedding. Due to unforeseen circumstances Ali and Phil's wedding was put on hold, indefinitely. Hopefully we'll be able to celebrate their wedding with them in the near future and we love them both!

Sooooooooo, since there was to be no wedding we all had to be a little bit flexible in our June plans. Most of the extended Brinkerhoff family travel plans remained the same and instead of being crazy busy with a wedding we just hung out and chilled out!

Torrey, LouLou, Josh, Taylor, Ali, Lindsay, Madison and Brooklyn made the trek out to Utah on June 17th. We had such a fun time shopping, eating out, going to the park, eating out, hanging out, eating out and watching movies. Oh wait...did I mention eating out? We did A LOT of that!!!! Unfortunately we didn't end up doing a mini-family reunion at Seven Peaks but were able to see some extended family at a BBQ. I was stupid and left my camera at home for that though. : (

Brookie and Reecey are such cute girls together. For only being 2 they interact with each other a ton! "Bookie?" was the first thing out of Reece's mouth when she would wake up from her nap and "Weethy" was the first thing out of Brookie's mouth when she would wake up from her nap! They're so cute and already such good little friends!

Pretending to be asleep in the swing.

Natalie in the tower.

Reecey pretending to be asleep in the swing. Silly Girl.

TJ and Lindsay. For those who don't know Lindsay, trust me when I tell you she is the female version of TJ!!!! She honestly is one of my most favorite people in the world! I think I've said that before though.

A few days after the Brinks left Utah we headed out to Denver! Let me just tell ya that I LOVE Denver in the summer. My in-laws live in the foothills and have a front and back patio. One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the patio, front or back...doesn't matter, and watch the kids play!

This picture doesn't do Reece's hair justice. It was crazy after her nap though!

Brooklyn, my nephew Daniel and Reecey. This was the best I got of the 3 of them together!

Danielsen. He is seriously so funny. He has the most animated facial expressions EVER and you for sure know where you stand with him. What a goose!

J.B.

The Golfers. TJ, Matt and Papa getting some grub after surviving a "tornado" out on the golf course.

disclaimer...it very well could have been a "tornado" I wasn't there so I don't know!

Tired little boys crashed out on the couch! Don't worry, we moved them!

Tired little girl passed out upside down on the love sac!

One of my favorite things in the world is to go to Water Parks. Denver has Water World USA which is always ranked high for best water parks in the country. TJ and I hadn't been to Water World since we were first married and are always sad when the Denver family has Water World days. So this year we made sure Water World Day happened when we were there! I'm sure there'll be another, but at least we got to go to one this year!!!!

Pretty Girl, who also LOVES water parks!

Taylor and Johnny! Johnny is TJ's uncle and we're so glad that he came to rage with us at Water World. We so missed Sky and Patty! : (

On our way! Annie, G-man and Madison! A HUGE shout-out to Mar who stayed home with Brooklyn and Reece. Mar is 8 months preggers and was the best babysitter, despite her sadness in not being able to come. Next year Mar!!!!!

LouLou!

Phil and Ali. These 2 are SMITTEN!

And what would fun in the sun be with out a famous TJ Towel Tent!

Brady and Madison! I think they were showing Dorito hands!

So all week long the forecast in Denver said it was supposed to have afternoon thunder storms. So all week long we were praying, and having the kids pray that the weather would be good enough for us to RAGE all day at the Water World. What happened was a miracle!!! A Water World Miracle to be exact, as Lindsay put it. There literally was not a cloud in the sky for most of the day and we were able to rage in the heat and enjoy our time with each other from 10-6! Oh Good Times!!!!

A Shout Out to all my Family who made these last 2 weeks so much fun. I'm so glad we live so much closer!

A Shout Out to Ali and Phil...we love you and hang in there!

I HATE Playing Catch Up

Its been FOREVER since I updated with any pictures so here are a few for your viewing pleasure!

The Kids on Easter Sunday. Reece is being a GEM, of course!

A visit from Ang! Angie came out for her brother-in-law's wedding at the beginning of May. It was so fun to have her and her cute kiddos stay at my house. Her last night here Shannon came over and we had fun eating, chatting and looking at all of Shanny's crafty creations. Even though we weren't together for very long it was still a blast! I LOVE that I have these 2 wonderful women in my life. They're the best friends a girl could have!

Now some pictures of Reecey.

I'm pretty sure this is cherry yogurt smeared all over her face. Silly Girl.

Aaaaaaaah, the classic, piggy tail hair! LOVE IT!

A look that we're seeing more and more often on her face. This little girl is in rehearsal to be 2! She has regular tantrums where she throws herself on the floor to kick and cry, she is on a hunger strike most of the time unless the food available is total crap, she's resorted to fussing at nap time and bed time and even calls out for the closest person to save her. If Natalie is nearby and Reece knows she's off to bed she calls, "Nanny, Nanny!" Like Natalie is gonna save her. Her other latest is to tell us she's "hummy" (hungry) when its time for bed. She thinks that'll keep her out of her crib. She is so funny and cute though and is still a singing machine! She loves all the music the kids listen too and can still be found toddling around singing Twinkle Twinkle or Child of God! Her speech is coming along well and she is a little parrot, repeating almost everything we say! She really is such a joy and I savor every moment and appreciate the fact that this is the last time I'll have a 2 year old around! SAD!

After 9 months Jackson got his braces off!

BEFORE

AFTER

(until he's 12 or 13 and then its time for round 2!)

For the last 2 years Memorial Day Weekend has been really special for TJ and Jackson as they've had the opportunity to attend BYU Fathers/Sons Basketball Camp. Even though TJ couldn't participate very much this year they still had a blast! This year Uncle Adam and Spencer came again and there were new additions to the group too, including Uncle Steve and Tyler, Grandad, Uncle Ian, Christopher, Harris and Euan! All the boys had so much fun and each year the group will keep growing since G-man will be able to attend and hopefully Uncle Ryan and Justin will be able to come!

While the boys were playing in Provo, my mom and I decided to buzz up to Park City for the night! Mom booked a room at the Marriott Summit Watch Hotel and we took the younger kids up for some food, swimming, shopping and fun! Thanks Nana for treating us to so much fun in Park City!

School's Out!

We successfully made it through the first official week of summer! The kids had fun sleeping in, staying up late and playing with friends. Then on Friday we went to the zoo! I know that some people think the Zoo is so lame but I love it! I love to see the animals and you never know what's gonna happen when you're there...like 2 black bears FIGHTING!!!!

And in between all of this I chaired Field Day for the PTA at the kids school, we've had double header baseball games every weekend and in between we have been keeping busy with the daily grind of life! I feel so blessed to be able to have healthy, happy kids and to be healthy and happy myself! Stay tuned for posts about Ali's wedding, mini-reunion at Seven Peaks and all our summer fun!!!!