Another Birthday for Dad!

Happy birthday to one of the greatest men I know!!!! These pictures are pretty lame, but I had to post them for laughing's sake.....and the cuteness factor, of course!

I love these two faces!

First present, a bottle of juice!!!!!! Yea!!! Brett loves this juice, so it was actually a really great choice for him.

I love these two faces, too!!!

Next present: A BOTTLE OF MOUTHWASH!!! YIPEE! If you know Brett, he HATES to chew gum, but is always conscience of his breath, especially working with his patients. So, this is a great gift too.

Brett did get other presents that day, but I have no documentation of them! And no pictures of Connor!!! Oh, well. This was worth the post for the laugh. 

The year of the juice and mouthwash!!!

These Guys Kept Him Sane.....

These guys are great guys. 

These are Brett's classmates. They have known each other for only 30 months, but they are the closest of friends. They have been through a lot together.

For instance: Jake and Brett lived together while doing a clinical rotation in Hell El Paso, TX. I think Jake is one of the reasons why Brett didn't quit. I am SO GLAD they were able to be down there together.

Brett has been able to commiserate with these guys. He's been able to talk about what it feels like to be taking someone's life into your hands for the first time.

They have been wonderful. 

Thank you for taking care of my husband!!!

Michael, Brandon, Brett and Jake

Love Potion No. 13!

Brett never ceases to amaze me. Not only does he still love me, despite myself, but he is continually planning little things to show me he loves me. He is such a good example to me.

This year, I was trying to plan a little get away for our anniversary and be the sneaky one. My plans, however, did not work out. I was trying to not spend any money at all to spend as little money as possible on our limited student budget and all my connections of people with cool places to stay were not working out. So, I had settled on a fun date night with dinner and a movie. Brett loves Harry Potter, so it was the perfect idea.

Well, Brett never settles for anything "normal" for an anniversary-- even for students like us. So, he told me earlier in the week that I was going to be "unavailable" from Thursday through Saturday. I was so excited about this!

We were headed up to Deer Valley!

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and it was cooler up that high in the mountains. We were staying at a quaint and fancy little place called the Goldener Hirsch Inn. This place prides itself in "treating each guest like family while pampering and providing exceptional service in a very special atmosphere of Austrian elegance." We definitely felt very well taken care of.

Driving up to our place

The view from our deck

Hubba-hubba! Great scenery there, too!!!

Our cool-lookin' door. This place just screamed, "AUSTRIA!!!"

A cool cabinet

Brett loved the bed! It was pretty comfy!

A very cool hand-carved cabinet

The foyer in the Inn

Our room key

Ok. I have to write about our room key. It was HUGE!!! That thing the key was attached to was not plastic, either. It was super heavy! Like heavy enough that if you kept it in your pocket and your pants are loose, they'd fall down! We thought about having the front desk store it for us while we were out because it was such a huge pain! It was a joke the whole time.

The breakfast area in the Inn and towards the back is the fancy restaurant

Entrance to the Inn

Right behind the Inn was Deer Valley Ski Resort!

A sweet little walk we went on

Great view of Park City down below

Pretty cool to own that place, huh?

The real hike to the top of Bald Mountain. Elevation: 9400 feet. So awesome!

Great Views!

See that patch of white? That is snow!!!

Coming around the back side of the mountain, there is Heber Valley!

Some type of satellites or microwave tranmitters

Jordanelle Reservoir in the background

Snow at the top of the mountain!!! Crazy!

It was so much fun to be with Brett for a few days and to have him all to myself. It's not very often that we see  him anymore. This was precious time for us to be together and reflect on our 13 years together. I love him more, than I did then, and it grows every day!

Check out this panoramic view at the top!!! It's breathtaking! We got to the top and a man and his wife were up there as well. They were from Louisiana. He said, "You know, some people live their whole lives without seeing this." It made me think about how lucky I am to live in a place with such stunning scenery. I'm thankful for a body that allows me to summit some wonderful mountains.

Daddy Daughter Date!!!!

Brett and Makenna went out on a wonderful daddy daughter date. They had a great time! They all learned how to do the "Hoedown Throwdown" and the "Boot Scootin' Boogie." Brett says that the term 'learned' is used very loosely here. He said, "It wasn't learning, it was more like looking stupid while doing it." Well, it was Makenna's favorite part and what she was the most excited for! I asked her, "What do you think is going to be the most fun at the date?" And she said in a whisper, "The dancing." It was too cute.

Aren't they cute???

One of the FUNNEST days of my life!

Well, you might not believe me, but last Saturday was seriously one of the best days of my life! Brett took me to the BYU game! I was in 7th heaven! You have to understand that BYU games are very nostalgic for me. I grew up going to BYU Football games with my dear Grandpa Harmon. Sometimes, Grandma would even come with us. He had season tickets for many, many years. I have some wonderful memories going to these games with him. This is how I learned everything I know today, about football. We'd take a big, brown paper sack full of homemade popcorn, a bag of licorice, apples and sometimes the loud and out-spoken Uncle Rob would come with us. (I think when Grandpa brought the kids along, those were usually the weeks that Uncle Rob stayed home). Anyway, we had the same seats every year; south-west end zone, 1/2 way up. Sometimes in the afternoon, the sun would get level with and then just below the top west wall of the stadium and that was very nice: instant shade! We sat behind the same, nice couple for a lot of years. The man was always wearing a blue, suede cowboy hat with all sorts of BYU pins all over it. I have very fond memories of going to BYU games with my grandpa. I learned all the fight songs, all the cheers, and learned what a lateral pass and a safety is. I got to see Ty Detmer play and some other greats.

Well, you can see that I heart BYU games! And I haven't been to one for years....at least 12 years, probably more. And I never thought that I would be going to one any time soon. Tickets are a pretty penny these days and my dear, sweet hubby isn't much of a football fan, and likes to pretend he's not a BYU fan. (Remember, we're U of U alumni.....) He came home one day and said, "Guess what I have? I have 2 tickets to the BYU game!" I was seriously so incredibly excited! I think the excitement level surprised Brett, even. The thing that makes this so sweet is that Brett doesn't really enjoy football. He doesn't enjoy watching football. Oh sure, he's always up for a game on Thanksgiving, but that's it. Brett is not competitive and has never really been into sports at all.....ever. (I know what you're thinking, exactly the opposite of me and my family.) It meant so much to me that Brett would do this for me and include himself in it! He knew that he was the one I wanted to go with. And he did. He came. He cheered. He sang. We had a blast together! Last minute, something came up for Brett that I'm sure he would have rather done, but he knew how big a deal this was for me and we had a FABULOUS day!!!

Thanks, honey! I love you!

By the way, it was an AWESOME game! BYU's 2nd straight shut-out! Go COUGARS!

Father's Day

I know this post is a little late, but it is one that I have been wanting to do! I wanted to tell Brett, "Happy Father's Day" and thank him for being such a wonderful father to our children. As long as I can remember, Brett has always had a knack with kids. When we were dating he was just so good with all kids and any kids. I marveled at how he was so sweet his he nieces and nephews. I had never seen a man like this before! Then, when we were engaged, I think, no, I know, my little siblings and cousins started liking him more than they liked me. (At the time that bothered me, but now I completely understand and would like him more than I like me, too....he's way more funny and interesting than I am.) Anyway, now Brett is a wonderful dad to our 3 children. He is so wise and thoughtful in what he says and what he does. He is not just talking 'to them', if you know what I mean, everything he says has a purpose behind it. He is always looking for ways to teach the kids with the everyday, little things that go on in families and at our house. He has taught me to really include the kids in our daily chores and not just do it because I want it to get done, get done fast, and get done right. They need to learn somehow, right? Brett is an amazing father and husband. Just last weekend, my sister in law's and I were going to get together to go to dinner and maybe a movie or something. Well, the next thing I knew, Brett had booked all of us a hotel room up in Park City!! And if that wasn't enough, he had earned some extra, unexpected money at work and gave that to me for spending money in Park City! Isn't that sweet? When I earn or more likely find, some extra money, I think, "Oh, what am I going to buy with this?" But Brett always thinks of me first. He is such an example to me of unselfishness and service. He is always so thoughtful and I am so blessed to have him as my husband and our children's father.

I thought it would be fun to include some pictures of him throughout the years.

Connor and Brett in San Fran in 2005

Me and my hubby on our cruise last year

Another cruise shot........isn't he cute?

Love this picture.........

Here we are in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Brett doing one of the things he does best.........working on our garden. He is so good at gardening and planning it all out. Now this area is full of plants waiting to bear fruit! Can't wait!

Camping this year.

Words cannot describe this one..........Oooh la la!!!!

Graduation Day in 2006! We are all so proud and relieved that he is done! 8 years of full time school and full time work!! How did he do it? Nobody knows...we're just glad it's over!

Brett with Connor at one of his favorite places: the ocean

LOVE YOU BABE!