Halloween 2011

This year for Halloween the girls dressed up like witches. They were adorable and had the cutest little witch laugh to go with it. I put their costumes together from skirts I got for $.75 last year on clearance then I added the boa material to black shirts and dollar hats from Target. I thought they were adorable!
Saturday night we went to our wards trunk or treat. The girls loved the whole concept of trick or treating (it is kinda hard to dislike trick or treating though, ha ha). They were so cute saying "rtik r tree" then "dank you."
Last night we carved pumpkins. Kirsten was so excited about having a spider pumpkin. Kirk made good use of the pumpkin with a huge stem Audrey picked, I love the witch he made.
Tonight we went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Kirsten was anxious all day to go. Luckily the girls both took good afternoon naps. For dinner we had the traditional Brinkerhoff bacon, cheddar, potato chowder, with homemade bread bowls yummy! We thought we would only trick or treat at a few houses, but the girls were loving it and so we just kept going. Before we knew it we were on the other side of the neighborhood with Audrey insisting we go to each house. She walked the entire way refusing to let us help carry her. She kept saying, "one more house" There are about 200 houses in our neighborhood and we trick or treated at about 50 of those. Their candy bags were heavy! It was so much fun trick or treating together as a family. I can't wait for next year. Happy Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Six Years!

September 22nd Kirk and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. Flirting with Kirk Howcroft in seminary was the beginning of making my life beautiful. The sixth year of marriage has been nothing but joy. We have been blessed not to have hard times this year and have filled the year with love. We understand and communicate better than ever. I know if he is short tempered to either send him to bed or out for a run. He knows that if I'm upset and don't answer his phone call to keep calling and by the 4th or 5th call I will answer and my heart will be melted by his persistence. There is nothing I love more than being married to this man and keeping him for eternity! For our anniversary I made a list of the six best things about being married to Kirk:

1. He has more patience than the whole Brinkerhoff family combined. His patience keeps our marriage strong. In a house full of females his patience with each of us keeps things calm. He hardly ever gets upset or frustrated with me, which keeps conflict away from our marriage and teaches me to not get upset over every little thing.
2. Kirk is seriously one of the most brilliant people I know. His mind is always going, thinking up new ideas, figuring things out. He loves learning more about our minds and trying to figure out thought processes. He likes to analyze things and know exactly how and why they work. That is why he is so good at his job. He has passion for helping people figure out how to do things. I'm so proud of him.
3. Kirk is very playful. This makes him a great Dad. My girls cannot get enough of their Dad. They are always climbing all over him, tickling him, chasing him, hiding and seeking him, trying to dress him up, etc. He has become the neighbor kids favorite person to play with at the park. He doesn't take anything too seriously and always has a smile on his face.
4. Every time Kirk goes out of town he goes to the closest temple and does a session. He has gone to temples all over the globe. Instead of sleeping, playing games, sight seeing, or watching movies he attends the temple and our family has been blessed because of it. He patiently helps the girls read scriptures at night, faithfully pays his tithing, is worthy of holding the priesthood, attends church without complaint, and enjoys serving in his calling. I'm grateful for his testimony and how it strengthens mine.
5. Kirk loves without restriction. I swear that boy tells me he loves me 50 times a day. In his sleep, eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, no matter what he is doing he somehow still manages a way to tell me how loved I am. And now my little Kirsten goes around the house telling everyone she loves them multiple times during the day. He snuggles me in bed when he should be leaving for work because he knows it makes me feel loved. He cant stand the thoughts of one of our girls going to bed upset and will go in multiple times to snuggle them until they fall asleep with a smile on their faces. We are very lucky to be loved by him so much.
6. Kirk is super hot. He runs 3-6 miles a day three times a week. He does push ups and all sorts of work out things with the girls. He does triathlons in the hotel gyms when he travels. He rides his bike to work (at least as much as he can before his tire pops). He is very athletic and has awesome muscles. Seeing him workout is one of my very favorite things.

If you remember the website he created for me last year he has updated it and you can check it out:

http://kirkanddynelle.blogspot.com/2009/09/fourth-anniversary.html

We celebrated our anniversary in Vernal when we were there for Audrey's birthday. We left the girls with my mom and stayed in town. Kirk got a free Marriott room and we planned to do all the fun things around Vernal that we used to do when we were dating.  Thursday we went hiking on some of the same trails and went swimming in Red Fleet. It was so romantic to be the only two swimming not having to worry about anything but each other. We have so much fun together! We laughed and just had the best time. After we got cleaned up we went to dinner at a local restaurant. That was the end of our fun. Kirk got really sick for the next 36 hours. So Friday we spent coped up in our room with a sick husband. It wasn't romantic in the slightest but it was still fun to be together. I think we watched like 4 or 5 movies that day? We did go on a slight hike over looking remember the main, which is what we did the night before his mission. It wasn't quite as romantic as that night since we are way out of shape and Kirk was needing a bathroom but it was so beautiful and fun to reminisce. Here are a few pictures of our fun couple days together :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And remember how it is kinda our thing  to go to Pizza Hut every other year for our anniversary? (here) We couldn't help but do it again. Kirk was sick and so I ate a piece of pizza and we took a couple pictures of our best Audrey smiles, good times.

Audrey's Second Birthday

The night before Audrey's second birthday our little family drove up to Provo, UT. We arrived late that night and checked into our hotel room (driving up to Utah at night is the best way to travel with the girls).

We woke up in our hotel room on her birthday where we gave her a new doll that coos and cries, takes a pacifier and a bottle. She loved it sooo much and gave us one of her signature grins.

 

We drove out to Vernal for her birthday bash that night. My oldest nephew was born on August 31, so he and Audrey share the same birthday exactly 10 years apart.

My sister Kristy and I put on a fun combined birthday party. We did a water balloon theme, I attempted to do a water balloon pinata, it didn't turn out as I had hoped and only lasted about 30 minutes but it was fun.

We played a bunch of water balloon games with the kids, it was a lot of fun with kids sitting on balloons all over the place. Of course it was impossible to get 15 kids to play games by myself before they all ganged up and it ended up being a huge water balloon fight that lasted long after the party was over.

 

 

 

Pulled pork, fruit, veggies, all sorts of yummy salads, and chips for dinner. YuMmY!

The party was not boring, a swarm of bees decided to join us and stay the entire time. Poor Brixton was stung. And then in the middle of the party there was a huge downpour. Audrey was out playing on the play ground when the rain dumped, I ran out to save her but we both ended up very wet. The picture doesn't show it but the rain is coming down hard!

Then it was time for cake! We had pink cupcakes for Audrey. She had waited ALL DAY LONG for these cupcakes and didn't waste on second. While Brayden was busy lighting candles Audrey had already started digging in. She had eaten an entire cupcake before she blew out any candles.

 

 

 

 

Playing with Grandpa Brinkerhoff

Everyone was super generous and Audrey was spoiled with toys, outfits, shoes, coloring books, and all things Dora!

Thanking Aunt Camille

Thanking Nana!

Nothing slows this girl down. I held baby Eliza for a few minutes and look what Audrey runs off to do!

The sunset was stunning that night. Absolutely stunning!

 

 

Kirk loves this picture and sings it to the tune of Dora "Audrey Audrey Audrey the explorer!"

Brinkerhoff Halloween!

Last December we decided to do a girls weekend with all the females in my family over UEA 2011. For about a year I have been planning this fantastic weekend that was going to be phenomenal, spiritual, and inspire our daughters to become fantastic women. Ha ha, there is a funny thing called life that likes to get in the way. Over the past month so many things changed in our weekend plans that it almost didn't happen at all to becoming a fall weekend with the entire Brinkerhoff family. Not to shabby if I do say so myself, I have a incredibly terrific family. Because of unexpected medical bills that racked up amazingly fast the days prior to our weekend Kirk and I decided it would not be financially a good idea for us to make a trip to Utah. We were devastated but knew it was for the best. My sweet sisters and parents did not accept the fact that we could not afford to come and literally paid for us to make the trip. There is nothing as wonderful as family. Or having a sister who loves you so much that she is willing to sacrifice her own future family trip so we could come be with everyone.
So on a total whim the girls and I packed up and drove to Utah just like that. It is wonderful to be in Utah in the fall. The fall air, pumpkins exploding everywhere, and the delicious fall leaves. It was heaven.
We arrived at my sister Camille's home Wednesday night at 8. Her and I stayed up until 1:30 in the morning chatting and folding laundry/sewing halloween costumes. Thursday we drove up to Orem and had lunch with my sister Amanda. We do not get to spend enough time with her and I miss her so much. That afternoon while my girls napped I was able to go hold my friend Brenna's new beautiful baby girl. I am so lucky to have such wonderful people for friends. Thursday my mom, Kristy, Madison, Spencer, Chelsey, and Cody arrived. The party had officially started. It was so fun being together.
Friday morning we drove up to Salt Lake and hung out at the South Town mall. It is seriously the most kid friendly mall ever! We rode a carrousel, train, the escalators, and played on the kid play area. The only store we went into was a candy store and Bath and Body Works where my cute mom bought all the girls a little hand sanitizer. We had lunch then hit up Tai Pan, Gardner Village, and Target before driving to the airport to pick up Kirk. That night the girls had a toe nail painting, spiritually inspiring party. My sweet mom gave us each a willow tree and spoiled the grandkids with all sorts of goodies. Seriously nothing is better than family. Kirk and Garrett went off hiking and found a hot springs, they hiked until 1:30 am! crazy men!
Saturday we played at the park. We played old school games like red rover, and kick ball. Every time my family gets together it is just fun. We enjoy being together so much. Saturday evening had our annual family Halloween party, complete with cheesy bacon soup and a pumpkin pinata. There were awesome costumes, games, and decorations. The girls loved dressing up as witches and showing off their awesome costumes.
We woke up early Sunday morning and barely made it home in time to catch some of church. It was seriously a fabulous weekend and we love our family so much!

 Audrey was super excited to get signature on her cast

cute grandkids at the mall

Kirsten and Audrey riding the train

I made Audrey kiss the frog

Brinkerhoff Women Extravaganza!

Chelsey, Camille, me, Kristy

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