New Calling

Last night I bought this nice Kelty sleeping bag for Josh. Why? Because while I was in Utah, Josh got set apart as the new SCOUTMASTER for our ward in Huntington Beach. The poor guy is going to be soo busy with his 7am to 6pm job, studying for the CFA exam this summer, and now this demanding calling. BUT he will be awesome in this role and it will work out! We're actually really excited about it. He had his first scout meeting last night and he had a lot of fun. Here's what we'll be buying this weekend:

The uniform. I'm way more excited about buying this than he is!

New Suit

What was in Brynlee's Easter basket from her grandma...I mean the Easter Bunny? A swimsuit and pink fuzzy cover-up. My mom and I were DYING. Way too cute.

Easter Weekend

So....I surprised my family and drove to Utah with my Uncle Mark. (Josh couldn't go because of work and studying for the CFA exam.) We got in late Thursday night and then arrived back in California late last night. What a great trip! It was so fun to see my family and for them to spend time with Brynlee. The trip included shopping, movies, a late-night frozen yogurt run, dyeing Easter eggs, an Easter egg hunt, a Tueller Family gathering, and tons of time playing with cute little Bryn. Here are several pictures I stole from my sister's camera:

Logan, Dad, and Mom at YogurtStop.

Marie, Bryn, and I

Bryn didn't enjoy our long shopping trips as much as I did.

Logan is a great uncle! He was so sweet with Bryn. He even put his pink flamingo "beanie baby" in Brynlee's easter baasket and said she could have it for keeps.

Uncle Jae has never been happier.

I loved spending time with my beautiful sister Marie, and so did Bryn!

Love those big blues! (Maybe I'm a horrible mother for posting this, but it's just too funny to pass up). Bryn is wonderful and perfect in almost every way...but she definitely spits up a lot. I carry a burp cloth with me all day because you never know when she'll strike. Aunt Margaret snapped this picture right as Brynlee spit up. Poor girl! I'm hoping Bryn will grow out of it soon!

My family figured out how to make Brynlee LAUGH! (Why didn't I mention this sooner!?) It was the cutest thing in the whole world to see her giggling and throwing her head back with a huge smile!

Motherhood

Once and a while it hits me so hard just how very grateful I am to be a mother. As I played with my sweet little girl this morning my heart was just so full and I had a special moment, just thinking of how blessed I am to be her mom. I wouldn't trade this for anything! It was such a big decision whether or not I should do grad school right away, but I finally decided to put off grad school and just be a stay-at-home mom. Now that I am home all day with Brynlee it is so clear why this decision was right. I absolutely love art and am still planning on pursuing a master's degree eventually, but it doesn't even compare to the joy and fulfillment that comes from being a mom. This is the best job in the world.

Little Update

Last night Mark took us to Sharkeez, a sports grill on Main. They have a Monday night special on yummy chicken fajitas. They were delicious. Huge platters of chicken, grilled vegetables, rice, beans, tortillas, guac, the works. It was so good! I've got to take my family here when they come to visit. I don't remember being that full in a long time! Thanks Mark!

Yesterday was over 80 degrees and soo sunny, but it cooled off in the evening so it was really nice to eat outside. We caught a little bit of the championship game while we were at Sharkeez, but it wasn't much of a game. (I'm pleased to report that once again I won first place in my family's bracket challenge yet again - much to the dismay of my brothers, dad, and husband. See my brother's (Jae Clarke) post about this by clicking his link to the right. This year I ended up in the 98.8th percentile nationwide, which isn't as good as my previous victorious years, but it's not bad. Josh can't decide if he's jealous or proud of me!)

Sunday night we went on a beautiful walk along the beach trail. Sometimes it's a little windy on the beach trail when I go walking with Bryn, but Sunday it was such a nice, clear night.

Brynlee's new favorite thing to do is grab things. Anything. Whether it's her shirt, her skirt, her blankies, her toys, our clothing, or even...

...our faces. She had such a tight grip on my nose last night! Kind of a weird picture, but we thought it was funny. One hand tightly gripping her skirt. The other tightly gripping my nose. We love this little girl!!!

Conference Weekend

Josh and I had a great conference weekend. It was so wonderful to hear the testimonies and counsel of the prophets and leaders of our church! Doesn't it always give you such a great resolve to be better and improve? I love that feeling! Conference did make me miss my family, though. Josh and I used to get together with my family or his and watch the sessions together, so we thought of them as we watched conference alone in our little apartment. But it was still a great weekend. We don't have TV, so we were a little worried about how we would watch it, but we got it crystal clear on the internet.
My dad was released during the Sat afternoon conference session after serving on the Young Men General Board for the past four years. I love and admire my dad so much, and am so grateful for the faithful church service he has given. I am grateful for his example of putting the Lord first and being willing to serve in whatever capacity he is called upon to do. I couldn't ask for a greater father.

The only solo pictures I have of him are so funny. My family will have an idea of what I'm talking about. I was so tempted to include one of the other pictures in this post, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I opted for a cute picture of he and my equally amazing mom.

Uncle T

I recently finished reading Uncle Tom's Cabin. Wow. Loved it. I really should have read it long before now. I didn't have time to read the classics because I was too busy reading Nancy Drew books!

I was so moved by Uncle Tom's faith and perseverance. What a strong, faithful character. And then there's sweet little Eva! I've got to raise Brynlee to be as pure and loving as little Eva! I loved her!

Excellent book. So glad I finally read it.

Home Sweet Home

Here are a few pictures of our apartment. We've been in California for five weeks now. We still have a few little projects for the apartment, but we're pretty much all settled in.

The entryway and dining area.

The little kitchen. (I miss the walk-in pantry from our old apartment!!! But I knew it would be hard to find that much storage space in our next apartment.

Front Room. Notice the dangling things from the counter. I put that up to entertain Brynlee, but Josh actually enjoys laying under it to. He starts kicking and blowing bubbles just like Brynlee. Everyone can use little visual stimulation once and a while. Ha ha.

Front Room

Brynlee's Room.

Bryn spends a lot of time here.

Our bedroom. Notice the beautiful statue in the corner of the room. Josh's pride and joy, right after Brynlee and I. It's a statue from Bolivia. He wanted it in the front room. I didn't want it in our house at all. (The figure is in a loin cloth!) We compromised.

And that, my friends, is our apartment! (I don't have pictures of either of the bathrooms, linen closet, etc.)

We really love it here. Our apartment is perfect for our needs right now. The apartment itself isn't amazing, but we couldn't have asked for a more perfect location-- Surrounded by LDS families, and such a great spot in Huntington Beach. We're really grateful things worked out so well!