Brief Update

I have been neglecting the blog, which has been a pity because our life has been fraught with adventure and enterprise over the last little bit. Without further adieu, a much needed update:   [Sorry no pictures... they'll come later!]

We are the proud owners of a 2009 Toyota Sienna! Minivan for the win! I never imagined I could like a minivan so much and enjoy driving it, but I do. She's a great little machine and we're glad she's joined our family. Now all we need to do is fill 'er up with 5 more kids...

More visitors. Beth and Mom Briggs came to visit as soon as tax season was over, which means Eliza had possibly the best week of her entire life. During tax season, I worked hard on brainwashing Eliza into knowing Beth's name and recognizing her picture, because Eliza proved to be such a balm to Beth's poor over-worked soul. We'd call her up and I'd say, "Liza, can you say 'Beth'?"  "Beh. BEH! BEH!!" It's the cutest thing ever. Anyway, Eliza's wildest dreams came true when she woke up one morning and sitting on a queen mattress in the living room next to her toys were two of her favorite people ever: Aunt 'Beh' and Grandma.

Last Friday, I got a call from Blake at work: "Do we have any plans tonight?" Not particularly. Why? "Good! Dad Hull is passing through DFW on the way home from a business trip and his connecting flight to Utah got cancelled." Woohoo! Spontaneous visitors! I felt bad that Dad didn't get to be home in his own bed after a long business trip, but as he said, "If you have to be stranded somewhere, it's pretty great to get stranded where your kids are." We called the Taylors (our Texas family) to be our last-minute babysitters for Eliza, and we picked up Dad and went out to eat together. It was so fun! And I didn't even cry when Blake took him back to his hotel, which I feel like is a sign of progress for me. :)

And now, drum roll please.......

WE'RE CLOSING ON A HOUSE THIS AFTERNOON. It's official, friends! We're in our last few days of apartment living! We found a house we love that's in our ward boundaries and close to Blake's work and we're actually going to do it! Home-buying has been an interesting, foreign, and sometimes stressful experience, but it has certainly been a wild ride worth taking. Hooray for equity instead of torching a rent check every month!

The Perfect Stage

My mom has always said that I was "born with everything but the stage." (Which I'm sure sometimes drove my parents nuts growing up. But I haven't turned out too bad, right?)  Well, some might assume that I threw away my theatrical potential by becoming a stay-at-home mom. Little do they know that I have the best stage and best audience I could ever possibly hope for.

The stage? My kitchen floor.  The audience? Eliza.

That's right, folks. This is a public confession that I sing and dance and perform like a complete goon on a regular basis with zero inhibitions and zero adherence to socially accepted norms. (Is there group therapy for this sort of thing?) Eliza is the recipient of my spontaneous productions daily, and honestly, she gets to witness some of my finest work.

I didn't realize how extreme I was until today, when I saw Eliza's face during one of my folk dance performances to this song from Tangled. I tell you, it was a look of stunned amazement. As if to say, "Wow, Mom! That's really... unique. I've lived here for a whole year and I haven't seen anyone act the way you're acting right now. [Wait for it... here's my favorite part.] How should I feel about it?" 

Isn't that great! No preconceived notions of what a talented performance is. It is absolutely the best! And I use that blank slate quality to my advantage...

So I finish my Kingdom Dance with my hands up thrown up in the air on the final note and a beaming smile. Eliza, completely flabbergasted, is looking at me like, "Uhh... What is the cause of this behavior. Am I in trouble? How should I react to this?"

Well, Lizie... Let me tell you how to react. I clapped my hands twice and excitedly said, "Clap, clap!" 

Just that fast and she erupts into enthusiastic applause and an ear-to-ear cheesy grin. No judgment. Just 100% emphatic and genuine support. How could I possibly ask for a better audience??

Bottom line:   we have fun together. I see wonderful theatrical productions in our future together. 

Best Man Ever

Blake had an overnight training for scouts last night. Can I just say, I hate going to bed when he's not home. It's no fun...

I know what you're thinking. (I'm looking at YOU, Dad Briggs.) And that's not what I was referring to. Although, what you were thinking also happens to be true. Moving on.

As we were saying goodnight via text, I said, "Sleep well, Blake! No baby to keep you up tonight." Here was his response:

"I'd rather be home with my family and get up with a baby at night than be away from the family and sleep with no interruptions."

The cool thing is, Blake doesn't say stuff like that just to make his wife swoon. He's a man of no pretense; he says that because he means it. 

Which means I'm a very, very lucky woman.

A moment from the dating days - July 2011

~Breaking News~

This just in! So proud of our little girl!

Visitors

Our laptop was out for the count for several weeks so I was functioning solely on the tablet. Now that the laptop is back in working order, I hope to get back into posting more regularly.

Headline in the news:  Visitors! Mom and Dad Briggs came out the last week of March and Kyndal came the first week of April. GLOR-I-OUS. Both weeks have been so much fun! I still need to work on being better at taking pictures, but we've just had a grand old time having people out here to Texas. If you'd like to come, let us know and we'll find a date on the calendar!

Highlights from Mom and Dad being here:

• Texas Motor Speedway. Dad will be back later to capitalize on the opportunity to drive a race car at speeds well over 120. You too, can experience the thrill for a mere $100. Or, if you'd rather, you can have a veteran race car driver drive you around the track at speeds over $150. Now there's something I could go for. Save your pennies, folks.
• Touring BNSF. We met up with Blake for lunch and then took a tour of BNSF. We got to go inside a fancy-pants rail car that they've turned into conference rooms for VIPs. Pretty neat!
• A photo shoot for Eliza at Target. Still didn't capture the essence of Eliza, but there were definitely some cute ones! Pictures coming soon.
• Simply coexisting. Just being together is priceless. That was certainly my favorite part and Eliza's favorite part. Eliza started crying as we dropped them off at the airport and it about ripped my heart out. It took her several days to get over it, and I told Mom that the next time they come, they need to overstay their welcome so I can cope with them leaving. :)

Highlights of Kyndal being here:

• I have two words for you:  GIRL. CHAT. Seriously, guys don't know what they're missing! That's got to be one of my top 10 favorite things of being a girl, made even more so by chatting with sisters. :)
• Conference in Sherman with Aunt Shirlene, Uncle Alan, and Reese. Getting together with family is the best. Delicious lunch, games, and words from the prophets. Makes for a great Sunday.
• Trying new recipes together. Overnight Baked Strawberry and Cream French Toast with Strawberry Syrup. Tasty, but the better part was making it together while Blake was at priesthood session. 
• Venturing to Wat Buddharatanaram, a big Buddhist temple in our area. We didn't get to see any ceremonies or rituals and have a chance to practice all of the Buddhist etiquette that we researched, but we saw some monks and the buildings were really neat.
• Playing with Eliza. Eliza pretty much adores Kyndal now. It made me so happy that Kyndal got to see the magic that I witness (and try to capture and share) all the time. Eliza's cute little babble, the way she reacts to an offer to read stories or go on adventures or put on her shoes... So much fun.
• Meeting up with Blake for lunch. Kyndal will probably get me in trouble for posting this to the world, but the cashier at Five Guys was totally hitting on her. Time to start cleaning the shotgun, Dad...
• The Hobbit 1 and 2. Waiting for #3 is going to be a killer!

Thanks for coming, guys. "Let's not wait till the next family reunion!"

Maintenance: Zero Fun Sir

I love where we live. We've really been impressed with our apartment complex and management and I would recommend them to anyone. The only thing I might change is I might have the maintenance guys take some people skills classes. Their maintenance skills are top notch, but they're just a little... gruff. They aren't creepers, but I feel the same kind of uncomfortable that I might feel in the presence of a drill sergeant. "Zero fun sir."

Anyhow,  the maintenance guys came today to fix our toilet. I made sure the apartment looked respectable to avoid any feelings of, "Shoot! Should have picked up before the drill sergeants arrived for inspection." They came,  took care of the problem with impressive speed and efficiency,  and went on their less-than-merry way.

I go into the bathroom to see the new and improved toilet, only to find pads strewn across the floor along with curlers and some other post-pregnancy unmentionables.

The poor maintenance guys. Guess I should have done a second sweep of the apartment once Eliza was down for a nap.

Church Callings

Have I told you yet that I got called as the primary teacher for the CTR 5 class? If not, forget I said anything because I just got put into the primary presidency instead as the first counselor. I'm really going to miss the one-on-one with my class (easily the best and most well-behaved class in the junior primary!) but I'm so excited for the opportunity to learn and grow in this new calling. And I couldn't be more excited about the women I'll be working with! Seriously... some of my favorite people all smooshed into one presidency. I'm beyond thrilled!

Have I told you that Blake got called as the Priest Quorum Adviser? He has one active priest in the quorum who is going to college in a few months. He's got his work cut out for him, but he's already busy getting to know the young men and finding ways to reach out to them in ways they'll accept. I'm proud of the work he's doing.