Happy Valentine's Day

Brett door-bell ditched the girls on Valentine's Day with some fun treats: pink marshmallows, roasting sticks, and a Valentine card for each of them. "Katherine, Life is S'MORE fun with you, Valentine!" "Amanda, I love you S'MORE every day, Valentine!" "Ellie, sending you S'MORE kisses, Valentine!" "Wendy, hoping for S'MORE of your love, Valentine!" So that evening, after Brett took me to my current favorite restaurant for dinner (Los Hermanos. . . Hhhm Horchata!), Brett lit us a fire and toasted us marshmallows for s'mores. I'm glad that was before our heat wave! :) He also brought me a bouquet of roses and lilies. It's so great to be loved!

I didn't take a picture, but Katie and I dipped strawberries into chocolate for Brett. We even ventured to add white chocolate designs on them too. Happy Valentine's Day!

9 Years!

What a great ride it's been! We've had some unexpected turns, but I'm so grateful to have Brett by my side for each and every adventure. I love you, dear! And here's to document the brief beard too. :)

One giant step

in the process. Not quite the final one--that is to come on Halloween (swearing in before a judge, and then legally can work as an attorney) . But, Brett passed the Utah State Bar exam! Yippee! (We pretty much knew he would, but still, the confirmation is great!)
More updates to come (hopefully) in the very near future. Things like-Ellie is 9 months old and crawling, has one tooth, and still doesn't consistently sleep through the night. Katie started Kindergarten and LOVES it. She would probably go all day, every day if she could. Today they chased the gingerbread man all over school, finally caught him, and ate him. She is already showing greater focus and fine motor skills. Amanda is DYING to also start school, so we joined a computer preschool. She learns reading fundamentals, to spell her name, familiarity with numbers, and some basic science (like the five senses). I. . . . am going crazy keeping up with it all, longing for a vacation (or at least a vacation from laundry and dirty floors!) and happy to have an employed husband and sound children. Life is good. Good night.

Lucky Sevens!

I'm not usually a fan of odd numbers (I know it's weird) but this time, I'll make an exception. I just celebrated seven years of marriage! Here's my top seven reasons why I love Brett so much! (and it was really hard to keep it to JUST seven!)

7-He's fun to watch get into his skinny jeans!
6-He takes me to the temple every month--even if it's on the last day!
5-He makes a yummy dinner on the grill almost weekly (tonight he grilled Manti turkey and pineapple)
4-Almost every treat he has, he shares half with me.
3-He's not afraid of poopy diapers (or panties), or bathing girls, or sharing a bathroom with four girls. . . .yet!
2-He lets me warm my cold feet up on him.
1-He makes me laugh even when I don't want to.

We had a great anniversary day, and the best of the anniversary date is still to come! Despite his personal preference, he's taking me to see Les Miserables musical later this month. He's so sweet!
On May 6 we went to Trafalga to ride the go carts.
Katie and Mandy stayed with Grandma N while Ellie, Brett and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving point. After having such a cold, rainy spring, it was hot and sunny! But the tulips, gardens, and walk was beautiful. We spent lots of time picking out our favorite tulips that we'll eventually plant at home :)We took Ellie to Emmett and Ethel's for lunch and a mini Sundae. We then headed to BYU for standby tickets to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the MOA. We were led to believe we may not get in at all, and if so, we'd wait in line forever. Turns out, we waited about five minutes before being admitted! I'll take it.By this point, Ellie had only had cat naps through the day and was at her limit. We got Pier 49 pizza for dinner and went home to watch Morning Glory (from the Library) while Ellie napped. We all felt much better! :)The next morning, Ellie went to a friend's house, and Brett and I did sealings in the Provo Temple. We only did two couples, but it was enough to bring back sweet memories. I loved kneeling across the alter from Brett again!On the Sunday before our anniversary, he got up during testimony meeting and went against his norm: he bore testimony and included personal stories too! He talked about the important covenant of marriage and that he is grateful to be sealed to me and looks forward to spending eternity with me. I wish I could remember it word for word, but I was blushing and distracted by my children who decided to get rowdy when Dad left the bench. Anyway, it was heartwarming and reassuring to me that he does love me!Brett, I love you so! We've done some growing, which hasn't always been a painless process, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat! Happy Anniversary!
(PS We got ourselves his and hers Red Sox DVD's-2004 season and 2007 season!!)

Graduation!

April 22, 2011 at 5:00 pm, DeJong Concert Hall

Brett Thomas Nichols received his Juris Doctorate Degree from the
J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.

It's been a long road, but we've had so many good times along the way. It hit me as Brett took his last final on April 21, 2011 that we're finally done-with law school, and school. It really has gone so much faster than I thought it would. And we suffered less than I thought we would too! I am so proud of Brett. He has balanced so many things and still succeeded, even excelled. I hope he finds the job that he wants that will value him for all that.
He came home from his last final and surprised me with a bouquet of huge, beautiful, white lilies! He said that as he left his last exam, his thoughts turned to me and he was grateful for supporting him. Wow! I was touched. (and it made up for him making me sleep alone as he pulled a couple of all-nighters this week!)
The graduation ceremony was nice. . . and long. I kinda wished we'd gotten a babysitter, but it was also nice to have the girls be able to watch Brett graduate. They've had to sacrifice their dad for three years for it after all! After Brett got his diploma cover and walked around the stage to go back to his seat, Amanda called out "Is that my Daddy?" and Brett heard it. Cute memories. I look at Mandy and think to myself, "That is exactly how long law school is!"
I spent most of the ceremony out in the halls with Ellie, who was so tired but decided she couldn't sleep in my arms. It was frustrating, but at least I got to see Brett walk, hear the best speaker (the first one), and from what I hear, I didn't miss much by missing the main speaker. Thanks to grandparents who basically had full care of Katie and Amanda!

We celebrated with Brett's parents and my parents afterward with
dinner at the Brick Oven Pizzeria.

J. Reuben Clark

Way to go Brett. Now on to Bar Prep and Bar Exams. . .

Opening Day

Dating has been different with three kids vs one or two kids (and I don't just mean more expensive for babysitters). Ellie has come with us on all our dates since her birth except one, and to the temple. I don't mind. She's so easy compared to taking three kids anywhere! Brett planned an AWESOME date for April Fool's Day: Opening Day for the Boston Red Sox! We used to be able to watch them at home, but no longer. So, now we choose a special game now and then and go to Iggy's Sports Grill to watch. We got a late start (as usual) and as we packed up to leave, Brett told me that the game was canceled due to rain. NO WAY!! After all the work to get a babysitter, get all dressed up, get the baby fed and ready, now we can't even watch the game! Argh. I was preparing myself to have a date night to Cafe Rio and Walmart (lame date, I know). Brett let it marinate for a few minutes at home and a few blocks in the car, then reached over and pinched my knee (which I hate) and said, with his mischievous grin, "Happy April Fool's!" What? It didn't even sink in (well, the weather has been crazy enough that opening day could get rained out. . . ) Then I got it! That's was pretty low, but pretty good. I haven't seen the Red Sox play for a few months. Don't take away my hopes!Anyway, the three of us sat at Iggy's for a few hours, enjoying some good food and hanging out, reconnecting with the Red Sox. It was awesome. I've missed baseball! I was getting excited to start going to some Orem Owlz games (we have passes) but then found out they don't even start until late June. Argh! I was surprised that there were so many people at the restaurant for an early afternoon on a Friday. Iggy's was a bit busy so the waitress didn't come by too often, and Ellie was even really easy. She was easily entertained, super cute, and then slept for half of it. Nice!

The Red Sox lost to the Texas Rangers 9-5. Sad start, but it is baseball, and Texas almost won the world series last year. Anything can happen, and we love them anyway. So, thanks Brett, that was a rockin' date, and Happy April Fool's Day!

Dad, I'm so tired!

Ellie is definitely my daughter. Waking up is so hard to do!

"Oh, Daddy! I'm still so tired! I was up all night :)"

Trafalga

We're getting the most out of our Seven Peaks season passes, now that it's become the "Pass of All Passes". We get to go to Trafalga (mini amusement park) with unlimited use. It's a work in progress as they fix/add rides. We went in mid-March and were disappointed that there weren't many little kid rides going. Last fall, the girls loved the little airplanes and the carousel. We rode the go-carts (two riders so Katie rode with me, Mandy rode with Grandma Nichols, and Brett got roadblocked by the women drivers!), played indoor mini-golf, black light style. Pretty fun for free and the girls love it! (Girls entertained=mommy happy!) This time, the new addition was a huge rock climbing wall. Katie begged to go on it, until after harnessing all up, she got 6 feet up and chickened out! Brett made it about 20 before he lost interest.







After playing at Trafalga, I got taken to "B-Donald's" (Mandy's title for McDonald's). Brett and Grandma Nichols had been plotting, but Trafalga doesn't allow for outside food. We had birthday cake, balloons, and a mini party! So fun!