a shout out to my hubs

I remember Eric's first semester of school.... I thought the 4 years would never come to an end! This is a little dramatic, but I thought 4 years felt like an eternity :) But guess what people?! 4 years finally came and Eric aced his last set of finals! I could not be more proud of my man. 

Congratulations, Eric!!

I admire how hard he has worked to get to this point in his life! He has juggled a full time job, husband duties, school, and other personal responsibilities these last 4 years! This last semester has definitely been the hardest with our latest move, major over time, and the crappy night schedule. And we can't forget about his overly emotional, sad, lonely wifey who demands attention because I have no friends here, ha ha. Poor Eric! But he never complained about any of his responsibilities! I have so much to learn from him :)

His school journey definitely isn't over, but we are SO happy to have a break from school! And I am so proud of him.... what an accomplishment!!

I say this all the time, but seriously! I am so proud to call that man my husband!

Love you, Eric!

this is what happens when you tell me your secrets

I'm sure you've seen this get together floating around blogland but I had to share the story on my blog as well :) That's right! I'm talkin' about another blate! Shay wrote a post about how she's a cowgirl and all so I KNEW we had to go to Texas Roadhouse! I texted Gentri and told her we were going out for Shay's birthday... even if it wasn't really her birthday :) We were SO excited to get her good, ha ha!

Sarah, Shay, Gentri, me!

This was Shay's first time meeting Gentri and Sarah, and my first time meeting Sarah, so we all had a blast talking, getting hit on, laughing, and getting to know each other! Oh and we loved stuffing our faces with the rolls! Except for Shay, but she's a little odd ;) I can't say it enough.... bloggy friends are the BEST when they become REAL friends!

We are so sneaky!! Can you tell we are excited about what's going to happen next?

We had just finished paying for the food when our waitress finally showed up with the saddle.... I had to ask her about it like 3 times. And I'm pretty sure she thought I was asking so that I could sit on it, ha ha! Luckily for Shay.... I would never steal the spot light! We made that girl an official cowgirl when she sat on that saddle, ha ha.

She totally wanted to kill us! :) But really, she loved it. I kind of think she looks like a pro, such a good cowgirl! Ha ha. I have never been more proud of myself! I usually don't get away with pulling little pranks on my friends :) 

 I am so excited to see what other kinds of trouble we will get each other into this summer! I seriously love these girls!

something 'bout a ball park

We had great seats! Thanks Mark!

Melt my heart! These two became best buds!

Eric has helped me find a love and passion for sports that I never knew I could have! I've accumulated a list of sports I wish I'd asked my parents to put me in while growing up. My list consists of: volleyball. That's it, ha ha! But I really, really love going to games with my man! Our favorites are baseball (hello Boston Red Sox loving hubs!) and hockey!

This baseball game was no exception to the fun! Over priced ball park food, lemonade (I don't even like lemonade, but this stuff was amazing!),  best friends, and sweet kisses from my favorite red head. Life just doesn't get much better than that! We weren't able to get into town soon enough to watch the Diamondbacks play the Braves, but we made it to the Dbacks vs. Phillies. The poor Phillies suck, ha ha. And they have the meanest fans! I've never heard fans talk so poorly about their own team. Unless it's my hubs lovingly cussing out his beloved Red Sox ;) 

The best part of the night was holding Eric's hand and laughing with my bestie, Jaicee. Her little guy kept us entertained with his clapping and dancing, exclaiming "whoa!" every chance he could, and kissing my leg just because he loves me! 

Side note: Eric was holding the little red head, P, when he leaned down and gave me a kiss. Next thing he knows P is headed straight for Eric's lips with an open mouth. If the man gave me a kiss he wasn't going to get away without giving P a kiss! SO SWEET!

I have been in serious need of a night like this! I am still so sad that we moved away from all of our friends and the fun adventures that cities offer. I guess these little trips are going to help me get through this hard transition in my life, right? Or they are just going to make it harder for me to go back home :) Either way, I live for these fun trips and my loved ones that fill them up!

weekend review {Arizona}

Have you guys ever seen this soda machine? Way. too. fun. Eric wants one in our house... they only cost 60 grand! HA!

 Memorial Bridge at the Hoover Dam

100 degree weather in Phoenix, AZ (yes, I almost died. It hasn't been much warmer than 70 degrees in my town.)

Our best friends and their adorable little red head. (Miss him already!)

My very good lookin' husband. (Miss him, too. Work shmork!)

Shopping in Scottsdale and swimming in GY.

What more could a girl ask for from a weekend??

Probably more days in the weekend :)  

Or maybe a little red head clone of my own? 

birthday recap

I work out of town on Wednesday's so we celebrated Eric's birthday on Tuesday! I had a bunch of fun ideas we could do, but Eric told me he basically wanted to sit around and relax. I guess when you work as hard as he does, there's nothing better than a lazy day! We did go shooting and it felt so good to enjoy the warm sun together!

We forgot target stands so we had to get creative :)

I hit the freakin' bulls eye... woo hoo!

Cafe Rio for dinner. Yum!

I was able to schedule later appointments on Wednesday so that I could spend the morning with my birthday boy! He opened gifts, then enjoyed german chocolate cake, ice cream and bacon for breakfast :)

Side note: I hate baking! The only joy I find from baking is eating the goods.... but I don't like german chocolate cake. Luckily, this wifey is a good one! I make the frosting from scratch (messed up the first batch so I had to make a second. Happens every. year. AH!) and Eric gets to eat the whole cake himself :)

This is a bright yellow, neon swim suit! I wish you could tell just how blindingly neon this is.... but none of the pictures do it justice :)

Proof that I'm a goo wifey ;)

I don't know why my face is a different color than my neck. I promise my make up isn't that horrible!

Happy Birthday again Eric :) I hope it was your best one, yet! LOVE you!

happy birthday to my favorite husband

Eric-

You are the BEST thing that has ever happened to me!

You're the funnest husband.

And you are always full of surprises :)

Ha ha.... seriously.

Your laugh is my favorite sound in the world.

I won't ever get sick of the ridiculous songs you make up throughout the days ;)

I am so thankful for your hard work and dedication to our little family.

You're amazing!

 Again... ha ha!

What I'm trying to say is-

Boy, you make my speakers go Boom Boom

You're the kinda thing that makes this girl go Mmm Mhmmmm...

Ok, so this song was totally sung by a boy, to a girl, but whatever. I can't NOT be cheesy :)

 I love us!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC!

I am so happy that you're my birthday boy ;)

I hope you have the best day, babe! 

P.S. 26?? When did we start getting old? Ha ha :)

little letters {2}

Dear Andriod, instagram is the best thing that has ever happened to you! But I still want to switch to the iPhone when it's time for my upgrade. :)

Dear Pinterest, you actually make meal planning FUN! Thank you for so many amaaaazing ideas!

Dear fellow gym members, I apologize that my body has mistaken me for a teenager. Zits on the face, the shoulders, the back... I stopped taking my skin meds and clearly my body hates me for it. I apologize that I don't wear make up to the gym, or go to the back of the classes when I'm wearing a tank top. I am embarrassed that you have to see me at my worst :(

Dear dermatologist, thank you for being a life saver. I wish my body wasn't messed up, but you fix me every time. In case any of you southern Utahn's are wondering, Tim is the one to see for your skin care needs!

Dear woman who backed into our truck, remember when I said thank you for being honest and leaving a note? WHERE THE HECK DID YOU GO? I haven't heard from you since we got our estimate, so I called your insurance company today. The repair is going to cost a pretty penny that we shouldn't have to pay for. So..... I feel bad for calling when you said you would handle it all, but you haven't been handling anything.

Dear Maui, the countdown is on! Less than 4 weeks :) (that's as good as my countdown gets) I appreciate all the suggestions and tips we've been receiving about our trip! So please friends, keep 'em coming!

Dear Eric, no one... and I mean no one can piss me off faster than you. And visa versa (no perfect marriage for the Brinkerhoff's!) but no one makes me happier! Despite our imperfections... you are the guy for me! I will love you forever. And ever. And ever.

this picture may or may not be from New Year's Eve.....

who have you met?

So we all know how much I love to complain about our latest move.... I'm so lonely, Eric is working a ton, blah blah blah. I really do need to have a better attitude, ha ha! But one fun thing about this move is that I've met a few bloggers! It's funny that I get to meet so many in southern Utah, because there are a ton of bloggers in northern Utah! I thought I was moving away from all of that! Luckily I've had the opportunity to hangout with some awesome girls here. Unluckily, I haven't had my camera around for half of my meet ups. Oops!

When I first moved here Chelsea was the first blogger I met! We set up a lunch date asap but the night before our blate, Eric and I decided to run to Wal Mart and get some ice cream. I looked like a grease ball with my hair slicked back, no make up on, and wearing Eric's huge sweats. Yeah, I totally ran into Chelsea. Awesome! I looked much cuter the next day when we were supposed to meet :) Chels is seriously the BIGGEST sweetheart! I'm so glad blogging brought us together!

Gentri and I actually met when we were both living up north at the one blogger meet up I was able to attend before moving south. She moved south a week or two before I did and we get together all the time! I am so happy to say that she is much more than a blogger friend to me. She has been a lifesaver!

Gentri invited me to crash the party when Ashley came to town! Since I was already in town, minus the husband, I couldn't resist! And I'm so glad I went! Ashley is the CUTEST. I loved chatting with her for a bit and getting to know her sweet family. Bella almost made me puppy hungry, almost. But there's no way Eric will ever have a pet so I guess we'll have to settle for human pets ;)

pictures via Ashley

Last week I got to hangout with Shaylynn! girl. is. hilarious. Seriously! But I may have scared her off. I told her I wasn't nervous to meet her (it's always a little nerve-racking meeting a blogger in real life!) but I totally lied. I didn't realize I was lying until I realized how freakin' much I talked about myself. Sometimes I talk and talk and talk to avoid any awkward silences...... 

but that probably makes things more awkward? Ha ha, oh well! I loved her and plan on hanging out again. Whether she wants to or not :)

I seriously can't believe how amazing the blogging world is. Having the opportunity to make new friendships everyday, and then turn those into real life friendships is just the best! Soooo, who wants to meet next? :) No creepers allowed!

chirp, chirp!

I LOVE kissing Eric! Seriously, that man has the BEST lips! He even has a little freckle on his bottom lip that is so adorable!

 I mean really... who wouldn't love kissing that? 

So one day we were walking through Cal Ranch (that is like top of the line shopping in this town, HA!) and they had tons of baby chicks for sell. Those little chirpers were precious! If they stayed small like that forever I probably would've HAD to have one :) It was funny to watch them scamper around, eat their food, and jump on each other to get in the middle of the huddle to stay warm. We finally stopped watching the chicks because our ears were ringing from all the chirping! Those little chicks had a lot to say :)
This is where things start to get weird.... that night I wanted a kiss from Eric and I found myself "chirping" to get his attention. Poor hubs looks over at me and I'm trying to keep my "kissy lips form" while chirping at the same time. HA HA! Of course we started cracking up because I looked/sounded ridiculous.... but now we do the kissy-chirp thing at least once a day to each other! Ha ha, you guys! We are freaks!

 Awkward/creepy picture. Don't act like you don't like it :)

Please tell me we aren't the only dorky couple out there??

toilet paper?

Eric and I got to enjoy our "Saturday" yesterday and it was awesome to spend all day together! We drove down to St. George and pretty much shopped all day! When we weren't shopping.... we were eating! No surprise there, right? It is just the best being married to a man who likes to eat as much as I do and who likes to go shopping. Even if it's just window shopping!

So I have a fun story to tell. We were shopping in Target when I had to go potty. I'm the kind of girl that always uses a toilet seat cover. If there aren't any available, I line the toilet seat with toilet paper. And sometimes I squat over that. Ha ha, public restrooms freak me out. Anyway, Target didn't have seat covers so I had to use toilet paper. When I finished my business in the bathroom (I only peed, promise!) I walked out and met Eric in the dollar section, which is right outside the bathrooms (thankfully). I was talking to him about the dollar treasures he found when I checked to make sure my shirt was pulled down in the back.... and guess what I felt? TOILET PAPER! Holy crap. I totally walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper hanging out the top of my shorts. I hurried and pulled the rest out of my shorts and then almost died from laughing. I am guessing that the toilet paper I used to line the seat was hanging over the edge just enough that when I pulled my pants up.... the toilet paper came with it. Nasty! I am trying real hard not to think about the germs that came with it...
Are you ready for the best part? This is the THIRD time I've done that. THREE times! You'd think I would've learned my lesson by now? The first time was in the bathroom of a mall and there was a long line of girl's waiting to use the toilet. My sweet friend started yelling (I swear, she was SO loud) and laughing while yanking my shirt up to get the toilet paper out of my pants. Ha ha, freaking embarrassing. The second time was just at my salon and I caught it before I walked out of the bathroom. And now the Target incident. What is wrong with me?? I guess I'll have to skip the toilet paper and pop a squat next time I have to pee in public :)

P.S. Are we friends on instagram? Find me @ CourtBrink (If you're willing to be my friend after that amazing story that is... ha ha!)

weekend review {Easter in Delta}

Eric and I had planned to go visit my in laws over Easter weekend but his awesome work schedule had him working all weekend. Big time booooo on that one! There aren't many things I love about Delta, Utah (besides my in laws) and if I ever had to live there I'd cry everyday. I'm feeling pretty picked on in our new little town... but seriously, living in Delta would do me in! But that small town knows how to make Easter weekend a gooood time!

He has Eric's eyes and his favorite color is pink? My nephew just might have me wrapped around his fingers!

5... the winning number!

My free bag of groceries!

My nephew knows what's good.... yummy blue cotton candy :)

I got to tag along with my niece and nephews to watch them do some fun Easter egg hunts. I forgot how exciting this holiday is for kids... maybe I need one of my own so I'll stop forgetting? HA HA! After the egg hunt we went to town. The Quality grocery store has a celebration every Easter weekend that is disgustingly good. 25 cent ice cream, 25 cent cotton candy, 25 cent hot dogs, and free soda. You  literally eat yourself sick, ha ha! But it is SO fun! The whole town just hangouts out at the grocery store for the day :) The best part (I know.... what could be better than 25 cent crap??) is that the store will do random giveaways! You scramble to stand on a number and cross your fingers that you'll win. And this girl won! Ok, ok, my win may have been rigged. My sister in law, Amy, told them I was so excited about the store's celebration that I came up without my husband to join in the fun! So they picked my number :) But then Amy won a bag of groceries and that definitely wasn't rigged! We're just a lucky family!

Even though I missed Eric like crazy... I was so happy to spend the weekend with my Brinkerhoff family! What a perfect way to celebrate Christ and everything He has done for us. Because of our Savior's sacrifice we have the opportunity to be with our families forever. I am eternally grateful for my brother, Jesus Christ.