just some randoms {25}

Eric's parents got this car for Mia's birthday and she is obsessed! She plays in it everyday, and her duck has had that sweet spot since the day after her birthday! We seriously laugh each time she grabs her duck and puts him in his place! Silly Mia!

Moccs c/o Freshly Picked

I love watching Mia play with friends! She's starting to interact more with kids her age, instead of being in that independent play stage. She loves to hold their hands while running and playing, hug, laugh, scream and fight ;)

I already shared a photo on Instagram, but I can't resist this cuteness! Eric showed Mia the magic of spraying whip cream straight from the can into her mouth... and she thought it was the BEST! Gimme all the heart eyes for those two and their fun relationship!

Ruffle bums on my two year old for the win!

Sling c/o Seven Everyday Slings
Fake smiles and baby wearing is what my momma Mia is all about these days :)

friends don't let friends move without them

My nerves have really made themselves at home now that it is officially moving time! Initially, we were (and still are) super excited about this awesome opportunity we had to make a change and move to Arizona! But as we've been running around saying goodbye to everyone these past couple weeks, my heart sinks a little more as I think about moving further away from everyone we love! We will always come back to visit our families, and they will come visit us, but that leaves little time to see our friends we've made over the years in Utah.
It's such a silly thing, but friendships have been very important to me in my adult years (friends were always important through school, obviously, but the friendships I've made since being married are different... deeper, if that makes sense?) I was absolutely terrified to leave my hometown and move to northern Utah. It was the biggest change I'd ever made and it was hard for me to leave the life I knew. But my first Sunday at church, I met a girl named Nicole, and thought nothing more of it. Before I knew it, Nicole and Vinny became our very best friends! We have the kind of friendship that survives eating dessert off of dirty dishes and utensils (because Eric thought I had washed the dishwasher and he didn't realize I hadn't until it was too late), laughing so hard we all almost pee our pants (on multiple occasions, and yes, our kids think we are crazy) and announcing pregnancy in the middle of Victoria's Secret (no it wasn't us, and yes we were all in there together, with our kids! Mia had multiple pairs of underwear around her neck and thought they were the best accessory to walk around the store in!) It was awful moving away from them (and all of the other amazing friendships we made) to our small town a few hours away. Now it just seems plain cruel to be moving to another state. It's totally unfair that we lived by each other for a short time! But at the same time, I know our friendship will be life long and when we do get to spend time together, it will be the BEST!
I guess what I'm getting at is that we have been blessed to make the most incredible friends over the years! My best friend in Washington, Eric's friends from high school that are still very close and all of our other friendships across Utah... we are better people because of those relationships! And now I'm nervous (excited, but super nervous) to start new. I am definitely excited about being closer to the friendships I do have in Arizona, but I just hope and pray that we will be able to meet some amazing people and find friends in our area in no time! Wish me luck, ha ha!

it doesn't get any better than this

  Moccs c/o Freshly Picked

Daddy is so much fun! The simplest park date made Mia's whole day! Eric ran all over this incredible park and I soaked up the sounds of Mia's shrieking and laughter. He took her down slides that were like 4 times too small for him as much as she wanted to, because he knew how happy it made her! It's simple moments like these, with my sunglass lovin' people, that make life good!

I'd love to see the little moments that make you happiest- be sure to link up with Jess and me below!

An InLinkz Link-up

white chicken chili {it's to die for}

It's no secret that I'm no photographer... so we can all expect my food pictures to be less than stellar :) I'll just let the bottom photo do all the talkin'! You know this is a good recipe when it's so obviously toddler approved :)
I don't know where I found the recipe for my White Chicken Chili... I have it written on a recipe card... in other words, this was long before the days of Pinterest! This soup is such a staple in our winter dinner menu. But to be honest, we even make it in the summer because we love it so much! Trust me, you'll be hooked after one batch!

White Chicken Chili (serves 6)

1 pound *Grilled Chicken Breast, cut in cubes

1 small Onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder (or 1 Garlic Clove)
2 cans Great White Northern Beans, drained & rinsed
2 (4oz) cans Chopped Green Chilies
1 (14oz) can Chicken Broth
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup Whipping Cream

In large saucepan, cook onion, garlic & chicken for a couple minutes. Add beans, chilies, broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce head; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately.

*You are more than welcome to saute chicken with the onion and garlic, instead of grilling, but we have found that when we cook the chicken on the grill, it enhances the flavor of the soup. It is oh so good! Bonus for me, Eric grills the chicken, so that's one less thing I have to cook, ha ha!

Enjoy!

when in Vegas...

I got to have one last "hurrah" with my salon girls over the weekend... in VEGAS! We seriously had the best time! Besides the small breaks of shoving food in our faces, there was non stop talking and laughing... gosh, I love these girls! Our trip was short and sweet, but we made sure to pack in all the fun we could!
The first thing we did when we arrived in Las Vegas on Saturday was hit the mall, of course! I was hoping to find some clothes to help me survive the Arizona heat, but had no luck as the stores are still carrying mostly winter stuff. Which is totally fine because then I kind of turned our shopping trip into selfie central, ha ha! These girls aren't into social media as much as I am... so they totally had to put up with my picture obsession :)
After shopping we checked into our room, got ready for dinner, then headed to Margaritaville. We usually eat at Maggianos but we couldn't get a reservation until way late, but Margaritaville ended up being SO fun! I started the night right by dumping my very full glass of ice water all over my lap (it was like slow motion as the icy water hit me and all I could do was sit there and yell, "on me! ON ME!" ha ha!) Thank heavens for my sequin pants that seem to be totally water repellent but my shoes? Not so much, ha ha! The food was delish and just as we were finishing up, the cutest nerdy man on stilts came to our table and told me he heard it was my birthday (a night early, but I am all about celebrating anytime!) He made me the coolest balloon crown (best balloon tying I've ever seen!) that didn't seem as big as it actually is when I was staring at him making it all the way up on those stilts, ha!
After dinner we made our way to Treasure Island to go watch Mystere! I screamed, jumped, clapped and squealed like a little girl when they told me we were going! I've always wanted to see a Cirque Du Soleil show and it did not disappoint! I am already itching to go back with Eric and see another show! It really was incredible!
We headed back to our rooms after the show because we are old and lame and were totally exhausted :) I got up early and came home with half the girls to get Mia, then spent a low key Sunday feeling all the birthday love! Not a bad way to ring in 27 ;) Vegas was amazing! Coming home to Mia was even better! The only thing I needed to make it a perfect birthday was to have Eric with me as well :) What a weekend!

curious?

Since it's my birthday weekend, I figured what better way to ring in 27 than talking about myself?! I wish it wasn't true, but I do like talking about myself (ha ha) so when I saw this fun post on my girl Pinky's blog, I knew I had to participate in the fun!

Four names that people call me other than my real name:

1- Barbie
2- Beba ("babe" in Spanish)
3- Mommy
4- Court (I don't really have nicknames, ha!) 

Four jobs I’ve had:

1- Arctic Circle (I went home and cried when I got hired because I was a snotty 16yr old and was way too good for fast food. Turns out that it paid the bills, until I changed jobs, and I made good friends! I'm still in contact with one, over 10 years later!)
2- Babysitting. (I was the queen of babysitting.)
3- Server (Even though I was only 18, Tony Romas hired me as a server. The bartender took care of all my alcohol orders.)
4- Hairstylist (I'm still at the salon I started at when I finished hair school, 8 years ago?) 

Four movies you’ve watched more than once:
  
1- Frozen
2- Tangled
3- Pride and Prejudice
4- Red

Four books I’d recommend:

1- The Alchemist 
2- The Mortal Instrument Series
3- Harry Potter (I bought the first book on audio for Eric since he refuses to open a book, ha!)
4- The Napping House (It's Mia's fave, ha ha!)

Four places I’ve lived:

1- Southern Utah
2- Northern Utah
3- Small town Southern Utah
4- Now you know why I'm so nervous to move to Arizona and start over new :) 

Four Places you have visited:

1- Boston
2- Hawaii
3- Mexico
4- Disneyland/California (All since being married) 

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1- Disneyland (Of course! Now that it's on my mind, ha ha)
2- The beach (A warm, sunny, tropical beach!)
3- Vegas
4- Snuggled in bed with Eric and Mia, watching a good movie. (Probably Frozen or Tangled ;)) 

Four things I don’t eat:

1- Cottage cheese
2- The fat on bacon unless it's totally cooked to a crisp. (I don't do chewy.) 
3- Black licorice
4- Mushrooms (Or at least I try my very hardest not to eat that fungus.)

Four of my favorite foods:

1- Pizza
2- Icecream
3- White chocolate covered popcorn
4-  Pasta (Does it get any healthier?? I really eat very healthy, I promise!)

Four things I’m looking forward to this year: 

1- Getting settled in Arizona! (Wish us luck! The nerves are coming on stronger the closer it gets to moving time!)
2- Taking Mia to Disneyland.
3- Having friends and family come stay with us in Arizona! We love having company come stay!
4- Lots of mommy + me activities! (Dance, tumbling, swim lessons)

Four things I’m always saying:

1- I love you so much!
2- "Babe" (So much so that Mia called Eric "babe" all morning yesterday for the first time, ha ha!)
3- Sorry. (But not when it really counts, of course. Working on my pride, babe!)
4-  Shut up?! (As in: you're kidding me! Or: no way! Yeah, I'll be changin' my phrase real fast when Mia starts exclaiming "shut up?!" to everyone, ha ha!)

There you have it... lots of random little things about me that you never cared to know ;)

Shirt c/o Collectively Yours Skirt c/o Eshakti

weekend highlights {early birthday celebration}

It seems like this is a super late weekend post, right? Not for us! Eric had 5 days off so we are just getting back to the grind of every day life. Unfortunately I will be out of town and Eric works this weekend, so we won't even get to see each other on my birthday, bummer! So we decided to celebrate early! Here are my highlights from our long weekend together.

 My (early) birthday cake! We top our slices differently, so Eric never adds the toppings to the whole thing.

• My parents took Mia all day Saturday so that we could go out for my birthday. Of course things didn't go as planned but we did go see The Hobbit! I always love going to the movies, it's such a rare treat since Mia came into our lives!
• We took Mia to a pretty awesome park here in town (more on that in another post) a couple times and really soaked up our family play time! I also took her to a couple play dates... just trying to help her soak up all the fun she can before we turn her world upside down. I'm kind of sad that I'm meeting and making more friends just in time to leave, but it gives me hope that I'll make friends quickly in Arizona!
• We ate good food (Eric did most of the cooking all weekend!) and got together with more friends!
• Eric baked my favorite cake, the better than "anything" cake. He seriously makes it SO good and I look forward to this each birthday! The countdown is already on for my birthday in 2016... HA! (I'm totally eating a piece as I'm typing. Yum!)
• Eric didn't let me pack one box the whole time! This might be a problem considering we move in 1 week.... but I wasn't complainin' ;)

Our time together was super laid back but I think it was just what we needed. Or should I say, just what Mia needed?! Between prepping to move, going out of town, then actually moving, things are going to be real crazy these next couple of weeks. Mia is a creature of habit and totally thrives when she's on our schedule/routine. I have no doubt she will handle the changes like a champ, but I'm just grateful we got to experience some calm before the storm!

2.1

I'm pretty sure that there's an unwritten rule somewhere stating that once your babe turns 2, you no longer refer to their age in months. So I'll stop doing that, but you can bet I won't ever stop calling Mia my baby ;) But I can't bring myself to give up these monthly updates. No one cares about them like I do, and that's okay, but this is as good as it gets with my "journaling" and there's so much change happening from month to month; I gotta record this stuff! So here's the monthly update on my love bug!

This is Mia's mischevious laugh face... can you imagine the sound coming out of her?! It's our favorite laugh, ha ha!

- Mia's vocabulary continues to explode as she tries to copy almost everything we say, and is adding more and more words in her sentences. Just yesterday I exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!" and Mia instantly copied, "ohmGOSH!" ha ha. It sounds so funny hearing that come out of her little mouth! At least it's not profanity! Yet. It's bound to happen at some point, right? Probably during a silent moment at church... ha ha!
- The new words I remembered to record this month are: "catch", "elphant" (elephant), "church", "apart", "fast", "Elmo", "Amememe" (Amy), "wa-yet" (wallet), "money?", "pa-pas" (pasta), "panpake" (pancake), "pink", "orange", "'ot chocite" (hot chocolate), "ganket" (blanket), "strawberry", "syrp" (syrup), "paper", "po-porn" (popcorn), "fish", "prayer". As you can see, we've been learning lots of food and names :)
- Mia can officially open all the doors in our house, except for the front door and the back door leading to the "yard" Thank heavens she hasn't mastered those yet because she can turn the locks, including the dead bolts!
- She now calls me "mommy" instead of "momma" as well as the occasional "Mourney" ha ha! I think she calls me mommy because momma is so similar to how she says grandma- "mramma". I love hearing her little voice call for mommy :)
- Mia has climbed out of her crib once. Goodness, that was quite the shock when I heard her trying to twist her doorknob (before she mastered opening the doors)... I didn't even hear a thump beforehand! Luckily she hasn't tried climbing out since, phew! But she has climbed out of the pack n play multiple times are my parents house... nap time sure is an adventure for them when I work, ha ha! 
- She can make the animal sounds for a cow, dog, cat, owl, horse, monkey, lion/tiger/bear and snake. Eric taught her to scrunch her little nose to look like a bunny, ha ha.
- My favorite thing is Mia's new bedtime routine now that think binky is gone. She loves sit on my lap in the rocking chair, with a blanket over her! She picks one book to read, asks for a "song?", then a second song, then "prayer".... then I lay her in bed and she asks for "doggie" and "bear" to cuddle with, "ganget" and I layer two blankets on top, and last her "taggie" snuggled against her face. For the last week she's been telling me, "I luh 'ou much! Door?" as I close the door. Melt my momma heart!
- Mia goes pee in the potty every single night before bath, but other than that, we don't put her on the potty unless she asks for it. Some days she doesn't ask at all, other days she asks every 10 minutes. I thought about pushing potty training this month until I found out we were moving. I think I'll wait until we are settled in Arizona so that she doesn't regress... just in case!
- She still wears all sizes of clothes. 6-9 month, 12 month, 18 month and 2T. Size 5 shoes.
- Even though she still totally fits in size 4 diapers, we put her in size 5 because she drinks so much.  

Mia is so much fun and the sweetest little thing! Just yesterday Eric and I listened as Mia laid in bed for her nap, cuddling her doggie, bear and baby (doll) and sang to them until she fell asleep. Does it get any sweeter?! We think not! 

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the cold, hard truth

It's no secret that I haven't loved living in our small town of southern Utah. I was heart broken to leave our friends and the fun we had while living up north! Then Eric's job ended up being extremely demanding with hardly the compensation he (or most of the employees) deserved. Then there started to be drama, as most small towns often entertain, lies and just plain bull crap which made me really hate his job. I had a horrible attitude which put a major strain on our marriage, and it took me a long time to realize that I was causing more problems, on top of everything else Eric was going through :( Sometimes I'm really stubborn, really prideful and really hard headed... which means I often learn lessons the hard way.
I finally decided to suck it up and be the wife that Eric needed me to be- understanding and encouraging. I did my best to hold my tongue when it came to complaining about his job, etc. Our home life improved immensely but Eric's work life continued to spiral downward as he gave them everything he had, and they just kept taking. I/we prayed daily for a change. Eric interviewed multiple times and landed multiple job offers, but nothing ever felt like the right fit. We were frustrated time and time again when there was always one thing about the job offer that wasn't right for us. I knew we were doomed to be here forever, ha ha. To be honest, the town grew on me... we made some really amazing friendships (life long friendships, no doubt!), I took advantage of our close proximity to National Parks and hiked to our hearts content, we really, REALLY love our doctor (wish we could take him with us to AZ!) and of course the blessing of living closer to our families! But being the proud wifey that I am, I believed that Eric deserved the best when it came to work! I know there is crap at any and every job, but there's no way to describe the stuff that Eric had to deal with, and we wanted out!
Then Eric suddenly lost his job. What a shock it was that the company closed their doors with no heads up (we felt like Eric should have had a warning since he was in a management position). Oh, I was mad! Like seeing red, violent feelings, losing sleep kind of mad. Not to mention the fact that I had daydreamed for so long of the day that Eric could march in there and quit because of the "amazing" job offer he received... That would be my pride talkin'! Obviously I needed to be humbled. Looking back, I feel ashamed that my reaction was so horrible, but I was in shock and I still have a lot to learn about handling shock gracefully :) A couple days later, as the anger simmered away, we realized that this was the answer to our prayers... just a totally different answer than we wanted. But we were finally free and the options were endless! I just knew that this was our ticket out of small town, southern Utah!
A week and a half later, Eric was blessed with a job offer (with the most amazing insurance I've ever heard of!) and while I was disappointed that we were staying, I was SO grateful! I have been so positive and supportive, just the wife I should have been from the very beginning and life has been great! But then Eric got a phone call from Arizona, one that he almost had no interest to even call back. We had agreed to always find out every detail before turning something down to avoid the "what ifs" so Eric called them back. Little did we know that this was the phone call that opened all the doors we'd been praying for!
We are feeling so hopeful, positive and excited for this opportunity in Arizona! We are excited to be in a suburb just outside of Phoenix... we've missed living close to a city! We've learned to take advantage of where we live, and we are going to have SO much fun enjoying all that the city has to offer. Plus, you really can't beat being able to swim (outside) year 'round ;) I know that we will encounter less than ideal situations with the job, neighbors, etc- it could be anything, but I learned a hard lesson these past 3 years and I know that I will be able to handle it all so much more gracefully, without pulling everyone around me down, if that makes sense? Looking back on our 3 years in small town, southern Utah, there is a lot I wish I could change, but since I can't, I am grateful for the knowledge I gained from our trials and experiences and I'm excited to take advantage to live a happier, more positive life! I'm so happy that Eric finally has the opportunity he deserves at work, and it will be neat to see him learn, grow and excel even more in his profession! Wish us luck on our new adventure :)

Friday faves {holidays}

All that talk of Valentines yesterday really got me in the mood for celebrating the holiday! Since I am packing up my home (or thinking of packing, because letsbehonest, I'm a procrastinator) instead of decorating for Valentines, I thought I would talk about our top 5 holidays with Mia.

Valentines Day

Mia's 1st Valentines Day 2013... Dying over her tiny cuteness!

Eric set the bar real high for himself last Valentines when he surprised Mia and I with a sweet gift each day the whole week of Valentines Day! One day he came home with a stuffed dog for her, and she sleeps with it every night! It's the sweetest thing! We can't wait to see what you come up with this year, Eric, ha ha!

Easter 

 Easter 2014

There's just somethin' 'bout small towns + holidays! My husbands teeny, tiny hometown does them best! Last Easter was such a blast! We went to the town's egg hunt, then Mia got to enjoy egg hunts with her cousins! She was a pro at finding the eggs and once she figured out what was inside? There was no stopping her from popping them open and shoving as much as she could fit into her mouth, ha ha! I have a feeling we won't be able to make it home for Easter this year :( so we will have to make it special for Mia in Arizona. But I'm already looking forward to it!

4th of July 

 4th of July 2014 Dress c/o Olive The Things

Mia's first 4th of July was spent on the beach in California, and ended at the Angels baseball stadium, it was so much fun! Her second 4th of July was in Eric's hometown... again with the small town holiday! The 4th is definitely my favorite holiday to go home for! Mia's had the BEST 4th of July celebrations so far, we'll have to come up with something real good this year!

Christmas

Christmas 2014 Bow c/o Her Joyful Studio

I'm not sure there is an explanation needed here... With Christmas and Mia's birthday in the same month, December is a very special month for us! I can't even believe how each Christmas has been better than the last with Mia!

 

Birthdays

My birthday - January 2013

I've always loved celebrating my birthday (what can I say? I love the attention!) and it's even better to celebrate the ones I love! Of course, Mia's birthday tops all, but I'm determined to get a "little kid" reaction out of Eric from his birthday gift this year ;) I will never forget my birthday after Mia was born. She was just a month old and honestly? Her sweet, squishy cuddles was the only gift I needed... but then Eric gifted me with my first ever spa day and my post pregnancy body has never been so grateful! I was so spoiled with love!

I'm a huge fan of ALL holidays, but these are some of our favorites to celebrate with Mia! She just makes them SO exciting and fun again :) Now, I'm off to make Valentines with Mia... there's always time for crafting even though I should be packing instead, right?!

currently

Loving: that Valentine's is already all over the place! Gimme all the hearts, pink decor and love! Eric loves to tease me (or maybe he's dead serious) about this being a "commercial holiday" or whatever they call it... but I love that this cute holiday promotes love! I'm excited to start brainstorming ideas on how to make this Valentines a special one. It will be our first holiday in our new state!

Reading/Watching: you guessed it! I'm not reading a dang thing (besides Mia's books) Maybe I should add a new book/series to my birthday wish list, ha!
So, the last season of Psych was just updated to Netflix! For some reason, I thought the final season was already on there when I mentioned how weird I thought the ending was! I'm so relieved that wasn't the final episode and we can't wait to see how the series ends! We've also been watching the Harry Potter movies and are totally enjoying them!!

Trying to: work up the courage to pack up my house. I mean, it's gotta happen, obviously! I'm just really dreading all the "no's" that will come out of my mouth in the next two weeks. We have one very curious toddler who LOVES to "help"... if you know what I mean!

Wishing: that I could always live by my friends, all of them! Obviously that's impossible, but a girl can dream! Sometimes I feel so picked on when I think of the amazing friendships I've made since being married to Eric, and how little time I've had to enjoy having them within reach. It's hard living so far from people I love, but I am thankful for the life long friendships that pick up where we left off, when we do get to see each other! Eric and I have been extremely blessed with the friendships we've gained throughout our marriage!

Excited for: our big move! Oh the fun we will have in Arizona! I have high hopes that this move will be really great for our family! I literally get butterflies (or knots, whatever you wanna call them) in my stomach when I think about getting out of here! My heart does break a little each time I think about leaving our doctor (I never knew why anyone got attached to a doctor until ours cared for me through pregnancy, delivered Mia and cared for her ever since) and moving Mia further from our families. This just means our visits will be even more special than normal... I'm counting on family visiting as often as possible (I'm talking to you, Brinkerhoff's!) and we will come back as often as we can! Otherwise, this move is just what we've been praying for and I can't wait to start this adventure!

I want, I want, I want!

Having a child ruined me when it comes to shopping for myself. It doesn't help that everything 'girl' is SO much cuter Mia sized, ha ha! My sudden lack of interest in shopping for myself (sudden as in, 3 years ago) has done wonders for our bank account, I'm sure (ha ha) but it makes it really rough on anyone asking for birthday gift ideas. I dropped the ball when it came to a Christmas wishlist (but of course I had no problem sharing a million and one ideas for Mia's list) so I sucked it up and tried to come up with some fun ideas to share as my birthday wish list!
In case you were wondering... my birthday is the 25th ;) That's next Sunday... this month is flying by!

I would love a Chatbooks subscription! I need to go weed out some photos that I don't care to have in the books, but it would be so fun having these in the home! Mia is obsessed with looking at pictures of herself and if I'm being totally honest here, so am I ;) I'm pretty sure I'll be signing up for this after our move, even if I'm not gifted with a subscription!

My mom gifted me with a silver charm bangle for Christmas and I would love to add to that! I'm all about the arm candy I see photos of, when girls stack bracelets, bangles and watches! Sadly, I don't even know where to begin to add to the collection, but I'm thinking Alex and Ani is a good place to start?
I also wouldn't mind (as in, I'd die over) a chunky Michael Kors watch! I adore them all and would have the hardest time picking between a silver, gold or rose gold watch. Gimme all the heart eye emojis for these dang watches!

I have been dying to get my hands on a Kate Spade phone case but I can't find one I love right now... of course! So now I'm on the hunt for the perfect phone cover... Something pink. Or gold and sparkly? I'm not really sure, ha ha!

This is kind of crazy to ask for for a birthday gift... maybe I should save it for a "push present" with my next baby (because this would actually be totally motivating for me!) but I would love this Piyo Workout set! I already know who I would like to order it from sooooo the real question is, birthday gift? Or wait until there's another babe on the way? Ha!

Every birthday since Mia was born, Eric has gifted me with a spa day, and it is by far my favorite way to be spoiled! The week of my birthday is kind of insane and I won't really be able to cash in before we move :( But I'm still hoping for a massage and/or a pedicure at some point!

Last but not least, this is such a simple gift idea, some people may even look at it as the "easy way out" but I loooooove gift cards! Nothing makes me happier than having a wallet full of gift cards that I can cash in when I finally find something I love! (Obviously there are a lot of things in my life that make me happier, I'm just trying to prove how much I love gift cards, ha ha!) My summer wardrobe has diminished immensely in the last couple of years and with our move to Arizona, I need new shorts (I don't even have one pair right now, AH!), capris and dresses! I'm positive that we will be wearing summer clothes year 'round until our blood thins out again, ha! So this is where gift cards will come in quite handy, considering the stores are chuck full of winter stuff right now :)

I always loooooove new ideas so if you've come across something you love, definitely leave a link in the comments for me!

exciting news... WE'RE MOVING!

I am so excited to finally share the news that we are moving to ARIZONA! We are feeling so blessed as things are finally falling into place. Yes, Eric just started a new job a couple months ago, but we just know that this is where we are supposed to be going now. His current job came just when we needed it and we will be forever grateful for that!! But we are very excited about the job offer that Eric accepted. It will be great for his resume, it will challenge him and help him grow in his profession, and it gives us the change we have been craving and praying for for the last couple of years. Utah will always be our home, but we are so excited for this new adventure in Arizona! I will be sharing more details soon!! Wish us luck as we get ready to move by the end of January!!

weekend highlights

Ugh. Monday blues, man! I am so sad that the weekend is already over! We were lucky enough to add a couple extra days to our weekend and I still feel like it flew by! We had so much fun and we are sad the fun is over! Here are some of our favorite highlights:

• Our weekend started on Thursday! We went up north for a quick trip (like, the quickest trip ever... wish we could have stayed longer to see more people!) The stars finally aligned and we are able to meet up with my sweet Instagram friend, Kaylynne! That girl is as sweet as they come and her little Stolkton is adorable! Mia loved him so much! They never stopped holding hands as they ran around and played :)
• We spent the night at our best friends new home and loved every minute we had with them! (Thanks for having us, Nicole! We miss you guys already!)

• On Friday we made our way over to my in laws and Mia was SO happy when we arrived! We were looking forward to spending time with family! Eric surprised me by arranging a little ice cream date with me! I think this is the first time he's ever surprised me with a little date, just the two of us, since Mia was born! Super simple date but it meant so much to me!

• Saturday was a special day, our nephew was baptized! We are so proud of him! Mia is so lucky to have such amazing cousins setting examples for her! I have to add- Mia was ready to strip down and jump in the font and go for a swim! She was so mad when we wouldn't let her, ha ha!
• We spent the rest of the day eating yummy good, hanging out with family, and playing with the kids. I played freeze tag with the kids and good freakin' grief, I am OLD! and slow, ha ha! We drove home that afternoon and Mia woke up as we pulled into town. She just cried and cried because we weren't at "papa and mramma's" home anymore :( We sure are blessed with the best family!
• Sunday was a relaxing day of church and lounging at home!

insta-life

The Christmas lights of all Christmas lights in my hometown! We had to visit twice!

Multi tasking for the win! I think I'll keep him ;) {This has since become her favorite seat in the house when daddy pops popcorn! She is obsessed!}

"I know I told you I'd say cheese... but how 'bout you get me down so I can color instead... NOW!" I took this sassy thang to her 2 year check up today. She's 34 inches tall and weighs 24.8 pounds. Healthy, happy... and she's the smartest little girl in all the land ;)

Eric took Mia out to play in the snow while I got ready for the day. He taught her how to make her first ever snow angel Those two melt my heart!

I LOVE meeting Instagram friends when they pass through town! @stacythiot and her family are just as sweet as they seem in their photos! Love them!

 Last night rocking my 1 year old! I love watching her grow, but man, I wish she wouldn't grow so quickly!

I couldn't resister twinning with Mia! :)

If you want to follow our adventures, Mia's growth, etc, follow us @courtbrink! We love making new friends!

picture perfect {pt 2}

"Show me your muscles!" This is my favorite :)

 Runaway baby...

Bow c/o Her Joyful Studio Dress c/o Angora Boutique

Family pictures part 1

...enjoy the journey

I love how everyone is choosing one word to focus on and better themselves for 2015. I've been thinking long and hard on what word I wanted/needed to focus on myself... until I saw this quote!

via

I have a horrible habit of rushing through adventures just so that we can say "it's done! we did it!" For example, in December Eric and I were driving around with Mia to look at the Christmas lights. Mia wasn't very enthused (like we thought she would be) when Eric suggested going to a neighborhood on the other side of town. I instantly wanted to tell him no, let's just go home, it's close to Mia's bedtime, blah, blah, blah. For the first time I bit my tongue and let it play out since it was obvious that Eric was enjoying himself (and really, so was I! There was no point to rush!) We found some awesome lights and Mia totally perked up and got excited about them! That was such a small, simple outing with my family but I actually allowed myself to "enjoy the journey" Think of all the big things I've missed out on because of my rush to reach the "finish line", yikes! So this is my mantra for 2015... enjoy the journey!

lookin' back on 2014

Isn't it crazy how much changes in one year?! Travels, jobs, Mia, etc. I loved looking back and remembering everything we experienced, the good AND the bad, in 2014! Hope you like my highlights from last year!

January

• We visited our best friends and went to see the Ice Castles. Our little snow princess was totally in her element :)
• I locked Mia in the car, worst moment of motherhood to date!
• I turned 26!

February

• Thanks to my sweet husband, Mia and I got to celebrate Valentine's for a whole week as Eric brought us a new surprise each day. He's never done this before and it was so fun to know he was especially thinking about his girls that week!
• We escaped to Brian Head for a snowy, cabin weekend with my family. This is definitely one of my favorite traditions as Eric and I can enjoy our days snowboarding while my mom takes care of Mia, then we get to soak up family time at night!
• It was warm enough to play at the park... without a jacket! This was just plain crazy but we weren't complainin'!

March

• Mia sported her first ever pig tails, so cute!
• We went to Arizona and had the best getaway!
• We took Mia to the zoo for the first time... we can't wait to go back!
• My sweet Grandma passed away. She was 98 years old and an incredible woman! We miss her and Granddad so much!

April

• Mia got her first haircut! This was definitely a highlight for me since I'm a hairstylist. She is my favorite client! ;)
• We celebrated Easter with Eric's family. The holidays get better and better each year with Mia in our lives!
• Eric turned 28.
• Mia and I went on our first hike of 2014...with a lot more to follow!

May

• Eric and I celebrated 6 years of marriage!
• We finally weaned from nursing + lots of other Mia moments :)

June

• I hiked Angels Landing in Zion National Park with my dad!
• We went to Lagoon with Eric's family... another one of my favorite family getaway traditions!
• We spent lots of time in our "backyard" in the baby pool!

July

• We went to Eric's 10 year high school reunion.
• I went to my first ever blogging event. I'm dying to go to more!
• We debuted our first ever family video. We are still obsessed with it! Definitely something we will treasure forever!
• Time for another road trip! We went to Flagstaff, AZ for a wedding.
• We visited the Grand Canyon. DYING to go back for a whole weekend! It's gorgeous!

August

• The last week of July-beginning of August, Eric and I went on our first vacation without Mia to... BOSTON! It was Eric's dream vacation but that city stole my heart! {Day 1, 2, 3}
• Our first and only lake trip of the summer (sad!) Mia's first time tubing!
• Mia and I found paradise... under a freeway pass.

September

• Mia and I attended our first ever "mommy and me" dance class. Something I'd been looking forward to since we found out I was pregnant with a girl!
• Mia and I went on a girls weekend trip to Arizona!

October

• We met up with some of our bests in Vegas! (We are hoping for a re-do in the near future!)
• Eric very unexpectantly lost his job.
• Mia and I traveled to Washington state to visit my best friend! {Pt 1 and 2}
• Mia was a darling little witch for Halloween!

November

• Eric started his new job that he was offered just a week and a half after being laid off. Blessings!!
• My sister in law got married and we welcomed a new brother in law and niece into the family! 
• Mia officially ditched the binky!
• We celebrated Thanksgiving with Eric's side of the family!

December

• Mia turned TWO! We had so much fun celebrating our sweet girl!
• We celebrated Christmas as a family of 3, and then we celebrated again with my side of the family!
• We kissed 2014 goodbye and welcomed 2015 with open arms!

2014 was a year full of ups and downs, but we made the most of it! When I look back on the year, I remember my frustrations at the feeling of being in limbo (as we've felt for the last 2 years here) BUT I can already see that everything happened for a reason, and we have learned a great deal from each experience! But mostly when I look back, I remember all the fun we packed into the year! Aside from our amazing travels (I visited two new states on top of all the little trips we made) we made the most of our home life, took advantage of living so close to Zion National Park, visited our families often, and played with our friends and each other as much as possible! Each day is such a blessing as we watch me grow, she is the sweetest, happiest, silliest, funnest kid around! (Biased? Who, me?!) Life has been good to us and I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for us!