A Little Photoshoot...

I have the greatest little sisters ever. One of them is named Jacie. Talent is seriously oozing out of her. I admire her for how she develops her talents and uses them to brighten the lives of others. She's the best! She did an impromptu photo shoot back in April for our little family when they were all here for my graduation. One of those pictures is on the header of our blog (can you tell that my legs were in desperate need of a summer tan?! That's what the Utah cold will do to ya!). It has been so fun to watch Jacie learn and get better through all of her photography adventures. She is doing such an awesome job! And you can't beat a free photoshoot...

When we were down in Arizona this summer, Jacie wanted to do another impromptu photoshoot with Brigden. I didn't know how long little B would last, but I said "Sure, let's do it!" With fruit snacks in hand to keep him happy, we made our way out into the driveway where Jacie had set up the shoot. And I AM SO EXCITED about the shots that she was able to get. It was SO worth fighting the AZ summer heat to get these pictures. I love how each one captures Brigden's little personality so perfectly. I am so happy that we have all of the silly and cute faces that he has been making lately in these pictures that we can have forever.

These are my two very favorites, especially the second one:

Here are some other cute ones, there are too many to just show a few!

Brigden sure does love his grandpa!

And here are some of the cute and silly faces that we just can't get enough of:

I love this "I am so ready to be DONE" face:

He must get it from his daddy :)

Can you tell we love this little guy?

"...off the Florida Keys..."

So I guess that we were not "off the Florida Keys," we were ON them, but I had to go along with the song lyrics...Here's my first "catching-up" post. In May, Casey and I had the awesome opportunity to go with Jenny (Casey's mom) and two of his sisters, Jeniffer and Kimberly, to the Florida Keys. We were there for a week and it was such a great vacation. It sure was needed! We flew into the Ft. Lauderdale airport and drove for about 3 hours down to the Keys. How about I let the pictures tell the story...

This is where we stayed while we were there. Jenny sure found us some great deals! This was such a fun little house that was almost right on the ocean. The houses that were across the street from it backed the ocean. I loved how the Keys were a bunch of islands connected by a highway. I never realized before that they were like that. Each Key has a different name. We stayed on Summerland Key and went to some of the other Keys during our adventures! This is what we did:

We also celebrated my 22nd birthday while we were there! What a great way to spend a birthday!

(this one is for Kimberly!)

I think that the pictures tell it all...we were in such a beautiful place, with wonderful family, doing FUN things together, enjoying a trip of a lifetime! Thank you so much, Jenny, for making it possible and for making it such a special trip! And we missed you, Jimmy! And thank you Jeniffer and Kimberly for making it so fun!

I especially missed little Brigden who was back in Arizona with my family...Thanks Mom, Dad, and sisters for taking such great care of him...haha, I know it was a tough job! I don't know who had more fun, Brigden or his little aunties that spoiled him rotten! Love you guys! Brig's adventures while we were gone will be in a post coming soon!

I am so grateful that Casey and I were able to go on this trip. I loved seeing a new part of the beautiful world that we live in. It made me grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has created such a beautiful world for us to learn and grow in.

Florida, I am missing you!

Long time, no see...

Needless to say, it has been a LoNg time since I last posted. But I am determined to get back on track---I know that family, especially grandparents, would be happy if I did better!

So stay tuned for some backtracking in the next little bit while I fill you in on our summer adventures, and then maybe I will keep it up with what's going on currently in the oh-so-exciting life of the Heap family! For now, I will leave you with this current picture of this sweet little guy I know...

He's the best helper ever!

What's Happening?

This is what has been going on lately here with the Heap family:

Thanks Dad for the pictures, haha, I stole them from your blog, knowing you wouldn't mind :)

Graduation!

Yummy treats!

Fun family picnic at the park with lots of extended family!

Family photo shoot and Brigden's 1-year pictures with my oh-so-talented sister, Jacie!

More to come soon when I get the rest of the pictures! Jacie- hint, hint... :)

Birthday Boy!

This little boy had a birthday yesterday!

P.S. He looks naked in this picture, but he is not! He does have a diaper on! Haha :)

This last year has been filled with so much more happiness and joy than we ever thought possible because of having little Brigden in our home and lives. He is such a sweet little boy. I love seeing the new things that he learns every day. He is ALWAYS on the go and has SO much energy. I love this about him because it is so much fun to play and explore with him...and it makes for great naps...well, sometimes :). His zeal for life is contagious. It helps me to be more motivated to get up and going and seeing new things. He loves people and will walk up to anyone wanting to play with them. He gives the best kisses and hugs. He claps at things that are exciting to him like the timer going off on the microwave or oven or when there is fun music on the radio. I love how the smallest things are so exciting. He has started putting his hands over his eyes whenever he does something funny and we are laughing at him. When there is something that interests him and that he wants to learn more about, he does this little whispered "ooooooo" sound with his lips all puckered out. He loves putting the lids back on anything that is missing it's lid- boxes big and small, water bottles, plastic containers, you name it. It is fun to see his brain work and figure things out. I love his independence. It helps him to learn new things and catch on quickly. He says "mama" and "dada," "ba" for "ball," and "nana" for "banana." He loves to point and is constantly observing. Anytime that I say, "where's Daddy?" he goes into our front room and looks out the window. He loves when Daddy comes home. And so does Mommy! Brigden gives Daddy the biggest hug when he walks in the door.
As you can probably tell, I could go on and on about this little boy. But I'll leave it at this...
WE LOVE OUR LITTLE GUY!
I am grateful for Brigden and what he has taught me about being a mom. It is the hardest thing that I have ever done, but has taught me the most, along with being a wife.
NOW, on to the celebration! As you can tell, Brigden had a great time! We had a little party with just me, Casey, and Brigden. (I had extra batter, that's why there are so many cupcakes-no, we didn't eat them all ourselves!) I knew that Brig would not even hesitate to dig into the cake- and he didn't disappoint! My parents and sisters and Casey's parents are coming up from AZ in 2 weeks for my graduation so we are going to do a little combined graduation/birthday party---I think we will stick with a cupcake for Brigden at that party!

Here are some other pictures from the day...Brigden got a big ball and a tent with the gift card from Grammy and Umpa (Thanks!) And he LOVES them. The tent is his own little hideaway. He also got his first birthday card and from great-Grandma and Grandpa Charlton! Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

We love this little guy and are so excited for all that is in store for him!

A little project...

While Brigden and I were in St. George a few weeks ago visiting my Grandma Ames, we had fun at the thrift store! I found (for super cheap) a really neat vintage frame and this:

What a find! Now, knowing that I would not put this up in my house as is, this is what I did to it today:

I love it! I love finding old things and turning them into something new! Something about creating gives you such a good feeling...

I have tons of ideas of what to use this new board for, but I would love to hear your ideas because I'm having a hard time deciding!

April Fools...

Simply stated, I LOVE April Fool's Day. I love the {harmless} fun of it all. I have never been that great at thinking of jokes to play, but for some reason, today I was on fire! I just thought that I would share one of them, which was my favorite...

This is what Casey found underneath the windshield wiper on his truck when he came out of work today--

Little did he know, I was a couple hundred feet away in my car recording him finding it! It was so funny to watch his reaction and then to hear him explain what he was thinking later. In the video, you can see him looking all around his truck to see what he would even be ticketed for. He says that he was so ticked. And then, on the video, you see him take out the paper that was inside of it and he just shakes his head because he realized that I had got him yet again. He threw the "ticket" into his truck and went to get into his truck and that's when I drove up. He just kept shaking his head and we laughed and laughed. We both got a big kick out of it!
I didn't really know if he would think it was real because of the joke I had played on him early that morning, but I guess it was legitimate enough! It was made to look almost exactly like the parking tickets that the BYU parking enforcement gives out, so it was quite believeable!

Haha, I already have some great ideas for next year's jokes! Casey, you better watch out!

{Right around the corner}

Look at these little beauties!
Brigden and I found these yesterday in our flower beds and it made our day! Spring, we are ready for ya...Please don't tease us anymore!

Little Brig

Just thought the world (well, atleast grandparents) needed another picture of this cute little one...He thought that he was so cool when I gave him the whole pear...you can't see the other side, but he took a bunch of little bites out of it. It is so fun to watch him grow up into a little boy...

This is his new favorite place to play!
Love you all!

Perspective

Just ask Casey, I worry and stress A LOT...Big things, little things, lots of things. And it drives me crazy because I know that I should not worry about those things. Everything always works out-it always has and always will. There are always going to be things that don't seem like they are working out how I want them to. There are always going to be ways that I feel inadequate. And I will feel like I am falling short at times. But that is not where my focus should be. Of course, there's ups and downs. When you are down, you can remember the ups and find your way back. When you are up, you can remember the downs and all that you learned and the strength you gained.
That's why this blog is good for me---It gives me an opportunity to focus on the good things that are happening in our life and the ways that we are learning and growing. No, I'm not trying to pretend like everything in life is always great and that there are never down times. Because there definitely are, a lot more often than I would like. But why focus on those if they only get me down even more? There are sure a whole lot of better things to focus on that make me happy just with a glance or a thought...
Like these two...
Even when Casey is gone a lot with work and school or little Brig is being "adventurous" (aka making trouble):
Just some thoughts that have been going through my head lately. I've been reminded to focus on the ups. I think it makes all the difference.

Casey's going to hate this... :)

Three years ago, today, my life changed forever. On February 4, 2007, I met this guy:

And my life has never been the same. :)
It was the spring semester of my 1st year at Eastern Arizona College. During the month of January, I had heard about this mysterious Casey Heap who had just come home from his mission and was now at EA. I had heard some great things about him so, naturally, I wanted to meet him.
February 4th was my lucky day. I went down with my roommate, Valerie, to the girls' apartment that lived underneath us to see if they had something that I needed for some soup that I was making. And of course, we got talking, just like girls do. Then there was a knock at the door and in walked this WAY cute guy...who was introduced to us as Casey. He impressed me right off the bat. he was so nice. It seemed like he made sure to talk to each person that was there and made each person feel so good.
When Valerie and I got back to our apartment, I jokingly said, "Valerie, that's the boy that I'm going to marry!" And she just looked at me like "oh yeah? you're crazy..."
Come to find out, he was there to ask our friend out on a date! Bummer! But I was so excited for her. They went on a few dates, but nothing really happened with them, so he was up for the grabs! Haha, that's funny to hear myself say that because I am not a forward girl AT ALL! In fact, I had the hugest crush on him for the ENTIRE semester, and the only people that knew were 2 of my friends and my mom.
So, the semester went on like normal. Me having dates with other guys and Casey with other girls. But he was always the one that I had my eye on. A girl could dream, right?! :)
We had different groups of friends so we didn't ever really hang out, but with how small Thatcher is, you're bound to run into each other every so often. I would say "hi" to him as I passed him walking down the sidewalk and I got up the courage to talk to him, ever so briefly, in the library. Little did I know, he was starting to watch me too!
The semester was winding down and some boys in the library invited me and my friend Deb to go to some natural hot tubs that were close by the school. There was a big huge group that was going, so I didn't really think that it was considered a date. But now looking back i guess they meant for it to be, who knows, maybe not...So, Deb and I left the library to go home and change into our swimming suits and when I went into my apartment, guess who was there talking to my roommate! CASEY! I was so excited that I didn't really know what to do. We talked for a little bit and then Deb came over for us to go and I wasn't ready yet. Deb was one of the friends that knew I liked him, so she said, "Hey, how bout you come with us?" SO he did! I'm sure those boys that originally invited us were pretty surprised when they saw him coming up to the car with us! :)
So, that night was fun (I'll spare the details), but he did ask for my phone number! I was so giddy after we left him at the dorms where he lived and walked to our apartment. I was literally skipping down the road. I probably didn't even sleep that night.
So, like I said, that was at the end of the semester. We did hang out one more time before the semester ended, but it was in a big group and I tried to tell myself that he was just being nice and didn't even like me...I didn't want to get my hopes up since the summer was around the corner and we would both go home and not even be anywhere close to each other. But that's not what he was thinking! Which I'm so glad for...
A few days after school got out, he called me! And then he called a few days later and said that he was going back to Mexico to visit the areas that he served in during his mission, but that he would be flying out of Phoenix and wanted to know if I would want to go to a Diamondbacks game before he left. So that was our first official date...June 8
I'll spare you the details, but here is what the rest of that summer included:
1 long summer of dating long distance
1,208 hours on the phone (maybe it wasn't this much, but it seemed like it!)
1 night at the park that scared me to death (when he brought up marriage...)
2 failed attempts before I actually let him kiss me...Third time's the charm (I was scared!)
5 hour drives that Casey made back and forth from the ranch to Peoria to see me during the summer
1 fun-filled weekend in St. John's for the 24th
1 long drive back from St. John's that gave me lots of time to think and decide that I wanted to spend the rest of forever with this guy
1 awesome mom who listened to every little detail from her love-struck daughter
1 love-struck guy and 1 love-struck girl who couldn't wait for school to start that fall
Here are some fun pictures from that summer:
But luckily, summer ended and school started again. What a fun semester!

We were engaged on November 1 and married on December 27. So I guess this can count for an anniversary post too that I skipped doing last month... :)
Since being married we have done fun things like this:
Snowboarding on our honeymoon
And this:
Havasupai backpacking trip

Found out we were having a baby:
And realized we were the luckiest boy and girl in the world to have this little one:
It is crazy to think back on these three years - 1 year of dating (1 semester of that being "wishing") and 2 years of marriage - and think about all that has happened and all that we have learned. I sure have learned a lot! And I'm grateful for the ups and the downs because we have been through them together!
Casey is my best friend. He knows me like no other person does. And I love that. He is there for me always. And I need that. I am so blessed to call him mine.