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.

We've got a little WALKER!

It is so fun to watch little B learn new things...His newest trick is walking! He is still working on perfecting the skill, so he's still really wobbly, but he is getting so much more confident, even since this video was taken. He took his first real steps on Sunday, January 17 and has been getting better and better ever since. At first, he would only walk from the couch to one of us or from the table to the couch, but now he is confident enough to let go of anything he is standing against and will just start walking away. This video was taken at night right before his bedtime, so he's a little cranky, and we had to use the big video camera for incentive for him to walk to me. Usually he will just start going on his own...It really is so fun to watch little ones grow. Sorry the video is a little dark...
Enjoy...we sure do!

Brigden Update

We just went to the doctor's last week for Brigden's 9 month well check...Everything is going great! I hadn't ever gone to this doctor in the Health Center before, but I loved her. I think that I will go back to her every time now.
Here are some recent pictures of little B:




And here are some things that we love about our little man:
*Brigden is constantly on the go. I know that most kids are like this when they are learning to move around and explore their world, but seriously, this kid has some energy. I love his little adventurous side, even though it makes for a tired mommy at the end of the day :) It is so fun to see him learning new things.
*Brigden loves being outside and in the car. Whenever we get bundled up to go outside and open the front door, his arms start going up and down and his feet kick because he is so excited.
*He gives his daddy the BEST hugs. He won't give them to mommy, but that's alright because it is so fun to see their own special relationship growing.
*I love his snuggle time with mommy. We will lay on the couch together and I will tell him stories and he will just lay there and listen. I love this because he is constantly on the go so it is a good time to just relax and nurture our mommy/son relationship.
*Brigden has been making the FUNNIEST faces lately. I really need to get them on camera. It is so funny how he scrunches up his little face.
*He loves to talk and if he is awake, he is making noises. It seems like he comes up with new ones everyday.
*Brigden loves to "help" me with chores around the house. When I vacuum, he crawls up behind me and stands up against the back of my legs and then holds onto my legs and puts his little head in between my legs by my knees. He will walk around the house with me like that the whole time I am vacuuming. I love it, even though it takes about 10 times longer to vacuum.
*He is so good at entertaining himself and will play forever with all of his toys while I get some things done that I need to do. And then he lets me know that it's time for some mommy play time, and then we have lots of fun together.
*He loves to ring the doorbell every time we are coming in the house.
*He loves to play "wake-up mommy." I will lay on the couch, pretending to be asleep and snoring and he will walk along the couch and pat my arm or my face trying to wake me up. Then I pop up and tickle him. He gets such a kick out of it.
*He hates being in his high chair. I have to feed him really fast if I want him to eat all of his food...Cheese is his favorite thing to eat, probably because it is so messy!
*Brigden's smile melts my heart, over and over and over again...
*His new trick is walking! See next post...