My Best Friend

It is hard to believe that seven years have gone by since Josh and I tied the knot or that we went on our first date 12 years ago.  I am so happy to be married to my best friend!  I have to say that reflecting on my marriage experience and the experiences and examples of those around me has really made me realize how difficult it is.  Making my marriage gratifying and joyful has been one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life.  I'm not saying that it isn't worth it because it is the most fulfilling and rewarding thing that I have in my life as well.  My point is that I've come to realize how important is is to work together as a team, to communicate, to choose your battles, to put your relationship over your own petty insecurities, to realize that you are both constantly growing and changing; therefore there will always be routine "maintenance" that needs taken care of, and that both people have to work at it.  As I look back and see how our relationship has drastically changed I am excited for the future and what it holds for us and our family.  This year we don't have any major plans due to the fact that we are awaiting the arrival of the newest member of our family any day now.  Here are some pictures to show how we have physically changed over the last 12 years...  YIKES!! 

Hahaha!  We are so young!!  15 and 16...

Prom my senior year... 18

My 20th birthday...

Our engagement pictures  20...

Our Wedding   21...

Friends wedding 23...

 East Coast trip  25...

 Christmas Party 27...

Family wedding almost 28....

It's Finally Here!!!

Brooklyn's bedding finally arrived today!  I am so excited and really feel like everything is complete in the room now.  Well, other than Josh still needs to hang the book shelf I made them... 

I was a little worried about what the bedding would actually look like in person as it isn't sold in stores therefore I only saw it online.  I planned the entire room around it and was going to be extremely disappointed if the colors were completely different in person!  Opening the box was exciting yet nerve racking!  Thank goodness it looks great!  I am so ready to meet her and now her area is complete.  A huge thanks to everyone that got us gift cards.  We applied them toward the bedding and they covered the entire cost!  We are truly blessed :-) 

Time Warp/Deja Vu...

I just posted about Brooklyn's baby shower that my friends threw for me.  The funny thing is that my shower for Lincoln was thrown by my friend Ashley, Amy and Rachel and was at Amy's house as well.  She took pictures at Lincoln's shower and realized during Brooklyn's shower that she never had given me the pictures from over two years ago...  So here they are!  They are very similar to the pictures at Brooklyn's...  It was so fun to open the disc and not know exactly what to expect.  Kind of like when we use to use disposable cameras and one would get lost only to be found years later!  Amy did the cake for Lincoln's shower as well.  Needless to say the mini trip down memory lane was fun.  Oh, and I like my hair better blond I've decided...  Or maybe I'm just starting to look old!  Nah... :-)   

Ashley, Jillian, & Carrie

Bekah, Rachel, Tasha, & AnnMarie

My Mom and I :-)

Brooklyn's Baby Shower

I have the best friends a girl could ask for!  My friends Rachel and Amy threw a beautiful shower for Brooklyn!  The theme was "Sugar and Spice."  It was beautiful and of course my friends and family spoiled her too!  It was so great to see old friends that I hadn't seen since Lincoln's baby shower!  In fact because Lincoln's shower was at my friend Amy's house too, it was a bit like deja vu...  Rachel did the invitations.  They were adorable.  I'll try to add a picture soon...  Amy made the cake and it was of course perfect and delicious (spice cake with cream cheese filling and butter cream frosting). 

I wish I would have gotten a photo with everyone that was there, but there are some great ones none the less!  It was relaxing and there were no games.  We simply went around the room and shared stories about pregnancy and children.  It was hilarious! 

Jillian, Ashley, Sheree, Grandma, Necia

Necia & Sarah

Necia & Mom

The Grandmas!

Amy & Sarah

 

Christmas Favorites

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  Of course, I am ever thankful that Christ was born and is the reason for the season.  Without Him I can't even imagine what my life would consist of!  

Another thing I love about Christmas is spending time with family.  Life is so busy with work, kids, and everyday tedious chores that it gets hard to pencil in that quality time with friends and family.  I love that during the holidays people slow down (well, some do...) and take the time to cherish the ones we love.

Christmas music and lights are probably tied for third place.  There is something about Christmas music that just lifts my spirit.  I usually start listening way early!  Well, when I am alone in my car at least or occasionally in my classroom as Josh has a strict "no Christmas music" policy until the day after Thanksgiving!  And who doesn't love to look at Christmas lights?!

This year I went against my "fake tree policy" which is never to have a fake tree for our tree, but I decided with Brooklyn due to arrive at any time and our new puppy a fake tree would probably be the least stressful.  Don't worry next year we will be back to a real tree!  I did find some fun stuff to decorate the tree with this year.  I got some inspiration from the "Festival of Trees" at The Great Wolf Lodge.  Once I decided upon the fake tree I realized that I needed to get the only one I had from the storage closet in my classroom.  The only problem was that in the move somehow the "feet" for the tree got misplaced!  So next I had to figure out how to keep it upright.  Apparently Lincoln decided that Thor's chew toy belonged in the base...
  


Not long after starting Lincoln took an interest in helping me :-)

Here is The Brannin Tree of 2011, fun and quarky!

There was no way I was fitting all of my ornaments on this year so I stuck with my favorites and the ones with sentimental value.  

Josh and I got this when we went to prom in 2002.

The year I graduated from WSU with my BA.

Kelly and Danette brought this back from Disney world for me.

This was the last ornament that Josh and I received from his Grandma Nita before she passed away.  She always bought ornaments for everyone each year.

 
My mom and I took a road trip to San Diego the summer before Josh and I got married and she bought us these wedding ornaments in Sea Port Village.

This is Brooklyn's first ornament :-)  For some reason I can't get it to load right side up...  Very annoying!!

Here is Lincoln's ornament for this year from Grandma Brannin.  He LOVES it!  He is always wanting me to point it out on the tree.

And of course some of our family ornaments pre and post Lincoln. 

        

Apple Cup 2011

Well, tis the season for football!  I love lazy Sundays spend watching the Seahawks with friends.  This year we bought tickets to The Apple Cup.  I've never been to a college football game so I was excited to experience that for the first time.  The thing I wasn't looking forward to was arriving in Seattle five hours before the game and waking up and down the stairs at Century Link Field!  Though I thought maybe it might help bring Brooklyn a bit earlier.  Going into labor at the Apple Cup would be epic, right? 

We were up early gearing up for the game.  With it being Movember and all Josh had to take some time to shave his mustache in support of Prostate Cancer Awareness...  Thankfully he spent all month growing the beard and only sported the "stache" for the game!  It was AWFUL! 

We dropped Lincoln off at Kelly and Danette's, ran a few last minute errands, and pulled in to the park-n-ride at ten to nine to carpool up to Seattle with some friends.  We were pretty excited about being ahead of schedule when we realized that all the tickets were sitting at home on our computer desk...  It's always something!  So, the guys drove down to get the tickets while the girls hung out and did some shopping at ShopKo.  I got a WSU hat to wear at the game and a few Christmas decorations so it was not a total loss.  

Finally we were on our way!  We arrived about 11:30 and tailgated until game time.  It was fun just visiting, relaxing, laughing, and of course eating delicious food.  Josh had soaked bratwurst beer the night before and made some amazing hamburger patties with parmesan, onions, and garlic.  Needless to say there was plenty of food.  Krispy Kreme was right across the street as well. 

There were 8 total in our group and I was the lone Cougar fan.  A vast majority of the other tailgate groups were Husky fans as well.  There was even a motor home that had the Washington symbol painted across it!

We brought all the necessary supplies to try and keep warm and luckily it did not rain. 

Josh and I got a lot of comments about how we could be married and not rooting for the same team!  Oh well, I think it fits perfectly since we tend to balance each other out personality wise.

The Cougs did not look good at all in that first quarter...  I was really worried!  Then they came back only to blow it again and lose.  They really need a better quarterback!  The final score Huskies 38 ~ Cougs 21 :-(

We ended the night with dinner at The Spaghetti Factory.  A wonderful day with friends that will not be forgotten.  And the Cougs always have next year, right?