Havasu Has a Hold

Boulder City is one of the cutest towns I could imagine. Historic, small, green (-er than anywhere else nearby), cool (-er than most places around here), far enough from Vegas not to feel like Vegas but close enough to have access to the minimum shopping requirements... It's the kind of place we'd hand-pick; just totally us. The bulk of Chris' clients are in Henderson which means he has to be up there 2-3 days a week. It gets old. So we would casually watch for places in Boulder City to come available, but the thing is they rarely do. We wanted a historic house that had been redone in the heart of the city and in our price range. If it didn't meet all those criteria, it wasn't worth it. Well, last week I found a place. I couldn't believe it when I found it, it was perfect! When Chris got home that day I ran to the door to meet him and tell him all about it. He was excited too, and we jumped in the car and drove up there. The house is great, adorable and neat with tons of character. And it's within walking distance of the cute downtown area and a couple of lovely parks and the church. We loved it. On the drive back home all I did was imagine our stuff in that house, and how great it would be living there. The only obstacle we would have to get past was talking with our landlords about getting out of our lease early. I did that, and they said it wouldn't be tough to do at all. So it should've been a cinch, right? The trouble was I kept feeling a tug on my heart about leaving our ward here. But being that the situation in Boulder City was almost perfect, I couldn't sort out my feelings all the way. I sat on it for a few days, and then yesterday we went back to see the house. We loved it again, and the agent was really aggressive about showing her interest in us. It should've been a slam dunk. But when Chris and I got in the car to mull it over, we shortly came to the conclusion that it just wasn't right. We both felt, in our individual ways, that the spirit was telling us we belong here in Havasu, and more specifically, in the Acoma Ward. We're not sad; I mean, who knows how complicated we would've made things if we had ignored those feelings because of our excitement about Boulder City. We love the Acoma Ward. And we feel like this is where we belong right now. We're happy to stay put.

Elders Quorum FHE

Chris had this idea to have the Elders Quorum host Family Home Evening last night at the park. I'll admit, I was a little worried about the turnout because it didn't seem like it was communicated very well. But there ended up being a great turnout, and it was really fun! Here are some pictures:

Chris & the Brown men playing bocce ball.

Olive & Ethan going for a ride.

Some of the guys playing ultimate frisbee.

Roasting wuff-'ems.

Hanging out.

We had a great time. Word on the street is we're going to do it on the 2nd Monday of every month, so you should come next time!

Hip hip...George!

I made this silly promise to Chris at the beginning of this Yankees' season that if Jorge Posada hit 30 homeruns this year, I would get pregnant again before the end of 2010. What, 12 is almost 30, isn't it?

It's true. You heard me, IT'S TRUE! Pick your jaw up off the floor buddy, cuz we're having another baby!

I'm sure you can imagine the slew of inappropriate jokes and judgmental comments we've heard so far. I'll actually be holding a contest to see who can come up with the most original one, so please don't bore us with your "That was fast" or "You guys didn't waste any time" nonsense. So far, Mike Pionke's in a strong lead with his, "Congratulations on getting pregnant for the 6th time this year," followed by genuine spontaneous laughter. I LOL'd on that one. A close 2nd place was Oatsie's, "Oh Brooke your poor body," to which I replied, "Hey, you did it this way too," to which she replied, "Yeah, but I was in my 20s!" Ha!

In all seriousness, we're really thrilled about this. I'd be lying if I said there was no worry or wondering going on, but Chris and I both love this adventure of a life we're creating. We'd honestly have it no other way.

Oh, and I'm calling it now: it's a boy. I know it. His name is George.

"Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment."

That's one of my favorites from Elder Uchtdorf. I made these today. Sure, they aren't the work of a master seamstress, but I feel fulfilled.

HOT

Here's the forecast this week - 118, 119, 122, 120, 118, 118. Yesterday I did the hot-feet dance and I wasn't even barefoot. No, if I had been barefoot my feet would've been destroyed. Instead, the heat of the pavement just melted one of my best flip flops and made it unwearable. Getting in the car means being so very careful not to let the metal buckles touch your skin, because it's death if they do. It also means carrying a towel or something with which to open the door handles or shut the trunk, for the same reason. The feel of the air outside is not unlike the feeling of opening the door to a preheated 425 degree oven. The only difference is that you can shut the oven door. The air outside is just endlessly and relentlessly hot. HOT, I tell you.

lucky duck

Saturday was ward temple day. (Thanks to Amber for taking the girls and making it easy for us to go). We did sealings. It made me feel so so so thrilled about looking forward to our sealing day, and we had a little inspiration about a little George. So so so glad we went. (Is there ever really any good reason to miss ward temple day? I've looked, but I haven't found one).

Anyway, between that magical day and our trip to Santa Cruz during which I saw how many people love Chris so so so much, I'm re-realizing what a lucky duck I am to be his wife. He really is that great, and we really are that happy.

Playing Catch-up

OK OK, I'll get right to it.

January was all about getting settled into our new little place in Havasu. We left the house on Rainbow and moved into a detached triplex at the north end of town. If you ask me, there isn't an inch of Havasu that doesn't closely resemble Baghdad so there really isn't a lovely part of town. But we do like this house better than the last (except for the part about not having a pool anymore); it suits our needs and we're enjoying it. We went to the park nearly everyday in January. Which brings me to my favorite picture from that month: us holding hands with Olive while walking through the park.

February 4th was Olive's first birthday. She danced and went to the park for a picnic and ate lots of cake, so you know she celebrated properly.

March 26th is when Lucy Catherine Barragan joined us. I couldn't have asked for a better birth experience. Everything went so smoothly and naturally. Papa (that's Nestor) got to be in the room for the birth of his fourth grandchild, and it all happened on his birthday! Oatsie (that's Rosemary) stayed with us for a week, and she was a huge help. Laurie and her crew came to be with us for a few days afterwards too. I was happy to be with them and have them dote on my girls. Lucy was pretty and peaceful newborn, and when we brought her home Olive immediately hugged and kissed her. One of the greatest sights my eyes will ever get to see in this lifetime.

April brought Easter and General Conference, but was mostly just about all of us getting used to having Lucy around. It was a pretty natural transition, and now it feels like she's just always been there. Here's a picture of the girls in the double stroller for the first time.

I turned 31 in May. To celebrate, Amber and I went to dinner and to see Mystere at Treasure Island. It was so fun! I also had my second Mother's Day in May. So far I've had a new kid at each Mother's Day of my married life. I don't plan on keeping that up!

The heat in Havasu really started cranking in June, and so we got ourselves a punch pass to the aquatic center in town. We've been going almost every Saturday. Olive is such a fish! She startles other parents because of how fearless she is. She needs almost no help when she has her floaties on, and she loves to go under. Lucy doesn't like the water much yet, but she has been under and I'm sure she'll grow to love it too. We have a lot of fun in the water. Also in June, we celebrated Chris' second Father's Day. He really is a great father; we're pretty crazy about him.

That's all I'm gonna give to this game of catch-up. See you in subsequent posts!