3. He forgives and forgets really fast.

4. He goes with me to the doctor when I'm feeling scared of her, even if that means setting his particularly busy work day back an hour.

Why My Husband Sits on a Pedestal, a New Series by Brooke Barragan

1. Olive's been wide awake and ready to play at around 5 am lately. This morning Chris took her into the living room and kept her occupied. I got to sleep until 9:00!

2. I like a clean house. I don't like to do my house cleaning on Saturdays though, I'd rather do it while Chris is working during the week so we can all hang out together on Saturdays. But it got away from me this week. So this morning when I woke up I got right to work so as to hurry and finish before our Saturday fun. Chris gladly pitched in - he vaccumed the whole house, Windexed all the windows, and hung the laundry. Everyone has different things that just really ring their bell and make them feel loved (says Dr. Chapman), one of my huge ones is getting help with the house.

Stay tuned for more reasons why Chris is on a pedestal.

Barragans in Havasu

Oatsie and Papa and John and Anna came to see us for the weekend.

(We LOVE visitors!)

We ate like kings, we watched the Yankees lose to the Mets and then the Mets lose to the Yankees, we swam, we slept, we watched movies, and we played Scrabble thrice.

(I FINALLY beat those

brutal Barragan boys!)

They really are brutal. Well, I guess I shouldn't throw John in the mix. Nestor and Chris gloat like obnoxious little boys when they win, and when they lose they pout and make up a million excuses. Rosemary kept herself busy fussing over everyone, and Anna kept everyone on their toes. We had a really great time.

(Here's some proof):

The Deal Is Sealed

Chris and Olive are napping, and the house and my heart are warm and quiet. We just got home from our weekend in St. George with so many of the people we want to know forever. Even moving here in February in the wake of giving birth and having everything be different, this is the first time my heart has felt so heavy since Havasu became home. I hope the heaviness subsides soon, and I hope for more and richer exchanges with the family and friends in my life.

David's a popular guy, and fortunately for me our family and a lot of our friends are overlaps, so I got to see lots of people I like this weekend. Chris and I drove to Henderson on Thursday morning so he could get some work done while I spent the day with Amber and Tisha. I was glad for a little undivided time with them even though it was small. We had good talks and I gleaned some good mom advice from each of them.

That evening we picked up my mom from the airport in Vegas and spent the evening talking and doting on Olive together. My mom amazes me. She has 29 grandchildren and I still felt like Olive was the biggest deal in the world to her this weekend.

Friday we drove to St. George and met up with about 60% of my address book. We lunched at In-N-Out with some family. That's where Timmy got his first gander of Olive, and I loved him loving her. The Bryners showed up there too which I was thrilled about. They are some of my favorites. We got some good alone time with them.

Later at the temple, a few of us were commissioned to corral the children while everyone else was inside watching the wonder. I didn't have time to feel rotten about not being inside because of the chaos and comedy outside. Chris and Craig did a great job keeping the kids laughing and playing. The three 5 year-old boys came awfully close to having a throwdown, and we had a few wanderers, but all in all the chaos was fun. When everyone came out of the temple and all the children were safely returned to their parents, the sweetness of seeing David's family settled in on me. I'm so happy for them.

Dinner that night was at the Pasta Factory and I was wishing I had more one-on-one time with everyone there. We all went to the hotel after that and swam and talked until the hotel staff had had enough of us.

Saturday morning most of the family met at Brigham Young's winter home and took a tour. Then we headed to Zion National Park and went for a short hike. I got to talk with Ty and Leslie, and had a little alone time with Torrance. That was lovely. After a sleepy drive back to the hotel and a quick nap we grabbed dinner and then met up at Jimmy's timeshare place. We sat and talked there until we tired ourselves out.

A lot of goodbyes were exchanged there, and some were exchanged the next morning outside our hotel. I am so blessed with such rich family and friend relationships. And during our drive home yesterday I thought a lot about how much I loved the time I had with some of them this weekend and how much I hated not having more time with each of them. I can't say exactly why it was harder for me this time to say goodbye, but believe me when I say I'm planning lots of trips right now.

2 Big Things in 1 Little Night

1. Chris took me to see Phantom of the Opera in Vegas. He got the tickets for my birthday, and we went last night. I had only ever seen the movie, per Jenny's urging. I'm usually too much of a cynic to enjoy anything this dramatic or fantastic or romantic. Which I think is why I can't get into the Twilight books, and why I annoy myself and others with comments like "oh please" during TV shows and movies. I actually decided the other day that I want to be less cynical and more romantic...who'll teach me? I digress. Phantom of the Opera has been the only exception to my cynicism. I've watched the movie about a thousand times, each time feeling totally romanced by the Phantom or Raoul or even Christine (that actress is ridiculously beautiful). So seeing the show last night, I was like a kid on the edge of my seat the whole time and either smiling huge or crying at any given point. It was awesome.

2. We left Olive with a babysitter for the first time. The Pionkes generously agreed to hang out with her while we went on our hot date. I held back the tears long enough to hang on to some dignity in front of Amber, but as soon as we got in the car they spilled over. Chris stopped the car and said a little prayer and we were on our way. I think the prayer helped a bunch because I was able to relax and have a good time. I did miss her, and I wasn't disappointed that the show was over in under 2 hours.

So there you have it, our 2 big things in 1 little night.

Memorial Day Weekend in Utah and a Surprise Party For Me

Mother's Day Part II - My First Time

Here's what we woke up to on Mother's Day morning (sorry about your bed, Uncle John):


After we put that fire out, Chris gave me a card from Olive and him (which was the 2nd best part of the day). He also gave me the first 2 seasons of Friday Night Lights, and I was delighted about that. We went to church; I always love hearing the Primary sing on Mother's Day, and this time it was especially sweet. The rest of the day was a lot of relaxing and enjoying Nestor's cooking, and this (the very best part of my Mother's Day):



A great first Mother's Day.