while Claire is still an only child

It's finally hitting me that Claire won't be my only child for much longer.

It's really been a bittersweet thing. We have such a good routine down, Claire and I. We have each other figured out, and I love spending my days with her. We can do bath time, grocery store time, and play time really well together. We know each other. I know what she wants, I know how she'll react in different situations, I know what each cute mispronounced word means (well, most of them anyway). I feel comfortable with her. 

So I guess, now that I finally feel I have this mom thing down, it's a good time to throw two brand new babies in the mix, right? ;)

I'm actually really excited to be in the newborn stage again. A newborn baby is a parent's next greatest discovery. A lot of trial and error is involved, but it's a special time when you get to discover your child's looks, personality, and preferences. You get to develop a new rhythm and see how that baby fits into your family. I'm terrified of twice the sleep deprivation with twins, but I'm excited to be in that brand-new discovery stage again, and this time I get to fall in love with two babies at once. 

But in these next few months, I want to focus on Claire. She'll always be my first child, but she won't be my only child for much longer. I want to remember all the darling things she says and does, and how much fun it is to spend our days together.

Claire is a wonder. She really is. Her little personality was just what our family needed, and she's been such a light to us these past two years. 

We love the way she talks nonstop (she's up to two- and three-word sentences all the time!). 

We love the way she rubs my baby bump and says hi to the babies in there.

We love the way she's terrified of garbage trucks and rolling the window down in the car. 

We love the way she says, "hi person!" to everyone she sees, and, "hi friend!" to anyone under the age of ten.

We love how seriously she takes her job of throwing away diapers.

We love the way she mispronounces words like stroller and towel and nursery and yellow.

We love her little up-and-down prancing run, and how quickly she can get down the sidewalk to the park.

Claire, we can't see how you'll amaze us in the years to come. We love you, little light.

This 30-second video describes what I've been feeling perfectly. I may or may not have watched it five times already. I love all the #LittleWonders moments. See more by connecting with JOHNSON’S® Baby on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Thank you to JOHNSON’S® Baby for sponsoring this post, and for helping me appreciate all the small things Claire does that are truly #LittleWonders.

two very different moments

There was a moment yesterday where it was 81.8 degrees in my classroom, I was feeling extremely pregnant, piles of half-packed books and files were everywhere, the kids were running wild, and the third student in two weeks had just thrown up all over his desk. At that moment, I thought "I am SO READY for the school year to be over."

There was another moment, just today, when I was handing out superlative awards to my students. You know - everyone sits in a circle, then I call up students one at a time, they sit in the hot seat and spin around slowly while I say good things about them, and then I give them their award (most likely to be a billionaire!) and they sit down. And do you know what? My cute kids sneakily made me an award, which they all signed at recess. So they called me up, made me sit in the hot seat while they said good things about me, and then gave me my award (most likely to be the best mom ever). At that moment, I thought "I will never ever be ready for this school year to be over."

And then I got a kleenex and pretended it was allergies.

That's how this week has gone, and that's how the next two days will be. Crazy, chaotic, hot and sweaty, but also amazing, sweet, nostalgic, and so so sad when I leave. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, here are a few quick pictures from my vacation last weekend. Somehow, the stars aligned: none of the 5th grade teachers have little kids at home, we had a free place to stay, and our schedules were mostly open that weekend, so we took a quick trip down to St. George. It was short, but so great! 

Gorgeous gorgeous red rocks

Bear Paw for breakfast! Already dreaming of my next visit...

 New pedicures for everyone

 Fastest way to clear a pool: get 5 teachers in their swimsuits, and then stick 'em all in the water and have them play a weird hand game their students are obsessed with. Works like a charm ;)

the gorgeous view out our back porch 

I'll be back after school's out with lots and lots of belated posts (St. George! a baby shower! etc!). In the meantime, thanks for sticking with me anyway. Two more days, and then I have a stack of books and a fresh supply of otter pops that are calling my name...

take me back

On long Mondays like today, all I can say is - take me back to the beach! We had so much fun walking the beaches of San Diego two weeks ago (Del Mar was our favorite, and where all these pictures were taken). We got sunburned, we threw rocks into the ocean, we walked up and down the coastline, we collected shells, and we watched the surfers for a long time.

Also, baby bump pictures happened. I was so self-conscious to take these because hello, six months pregnant posing in a swimsuit?? But hey, this is a babymoon, and that's kind of the point of babymoons. Celebrate that bump! And even though my tummy is bigger than it's ever been, and the scale shows a weight I've never seen before, I'm proud of my body and the fact that it's letting me grow a human being. So here's to those swimsuit pictures - I'm deciding to be proud and own them!

PS - ignore the dirt on my lens :/

Happy Monday!

winding down (+ a few blog changes)

^^An evening walk in the park 

Labor Day is one of my all-time faves. I mean, a free day off work for almost everyone in America? (sorry, retail, but not that sorry because your sales are so good...) In all seriousness though, I was raised on hard work, and I'm proud to be a working professional in America. Also, three day weekend.

As promised, this was our official Goodbye Summer weekend. Swimming, hiking, football, sleeping in, finishing up a book, and possibly two rounds of Icees were involved. I even have a weird sunburn line on my chest to prove I was indeed sitting poolside looking down at a book ;) A small contingent of Emery boys came to join us at the last minute, and it's been awesome having them around.

^^I wasn't joking about the Icees

And now, as our four-day work week starts up, I wanted to share a few changes happening around the blog:

1. I won't be accepting blog sponsorships for a while. Now that I'm back to work full time, it's hard for me to give my sponsors all the attention and shoutouts I feel they deserve. (Plus, passionfruit ads, lame.) So, at least for now, I'm putting a hold on button swapping and other blog sponsorship ads.
2. I decided to begin working with a few social media companies, so you'll start seeing some sponsored posts popping up here and there. I'm a huge believer in little to no sponsored posts on a blog (I hardly ever read one of my old favorite blogs anymore, because it's almost all sponsored content), but I will sponsor occasional posts for products I actually like :) 
3. I'm pregnant
4. JUST KIDDING

And before I go, a cool trick Jason learned this weekend. Follow along for more aerial stunts and late-night Icee runs @brookejanette :)

of epic proportions

I just got back from spending the last few days at Girl's Camp. It was dirty and exhausting, but so fun. The 12- and 13-year olds I work with are the sweetest, most conscientious girls in the world. The funniest part was when we were hiking. We took a break to observe nature and write our feelings, but the poor girls were being attacked by bugs nonstop, so finally they say "we're really glad you took us up here, but we're having a hard time feeling at one with nature right now," as they duck out of the way of divebombing giant flies and try not to scream. Amen, sistas! Those bugs were of epic proportions, and ridiculously aggressive. We felt at one with nature back in our cabin looking out the window instead :)


Here are a few other things I've been up to lately:

 being outside

 summer weddings

with the fam // outdoor theaters and tie tying practice

Follow along on my favorite social media @brookejanette

And now I'm back and into what feels like my last few weeks of summer (AH! Don't say that!). I went back to my classroom for the first time, and I didn't dread it like I thought I would. I was getting excited while making to-do lists and measuring bulletin boards and thinking about new units. I'm still passionate about my work, and it's good to know if summer has to end, it's to go back to doing something I love.


PS Loved the comments from this last post. You guys are awesome, and I loved everyone's different point of view. I'm going to be more brave about it from now on :)

new blog design! and a quick happy list

A little happy list today:

+ a new blog design! Kirsten is a miracle worker, seriously. Thank you so much for doing this for me K! Truth be told, it got a little hairy there in the middle when we were deciding on a shade of taupe. Who knew there were so many shades of taupe, and that they all looked so different! Luckily she talked me through it and we found one we both love. You're the best, Kirsten. (We're still fixing one or two tiny things, and old posts may look funky, so bear with us.)


+ Jason's at scout camp this week. It's been kind of nice to spend a normal week with my husband, reconnecting and snuggling just the two of us. It's a flashback to our world before Jason.


+ I get to take care of a beautiful rose garden in the summers. I ate breakfast in there today, and let me tell you, sipping juice and reading amongst those roses is a guaranteed way to have a great morning.


+ family vacation next week. We go to my grandfather's cabin in the plains of Montana every year, and I love it there. Heaven will look like rolling hills and plains and wildflowers. See posts from previous years here.


For your weekend reading:
1. still loving this quote
2. I sucked it up and went to the doctors after my wildflower allergies. I feel so much better now!
3. I may or may not have worn this outfit a few times this week. It's so comfy!

P.S. I'm putting together  a little Q&A post about Jason. 

If you have any questions, leave them in a comment!

Thinking Outside the Box: our April family challenge

In the beginning of April, I was in a tough spot with my career. I thought I would have to change grades or schools, and that was scary to me. I can only do 5th grade at my current school, I thought. That's my niche, that's what I'm good at, that's the only way I can be successful.


I guess you could say I had built a box that was my comfort zone, and I lived in that box. I think we all do that. It's hard for us to think about things outside our comfort zone, outside what we think is good or acceptable or comfortable. Sam and I were talking about these boxes we build for ourselves, and how we wanted to change that, to think outside the box, embrace new perspectives, and try new things. So we started a family challenge.


{And I'd be lying if I didn't say Jason came with some serious boxes we wanted him to get out of.}

Via

So our April family challenge was born. During the month of April, we all did things that were new or uncomfortable or challenging for us. Some were big things, some were small things (please be kind when you see our list - you have no idea the meaning and significance behind some of these seemingly small things!).

Together:
+ listen to nothing but classical music all day
+ donate a big box or two of nice things we own to DI
+ sincerely compliment three people a day

Sam:
+ sign up for a business class this summer
+ play the piano for 15 minutes for the first time in years

Brooke:
+ stop doing "girl" pushups, only do "boy" pushups
+ play half an hour of video games with an open mind
+ donate hair to Locks of Love

Jason:
+ sit by completely new people at lunch one day
+ cook a full meal


We had so much fun doing this! Some were little, easy things, and some took a lot more courage and bravery than you think. In the end, we did it! We learned it's okay to embrace new things and do things you're bad at.

Have you ever done something like this?

What helps you try new things?

How do you get out of your comfort zone?

the nutella to my banana creme crepe, as it were

Thursday evenings are like the shining beacon of hope in the darkness of my week. Sam says the holy grail to my Monty Python. Jason says the nutella to my banana creme crepe. I say the thin mints to my otherwise healthy dinner (and breakfast, and lunch, and afternoon recess break...).

On Thursday evenings we get together with our best friends, the Bennetts. With the Bennetts, it's like "torn-up sweatpants? no shower? no problem!" (and I show up in sweatpants way more often than not).  It's so easy to relax and be ourselves around them. Plus they have the world's cutest one-and-two-month year old who says "uh-oh!" and has eyelashes women pay hundreds of dollars to get in salons. Side note: I should probably get a baby of my own one of these years so I can stop obsessing over other people's babies.

Anyway, last Sunday we had a picnic. Way too much fresh fruit, pie-in-a-mason-jar desserts made by Jessa, and a lot of lounging around in general. It was the first picnic of the season, and I say we make it a tradition!

*Most of these pictures were taken by my ward of the state, who is becoming quite the little grown up young man photographer.

Do you have friends like that?
And don't you just love them?

a hint of jade and a sunny afternoon

Today was the first day back to school after spring break. My kids were more hyper after break than they were before (still trying to figure out why), but it was good nonetheless. It was especially good to see my favorite coworkers again for our unplanned yet precisely-timed morning chats.

I'm leaving you with some pictures my good friend Kirsten took of me a few weeks ago. It was one of those afternoons by the lake that has such beautiful light that no matter what you're taking pictures of, they're going to turn out cute. Thank you K!

Happy Monday :)

Hooray for Today

When I first look forward to a break such as spring break, I think of things like sleeping in, not having to commute an hour each day, being able to see Sam during daylight hours. But then, when I actually have a break, I realize it's good for me in so many more ways.

Breaks help me rejuvenate physically, but also mentally. They help me remember everything that's so great about my life. They make me want to be better, and help me remember what it's like to spend a lot of time helping others and in the temple.

This morning on a drive, I thought - you know what? Hooray! Hooray for today. It's a phrase children say all the time (and a shout-out to my friend Emilee, who's whole blog is focused on the idea), so why can't adults say it too?

What I'm saying HOORAY for today:

+the cherry blossoms that bloomed overnight

+good hard workouts

+best friends who meet you for lunch

+shaved legs

+fresh flowers

+reconciliations
+the smell of ginger 

+general conference this weekend (watch it here)

What are three things you're saying HOORAY for today?

finally here

I'm officially throwing in the towel.

image via, graphic added by moi

Spring break is here! I have eight more hours of teaching my hyper kids, and then it's here. (They haven't even been that hyper, weirdly? Knock on wood.) 

This break, I'm excited to have a one-night getaway with Mr. Emery (who is very sweet to take some time off despite the fact that this is his busiest week of the semester), binge read a million books, find photographic evidence of spring, and pretend I'm going to be productive with projects around the house.

And to all those people I keep trying to schedule things with - let's actually do them this week! Corina, let's do lunch. Elisabeth, you too! Bri, let's reschedule that walk for this week. And everyone else! Who wants to hang out this week? Let's make it happen. Seriously I want to see you so email/text/carrier pigeon me.

Spring break. I love the sound of that :)

a quick PS:

What are your fave things to do in SLC?

Great places to eat?

Books I should read this break?

And if you want to make my day, you should follow me on bloglovin :)

Amen. the end. spring break.

a Saturday evening walk

On Saturday evenings, you can find me on a walk with a friend.

One of the best things about blogging is when online friends become real life friends. Exhibit A: when Kirsten becomes a friend that goes on walks with you, searching for hints of spring in the trees. The sun is still beating the rain on these daily showdowns, and I wanted to soak in as much as I could.

Speaking of: I'm still getting used to these not-very-rainy Utah springs. It kind of astounds me that things can grow with such little rain. But then, when I go to Oregon, I'm reminded - ah yes, real green.

I love walks.

Don't you?

P.S. Thanks K!