brunch at the park

the stout family easter brunch at the park was a wonderful way to celebrate the easter holiday. spending time with family on a gorgeous day is just the best. being able to spend time with so many of our family members is so important to us and we are grateful that we can. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hiking with the girls

last week, while my mom was out of town, papa went on a hike with his girls. it was a gorgeous day and brylee loved her first ever hike. granted, all she had to do was hang there while enjoying the view. nevertheless, it was great fun for all of us, especially since we knew brylee girl was having such a good time. by the way, whenever she makes the face photographed below my heart literally melts. she is too cute for words.

 

 

 

 

brown family

the brown family photo session is up on my photography blog. see more loveliness here.

it's friday

well folks i made it to friday. thank goodness. it has been a roller coaster of a week. it's amazing how you can feel so wonderful one moment and so completely broken the next. hoping for a good weekend with friends, a trip to the temple and maybe even a sunday nap. i will be posting about our recent happenings as soon as things slow up a bit.
this morning as i got ready for the day i decided to take a walk down memory lane and listen to dashboard confessional's album, dusk and summer. it's fun to think of how much i loved that album so many years ago. i remember driving around town in tyler's old honda listening to him belt those lovely lyrics while we were just starting to get to know each other. i will always think about that autumn of 2006 whenever i hear those songs. i love that music can bring back such wonderful memories. it makes me want to cherish life just a little bit more. thank you dashboard confessional for the little reminder of falling in love so many autumns ago.

things i love: change

stephanie nielson & her lovely family

since general conference i have been thinking a lot about how i want to be. the type of person i wish i was. the type of life i want to have. the type of family i want to raise. the kind of home i want to live in. the kind of memories i want to make. how i want others to see me. how i want to act toward others. how i want to be a better spouse for tyler.
i'm currently reading heaven is here and loving it even more than i dreamed i would. words cannot accurately describe the change that has taken place in my heart as i have read each beautifully written page. i literally cannot put into words the changes i want to make or why. it is as though there is an inherent love, adoration and appreciation that stephanie has for her family that stirs something in me. it makes me realize just how great life can be if you make it that way.
in her book she mentions the talk by julie b. beck from conference in 2007,  mothers who know . i decided to read it because i didn't remember it. i was probably not really paying attention to it at the time, being unmarried and far from the thought of having children anytime soon. but this time, as i read, i really grasped the weight of what she was talking about. the importance of being a mother and raising righteous children in the gospel. raising the kind of children i would want to be around. raising a child that i would want to be if i could start all over with all the knowledge i have now.
the importance of molding and nurturing a child into a person in society is a heavy load. that personal revelation was such a blessing to me. it helped me remember to be grateful for the ability to learn. the ability to learn these things now to stretch myself, so i can better prepare for motherhood.  i am grateful to the women who have influenced me for good. i know that i need to make changes to be the person i want to be, to be the mother i want to be. it will be a process, but i know that Heavenly Father wants me to want to be better. He can help me. i already feel him leading me down the path that i need to be on. i will mess up, but i can't give up because now i know the type of woman i want to be. the type of mother i want to be.
no matter how hard life gets, how tempted i am to give up, i am going to be a mother who knows.
i have to be a mother who knows.

who wore it best?

it seems as though people enjoy trying on my new frames.

i can't really decide who wears them best.

maybe it's because my dad had similar glasses when he was twelve years old, but i think dadio pulls them off quite well.

what do you think?

morgan?

jeff?

dad?

her first bike ride

 

 

 

last week kimberly, brylee and i went on a bike ride and tried out a new trail.

it was a beautiful day. we rode by rows of orange trees and could smell the orange blossoms. does anyone else think i need an orange tree? we saw chickens, ponies and brylee was a champ in her new trailer. when we finished riding bikes we had a picnic lunch at the park. then we went to meet up with aunt danielle for manicures and pedicures.

thanks for a great day ladies! and brylee, i promise there will be many more family bike rides to come. maybe someday uncle tyler and i will provide a little cousin to play with you in your sweet ride!

our weekend

on saturday we ate breakfast & lounged in our pjs. i love having that time together, just the two of us watching conference. we saw a little special friend in the choir from the missionary training center. does the young man on the bottom right look familiar to anyone?

yes, my friends.... that is david archuleta.

we were both SO excited. we love you david. we know you'll be a wonderful missionary.

this morning we had the robinson's over for the morning session. i made our traditional conference breakfast. it was fun to have company and to have another day to relax and get more inspiration.

i really cannot express how blessed i feel to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. i feel so lucky to have received answers to the questions in my heart and promptings that inspired me and motivated me to make changes in my life. i feel like what i needed was exactly what i got. Heavenly Father never lets me down. at the end of the day he knows me and he knows what i need. i wish i could live the weekend all over again. listening to conference, snuggling, good food, friends, kisses from my sweetheart and beautiful weather. it doesn't get much better my friends.

i hope your weekend was great too!