Forget That Groundhog

I am ready for spring NOW! It has been an extremely cold and snowy winter in Kansas City. Neither one are something I care much for. I'm willing to put up with winter and I love that Kansas City has all four seasons (unlike in Rexburg where there are only two and winter stretches from about September through May or June and either involves huge quantities of snow, negative temperatures or both), but this much snow has gotten old! I demand springtime! So I am changing our blog background in protest. And encouragement. No more snowflakes. :)

Old Spice - The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

That's it. Joe is wearing Old Spice from now on so he can smell like THIS guy!

Transforming Into A Domestic Loser -- I mean Goddess

On a scale of 1 to 10, I might be getting gay (10), but I am realizing that while I always mocked all things Homemaking, the time has come that I need to learn how to do some of those things and have those basic skills I didn't need a singleton going to school. Hot Pockets are bomb don't get me wrong, but feeding your husband that day after day may be mild spouse abuse. There is a sewing group once a month at church and also a recipe group as well, and I think I'm going to join (!). I have also started a family scrapbook. What has HAPPENED to me?! I caught the love bug is what happened. Lame, but you know. It happens. It's pretty clear that I caved and am embracing my future wifedom. Nah, I know I don't have to change into someone else to be a good wife and mom when the time comes, but I want to be prepared to run a household and take good care of JoeJoe is all. I don't plan to become a sewing maniac, but if someone needs a pair of pants hemmed, I don't want to have to take them to a tailor an pay money for something that I could have done myself if I had just taken the time. I can currently sew on a button... I guess that's something, right? Anyways, just wanted to post something about my delve into domesticity since the purpose of this pre-married blog is to track us on our lil adventures from the start up of our lil family. Eat your heart out, people! Heh.

xoxo
Bren

Ca-ca-ca-catch Up

I flew to Arizona to visit Joe on the 10th and stayed through last Tuesday, February 16. It was a fantastic week and ended much too quickly! We went to see the movie "Valentine's Day" which was pretty cute. The way it was set up reminded me a lot of the film "He's Just Not That Into You" the way that it had a bunch of interconnected stories going on and all of them are about relationships and love. It's a  sweet little movie. We hung out with his family; watched the Olympics a good amount; attended the Tongan ward at church (Church is usually conducted in Tongan, but I lucked out that Sunday and much of it was in English); met up with my childhood friend, Ashleigh and her boyfriend Brett (who are both native Kansans like me); went on walks almost every day; and did some light shopping.  I also tried the traditional polynesian drink called Kava for the first time which is made out of the Kava root which is ground into a fine powder and combined with water. Polynesians come together to "mix" which means sitting on the floor in a large circle and socialize, sing, and drink Kava which is known for its relaxing quality. On Valentine's Day, Joe and I hiked up "A" Mountain located right at the ASU campus in Tempe (in T-shirts no less!) and watched the sun set and enjoyed the view. After that, we met up with Ashleigh and Brett and checked out an art display that Brett was putting together for show. Afterward, the four of us learned some sweet swing dancing moves at another couple's home and had a blast! Joe and I had so much fun that we want to take more lessons after we're married! We loved it! It also has a great work out built in so BONUS! Basically... I had a GREAT time with my love. I'm posting a couple pics, so enjoy, friends!

xoxo

Bren

Words To Live By

I found these quotes, and loved them too much not to share! Enjoy!

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."

-Marjorie Hinckley

"Woman was taken out of man --not out of his feet to be trampled underfoot, but out of his side to be equal to him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved."

-David O.McKay

Woohoo!

I'm going to get measured for my wedding dress tonight! Pretty excited! Weddings sure take a lot of work, but a lady told me that if I'm not having fun doing it then I'm not doing it right! Pretty wise, I think. I am enjoying planning and organizing everything, which is surprising me since I am normally kind of a flake :) Things are coming together one thing at a time, but all of a sudden you realize that you're making some serious progress!

xoxo
Bren

For those of you who know my sister...

Melissa just found out she is having a baby GIRL! Baby is due May 27. She and her husband, Shane have been married since August, and are VERY excited! Congratulations to the McCrae family!

Pictures of the Ring

I've had some friends and family ask for some pictures of my ring, so I figured I'd give the people what they want.

Love! I'm a lucky girl!

Exciting News

Joe has a new brand new niece (His first one!) who was born this morning at 9:25 to Charlie and Amy Tulikihakau. She was 9lbs. 3 oz. Sounds like quite a healthy baby! It is traditional in Tongan culture for the sister of the first born baby in the family of the baby's father to name the baby (Sounds complicated, but it's not really!). Joe and Charlie's sister, Sekola, named the little one Lineti Mele Feinga Tulikihakau. She was named for their mother who passed away several years ago. Sekola was a stinker and wouldn't tell anyone what name she chose for the baby until little Lineti was here, but she chose a beautiful name. Here is a picture Joe sent me of him holding Lineti! I wish I could have been there, and I can't wait to meet her soon!

The picture isn't great quality -- it was taken with a cell phone -- but it is precious none the less! So tiny and perfect!
Meanwhile, here in Kansas we are in the middle of our THIRD snow storm in just two weeks. We don't usually get much snow, so this is crazy! The high on Friday is supposed to be -2! Yuck! Joe is somehow jealous. Who would think an island boy would be a snow bunny! He loved every minute of the snow when he lived in Provo, Utah where it snows all the time! I can't say that I'm a fan, myself. Too bad he isn't here to shovel it! :-) The back deck had snow on it that was about knee deep and we are supposed to be getting up to five inches more. It started snowing around noon and has been snowing steadily since. I got a call saying they were closing early at work today and that I wasn't needed today, so I got the day off. I was told to watch the news tonight to watch to see if I have work tomorrow. My sister has a snow day tomorrow, which  would have been her first day back from Christmas break. Winter is definitely in full effect in Kansas City! Oy! I help it all melts soon!

xoxo
Bren

Having a Good Attitude

I heard something great in church today I wanted to share. In Relief Society, a sister was giving the lesson on being positive and told this story:

There was a woman who had cancer and was losing her hair due to chemotherapy. She woke up one day and looked in the mirror and found that she has three hairs left. She smiled and said, "I'm going to braid my hair today!" She did and had a great day. The next day, she woke up and looked in the mirror. That day she had two hairs left. She smiled and said, "I'm going to part my hair in the middle today!" She did and had a great day. The next day, she woke up and looked in the mirror and only had one hair left. She smiled and said, "I'm going to wear my hair in a ponytail today!" She did and had a great day. The next day, she woke up and looked in the mirror and had no hair left. She smiled and said, "I don't have to do my hair today!"

I will have to be honest and say that if I had three hairs left, I would not be smiling nor would I braid my three hairs. I think I would have shaved it all off a long time ago and gotten a wig. (This shows my vanity: My wanting to  look like I have hair being strongly outweighed by how creepy I think wigs feel. And are in general. Same thing with fur. I don't know - It's a sensory thing.) I hope this story made you laugh. It was a great reminder to me to be positive even when things get tough. I hope you are all staying warm! And if you have warm weather, I am JEALOUS! It's FREEZING here in Kansas and won't stop snowing! It's beautiful though! (That's me being positive!)

xoxo
Bren