Bear Lake

On Thursday we got all packed up with the kyak and the tent and the baby in the truck and made our way up the winding Logan Canyon. Then we climbed the last hill blocking our view of Bear Lake and shouted for joy! Slowly, throughout the rest of the afternoon, more family kept arriving and we started having a good time. We spent the weekend in swimsuits, eating good food, and laughing. It was exhausting! Each night we had people in charge of games and each night was very different and each was very fun. Some of my favorite memories of the weekend are:

• Riley singing "Ghost Chickens in the Sky"
• Riding the Sea Doo that Kristy and Tyler so generously rented and let everyone take turns on
• Getting to know Dynelle better as I nursed Rebekah and she cuddled her sick little Audrey while everyone else played in the water
• The gorgeous sunsets over the lake
• William telling everyone his stories in his adorable voice
• Ally crying out for help in water then making an evil face while squirting anyone silly enough to go to her rescue
• Spencer so diligently holding his stitches out of the water
• All the awesome skits--I couldn't stop laughing!
• And all the moments when we were all together just laughing and talking

What a fun, fun, FUN weekend. It makes me wish we were having another reunion next weekend.

Bekah looking so adorable in her hat sleeping on our air mattress 

I think the mountain air was good for her

She hasn't stopped smiling yet!

Family

On Sunday we were only 5 minutes late to church (yes that is something I'm proud of since we've been at least 10 minutes late every week since we had Rebekah) and I'm so glad that I made it there. We had a wonderful lesson in Relief Society about families and how they prepare us for eternal life. The sister giving the lesson shared a story that gave me happy-bumps (goose-bumps when you're happy, not scared) and I would like to share it here:

A young man and an old man found themselves sitting next to each other on a train with the young man by the window staring out nervously. The old man picked up on the young man's anxiety and gently convinced the young man to confide in him. The young man told a story of how he had disgraced and dishonored the family by doing something wrong and getting put in prison. He spent three long years in prison during which time not one member of his family visited or wrote. He kept trying to convince himself that his family was too poor to travel and too uneducated to write and that they hadn't disowned him, but three years was a long time to try to keep his doubts at bay. He then told the old man that before he left prison he had written one last letter to his family letting them know when he would be let out. He said in the letter that he would like to come and see them but understood if they would rather not see him. His family's house sat next to the railroad tracks about 5 minutes before the station and he told them to tie a white ribbon to the apple tree near the tracks if they would like him to come home and to do nothing if they didn't want to see him, in which case he would simply stay on the tray and exit at some other town to start a new life.
As the train neared his home-town, the young man became increasingly nervous and as the train entered the valley the town was in, he actually turned himself from the window and cried out, "It is too much! I cannot look!" He then asked the old man to switch seats with him and look for the apple tree. The old man agreed and the next several minutes seemed to turn to hours for the young man as the old man peered out the window. Finally, after what seemed like days to the young man, the train pulled into the station and came to a halt.
Hesitantly, hardly daring to ask, the young man said, "Did you see the house?"
The old man nodded.
"Did you see the tree?"
Again, the old man nodded.
"Did...did you see...a ribbon?
The old man shook his head and replied in a voice heavy with emotion, "I did not see one ribbon in the apple tree. I saw hundreds. Each branch of that small tree had at least one white ribbon tied to it!"

I just want to say to all my family, that I love you so much. All the good times and all the trials just bring us closer and I will always love every single member of my family. No matter what. Family is more important to me than anything else in the world, they are the reason to keep pushing through trials, to keep going to church, and to keep smiling. There will always be a white ribbon tied to my apple tree and I hope that you can all keep forgiving me and love me despite all my faults.

Life in the Brinkerhoff Mansion

Crystal made this adorable patriotic dress for Liana and passed it on to us 

 When I woke up one of the mornings we camped, this is what I saw: no face, just little toes sticking out of the blankets!

Cute cousins!
 Lydia on the left and Rebekah on the right

 Enjoying a mid-day snack

She won't sleep without a blanket but in this hot weather I have to trick her sometimes with a burp cloth

Garrett got a model ship for fathers day and has been having a wonderful time spending hours working on it. It's pretty intense and I'm surprised at the amount of patience he's got for all the tiny pieces.

Beauty Shot

I made her laugh!

We went for a family drive on Sunday and I thought this looked like it's straight from  The Sound of Music. It was so beautiful on the mountain and all the flowers smelled so so good!

This picture is for Sherrie, she loves moose and I know she would have been so excited to be there and see it with us. It was just a little ways from the road and stopped to pose for this picture. You can see the little nubs on his head proclaiming that it's a bull.

We went to see Old Ephriam's grave. He was a huge bear (about 10feet tall when standing and 1100 pounds) that roamed the mountains by Cache Valley eating sheep and cattle. Some guy from Idaho finally killed him in 1926, I think, and they erected this monument that is roughly the size the bear would have been. I told Garrett to pretend to be afraid of it, I think he looks pretty scared. :)

Rebekah is already sitting in her bumbo from Aunt Kristy and she loves it. She likes to sit up and feel like a big girl. Also, I broke out the rattle but you can see how fascinating she found that.

We bought our first furniture since getting married, we finally own a nice set of couches! They have changed the whole feel of the house, making it seem more like a grown-up house! We love them so much. This one helps to close off the living room and make it feel more cozy.

Here is the lovely couch that we put under the window. We are so glad to be rid of the old, broken, dirty, floral couch . I guess I should have taken a picture of it for comparison but I was just so glad to be rid of it!

This picture is for my mom. She used this towel on me when I was young and I called myself a naked duck while wearing it (there's a duck sewn onto the hood of it)

This is her serious face. I almost feel like she's accusing me of something when she looks at me like this, it's intimidating!

I caught part of a grin!

We decided it was time for me to have a new look so I got new glasses,  got my hair cut at a salon for the first time in my life and Garrett died my hair.

So, as you can see, things have been busy at our house. We had a great 4th out in Vernal camping with the Coopers, Watkins, and Lon and Sherrie and visiting the Coons and the Sullivans. Fireworks were amazing and being with so much family all weekend was so fun. It felt good to relax, and of course I loved dressing up my little Rebekah and showing her off to the family. She was an amazing camper and we hope she keeps it up since we love camping so much.

Rebekah is growing and changing more quickly than I can keep track of. Yesterday was the three month mark since her birthday and already it's hard to remember life before her. She's come in and taken over Garrett's and my hearts completely. She has moved on from random smiles to smiling very easily and she's started laughing within the last couple of weeks. Sometimes I have to work at it, doing things I'd never do in front of another adult, but I can get her to giggle pretty hard. She just melts my heart and I'm so grateful for her and her strong personality that is already making its appearance!

Also, I'd like to make a note to her Grandpa B that she loves to watch people click their tongues and can't wait to hear his famous louder-than-anything clicking tongue!

Lots of Pictures

I'm going to make this quick. Here are the pictures:

First bath (she was smiling until I got the camera ready, then she decided she was done with the bath  but now she loves baths)

Beauty Shot: Easter

Beauty Shot: After a bath she loves to cuddle in soft blankets.

Monkey-Tail beard that Jess dared Garrett to try. Don't worry, it was shaved off immediately after the picture!

Power Fist!

We went for a walk along the Logan River Trail, it was gorgeous and very flooded.

Bekah loves walks and usually relaxes and sleeps the whole time.

Beauty Shot: Ready for church!

Beauty Shot: the outfit was too cute for me to pass up taking a picture

She has found her fists and loves to suck on them. She usually makes really loud talking noises with her hand in her mouth

She loves, loves the swing from Grandma Sullivan and usually spends a good amount of time chatting away to the blue bird and completely ignoring the equally bright, though somehow less interesting turtle.