Coach Celeste

This spring Celeste and her friend Rachel volunteered to be the volleyball coaches for the purple team at the YMCA. I think it has been a pretty fun experience for her. My wife is an amazing person for the things she does and time she puts into things such as coaching. Plus, Brindi loves her mom coaching because she gets to go to all the practices and games. That girl loves to be in the gym with a ball. Hopefully that will stick:)

Sport Princess

I stumbled upon this blog a while back but found it again and notice their new marketing plan. They are giving away a free book for advertising their product. The product is Sport Princesses, bringing out the tomboy in all princesses because can't a girl be both. Since Celeste and I consider ourselves sport individuals and hope Brindi will be involved in Sports also we think we will be buying several of the books. The free book is the Soccer Princess which I think is perfect since Celeste played soccer in college and currently this is Brindi's best sport. She is really getting good at kicking the soccer ball around the back yard. However, she does not like to pass the ball:) Anyways, check out the site at http://www.mysportprincess.com and the blog at http://mysportprincess.blogspot.com/

Backpacking w/ Mark Twain

Lindenwood Course. Spring Break. Mark Twain National Forest. Berryman Trail. 24 Miles. 3 Days. Promoting Healthy Lifestyles. I Love My Job!

Easter 2010

We think Brindi enjoyed her first Easter in STL. She had two different egg hunts on Sunday. Her first egg hunt for the day started in the living room, where there were eggs hid throughout the room. Her second egg hunt was at a friends house and was in the front yard. She loved looking searching for eggs but would always stop and want to open the one she had instead of looking for more. I think finally figured it out by the time she found the last one. She did find a couple more eggs later in the week which brought a smile to her face. As you can see from her mouth fulls, she got way too much candy.

We spent Saturday morning decorating eggs with Brindi. We tried the finger painting which comes with gloves but not kid gloves. So by the end of it we were just using our fingers with gloves. Brindi really enjoyed adding all the colors to her eggs and loved showing them off when she was done.

Easter is such a special time for us as we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. We really enjoyed having conference the same weekend. There were several talks that really stuck out to us and it was amazing being able to listen to our leaders and to be uplifted on such a special day. We are so thankful for the knowledge and understanding we have of the gospel. We truly are blessed.

Peter Cottontail

Friends, Swings, and Slides

Brindi loves going to her friends house to play. They have so much fun together as you can see. And yes, that is a passi that Brindi stole from her friends baby doll.

Brindi also loves going to the park. The day we went the weather was in the upper sixties. It was so nice and were really lucky we have a park so close. We always start off at the swings for a while and end with the slides.

Big Girl Shoes

This has become one of Brindi's favorite things to do lately. She is always getting into our shoes. She has also been getting really good at walking in them except for the boots since they are a little heavier then the shoes. Funny girl.

Zoo Time

We were lucky to get a little bit of nice weather on Saturday so when Brindi woke up from her nap we decided to make a quick dash to the Zoo. Sad to say nothing was very active (Are they ever?) which did not help to keep Brindi's attention. However she was quite attentive when we were near the penguins (The only active animals). I think they made her a little nervous. The tigers were playing around also but she wasn't really interested.

We arrived for the last hour or so of the day so The majority of the animals were already inside when we showed up but we still enjoyed the opportunity to walk around the zoo even if most of the displays/habitats were empty. It was just nice to get out of the house and to see a glimpse of Spring. Were ready!

Eye Heart U

You can't go wrong with a day that starts out with a kiss, followed by a heart shaped balloon, cards with notes of love, biscuits with red swirls and pink gravy, new ear rings, a new shirt, chocolates, a new wedding ring, and finished with coconut shrimp and mango dip with chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. What a great day:)

Superbowl....Wassup....True

Joe was looking at old Superbowl commercials with Brindi preparing for the big game. He came across a kids version of the Wassup commercials and decided to see if Brindi would do it. Sorry for the poor quality but its all about what you hear anyways. Do you think she is ready for the big game?

We also put up the kids version for your comparison.

New Bed.....Is this a Good Idea?

My wonderful wife did a little bartering last week and traded her skills in canning chicken for a toddler bed for Brindi. Brindi was so happy when it was all put together. She laid on it and placed all her babies and stuff animals on it. It was really cute. We thought it would be an easy transition from the crib to the bed. So that night came and about 2 AM I awake to a little cute girl trying to climb into our bed. We tried to put her back in her bed but if we left she would follow. We would have to lay with her in her bed until she fell asleep and then come back to our bad only to have her come in about a hour later. Were not sure if the bed is such a great idea. We liked the idea of the crib and her inability to get out of it. Now she seems to find her way into our room every night, in the middle of the night. Any ideas anyone?

Crafty Resurrection

My Grandma Lovell originally made this tractor blanket for my eighth birthday over twenty years ago. The blanket went through a lot over the years and was about to be retired. It was actually lost and my mom found it outside in the yard this past summer. My wonderful wife then took it and gave it a much needed face lift. The tractor is still original but the tractor was given a whole new field to work in and a new border. For those who remember the original will surely understand the work Celeste put into it. She said it took her the whole two weeks she stayed in AZ after I left. One of my favorite gifts and memories of my Grandma Lovell has been resurrected. Thank you so much Celeste. I love you.

GrandDan's Barn

As a little kid I spent hours of fun at my GrandDan's barn playing a ton of different games with my cousins. Well Tansey took Cade to get pictures at the barn and they turned out so cute, so we decided to take Brindi up there and do it too. The saddest part about the whole thing is, when we were growing up we would have thought it was so stupid if our parents made us take pictures by the barn, but now that we live so far away from all the ranch stuff, I find my self taking pictures of the littlest things when we go home, so Brindi will remember where she came from.
She loved playing with the hay.

Brindi and Grammy feeding the horses. She is still a little afraid of the horses...hopefully we'll brake her of this soon.
This picture just confirms my fears...She already gets annoyed with me...I was hoping I would get to smother her a little bit longer.

El Paso or Mexico

Brindi and I headed over to the great state of Texas to see my sister Amber and her family. Well Joe's boss called and asked were I was, knowning he is from Texas, I said happily "Well I'm in Texas", he then asked,"Really, well what part?", and I told him El Paso, he then got all serious and said " oh, well that's not Texas, that's Mexico". So I guess accourding to Texans, El Paso isn't considered to be part of Texas, but either way we had a great time...shopping and playing. Brindi had so much fun! The sad thing is I only took one picture and it is Bryant trying to kiss Brindi.

1st haircut

We broke down and took Brindi to get her first haircut. Grammy got sick of her having hair in her eyes all the time, but in my defense if Brindi would just leave in her cute bows and flowers that Amber, Liz, and Tansey have made her, then we wouldn't have had to cut it. Oh, well. Brindi really liked it and it must have been relaxing because I think she almost feel asleep. It was so cute!

New Year's Eve

On New Year's eve we headed to round valley for a great dinner of steak and shrimp with all Heaps. Later on we headed to the Town dance which started at 8:30. Since we had Brindi we thought be better go early since she wouldn't last long. When we showed up we were the only ones there. But that didn't stop Brindi from getting out there and shaking a leg. Eventually people did show up and Brindi danced with GrandDan and Virginia, GrandDad, Celeste, me and by herself a lot before we headed home. As you can tell from the video she had a ball. Listen for her scream. We got home we played rook until the ball had officialy dropped and rang in the New Year.

Frank LeSueur

Celeste was asked to give a story of an ancestor during a church activity before we came to AZ. She decided to tell a story about one of her ancestors Frank LeSueur. So when we arrived in AZ, we decided to head out to the place where the story took place, which is where Frank and his friend, Gus Gibbons, were killed by outlaws. Today the piled rocks stand as a monument to them. Once there GrandDan told us the story. Frank and Gus just turned nineteen and were recently deputized to help track down outlaws that were in the area. Frank was waiting for his brother Jim to return from a mission before he would serve one himself. As the posse was out and about the Sherrif headed back with the posse to get fresh horses and told Frank and Gus to keep tracking. As Frank and Gus headed up a finger canyon they were ambushed by the outlaws and shot. Killing them, however, was not enough for the outlaws who proceeded to take Frank's scriptures from his pocket and placed the scriptures on Frank's head and shot through them multiple time while also mutilating Franks body. A really sad death.

Later on Frank's brother Jim had arrived home from his mission and was having a hard time with the death of his brother. He was pleading for comfort and understanding from the Lord through prayer. He then had a dream and was taken by an angel to the other side of the veil. There Jim was shown a large building about the size of the old conference center. Inside were hundreds of people being taught by one man. The angel told Jim that these were his ancestors being taught the gospel and being prepared for their work to be completed on earth. When the man that was teaching the group of people turned around, Jim could see that it was his brother Frank. Frank was a righteous man and when killed was called home to serve his mission as a teacher for his ancestors. It is a great story from Celeste's side and a cool experience to go out to their graves and hear the story from GrandDan.

Tubing

We headed over to the old ski run near sunrise to do a little tubing with my parents, Brennon, Ethan, and Venessa. Brindi's first exprience in Leamington didn't go so well. She wouldn't even go on one ride. So we wanted to give it another shot. I guess she only needed to be a little older, because she loved tubing. She would even get mad when the ride ended and always wanted to be sitting on or touching a tube. The video is Brindi's first tubbing ride. Sorry its a little fuzzy. After tubing we had hot cocoa and then headed to DQ for a cherry dipped cone. It was such a fun day.

Hancock Christmas

We had quite the ordeal trying to get down to Arizona for Christmas this year. The weather was not cooperating with us very well, however we finally made it down on the 23rd of December. It was great being able to see everyone. All the Hancock siblings were able to make for Christmas this year. As you can see Brindi loved her grandad, playing the piano with Bryant and Brennon, relaxing in Wyatt's swing, and is just an all around cute little girl. Wyatt looked the best with his santa suit on and his mother, Adelle, holding him. There is also a good picture of Amber and Bryant.

A part of the Heap family party is the greatly anticipated pinata. All the grandkids got their shot at taking off Spiderman's head. With a little help from mom, Brindi was able to get a couple good swings in. You can also see Celeste's reaction when the pinata finally broke, classic. Once the candy hit the ground the little ones were all over it. I only got pictures of Taryn with her little ring pop and Brindi trying to decide which sucker to suck and then trying it with the wrapper on until mom finally helped her out.

We then had our Nativity reenactment with the voice of Brennon telling the story of Samuel the Laminite and then the story of the Christ child in the manger. Ethan was Samuel, Byron was Joseph, Vanessa was Mary, and several of the older girls including Celeste were roped into being angels. Brindi felt a little left out so she decided to go and stand in the middle of it all. Celeste also played the piano as we sang a variety of christmas songs. The video is everyone singing and Brindi and Taryn dancing.

Next was the opening of our Christmas pajamas. This is one of my favorite Hancock traditions because the pants are really warm and have pockets. There are some really cute ones of Brindi with her grandad and grammy and a couple of her giving some pretty funny faces. Finally Christmas morning had arrived. Brindi had a rough night with too much candy which made her throw up but she was okay once she saw her present. Her biggest present was getting to spend time with the grandparents but she also got a lot of books with stickers and magnets, a new chair, a hula skirt and necklace, and rubber duckies and frogs. She quite enjoyed opening the presents and I think has finally got the hang of it.

Remember if the pictures are too small you can click on them to make them larger.

Lovell Christmas

Because everyone was headed to the in-laws this year but almost everyone was at the wedding we decided to have Christmas early at my parent's home. The Sunday after Jonathan's wedding we had our traditional Christmas party to exchange gifts and play games. Then on Monday we headed to Heber City to ride the Polar Express. We didn't have our camera so you will have to check out my siblings blogs for those but it was a fun little ride.

Brindi reading her new book from Grandma and Grandpa Lovell.

Brindi drawing with her Kent cousins.

We played a lot of "rook" and "dang it to heck" card games a long with our family Christmas games of Christmas Bingo, White Elephant, Garbage wrap (Not sure the real name), and Snow ball toss. The last game Celeste and I went a perfect 10 for 10 as we tossed marshmellows to eachother catching all of them with our mouths as depicted by the picture above.

Celeste got a new blender and is excited for her many smoothies she will make. I am also excited.

Brindi giving me my birthday present, Into the Wild by Eddie Vedder. Thanks babe.