Our baby girl...growing up

We love our Brinly. 

She's always making us laugh. 

Take this clip for instance:

For a while, she would sniff in and out like this after eating every bite.

 It cracked us up every time...as you can hear... 

Sadly, this phase has passed.

Then one day, she discovered a new trick!

How very lady-like.

 I like how someone encourages her to keep going in the middle of the clip.

 Lovely.

And lastly, she is our earliest WALKER! At 10 1/2 months, she walks!

Unfortunately, as cute as this is, this picture doesn't do the experience justice. 

you can't hear her squeals of delight.

you can't see her toddle like a drunken fool.

So, lucky for you, we have video footage!

A lesson in crabbing. (Spring Break)

For Spring Break, we went with some friends down to Lincoln City, in Oregon. I broke this trip up into 2 posts, in hopes that you don't get too bored!  (This is still a VERY long post....)

 I found this great beach house that was large enough for all of us to stay in. There were 4 families, and we each got our own bedroom and bathroom! There was even a game room on the bottom floor, with an arcade machine, so the kids were  happy down there, while the adults mingled way up on the top floor, in peace. :) 

The view was amazing! I'm afraid, I never got a picture of that view (curses!!)

We stayed for 3 days and 3 nights, but all felt it was NOT long enough. There was just too much to do!

One of the days, we rented a charter boat to go crab fishing.

It was quite the experience!

First, we speared some fish through the eyeballs, to use as bait.  We did this on the dock before we left.

(oops...didn't I mention this was going to be graphic?)

Then, it was off to sea!

...well, the bay. 

The waves were too large to go out to the ocean.

Brinly was thrilled to have the wind thwapping in her face. (Like that word, thwapping? :))

Then, it was time to drop the baskets with baits in them. These are called "pots".

After all the pots were dropped, we circled around, to pick them up again. 

 

There is a buoy attached to each rope, that we snag with a long pole, and then grab the rope.

Then, it's time to pull like mad! If you're too slow, the crabs will crawl out.

Then, you have to pick them up. 

If you are brave enough... 

Things to notice in this picture:

•  crab mid-flight in the lower right-hand corner 
• the many bystanders 
•  the people picking up the crabs are all male....

I did try to pick one up...

almost...

got...

it..

 

There! Do you see it! Okay, so maybe I just dropped it, but I did eventually get it to the bucket...about 20 more pictures later....

 

Then you have to measure them. We are only allowed to keep the big ones, so if they are too small, we have to throw them back in. 

It was hard for Dan to part with the babies....

This is our "discard" pile. We filled the bucket to the top! 

All these were thrown back into the sea!

But! We still caught about 30 crabs. Granted, alot of these were the "red" crabs, who apparently, are very hostile, and kill the other crabs. We were allowed to keep all the red crabs. :)

I wish I had taken pictures of the feast, but I was tired and hungry. :) Everyone tried at least a bite, and some had a full feast of crab.

One very lucky gal!

I thought I would feel like a "big" girl when I graduated from college.

nope... I still felt like I was 18...

I thought I would feel like a "big" girl when I had children.

(Chelsea)

(Michael)

(Brinly)

nope...still feel like I'm 19 (okay, maybe 24) ..just a little more busier, more tired, a little more lumpier, and much more happy.


I thought I would feel like a "big" girl when we bought our first home.

and, YES, I did feel more grown up!




BUT...






I was amazed at how grown up I felt when this arrived this week:

Our newest family member!  I am so thrilled! SO excited! YAY!!!!!

I can't stop playing it!

The laundry isn't getting done...

I haven't made my bed all week...

There are dishes in the sink...

(I am still feeding my family...)

I LOVE it. Even Dan is taking up piano again! We played a couple songs together last night. It was so much fun! 

The story: (this is rather boring, so feel free to skip....)

I have been teaching a few piano students and knew I needed something more than my digital piano, although it has been such a wonderful instrument. 

There aren't any piano stores here in the tri-cities, so my options were drive to Spokane, Portland, or Seattle, or Craigslist.

a few months ago, Steinway Piano Gallery of Spokane, brought some pianos down for a weekend sale, held at the convention center here in town. I went, tried out some pianos, and really liked this one, but didn't want to make such a huge decision on just one brand, and 4 types of pianos (in my price-range).  Besides, it was in an a weird color (not the one pictured above, so sound wasn't everything...)

So, I held off buying it, until I could make a trip down to Portland to try out some others.

Well, that trip happened last week, for spring break. I spent several hours going to different stores, trying out pianos. I kept leaning towards this same brand, The Essex (a piano designed by Steinway and Sons, their entry level piano). 

I decided to call the Spokane store to see if they could price match, in hopes that the 2 hr drive would cut shipping costs. (although Portland has NO sales tax....) It was tough.  

I called on Monday. Yes, they could price match. But they didn't have it in the same color as when they came out. I asked for pictures. The Color was PERFECT.   

AND, he happened to be making a trip down to UTah, and could "drop by" with the piano so I could play it. IF I liked it, they would leave it, and I wouldn't have to pay shipping! Wahoo! So, about 48 hours later, I had the piano. I played it, loved it, and the rest is history....

Easter!

We were at Grandma and Grandpa Perry's this year for Easter, due to the conference weekend. It's always more fun at G-ma and Gpa's house anyway!

We don't have many traditions, but coloring EGGS is a must!

Check out the concentration!

And they're finished! What beauties!

Easter morning was wet, so we had an egg hunt inside. Here they are anxiously waiting while mom has to take yet another picture...

Brinly even joined in on the hunt!

I think she likes hunting for Eggs!

Sheer Joy!

And for your own enjoyment: can you find the eggs?

There's one! I think Dan's parents might be finding eggs in random spots for a while....

Utah trip

Chelsea had almost a full week off from school due to parent teacher conferences, so I took the opportunity and braved a drive [without Dan] to Utah.

We had a great time! It was one of those vacations that just went wayyy to fast.

We left Friday, after Chelsea finished school at 2:30. We stopped in Caldwell, not quite halfway, at a hotel for the night. The hotel had a WARM indoor pool, with a little kiddy pool. It was perfect for Brinly's debut swim!

This was Chelsea's swimsuit when she was Brinly's age. I had some serious memory-floodage when I put it on Brinly....

On Sunday, after Church at my brother's ward, we went up to Temple Square, in SLC. With conference coming up, we had been talking a lot about the apostles, the conference center, etc. so it was neat to show the kids where it all takes place.

Then we went to the Visitors center, where we saw the statue of Christ. The kids had seen a picture of it in the FRIEND magazine and were fascinated by it.

We've also been learning about the 12 apostles, so the kids enjoyed this display. 

My brother Evan, came with us, and was a huge help with Brinly!

I don't think he minded...it certainly attracted the ladies! :)

My brother Nathan also brought his two boys, Noah and Cannon. I'm so glad they joined us!

I have always loved this "picture spot" so we had to stop by it. It was windy and a little cold, but they were troopers!

That night we had a family birthday party for Noah (my 1 yr old nephew) and Evan, my 19 yr old brother. 

Check out the awesome cake!

AND, it was even more delicious!

Our Next stop, was in Gunnison, Utah, to see my little sister Tawna. We were there for St. Patrick's day and woke up to a little leprechaun mischief:

Tawna and her family just moved into a new house last fall, so their front yard is unfinished. The kids had a wonderful time playing in the mud!

Brinly loved watching, and poking her newest little cousin, Anna. 

We also swam in the Gunison city pool. I'm thoroughly jealous that this little town, with only ONE grocery store, population of about 5,000, HAS A POOL! UGH.  

Isn't my sister and her little girly so adorable?!