Christmas fun in Utah land

let's make it official

Well, we're not sure exactly who knows our exciting NEWS!! So here goes...instead of starting fertility treatments again, we decided to skip straight to the pregnancy part. Yep, WE'RE PREGNANT!! (Well, technically I am.) The day before we were suppose to start the whole fertility saga, I broke down and took a prego test...and very much to my shock and amazement, it was POSITIVE. Yes, we know we have been really slow on posting this. We had to keep it secret for quite awhile because we didn't tell our family until me and Ilie went home for Christmas, and that was not an easy task!! Let's just say...I am a professional liar now! But you can't beat the surprise of coming off the plane with Ilie wearing her "Big Sister" shirt (not that they got it right away)! But they finally caught on and they were more than surprised, especially when I told them I was 3 1/2 months prego. My mom was shocked I had been lying to her for that long. All the family has been equally shocked, because absolutely no one was expecting this...especially not us. But miracles happen, this is our second little miracle and we could not be happier!! I think we still are trying to figure out if it is real...at least I am!!

So I am now 17 weeks pregnant, almost half way...WOW!! Our due date in somewhere between May 30 and June 2. I started feeling the baby move strongly about a week ago, and that just makes it even more of a reality. We went in last Thursday for our ultrasound to find out what we were having, but to our absolute luck...the baby was hiding all the necessary parts! We were a little bummed, but we saw the little head and hands and the heartbeat and that was good enough. We are going to try and have another ultrasound the Friday before we come home, so cross your fingers that the little legs are "uncrossed"! We promise to keep you all more updated! And one last thing...YAHOO!

HO, HO, HO....Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Things

So, I have been reading everyone's fabulous blogs, and lot of people have "their favorite things" listed. So I thought I'd go ahead and write SOME of my own. So here goes:

1. Anyone who knows me, knows I am absolute freak for GUMMY GRAPEFRUITS!! These are the most yummy treats in the world, and right now the only places I know to find them are Jackson Hole, WY or the internet. I told Mark I wanted a 10 lb. bag in my stocking, no kidding.

2. All I can say is "Costa Mondays". When I am home in Utah, we go to Costa Vida every Monday, yep...we're that big of freaks for COSTA VIDA SALADS...they are seriously that GOOD!!

3. Probably my favorite place on earth...my CABIN in Christmas Meadows in the Uinta Mountains. It really is the most beautiful and peaceful place I know of.

4. LAKE POWELL. Probably my second favorite place. I miss that place sooo sooo bad. I have had so many great and adventuresome memories there. Nothing beats waking up in the morning to beautiful red cliffs, the smooth water and a cup of hot cocoa around the campfire.

5. I love CHRISTMAS...really, I am just a Christmas freak!! I could celebrate it all year long. I love every little aspect and tradition of the holiday. Candy making, the tree, the lights, our spiritual Christmas Eves, Christmas morning, the food, the parties, the family, did I mention the food, the snow, and I could go on and on...and on.

6. I have to go with Sonja on this one... I love MAC COSMETICS, especially their eye shadow. It is the best!

7. OK, so my list would not truly be MY list if I didn't put down SHOPPING. I love love love it. It just makes me happy. What more can I say.

8. PUREOLOGY SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER, VOLUME. Hands down, it is the greatest stuff out there. Not too cheap, but oh, so worth it.

9. I loving reading a GOOD BOOK. Right now I'm reading the second book by Khaled Hosseini titled "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and it is very good, and also very eye opening. (It is mainly about how the women in Afghanistan are often treated.)

10. MY FAMILY. I truly could noy live without any of them. Mark and Ireland are my world. They make me happy to wake up every morning. Ireland's smile and laugh can melt my heart in a second. And what would I do without our families at home. They are just pretty dang awesome, probably why I miss them sooo much.

So I think I could go on and on and on. But those are 10 of my favorite things, but I'm sure you all don't want Brooke's 101 favorite things, so I'll leave it at that.

jingle bells

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happy halloween!

Happy Halloween!! Well, we celebrated the spooky holiday
over here in Scotia Land, and I'd say we had quite a good
time. Ireland was a pink poodle this year and it just fit her
little perfectly. She loved her costume. She drug it around
the house constantly, cuddling with it and calling it "my
poodle", it was pretty cute. But she was even cuter all dressed
up...all soft and fuzzy, and the cutest little poodle ever. She
got all dressed up twice, first for the Primary Halloween party
and then for the real deal. The Primary party was awesome.
Lots of yummy food and games and then Ilie got her first real
taste of trunk-or-treating, and she caught on very quickly.
She ran from one car to another saying "tri-treat" and holding
her bag out, then she'd turn around and try to go to the same
car again...hey, she knew what she was doing!!


On the real Halloween day, Ilie got dressed up early and we
took the annual trip to the dental school to go and visit Daddy.
She loves her daddy, and she was really excited to see him and
all her friends dressed up. That night the Young's were brave
enough to have all of us over again for Halloween celebrations.
We ate nummy soups and breads and got ready for some
fabulous trick-or-treating and Ilie was ready to go...she knew
what to expect this time. So the little cuties ran from one door
to another and completely filled their bags after one street
(mostly with chips!) So we emptied and set out for another
round. Ilie was in pure heaven, when else can you go door to
door and get treats, treats, and more treats! But we finally
reached the point when we asked her if she still wanted to
trick-or-treat, and she said "uh-uh" (translated: no!), so we
headed home. And that was the great Redd Halloween adventure.

being festive...

We decided to celebrate the season with pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, and carmel apple eating...yum, yum. Ilie loved smearing paint all over her pint sized punkin', and she was very proud of her end result. Mark and I tried to do a decent job of carving our rotting pumpkin. (Yep, one whole side was already rotting out...I guess it adds character!) So we ended up with a rotting toothy grinned pumpkin. Halloween festivities would not be complete without carmel apples. Oh my, They were sooo good...thanks Amber. So we
munched on those yummy treats until we were about sick. That's what Halloween is all about, right.

mark turns 28...old man!!

Well, on Monday, October 22, Markus officially turned 28...yep, he's old!! Unfortunatley, he had to spend most of the day at school and didn't get home until about 5:30 pm. So we did a little family celbrating when he got home. Ilie went out shopping for her daddy and bought him all his favorite treats...Dr. Pepper, Peanut M&M's, and mini Rolos. You can't get much more spoiled than that. The birthday boy didn't have any presents to open, besides all his cards from Utah, because he is spending all his birthday money on a bow (to shoot poor and innocent bambis...oh, he loves me for saying stuff like that!!) Well, birthdays are always a reason to go and eat nummy food at Montanas, so that is just what we did, and it was fabulous. When we got home, our plans to invite friends over for brownies and icecream failed to happen because it was so late. So we ate the yummy dessert all by our lonesomes. (Sorry friends, we'll make it up to ya later.) Then we decided to really act like the old people we were and we went to bed around 9:30, isn't that pathetic. Our families all called and left messages saying we must be out partying, but no...we were sleeping!! Well, happy birthday Markus...we love you!!

our cabin...heaven on earth

One of my favorite things to do while we are in Utah, is
visit the Shepherd family cabin in Christmas Meadows.
It is absolutely the most beautiful place in the world
(but I am a little biased!) If you ever want to be close to
heaven, wake up early in the morning and take a run
down the dirt road. The air is so crisp and fresh, the sky
is shockingly blue, and the quiet of the valley just
surrounds you. It almost feels dreamlike because the view
of the valley is so perfect. I'm telling ya, it's pretty fabulous.
Okay, there was my cheesy inspirational moment,
gotta love it!!

our summer in utah...

we're official bloggers...

Well, we finally caved into the pressure. Thanks to all the
convincing of our great friends in Halifax, we are now official
bloggers. Hopefully it will be a great way to keep everyone
updated on our crazy life in the Maritimes...AND show off a
few cute pics of little Miss Ilie. We're having a fun time
enjoying the beautiful fall weather here in Scotia land. We've
tried to squeeze in a few last trips to beach, taken a trip to the
valley to pick apples and pumpkins, and enjoyed a Canadian
Thanksgiving where we cooked Mexican food for the Americans.
So we'll keep you updated on the latest...rather you like it or not!!

Lots of luvs,
Brooke, Mark, and Ilie

annapollis valley

birthday in annapollis valley

We decided to celebrate my 27th (ahhh, getting too close to 30)
birthday in the beautiful Annapollis Valley. There is a small town
in the valley called Wolfville and it very close to the coast of the
Bay of Fundy. It is absolutely beautiful...rollling green hills
(something we don't see very often in Halifax), brilliant flourescent
colored leaves, and festive fall activities everywhere.

We had a crew with us, the Jake, Amber, and Emmy, Jake, Malese,
and Jace, and Curtis and JoLynn. We went to the same orchard we
visited last year to pick the best apples we've ever tasted. After a
hike up the hill, while pushing the kids in their strollers through
the mud, we reached the fabulous Courtland apple trees. We picked
enough to fill our 20 pound bag and ate enough to make ourselves
sick. Ireland ate one apple after another, and ran through the
orchard with Emmy and Jace, she was in pure heaven.

Afterwards, we headed to the "pick you own pumpkin" patch.
We got geared up with clippers and wheelbarrows and head into
the patch to pick out a winner. A lot of the pumpkins were
starting to rot and Ilie actually found the best one out there...
it was a winner. So we packed up the kids and the pumpkins in
the wheelbarrows and headed out.We then took the kids to the
petting zoo, and oh...they loved it. Ireland fed the goats and just
giggled and giggled everytime they ate out of her hand. They
also giant pigs, rabbits, and peacocks, and played on boats and
tricycles. OK, so by that time we were starting to get hungry again
(after eating 10 pounds of apples), so we headed to the town.
We ate at this cute little pub and grill called Joe's, and oh...
a cheeseburger and fries never tasted better. And that ended our
adventure to the valley. It was a great way to keep my mind off
how old I was turning...27, what a grandma!!