When did HE grow up?!

Just wanted to do a shout out and announcement for my little bro. First of all, I need to start with the fact that I think I am in denial that this is even happening. My LITTLE brother apparently is old enough to go and get married. I don't know if you know my brother, but he's kind of....weird. I mean that in the nicest form of the word. It really is a compliment. I look up to him and he is a hero of mine. Somehow, he convinced this lovely young lady that she could handle that weirdness for time and all eternity. So, congratulations Spencer and Ashley on your engagement. March 14 is just around the corner.

Don't worry. She's not mine.

I have a lot of catch up to do. First of all, my sister Phoebe had her sweet adorable little baby girl. Yea! Her name is Corinne and she was born on 21 January. She weighed 6lb. 3 oz. (a whopper for Phoebe). I think she has attitude. She'll fit right in :)

The Turning of a Page

I wouldn't be able to call myself an historian if I didn't pay homage to the events of today. I will try and make this short and sweet. I did not vote for Mr. Obama and there many points of his policy that don't jive with my own idealogy. But, I respect him as a good man and a charismatic leader. I think American's needed a fresh change, and they got it. The significance of today in regards to equality in America also does not escape me. We have come to the point where race really does not matter, and I believe that is exactly as God would have it. But, to sum up my feelings, I will quote a man who wrote a note to the new President. He said "I sure hope you are everything they say you are going to be, because you are going to need it." May God continue to bless America.

18 WEEKS!

For those of you who are asking, I am due on 6/21 and I find out what I am having on February 2nd. I am finally getting to the point that I feel less like I just ate a big lunch and more like there is an actual kid floating around in there (though I can't confirm any movements yet). I saw an old soldier of mine in the store a week or two ago. After we chatted for a bit, and as we were parting, she says "Are you pregnant?" Wow! You are good! Uh, yeah. I am. But you are the first person who has asked without me telling them first. Her response? "Well, you just used to be so skinny"....... Thanks. I think.

The Tooth Fairy

I know this isn't about me, but it was the funniest story of the day. My friend Tiffany's 6 yr. old daughter Madison lost a tooth on Sunday. She was so excited she ran up and told me at church. I always love talking to her because she has an older sister named Brooke as well. In order to distinguish between us, she calls her sister by her beautiful first name and she calls me "Silly Brooke". I don't know where she got that from. Anyway, I digress. She showed me her tooth, or lack therof. We of course engaged in a conversation about the great loot she would find under her pillow the next morning. Well, apparently the Tooth Fairy also had MLK day off. We went out to dinner with them for family night and she disclosed to me that, in fact, the tooth fairy had not come by the night before. I told her to believe her mother, that the Tooth Fairy also takes federal holidays just like the rest of us. I almost peed my pants this morning when I called Tiffany and she told me that the Tooth Fairy AGAIN had not made the drop the night before. She said she felt so bad she went to her purse to get money to give her daughter and she did not have any! So, while her daughter prepared for school she snuck in her room and stole 4 quarters out of her daughter's piggy bank and gave her her own money! You really can't find good help anywhere anymore.

A Pinch of This, a Dash of That

SKYDIVING

So, Cory didn't really get me a Christmas gift......But he made up for it, and POOF! All was forgiven. He took me skydiving, something I have wanted to do for such a long time. I surprised myself by not being that scared at all. It wasn't any more scary than a great thrill ride at Six Flags, plus a whole lot more fun. I know, I know. Some of you may be saying "Girl! You can't be skydiving while your pregnant!" Well, I just did. Anyway, the research on skydiving while pregnant is inconclusive..... :)

Us in our hot jumpsuits

Cory slowly descending to earth.....

For a perfect landing! Not!

That's me coming down. I don't even need to include a pic of the landing. It was textbook, like a butterfly.

Me as a conehead with the good man that preserved my life for the ride down.

STUPIDITY

Cory has a bit of a tradition going. I am still trying to figure out the hellish origins of it. Every single New Year's day, he feels compelled to jump into a icy lake for a "polar bear" dip. It is truly one of the most masochistic things I have ever witnessed. If you will notice, he convinced some other poor sap to go with him, not myself. Hey! I paid my dues last New Year's in a lake surrounded by snow in "beautiful" British Columbia, Canada. I get a pass.

Christmas

Just a hodge-podge of pics. I had to include a picture of our rather pathetic tree. As an army widow this December, the task was up to me to go out and pick a tree, load it into the truck, and single handedly set it up in the stand, not to mention decorate it. I am extremely proud of my accomplishments. I firmly believe that setting up a Christmas tree with only 2 hands should be an Olympic sport. 3 hours later...TADA!

Would you believe me if I told you it doesn't actually snow in our neck of the woods? You can imagine the mess it created when it did for over a week this year.

I took advantage of the snow. I put on all my snow gear, went to the corner gas station to buy a hot chocolate, and went on a one and a half mile walk in the snow that took me over an hour. Some people never grow up...

We went down to my sister Phoebe's house in Hyrum, Utah. I couldn't believe how fun it was to spend Christmas with little kids again. They make everything an experience. I can tell you what wasn't fun, though. A 13 hour return home drive that turned into 24 hours + due to road closures and driving 30 mph most of the way because of a terrible snow storm.

Phoebe and Greyson decorating gingerbread houses.

Brooke and Natalya working on their architecture.

Christmas morning. Go ahead. Try and tell me it gets cuter than that.

Brooke and Cory Christmas morning, in our tradition PJ's.

Actually, one of the highlights on the trip for me was driving down to Ogden to see some friends from my mission. We stopped by President and Sister Joyce's house and had a great chat. She asked me if I had lost weight....I swear the good Lord reserved a place in heaven for that woman.

PREGNANCY PROFILE PIC-15 1/2 weeks

slowly but surely

My new sweet baby - The Lump!

It's been a long time....too long. Too bad you'll never know what great and exciting events happened in my life from August until now. I'll just dispense with the ceremony and jump right into another fascinating episode of "Stranger than Fiction".

I know. The first question you are asking yourself is, "Who are these adorable and slightly creepy children Brooke has posted in her blog?" Well friends and family, I would like you to meet "The Lump". This is going to remain the poor child's name till a few months from now when it emerges into the world and requires an actual respectable title. Yes, ladies and gentleman, Cory and Brooke are having a baby!

Actually, maybe I should post a slightly more accurate and current picture of The Lump so you can get a better idea of what it really looks like.

I thought I'd post a pic of the belly so you could get an outside view. It may not look like much now, but believe me, if you could see me naked, it's a whole different story. So here it goes, pregnancy profile pic #1 of a zillion-13 weeks along.

Domestic Goddess

There comes a time in every girls life when she needs to cross a line, a point of no return. For me, that time was tonight. I have to say that I am a freaking domestic goddess. I, Brooke Lynn Jenkins, baked homemade bread all by myself for the first time. I have to admit that it was a little touch and go for awhile. At one point it looked like drywall mud. I also got a little nervous when I realized I don't own a single bread pan (the goddess thing is a gradual process). But, after some quick thinking, the end result looked like half of a soccer ball, but it tasted like heaven on earth. In fact, it was so good that we made hot chocolate and called it dinner. It was raining outside, so we sat on the threshold of the house and enjoyed our scrumptious meal. MAN! I'M GOOD!

Superman

You know how sometimes you get that little voice telling you that you shouldn't do something you are about to do? Just for the record, that little voice is screaming at me now. I am sure Cory won't appreciate this post, but if my luck holds out, he will continue to pay absolutely no attention to my little "family embarrassment" blog.

My husband is Superman. He decided a week ago to do an Olympic distance triathalon. For those of you who are not triathalon officianados (?) thats a 1 mile swim, 25 mile bike ride, and 6 mile run. I am pretty sure I couldn't do any of those by themselves, let alone back to back. After putting in 40 minutes of training for a whopping three days, the race day arrived. We dragged ourselves down to the lake........and, well, the pictures tell the rest of the story. From what I hear, it was 2 hours and 58 minutes of pure hell :) I enjoyed myself on a blanket with some snacks and a book. I couldn't help myself. I had to blog about it. He really is Superman to me.

Land That I Love....

I have been up since 4:30 this morning. This is particularly annoying to me since this is a vacation day from work. I have too many thoughts tumbling around in my head. I need to get the bathroom cleaned so I can invite the apartment repairman to fix the showerhead. I really should try another crack at those wedding thank you notes. The list goes on and on. One recurring visitor in my mind is the experiences leading up to and including Independence Day. I guess I figure if I blog about it, my mind will be free to let it go.

I have always been an extremely patritotic person, almost an oddity to others while I was growing up. Even from the time I was a little girl, a good song about our country could bring tears to my eyes. I went into my chosen profession (the study of History) because I was fascinated by the background of America. My dream is to steal the job from that chic who reports on the elections for NBC. I know. I am a nerd. I already joined a twelve step program for the problem.
On Sunday the 29th we had an amazing sacrament meeting. A young couple in our ward (in their early twenties) spoke on the role of Latter-Day Saints in America. She had recently returned home after being deployed to Iraq for 10 months. Tears fell as she described her experiences guarding Iraqis at the F.O.B.. She quoted the French statesman Alexis de Tocqueville:
"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers — and it was not there … in her fertile fields and boundless forests — and it was not there … in her rich mines and her vast world commerce — and it was not there … in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution — and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteous­ness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great. "
Her husband, who is also in the army, immigrated here from the Philippines. He told of how his cousins, aunts, and uncles live in abject poverty there. Their homes have been destroyed by unrest and natural disaster, but they are not not jealous of him. They view him as "the chosen one" and are proud of his opportunity to live in America. After the talks, we all stood to sing our national anthem. I have seldom heard a hymn rock the chapel, but this day it did. With 90% of our ward being immigrants, military, or retired military, we sang that song with so much pride it hurt. I couldn't help it. I cried.....
Cory and I spent the week before the holiday watching all the parts to a miniseries about World War II. What we enjoy today certainly didn't come cheap. I imagine that the sacrafice of those who came before us who made our lifestyle possible cannot even be numbered. May we never forget.
I had the privilege to march in our itty bitty home town parade with my cub scouts. I have never been in a parade before. It was humbling to march by the parade viewers. They always picked up their cheering when our cub scouts walked by. I think there is something inspiring and stirring about an eight year old in a uniform representing the ideals of American. It gives you the feeling that everything is going to be okay.




We spent the evening barbequeing and setting off fireworks at a new friend's home from our ward. I don't think I have felt that much joy in a really long time.