Brazil Salvador Mission

My mom and dad received their official mission call today. Since it was a Thursday I was over at their house. When I got there my mom and I saw an envelope on her front porch. We had a feeling it was the mission call but we weren't sure so I peeked. I didn't see the actual mission but I did see the word Brazil so I told my mom that she could rest assured that she wasn't going to Africa. When my dad got home we all gathered around and they opened their call. Salvador is right on the coast and it's the 2nd most popular tourist attraction in Brazil. We can't wait to visit! My mom and dad will be the best Mission President ever! I'm so excited for them.

Bridger's pony birthday party

We had Bridger's birthday party the day after his birthday on Feb. 4th. We planned a pony party since Bridger has been obsessed with horses for a long time now. I was worried because our party would have to be outside and the beginning of the week it was FREEZING temperatures. Luckily, it "warmed" up to about 32 degrees the day of the party.

Bridger had the pony all to himself for about 20 minutes before the girls got there. He just rode the pony around and around the yard. I think his face explains how much he loved it! Grandpa Jimmy, Bridger on Midnight the pony, and the nice guy who brought the pony (I think his name was Steve).



The girls had a blast riding the pony around too! I wish we could have had all of Bridger's cousins there but a few of his cousins live out of state.

It was fun watching Bridger walk all over the yard with Ivy and Ivy and Ivy (he thinks all his girl cousins are named Ivy). He learned how to walk just in time for his 2nd birthday. We are so proud of him!!

The guests watching the pony rides.

Here's his pony cake that I made all by myself. It's exactly like the dinosaur cake we made last year but just turned into a horsie.

I didn't get any good shots of Bridger blowing out the candles because I was feeding Graham. Here he is with his Daddy enjoying the cake. (I should explain that Bridger LOVES his hat and refuses to take it off even when we're indoors. It's hilarious!)

Bridger was spoiled with so many fun presents! He got fun horsies, car toys, clothes, shoes, a giant horse to ride on, and more. Jake and I gave him these Spiderman shoes that light up when he walks and he loved 'em.

Opening more presents with his cousins.

We had a pinata after he opened presents but I didn't get many good pictures of it. We had such a fun party! Thanks to everyone that came and made it such a special day.

Bridger's 2nd birthday

Here's a picture of my little Bridger on the day he was born. Wasn't this just yesterday? Can Bridger really be two already? Where does the time go? I don't know what I did to be so blessed to be the mom of this sweet, silly, cute, fun little boy. I love him so much!

Bridger's birthday was on a Thursday this year so we waited until Friday to have his party. I wanted to do something fun for him on his actual birthday (even though I wasn't feeling well) so we went to the Living Planet Aquarium with our friends Britney and Daxton. The boys were so excited about the fish that I couldn't get them to look at the camera.

Bridger's favorite fish was the "Nemo" one. You can see his little face looking at it through the fish tank.

Jake has school on Thursday nights so we weren't planning on him being home. Luckily, school was cancelled because his professor's car broke down and he couldn't get to class. We decided to take Bridger out for ice cream. Before we left we let him open one present and saved the rest for his party. He got a pack of cars from Cars the movie--Mater, Sally, Ramone, and Sarge.

My family met us at Shivers for a birthday treat.

Tyler and Graham. Kathy had to stay home and take care of the twins.


Grandma and Grandpa and Bridger eating ice cream.

Brooke and Skyler

Jake and Barry

Catch up

I don't know what happened to me and keeping up with my blog. When I look back it seems like I stopped blogging right about the time Graham was born. I guess two kids take up too much of my time and blogging has gone out the window. But I am determined to catch up because this blog is a sort of journal for me and my family. My goal is to get one post done each day until I feel caught up. Wish me luck!

The twins are here!!

My brother, Tyler and his wife, Kathy, just had their twins on January 28th! I got to go meet them at the hospital the day after they were born. They are the CUTEST little things! Here are some pictures:

I'm a proud aunt to my new niece and nephew. I'm holding Austin here.

Austin Richard Hart - 4 lbs. 11 oz. 18.5 inches. He is tiny and so adorable!

Ashley Marion Hart - 6 lbs. 19 inches. She is gorgeous and has a full head of dark hair!

Me and Ty

Grandma and Grandpa Hart with their 8th and 9th grandchildren--5 boys and 4 girls.

Bridger!!

Here's what happens when you put the camera too close to your grumpy kid (or should I say, what happens when you leave Daddy in charge):

Graham's baby blessing

Graham had his baby blessing on November 28th. It was a snowy day and Graham looked like a little snow bunny in his blessing outfit and hat. He was given a wonderful blessing by Jake and we had lots of family there to support us.


I dreamt a few nights before the blessing that I forgot to dress Graham in his blessing outfit and he was wearing this outfit with robots on it! Luckily, my dream didn't come true.

As we were getting Graham dressed we had deja vu 'cause it felt like we were getting Bridger ready for his blessing all over again. They look so much alike!

This is the best family picture we could come up with.

And forget about getting a picture of two little boys together! Bridger wouldn't cooperate so we had to give him a sucker and a snowball to keep him happy.

My mom and dad were nice enough to let us use their house for a luncheon after the blessing.

Jake's family was in town for Thanksgiving this week so we had almost the whole family at Graham's blessing. We missed Zach and Vernon.

Here is Graham and Bridger with their great-grandparents. Graham's middle name is Stanley and he's named after his great-grandpa Smith who is in this picture.

Mommy and Graham. I just love this little boy! He is so happy and cuddly and has brought such a sweet spirit into our home. I don't know what we'd do without him! We are very blessed to have two healthy, beautiful boys.

President and Sister Hart

We found out today (Thurs. Dec. 2, 2010) that my mom and dad have been called to be the Mission President and companion in a Portuguese speaking mission (most likely Brazil). I wasn't surprised at all. In fact, I feel like I already knew it was coming. Here's the story on how we found out:

Bridger, Graham, and I usually go over to my mom and dad's house to play on Thursdays since Jake has school. Today we went over in the afternoon. When we got there no one was home but I could tell someone had just left because the garage door light was still on. My mom's van was there but my dad's car was gone. Marge, the cleaning lady, told me "they" just left so I knew my mom and dad were together because Brooke has school.

I sent them both text messages to ask where they were but they never answered me. I was starting to get suspicious because my dad had to have taken work off to go wherever they were and he doesn't take work off often.

Finally, my mom called me around dinner time and told me that she and my dad were having dinner at the Garden downtown. She told me they had been downtown for a meeting. By this time I was putting things together. Who goes downtown for a meeting in the middle of the day and takes work off for it? Someone who is getting called on a mission.

When they got home I saw they were all dressed up and when they came and sat down in the family room I said, "You're a Mission President, aren't you?!" They tried to avoid the accusation by saying, "Well, let's wait until Barry gets home before we talk about it." That just confirmed it. Brooke was in the kitchen and I yelled to her to come in and told her they were going on a mission. We just hugged and started to cry.

My parents were very overwhelmed with the calling but they are going to be the best mission President and wife in the whole world! I'm so excited for them. But sad for us. They'll be gone for three years. They also invited Jake and our family and Brooke and Skyler to live in their house while they're gone which we are so grateful for. It'll be so nice to have a yard for the kids to play in and we'll be able to save up for a house of our own while they're gone.

The reason I wasn't surprised at all at their calling is because a few weeks ago Jake and I were talking to my mission President and his wife and I told them I thought they'd get called once my dad was out of the Stake Presidency. Well, that was supposed to end in September but they decided to call him a little early. My parents have known for a few years that they would be called soon but they couldn't tell anyone. I'm sure it's a relief for them to finally be able to tell everyone.

They will leave about July 1, 2011. They'll find out exactly what mission they'll be over in a few months. I know that they will have the best experience of their lives! I love missionary work and I wish I could go with them and serve another mission. I'll miss my mom and dad like crazy but our family will be so blessed because of their service. I'm mostly sad for my kids to not have their grandparents here for a few years. Bridger will be 5 when they get home and Graham will be almost 4. Who knows? We might even have another baby while they're gone. Hopefully, the time will fly by.