This is Halloween, this is Halloween

First off you should probably know that this post is going to be so random and knowing me hard to follow.  This blog is more of my journal since I am nothing like my mom and don't have a legit journal that I write in every night. So a lot of the things on here are so I can remember what was important to me... With that being said if you make it to the end then congrats.  Or just enjoy the pictures, they are the most important anyway! 

When I was little Halloween was always a highlight but then again the holiday does revolve around candy so how could it not be? My mom was always the best at finding us our outfits, mostly making them.  I don't have any of mine but enjoy these of my sister to get an idea...

My favorite costumes (or at least the ones I can remember) were dressing up like: Shirley Temple, a Clown, and a Grandma {seriously this grandma outfit was legit!} We still have a couple of totes full of different costumes at my moms house.  I remember neighbors would come over and look through it and find something for everyone in their family.  I love those costumes!  

I remember we would have to eat all our dinner before we could go out Trick or Treating, this was always so hard because mostly my dad would make some type of bean soup that I didn't like so I had to force it down, which of course I always did for the sake of getting a pillowcase full of candy! Yes, a pillow case, we didn't take around those wimpy pumpkin buckets.  Come on people this is free candy we are talking about.  We always knew where to go for the best candy.  When we would get home we would dump out our bag and start sorting.  This is when we would exchange our candy {I would give Jillisa 3 Musketeers, while she would give me something in return...} We would normally fall asleep with our candy in our bed and wake up and do the same thing, counting and sorting making sure no one ate our candy.  Except for mom or dad they were allowed to, you just had to hide some of your Kit Kats, and Reeses so mom wouldn't take them all ;)

We also didn't have any of that "2 pieces a day" junk.. My moms theory was the sooner we ate it the faster it was gone and she could get all her bowls back.  And thats what would always happen a few days later... :)

College came and it wasn't so much about the candy as it was dressing up with your roommates and going to parties on campus.  Besides you can buy your own candy and save a ton of work for yourself!  

4 years ago today my sweet grandpa Watson passed away {you can read about it HERE, HERE, and HERE} I will always remember that day.  My grandma was the first person that I really knew that passed away.  We had the privilege of living so close to them and we would be over their daily helping out with things around the house or just visiting.  Grandpa was really sick with parkinson's (and other things...)  and didn't talk much, he also started to forget things like our names.  I remember coming home from college one weekend and I went to go visit him.  I knew that he was not doing so well and his time here was limited.  As went to say goodbye he told me "I love you, Brielle"  I couldn't remember the last time he had said that, but not because he didn't mean it.  That was the last time I ever saw my grandpa.  When we was dying my mom wouldn't let me come home because of the sweet experience I had just had with him.  She didn't want me to see him the way he was, which I am so grateful for.  My grandpa was my hero, I miss him and my grandma so much.  What I wouldn't give for one of his giant bear hugs right now.  

From that day on Halloween changed for me, it wasn't about dressing up and getting candy or going to parties anymore.  It was more about my family and making new memories with them.  I found this post from 2 years ago {HERE} and started crying, happy tears.  I am so thankful for having a family that I am so close to and would rather spend every minute with them then doing other things.  Holidays are the hardest for me.  I miss our traditions, even eating nasty bean soup before we can go trick or treating. I miss not seeing my cute nieces and nephews today especially when they look as cute as they do: 

 {Little Bo Peep, her sheep, and Red Riding Hood}

Look at all those superheroes!  And of course beautiful Cat! 

(of course this isn't all of them... just the ones I got pictures of)

This year the extent of me dressing up will most likely be my ghost earrings I got a few years back.  Don't get me wrong I would love to dress up and make new memories with Babe but this year its 1) not in the budget and 2) at a weird stage in life.

Let me explain my #2.  When Babe and I were driving to the pumpkin walk this year we were talking about all the fall things we {I} love to do.  But we are in this weird stage in life.  When you are newlyweds its like the fun thing to do as your first halloween together.  But we are past the newlywed stage and we don't have kids yet which makes us in this weird stage.  Sure doing fall things would be fun {picking pumpkins, carving them, dressing up, etc} but I feel a little weird doing it.  It's like when you are at that stage where you are too old be trick or treating door to door and everyone looks at you kind of funny because you are old enough to be buying your own, or going to a party or something...

We decided that next year is going to be a lot different.  We will have baby boy and those fall things will actually be fun as we do them with our little family.  It like having a kid is an excuse to do all the things you want to but didn't because you felt to old or something.  So this year the pumpkin walk was the extent of our celebrating, I did manage to put up a few Halloween decorations also.  Babe has to work tonight anyway so I am going to be tagging along at Lindsay and Travis's tonight instead of being home alone.  Boy am I thankful for good friends that let us come over all the time (and feed us...).  

So gear up for next year, I am already on the look out for our perfect costumes and we are going to create all those family traditions I love so much (maybe we will have potato bacon soup instead of bean soup though...) I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween. Take lots of pictures, you will only regret the pictures you didn't take.  

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Walk

We finally did something this weekend that made it seem more like Fall.  We went to a pumpkin walk with my family last year (?) I just remember all the crazy decorated pumpkins so when we heard about one near us we decided we had to go.  Saturday was also the coldest day it has been all year, that morning was freezing!! But by that night it was perfect weather, for me at least!  We had some pretty high expectations going into it so we were not overly thrilled with the overall experience but it was still enjoyable to see. 

The cool thing about this pumpkin was was you got to go through a little hiking trail to see all the pumpkins.  Most of the pumpkins are donated by different groups (mostly different church groups) so they could carve whatever they wanted.  We found a theme while walking through, most of the pumpkins were either faces carved by younger children, or something that associated with scouts or another thing about religion (crosses mostly...) There was however some pretty cool ones (most of them pictured below...)  Nothing like the ones we saw last year but still pretty cool! 

After you come out of the trial of pumpkins there was little booths where you could buy roasted almonds, popcorn, funnel cakes, and hot dogs.  Of course we had to get the almonds to remind us of home (mostly my dad, they are his favorite!) There was also a firetruck there talking about fire safety.  We might just have to make this a yearly thing just for the fun of it! 

 Our favorites (or we liked them because they reminded us of our family...) 

Good Mormon!

Today in Relief Society we were separated into groups, given a few paragraphs from the lesson and told to find a few words that stuck out to us.  With the words we were supposed to find scriptures to go along with it.  After reading the paragraph I picked out the words "Force and Power".  I went to LDS.org to searched those words.  I found a talk on Temptations and started to look it over when I looked at who gave the talk.  Low and behold it was my very own grandpa Rulon G. Craven.  How cool is that?  I am still learning things from my grandpa, even being thousands of miles away.  

I am thankful for my legacy and for my being part of the family that I am.  I am thankful that I grew up in the church and for learning from my family, leaders, friends, and neighbors all that I know.  What a strength it is to me to have the Gospel in my life. I know because of it I am a better person.  I am thankful for all I know and for my Savior in heaven for helping me when I need him most.  He is there on my good days and my bad days.  I am thankful that the Church is the same no matter where you go.  Even though my family is far away I still have a ward family.  The Lord knows our needs, he answers our prayers.  I am thankful I could go to church today and feel the Spirit.  Church can be a refuge from the world, just like the Temple is if we let it.  I hope you all have a fabulous Sabbath day.

If you want to know more about what I believe go HERE 

Pregnancy clothes... Help?

Hey ladies I need your help... again!

Where do you find your maternity clothes? I feel like my closet makes me look so frumpy and I really want to actually look cute.  Weird right?  I don't have loads of money to spend (I have never spend more than $10 on a shirt...maybe thats why I look frumpy.) But I am just throwing it out there to see where you have found your cute maternity clothes for cheap.  Maybe I look at pintrest to much but I love all the "fall" outfits.  You know the ones I'm talking about but I don't want to spend a ton of money on something that I look stupid in or isn't that comfy.  I really want a cute pair of boots for fall/winter that won't hurt my feet (the only shoes I have been wearing are the walmart $2 flip flops because they are the comfiest and I can wear them for long period of time without my feet acing to bad.) Jillisa would always tell me "beauty hurts" but I am hoping to look good AND feel good ;).

I don't think I have a "style" like I said most my clothes are from the clearance rack at Ross, DI, or Savers.  So another question... What looks best while pregnant?  I just bought a cute maxi dress at Target, but thats like the only thing that makes me feel "stylish" can I wear anything with it to mix up the look? I am pretty sure my ward will start to think of me weird if I wear the same dress every week anyway.  

So really any help would be great. 

Where do you shop for CHEAP maternity clothes?  (pants, shirts, cardigans?)

What do you pair with them to make the look different? (jacket, belt?)

What are you favorite comfy clothes that still look good?

Where can I find a cute, decent priced jean jacket? 

Thanks again for all your help,

Love one helpless frumpy looking pregnant woman! 

The "Fall" look which I LOVE but I was never really 'skinny' in the first place so I am not sure if I could even pull it off.  But look how comfy it looks ;) 

25 Weeks

I can hardly believe we are already 25 weeks, I feel like I am so tiny in pictures but HUGE when I look down... haha 

I have been trying to get Babe to feel baby boy move but every time he puts his hand on my stomach our little dude stops moving, he thinks he has felt him a few times but was never sure.  But this morning I was determined.  He is normally pretty active in the mornings but Babe works from 4-11 in the morning so he is hardly ever home.  But today he didn't work so I knew it was our chance, and guess what? It WORKED! His face was priceless, he officially felt him move, multiple times! 

We got to hear baby boys heartbeat this week.  It was our first appointment that we didn't get to have a ultrasound, depressing!  I love looking at little dude and putting pictures of him all over our fridge.  But the best news was... We got the go ahead to go home for Christmas!! I was soo nervous to ask her and when we did at first she looked at me like was a stupid and shook her head.  Then she realized I was due the end of January, not December.  She was still kind of iffy on it but she said if we came back before January then it would be okay.  I have had a pretty normal pregnancy anyway, so there was nothing to really be concerned about.  Phew!  Now we just have to get some money and get our plane tickets home!!  {donations or flight miles welcome!}

Other than that everything else is pretty normal, well for me at least.  I still get pretty sick but so did my mom so it looks like I just got her lucky genes ;).  We have everything we NEED for the baby well sorta, we have clothes, diapers, a crib (with mattress), car seat, and a stroller.  Of course we need lots more but I feel a little better that we have all we do already.  Now we just need to start getting his nursery ready and I will feel much better! 

Good Mormon! Enjoy the Ride

I have found myself saying "when the baby comes it will be better", "when we get to move",  "I can't wait till we live near family again", "I want it to be Christmas now" and other phases like these.  Our blog title is "Enjoying the Journey" and I find myself wanting to 'skip' chapters in our journey and get to the ones I really want. I think it's still okay to be excited for the many chapters in our lives that are still to come but we need to also find excitement in the one we are in now.  

Thats my challenge to myself, you're welcome to join me if you too need to remember to enjoy the journey now, not later! 

Happy Sabbath everyone, don't forget about the moment you're living right now. :)

Calling all moms!

I was talking with Babe the other night, telling him everything I want for our baby boy.  His eyes got big and slightly nervous looking and I knew what was coming next, the finances talk. Joy.  I know everything I "want" is obviously not going to happen right now but my problem is distinguishing my "wants" from my "needs".  That is where you come in.  We don't have a lot of money so to start off we are going trying to get the things we need {carseat, diapers, wipes...etc}.  But you see this is our first child and we don't really know what a lot of the needs are.  So please do share, what have you found is a need for your new baby?  What do you use most?  Where have you found the cheapest stuff?

I was also thinking we also need enough clothes {du} but how much do you need?  How many PJS are necessary for example.  Baby boy will be born when it's cold so I know he can't just be in a diaper all day and will need actual clothes... Does any of this make sense?

So far in our baby department we have a crib (no mattress), a bassinet, bumbo, and some NB clothes but mostly 3-6 month things.  Is there any specific item of clothing or furniture type thing that would be qualified as a need?  I started making a list but would love for you to help me add things to it, or even how many of each thing (like diapers, how they heck am I supposed to know how many to have when he is born.  He could be a pooping machine for all we know...)

Here is my starting list:
-Carseat
-Stroller {hopefully one that fits the carseat, or comes with it...}
-Diapers {sizes, amount?}
-Wipes {rubber gloves}
-Bottles {I want to breastfeed but I still need some of these right?}
-Blankets {favorite kind, amount?}
-Crib mattress {are these 1 size fits all?}
-Crib bedding {sheets, mattress cover}
-Bouncer?
-Clothes {pants, pjs, socks?}
-Pacifiers {amount?}
-Breastfeeding stuff {what is the "stuff"? Some type of cover...?}

I feel pretty lost and would seriously love all your input on things you have or wish you had.  Where you found your things for "cheap" (or if you just want to give me stuff I am always willing to take anything and everything!)  Thanks in advanced!

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice, family traditions

I am not going to lie, this week has hit me pretty hard.  I find myself crying more than usual, the dishes piling up and no dinner made (even though that's pretty normal).  I love holidays but it sure makes me think of home and what everyone else is doing.  I find myself fbook stocking my family more, looking at pictures of my nieces and nephews, and coloring pictures for them to send home. I hate being so far away and having no money to go home and see my family as often as I want.  I wish so bad I could be home this weekend, enjoying the first snow with my family.  Having home cooked meals, holding my little nephews and having a tea party with my older ones.  I love our family traditions.  One of my favorite times of the year is when General Conference rolls around.  I love listening to our prophet speak and getting answers to things I have been praying about.  And the fact that I get to enjoy it all in the comfort of my own home (thank you technology!) is even better.

When I was younger conference looked a little something like this.

Dad would take us out on Saturday morning, or sometime before and we would stock up on treats of all kinds.  My favorite were the Zingers and little candies like M&Ms for my bingo card.  Mom was dressed in her Sunday best, hair done and listening to the pre music play.  Dad would sit down in green rocking chair, leg crossed over with his notebook and pen.  The older siblings would have just been dragged out of bed, or looked like it at least. It was first come first serve for the comfy chairs so you wanted to be there early.  The candy would be in a big bowl on the floor with bingo sheets and pictures of all the prophets laid out. Once the candy was gone (or mom put it away for the day) most of us kids would being having a "Lehi's Dream", doodling, or getting ready for the day while still "listening" to conference.  My favorite part was when all our family that lived around would come over after the last session of conference on Sunday and we would have Chicken Salad Sandwiches on crescent rolls! yummm! I didn't really understand the meaning or listen intently, just for the special word to finally get a "Bingo" on my card.  Depending on what session my dad got tickets for we might have gone to conference, or at least the adults would have.

Fast forward multiple years and this is what it looks like.

I would come home from college bringing as many of my college roommates/friends as I could.  Because after all friends and family are the most important things right?  ;)  My mom would somehow find room for everyone at the house, even if we did send the boys away to Kasey's for the night. We would have a big breakfast and then depending on what session (or sessions) my dad got us tickets for we would go down to the conference center.  If we didn't want to fight the crowds after we would walk around temple square until the next one started and listen to conference out on the lawn with all the other people. I mostly spend these days day dreaming about being Babes girlfriend, even though I actually did listen and understand more- just no bingo sheets! The boys would all go to the priesthood meeting while us girls would craft (or babysit all the kids...) We would get pizza or whatever we had leftover in the fridge, and the boys actually got to go out for dinner, psssh! Sunday would basically be the same even though we would stay for a session maybe and then once again after the last Sunday session we would all have Chicken Salad Sandwiches on crescent rolls!  

Fast forward a little farther further.

Babe and I are married (I guess all my day dreaming payed off!)  along with some of our other friends in our group, or on missions!  The group of friends I brought home mostly consisted of Babe and our good friend Melissa (even though she is more family than a friend anyway) Going down to conference wasn't that big of a deal,  who wants to fight the crowds anyway?  And besides I would much rather spend the time with my family in our own home anyway, that's where the food is! My older siblings would come over for a session or two but for the most part it there was only a few of us at home.  This is when I truly found a love for conference, sure I loved the idea before (but with that much candy who couldn't?) but now is the time I really find comfort in our prophets words, find answers to my prayers, and enjoy the things which are being said.  I know they are for me and I am blessed to hear them.  

Fast forward for the last time to this weekend. 

Obviously it hasn't come yet but it looks am guessing it will go something like this... I'll can talk Babe into buying some treats (like that should be hard right;), he will happily hook up his new Apple Tv and watch conference on that (gotta love technology when you don't have cable!).  I'll be the one in my Sunday best, mostly because I really want to wear my new dress... babe will be curled up on the couch, our notebooks will be ready to write down inspiring things.  And we will sit here, just us two.  Now thats a change...  Saturday night I'll try to talk Lindsay into doing a craft night with me, since I know my sisters will be doing one.  Maybe we can also talk time into coming over for a session or two so aren't so alone.  We are even carrying on the tradition of making Chicken Salad Sandwiches, just earlier so we can enjoy them the whole day- Babes idea! :) I have questions ready and I am excited to start our own traditions.  There might be a few tears (okay lets be real, a tons of tears) but I knew that was going to happen since we moved to Kansas anyway.  

A lot of things are changing and this is just the first of many.  I am thankful for my supportive husband, even if he does come home and ask is someone died from the tears coming down my face.  I don't know what I would do without him.  They say "It will all be worth it"  I am just wondering when does that exactly happen?  I know we are supposed to be here and we will be blessed by doing so, but it sure doesn't make it any easier.  I am thankful for the gospel and that we can go to church in a ward that loves us and has already made us feel so welcomed.  I love that the church is the same no matter where you are.  I can't wait to listen to our prophets voice, I know he is a prophet of God and he leads and guides this church.  What a blessing it is to have living prophets on this earth.  I am thankful for family traditions and for the joy that they bring to my life.  I am thankful for memories, and technology so I can still see my family and friends even though they are far away.  I am thankful for soft tissues, seriously who ever came up with putting lotion in tissues is a genius! I am thankful for the good days 

and the bad days, it's the only way I can truly know how happy I am.  

If you want to learn more about what I was talking about above click HERE

If you want to watch it live go HERE

Listen live go HERE