Boise

Saturday morning Jordan and I flew to Boise to spend a few days visiting with my family and to meet the newest member of our family Dakota Caroline!!

She is beautiful and perfect!!

Jordan and I stayed to watch the Boise State vs TCU game with Kylee and Shane while my Mom, Amber and Ella went to run some errands.  

Well...Jordan and Shane watched the game while I snuggled with Kota and talked with Kylee. 

Kota was not too happy about Boise State losing to TCU, especially by a missed field goal.

 After church on Sunday Clay and Kresimir stopped by for family dinner. Afterward we played fencing on the wii.  

Ella and Kresimir

 Brook and Kresimir  

Monday I got up to help get Ella ready for kindergarten.  Usually my Dad walks her to the bus stop but instead we drove her so that she could show me where her class was, all the tricks she knows how to do on the parallel bars and then I stayed until the bell rang for school to start.  She was so proud to show me her school.  It was pretty cute. 

We spent the rest of the day running errands with my Mom and working on sewing projects.  She helped me to finish the pillow covers I was working on for my couch and Jordan picked up the Boise State decals he needed for the bags game he is building.  That night we played don't eat Pete for family home evening and then watched TV, read and relaxed.

Tuesday after we got Ella off to school my Dad took Jordan and I to the park to take some family pictures.  Jordan and I are not the most photogenic people and so it was quite the funny experience.  In the end we got some good pictures.  Afterward we took my Dad out to lunch as a way to say thank you.  That night I met up with some of the girls that I used to work with for dinner.  I love being able to see them and we had such a fun time catching up.  

It was a very fast trip.  We were sad that we couldn't visit everyone and the next time we visit we want to rent a car to make it a little easier. We are very grateful for the time that we did have in Boise and hope that the next time we visit will be soon.      

Brad and Lindsey got married!!

On Thursday Jordan, Brad, Lindsey and I flew to Salt Lake together for the wedding.  Jordan and I rented a car and so once we arrived in Utah we took Lindsey to her hotel and then dropped Brad off at his parents house.  On the drive to Brad's family I got a text from Caitlin saying that she was in the hospital.  She had to have emergency surgery and would call when she could.  Brad's family was so gracious and offered to let us stay with them instead of at Caitlin and Ryan's so that they wouldn't have to have one more thing to worry about with her in the hospital.  We were so thankful and took them up on their offer.  

Thursday night we went to see the Sorenson family and brought them pizza for dinner.  We ate and caught up with each other before going back to Brad's home. We visited and watched the movie 'Invincible' with Brad and his sisters before going to bed.  

Friday morning Jordan and I got up, had breakfast with Brad's family and then went to the hospital to see Caitlin.  Her uterus had twisted and her doctor wanted her to have emergency surgery to remove a cyst that was causing her problems in her pregnancy and was the cause of the twisting.  I was glad we could see her but wished it was under better circumstances.  She looked good, the baby was fine and was hoping to be released from the hospital soon.

We then went to grab a quick lunch and changed for the wedding which ended up being in the restaurant bathrooms.  Not our original plan, a little awkward, but it turned out OK.       

Waiting for the wedding to begin at the Salt Lake City Temple

The wedding was beautiful and we are so happy for our dear friends.

After the wedding we went to Caitlin and Ryan's to see Maya.  She is getting so big!  She was just waking up and was really snuggly, which according to Caitlin and Ryan is a rarity.  I held her, read her a book and then played blocks with her for a little while.  We couldn't stay long since we had to get to the wedding reception but loved having a chance to see her.

Burgess, one Lindsey's best friends and I at the reception   

Lindsey and Brook

Jordan and Brad

We had so much fun at the reception. 

They had barbacoa salad, chips and salsa for dinner, (which was amazing) almond sugar cookies, smore and Reece's peanut butter cupcakes for dessert.  We danced all night, visited with friends and ended the night with hot chocolate and sparklers!  

Brad and Lindsey are married!!

Family pictures

I am changing my blog URL and why.

Jordan and I are thrilled to announce that we are starting the adoption process! We are so excited about the process of finding the right baby that will be joining our family. 

I will be (finally) updating the URL on my blog to brookandjordan.blogspot.com 

We love all of the friends and family who follow our lives online. 

Thank you for your continual prayers and support!!  I am so excited about what lies ahead for our little family and the journey we are about to start.     

Superstition Peak

Friday night Jordan went camping with Jonathan and Chris.  Their plan was to wake up and hike an easy trail to superstition peak. 

It turned out that their easy trail was more of a mountain climb.  They barely had enough water and the climb ended up being three miles farther then expected. Still they made it home safely and in great time.

 

After a shower and watching the end of the Boise State game, Jordan and I went to a BBQ with all of Jordan's climbing buddies and their families.  It was so much fun. 

We had amazing food, carnitas, rice and beans.  It was a night filled with a lot of laughter and noise from all the little kids running around.  I loved it!      

Mystery mansion dinner theater

Jordan and I went to a mystery mansion dinner theater. 

We both had our own ideas of what to expect.  I thought it would be sitting down for dinner while watching a play.  Jordan thought it would be interactive where we would be characters in the show.  It turned out we were both right.   

The show Murder at the Vampire's Castle was an interactive mystery show where they would randomly pull people from the audience to help out with the show.  We were all given characters and clues that would  help us to sleuth out the murderer.

Sounds fun right?

I hate being the center of attention!  So the idea of having the actors randomly pull people on stage to dance, sing and make sound affects was slightly horrifying for me. 

Luckily Jordan and I sat in the corner and were spared from being pulled on stage. We did talk to the actors in between dinner courses to get clues and joke around. 

The play was about a vampire who was getting married.  The brides brother was killed and it was our job to figure out who killed him, how he died and why.

At the end of the show we all filled out our forms on who we thought the murderer was.  

Out of the 150 people who were at the show who was the only person to guess correctly?  Yep, me!!

So much for hiding in the corner.

And what did I win?  A pie. 

Sundance Canyon

Warning: "This is a technical canyon with some semi-keeper and keeper potholes, you will need a full set of canyoneering gear (including helmet) and 400 ft of rope for the last 180 ft rappel. This is not a canyon to be taken lightly, if water levels are low this canyon can become a deadly trap. Bring proper gear and rehearse your exit techniques prior to committing. This canyon has some deep water and may be quite cold. A shorty might be fine for summer if you're warm blooded, but a full wetsuit or drysuit might be preferrable, especially if conditions are difficult and you spend alot of time in the water and/or potholes. I am not responsible if you end up trapped in this canyon, death by hypothermia. 2x200ft ropes and a 60 ft rope will make you well prepared rope-wise. Experienced canyoneers only, you are responsible for self-evaluating your abilities. Read those danger warnings again.  Are you sure you're ready for this? Are you a danger to yourself or others? Don't do this canyon alone! Don't do this canyon unprepared!"

Sundance Canyon

October 15, 2011

Jonathan

 Jordan said that the water was easily less then forty degrees!

180 ft Rappel 

Jonathan and Jordan 

Jordan and Jonathan loved this canyon.  Although it was freezing they said that the 180 foot rappel was one of their favorite rappels that they have ever done.  Once it warms up Jordan and I are planning to hike this canyon together.  I am not quite ready for water that cold.

Diamondbacks playoffs

Once again Jordan won tickets at work....this time to see the Diamondbacks play game three of the playoffs.

There was a lightening warning that night with a slight chance of rain.  It was drizzling as we drove to the game so we didnt think to much about it.  Lightening storms are pretty common here.  We parked a few blocks away and as soon as we got out of the car it started pouring. 

We ran to the stadium and while looking to see where to pick up our tickets we realized we were on the wrong side!  By the time we got our tickets and into the game we were soaked!  We were joking about the 'slight chance of rain' along with the storm warning.  My jeans were wet all the way up to my knees and my shirt and little sweater were soaked through.  

It was worth it once we saw where our seats were.  Box seats with all you can eat hot dogs, popcorn, chips, peanuts and drinks!!  

Soaked but excited to be at the game. 

Go Diamondbacks!

Grand Slam!!

The Diamondbacks won game three of the playoffs 8-1

West Side Story

I had a horrible day at work, was tired, feeling deflated and when I came home I walked in to find flowers sitting on the table and Jordan surprised me with an incredible night.  He had won last minute tickets at work to see West Side Story that night!!

We got dressed up, went to dinner and then the show. 

The music and talent were incredible and our seats were sixteen rows from the stage!!  The only downside was that I felt like I needed to go home and watch the movie. I thought that they had added a few inappropriate parts to the play that I didn't remember.  I think they were trying to make the play more modern.  For me it took away some of the magic of the play and the poor family in front of us who had brought all their little kids had to leave in the middle of the second act.  

Overall we had a fantastic night and realized that it had been almost three years since we had been to a play!  I want to see Wicked next spring, so we are waiting for tickets to go sale and then we will be back to theater.  Unless of course Jordan wins more tickets.....