Brittany

Hello Everyone,

For those of you who are interested in writing or keeping up with what's going on with Britt, follow this link: http://hermanamorrill.blogspot.com.

The fastest way to get her a letter while she is in the MTC is through www.dearelder.com. On the link to the left under "send stuff" click on "Provo MTC". Then just fill in your information, and hers. Her box number again is 92. Estimated departure date is 2/9/2010. Then just write and send. She will get it same day if you write in the morning....by noon the next day otherwise. I also have her email address now but she only gets to check it once a week. It's hermanamorrill@myldsmail.net. Feel free to write her there as well. This will my last post to my blog for Britt so be sure to bookmark the link to her blog for updates on her mission!

Day One

Today was a bitter sweet day. Bitter to know I will not get to see her for the next 18 months, or call her, or talk to her, or enjoy her presence in my house. Sweet knowing she is doing something she really wants to do, and the Lord is looking out for her. It was so hard to leave her at the curb. Do you know how much I wanted to go with her? I am a bit jealous of the things I know she is giong to experience over the next year and a half. All of you who know her as I do have no doubt she will be an awesome missionary. The past 4 months having her home, if you can call it that since she spends more time out with her friends, or volunteering in Mexico, has been a wonderful growing experience for both of us. I am privileged to call her my daughter. Good grief I love this kid!

Farewell Britt!

Brittany's farewell was last Sunday. She had 76 RSVP's on Facebook which got me a little panicked as most of that number did not include our family. We may have gone just a little overboard on the food, but it sure was good. Better to have too much than not enough. :) Our families are amazing when it comes to things like this. Everyone was so happy to help and it was greatly appreciated! She had many, many friends who came out to send her off. Even though we are sure going to miss her, we are so proud, excited, and happy for her!

Staci, Tony, Val, Jamie, Lindsey, etc.

Grandma, Grandpa, Corey, Sean

Silly

Richard.....trying to lick Lindsey.

Richard, Lindsey, Mykel (my sister)

Grandpa and Grandma with baby Hendrix

Food Line

Britt is in there somewhere.

View from upstairs

Hey, you gotta eat somewhere!

I know she introduced me and I'm pretty sure she really likes the guy on the left, but I can't remember their names! LOL

Girls Day Out

In preparation for the void we will feel when Brittany leaves on her mission in just 10 days, we, the girls, treated ourselves to a pedicure and lunch. It was sad, but we managed to have just a little fun. ;)

Britt and Brave Sir Robin

Rachel and Lindsey, obviously not enjoying themselves.

Jamie, sorry, it's a little dark.

Me and Britt

The finished product!

Two silly girls. The house will definitely be more boring without Britt.

Lunch at The Cheesecake Factory

Not a good picture, but hey, it's my cell phone and there's a window behind us.

All that Jazz

The company I work for has season tickets to the Utah Jazz games. They are great seats....no nose bleeds from here. :) Last year I took Peter to a game. He has been grounded from further attendance. This year I took a true Jazz fan, Lindsey! She was excited to be able to sit close enough to actually see the faces of the players. It was a great game...won by a point in over-time. It was fun to have some one on one with her, doing something she loves.

My Favorite Birthday Present

19 Years ago today, on my 28th birthday, I was blessed with best present a mom could ever ask for. I know what you're thinking, those numbers can't possibly be right ;) But alas, they surely are. Where does the time go? How did this cute little bundle of joy go from this:

to this:??

When he started talking he couldn't say his name. He called himself Tooey. One day I tried to help him pronounce it. I said Ca Ca Ca Corey....he said Ca Ca Ca Tooey! His sisters still call him that.

He has always been a tender heart. He was rarely in trouble because he didn't like having anyone mad at him. I know he cares very deeply.

He is not a risk taker. How grateful am I for that when he got a motorcycle?! When he was a sophomore in highschool I took him to get registered. We were a week late so there weren't any other kids there. As we were walking around the school to find his classes we came to a gate coming down from the ceiling. I started to go under it as it was still about 2 feet off the ground. He got really upset with me and told me I couldn't do that. I assured him it was okay because there wasn't anyone there to get mad at me, and obviously the gate wasn't supposed to be down. It took me a while to talk him in to coming under with me. I'm such a rebel! I'm glad he's not. :)

He has many talents. He has a lot of natural ability when it comes to sports, especially anything that requires him to run.....fast. However, he is more interested in the Arts. His writing amazes me. He also plays the guitar and sings (what girl doesn't love that??). He is smart and funny.

He is very sarcastic. You don't have to be around him long to figure that out and he can get a room laughing very easily. He is an animated story teller. It's as much fun watching him tell a story as it is listening. He is every passionate.

He has been a real blessing in my life. I can't believe he is all grown up. I will love him forever.

And best of all....I know he will never forget my birthday. :) Happy Birthday Corey!

Rub a Dub Dub

Alone in the house,

Quiet as a mouse,

Britt heard a clunk,

“Just the cats”, she thunk,

She went on her way,

Going about her day,

When whining she heard,

The thought then occurred,

With no Fonz in sight,

Something’s not right!

She called out his name,

Whimpers in return came,

So she followed the sound,

And here’s what she found!

Rub a dub dub.....he's stuck in the tub!

Why was the dog in the tub you say? When he learns how to speak, we'll ask him some day! :)

Home Shots

Here are a few photos of the new house. It's a work in progress that is hindered by the precariousness (is that a word?) of not actually owning it....yet. We hope to own it soon if all goes well, but we don't really want to put any money in to it for blinds, landscaping, or home decor that we can't take with us should we have to move. So for now, we have to be content with our paper blinds, our refrigerator that doesn't match, etc., etc.

This is the view out of one of the upstairs bedroom. The Draper temple is so pretty, and it's even more beautiful at night. I tried to get that picture but it doesn't turn out.

This is the entry as you come in the front door.

Main Floor Family Room

Kitchen

More Kitchen

Formal Living Room

Master Bath

Master Bedroom

Exercise Room

Some day, when we are lucky enough to own it and put some finishing touches on it, I will post some more pictures. The neighbors and the new ward have been very friendly. They have thrown us right in to the fire and given us the cutest little five year olds to teach in Primary. Moving is hard, but when you are part of a great big church family it makes it much easier.

Fool You Once ....

Please don't mind while I do a little venting. I usually try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, this has gotten me in trouble more than once. This makes me sad. Saturday as we were on our way to a movie, we got in a car accident. The driver made an illegal U-turn right in front of us and with no time to get out of the way we hit him. He was so nice! He apologized over and over again and begged us not to call the police. I knew this was not a good idea. But he was so nice, and so sorry. His car was in much worse shape than ours. Again, I suggested we call the police. I tried to get people to take pictures. No one wanted to do either. Peter was also very nice and understanding. The guy gave us his insurance information and promised he would call them right away and admit he was at fault. He apologized several more times and we let him go. I really thought he would do as he said, after all, he was so nice! I know what you're thinking, and sadly enough you are 100% right. :( Did I mention how nice he was?? He called his insurance company all right. But he would not admit he was at fault, so they will not pay. They seem to think Peter should have been able to read his mind and avoid hitting him somehow. And of course, with no police report, how can we prove otherwise? Yes, it was really stupid of us. We tried to be nice, and instead we got taken. How sad that you can't take people at their word? I remember a time when I lived in Tucson and a well-liked college professor had turned up missing. They found his body in a field. He had stopped to help some "stranded" motorists, and for his kindness they took him out in the desert, robbed him, and killed him. I hate that we live in a society where you can't trust people anymore. It makes me very sad. Fool you once, shame on them! Fool you twice, shame on you! I learned a valuable lesson, but I don't want to let this one dishonest guy keep me from having faith in others. That's no way to live either. Shame on him!

Pardon our Mess....

New House

Sorry I have been slacking on the blogging lately, but I have been an little overwhelmed by life the past couple of weeks as we have had to shift gears into moving mode. Being a former military wife and having moved seemingly a million times, I don't usually accumulate a lot of junk so moving is pretty easy for me. Not this time! Six years in one house, the longest I've ever lived in one house in my adult life, and a husband who had a houseful of furniture and "life" to add to my own, (not to mention that he can't throw anything away) has left me with so much to do I feel I'm drowning in a sea of "stuff"! After several trips to the new house it seems the task is never ending. Have we even made a dent in it? It's good to go through your house and see everything you have, get rid of stuff you don't need anymore (when Peter's not home so he can't see what I throw out ;)) donate things to charity, clean things long overdue for a touch up, and find things you forgot you even had! Except we still haven't found those long lost drill bits!! Packing, taping, lifting, cleaning.....my knees are sore from all the stairs. Yes, we are getting movers to come for the furntiture on Friday, but I think that is the least of our belongings! And then there is the cleaning! It's hard to sit at work knowing I have to so much to do at home. It will be a crazy, busy couple more weeks ahead. But....it will be good to be settled and get on with our lives together. A new adventure! I will post pics of the new house soon, when I get a breather.

The Mission Call!

I think this pretty much says it all! :) Congrats Britt! We are so excited for you!

Why do they call them Wisdom Teeth?

This was the scene yesterday morning as Brittany had her wisdom teeth out. This was part of her preparation to serve a mission. She looks pretty miserable, but she actually came through very well. She asked me 3 or 4 times if I had taken her picture, she couldn't even remember me taking this. I had even showed it to her after I took it. She couldn't remember walking in to the recovery room either and wondered how she got there. She had a rough day. The pain meds made her throw up and she got pretty sore before they finally kicked in.


She is feeling much better today, though she is a little swollen. Poor baby. It's hard to see your kids in pain. Does it really make you "wiser"?

The Happiest Place on Earth....

It's also the sweatiest and most tiring place on earth, but it was worth it! :) Corey disappeared when we took this picture and we didn't realize it until after. That's the trouble with such a large group I guess.

Epcot

Colby, Rachel and Pooh. Awe, how cute!

Four silly girls and Tigger! Lindsey, Robin, Jamie and Brittany.

Waiting for Beauty and the Beast....Corey and Lindsey are soaked through the bones. They got caught in a downpour while waiting in line.

On the monorail. One of MANY trips....

Colby, Rachel and Brittany at Magic Kingdom

Corey, Lindsey, Robin and Jamie

On the tea cups...I get nauseous just watching them.

Oh, Peter is so happy! He found Spongie in the airport on our way home.

Last Day in the Park. Rain Forest Cafe at Downtown Disney.

My most favorite thing about Disney World is experiencing a new ride for the first time, such as Expedition Everest and Dinosaur....and even more, watching my children experience a new ride for the first time. We got Corey and Lindsey to finally get over their fear of rollercoasters! Yay!

They had so much fun on Rock-n-roller coaster and Splash Mountain. We walked...and walked....and walked...until our feet were dying. But we had so much fun! What next??

P.S. For those of you with a Facebook account I have posted many more pictures there.