BROOKLYN'S SPECIAL DAY

MAY 5, 2009

Brooklyn's Kindergarten teacher this year was Mrs. Strom and one of the fun things she did was spotlight each child in their class. They each got a day to bring whatever "treasures" they wanted to share or talents they wanted to show. Being a first timer I let Broolyn pack her own bag of stuff she wanted to share. She brought her American Girl doll Samantha, Alexis her pink monkey, heart jewlery box from Grandma Dewey full of costume jewlery, her camera, and as a talent she did a demonstration of a cool pony tail on Aunt Gretchen. THANK YOU, GRETCHEN. When we got there I saw on the board an outline of their day and I guess Special Days were only supposed to be 15 minutes! Well first of all we were late, second she had way to much stuff to show and third they still had a treat to eat! Mrs. Strom being the wonderful, flexible kindergarten teacher that she is gave her precious teaching time all for the sake to make Brooklyn feel special. That's why we love her! As you can tell Brooklyn had very special day and was loving every minute of being in the spotlight. I love that she is proud of herself and it was so touching to hear all the nice things the other kids said about her. My favorite was the little boy who blurted out "I love you Brooklyn" (i think he had been holding that in for a while :) We think that Brooklyn is pretty special and are so glad that she is a part of our family! Love you B.

The Model and her personal hair stylist.

Brooklyn's Fan Club

Special Days and Special People

Grandpa Ottesen's Wedding Day

Not many people have the privilege of witnessing their grandpa get married. We did. My Grandma (whom we called Dewey) passed away three years ago last March. Grandma was a very active lively woman so when she had her stroke you could say we were all a bit in shock. We all have missed her dearly especially my Grandpa. My grandma's sister, Aunt Mary, introduced my Grandpa to Margaret (Mary's best friend from high school) and they have been dating for the last year. Grandpa proposed to Margaret on New Years Day and they were married for time in the Provo Temple on April 25, 2009. It was such a special time for our families to be together. To watch Grandpa and Margaret walk into the sealing room holding hands with big grins on their faces you couldn't help but know that they would be happy for the rest of their time together. The sealer understood that it was a difficult but happy day for our family. He said that this was a "bonus" love and that it wouldn't take away from either the love they had for their first wife/husband. I am so glad that Grandpa is happy and has found such a wonderful person as Margaret.

The Happy Couple

Mom, Grandpa, and Margaret

Ben , Dad, Ben T., and James (where is Dan???)

Brooklyn's New Friends

Growing up in Wapiti my mom would read "Little House on the Prarie" to us for a bed time story. We loved it especially because it had all girls and so did we. One day "Little House on the Prarie" was on tv and Brooklyn wanted to watch it. I new what it was about from reading the books, so I said sure. Well Brooklyn is like me, we hate scary parts in movies! I am a big chicken. When it comes to intense or even a little scary part of a movie, I leave. (poor Ben has seen more than his share of chick flicks) Back to Brooklyn, as she was watching there came a part where the Indians attacked. Guess who was hiding in the kitchen? Yup. She went back and forth in and out of the kitchen for the rest of the movie. That night she had a nightmare that the Indians came and took her and wouldn't let her see me. I was feeling so bad so I tried to explain that Indians now days don't do that and that it was just a movie. To try to make her feel better I wanted her to know that Indians are our friends. When my mom was growing up they had lots of Indian foster children and one girl named Frankie just became part of the family. So I told her that Chicky Babe had an Indian sister and she would get to see her at Grandpas wedding. This made her nervous. She wasn't so sure she wanted to go anymore since Frankie and Lisa Marie (Frankie's daughter who is my age)would be staying at my parents house with us. When we got there and reaquainted Brooklyn with Frankie and Lisa Marie she was feeling much better about sleeping under the same roof. I'm glad that Frankie could laugh about it and be the "Indian" Aunt Brooklyn never knew she had!

Brooklyn, Lisa Marie, and Frankie

Here is a cute picture of Candace and her adoring big sisters. They are sharing because they were fighting over who got to hold her. Candace is 3 weeks old in that picture.

I had to put this one on because I thought it was too cute. Ben set her down to help Alex with something and she snuggled right in.

Hats off to Heidi

Hats off to Heidi

I don't think that anyone has a better sister than I do. My sister Heidi came to help me after I had Candace for a whole week. To some this may seem like no biggie but let me tell you she was a lifesaver! You all know that I am a bit bossy (I get it from Grandma Fillerup) and I don't function well when I don't get sleep (we drank lots of Diet Cherry Pepsi and Dr. Pepper). Don't worry she was well aware of these flaws before she came, after all she did share a bathroom with me growing up :) I wish I could say that growing up we never fought but that would be far from the truth. But I am so glad to say that now she is one of my very best friends. I usually don't go a week without a phone call or text. (this may seem long to some people but in my family, no news is good news) I don't know if I can ever thank her enough but let me tell you all the things I love about Heidi.

Things I love about my Heidi Sister: (in no particular order)

1. She can pull off sparkly shoes in Cody, WY. She has great style.

2. Her willingness to put other people first.

3. She is a great mother to Tagg and I know that if she has twins next she will be able to handle it.

4. She is very spiritual and isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes.

5. She can go with the flow... a last minute change doesn't phase her. (something that we all got used to from my dad)

6. Heidi is a great cook and according to Alex she makes better sandwiches than I do!

7. She can join in any group and make new friends.

8. She will cry with you over your sorrows and be happy for you over your greatest moments.

9. She can look for the best in any situation. I need to do that more often.

10. She is a great listener and keeps me from many "open mouth insert foot" moments.

Thanks Heidi, I love you the most!