Wonderful Weekend

What a nice long weekend we had to celebrate Thanksgiving and welcome in Advent/Christmas. This year was a little different for us because the Mays have moved so we had our own first thanksgiving here at our house with Charlie and Julia. Both Bren and myself enjoy the tradition of getting up and getting exercise before the big eating day. I ran a self made turkey day 5k around my neighborhood and Bren managed to get some road biking in. We had exceptionally nice weather with it around 50-60 degrees all weekend. I got all of my timing right and made my first Turkey. I followed a barefoot contessa recipe and was thrilled with the results. I am convinced Ina Garten does not have a single bad recipe, literally everything I make from her always turns out amazing. Charlie and Julia came over in the afternoon and we had an early yummy dinner. I was just thrilled all the food turned out yummy.

All of my shopping was done prior to thanksgiving this year and I have found I really enjoy the holiday season if I am not stressed and can just take it all in. We continued our "black friday" tradition of staying in and decorating the house. I used to love "black friday" when it was actually 6am on Friday but since it has started to creep on to Thanksgiving I refuse to participate. Having worked retail I think it is gross that stores are open and much less people actually visit them on a day when people (everyone) should be enjoying time with their families and loved ones. Honestly if your a true shopper get online the sales are always better and your not denying anyone time away. Or get a seasonal job in retail and work one holiday and you will understand why I take issue with this. We managed to get all of the decorations up and have a nice dinner with our little guy too. I cannot believe he will be one in January.

We really had a good weekend and now are looking forward to the quick month of December, in no time a MN Christmas will be here and we will also be enjoying Quinn's first Christmas. We can't wait!

Love,

Alyssa, Bren and Q

Some pictures from this fall

Celebrations

Wow what an overwhelming and crazy month. By the end of this weekend it will mark the third weekend in a row that Quinn and I have not slept at home and also mark his 16th flight in his just nine months of life. No one can say we don't make an effort to get out with this baby. The month started great when we had some friends over for a fall party. It was kind of hilarious because literally almost everyone had a kid or baby with them. Different stages of life, first everyone gets married then they all start having kids. I like it, lots of celebrations this month. We celebrated two weddings this month one a few weeks back our friend Sara and also one this weekend in Florida Brendan's cousin Andrews wedding tomorrow. We also celebrated my amazing Grandma Irene and her passing. At 102 it was a celebration of a life lived overflowing with grace and enthusiasm. Quinn and I flew home and got to meet and see lots of the Brecke clan. We celebrated his first Halloween today by dressing as puff the magic dragon for the puff wedding rehearsal dinner. He has been a trooper through all this traveling and sleeping in different time zones. The little guy is so close to walking and in turn keeps getting bumps and bruises from his attempts at balancing. Sure do love him and all of our wonderful family. In a way it feels a little like Christmas came early this year for all the time we have gotten to spend with our amazing loved ones. Can't wait for Christmas either, I will try to do a post before turkey day!

Love, 

Bren, Alyssa, Quinn 

Saturday Morning

I am currently snuggled up in bed with a fat  cat curled next to me and rain drizzling outside.  Still missing that puppy a lot too. Despite a head cold and gloomy weather , I have been laying in bed this morning feeling so happy. My handsome husband woke up with little boy this morning and I can hear them playing, giggling and Daddy reading him books. Is this for real?  He really is such a great Dad and a wonderful husband.  Despite September being a hard month I feel like we are finally turning a corner into October.  I love fall all the Halloween decorations, apple or pumpkin spice everything and making some of my favorite comfort foods.
Little monkey is growing up fast, he has two teeth. Teething is not fun it is usually accompanied by fussiness, no appetite and yucky diapers. He is also pulling himself up on everything and really exploring. Might need to finally baby proof the doors and drawers this weekend. They just came in to snuggle me, I need to go :)
Love
Bren, Lyss, Q

Ode to Oscar

I still feel like writing this whole entry feels very surreal. What a month it has been, a really terrible month actually. I usually try to always put a positive spin and view on everything but sometimes I just think you need to embrace the idea that its not always roses and sunshine. Just short of two weeks ago we lost a member of our family. Our sweet, forever puppy Oscar.

Oscar was actually Bren’s birthday gift for his 20 or 21^st Birthday, we still debate this point. What an adorable puppy we brought home that day, all wrinkles, soft, wet nose and huge paws. We did the “anti-runt” theory and bought the dog with the biggest paws thinking he would be healthy and not deal with the usual Olde English Bulldog health issues. He had a tough upbringing with Bjorn the wrestling cat, those two would wrestle and always romp around the house with each other. Half the time it felt like having kids and saying to the other one quit picking on your brother. They would also work together ala’ Garfield and Ode style to scheme to get the Cat to push food off the counter only to have Oscar break through the packaging to get to the goodies.

Oscar was such a personality. If you had met our dog I can pretty much guarantee you never forgot him. Between all of his wrinkles and personality we were always convinced he was a Pinocchio puppy. He really didn’t know he was a dog, he always thought he was a little boy. When our little boy Quinn came into this world Oscar just seemed to think he got lucky with a little brother he loved. He wanted to play and be apart of anything Quinn was doing. When I was home on maternity leave, I would put Quinn on a blanket to play and I would do the same with Oscar.

Oscar had a great life, he was such a big part of both Brendan and I’s twenties. He had lived with us in Washington, Michigan, Minnesota and Utah. We met life long best friends through him and at times he was our only friend when we moved to new places. Losing him was a little like closing a chapter in our lives. You could always count on him to wag his little gas cap tail when you got home, and nuzzle into your ear and neck if he got the chance. He truly was a wonder puppy living with epilepsy for over seven years and even one time eating rat poison and not getting sick.

Saying goodbye was terrible but peaceful in the same sense. I know he knew he was so loved and he loved us. I truly believe someday he will be there and the first to greet us when we go to heaven. Dogs are something special, love your animal a little more tonight and don’t take for granted all the unconditional love they always return to you.

Love,

Alyssa, Bren, Quinn and Bjorn Kitty

Labor Day

I think I will always have a special place in my heart for Labor day since literally six years ago Brendan proposed to me at Canada Creek in Michigan. We had such a great weekend when he proposed not only did we pop champagne, eat chocolates and celebrate with Bud and Barb in Canada Creek but then the whole weekend was topped off by an amazing weekend at Makinac Island with Enmark. I love Utah very much but Labor Day always makes me sentimental for the midwest and that last closing weekend of summer in Minnesota and Michigan.
Life has been good, we have been busy but great. Lots of changes in many aspects of life. We celebrated our 5 year Anniversary earlier this month. We are not huge Anniversary people but we try each year do some what the "traditional" gift. Five years is wood so we debated between doing a custom wood front door and planting a tree. Since 2014 was a big year all around with Quinn being born we decided on the tree. This last weekend we bought and planted a gorgeous tree in our backyard in honor of both occasions. I am excited to watch this tree continue to grow with our lives. We will still hopefully get our custom front door someday too. The garden also finally got completed this weekend with variegated iris and bearded Iris being planted. All that is left is planting a few daffodil bulbs and covering everything with mulch. I am so proud of the green thumb I have gotten this last summer. Next summer will the big project of the back yard and taking that on.
At the beginning of this month we had a great trip back to MN to spend lots of time with family. I love how our family get togethers have turned from adult affairs into full on chaos and kids everywhere. Nothing can make my heart more full or happy. We also had the Uebels here to visit in July which was awesome, I wish we could just transplant all of our favorite MN friends and family here to Utah. All my little monkeys (the hockey team of nephews) continuously crack me up with the things they come up with and their love for my little boy too. The Brecke family is a pretty sweet clique to be in. More trips are coming along in the next few weeks Colorado to see the Mays, Michigan for a shower and Florida for a wedding. We can't wait!

Love,
The Whites

Red, White and Blue!

Fourth of July was a great weekend for us. Bren's Aunt and Uncle Brian and Carmen came to town to meet Quinn and spend time with all of us. We had a really nice time, on the actual fourth we went to our community pancake breakfast and then ended up just hanging out at the house enjoying the very entertaining Quinn. He is now at a stage where he is almost crawling, instead he army crawls, rolls or bulldozed (butt up, head down) to wherever he wants to go. We also managed to make it up to Park city when they were here and also to downtown. It was really nice. Fireworks from our patio will never get old. Our weekends have continued to be pretty busy with finishing up the garden and side of the house work. We finished our planting by getting honey suckle in on the side of the house, a peony bush and some fresh herbs like basil and mint. We are having a heat wave now so I we have been watering a lot in order to try and keep everything alive. The last of the yard project that if left is planting some iris, getting mulch on everything and hopefully planting a tree. Bren really wants to plant a tree this year because Quinn was born so we can watch as it gets bigger and bigger each year and remember that it was planted the year he was born.
Parenthood continues to delight us in how much Quinn just keeps changing and learning. I know other parents go through this but it is truly astounding to watch how babies brains just start making all of these connections and suddenly their motor skills, recognition and so many others basic skills start working. We continue to keep him busy with biking, picnics, playing on the swings and in the pool.
Hopefully the second half of the summer will continue in great weather and enjoying family weekends and friends. Hoping to maybe make it to MN in August. Life is good :)

Love,
Alyssa, Bren and Q