Mrs. Brooks

My sister is a MARRIED woman!!

We spent this past weekend celebrating Bailey and Jon as they became husband and wife.

It was the perfect ceremony with the most beautiful bride!

 I can't wait to see the real pictures, and post more about it later!!

Congratulations Mr and Mrs Brooks!!

We love you!!

This Happened

You know how I said I would only blog if something big or wonderful happens...

Well today, this happened!

I can hear the Vitamin C song already!

I am SO ready to graduate!

Even if I don't pass this dumb test in a couple weeks, I will still graduate,

and I will still get my degree.

I may not get a job, but I will be a Master.

That's right, Master Brittany.

You can start practicing that now.

Throw Back Thursday

Remember the time I said Shannon Miller was my idol...

Yep.

That's what I'm talking about.

Leotard - check

Balance beam - check

Totally early 90s hair bun, complete with white scrunchy - CHECK!

In case you can't remember that far, check out this post.

And if you don't know what a scrunchy is...we can no longer be friends and you shouldn't read my blog anymore.

Please Excuse Me

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, good bye...

Just kidding, but kind of serious.

I will be a little bit MIA for the month of January.

I have this little thing called a licensing exam coming up on February 1st.

(Prayers are GREATLY appreciated)

So, I will be spending every free minute reading the study guide, making note cards,

studying note cards, and listening to my study CDs.

I will blog occassionally, if something big or wonderful happens, but I wouldn't count on it.

See you in February!!

Best Moments of 2012

As this year comes to an end, I wanted to take some time to look back on 2012.

The year seemed to go really fast, but we managed to fit several major events into it.

2012 brought us: 

happiness and fulfillment in our work with the teens 

illness (I managed to spend 2 whole months with bronchitis this year) 

sadness and pain as we worked through life's struggles with family members

celebration when Bailey and Jon got engaged

frustration as we adjusted to our new schedules once I started working

sweet memories with both old and new friends

joy and love when we were able to visit family, and even more when they came to visit us

and so many blessings from friends, family, and even strangers that we could not begin to count.

Harry Potter World with KK in January

Spending the weekend with the Aggies from AFC

And getting to meet this beautiful soul - Joe

Meeting our new niece Kayley in March and spending time with her sisters

Buying a new car with insurance money. Taking it back 2 days later. Using my "Velvet Hammer" skills to get us Gramps

Beach day with Bailey and Jon...slash just their whole visit in March

Hosting my first Mother-Daughter Tea for the Juniors and Seniors in May

Celebrating my Grandpa's 80th with all the Baird cousins in June

Signing the papers to buy our first home in June

Replacing the living room floors in our new home

Our first mission trip to Foster's Children's Home in July (which is now a yearly trip)

Celebrating 4 years with this guy at the Lion King in August

Texas State Fair with two of our favorites in October

Thanksgiving with the Bairds in November

Perhaps my favorite moment of 2012 - Youth Retreat in December

Hosting a personal shower for Sister with these girls in December

Free trip to Las Vegas in December

Christmas with the Johns in December

2012 was a great year, with many ups and downs.

Already I know that 2013 will bring my MFT Exam (hopefully I will pass the first time) graduation, Sister's wedding, several cousin's weddings, and hopefully a real, grown up, full-time job for me.

I'm already excited and anxious just thinking about it!

Happy New Years to you all, and may God bless you richly in 2013!

Vegas Vacation - Hoover Dam Tour

Probably the best decision we made while in Las Vegas was to go on a tour of the Hoover Dam.

The second best decision was to go on the 12:00pm tour instead of the 8:00am tour.

We set it up with our hotel concierge, and it was perfect.

Our tour guide picked us up at our hotel, and after going to a couple other hotels to pick up passengers, we were on our way.

Usually, the tour guides just go straight to the freeway (at least that's what he said)

but ours took us through Old Downtown, and past Fremont Street, and all the chapels with Elvis,

and we even got to go past this place.

Gold and Silver Pawn Shop from Pawn Stars

Michael was super excited! 

There was a really long line to get in, so we were glad that we chose not to do that.
It was a short drive out to Hoover Dam, and about 5 minutes before we got to the dam, we got to the new skybridge.

Michael does not like heights.

Which means, Michael hated this bridge!

He really hated taking this picture because I made him stand close to the edge.

And, as soon as he took the picture, he ran off that thing.

I wasn't a huge fan of the feeling of being that high, but the view was pretty great.

After walking the bridge, we continued the drive to the dam.

We took the power plant tour, and there was so shortage of dam jokes.

I loved it.

It was just like the Griswold's in Vegas Vacation.

At the end of the tour you get to walk along the top of the dam.

Michael was still not a big fan...

But he was a little happier to take a picture with me,

since I stood closest to the railing.

 I had a great time walking around the dam and taking pictures,

and to be fair, it is a long way down.

It was very interesting to hear all about the dam, why it was build, and how it was built.

I probably liked it way more than Michael did, 

but he is glad we took the day to go see Hoover Dam too.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was when the tour guide pulled off onto a scenic turnout which lead to this beautiful view of Lake Mead.

The last stop of the tour (also off the normal route) was the famous Las Vegas sign.

Michael and I had kind of been looking for it, and didn't really know where it was, so we happened to mention it to our bus driver who agreed to take us all there.

It was a little smaller than I had imagined.

And by a little, I mean a lot.

It was the perfect ending to our tour, and to our time in Las Vegas.

We still had a couple hours after this to walk around to more hotels, eat dinner, and lose my wallet before our plane left for home.

You know, all the normal vacation activities.

Thankfully, I had a little beginners luck, and the sweet old lady that found my wallet turned it in to security, who gave it back to me.

By that time, Michael and I were more than ready to get home.

It was a great trip, the perfect 2-day getaway, and we are so happy that we had the opportunity to get a way for awhile...even if it was Sin City!

Vegas Vacation - Shows and Attractions

Wow, that hotel post got out of hand fast!

I promise to make this one a little bit shorter.

But just a little.

Our second favorite thing about Las Vegas were all the shows and attractions that the hotels offer. 

Whether it is a daytime attraction that happens on the hour, 

a nighttime show that happens on the hour,

or a night show that stars celebrities, they are all amazing!

Our first priority on Monday was to see the Bellagio fountain show.

 Let me tell you, it did not disappoint!

We only saw it the one time, but we were very impressed!

After the fountains, we went to MGM to hold baby lions.

Unfortunately, we found out that they decided to do away with the lions because they didn't make any money for the hotel. 

I was extremely disappointed!!

On the way back down the strip we bumped into these guys

And then we found the M&M store where I met this girl...

okay, she's a plastic figurine, but I was still excited.

My absolute favorite thing on the strip was definitely Paris.

I must have taken 30 pictures of the Eiffel Tower alone.

(Don't worry, I'll spare you those)

We never made it into the Paris Hotel, but the tower and the balloon were enough for me.
It was just as beautiful in the day as at night.

 *I found out later that there is an Arc de Triumph. 

I will be finding that my next time in Vegas.

I was also pretty impressed with these beautiful creatures at the Venetian.

They just walked around and posed.

And looked beautiful.

Since we only had two days in Las Vegas, we decided to see a show on Monday night.

I really wanted to go to Soul-2-Soul, a concert by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw,

but they are only in town on weekends so that was out.

Our next choice was a Christmas classic - Mannheim Steamroller

I will be honest, it was not as good a "show" as TSO,

but the music was incredible!!

Plus, they had acrobats, and it snowed on us.

It was the perfect Christmas concert for our night in Vegas.

After the show we ate dinner at an Italian restaurant in the Palazzo.

(It wasn't good, we wouldn't recommend it)

and the restaurant had lots of Italian cars!

Tuesday night, we walked out of the Venetian just as they were about to start their nighttime show.

They know how to put on a show, that's for sure!

It was probably 20 minutes long, full of lights, music, dancing, and angels.

The last attraction that we saw was at the Mirage.

This is one that I read about online, and heard about from several others.

It is the eruption of their volcano.

It happens every hour, on the hour, starting around 6pm.

I thought it was awesome...Michael was expecting a little more.

You win some you lose some.

Just like we did not see all the hotels in Las Vegas, we did not see even close to all the shows and attractions.

I can honestly say that Vegas has something for everyone.

Whatever you are looking for, you will find it.

We were looking to see the city, explore the hotels, and see some cool shows,

and we got our wish and much more!