Halloween 2009

The next few posts I do will probably be of past events. I've picked up on my blogging a bit more recently, so I have to back track a bit now so I can have these memories down for Joel and me. Hope you guys don't mind... and please still comment because it motivates me to post often.

This past Halloween Joel and I went to our friends, Walter and Aria Blackburn. Aria went ALL out for this Halloween party! I mean, she puts my party planning abilities to shame! Every inch of their apartment was decked out in Halloween decor and even the food & drinks were with the "spooky" theme. We had Shirley Temple drinks in glass jars/ canisters so it looked like blood... this was my favorite! I think I had 6 of them! The food was delicious & we played so many fun games: bobbing for apples, donuts on a sting (I inhaled the powder from the donuts and had a difficult time breathing for a bit), guess whose nose (you cut a tiny slit in a sheet & take turns (girls then boys) sticking your nose through the crack while you're hidden by the sheet). It was hilarious to see the results of these games. The costumes were great too!!! Thanks Blackburns for a fun evening!!!

P.S. - Joel and I did NOT know what to be for Halloween so we put our costumes together last minute, so please do not judge!!! We do not look grand and our costume outcome wasn't too creative! We still had fun though!

Walter, Aria & Luca Blackburn (the amazing hosts) as:

 "Dracula, Dracula's Bride & a cute Little Bat"

Me = A Pirate! (I have hair extensions in)

Joel = Hot Rod (yes...as in the movie)

Chris & Mary Davis as: "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde"

(Mary looked so awesome!)

Mark, Mallory & Claire Hanna as: "An Old Lady & Her Cats"

(Mark...this was pRiCeLeSs!!!)

Walter taking advantage of an "Old Lady"... this isn't the first time either!

Once again, us: Hot Rod with his Little Pirate

And yes, I am aware that Joel's cape was done incorrectly. It is suppose to be a yellow cape with red writing. But unfortunately we watched a clip from the movie after the fact. Joel was also MAD we thought of his costume last minute b/c he wanted to grow his own mustache... alas we had to settle for eye liner.

I still thought his costume turned out pretty good! Poor boy was uncomfortable though b/c the jumpsuit was mine from a previous Halloween and although it was large on me... it ended up riding up on him A LOT!

P.S. - Sorry for the red eye in the pictures and lack of editing. I'm posting this while at work and if I want to save changes to pictures it takes FoReVeR...

Island Park - January

On January 15th and 16th, our friends Rich & Shelane Tuttle invited us to go to their family cabin in Island Park, Idaho. As you can tell, it has taken me a bit to post about this fun trip we had. A few other couples from our ward came too, along with Rich's cousin's family. It was a bLaSt!!! Friday night was spent eating junk food and playing games. What could be better?

Saturday, however, was spent sledding, snowmobiling and tubing. I got to drive a SNOWMOBILE for the very first time! The video I'll post below is a bad portrayal of my driving abilities on that beast. Rich told me, if I could get the snowmobile up the hill than I could drive it as much as I wanted. Well folks....I did! I had so much fun. But I didn't drive as much as I wanted b/c there were others who wanted a go as well. All in all... a super fun weekend with good friends!

Evan, Joel and Cory woke up early Saturday morning to go ice fishing. Not my idea of fun, but they enjoyed it! I believe this was Evan and Joel's first time ice fishing.

Some of the group (left to right): Joel, me, Evan, Tiffany, Laura & Cody

Piling on the tube to go down the hill and over a small jump... I'm pretty sure Cody got the wind knocked out of him. Pictured (bottom to top, left to right): Cody, Joel, Evan, me & Tiffany. Laura is giving us a push.

Our HoStS: Rich & Shelane Tuttle (in both pictures)

Becca & me sledding....WIPE OUT!!! We were drenched!

Joel & me on the snowmobile! (Don't hate the hat...you love it!)

Top: Becca & Cory Bowen / Bottom: Tiffany & Evan Nay

Poor Cory couldn't join in most of the fun b/c he was healing from shoulder surgery.

The Warrens: Laura going over a jump (even though she was a bit apprehensive at first) & Cody cruisin' on this board-type thing.

Joel & me snuggling in the snow!

The LaDiEs (left to right): Laura, Becca, me, Tiffany & Shelane

Joel & me on the snowmobile. Like I stated before... This does not accurately portray my driving abilities on the snowmobile.

Disclaimer: I look ridiculous!

Snowmobiling - Island Park from Brittany Skousen on Vimeo.

So the majority of us piled up on two tubes and headed down the hill. We did pretty well except Becca fell off & got a face full of snow....poor girl! On the tubes are: Becca, Tiffany, me, Laura, Cody, Evan & Joel.

Tubing in Island Park from Brittany Skousen on Vimeo.

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend. Thanks again Tuttles for being such gracious hosts! We had a blast!!! Also, it was the absolute perfect weather! If you know me, you know I had layers upon layers of clothing on b/c cold and I do not mix. Well, guess what? I pretty much shed half my layers and was just fine! It was sunny and pretty warm for that time of month! B-E-A-UTIFUL!!!

B-day Party!

My dear sweet hubby is throwing a Birthday Party for me! Yippee!!! I love parties! So yes, I did make the invitations (pictured above) at work last Friday while I was super bored. Joel wouldn't have done something cute like that. It probably would've been typed, but plain white & cut into little strips of paper with barely any information on it. He can be creative...but this is just my realm of things!

If I haven't seen you this week or didn't have time to drop an invite off at your place, PLEASE know that you're still wanted there. Come and have fun celebrating with us!!! I'm so excited...especially for the pinata! So here's the info (if you cannot make it out on the picture above):

Date: Saturday, March 6th

Time: 6:30 pm - whenever

Where: The Village Apt. Clubhouse

(call if you need directions)

It should be fun! We're going to have a pinata and play lots of games that we did at b-day parties when we were little tikes! Ex: bean-bag toss, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, bobbing for apples, etc.

We have invited a fair amount of people and I was planning on there being food and drinks. Yet since the number may be a bit higher than originally anticipated (which we're 100% okay with...so please still come) I probably cannot make treats enough for everyone. So if it isn't too awkward or weird...and you're willing... PLEASE bring a treat to share with everyone! I know, that's so lame..."here, come to my party. But, wait... would you mind bringing treats too?" I hate to do it, but I only have so much time and money. I don't want people to be hungry or thirsty as they're playing these intense games! haha!

So if you could or would, we'd be so grateful and that would be the best b-day gift (at least to me)! If you can bring something (and haven't already told me), please give me a call. Thanks...ya'll are the best!

I look forward to seeing you all there! I'm stoked!!!

Waiting & Wishing

After a long time of talking and debating, Joel and I have decided to share some news with all of you! And no, we are not pregnant, so you can go ahead and breathe now. This is something we’re skeptical about sharing with people, but we’re at the point where we feel that nothing bad can come from sharing this difficult and sometime uncomfortable news with our close friends and family. If anything there will be more people behind us supporting us and praying for us. So here it goes…

Joel and I got married August 8, 2008. Shortly after that I started to feel like I wanted children ASAP and not wait until we’re married for a year before trying. Joel was not thrilled with the idea because he didn’t feel ready, so I gave up on that for a few days. Then a couple weeks later I felt that anxious feeling again, so I brought it up to Joel and after much begging and pouting, Joel agreed to start trying after we’d been married for 9 months (May 2009). I decided I could handle that. But then a week or so later, I changed my mind, due to that same anxious feeling… I could NOT wait that long!

So I brought it up to Joel again. He was now getting frustrated with me and thinking I never wanted to wait a year before we thought about children. That didn’t sit well with me of course and my feelings were hurt, but still… I felt the need to start trying NOW! Joel being the sweet and giving man he is, agreed to start trying after 6 months of being married (February 2009). I decided that 6 months was better than 9 months and definitely better than a year, so I once again agreed to this and thought, “Ok, this is a fair compromise. I can, for sure, deal with that.”

You guessed it… A few weeks later, I again felt like 6 months was still too long to wait. I decided, through much internal struggle, that it was important enough to me that I should bring it up to Joel again. So, that is what I did… same thing happened as my previous attempts… Joel still wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but lowered it down to 3 months. I did NOT relent this time. I wanted to start trying now. So Joel gave in b/c lets face it, I’m way more bull-headed than he is and I wasn’t going to let go of it. Joel decided that if that’s what I wanted and that’s what would make me happy than that’s what we’d do… start trying to get pregnant. By now, it was mid-October 2008 (2-1/2 months after we got married).

From my previous comment stating we’re not pregnant, I’m sure you’ve added up that we have been trying to get pregnant for over 16 months now! It has definitely been the hardest thing we’ve faced as a couple so far. It is extremely difficult to want something so bad and not get it. Especially a thing so precious, divine and something you’re called upon to do “multiply and replenish the earth”! If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE children and how I’ve only ever wanted to be a mom. But this is our trial right now and something we’re growing stronger from as a couple. And no worries… Joel does want children now and is even glad we started trying when we did.

To help us figure out what the issue is and why we’re unable to conceive, we started going to the doctor a month ago (we could’ve started going sooner, but we kept being hopeful, thinking “this month we’re going to get pregnant”).

I have had some blood work done and my ovaries and cervix checked and all seemed to be normal. I did have an appointment this Monday, March 1st to have a 21-day Progesterone test which measures the hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle. Well I got the results yesterday and my count was low so they have decided to put me one Clomid (the first treatment step for fertility). I will try this for a few months and repeat my Progesterone test April 7th to see if the Clomid is working. For more on Clomid, go here. Joel is supposed to get a semen analysis to rule him out as a factor to our fertility issues. Hopefully that takes place next week… poor guy!

We are hopeful and know that there is a child out there waiting to join our family! Whether we get to have our own children or whether we need to adopt to start our family, we look forward to becoming parents and giving that child(ren) all the love we have b/c there is a lot of it.

Looking back on this whole experience, I know that it was the Spirit prompting me to talk to Joel about trying to get pregnant earlier. At the time I even thought I was being greedy and just wanted a baby b/c that’s what I wanted, not necessarily b/c it was the right time for us. But I can say, without a doubt that is not true. Heavenly Father provides guidance, even if it’s through a whispering voice, of what we need to do. I know this struggle is happening at this time in our life and marriage for a reason, even if I’m unsure of what it may be. We look forward to the future and ask if you have any extra prayers to send them our way.

Also, I do not want anyone to ever feel like they cannot share there good news with us when they get pregnant! We're nothing but happy for people when they find that amazing news out. It is definitely difficult to hear, but we want to celebrate with you. We would never wish this struggle on anyone b/c it is not easy or fun to deal with. A special congratulation to all our friends who are expecting! We are immensely happy for each of you!

***P.S. – I hope this wasn’t an over share for any of you, especially as I talked about anatomy and certain tests.

ToDaY iS...mY 23rd BiRtHdAy!

On March 2, 1987 I, Brittany Anne Seria Skousen entered this world. Born in Hartford, Connecticut! But today, I am celebrating my 23rd Birthday!!! I know it is hard to believe I'm 23 years old...that is a scary thought! Time sure does fly by. The truth of the matter is (and I don't want to seem pessimistic) that today is just like any other day. I don't know what it is...well yes I do...but each year my b-day rolls around and I get a bit depressed b/c it usually is just like any day. It is because (and all of you are aware of this b/c I have been informing you that it's my b-day for about a month now) I get soooo excited about it and hyped up for the day, my specialy day...March 2nd!
I don't want you to think that I'm not happy it's my birthday or that nothing of importance has happened, but I needed to vent...and that is the end of my soapbox for the day!
> I AM HAPPY!
> I AM HEALTHY!
> I AM YOUNG!
> I HAVE A GREAT HUSBAND & FAMILY!!!
So, I do have lots of gifts this year in that I have so many wonderful friends and family members who have taken time out of their day to wish me the HAPPIEST birthday one can have!!! And I am so lucky to have so many friends who are doing small things for me and helping with treats for my b-day party on Saturday (yep...I'm 23 and I'm still having a b-day party)! Embrace it!!!
So I don't know what Joel has planned for my special day, I'm sure it's something that will put a smile on my face & make me appreciate and love him all the more! I am so lucky to have Joel as my ha-bub! Already today he made my heart sing, as well as make me realize I'm pouting over nothing & should stop being a baby about my b-day not being perfect (b/c let's face it...it was never going to be perfect b/c I am at work!) So I was complaining (through text) to Joel about how I feel liked I'm getting gipped on my b-day and that it's just like any normal day...nothing special. And he (the voice of reason and love) said... and ladies prepare to say AHHH... "This is the day that the love of my life came into the world! It is a grand day!" My heart melted and I was grinning from ear to ear!
So the day is getting better by the minute and I am EXCITED that today is my birthday! I love celebrations and holiday! I especially love birthdays, whether it's mine or someone else's, which is why I make such a big deal about March 2nd!
I just thought I'd add a few pictures of my previous birthdays up here at BYU-Idaho! I do have a great track record for having GREAT BIRTHDAYS!!! Usually they have fallen on "Mothers Weekend", so my mom, sister- Amanda, and my little brother- Derek have been there to celebrate with me a few times! Goodness... I am blessed! Well...here they are:

This is my 20th Birthday!!! My mom is directly behind me, so you cannot see her. But my mom and my dear friend, Veronica have always made my birthdays memorable and so much fun!

This is my dear friend and old roommate, Becca! She is now in our married ward, so we still get to spend lots of time together! Love you Bec!

 My 21st Birthday!!! This is obviously Joel dipping me...which I absolutely love! I do also love Joel's face in this picture! My friend Russell Jensen and I had a joint b-day party at the Pinnacle Security building. Yeah... we're pretty cool...only VIP allowed!

Left to Right: Becca, Amber, me & Olivia. I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!! As you can tell, Becca has rung in quite a few b-days with me. Her b-day is only 2 days before mine (but I'm older & have more wrinkles to show for it). haha!

 My beloved little brother, Derek James Seria!!! This is a tribute to you dear one! How I miss you! See you in 6-1/2 months! P.S. - He is making that face b/c I kept making him take pictures with me & he was sick of it. I think he just thought I was ruining he game with the older ladies!

Well, today is and WILL be great! Sorry no pictures from this birthday yet! I will post some at a later date!