Amish month coming to a close...

February is almost over!
thank.goodness.
Tomorrow my family and i will enjoy watching movies, listening to music and seeing all the hilarious YouTube videos that we missed out on for the past 29 days.




Let's re-cap February so I feel like I haven't wasted my life away during this month...

February 1st- Celebrated No Electronics February with a trip to the Beach!

this is very true.

 February 6th- Got my wisdom teeth taken out...fun.

If you would like to view the videos...., click here.....

February 11th- Little Love Bug makes her debut on Amazon.com! I am now officially a published Children's book illustrator. check it out here! :)

February 14th- Happy Valentine's Day! Carter sang me a song he composed and wrote on the ukulele all the way from California. *melt*

February 16th- Celebrated Freddie Frog's one year Birthday with family.

We sure do love Freddie Frog! He is so charming that over 6, 000 people have bought his story! Get yours here!

February 18th- just found these adorable photos from when I babysat the Saunders boys:

They tried out using the computer drawing pad and they did pretty well!

February 20..25th..-drew some pretty epic pictures. in case you were wondering, the third one is Sarah in all her hippi glory. :)

February 29th- Hopefully Rainbow Butterflies will come out tonight! :) we will see..

hooray! life without technology isn't all that bad!..but i still can't wait for March...

coming soon!

Who doesn't love butterflies?

They're beautiful, delicate and make us think of fairies and summertime.

So why aren't there more books with butterflies?

well, THAT'S about to change :)

The wonderful adventures of the Rainbow Butterflies, written by Kari Brimhall and illustrated by Ishel Brimhall, coming soon!

here's a sneak peek:

while you're waiting, be sure to check out Little Love Bug's adventure to find the secret to happiness   at  this address!

a post about Star Wars, really?

yes really! Today I babysat the three Saunders boys and took them out to see Star Wars: Phantom Menace in 3D and... it blew my mind. I mean, wow, how epic are these movies!! It felt like I was watching it for the first time ever.

do you just MELT inside when you see this face?? i do.

During the movie I pulled my phone out (chill out) to write down quotes that I had never even remembered hearing the first time I watched the movie.

here's one:

When the Jedi Council is examining young Anakin, Yoda asks about his mother and how Anakin is afraid to lose her. Anakin asks what that has to do with anything and Yoda replies, "Everything! Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” you go, Yoda.

 favorite:

Obi-Wan: But Master Yoda says I should be mindful of the future. 

Qui-Gon Jinn: But not at the expense of the moment.

I mean that is DEEEEP ^  Liam Neeson is pretty much the greatest Jedi ever and Ewan McGregor is also quite awesome.and also quite a handsome man.

and of course, the tearjerking scene when Ani says goodbye to his mom:

Shmi Skywalker: You can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting. 

     ohhh so sweet!

and yes, of course,

...I teared up at Qui-Gon's death. so sad. 

oh wow I love Star Wars

awkward and awesome thursday

Awkward:

-being asked to be a spanish tutor when i am most definitely NOT fluent. gracias pero yo hablo espanol UN poquito!


-2nd graders not knowing what the Wizard of Oz is...*


-just found some lovely photos on my webcam that i took during Wisdom Teeth Week when i was drugged up...don't ask..cause i dont know..??

...sunglasses? turban???

Awesome:

-volunteering at local elementary school. kids are so funny and adorable.


-my workout this morning: DANCING. ** 


-celebrating Freddie Frog's birthday by going out to eat with the family! :)


-finding delicious lollipops in my purse from the Primary Presidency for teaching the sunbeams. SO AWESOME


-JJ's new found feature on his camera "Long Shutter" makes everything look like TRON! we're taking more photos tonight.  :)

flashlights work better than glowsticks

*when i volunteered today at the elementary school in art class, i complimented a young kid on his drawings of tornadoes! i said, "those look great! just like in Wizard of Oz!" he and the girl sitting next to him stared at me blankly while the girl quietly asked, "what's the wizard of oz?"...awkward.

     in my head i was all, OH.MY.GOODNESS. this generation doesn't know wizard of oz?! I admit that i never actually liked the movie but still. flying monkeys and red ruby slippers!?

COME ON it's a classic.

**i love Just Dance 3 with Kinect! i use it the most in our household..they have that fun option called Sweat It Out and you earn Sweat points by just dancing! best.thing.ever.

       Dear Sarah Kay, now i understand what you mean when you say you feel "strong and powerful" when you run. well I feel like that when I dance!

You freak out mom when you say "i'm dropping out of school and living in the mountains with my vibrams and granola." well I freak out mom when I say "I'm changing my major to interpretive dance and i'll splurge my money away on tutus and ribbons." ha. but really though...

tips from Grandma on love, friends and life

        my darling grandmother and I did the dishes together tonight and had a long, lovely chat about life, love and living it up in moment. there was lots of laughter, secrets and silly stories spilled ;)

here are some highlights of the life tips my grandmother gave me:

this photo has no particular connection with this post...
i just love it and it reminds me of my grandma. simple
and beautiful :)

Always:

• be yourself, always!
• Keep yourself worthy for temple marriage
• have a jolly old time
• go to dances :)  "Dances are where you get to meet boys, have fun and fall in love!"
• jump in with both feet!

Remember to:

• have fun with your roommates! fun times are much better than dull times
• treat all with compassion
• make good friends. "Your darling roommates can become lifelong friends. I email my dear friends all the time. we have quite the discussion and reminisce about old days!"

again, this has no real connection
with post..it's just pretty and all
lovely 50's style

and last but not least!...

Love and boys 

• Date many young men,
• don't you dare hold those young men back from serving a full-time mission. no 'love' is worth that.
• Make sure you do date kind young men who don't need a "slap upside the head."
• the list you make of your future husband will probably be the complete opposite of the man you marry ha! mine sure was. it was wonderful.
• you can't change your boyfriend so make sure he is super great before you start dating, same with your husband.
• fall in love, lots of times
• pour your whole heart into relationships, boyfriends or best friends, "because people can tell when you're being short with them. and nobody enjoys a fake friend."
• love with all of your heart and soul...
• but don't let a break-up ruin your life!
• if it is meant to be, then let it be.     if not, move on. life gets better.

I love my grandmother. tonight was really nice.

Little Love Bug Follows Her Heart on Valentine's Day

Little Love Bug is FREE all day today, Monday Feb. 13th!

It's a super cute Valentine story for little kids :)

Even if you don't have a Nook, iPad, or Kindle, you can still download it to your regular computer!

Just download the FREE Kindle app to your desktop!

Happy Valentine's Day ♥

Here's a link:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00787DVVS/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk

it's the simple things in life. really it is

life is so great at the Brimhall house.


last night during dinner I fell asleep, yes during dinner I plopped my head down on the table and slipped into slumberland. I slept through 2 missionary letters and then was woken up. I gratefully took some medication, and then fell asleep again in my warm bed.
Then around 10:30 I woke up..why? I don't know, you tell me! I went downstairs to grab a bite to eat and found my loving mother and sister sitting at the table, writing ebooks. Oh the creativity in our family NEVER goes to sleep that''s for sure :)
we sat at the table for a good 45 minutes, eating chocolate cake and ice cream, laughing our heads off at silly stories, poking fun at ebook authors and just having a wonderful time together.


I went back to sleep with a smile on my face, life is oh so great at the Brimhall house :)

Can this get any closer to the truth?

things I cannot live without

"I am so blessed." <-- understatement of the year

• My loving, funny, crazy, loud, creative and amazing family
• smiles 
• joyous occasions
• letters of inspiration from friends, family and hard working missionaries
• my passion for the arts
• sunsets
• beautiful artwork
• hilarious youtube videos 
• delicious food
• giving and receiving respect
• genuine love 
• learning new and exciting things
• laughter
• the sweet and unconditional love that little children possess
• powerful movies with amazing cinematography
• wonderful books I can read over and over again... like the Hunger Games trilogy, Peter Pan and Stargirl
• vacations to Lake Powell yessss
• capturing moments with photographs
• the beach

• the sand
• the shells
• the seagulls
• the sunshine
• the dolphins
• LOVE
• back massages
• hugs and kisses from loved ones
• stories that constantly keep changing my perspective
• amazing trips to foreign places; Pyramids in Mexico and Machu Picchu, Peru!
• cuddling and snuggling
• saving grace
• faith
• my Savior
• passion
• truth
• fun adventures!
• good, uplifting music
• quotes that speak to my SOUL 
• fingernail polish
• sparkles and glitter
• DANCING
• the knowledge that I will be with the ones that I love again
• lazy saturday mornings
• being perfectly understood and accepted by those I love
• mmhmm being completely and totally HAPPY :) 

beach day....in February

What do you do when it's 74 degrees outside?

grab your flip flops and hit the beach :)