Brown Family

Cabo

2010-12-10T21:46:00.000-08:00

We took our first Real, non-family reunion vacation with just the five of us. It was a week in Cabo, and it was magical. We thought we were partly crazy, but desperate for a warm, relaxing vacation, of any sort. Someone gave us a free hotel suite for the week, so it was really a no brainer of whether or not we would go. We just went with no expectations since we traveled with three youngsters, but they did amazing and we all had a BLAST!!!! Cabo 2012 is already in talks.
We swam everyday, enjoyed Pina Coladas by the Pool, explored a few different hotel pools, took a couple boating excursions, and played hard all day. Carson's favorite activity was a pirate boat excursion where we saw real pirates perform a show.
Our little Sabey Baby was a dream. She napped in her Phil & Ted's stroller e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y. while we enjoyed doing whatever the heck we wanted. The stroller was a pre-trip purchase that was well worth the money spent. It was truly a life saver. (Phil & Ted's if you need a company spokeswoman, call me. I'm in love with your product.)

Cabo, I fell in love with you, and so did my kids. I've caught them on numerous occasions playing "Cabo". Thanks for the memories. Hopefully we'll be back sooner than later to create some more.

Burn the Floor

2010-11-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

I'd heard that the Broadway show "Burn the Floor" was amazing. That combined with the fact that I wish I was a professional dancer and secretly think that someday I still will be, resulted in a spontaneous girls night with my friend Brooke. We bought tickets via craigslist on the day of the show and headed down to watch some darn good dancing. Special guests included the cute married couple from So You Think You Can Dance.And Mary Murphy. She was kind of a funny little thing. But really some amazing dancing!!!

A Time of Thanks

2010-11-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

We're a crazy bunch. Truly. But we sure do have lots to be grateful for!!!!!
A dad who loves to spend time with the young ones.
Our little soccer man who scored his first 3 goals ever this last soccer season. It was a big deal. And I may have shed a few tears. I'm just glad I wore sunglasses. Coach Tom has been his coach the last two seasons and we love him.
Again, a handsome husband, who also kind of likes to spend time with his wife. Lucky me.
Lastly our two beautiful little girls...especially our little Saylor Grace. Such a perfect addition to our crazy bunch.

Underwear Bandit....

2010-11-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been enjoying a nice afternoon and seen a darn cute little lurker peeking over your fence? If your our neighbors, I think the answer just might be a big fat yes. So, if you were looking for privacy, my sincerest apologies. What can I say, the guy is curious and prefers to spend his spare time doing the underpants dance.
Where does this peculiar little fellow come from? Not sure, but he is a clever one. Just maybe someday you'll be lucky enough to witness the underpants dance, but as his mother, I hope not.
I'm just glad he sleeps with extra coverage. You never know if the roof will spring a leak in the middle of the night. It's been known to happen.
Oh Carson you do make me laugh!!! Or cry :)

Halloween

2010-10-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

Halloween was a good time all around this year. Three little pumpkins, three dang ADORABLE pumkings, super excited about any and all holiday festivites will always make for fun.
The down side was that Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, so we opted not to go trick-or-treating, but on the upside, we had so many other gazillion halloween activities that Carson and Brynlee could care less about going out the night of. They were tickled to sit at the door and pass out candy while reveling in their already filled up pumpkins from two nights of trunk-or-treating.

It all began when Brynlee had a cookie decorating halloween party with her joy school buddies. Cutest group of little kiddos!
and Carson's school had an amazing halloween carnival that we went to with Finn & Milla. The simple Elementary carnivals that i remember from my school days are no more....these guys don't mess around, and the kids LOVED it. They had tons of crafts, COTTON CANDY (one the the top 10 loves of my life) games, and full on real carnival rides. It was big time.
Next up was two nights of ward trunk-or-treats.
One night with both grandmas & grandpas, while matt & I went to a couple halloween parties.
and the next night with friends at our ward party.
The ward party was crazy & fun. Brynlee now knows exactly what a cake walk is, but no cake was won despite all my efforts.
So what we can sum up from our October is that we all tons of fun and really ate WAY too much candy!!!!! So finally today I paid the kids $3 to turn over their buckets. Not too bad a deal. I have woken up for the last time this morning with Brynlee waving a candy bar in my face asking if she can have it for breakfast. The candy is now safely stashed away for my personal consumption since clearly I need more junk in my life. It's called my sanity stash. Maybe someday I won't look toward chocolate as a sanity maintaner....nope, probably not!

Lovlies

2010-10-22T21:45:00.000-07:00

When times get tough, take matters into your own hand. Carson wants more toys and learned (at least this day) that mom is not his sugar mama, and attempted to take care of business...

Sign reads "Money for music" We live on a low traffic street, so his sugar mama turned out to be the only customer looking for some good tunes.

Other than scraping by, everyone is alive, well, and adorable as ever. And even better, after 4 months of life, Saylor is finally starting to realize that life isn't all that bad and she doesn't need to yell over everything. Not that it made her any less cute, just maybe a touch less obnoxious to others who don't think her every movement is the cutest thing ever.

Precious

2010-10-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness have you EVER seen anything cuter??? I think not. So in LOVE with my little thumb sucker!!!
saylor @ 4 months old

Julian

2010-10-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

We played Hookie from school and headed on up to Julian to pick us some apples!!! Such a fun time. You can eat all you want while you pick and they have all sorts of different kinds. Kids loved it, I loved it, Saylor barely tolerated the whole thing, but we will be back next fall for sure!!!!

Saylor Grace

2010-09-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

Saylor Grace made her grand entrance into the Brown Family June 15, 2010. She's been my naughtiest baby of the bunch, but I am seriously obsessed with her, and she is the cutest thing that you will ever meet. I think the loud babies have to be extra cute, and then it doesn't bother you when they yell endlessly...and it works! Here I am in all my pregnancy glory about a week before delivery!!!!
and one last look with the buddha belly and a little moment with Carson the morning we went in. I'm all about inducing and so is my Dr. so I consider us a pretty good team. Checked in the hospital around 8:30 am, they gave me my epidurral around 9:30- more appropriately referred to as heaven in a IV- and popped the little lady out just after 2:00. Sounds all so simple and smooth right- that's what Matt thinks, and can't figure out why I don't want a bunch more. Actually our naughty and adorable Saylor Grace has yelled enough that I think he's finally brought his numbers down to my level. Either way the delivery went well, except for right before delivering, I felt more pressure than I wanted to and begged for an epidurral booster. I want to be numb beyond any numbness, no inclination for a natural birth in this lifetime. So once that was all in place it was pretty smooth sailing.
She was such a little chunker too. 8 lbs. 2 oz. my biggest by Far!!!! So much for dreams of a 6 pounder.
and here's the first family of 5 in the hospital pic. Please excuse the fat face, it happens!!!

Around 1 week.
Saylor at 4 weeks
Here's Saylor at 5 weeks old with one of her future best buddies...Gordon. Little G is only 2 weeks older than Saylor and a true gentleman :)
Her chubby little smile is the BEST!!!! Saylor at 2 months.
And one of the most recent. The blue eyed beauty at 3 months old!!!!

Movin' on Up

2010-09-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

Preschool was a good time for Carson. He made a couple new best buddies, loved his teacher Miss Debbie, and crafted his little heart out.
and crafted.....
and crafted. So many crafts, that I was left with only one option. Take a picture, so we can look back on them with fondness, and then sneak them into the trash when Carson isn't looking, cause there's no way in heck he would approve of the disposal of anything. Just look at his room.
Here's most the kids in his class, performing for Mothers day.

But with the end of preschool, it was time to move on up & begin the beginning of many many years in school. Kind of a scary concept. No tears were shed, almost. Maybe they're we're just a couple when he had to walk the last steps into his classroom and he turned and waved. He was SO SO nervous, and is such a cute little guy, but I think I might have even been more nervous for him. All I could think about was whether or not I raised him the best I could up to this point, since there's going to be so many new influences throughout his day, and not all good. Have I given him confidence, and a good base? And most importantly have I really enjoyed and soaked up the time i've had with him? Not sure that I have. It will forever be my goal to not have regrets when it comes to raising my kids and spending time with them.

We started the first big day of school with Carson's breakfast of choice- german pancakes.
And naturally, Carson looked like a stud.
And here we are, nearly 2 months into school and he's loving it. and so am I!!! He gets to ride the bus because we're being shipped to a school different than the one we're supposed to go to because of overcrowding. But he loves the bus, and I love the extra hr. I get. It's a win win.

Summer Joys

2010-08-15T21:13:00.000-07:00

The summer kind of got away from us with the new baby. But, we did celebrate a few special days and spent a few more getting a tan. I turned 30...eek....and it may have been one of the most uneventful 30th b-days ever. I'll chalk that up to a 2 week old baby, and get a little extra crazy next year. Matt and Grandma Velyn celebrated their birthdays a day a part, so we joined forces for a little party. Carson & Brynlee dressed up for some Dancing to celebrate Matt & I's 8th anniversary on July 12th. That was pretty darn cute. To bad you can't feel the pictures, because Carson was wearing some pretty darn groovy velvet pants with his suspenders, that I believe were passed down from uncle Shane.

And the good ole' beach. The reason we pay those crazy bucks to live where we live, yet never quite seem to go. We only went to the beach a couple times this summer. A june baby doesn't go hand in hand with a sporting a swimsuit too often. Go figure! Not to mention June Gloom lasted through August! Anyhow, this was best beach day hands down of the summer. Perfect perfect weather! i'm pretty sure we didn't pack up the troops until 7pm. And we were especially grateful for "Mr. Koehle" who entertained all the kiddos.

And of course we were especially grateful for Grandma & Grandpa Anderson's pool this summer. One of our most favorite destinations!!!!

Blessing Day

2010-08-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Saylor Grace was blessed at home on Saturday, August 14th. We like to live on the edge and do things the unconventional way. Except that i'm not an edgy kind of gal at all, and fretted about this at least a couple weeks before, but it turned out fabulous. I was worried it wouldn't feel as special being on a Saturday, and worried about how on earth I was going to feed 60 people after. Turns out all the worrying was for nothing & I loved just having some of our closest friends and family there. I especially loved not having to bear my testimony in Sacrament meeting, because for whatever reason i've always thought it was an unspoken rule to bear your testimony the Sunday that you bless your baby, and public speaking does not sit well with me.

Here's the circle of men that were involved in the blessing. Matt did an AMAZING job, just as he has with all 3 kids!!!! Great Grandmas, Grandmas, Mom & 2 beauty little babies :)
By doing the blessing Saturday we were able to have both sets of living great grandparents there, which was pretty darn special!

and here's a couple shots of some guests. The Koehle family, some of our favorites...and a few others below.

T + L = Love

2010-08-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

We gained a new lady in the Anderson Family this Summer. Trevor married Lauren on August 13th, and she's adorable....or should I say tough. Both my brothers have married super tough, athletic girls and i'm pretty sure they're hoping to breed superheros, and even more sure that they will. So, if there's any other women with a genetic make-up similar to wonder women, Shane's available.
We love Lauren, and my kids do to, she's a fabulous addition!!!! And if you ever come across Trevor or Lauren, ask them about their courtship, it's pretty much a one of a kind story, but so cute.

And Uncle Thumbs finally got to spend some time with his newest and probably favorite niece, Saylor.
This is one of Laurens little sisters, Abigail. She's got 9 kids in her family, and my kids are pretty much obsessed with them all, but especially Abigail. The best part is, that they can all play together and they do it so well. Those are golden friendships.

Moving Day

2010-07-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

We have loved our living and owning our first house in San Elijo for the last 5 1/2 years! But, it was time to sell it, and move on. Carson was totally bummed about the whole ordeal, not a big fan of change, but I think once he realized our new house was on a cul-de-sac a

nd our neighbors had some kids that thought he was pretty darn cute, he's adjusted. Nontheless, always sad to say goodbye to a home that has been such a big part of our family and holds so many memories!

The amount of "Stuff" we have accumulated over the last few years blows my mind. And sure makes for a fun time moving when you're 9 months pregnant. So far since kids, we've moved a week after Carson was born, and now 3 weeks before Saylor was born. So maybe timing isn't our strong suite. Thank goodness for helpful grandma's we got most the moving in completed before the baby!

Life Passing by SO fast!

2010-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

How do you possibly catch up on journaling the last 9 months of life? You don't. Between a move to a new house, a new baby, a 1st time kindergardner, a couple busy tax seasons, a wedding, and summer in all it's gloomy glory, it's a wonder how anything gets done around here.

My list doesn't get shorter. ever. Instead, I feel overwhelmed with so many things that need to get done, and wake up in the middle of the night in panic mode thinking about it. Then in the morning the tasks are too daunting to tackle, so instead I do none of it. Oh sweet life. But we love it, and the craziness is now the norm, so i'll consider myself adjusted and get back to my blogging groove.

Anyhow, here's my mediocre re-cap of life pre-baby....I'll at least give the big stuff a post of their own!
Most of the spring the kids in I were doing our best to make it through another busy tax season, while Matt worked for what felt like 3 months straight! I was mostly working on staying sane :) Picking strawberries, our new annual outing is a favorite!!!!!

We celebrated some holidays....and were lucky to have gotten visits from the easter bunny & some crazy leprechauns!
The kids and I traveled, hoping to make tax season go by faster. Hmmm, not sure traveling alone with 2 kids really makes anything go by faster....but it was fun! First to Utah, to visit family & friends. Then to Arizona to meet our new baby cousin Katelyn. She was a hit, and oh so adorable!

But how did we really stay sane you ask???? At least they're smiling

To celebrate the end of April 15th, we made our 2nd annual post-tax season get-away to Palm Springs for a weekend.

Palm Springs is always a good time, and was the perfect prep for baby #3.....

A Month Full of L.O.V.E

2010-02-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

They're Just Saying...

2010-02-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

......Kids are brutally honest, and innocent. It's really some of their best traits. Afterall, isn't that why we're told to be a little bit more like children? Lately we've been hit with some funnies around here. A necessity in life, so we're able, just for a moment to look beyond the constant teasing and fighting and re-gain a touch of sanity. and we've been needing that a little extra around here during tax season.......plus, if we're being honest, most of the embarrasing comments made in public are what we adults are really thinking, but have been trained to keep to ourselves, in attempt to appear proper. But just maybe the kids are doing some people a favor by making them aware of what may have been an oversight in their morning routines :)

"Mom What's wrong with her make-up?" or "How come her hair is so big?"

But the winner of the latest most embarassing goes to.....Carson, who saw a h.u.g.e.l.y obese person.

"Mom, I just heard him fluff. hehehe. But how do you think he goes to the bathroom if he's SO big? How would he even sit on the toilet?"

Good question Carson!

And the best quote of the week- no embarrasment even included, was when I pointed out all the yummy soy milk flavors at the grocery store and Carson said,

"Ewww, I'm never drinking Soy Milk, because then you'll get man boobs."

Well maybe i'll just have to start drinking some...with the exception of when i'm pregnant of course :)

Another Year Older....

2010-02-17T19:12:00.000-08:00

...and so much sassier, wiser, cuter, and fun is our little Brynny Bear! Emphasis on the sass, which on a 3 year old is nothing short of pure entertainment 90% of the time. Combine that with the occassional drama...the teenage yrs could be interesting!

This little girl has a serious love of life, and you can't help but be happy in her presense. She smiles, laughs, sings, and dances constantly.

She turned 3 on January 19th, and we celebrated with a princess party fit for a queen. Brynlee is girl through and through so the theme was must do.

After our tea party, Cinderella paid us a visit and read all the little princesses her story. Then we played "find the missing glass slipper", and "hot princess castle". All in all, an adorable party for our favorite 3 yr. old!!!

Dear Rain,

2010-02-10T12:33:00.000-08:00

....and winter, and cold (for california) weather. I like you in small doses. And i'll be honest, I'm over you. More importantly, I think i've already learned a valuable lesson from you....I thought I was decently patient, but apparently I have a loooong way to go, and much to learn. Hopefully I learn before baby #3 makes it's grand entrance!

****During prayers tonight Carson said "Thank you that it's so beautiful in California where we live and not raining. And bless that we won't laugh at people who live where it rains a lot, but that we'll feel sad for them." Prayers don't get more sincere.

The Big Day

2010-02-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

Christmas was magical this year. Not only because my kids are the BEST ages, but because we caught Santa. But don't worry, he didn't see us.
We were quiet as a mouse as we watched Santa go about his business through the stairs. We saw him taking a rest, putting lots of presents under the tree as he talked about Carson and Brynlee, eating the muffin and milk we left out for him, and even declaring his love for burritos....I can only guess he must have been coming directly from Tiajuana.
The kids were mesmorized. I woke Brynlee up at 6:00 to tell her that I thought I heard him and she immediately popped up and said, "Me too, can we can go look at him?" It was hilarious. Carson was a little more nervous because he didn't want Santa to get even the littlist peek at him so he was very careful!!! Once he left we were ready for business.....
We woke up at my parents house this year, and everyone was in town.
It was a busy day, but SO fun!!!
Brynlee's highlight was her chest of dress-ups. She's learned all the right poses and everything. Have I ever mentioned how much I love having a girl.
And both the kids, were sent on a scavenger hunt for their final present. A John deere tractor. It's the ONLY thing Carson really wanted and when he didn't see it under the tree he was totally bummed. But I knew if I put it under the tree he wouldn't open anything else....so he had to wait.
I always wanted one of these suckers when I was little, so it was pretty fun to see how excited it made the kids, especially Carson!!!!
Then it was off to the Browns. Have I ever mentioned that they live only a mile from my parents? Therefore all holidays are anything but mellow and relaxing. Nonetheless we are so grateful that we get to see so much family all the time and especially that we get to spend holidays with everyone and have 20 meals :)
Since everyone was in town this year we also had our annual Browns vs. Andersons football game. The jury is still out on who won, or should I say who deserved to win, but we'll just leave it at that.
The rest of the week I did a horrible job at taking pictures, but Keri's family stayed in town and we played and played and played. We LOVE when our cousins are here. That, combined with the holidays made for a darn good end to 2009.

Walking in our Winter Wonderland

2010-02-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

Our December came and went waaaay to fast like most do. If I could create the calendar for the year it would include 3 months of December and the rest Summer months. And yes, all three of those Christmas months would be be filled with all things Christmas....inlcuding, but not limited to: Christmas music (yes, I am one of those annoying people who play it for 2 months straight and am still not sick of it), Christmas cards- the only month I actually check my mail on a regular basis...honestly where's the fun in the daily and never ending bills, Christmas parties, peppermint ice cream- oh for the love of sweet, sweet peppermint ice cream, cinnamon bread, endless treats on the counter, good food, lots of candy cane hot chocolate, and nice people. (everyone is so much happier!!!!)

But since we are limited to one december month, (except in our home November is more or less a christmas month) we soaked up all the fun we possibly could for one holiday season, and sadly said goodbye until next year.

One of the seasons less exciting yet usually entertaining activities, of attempting the perfect family pictures. It's a good thing i'm writing this 2 months late because at this point i'm remembering these sessions fondly, when really, when is trying to get more the one person looking at the camera at once ever fun? Never!!!!
But it's all about the memories.....
Then we move on to one of our most favorite traditions...Christmas eve parties. We started with the big Anderson party which was luckily moved to the 23rd, so there were no partying conflicts. We LOVE our family parties!!!!
Brynlee realized she had a special place in her heart for her Great Grandma Anderson and couldn't get enough. I thought it was quite possibly one of the most tender and cute things ever, so hopefully Grandma wasn't feeling to smothered :)

What else can you do during the annual talent portion of the program? As if (whoa major clueless flashback:) Nope we listened intently the whole time, but I did love spending time with some of my cousins.

And last but certainly not least, round one of the always entertaining nativity. I figure if we do it enough, one of these years my kids will truly start to understand the true meaning of Christmas, but for now, there enthusiasm to dress up like a shepherd is pretty cute.

And the 24th.... The Brown family Christmas eve party with e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e there!!! Which has not happened in all the years that we've been married, so we LOVED seeing everyone! Here's the whole gang in all our glory!
The now annual rendetion of the 12 days of Christmas performed by some of the Brown boys. I dare to bet that until you've seen this number, you haven't seen the song properly sung with the right amount of energy.
Nativity #2....and dang cute!
Brynlee also realized that she had a special place in her heart for her cousin Brooklyn, after Brooklyn gave her a baby stroller for the cousin gift exchange. Then to top it off with a cherry, she brought her tiny little dog and let Brynlee push her around on the strollers maiden voyage! According to a two year old, life does not get much better.

The Signs Align

2010-01-11T19:02:00.000-08:00

Instead of facing a blog where i'm about 2 million posts behind, i've ignored it. But no more. New Year, New blog devotion. Serious this time!

Some day i'll catch up, but not now.

Over the last few months i've had the occasional freaking out tendency to overlook all the symptoms and positive pregnancy tests, and question whether or not I was actually pregnant, all because i didn't yet have the confirmation from the good ole' obgyn. Call me a little paranoid and medically dependent.

But the signs were all confirmed f.i.n.a.l.l.y. Apparantly the throwing up, huge chestal increase, smell sensitivity, and belly fat, weren't just in my mind. And it's a good thing to otherwise I would have no explanation as to why this week I:

a) drove way out of my way to get 2 tacos from jack in the box (i don't even think what's inside can be considered meat, but they were great)

b) cried uncontrobally on 2 t.v watching occasions that really truly didn't warrant even misty eyes.

but the results are in, i'm due the middle of june (further along than I thought) and having another girl. SO excited!!!! But don't take me gambling, because I would have bet anyone that it was a boy.

Brynlee is beyond thrilled....and Carson's only response when opening the present that told them the sex- "oh dang it." and that was that!

Merry Merry

2009-11-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

The Christmas decor is up...and i'm a happy christmas bound camper. Just wanted to share the good news. Now if only 7-11 will start selling the candy cane hot chocolate the season will really be in full swing.

I promise i'll do my best to be a better blogger too. There's my written goal, cause if you write a goal it's more likely to happen right? I've just been so tired lately.....really really really abnormally tired...take that for what you will :)

Good Night!

Trick Or Treat

2009-11-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

These pictures are really out of order, but really does anyone care? Nope, didn't think so! But maybe some day i'll fix it.

Halloween kept with our traditional dinner of dinner in a pumpkin with our families, followed by trick-or-treating with some of our best friends and ending with an unhealthy amount of sugar consumption and two pooped out kids.

The A-team, Carson and Finn had endless amounts of energy and could have kept going as long as the candy kept coming. They were having a crazy fun time

Team Chill- Milla, Brynlee and Thomas were more my style, collecting a sufficient amount of candy and then hopping in the wagon, eating their favorites, and enjoying the ride.

The kids all looked seriously adorable....the cutest i've ever seen. Carson & Brynlee got tons of candy, enough to make mom happy for a while, so chalk that up to a Halloween success.....let the countdown to x-mas begin :)

Pre-Halloweeny fun

2009-11-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin patches, cookie decorating, trunk-or-treat, and carving parties oh my! The days before halloween were busy and fun and hopefully all the pictures adequately represent the fun we had & I can keep the commentary to a minimum, with all the blog catching up I have to do!

We loved spending time with the Blake's in the OC for the day and ending at the pumpkin patch!!!!!
(Just a side note since my kids don't look at this blog nor can they read....isn't this tractor cute? They just might be getting something similar for x-mas this year, and Carson just might have accidently stumbled upon it in my parents garage apparently hiding not so good, and I just might have been super bummed but hopefully did enough to make him forget about it...sad story huh :( )

Costumes take 1 for the ward trunk or treat.....
We are so loving every holiday with these too!!!

I wanna be a part of it.....

2009-11-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

N.E.W. Y.O.R.K

With the help of two sets of FABULOUS grandparents, Matt & I were able to escape to the east coast for a kidless vacation. The bulk of our time was spent in New York with the newlyweds Kaitlyn & Jordan, who were the best hosts. There's no better way to visit a crazy, fast paced city, than with your own personal tour guides.
Why did we love New York so much? GREAT FOOD, GREAT SHOWS.....and okay shopping (the stores were PACKED and huge...I guess a little too overwhelming for an amateur such as myself)...but seriously GREAT FOOD and lots of it. It's a darn good thing you have to walk so much in that city, or the food could have done some serious damage.
Serendipity, Sarabeths, Patsy's, Magnolia's, Crumbs, Shake Shack, Alice's Tea Cup, Phantom Of the Opera....there's the highlights in a nutshell.
and of course our time with Kaitlyn and Jordan....Love you guys!

Next up we rented a car and drove to Penn State in Pennsylvania to visit our good friends Mark & Natalie. Matt went to the east coast a surfer from so cal, and became a too cool for school aviator glass wearing east coaster. and that about sums up our pictures from there, So lame that we didn't get one of all of us. It is a GORGEOUS town with awesome fall colors, and we LOVED seeing Mark & Nat, it's been way too long!!!

And the final stop of our east coast journey was in D.C. We met up with Matt's cousin Eric for dinner and one of my best friends from college Ashley.
and again....we walked A LOT......

D.C is an insanely beautiful place and you kind of want to walk around and sing the national anthem....it just oozes patriotism with all it's history. We just wish we could have been there a little longer, and explored a little more, but I think the grandma's thought it was plenty long:)
so until next time....

Playlist

2009-10-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

If Carson & Brynlee could create their dream playlist, it would look something like this: (in order of priority)

1- Black Eyed Peas: I gotta feeling
2- Beyonce: Single Ladies
3- Black Eyed Peas: I gotta feeling
4- Taylor Swift- you belong with me
5- Black Eyed Peas: I gotta feeling
6- Going to the Chapel
7- Black Eyed Peas: I gotta feeling

Repeat over and over again!!!

All's Well that ends well

2009-10-13T19:45:00.001-07:00

For better or worse, my kids moods & demeanors seem to affect my mood a lot!!! Especially that last half of the day, during the crunch time couple hrs. before bed. If things going totally awry, I go nuts, & somehow my perception of the whole day isn't too fantastic and vice versa.

A new little gentleman entered our family tonight and he's a keeper. He started out sitting at the dinner table upon the first request (a biggie in itself) and said, "oooh mom, this looks delicious. Thanks for making it." What??? Then when he was about done, " Mom, i'm having a little trouble can you please help me with my last bites." Then at bath time, "Mom, I really love you." Oh, it goes on and on....he asked a question in baby talk (which is currently a major pet peeve...another story of the the baby talk phase that has long wore out it's welcome) and before I could say anything, "oh I'm sorry I talked like that mom." Really it doesn't end here, it went on and on until bed time, but point made. I seriously don't know what happened, but I'm LOVING this. and to top it off, I had a GREAT day!!!

A Sticky Situation

2009-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those moments as a mom where you decide you're going to be that spontaneous, super cool, and fun mom who decides on a whim that you'll do a fun project with your kids just because you know they will love it, even though it will probably make the biggest mess! If i'm being honest, I wish I was this kind of mom more often!!!

But, I do have my moments, and here's what came from our latest memory making project....

and it didn't dissapoint....it was messy beyond messy!!! But....they had a blast with their pudding creations!

and p.s. those chunks in Carsons pudding do not reflect my inability to make a smooth consistant pudding mix. His pictured became one with his pudding ;)
and it wasn't long before the mess became too much and the only option was to stick them on them patio and give them free reign with the hose.

Bend it Like Brown

2009-09-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Watch out, we've got a new soccer star in the family, and i'm now a "soccer mom"....next up, minivan-ville. Carson's an official member of the Red Tigers.....and yes, they are as tough as they look, if not tougher :) A month into soccer I think Carson has finally figured out that you're supposed to kick the ball into the goal, but does he really care? nope, not so much. He's just stoked on scoring a killer snack at the end of the game. What was once a granola bar or maybe a bag of chips, along with a juice box, has turned into a full on birthday party-esque goody bag, complete with a variety- yes variety, of chilled fruit at halftime. The snack bar has been seriously risen and it's a good thing we weren't 1st up, cause I might have missed the memo being a 1st time soccer mom.
Other than that, he is loving wearing a uniform, being on a team, running with the pack, and he's especially mastered his 360's, and various other jumps and dance moves while waiting for the whistle to blow,

but he has the biggest smile ever the WHOLE time. It doesn't get better than that!

(but no cheering allowed if you ever come to the games....that's strict orders from the soccer champ himself...and he's dead serious!)

El Rancho

2009-09-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our families annual ranch trip to northern cali. in August was yet again a success!!! Maybe even a little better this year since our little nuggets are a little older and a little wiser and can really appreciate it's greatness :) It is truly heaven on earth for our crazy kids. Between Carson's new found love for skiing, fishing, chasing down the ranch cats, watching out for cows and horses, swimming, shooting, and truck rides, the kids were ready for a new permanent residence!

So many happy memories....till next year, the adventures continue.....

Back in Action

2009-09-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

You know the feeling when you have so much to do, or in this case so much to blog, you suddenly feel completely overwhelmed, so instead of starting slow, you ignore it all together! That's the story of my blog life the last couple months. So here we go, starting slow and hopefully we'll become regular once again!

Our August flew by! Seriously flew. If I didn't have photo evidence I would demand a re-do.

The event of the month....the long awaited wedding of my SIL Kaitlyn. The events seemed so stretch over a week and was full of tea parties, dinners, family beach days, dancing, and was all around amazing and beautiful:

All the cousins where the cutest things you have EVER seen!!! Seriously, and they all matched!

All the Brownie Girls!!!!!

The key to a super amazing reception......good dancing!!! And we danced!

Lazy Busy Days

2009-07-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

I LOVE summer. Really Love it! Not since my single, non-working, out of school for the summer, basking all day in the sun for the perfect tan glory days, have I loved a summer so much.

Between Pool Days, Swim Lessons, Beach Days, Summer Movies, Eating out, Jazzercise (yes the 80's leg warmers, sweat band kind of jazzercise....it's making a comeback and I love it :) we've been busy. My kids are the PERFECT ages this summer!

Sadly (or not so sadly) My poor house and laundry have taken the brunt of our summer fun and aren't getting the attention they should. And if i'm being totally honest neither am I. I just might not shower or actually do my hair as often as I once did! I'm just saying, why shower when you're going to the pool later that day? Right? I haven't turned into a stinky hippie at least....yet! But if you see me and I look like a scrub you know why!

My weekly target runs which I love so much, have become minimal to non-existant and apparently blogging is on the back burner too. However, in an effort to preserve our summer memories here's a quick blip of what we've been up to:

We went to visit some of our favorite people in the world, the Steimle's up in Camarillo for a weekend and had a blast!

We also celebrated both our birthdays and our anniversary in July! Seven Years and going strong!!!!!

A late shout out to freedom

2009-07-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

The fourth was a good one this year! But let's be honest, a beautiful day in sunny San Diego when your hubby doesn't have to work, and can spend the day with the family is ALWAYS a good day!!!

Swimming, BBQ's, bike parade, fireworks....done, done and done!

I kind of have a new found love for the 4th of July. It's quite possibly the easiest and most lazy holiday, but we're doing all my favorite things!!!!

Reason for Concern?

2009-06-26T14:22:00.000-07:00

Brynlee is a mild nudist. When you're under 2 this could possiby be passed off as cute. After 2...not so much. After the following commentary took place yesterday between Brynlee and Carson's friend Mason i'm launching a new "modest is hottest" campaign in our home.

Brynlee: "Hey Mason, I don't have any underwear on." (said in an uncharacteristically flirty voice for a 2 year old!)

Yeah, i'm a little worried!

Number One

2009-06-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

We are blessed, we are lucky, we are better people than we ever thought possible because of YOU!! Our family is led by the best. The Cream of the Crop. The One and only. Winning the lottery wouldn't compare to the feeling of having THE number one dad in our life...not even close! We Love him to pieces and had the best time spoiling him for his special day.

What makes our dad number one? I don't even now where to begin, but I know that everyone can use a Matt in their life. He laughs and makes us laugh constantly. You can't be around him for more than a minute and not laugh. His joy is contagious. He's a hard worker, and has spent the last 6 months building his own business, but we've always known his priority is with his family and especially in spending time with the kids. The memories of their fun "adventures" with dad will be one of those things they'll be telling their kids about. Above all he makes me want to be the best mother and wife that I can possibly be.

Our Perfect day of celebrating our dad was spent eating lots of good food and with both families, and both of our dads who are also AMAZING!!!! I have been surrounded by nothing but phenomenal men in my life.

Father's day fun wouldn't be complete without a little mischief with the cousins. I found the troops outside with this train concoction they made. They proceeded to tell me they had just "bombed" down the hill with my little Carson in the mix. Ay ya ya!!!!!

Tour de California

2009-06-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back Matt left us by our lonesome for a week of some serious male bonding on the road. Literally! What started as a fun little bike riding hobby for the occasional triathlon has ended with another pair of smooth legs in the house....these boys mean business!

We were sad and NERVOUS (mostly me) to say goodbye, but the boys had an adventure to remember!
The team: Uncle Craig, Matt, Nathan, Dad, and Trevor, starting their ride in good ole' San Francisco.

They rode down the california coast on the pacific coast highway (insert my nervous tendencies here....do you know how many oldies cruise that highway in big old motorhomes that are far too big for their own good??? Not to mention the cliffs...oh the cliffs!)

500 miles later and 6 days on the road, the self created "Team Amgen" ended their tour de california in Malibu.

And I think they all ended a little more manly than they began with some serious farmers tans!!!

Bathing Beauty

2009-06-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

So i'm a little bit Obsessed with bathing suits. Or maybe a lot, but what difference does it make. Don't know why, but I have been for a long time- I love them....lots of them. I can't go to a store without checking out the latest selection, when they bring out the new crop every February, it's bliss. I won't even divulge how many I have because 1) I don't know myself and I think it's better off that way and 2) Really, I don't know...but i'm sure there's a few in the mix that need to retire if that's any consellation.
This must be a genetic obsession because Brynlee got the bug. Fortunately for her i'm also obsessed with cute little girl swimsuits and maybe even a little bit more because she models them so well. She puts one on almost e.v.e.r.y morning. Even when I want her dressed I can't say that I blame her! Now if only this dang June gloom would pass us by we can get a little more use out of them! But in the meantime we won't let them get dusty in the drawer.

Camping Crazies

2009-05-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Generally, I haven't been known to be campings greatest fan. Something about nasty public bathrooms as your only option (yes i'm a pansy camper, no squatting behind trees for me), a constant feeling of grunge, crazy kids who probably consume an unhealthy amount of dirt and sugar in a 24 period, and a lack of sleep doesn't quite call my name in the same way as a hotel might. But when you combine camping with good friends, the beach, an RV, a comfy bed in the back of a surburban, mexican food to go, and an endless amount of s'mores to be consumed, it makes for a darn good memorial weekend adventure. The kids and I were having a great time on the beach while I practiced my up and coming photography hobby until Brynlee became a little too ambitious and got pummled by a couple waves. She wasn't the happiest gal after that and cried in fear anytime the water got within a few feet of her or her big brother

It didn't spoil or photo session before I was able to get some cute shots.

Then Brynlee realized how delicious sand is and that held her over for even a few more minutes. You might think this is her trial run with sand, but I assure that is about the 5th finger she took in. Apparently she found a real treasure.

Okay serious overload of kid pics, and it may not even appear that we went camping, but we did-really. These guys are just too cute and I need a lot of practice if i'm going to be a pro one day:)

Ah, back to the camping and another highlight. Marshmallows, marshmallows, and more marshmallows. I'm just a little obsessed with all things marshmallow related....Perfection, and the true joy of camping!
Well, as usual, camping took its toll on the best of us and I think this picture pretty much sums it up.

The boys all surfed the next day, the girls ran/walked and we got a little more beach time before heading home. Wow, I really didn't get many group shots, or any for that matter, but at least I caught one of this mega hot surfer.

So we love camping after all, but maybe just in one night doses! The kids crashed seconds within packing up, and we were ready for an earrrly bedtime that night! Until next time...and there will be a next time- anyone game?

No Soliciting

2009-05-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the time has come to make our lives a little more private- but mostly the lives of my two squishable and completely adorably little nuggets! Being one who doesn't login in that often, I know this is kind of a royal pain, but i've just been feeling that this is probably the best thing for now. Too many creepers!!! So, you know the drill....leave your email if you want to keep reading. If I have your email you just might get an invite whether you want it or not...so beware :)

Happy Randoms

2009-05-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are stuck at home again with some flu virus. Shocking...or not, if you look at our track record. All I know is this one's a doosy, and my poor little guy is all but dehydrated. He's thrown up over 20 times in a 24 hr. period and eaten NOTHING!!! We're verging on needing IV Fluids if a prescription I just picked up doesn't help, but i'm thinking it will. I've learned that watching your little kids sick and feeling COMPLETELY helpless is one of the most painful parts of motherhood....Happy Mother's Day :)
This is kind of turning into a depressing post and it really wasn't meant to be that way, I just hand some time on my hands to do a little blogging! My darn mood just goes straight south when one of my kids is down and out. So, to happier times we go....

Here's some of our happy moments over the last month...
1)BATH TIME! Especially when you get in some good quality shaving time? Or when the kids are having so much fun that they hang out in there for over an hour. I LOVE when they get along so well!!!
2) Brynlee is officially consumed in all things princess related. It started with the "wonderwear" and has taken off from there...Let the shopping and nails begin.
3) Seriously good deals are enough to make me happy ANY day!!! I should have shared this gem of a deal when it was still applicable, but non-the-less, it makes my happy list. All items in picture were purchased for $3.50. And that's not all, I all also got a $5 target gift card. So really I made $1.50 by taking these things of their hands!!! And yes my family will be regular:)

4) Yellow Rain Boots, and the undying love that Carson has developed for them. Hopefully they still fit next winter because we've had nothing that can be considered a real rain storm since he got them. Still I think they look darn cute on him.
5) Post Busy season get-aways to Palm springs with my hot little hubby!! This really deserves a post of it's own, but it also deserves a top spot on the happy of the month list...

We met up with Nathan and Janelle and had the best, most relaxing weekend ever! I really LOVE Palm springs in the Spring....good shopping, good food, good sun! Oh, and massages...........HEAVEN!!!!

6) And of Course Great Moms. I have the greatest mom and mother-in-law EVER!!!! And we were so blessed to all spend the day together yesterday. Really it's too bad that everyone can't have my two moms, because i'm pretty sure they don't get any better!!!! LOVE THEM BOTH!!!

Captain Commando & the Queen of the Crown

2009-05-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

Back in the day I learned that lots of guys prefer to go "commando." Ewww!!! Didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it now.

Carson does!

He's the captain of the commando club. I knew he was a number one fan when I started to find his underwear shoved in corners, under beds, behind couches, etc. That's where it goes after I hand it to him with his clothes for the day. His full collection has yet to be retrieved, so don't be alarmed if you ever come across a pair at our house...they're clean:)

He says his underwear "doesn't fit" and it's "too tight." I say he's just become to comfortable with the commando lifestyle.

You gotta pick your battles, so instead of the daily reminder, I think we'll try the route of little man boxers next!

In related news....Brynlee has joined the "wonderwear" club. That's right, we are a diaper free house and proud!!! Unlike Carson, they are her favorite accessory!!! She's a proud member and I've been reminded that kids wedgie's are quite possibly one of the cutest things i've ever seen. Fortunately for me, Brynlee sports one nearly 24/7. I just love her and her little cheeks!!!

Easter Babes

2009-04-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

The Easter festivities were in full force this year. There was plenty of cute shirtless kiddies saving their clothes from the inevitable egg dye splattering, more sugar inhaled than the rest of the year combined, easter egg hunts, good food, and family. I love easter and all that it entails: spring, new dresses, flowers, gardens, the BEST candy of all the seasons and of course the opportunity we have to celebrate christs ressurections and teach our kids of the atoning sacrfice that our savior made. Carson even got it a little more this year!
In the name of tradition I took about 5 billion pictures in the attempt to get the "perfect" easter picture of the kids in their new outfits. But alas, I was once again reminded that in the world of trying to pose a 2 and 4 year old, a perfect picture does not exist. By the end of our session I had one little boy in dyer need of bathroom, and a little girl whose new on command fake smile thought the harder she smiled the sooner we'd be done.

But seriously they are the cutest kids EVER!!!!

I LOVE celebrating the holidays with these two, they make them So much sweeter!!!

A Notable Holiday

2009-04-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Tax Day! Aside from the government stripping of us our hard earned money, and spending it like it's going out of style, we looooove April 15th in our home! If you're husband is a CPA than you do too!
We get the world's best and hardest working dad back after a looong couple months. I have a feeling the next week we'll be seeing endless amounts of one of a kind games including, tickle lion, dupety doop, car driving, tickleman bob, & hide and seek! We're so proud of Matt and his hard work and dedication, and love him to pieces!!! That's why we kind of like having him around....So, adios 80+ hour work weeks we won't miss you at ALL!!!!

Moving Music

2009-04-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

I don't hear much of conference these days. I try, but really, catching bits and pieces of talks here and there between all the activity doesn't quite do it. Normally I don't get to really appreciate the words of the prophets and apostles until the Ensign comes out. That being said I still Love Conference sunday and I LOVE spending the day in PJ's and eating.

Amidst the chaos that accompanies our conference sundays, no matter what Carson was doing, and no matter where he was, when the Tabernacle Choir sang he ran to get a front row seat. He watched them up close until the song ended. The second the music was over, without saying a word he ran back to whatever he was working on. Music can be powerful. It melted my heart.

Certifiably Insane....

2009-04-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

That's what I declared myself after agreeing to drive to Arizona with my 2 younger brothers & kids last Thursday morning. 6 hours before departure!I decided long ago that my spontaniety went out the window when the 2 kids came in, so when my older brother called to convince me to come to Arizona to hang out with my SIL for the weekend while the boys went biking I said no. Somehow, after A LOT of indecisiveness and persuading, I ended up in Arizona.

Matt worked insane hours (the countdown is on, only one week left of busy season) and we got in some good quality bonding time.

Aside from minor travel incidents: a) flat tire on the way home, and b)the drive from &^*&^%#@ on the way out there- Brynlee was NOT a happy camper, the weekend was pretty darn fun.

Some Highlights:
We met up with Beth at the CUTEST Children's museum. If I was an AZ resident, a pass would be a must! They had a "car wash" that the kids could drive through. A grocery store where the could shop, cars to drive, cars to race, and lots of other contraptions! Seriously Cute!

Our other Arizona musts: a fun girls night with Janelle, Cafe Rio, and lots of pool and park time...arizona spring weather is the best!
We were ready to be home after going non-stop, but loved visiting with the family. Hopefully we weren't too destructive to their home :)

Quality Time

2009-04-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

My Best friend from High School, Becky and her new little munchkin, Holland, came to stay with us for a week. My usual photo overload obsession was forgotten that week amidst all our fun, and I took pretty much zero pictures. What a bummer!
But I did learn that my kids are obsessed with all things baby, but mostly just with Baby Holland. He is still a frequently discussed topic in our home. They Loved him. We had to try and tame their love since mono can still technically be contagious through salivia, and my figure sucking little beauty is guaranteed to have remnants of salivia on her hands at all times. I think we gave Becky a heart attack a few times, but I spent lots of time convincing her that we really weren't contagious :)
Aside from that she put her interior decorating skills to good use and helped me re-vamp my poorly decorated home. Clearly decorating is not among my gifts! Lucky for me, it's one of hers.
The rest of our visit revolved a lot around food. What can I say, we like to eat. So we hit up all our favorite spots, in between our shopping, and just had plenty of craziness to spread around with our 3 kids!
Come back soon Becky!

Let the Fun Begin

2009-04-08T19:08:00.000-07:00

After being couped up for nearly 3 weeks with more viruses and bacterial infections than any one family should have in a year, we've made up for lost time by spending the last couple weeks partying like it's 1999. Nonstop. I'm exhausted. But sadly it doesn't take much to get me to that state now-a-days.
We started off the party with a rager including "Thomas and Friends." If the young fans of Thomas the train had a fan website (which they very well may, but I will probably never google that one) Carson would be a regular follower.

Grandma Karen got us tickets to see "Thomas and Friends" Live at the Sports Arena. It was an afternoon full of all the concert regulars...popcorn, cotton candy, cookies, and hot chocolate. Topped off with the 2 cutest engineers you've ever seen. The kids had a blast, and it really was a cute show! Thanks Grandma Karen.

Love Life

2009-03-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

So the verdict for little Carson is Mono! Isn't that "the kissing disease"???? Hmmmm, i've got some questions for him! We are into week 2 of house arrest, so you'd think all my projects are done,my house was spotless and everything is uber organized. Nope, just three sickies laying around putting off all the need to be done tasks for just one more day....With the exception of some organizing before the bug came to visit me!

As I was looking through some pics on my computer tonight I came across these that were never posted. For now, I'm living vicariously through our old pictures, but in another day or two we will be back in business and out painting the town all sorts of colors!
Why do we live in California where the real estate is still insanely high despite the recession? Because these were taken in January. Enough Said!

And these were pictures when we went to eat at Ruby's on the pier with my family. So I guess that means having so much family close by that we get to see them all we want and wear out our welcome on a weekly basis is also why we live here!

I'm just a little bit obsessed with these two right now! I think you love them a little extra when they are sick!

Yuck

2009-03-11T19:17:00.001-07:00

I have a whole slew of tardy posts waiting to be published, yes, i've been quite the slacker, but instead I think i'll focus on the here and now of our week because it has been a dang long one....especially today! Somehow venting about it makes it just a little better. Call it a girl thing:)

Apparently the two months of winter that my kids are sick every year wasn't quite complete. Not only was it not complete those viruses and germs as well as all they're relatives & friends have come back with a vengeance. I try to wash our hands frequently, and I am totally eligible for a wipe nazi/hand sanitizer award, especially the ones for the grocery store carts, but somewhere on my kids back is a neon sign flashing "get me sick." They must in the process of building insanely strong immune systems for their adulthood :)

I usually avoid going to the doctors until I feel it's really necessary. After Carson's cough persisted over 5 days, accompanied by a fever a couple days, REALLY goopy, swollen and red eyes, and tonsils bigger than an 80 yr. old man I decided it was time to take him in. I do realize that it would be bordering child abuse not to take a little guy in with such symptoms, but let me assure you that these symptoms have not all been there the whole time, but slowly building for the grand finale.

(Not one of Carson's finer moments in life, but really this pics sums up just how he feels)

Then there's sweet little Brynlee who woke up with her fair share of goopy eyes and cold and cough to top it off. So why not take them both in for a double wammy.

Well after spending 3 1/2 hrs. at the doctors, pharmacies and labs, the results are in: double ear infection with one "bulging" ear for Brynlee and pink eye for both. Oh joy! That's not the best part though. They have yet to determine why Carson's tonsils are so swollen and pussy (excuse the verbage, not the best word, but really only the way to describe it.) So we waited in the darn lab to test for mono with a bunch of older folks for an HOUR while my two super sick kids whimpered and cuddled on my lap because all they wanted to do was sleep. Then I had to hold my 4 yr. old while his blood was drawn. Let's just say, there were more than a few tears shed and it wasn't by him. He was super tough.

I've officially reached my breaking point. Matt's busy tax season is crazy enough by itself, we see him rarely, but after being stuck at home for three days, then dealing with lab techs who were so not friendly, did me in. So now my tough little 4 yr. old is in bed for the night with tonsils just as swollen as when he woke up. Breaks my heart!!!

On a bright note I have saved quite a bit of money this week not making my weekly target runs, and I even feel a little better after my vent session. So thanks for listening...or not, I still feel better!

A Day Of Love

2009-02-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

My cousin Ashley got married last week and it was a heavenly day! She looked seriously gorgeous, the ceremony, luncheon, and Reception were beautiful, but most importantly it was a full day with no kids!!! (Listen carefully and you can hear the angels singing, which they so often do when such an occasion arises.) Oh I how I love those little goobers, but I just might love them a little more after a full day without them. It was just what the doctor ordered. Especially in the heart of tax season for Matt, the break was great for both of us.

All endowed members of my family were home for the first time in awhile, so we woke up at 4:45 to get to L.A temple in time to do a session before the ceremony. My mom was busy chatting, but she was there to:)

Ashley and her new hubby are going to be such a cute little family. Apparently i'm about 10 years older than I thought I was since my cute younger cousins are actually of marrying age. Dang!

I always love love love to see my cousins on the Anderson side. We don't get together enough and SO need to!

Serious thanks to Grandma Karen & Grandpa Floyd who made our kidless day possible and kept them happy from sun up to sun down. We just don't know what we would do without her! Love you Both!

A Rainy Ride

2009-02-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

The other day I sat down to lunch with Carson and said, "Hey Cars, have you had a pretty good day so far?"
"Yes. Ummmm, actually I mean no, because it wasn't a day with Dad. A good day is a day with Dad."
Are you kidding me??? That is among the most cute things he has ever said. And why wouldn't a day with dad be good? He's seems to have at least 20 times the energy I do and has new make believe game ideas popping out of his ears. Carson lives for their occasional friday "work days" but even more so, their saturday "adventures." The most recent, a rainy bike ride to my parents was really quite the site.

It started out just cold and gloomy, so we bundled up our happy man! He was ready to go with some books to read and snacks packed for him and dad. Except somehow no snacks were left for dad when they reached their destination :)
It wasn't long before the rains came tumbling down. Brynlee and I got in the car and it we caught up to them at town center hiding under the clock for cover.
Eventually they carried on, and kept pushing even when it started hailing!!!! Crazy Boys!

Meanwhile Brynlee and I enjoyed our heated car ride and acted like the paparazzi chasing them down. Brynlee was giddy everytime she spotted them. Which is good since she was seriously bummed she couldn't go!

Tornado Warning

2009-01-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I wrote in Brynlee's birthday post "Brynlee is not your stereotypical two year old," I stand corrected. No tantrums -yet (B-I-G knock on wood.) But that girl is a walking tornado. This isn't really anything new, maybe my mind was fuzzy when I wrote that, or maybe I was just thinking that the no tantrums part didn't make her a two year old. I think that it's the fact that she is just SO dang cute that I get momentary amnesia of her tornado habits when I think of her. Fortunately- or not- she reminds me daily of her semi-destructive behavior. A couple days ago just might have been her record.

***#1. The day started with her standing on the kitchen chair backwards and trying to rock it. This is frequent occurence and no matter how many warnings of "Brynlee you are going to knock out all your teeth if you fall," she still does it. Well she finally fell. Luckily she just cut her lip and hopefully learned a lesson.

***#2. While I was putting on my make-up I looked down to see Brynlee chewing on a razor with the protective plastic taken off. How she didn't severly cut her lip...I don't know.

***#3. We went over to my parents for 2 minutes and within 20 seconds Brynlee finds the sharpest knife known to mankind and is cruisin around the house with it.

***#4. As I'm getting dinner ready Brynlee reaches a napkin up on the counter, pulls it off and the serving dish that was on top if it comes crashing down, shattering in a gazillion pieces around her. Broken dish count: Brynlee=4 Carson=0.

Keep in mind this only includes her dangerous tornado moments, couch coloring and toy destruction is for the rookies. Miraculously the day ended with just one little cut on her lip.

Brynlee's motto is, "If it's climbable, I will climb. If there is a pool, I will jump in. If there's make-up, skin care, or hair care, I will apply. If there's pens I will color. If there's a button, I will push it over and over again. If it can break, I will do it!"

We sure love our built in work out machine!

A Mickey Celebration

2009-01-30T13:52:00.001-08:00

Carson ended up being able to celebrate his birthday in a more exciting fashion on Monday! The whole month he has been asking for a boat cake, so a boat cake it was going to be....almost. Grandma Karen took him to party city to pick out plates and decorations, but they couldn't find any boat themed things. Not to worry, i'm sure he didn't search too long before he saw Mickey and Friends and was immediately convinced that those were the paper goods he needed. So our boat cake quickly turned into Mickey, and we had a fun and chaotic disney celebration.

Do you notice all the cake and ice cream left on the table? Well if not, there was A LOT!!! But Carson and Brynlee lick their plates clean. Always. My kids are seriously ADDICTED to sugar. It's in the genes. I swear! Now I know that all kids love sugar, but my kids take it to a new level. There have been many many times where they are eating dessert amongst other kids, and without fail they are the last two eating making sure to get every last morsel off their plates. I think they really do lick them. It's not that they're slow eaters eithers, other kids just don't finish. If the neighbors open a candy wrapper they will hear it or smell it within seconds. Matt blames me for that gene. And truth be told, i'm probably guilty.
But anyways, happy birthday again Carson...and our farewell to our busy birthday month.

Happy Four

2009-01-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

Our Birthday week continues with Carson turning the big 4 today!!!! We LOVE Carson to pieces. Poor little guy spent the morning with the flu, so we had to for-go the special birthday breakfast for a nice dose of Sprite! We also had to postpone the birthday festivities until Monday, so we're just going to pretend that's his actual birthday. We did however decide he was well enough for a little dinner at IHOP. Pancakes are easy on the tummy right? We did our part in keeping his food intake mild....but when our server brought him out an ice cream sunday the size of his head, all rules were out the window. Oh well, you only have one real birthday a year!
We have had the best 4 years, with our talented, thoughtful, inquistive, spunky, and cuddly little man. There's been more questions asked than I can count, lots of the best giggles (he has his dads contagious laugh and I LOVE it), endless energy and so many fun big brother moments! We can't wait for what's to come because it just keeps getting better. The 4's are gonna be a good year!

Welcoming the Two's

2009-01-21T20:49:00.000-08:00

Our little Brynny bear is officially a 2 year old. Though she is definitely nothing like your stereotypical two year old....yet :) We just love her to pieces! I dare you to hang out with her for more than two minutes and not become smitten yourself. It's impossible. Really. We love having her in our family. Brynlee's our monkey, always always perched on top of some piece of furniture, or in the process of climbing. She's our artist, generously willing to decorate our walls and couches with any pen or marker she can find...I guess we won't be buying that new couch i've been dying for, for oh sooo long! She's our singer, frequently found singing her favorites, "the temple song," "popcorn", "child god" and "the raindrop song," it can melt your heart. She's the best cuddle bug. Throw one of her favorite blankets over your shoulder and she's yours. She LOVES her big brother like nobody's business. He's her hero in every sense of the word. If she could be Carson when she grows up she would. There's never a dull moment with our little firecracker, and I would really love her to stop growing right about now! I think i'm in love with the early two's!!! But mostly i'm so in love with this two year old! So Happy Birthday to the best little girl ever, aka my shopping partner in training! We LOVE you!!!
Blowing out candles isn't a strong point for either of our kids. Luckily no one minded a few extra surprises on their slice of cake :)

Oh it was a looong day for this little princess...or both of them!

All In A Days Work

2009-01-09T12:55:00.000-08:00

Last week Matt had been telling Carson all week that he would take him to work with him on Friday. Carson is Ecstatic at the thought of going to work with Matt....and that's an understatement. Well, Friday came and we all forgot until Friday afternoon when the trash trucks came around and Carson said, "Oh it must be Thursday. Trash day." I told him it was actually Friday, the trucks come a day late when there's a holiday.
Before long, Carson had Matt on the phone (I still didn't realize or mistake) and said, "Dad, how come you forgot to take me to work. Mom told me it's Friday." Matt felt SO bad. Then to throw some salt in the wound, when he hung up he said, "Mom, I think maybe dad forgot to take me because I didn't put my work clothes on." Oh, talking about melting my heart!

Well you can be darn sure that Matt didn't forget to take him today. Carson takes work very seriously....Our morning was filled with comments like these, "Oh look mom I found my cell phone. I'll bring it in my backpack." "Is this a good work shirt like Dads?" "My computer doesn't fit in my backpack, so i'll have to carry it." "Mom, me and dad will take our shakes to go." And when I jokingly begged Carson to spend the day with me, he said, "No mom, me and dad have to go to the office. We have A LOT of work to do."
To top it off, Carson packed their "Lunch" the night before in his lunch box. It was a lunch for champions including all of Carson's favorite snacks. And the best part is, he packed two of everything. Well three fruit snacks, cause who can't use an extra pack of chewy goodness.
With this cuteness i'm thinking I just might try to convince Matt he needs to take him more often. How can you turn down that cute face? I could get seriously used to errands with one kid. And we could teach Carson to be billable in no time!

The Obligatory Christmas Post

2009-01-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season has come on gone way too fast! Really, i'm in withdrawls. And of course we had the most memorable and fantastic time, which was heightened by our kids ages and the magic they bring to the season. I have really wanted to take the time to document in detail all of the fun festivities that made our holidays so great, but as a result I've put it off for far too loooong. So instead I'll just post lots of pictures which is really what people prefer over my rambling anyways. Hope you all had a merry christmas, cause we sure did!!!

Annual Christmas Eve Party at the Browns including what has apparently become an annual and unforgetable rendition of the 12 days of Christmas. And the always entertaining nativity story. Now I know it's not supposed to be funny, but for some reason it always is, with the little twists the kids always seem to throw in.

Wyatt & Shelby read Carson "The Night Before Christmas" before he went to bed and it just about melted my heart. Carson ADORES his cousins!

That leads us to Christmas morning. The kids were ecstatic and we got all the joy we needed in watching them.

Our little nuggets are so fun and easy to please. No electronics, no super trendy clothes that i'm not nearly cool enough to pick out, just sheer bliss.

Living right by both Grandparents also results in a non-stop never ending party. Not to mention way more toys than we need. Now i'm putting off the cleaning out the closets and out with the old and in with the new routine!

We Loved the Holidays this year and Love any excuse for all the family to come together. So many fun memories!

The Good, The Bad, & The Snow

2008-12-28T12:12:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas, we took a little last minute trip to Utah just because. Now don't I sound super spontaneous? I'm sure Matt has a slight chuckle under his breath reading of my self proclaimed spontaneous habits, as he has countless memories of me telling him "I can't be so spontaneous with 2 kids!!"....but anytime spontaneouty involves traveling with the family, i'm in. Plus we're always up for some good times in Utah. We especially love visiting family and staying with my Grandma who is the best host and has the most AMAZING kid's play loft ever. My kids would move in if given the chance. Then there's always a day spent reminising of our college days as we walk through the BYU bookstore, always amazed at how young they are admitting students these days (really, I swear I was so much older than that when I went to school. Except for the fact that visitor parking attendant no longer double checks to make sure we're not students. I'll attribute that to the rugrats in the back seat, and still pretend I look 20.) This trip of course was also meant to squeeze in a little snowboarding for Matt, so he was hoping for snow. And Snow it did!!!! It snowed everyday we were there TONS. Seriously! We really brought the snow with us. I think Matt was saying lots of secret prayers for extra snow, he loves it! Apparently there was no snow before we got there, so the snowboarding conditions weren't the best, limiting the boys to only one day on the mountain in blizzard like conditions- I'm pretty sure that was to Blake and Weston's benefit after they both got frostbite! I think Blake's toe is still numb, but really what's one toe among 10! Fortunately the snowman building conditions on the other hand were phenomenal!
So in true tourist fashion we bundled up in thousands of layers (the california way for those of us lacking "real" snow clothes), and built the best snowman ever. That's right, we know how to do more than just beach it. Carson LOVED the snow! Our snow man rightfully named "Carson Brown" (think xmas song "winter wonderland", Carson is sure they say his name in it), turned into a serious project. Matt, Blake and I were much more into than the kids.
"Carson Brown" added a little extra christmas decor to my grandparents house clearly making it the most festive house on the block! But mostly made for a lot of fun!
Another perk of visiting Utah was seeing my good friend Becky who was due with her first baby boy the day we got there. But did he decide to come so I could meet him? of course not! He came a week late arriving the day after we got home. Such a bummer. But, Becky did look gorgeous and baby Holland did come eventually and is DANG cute!!! Now if I could just meet him. All in all we LOVED our time in Utah!
The next chapter of our story takes us to "the bad" aka a wretched vegas/california snow storm in areas that aren't used to so much snow and therefore not really equipped to handle it. Below is the I-15 just outside of Vegas. Ugh! Our only route home ended up being closed down in three different areas from Vegas to Barstow/Victorville, forcing us back to Vegas to find a hotel for the night!
A detour of these sorts would have been welcomed if I was just with Matt, but with 2 kiddos and one hotel room....not so much. Especially when Brynlee woke up at 5 in the morning saying "mom, I see you. Hello. Get me out." We did stay in the "New York New York" on the 31st floor, which was totally fun and a great view, but again, with 2 kids, not so much. Those darn slot machines are made to appeal to the child in us. Bright lights, fun noises, money clanking, who wouldn't want in on the action? Well Carson & Brynlee sure did. We must have been yelled at 20 times walking through casinos because our kids were getting too close to the slots- and maybe they pulled it a few times too. We did our best!
The kids single handedly destroyed our hotel in a record time....and quite frankly it got to a point where we didn't even care anymore. We were all a little stir crazy.
The roads didn't open until the next day at 1pm and we made it home from Vegas in a record setting 7 1/2 hours. That was a looooooong two days of traveling, but I think i've officially gotten to the point where it's crossed over from a long couple days to a funny story. Not quite the end of trip adventure we were hoping for, but nonetheless an adventure. And i'm looking forward to next one. I'll just be packing leashes for the kids!

Gear Up!

2008-12-07T20:16:00.000-08:00

One of the many inevitable conversations in a little girls life happened on our ride to church today. As eaves droppers in the front seat, all we could do was laugh.

Brynlee: "I'm da mommy and bruder, you are daddy. Okay."
Carson: "Um, Okay."

Oh Carson, gear up for YEARS of playing "house." and so it begins!
Do you think that since she's ready to tackle the role of mom she can take on potty training? I'm thinking since her new OBSESSION with wearing her birthday suit (stripping down about 8 times a day) we just might need to put that in her cards.

So Thankful...

2008-12-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I'm a little bit of a stress case.....but lately i've been feeling a LOT more like a perma-stresser in lieu of the financial and economic crazyness. Apparently i'm a tradional non-risk taking kind of gal. Who knew?
Anyhow, I think now in the season of thanks and giving, is a good time to reflect on how blessed I really am, and a good way to divert my mind from the less important stress causers, that will pass :)

*I'm thankful for two healthy beautiful kids, who keep me on my toes, but also seem to keep me in shape.
*I'm thankful for a Husband/Dad who the kids worship and comes home with just the right amount of energy to keep the kids laughing until bedtime....cause heaven knows mine is about expired at that time! Really there is NO better dad! The above picture is where the kids sit EVERY day to watch dad leave for work. *I'm thankful for black friday and all the other days of shopping that keep me sane...even if it's just window shopping. It's therapeutic.
*I'm thankful for grandmas & grandpas that live so close. We love seeing them so often and LOVE getting together on the holidays!
*I'm thankful for good food- really who isn't. But especially all the extra baking this time of year. I love it! *While i'm on the subject. I'm thankful for Costco. The hot dog combo and samples really made my day today!

*I'm thankful for where we live and our home.

*I'm eternal thankful for my little 4 person family! It really can't get better than this.

*I'm grateful for soon to be 4 yr. olds. I think this is going to be Carsons shining year. He's been such a little gem lately!

*I'm thankful for naps/quiet time that gives me about 2 hrs. a day to do ANYTHING I want. Mostly it's my "lazy time." and it's a sacred time!
*I'm thankful for a gazillion other things, but no joke, just as I wrote that last one, Brynlee woke up prematurely and she's not a happy camper. So that'll have to cover it for now!

Not quite the book!

2008-12-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

Being one of "those" Twilight fanatics, I was uber excited about the movie......but came out a wee bit dissapointed. I know it was low budget, so I won't judge the semi-lame special effects, but I will judge the rest in my amatuer movie critic kind of way. Really it comes down to feeling like Edward & Bellas relationship was way under developed. (That and Carlisle's make-up job) My favorite part about the book, was all the over the top cheesy highschool flirtations, that took me back to my days of giddyness, and the movie was so rushed that it didn't show all that. But I have been kind of itching to see it again, i'm thinking maybe i'll like it better on round two. So really it wasn't bad, just a let down after reading the book.
Starting the twilight festivities with a party including some seriously intense trivia/jeopardy games, and more good food than one gal should eat in one night was a darn good way to start the night. I actually really like being part of this odd little twilight phenomenon. Any reason to have a party right?

Till we meet again.

2008-11-23T19:06:00.000-08:00

We've had a fun run with our Disneyland passes....oh the perks of living in So Cal. But now it's over. Hold on let me get my kleenex!

No really, i'm not being sarcastic. I really do LOVE the happiest place on earth! I love the rides, I love how happy everyone is, I love the cotton candy, I love how they decorate to the max for all the holidays, but I especially love seeing it through my kids eyes! I have come to realize that sometimes these outings seem like a lot of work, no actually they are a lot of work, but really, it is so worth it!

Before this disneyland annual passport filled year came along, I hadn't been for a kajillion years, but really it is soooo much better, more magical actually, if you don't mind me saying, with the little youngsters, but then again, what isn't. (besides any sit down restaurant)

And I might add, I actually love the southern california select annual passport that has an insane amount of block out dates. Really all they're doing is forbidding you to go on the days you really shouldn't...when everyone and their relatives, friends, and dogs are there. A crowded disneyland doesn't make the magical list!

We've had more fun times than we can count, & many worn out drives home, and this was no exception. The 3 youngsters were asleep before we hit the freeway, and shelbs was my picture poser....just a little too crammed to get any real beauty sleep.
It was a good run, and hopefully someday we'll get passes again! I think we're onto the zoo next...so if anyone goes to the zoo let us know.

Oh yes......We did

2008-11-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

So, even though we are totally loving our 80 degree november weather and taking full advantage of it........

Soaking up every last bit of these rays..................

The Holidays have officially entered the Brown Home- and i'm now full fledged, giddy, excited, jumping up and down, can't wait for Christmas!
I'm sure many of you might think i'm mildly crazy, including the not so subtle employee of 7-11 who said people like me belong in a mental instituion (hey, they're the ones selling candy cane hot chocolate already- which I might add is the BEST thing EVER) But I LOVE my house decorated for christmas. It's the jolliest place ever. Plus if Disneyland can do it, so can I!!! One month just isn't long enough.

Oh, and the christmas tunes have made an appearance too:) Not 24/7 yet, but it does rear it's head from time to time.

So if you're feeling down, come on over!!!

Trick or Treat

2008-11-05T18:37:00.000-08:00

With one undecisive mom, our cute little Brynlee ended up with quite an array of costumes this year. And if I must say so myself, she looked pretty darn adorable in each one. Our handsome train conductor wouldn't have tolerated even one costume change, with his current obsession of all things trains. Good thing he wears his overalls so well, because I have a feeling they will frequent his wardrobe rotation this winter!In an attempt to have my kids be matching characters, Brynlee started off as a little hobo that lives at the train yard.

She wasn't a big fan of the hat, so next up was a ballerina.

And for the finale and night of trick or treating, we opted for something a little warmer....a fairy maybe. She called herself a butterfly :)

It has kind of become a tradition to trick-or-treat with Carson's cute little buddy Finn (and Milla) and the boys had a blast this year!!! We had a hard time keeping up with them!

Thomas came along too, and he was the cutest dalmation! And of the 14,000 pics we took, we got NO pics of all the kids together....surprise, surprise!

And lastly.....Carson was thrilled to pass out candy when we got back. He wouldn't let anyone else help, and sat with the door open waiting for the next group. He was VERY careful to give each kid only one piece and none of his favorites. I started to notice a little stash forming behind him, and I said, "Cars, you have a whole bucket of candy, everything in here is for other kids."

"No mom, they don't like chocolate!"

Of course not, who likes chocolate.

Vote

2008-11-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Monday + Daylight Savings=
The loooooongest day ever, starting bright & early at 5:30. Can't we create a proposition to veto any future time changes?

Speaking of.....Don't forget to Vote vote vote, YES on Prop 8 tomorrow!!!!!

October Favorites...

2008-10-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

I Love the fall.....it's the beginning of all the holiday festivities that I can't get enough of! Here's some of our favorite things about the fall (or the month of October thus far) in a picture overload!
Cute kids in their cute Halloween PJ's
Oh sweet, sweet caramel apples....THE BEST!!!

Halloween Parties.....many more costume pics to come!
Baking, Baking, and more baking.

And a rockstar themed Halloween party.

The week before the party Matt & I brainstormed what to wear and not once...nope never, did he mention that is was a rock star themed party. So I showed up with a big old white toga. Not quite your everyday rockstar. Luckily we had 1/2 hr. until we had to leave and I ran to Ross and accquired these nice leather spandex pants. Seriously who wears these things! We turned out to be more 80's looking, but it was better than a toga gone wrong!

People had the BEST costumes...you were supposed to be an actual character! Such a fun idea.

Disneyland.......

2008-10-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

AND NO KIDS!!!!
What do you do on a night with no kids.... A date night to disneyland with all the cotton candy I want! Seriously fun, especially since we were somehow able to avoid all lines on a very crowded night. What can I say Matt's a charmer!

I will admit that both of us said countless times...."Oh Carson & Brynlee would LOVE this...or that" Don't worry they'll get their turn next week:)

My Little Doll!

2008-10-20T13:52:00.000-07:00

Until I had a sister, I dressed up my brothers.....a lot! Something in the genetic build up of a girl just craves a little dress up action from time to time, and i'm pretty sure it lasts forever, hence the never ending need to shop! It's also why every mom needs a little girl to doll up! When Brynlee's cousin Shelby got the chance, she had a hay-day trying on all of her play outfits on Brynlee. And we loved watching!
Brynlee LOVED it!!! Buddha belly and all.
Heck if the outfits were about a thousand times bigger, I just might have joined in!

What's in A Name

2008-10-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

A couple months late, but still worthy of recognition! So proud of our little smarty pants man!

So the toes live on....

2008-10-09T19:52:00.000-07:00

In case your looking for something that the kids and I have genetically in common (as if they're not already identical enough to my family :)....just check the toes. That's right, amongst the many glorious traits that Matt and I have handed down to our children, nothing beats their cute little nubs that seem to be a carbon copy of mine....sorry guys! " Actually I'm not sure I should be apologizing but rather inviting them into my exclusive toe club that I have just created since i'm no longer alone. There's a lot of good to be had with these bad boys. They're extra strong; think how many toe wars you will win, you can pick up anything or lift weights if you fancy, if you stub your toe and it swells up...no one will know, not to mention people with a shorter big toe are smarter, so i've heard, and they are oh so character building. People that give your toes names as you grow up and they grow ever increasingly wide as opposed to longer (ie: stubs, hammerheads, ninja turtles, etc) or just choose to point and mock, are really just jealous, because it's not everyday you come across gems like these, so consider yourself lucky! Or just make a funny face and no one will ever notice:)

The Man's Got Style

2008-10-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

All you trendsetters out there, keep an eye out for the fashion forward looks that Carson has been showcasing lately. The man insists on dressing himself, and he knows just what kind of fashion statement he's trying to make....just not sure the rest of us do, but i'm always a little behind on trends! We've finally mastered getting the clothes on the right way, as long as there's buttons or zippers as guidance. But as long as they make underwear with the coolest part of the picture on the back side, Carson will forever insist on wearing them backwards for a better view :)

Most summer mornings he came down with a beanie and long sleeves and pants. I would sweat just looking at him, and then attempt to talk him into shorts, successful about half the time.
By the way, you may think swimming was on the agenda the day this fine outfit was chosen....nope just a trip to meet a friend at the mall!

Giving a Little Back

2008-09-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

As many of you know our little man Carson was hospitalized when he was 4 1/2 months old with infant botulism. It was some of the most scary and trying times in our life, but also one of the most strength and faith provoking experiences. It took several days to diagnose Carson as we watched him sink into complete paralysis. Carson had to be intubated and kept on life support, and was in the hospital just over 3 weeks, with an additional 2+ weeks on a feeding tube and medications. We will forever feel in debt to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego where we fell in love with our doctors and nurses who saved his life, treated us so well and gave him the best care possible. While there, we also met so many other amazing families at Children's who were there for a much longer term of care.

This year, our family is joining in the "Shamu and You" Family Walk at Sea World for Rady Children's Hospital as THE CARSON BROWN FAMILY TEAM on October 4th.

If you are looking for a little exercise, after all, the holidays are just around the corner, this is a great cause, and we'd love any additional team members. Or if you have just been looking for the perfect organzation to make a donation to.....i'm throwing out my recommendation for the Rady Children's hospital. They are an amazing facility and not only save people's lives everyday, but they do it with love and care, and a mom can't ask for more than that!!!

*If you do want to donate, you can make checks payable to Rady Children's Hospital and send them to either my house or Grandma Karen...but seriously don't feel obligated at all!!!

*On a side note...tonight at all Coldstone Creameries, they are giving out free ice cream from 5-8 to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation:)

It's a Summer Wrap

2008-09-22T19:27:00.001-07:00

I was going to blog all the highs of August, our last full summer month, but then I remembered that I had taken these fantastic pictures of Matt's attempt at slolem skiing, on our last trip of summer up to my grandpa's ranch in Sacramento...and they are a high point themselves!

So maybe I'm mostly taking an opportunity to give my very naturally athletic husband, who can do it all, a hard time. Either way, a high point!
Matt's more the wakeboarding, surfer kind of guy, so he decided he needed to conquer skiing on this trip. He was having a hard time and it was driving him INSANE!!! Against his will I talked him into letting my mom get in the water and help him.....mostly for the fantastic photo-op. Well I got my pictures-great blog material! and Matt got up...nope no pics of that one though, but he did!

Unfortunately, I really didn't get any other great pics on the trip, but it was a fun one, and so was the rest of August. Oh how I will miss sweet summer!

Let me tell you bout the birds and the bees....

2008-09-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

So much to catch up on after such a long blog hiatus. Now we're ready for some serious blogging.....If by serious you mean some good Carson conversations that a doting mom wants to have recorded. I'll get more up soon, but i'm currently in mourning of my camera that has been missing for a couple weeks, and I swear it's still going to be found and I have lots of pics to download.

Let me preface with a sidenote: when Carson's mind starts churning on a particular subject, it normally sticks for a while, and revolves into new, but related topics. Well curious George meet sex education. Really, I wasn't expecting the latest chain to hit for a loooong while. Actually it would be fine to touch the surface and probably normal, but seeing as Carson doesn't let up when he knows you're not giving the real answer, this has been a fun run!

Carson: "Why don't Nathan & Janelle have a baby?"

me: "I don't know, you'd have to ask them."

Carson: "Are they going to go to the store and buy one?" "do they come in a box?"

me: "Nope, babies come from Heavenly Father, and mommies have them."

At that point the conversation was fortunately diverted in the direction of what became a couple week obsession of all details related to heaven....better than the alternative, right?

Then a couple weeks ago, Carson became curious about wives...

Carson "Hey dad, will you sleep with me tonight?"

Dad " No I'm going to sleep with mom."

Carson "Why?

Dad "Because she's my wife"

Carson "Well how do I find a wife?"

Dad "When you get older, maybe you'll find one at college or something."

Carson "Well what should I name her"

Dad "She'll probably already have a name, that her mom and dad gave her"

Carson "Why did you name mom Brooke?"

Well these are all good questions, entertaining, and all, but last week, Carson wanted to go a little further...

Carson "Hey, how do you get preg-a-nant?"

At this point I'd like to recommend you send your kids to our friend Eric who was there to answer....."Well Carson, when a mommy and daddy love each other, they fit together like a jigsaw puzzle." Thanks Eric!!! This was followed by lots of laughing, and a persistant Carson for a real answer. We've gone through all the mumbo jumbo of babies come from heaven, you have babies when you get married, etc. etc. etc. Carson somehow knows there's more to it, but for some reasons the birds and the bees and 3 yr. olds just don't mesh.

2008-08-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

The Bi-Annual Brown reunion, in the middle of nowhere mountains of Arizona is officially heaven on earth for Carson and the above picture is about how he looked the whole week. In addition to dirt in all un-seen areas. The reunion, that has over 1000 people come, has been a highlight for Matt his whole life, and really I can see why after watching Carson in pure bliss for 3 days. After 2 very sleepless nights with Brynlee I'm still working on making it my heaven :) The reunion coordinators this year did an amazing job and re-created about 30 stations where the kids could learn about how times were for their ancestors. They had barborshops, beauty parlors, laundry stations, cow milking, quilting, a general store, ice cream parlor, writing with ink and feathers, a post office, roping cattle, museum, train rides, etc.
There's a mountain called "Sierra Trigo" that Matt used to hike up every year on the last night with his cousins, to sleep there. Since I need help with the kids, there were no sleepovers at the top this year, but we did hike up there with the kids one morning. It was a little harder than expected seeing that we both ended up having to each carry one kid the whole way, but so fun and a BEAUTIFUL view from the top.

I did tell Matt that I might not make it again with a kid under 2 though. Babies and camping just don't mix. Thank goodness for Karen and Floyd letting us crash most the time in their RV. Brynlee got sick the first night and maybe slept a couple hrs. Ugh! And then there was Carson's bout with Car/Altitude sickness on the way there. No need for details on that one! In hindsight the reunion really was good time for all, and soooo much fun to see family. I love spending time with Matt's family (although I am petitioning for a beach vacation next:) But really, I can't wait for my kids to look forward to this tradition every other year.

The Muffin Man

2008-08-07T19:12:00.001-07:00

We left behind our tropical paradise of California to bake in the Arizona sun for a week and a half....yes, we must be crazy, but we had some fun and are super glad to be back! I have officially decided that a vacation cannot be called a vacation when traveling with a 1 and 3 year old. There has to be some other name for it, because vacation implies relaxing, and somehow that just doesn't quite fit. The original plan was to go for a long weekend with all the Browns for the most humongous reunion ever that happens every other year. But, my sister-in-law decided to plan a surprise b-day weekend for my old man brother turning 30 the weekend before, so instead of 2 road trips 2 weekends in a row, the kids and I stayed the whole week and mashed it all together....and hopefully we weren't too disruptive of Nathan and Janelle's otherwise peaceful life!
Now here at Nate's b-day dinner, you might think we're standing in front of a delicious restaurant since the b-day boy was able to have his choice
Or If you know Nathan it wouldn't surprise that instead it was a Casino, were the buffet feature of the night was crab legs. Apparantely a love for buffets runs in the family, but crab legs....Ewwww! On top of that there was an hour plus wait, & after a few minutes of more smoke inhalation than one should have in a few years time we moved on! Yeah!
Entertainment of Birthday dinner #2 at Red Robin peaked when Nate decided the almost whole stack of untouched onion rings left at the table next to us would not go to waste on his watch. He's one of a kind, and pretty darn funny! We also went to the lake one day which is always a family favorite. And Carson even liked "surfing" enough to do it twice. Matt was so proud! The family then left me, and the rest of the week was left to see cousins and a few old friends from college. I didn't get many pictures of that, but it was soooo fun to see you girls!!!

Party Month

2008-08-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to some of our favorite July Birthdays and thanks for sharing your days with us!
First to the best Dad and Husband in the Universe! We LOVE you more than anything! And to the best mom and Grandma Belyn. You're amazing!
And lastly, our fun Uncle Muffin, who let us raid his house and share his "birthday week" with him! Our Arizona adventures coming in up next!

Curious George Ain't Got Nothing

2008-07-21T10:28:00.000-07:00

I am willing to bet big bucks that there is not a more curious boy in the world than Carson. Uncle Nathan, the previous question champ asks loads of mindless and useless questions, and I have been known to make fun of him frequently or respond with, "seriously, WHO CARES".....but now-a-days, he doesn't even hold a candle to Carson...Curious George, not even on the same playing field, A college trivia bowl (if those even exist), guarantee he can ask more in the same amount of time. Now I'm all for a curious mind and taking any and all opportunities to teach kids, but I have to admit that sometimes the rapid fire questions wear me out. I planned on keeping a tally one day so I could keep it in Carson's journal, but 10 minutes in the car to target and 21 questions later, (literally) I gave up.
I don't know, is rarely an acceptable answer for the little man. Your better served to make up an answer. And more likely than not your response will only lead to a new question. Why does it get dark? Well Why does the Sun Go down? Well Why does the earth spin?
And then there's our regular regiman of questions in the grocery store. Why is that kid crying? Why is that guy loading the shelf? Where is the back room? Who goes there? Why do they put the cookies on that shelf? What are the carts made out of? Why can't I walk? You get the point.
Carson's mind is always moving and my efforts to make ALL toys in his room inaccessible during quiet time, in hopes that he'll actually fall asleep, only result in a nap about once every two weeks. and only on the brink of exhaustion. Kind of the same pattern as his questions....no time to sit and relax!
He definitely keeps us on our toes, but we sure love our little question making machine! So if your ever in the mood to share some random thoughts, knowledge, or theories with someone feel free to give Carson a call, because he would love to listen. Or if your in the mood to gain some random knowledge you could either call Carson or Nathan, and one of them is bound to have an answer. Give little Carson a few more years and he'll really be ready to give Uncle Nathan a run for his money!

Not so Royal

2008-07-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous, kidless vacation in Puerto Vallarta with the Halveys and the Koehle's and here's some of the highlights and lowlights in a whole heck of a lot of pictures......okay really the only lowlight is the resort, so we'll go ahead and start there!

Welcome to the Royal Decameron, also known as little tijuana. Really we were in the minority BIG time. Now nothing against my hispanic brothers and sisters, but just not quite what we expected. Apparently if you run out of things to do during the day they give you a random can of paint and you can touch up the outer exterior any place you choose!
Next we have sweet sweet Ramona. Every night there was a show and we made it through half a show one night, and opted for games the rest of the week...good choice. Ramona flipping up his dress every few seconds to show his speedos (with a hole in the back no less) somehow lost it's humor after 10 minutes. Although it did make for some good jokes the rest of the week.
Here we have our favorite meal of the Royal D. Mmmm chips and guac! The rest of the food....lets just say it didn't really agree with our systems or our taste buds. I am sooo not hard to please, but these buffets needed some serious revamping!
All in all, here's how we felt about the resort......

Okay, really, other than our accomodations, the trip was awesome and really relaxing. Something about being able to go wherever you want, when you want, is the BEST!!! Not to mention a week with NO whining....okay maybe a little when we first saw our 1 star get-up. We did miss our little munchkins quite a bit though! Our trip started the night before staying in Blake's motor home at LAX.

The resort really did have some fun things to do. we went for a couple rides into town on our banana bikes, played lots of volleyball, kayaking, and sailing!
And the night time made for some great rounds of "loaded questions." This is quite possibly one of my favorite pictures of trip after a hilarious game....so help me Eric, if you ever make fun of Matt's teeth again :)
One of the excursions we did was a Zip Line Canopy Tour. SOOOO FUN! You fly so dang high and over rivers and trees and some of the instructors were really cool and would go with you so you could go backwards or upside down. Highly recommend this one!
Next Excursion was the "Rhythm of the Night." Go ahead and hum the song while you read on. I am! We were taken by boat to a private beach for dinner and a show. There was lots of rain, and good good food under candlelight- oh la la. The water was beautiful over there...a good change from the poo murky water in front of our resort, and it was so tropical. We almost wanted the boat to leave us behind!

Here's a few more tidbits and highlights of our trip. Sorry, I just have too many pictures to post! We ate an Italian place that was our favorite restaurant on our resort....and this is our anniversary dinner. Happy 6 babe, I love you more than Ever!!! I have to say one of my favorite pre-trip quotes was when Lori asked if we minded spending our anniversary with them and Trevor said, "What, in Puerto Vallarta, with no kids?" Sounds pretty darn good to me.
The twilight phenomenon carries on in Mexico. I'm happy to say that Eric and Mariah joined the club on this trip....well mostly Eric, cause he was being a twilight book hog:) can you blame him?

Hanging out at our favorite resort down the way...now this is a real resort!
All in all, a seriously fun trip, good company, and lots of laughs. Thanks guys for coming with us. And Huge Thank you thank you to both Grandparents and Aunt Paige who took such good care of our kiddos. I'm pretty sure they didn't even know we were gone!

HAPPY FOURTH!!!

2008-07-07T17:19:00.000-07:00

A Little Birthday mixed with Wedding

2008-07-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

So I turned the big 2-8 on Tuesday...definitely no longer in my mid-twenties and well on my way into the good old thirties! It was the BEST birthday!!! (by the end of the post you'll see how simple I really am to please:) Since i've been married, birthdays are pretty mellow, with maybe a family dinner, or a date night, but nothing too exciting! So here's a little story of my 28th birthday adventures.
A couple days ago, Matt told me he needed me from noon to four, and his mom would watch the kids. Just the mere fact that he was taking a half day off work I was giddy. We headed to La Jolla for lunch because he had an "appointment" down there at 2. Lunch was at one of our favorite La Jolla eateries and throughout the meal, he gave me 4 clues as to what were doing next....clue #3 peaked my curiosity to the max, and I finally guessed on #4. Here's the clues, if you guess the activity, you get a prize... maybe:)
1) You need to remember a few facts
2) You need to take off your wedding ring
3) It's slightly dishonest :)
4) Your mom would love it .....and the appointment was...drumroll please!!!

We went wedding cake tasting and it was SO fun! To really appreciate this, you have to understand my minor obsession with wedding cakes. I LOVE them!!! It's probably my most favorite thing about weddings next to the brides dress. And everytime I know someone getting married I'm happy to offer my cake tasting expertise. So the fact that Matt thought this up on his own, and called our wedding planner friend to find out the best place to go, made my day. Seriously, I really am pretty darn easy to please, especially when sugars involved! I Love things that take thought. Not to mention there never has been a better birthday cake. The cake place gave us about 14 different flavors, and even sent them all home with us. It really was the BEST cake ever. So we're getting married October 4th, and the cakes all picked out. You're all invited!!! We ended our afternoon date with a little shopping. Matt is one of my favorite shopping buddies. Just to clarify for his sake, I know it's not one of his favorite activites, being the manliest of all men and all, but I love that he'll go with me from time to time!
While we were gone, Carson & Grandma Karen were hard at work making cupcakes that provided some good entertainment when Carson asked Matt, "Hey, Can I shove this cupcake in your face?" Carson's got Matt's laugh and when they get going it's the funniest thing EVER! If you've ever heard Matt laugh just picture two of him. It's contagious.
Of course Matt had to get him back. And then the boys went to assess the damage in the mirror.

Carson couldn't imagine anything better than smeared frosting all over your face and has since asked for it a few more times.

Next up, I went out with a few girlfriends for dinner and pedicures! It was so fun to have Becky, my best friend from highschool in town, to come along!

Just in case we want to act out some scenes on our upcoming trip to Mexico, Lori bought us some gilligan island prop hats. Not to mention a little shout out of patriotism for the 4th of July.

I seriously ALWAYS have a blast when I hang out with these girls, they're the best.....so thanks a ton girls!!! To top it all off, Lori and Mariah put together this poem, that really is a pretty darn good summary of me. I love love love love it! I don't know if you can read it when you click on it, but if not, just know it's really good and you are missing out!
So that was it for my fun filled day. I LOVE birthdays!!!

Fried Festivities

2008-06-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

All the necessities for a fun day at the fair......

Fried Zuchini, Fried Onion and Fried Chicken platter...the fair special!
Cinnamon Rolls, Ice Cream, and Shakes.........Check!
Since it's probably considered harsh & inhumane to display abnormally large humans now-a-days, instead, pay to see the insanely large steer and horse, because you just can't seem to fight the temptation.
Even though it's a dollar per person to see each!
Make sure that there's some good exhibits with seats to rest your weary feet. I'm pretty sure that spa guy thinks he made a sell. Sorry to dissapoint.

And you can't forget the foot massage to top it off!
Add that to all the endless people watching there is to be had,(seriously where do these people come from) I'm pretty sure counties fairs are the the modern mixing pots of America. We hit all the highlights, came home a little greasier, and all in all had a great time.

A New Chore

2008-06-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

The last month or so I've been avoiding a "real" grocery trip for 2 reasons... they look so cute and innocent don't they?

Now I know many would probably label me crazy for ever liking grocery shopping in the first place, but I really did (emphasis on did) Ever since being married and setting up shop, I've loved my grocery trips. Even more so when I had just Carson, it was such a good excuse to get out of the house on a slow day. I love finding new finds, bringing home too much junk food, but I especially love the challenge of getting the best deals possible. Well getting good deals requires a little more time, and with two kids my time limits have clearly expired. Carson has always been pretty mellow so it never was a chore with him...Enter Brynlee as a toddler....times have changed! Now don't get me wrong, it's not all her, they definitely collaborate and use all their best antics to create the most un-ideal shopping trip. The food I always end up opening mid-trip to keep them happy no longer seems to work it's magic. I've never been one to shop at night when Matt is home, cause grocery shopping is sooo not worthy of trumping any husband time, not to mention the end of day exhaustion. The solution: we'll either eat whatever we can get on 5 minute mini shopping trips here and there for a few essentials, start digging into to food storage, or forego a little husband time to do "real" shopping once in a while. The jury's still out!

Happy Dads Day

2008-06-16T10:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to both our Dad's! We Love you so much and are so thankful for all you have taught us throughout our lives and for the examples you have been. We are who we are today because of you! We are especially thankful to live so close to both of you so our kids can have your influence in their lives as well. They absolutely adore their Grandpa's

And to the best husbad and dad in the universe....Happy Father's Day Matty Boy! I could not have dreamt of a more perfect person to raise our little family with. You are the most perfect, fun, talented, loving, goofy, smart, caring and hilarious dad in the world. Carson and Brynlee can never get enough of you and neither can I! You keep us laughing, but are also such an amazing example in everything you do. Carson loves EVERYTHING about you. He truly is your mini-me, following your every move, and he could not have a better role model. And Brynlee is such a daddy's girl. She talks about you about 20 times more than anyone, and if she could talk all day on the phone to you, she would. We Love you more than anything in the world!!!

See you in A Couple

2008-06-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

My cute little brother Trevor is checking into the MTC today and heading off to the Guam, Micronesia mission in a few weeks!
We're going to miss him A TON...especially his display of speedos in the coming summer months :) But are so proud of the choices he's made and the guy he's become. What an awesome role model for my own little man, who I know totally looks up to his Uncle Trevor. We LOVE you!!!

SWEET TYLENOL
On a totally different note, other than the fact that these pictures were taken the same day as the ones above, explaining why Carson looks a little woozy in all, here's my personal advertisement for Children's Tylenol. Here's what a poor little guy with 101-103 temp looks like. Staying on the couch for about 6 hrs with a fever on Sunday, until my mom decided to run to the drug store to get Tylenol. You know the guy wasn't feeling well when he rejected ALL food and drink including ice cream & popsicles, and wouldn't move!

10 Minutes after the first dose of Tylenol. First thing he wants to do is eat dessert and ride his bike.
If only the Tylenol lasted more than a couple hrs!

My Sugar Daddy

2008-05-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Carson and I are Sugar Soul Mates! The guy would skip every meal until the cows come home and not even bat an eye at his little figure withering away. But when it comes to dessert, he licks his bowl clean and can just about out eat anyone....next to me of course! So one of our new little adventures is mommy-son dates, so I can remember how much fun he is one on one and re-appreciate his funny humor, as opposed to constantly reminding him not to whine and tease! So for our first date it was only natural that we go out for ice cream, his choice! We went to one of those self serve yogurt places with unlimited topping selections, that seem to suddenly be popping up all over (which I might add deserves a post of it's own dedicated to my love for these yogurt shops, another time...) Being the dessert conisseur that Carson is, he was the designated creator of our dessert and here's what we got: Pecan, Tart, Strawberry and a touch of creamsicle yogurt topped with Oreos, cookie dough, butterfinger, granola, and of course the colorful gummy bears that always catch a youngsters eyes. Don't worry, I did put my foot down when he started wanting to add fruit toppings also. Well sugar is sugar and our yogurt was pretty tasty, but the company was even better. My little man is so fun! Can't wait for next time!

Utah

2008-05-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

We spent 11 days in good ole' Utah...which partially explains my lack of blogging, second only to laziness of course!

The kids did awesome in the car (for the most part), but not without a little extra sugar, a few books and toys, and the trusty old DVD player that almost got thrown out the window due to lack of cooperation. Luckily the headphones provided some good entertainment within themselves.

We started our little vacation in St. George where Matt, my Dad and Trevor, did their annual triathlon last weekend....and I did my first! All went well except for the insanely windy conditions turned my first ever triathlon into a biathlon. After starting the first heat of people...and rescuing at least 3 boat loads and the others taking WAAAAAAY to long in the water, they called it off and we started on the bikes. Matt was bummed but I was doing a happy dance with my dad. Seriously, I was freezing in my wetsuit just waiting to start.

Then the kids and I were off to Alpine for the week to stay with my Grandma & Grandpa and wait for Matt to fly back up the next weekend for a wedding! I'll never tire of a good Utah vacation. My Grandparents are the best hosts ever and so welcoming.....and always feed us way tooooo much! Staying there is comparable to a cruise! You are ALWAYS full!!!
It really was a relaxing week with all the ingredients of a perfect vacation. No cooking, no cleaning, no bills, good company, all my favorite utah food stops, and of course my good friends edward and bella. I kicked back with my mint brownies from BYU and read the last 2 books of the twilight series. Yes, i'm a fanatic and i've now watched about 15 different trailers for the movie. I've never read so much in such a short time. Loved the 3rd book the best! And the kids just loved visiting cousins and playing in great grandmas play room.
Finally Matt came and joined us on Thursday for his cousins wedding! It was a beautiful wedding and so fun to be with all the Browns.

It was a great week, but we were all excited to come home to our own beds!

A Couple weeks in Review

2008-05-02T11:09:00.000-07:00

Not quite sure where the time has gone...but don't worry, we're back. If it's any consolation, I keep thinking of really fun blog entries I want to do, and halfway create them in my mind, but to actually sit down and do them would take time and when the weather is nice, blogging time takes a backseat, and then you just get out of the groove. Anyways, this post is anything but a "fun post" but I am well overdue for an update, so here's some of the latest happenings that have been consuming our time lately!

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN DAD IS DONE WITH TAX SEASON???? (FINALLY)
Yep, we went to disneyland the day after to celebrate with another accountant friend, but lame mom forgot the camera, so here's some other fun pics of the last couple weeks getting to do what the kids love best- hang out with dad as much as possible since they were on dad drought time for the last two months. Life is so much more fun with dad around. (and mom is probably a little bit happier) We LOVE it!!!

Matt's dreams of teaching his boy to skate and surf are finally becoming a reality. Of course it wouldn't be a true manly skate session without a little crack action :)

Loving a litte more pool time and beach time!

Congratulations to my cousin Tawny who got married last weekend and looked GORGEOUS! It was a fun party and so fun as always to get together with family!!!

And last but certainly not least...I'm am the newest member of the twilight Groupies. I LOVED IT!!!! I've been meaning to read this for some time and finally a friend dropped it on my doorstep, and I had no excuse. With probably a little too much kid neglecting on my part nothing like a little big bird for a couple hrs right?...yes I do feel a little guilty about that by the way, but I could not put it down-i tried) I finished it in 2 days and I'm dying that the sequel is not waiting for me on my doorstep. Although I should probably save it for our next road trip and spend a little time with the kids this weekend :) I am a big time sucker for anything romance related... i get the chills frequently! I LOVE edward and I may have even dreamt all about the book the first night....just maybe :) Such an easy read, but so entertaining.

Strawberry Heaven

2008-04-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

I've driven by the "U-Pick" Strawberry sign in Carlsbad my whole life, and always wanted to go. But seeing as you never really seem to take advantage of the fun things closest things to you, I never actually went until last week! So FUN!!! A little more expensive than buying at the grocery stores, but totally worth it! Not to mention you get to eat all you want while you pick, and we took major advantage of that! Next time i'll be packing some whip cream in my bag:) Carson & Brynlee both LOVED it!
Carson ate so many strawberries that when he came home and went to the bathroom he said "look mom, my poop melted." Sorry probably could have left that commentary out, but just couldn't resist!
Note to self...Never dress your child in white when going to eat berries!

A long 13 Years

2008-04-08T15:21:00.001-07:00

Carson has always been into anything with wheels...cars, trains, trucks, planes, you name it...as most boys are! But, the last few days he has been so persistant on wanting to drive our cars-and he's dead serious. Nothing totally unusual, as I'm sure all kids would love to do this, except for the fact that lately he is so persistant and has convinced himself that he is 16 and big enough, now he's just trying to convince us! Here's his first conversation with Dad: (followed by many many more useless plea's)

C: "Dad can I drive this time?"

D: "No Carson, you have to be 16 to drive."

C: "But Dad I aaaaaaaam 16"

D: "Yeah, not quite- 13 years"

Later that day.... "Mom, can I drive? I'm 16"

The Next day...."Mom, I just wish I was 16 so I can drive. What does 16 come after?"

Today when we were getting in the car, "I just wish kids could be 16!"

Maybe he won't be asking for the next 13 years after all!

Funny Guy!!!!

Rite of Passage

2008-04-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

I think all toddlers have an unspoken pact of things that must be done in order to be considered a full fledged toddler, and that must be completed before you can graduate toddler-hood and become a big boy. Next up, give either yourself or your sister a crooked and too-short to really be fixed haircut!

Palm Springs

2008-04-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like some good quality cousin bonding in Palm Springs... with NO KIDS!!! This past weekend my cousins and I were able to get away for some serious retail therapy, biking, swimming, and most important, completely uninterrupted meals. Sometimes you forget how relaxing it is to be lazy.
I Love it! Best of all, the weather was so stinkin perfect and warm that we even got a decent start to some summer tans- or I should say my olive skinned cousins got great tans and me and all my tanning glory will be pasty white within a matter of days-but it sure is fun while it lasts!
We had lots of fun times with a few crazy moments....what happens in Palm Springs stays in Palm springs...except for what I choose to document. Okay, maybe it's just our dancing that is crazy and out of control and fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, my cousin Tracy got some funny footage posted on her blog (Tracy Badger) that you can check out if you are totally bored and want to see some excellent Napolean like dance skills.

Thank Goodness Janelle was there to keep us mildly active with our group workouts!

Matt was so awesome to stay home with the kids to have some serious Daddy time. He did the best job and I think the kids loved it too! I came home and thought it was so fun to look through what clothes he had them wear and what kind things he packed for outings, and of course I was totally into what he fed them! You gotta love the Dads way! I seriously debated leaving him with the camera cause I would LOVE to see some pics of them- especially at church- talk about a highlight :)

An Unwelcomed Visitor

2008-03-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

We have been LOVING the warm weather we've had lately. I'm totally addicted to all things summer: warm temperatures, tan lines, ice cream frequently, summer clothes, etc. But, the warm weather also apparently brings in some very unwelcomed guests...in our yard! EWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!

Luckily this nasty of all nasty reptiles started in our neighbors yard, and he saw it come to ours and climbed the fence, to perform his manly duties of catching it. Now I know it's not a rattle snake, and probably perfectly harmless, but seriously there's a reason the devil is always portrayed by a snake, they are sooooo creepy!

Happy Easter

2008-03-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

I've decided the holidays come around a lot more frequently and a lot quicker when you are a parent, and suddenly in charge of creating the memories and the magic for your kids as opposed to just being the receipient, counting down the days till you will get more presents. A change that I have loved experiencing, since there is nothing more priceless than living these holidays through a childs eyes and helping them to create memories. I LOVE it!!! That being said, we had a fabulous Easter weekend/week. We are soooo blessed to live by both sets grandparents and to always be able to spend our holidays with them. Between lots of egg hunts, multiple egg colorings and gatherings, I think Carson is convinced that every holiday including his birthday equates to a week long celebration. Sounds good to me! Here's lots of pictures with a few highlights of our week:

One very serious egg artist & two happy egg hunters!

The two cutest Easter clad kiddies that I have ever seen!

Carson is seriously excited for some more egg hunting and Brynlee is just thrilled with her finds....unfortunately it didn't take her long to learn what was inside the plastic eggs!

Dad's been working way too hard and needed a little r&r.

A Diaper Man No More

2008-03-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

We finally jumped on "the potty train" as Carson would say, a week ago saturday and everyone in the house is so much happier for it! I decided it was high time to get serious & stop waiting for him to give me "the signs" cause if we're being honest, a guy that can express himself so well is more than ready to take a little control! After lots of good potty training tips, I picked a day and took Carson's diaper off for good when he woke up. He was sooo not happy with this, but after convincing him how cool he looked in his stylish Thomas the Train underwear (and refusing to put a diaper back on) he agreed that the train underwear wasn't so bad. After only one accident on Saturday, and a few on Sunday, he finally got the groove of things and has been accident free since! Besides fighting every urge to take care of his "manly" business, and holding it in for 5 days...(I know that probably pains the male mind to even read that) the whole thing has been so much easier than planned- a refreshing change. He now loves using the toilet, but still not totally fond of the "business" part- that will come, as it eventually does with all men, but as long as there's no accidents i'm one happy mom :)
The best part is that Matt taught him to wipe the toilet seat after every visit. Hopefully a habit that will stick for when he decides he's big enough to stand and sprinkle the seat with a little something extra :) Now that's good training by dad and pretty darn cute!!! Go Carson!

Ellen Day + Birthday = A dance party

2008-03-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to maybe get this post up before "Ellen" aired on Tuesday where I was sure Lori, Mariah and I were going to make our National T.V debut dancing like crazy....or maybe I purposefully didn't in the hopes that no one would see us dancing like crazy ladies! Either way, it didn't matter because other than a couple really cute shots of Mariah our T.V debut will have to come another time (don't worry we're not done trying) So how crazy we may have looked dancing, you'll never know :) But we did have the BEST time on our second official "Ellen Day" and it was even better that it was also Lori's 27th Birthday!

Happy Birthday again to Lori- We LOVED spending the day with you, but mostly I liked how fabulous you looked in your birthday crown!

We started our Ellen day by stuffing ourselves beyond any logic eating more breakfast than should be legal for any 3 girls to eat, with a birthday breakfast for Lori at Las Brisas in Laguna Beach.....if your ever looking for a good breakfast place in an insanely beautiful location I highly recommend it- made to order omelets, belgian waffles, bread pudding, croissants, crepes, etc....and as much as you want! Sooooo Good!

When we got to the Ellen show- barely in time I might add- we immediately volunteered Lori to do Karoake when they panned the crowd looking for people willing to humiliate themselves. (except Lori is the next american idol so it wouldn't be humilitation for her....the humiliation comes from Mariah and I when she forced us to volunteer with her, against our every better judgement....but whatever the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets- just kidding Lori you know I love you!) It turned out to be the best thing ever because apparently that is how they find people to call up & play the games you see sometimes on the show...kareoke is just an excuse to get high energy people. Not only that we got killer seats and kind of a VIP sort of treatment. Lori was chosen with 5 other people to potentially be called up for the game....but no luck! But, we did get 3rd row seats, had a blast, & wore ourselves out after they make you dance during EVERY commercial break (seriously that's exhausting) Thanks girls for another fun day.....can't wait for the next one... SOON PLEASE!!!!

*disclaimer...sorry if there are any spelling errors..not in the mood to go back and proof read right now...maybe later!

Easter Delights

2008-03-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that easter candy is THE BEST!!!!!!!!! It beats any other holiday hands down. Unfortunately for my waist..I can't get enough. I have dreams of Cadbury cream eggs, chocolate eggs, nestle peanut butter cup eggs, oh and peeps- LOVE THEM! And not only that, I discovered at Target just last year coconut marshmallows and they're back. They make the best s'mores and rice krispy treats. And that's about all I have to say about that!

Another Tag...

2008-03-07T14:47:00.000-08:00

Here's just another fun tag....a good blog when your still in a blog stump..

10 years ago:

5 Things on my to-do list today:
1. Clean...somehow it always gets bumped down on the list of priorities and reappears EVERYDAY!!!
2. Veg and waste time on the internet while the kids nap...might as well put it on a list cause we all know i'm gonna do it- then I can cross it off and feel efficient.
3. Figure out where to go to dinner to avoid cooking.
4. organize, organize, organize....everything!
5. Meet friends for lunch...by the beach - woohoo!

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Anything chocolate
2. Cheesy Doritos
3. Ice Cream
4. Nachos
5. Cadbury Cream Eggs- it's the season
Clearly I'm a health nut

What would I do if I was suddenly a billionaire:
Buy a big house about a block away from the beach and fully deck it out with pottery barn and anthropolgie stuff
Buy a cool vacation house..well maybe a couple...somewhere amazing and take friends all the time.
Travel A LOT!
Invest, and invest a little more...set up funds for the kiddos.
Buy all the people I really like a nice car and just drive it to their house and surprise them...wouldn't that be fun!
And of course tithing.

5 places I've lived:
1. San Diego, CA
2. Provo, Ut
3. New Zealand
4. Orange County, CA
I don't have anymore...that about sums it up!

5 Jobs I've had:
1. Hostess
2. Nanny
3. Great Harvest
4. Bookkeeper
5. and the best yet....mommy!

5 Things you don't know about me:
Get back to me on this one....seriously the kids are napping and this one is making me think far to much for my vegging time.

Quirky Carson

2008-03-07T14:35:00.000-08:00

These are probably total mommy moments that I want to have documented since this is the only journal i'm remotely regular with, so hopefully you'll enjoy...if not, maybe you just had to be there.

Why I LOVE listening to a 3 yr. olds thought process, and attempt to try make sense of things:

Carson: "Dad will you read me a story when we get home?"
Dad: "It's way past your bed time so i'll tell you one in the car instead.....When I was a little boy, my dad-- Carson, did you know that Grandpa Floyd is my dad, and I used to be a little boy like you?"
Carson: "Well then who would my dad be?"
Dad: "I'm your dad, and Grandpa Floyd is my dad"
Carson: "But I said what would happen to me if you're a little boy?"
Dad: "Carson I'm still your Daddy."
Carson: "But then why did you say you were a little boy?"
Dad: "I'm not a little boy anymore, but I used to be one."
Carson: "Well I don't want you to tell me that story."

Why I don't love having a VERY verbal 3 yr. old when I am about to pee my pants and DYING to go the bathroom and we are out, so he has to come in with me, to the loudly echoing bathrooms:
...nevermind, i'll spare you that dialogue. Let's just leave it at EMBARRASING!!!!!!!! And mommies, do your best to always, always, use the bathroom before you go out- and don't drink anything until you return home!