Blueberries

Our good friends Kate and Ryan introduced us to this blueberry patch. 

Gas for the trip:  $5

Blueberries:  $2/pound

The taste of freshly picked blueberries:  PRICELESS

:)

Fathers

 I don't know if I am food obsessed or if it is Aaron.  As I racked my brain for what he'd like for father's day, time and time again  I thought of food.  And then (I'm thinking) if you're going to give food for your gift... I might as well  present it nicely.  And thus was born... bacon roses.  Of course... I did get a bit of help from pinterest, but that hardly counts does it?  These were a big hit. 

 

 The kids had a lot of fun helping me put this together as well.  They thought it was so funny.

Aaron really is a phenomenal Dad!  He makes each of the kids feel special and makes a point to spend 1 on 1 time with each of them.  I appreciate so much that he is truly invested and committed to fatherhood.  He teaches so much by example how to work hard and how to serve diligently.  Happy Happy Father's Day Aaron.

Just for fun we made this funny card to send to mine and Aaron's Dads.  The ones online looked cooler, but it was fun all the same.  I've been thinking about my Dad today as my refrigerator has broken down and I am awaiting some repair person who is going to charge me hundreds of dollars for his wisdom.  Not only is my Dad capable of fixing EVERYTHING, but he is selfless in wanting to help people whenever he can.  I know if I wasn't thousands of miles away... he'd be here fiddling with my fridge and figuring out the problem.  I love that about my Dad.  He doesn't seem to have a selfish bone in his body.  I definitely struggle with that same quality.  I am selfish.  I'm maybe a bit less selfish though because of the example of my Dad.  I'm not a lost cause yet.  I do hope that someday  I will be more like him in that regard. 

Just a bit about my father in law as well.  Paul and my Dad are similar in their work ethic.  He is always working.  Working at the temple, working at work, working in his garden, working at the grill :)  He likes to keep busy and engaged in something productive and honestly that seems to be where he is most happy.  Again... I love to veg.  Way too much.  Paul is an example to me in that regard.  Not stressed or anything... just doing what needs to be done. 

I'm so grateful for these good men and fathers in my life.  Happy happy fathers day.

Summer Days

Life has been wonderfully busy lately.  With the kids out of school, a long trip to Utah to prepare for, and a busy new calling at church.... picture taking has become rare...almost non-existant.  However, I am a firm believer that memories can be recorded even without pictures.  So here are a few things that I want to remember:

*  For FHE a few weeks ago we had a Brown Family showcase.  Each of the kids got to show off a few things that they have accomplished this school year.  We heard piano music, singing, poetry recitations, reading of a book and several other things.  It was so much fun to let the kids show off all of the things they've learned and see how far they have come this year. 
*  The kids made a movie.  They wrote it and everything.  I filmed.  It has resulted in many hours of laughter.  It is about a girl who can't dance and wishes to learn more than anything.  The Easter Bunny is even featured.  It's a must see.
*  Beach party on Memorial Day.  We don't do well with camera's at the beach... so no pictures... but lots of fun.
*  Lizzy's end of year party at school.  We played minute to win it and watched the kids balance Oreo's on their heads and other wierd things.
*  Andrew's end of year performance in which I couldn't hold back the tears.  I know, I know... it's just Kindergarten.  But they were all so stinkin' adorable up there singing "You are my Sunshine".  Somehow graduating from Kindergarten just seems like it is really only one small step away from being a full grown adult.  I'm just not ready for this.
*  Field Day.   So much fun.
*  Last day of school where Lizzy was giddy and Andrew couldn't stop himself from crying.  Lizzy kept reassuring him that Kindergarten is the hardest to graduate from.  It gets easier after that.
*  Refreshing first dip into the pool.  Oh so good.
*  I opened up my "mama store" again that rewards the kids for learning activities and extra chores they do this summer. It has been a big hit.  Andrew cleaned and vacuumed our shoe closet, vacuumed the living room,  did 5 pages in his workbook, wrote in his journal, practiced the piano, and did a science experiment all happily and of his own accord.  All of this in hopes of earning a back scratcher from "Dollar Tree" at the end of the week.  So worth $1. 
*  Lizzy decided to get a summer job so she advertised herself as a "mother's helper" for $1/ hour.  I hoped she wouldn't feel disappointed if no one called.  However our awesome neighbor Tiffany hired her and she earned $3 whole dollars today.  She was thrilled.  Tiffany even called me later tonight to tell me how sincerely helpful Lizzy was.  Lizzy actually came home pretty tired from the work, which is a wonderful thing I must say.
*  We are consuming a ton of food lately.  A loaf of bread only lasts a day or two, 5 pints of strawberries are  gone in 2 days.   I feel like I spend all day in the kitchen.  And really I think I do.  Atleast more than any other room. 

Happy summerin' to you to.

Just for Fun and Because Summer is ALMOST Here

We've Been Waiting for This ALL YEAR

It has been terribly hard for Andrew to watch Lizzy continue to loose teeth this year and get the enviable tooth fairy money.  He has wiggled and wiggled and even tried to knock teeth out but to no avail.  And then when it happened... when he slipped on the stairs and knocked it loose... he almost hyperventilated.  He kept it in there hanging for a few days because he wanted to lose it at school.  If you lose your tooth at school, you get a pretty cool little treasure box to keep it in.  So he did.  And he got just what he wanted.  And we have a very happy boy.

Stitches

Our 8 + years of stitch-free parenting ended a few weeks ago when Sam stepped on some broken glass.  I must say Sam was a remarkable patient.   Of course he howled when it happened, but only for a moment and then he immediately started talking about the friends that needed to come and see his BLOOD!!  Even now that the stitches have been out for 2 or 3 weeks... he likes to tell anyone that will listen about his stitches.  He is quite proud.  In fact it has created a whole new fascination with owies.   He has at least 7 right now and is proud of every one of them.  He wants to know about everyone's owie's too.  So if you have a good one... we'd love to see it.

Andrew made a great mask for Sam don't ya think?

Destroyed....

Last November  I had this great idea about how we were going to pick a big 'ole puzzle and work together to complete it.  Family togetherness and all that good stuff.  We picked a doozy and after a few hours of labor on the kids part... it was pretty much left to me.  I spent hours and hours on this thing.  When our grandparents came to visit... they even added a few hours. 

5 months later..... a half finished puzzle was sitting in the living room and no one had touched it for atleast a month. 

So Sam and his buddy Dayton decided to take a turn at it. 

It actually only took me a moment to let the frustration subside before I realized that I wasn't unhappy about this.   If not for these stinkers... it would still be sitting in my living room half done with very little potential of ever being finished.  Now I have my corner back and my hours and our next family togetherness project will probably not be 1000 pieces.