Brownies

Matt's trip to the Oregon Coast

2010-09-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

Matt took off on a fishing trip with my Brother in law and sister who go every year. I wanted to go but it was the very week school started for the kids and with Rendon being a baby still, I decided not to. But I"m really glad Matt went, he really enjoyed himself!

This is the house they rented that was right up from the beach. Matt said the view was terrific!

Patrick (my brother in law) his sons and Matt doing something CRAZY on the beach!

Matt went out and caught a 23 lb. Tuna and a 28 lb. salmon. They are so delicious!!!

The beach was covered in starfish.....zillions of them!

I'm coming next year for sure!!!!

Jaden's Arrow of Light Ceremony

2010-07-19T00:56:00.001-06:00

Jaden received his 'Arrow of Light' award in scouting this past week. He has been working hard with his leader and the boys in his pack to achieve this. The ceremony was really cool and Jaden felt special as his Grandma North and Grandma and Grandpa Brown were able to come support him. Here he is receiving his feathers. He is sitting second from the right.

Trying not to smile for the camera.

Look at the cool boards with a real arrow and arrowhead each of the boys received. This part was so exciting for the boys!

Feeling the love! Left to Right: Matt, Grandpa Brown, Jaden, Grandma Brown, Maddie, Grandma North, Me, Rendon. Way to go, Jaden!!!!

ECLIPSE!

2010-07-19T00:46:00.001-06:00

So if you know me at all, you know I DO enjoy the Twilight series. I enjoyed the books a lot, and I enjoy the movies mostly because the books were so good. The movies never quite compare to the books, but hey-whatever! I mostly enjoy all the ridiculous chaos that people tend to create when the movies come out so I go and be a part of it because that's half the fun, right?!
And of course reading the books and watching the movies has been something that Maddie and I do together and it's kind of a fun way to 'bond'.
I have a very obsessed, over the top friend, Amanda who really gets into all the mania. Her daughter, Kamri is one of Maddie's really good friends so we decided to 'Eclipse it' at midnight on opening night. Here I am with Amanda, her sister, Hannah, and Rendon. Notice his shirt: "Twilight Baby". I got that for my baby shower! :) (No, he didn't attend the show with us).

Amanda (my obsessed friend on the left) scored us some tickets to an earlier show before our midnight show with our daughters. Here we are in the car on the way. Getting excited!

The movie is about to begin. Notice the cute cups? They were $5 each dang it, but how could you pass that up?!

And here we are at the midnight show. Actually it started at 12:35am...crazy? Yes! Will we do it again? Definitely!!!! Kamri, Amanda, Me, Maddie.

All in all the movie was really good. They get better and better and it's a lot of fun to be a part of the craze!

Home from the Mission!

2010-07-19T00:31:00.000-06:00

On June 18th we all headed to the airport to pick up Grandma and Grandpa Brown. They had served in the Mendoza, Argentina Mission for 18 months and we were so excited for them to be coming home! Here we are anxiously waiting for them to come down the escalators.

THERE THEY ARE!!!

Meeting Rendon for the first time.

There's no place like home! (And in Grandpa's case...'There's nothing like a ding dong to eat when you get home')!

Fast fingers

2010-07-19T00:20:00.001-06:00

Well I feel horrible because I was straightening my hair on the couch with Rendon nearby. Of course, he's at the 'grabby' stage and boy is he quick. He grabbed the flat iron for a split second as it was going through the air up to my head. I swear it was so fast, but he still reached out just enough to grab it. He cried such a horrible, painful little cry and I just felt absolutely awful. Luckily we iced the fingers and he seemed to calm right down but the pain came and went for two straight hours. It seemed like two straight days. Poor baby.

And here is after the blisters popped. The hard part was keeping his hands out of his mouth and keeping his fingers clean and dry all the time. Rest assured I will make sure I do my hair in the bathroom away from the baby from now on!!!

Family Pictures

2010-06-10T19:53:00.004-06:00

Okay so I posted three new blog posts since I've been a little slacker so feel free to scroll down and see what else we've been up to!

We got our family pictures taken a few weeks ago and are really happy with the way they turned out!

The Boys: Matt, Rendon, Colton, Aiden and Jaden.

The girlies: Me and Maddie

Colton, Amber and Aiden.

Aren't we wacky?!

Little bit of Lagoon...

2010-06-10T19:30:00.002-06:00

Our Annual Morton Salt Lagoon day came again in June this year. Unfortunately, our family didn't win anything during 'Bingo' again. This is the third year in a row that we haven't won and the kids were kinda bummed out.

Anyway, my friend Amanda and her daughter, Kamri had season passes and joined us for the day. It was perfect weather and not too hot.

Here's little Rendon surrounded by all the loot that Colton, Jaden and his cousin, Seth kept winning.

Colton claims he only spent three quarters to win this....not sure I believe that but it was cool and huge anyway! He brought a date, Lacey.

Jaden w/ his cousin, Seth, packing up to go home! They were on a cotton candy sugar high at this point.

And Maddie with her friend, Kamri trying on funky hats at the gift shop!

Commencements

2010-06-10T19:00:00.001-06:00

Wow, time just doesn't stand still for anybody! I can't believe Maddie is done with Middle School and on to High School! She had her 8th grade graduation at Excelsior last week and was called up with some other students, to be recognized as receiving only A's and B's all year long. Go girl!
Below: One of her favorite teachers, Mr. B- addressing the 1st graduating class @ Excelsior Academy.

Here's Maddie accepting her plaque for good grades all year long. (Maddie, you kinda look short! :))

And here is Maddie with her beautiful flowers she received from her Grandma North and Aunt Pam. Well done, Maddie!!!!!

In other graduating news, here is my niece, Mindy Beckett (as Valedictorian!) giving her graduating class of 2010 some fantastic advice and hope for the future!!! You did so great, Mindy!

And here is my nephew, Andrew Beckett who left just yesterday to the MTC and then off to his Mission to Orlando, Florida! ....Oh and in case you're wondering why there are two Andrews, the taller Andy is his cardboard cutout that will be accompanying his family to togethers and whatnot while he is away!

Rendon is six months old!

2010-06-01T00:38:00.001-06:00

Here's my sweet, baby boy. Man this kid melts our hearts on a daily basis. He is such a happy tiny person and he giggles and laughs and chatters his little head off. And his hair isn't coming in anywhere except the very top so it looks like he's got a mohawk. He slobbers all over the place but we don't care!

Dance, dance!

2010-05-18T19:27:00.001-06:00

These first two pictures are taken right before Maddie's dance recital. She performed two numbers and unfortunately, I didn't get her in her other costume before she changed. On her second dance number, Jaden joined Maddie and performed a cute dance. I was unable to upload it here for some reason but it is on my facebook!

Here is Maddie and Allie at their dance competition last month where their team took third place! Can you tell they are proud to be a part of Grantsville Dance?!

Piano Recital and Mother's Day

2010-05-10T09:55:00.006-06:00

Well, to make a long story short, Matt bought himself trees for the yard and tried passing it off as a Mother's Day gift for me (he's been wanting more trees for a while now!)....and I pitched a tiny fit. I told him earlier in the week that all I wanted was a thumb ring since I lost the one I had a while ago. Well, he must not have heard me correctly. I'm thinking he must have mistaken 'thumb ring' for 'green thumb' which would explain the trees. Nice try, honey! So I came home from church on Mother's Day to find some flowers and a card with money in it! Hooray!!!!

When the kids and I came home from church, Colton was over so I was able to get a picture of all my kidlets together for a Mother's Day picture.

And last but not least, Maddie and Jaden had their Spring piano recital on Saturday. My cute niece, Mindy has been their teacher this year and we will be so sad to lose her since she's going away to college in the fall. We love you, Shoobie!!!!

Somebody's moving in.

2010-05-05T23:24:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago, Matt noticed a couple black birds building a nest up in one of our trees. They took turns flying around and gathering debris for the nest. In the first picture, I've zoomed out so you can see where, in the tree, the birds are nesting. Anyway, these pictures were taken a few weeks ago and the nest is even larger, now. Kinda cool!

Mama loves her baby.

2010-04-19T13:22:00.002-06:00

Rendon's Dandelion....

2010-04-19T13:15:00.003-06:00

Okay, I already know what you're thinking...."Why is that baby out in the sun?!" Well, it was really for only like three minutes, enough to get some cute pictures!

Aiden's 2nd Birthday

2010-04-19T12:55:00.003-06:00

Aiden had his birthday party over at our house this year. There were a lot of people that showed up and since I don't know or can't remember all of their names (Sorry Amber! Feel free to fill them in on a comment if you'd like!) I will just post the pictures. One of Aiden's favorite things was his new bike. After he figured out he could PUSH it instead of RIDE it, he was in heaven...it was so funny!

Easter and such...

2010-04-07T12:06:00.007-06:00

Easter weekend was a bit stormy but we made the most of it when it wasn't WET! If all else fails, take pictures! Here is a fun picture I took of Amber and Aiden. I played around with it on my computer and made it look like a painting. I love how it turned out.

This one is so pretty, Amber is a natural!

We took off to the sand dunes at Knolls, with Randall and his girls, even though the weather wasn't supposed to be the best. There was finally a break in the weather so we went for it! Matt had been working on our dune buggy to get it up and running. Well, not to just get it up and running but he's really beefed it up to where it can really take off and go FAST! Jaden and Maddie are taking it for a spin to try it out.

In between riding and paying in the sand, we all took to the trailer to get out out of the wind. Hannah, Rendon, Lisa and Alexa (Amber's sister) are all waiting out the wind. However, the waiting was eternal because it never ended up dying down.

Colton is getting ready to take Aiden out on our sand rail.

Jaden taking Aiden on a four wheeler ride.

Jaden taking Mom on a four wheeler ride. I like riding with Jaden because he's very careful!

We bought our sand rail last year and Matt took the kids out on it once. I was pregnant so I didn't go...so I was excited when Matt took me on my first ride. It was so fast and scary and crazy! But I lost my dang sunglasses! (They obviously weren't used to keep the sun out of my eyes, but the sand!).

Maddie was making the most out of our inclement weather. She hardly took shelter the whole time, but then again, she's tough like that!

And here I am with Rendon and Jaden at Grandma Blaisure's house for her annual Easter Egg hunt. She's not really the kids' biological grandma but in every other way she is. She's so good to take our kids on Easter egg hunts, and at Christmas time she has them come over to make ginger bread houses. My kids just love her. (So do I!).

Jaden and Rendon with their easter baskets! Rendon was clueless as to what was going on, but it was fun anyhow!

And last but not least, we were able to get our Easter Egg coloring done in between Conference sessions. I think Maddie and Jaden had more fun decorating the baby and themselves rather than the eggs!

New Moon Party!

2010-03-30T13:26:00.006-06:00

We had a 'New Moon' party that started off with our own version of 'Vampire Baseball'. Each team had to answer questions about Twilight and New Moon to take bases and get home runs!

Shereen kicked butt at Vampire Baseball! Notice how Rendon is appropriately dressed up for the baseball game...

Cuyler and Megan are showing off their "Quileute" tattoos... Team Jacob!

McKinley (Cuyler's girlfriend), Cuyler, Jordan and Megan

Kims shirt says, "I run with werewolves". Hannah's shirt says, "I run with vampires" and Lindsey's shirt says, "I love Edward"!

Erica, Amber, Alexa and Aiden. Erica and Alexa are Amber's sisters. Alexa's shirts said, "I love boys who sparkle!" And if you click on the picture to make it big, check out Amber's eyes, they will freak you out! If you can't really see them, she has in these cool looking contacts. They have pink in them somewhere.... She also has fangs in her teeth!

Maddie's shirt says, "I like my werewolves HOT! Jaden is dressed as Edward, I'm wearing my "Bad Vamps" shirt and Rendon is dressed up for the vampire baseball game!

A Sunny Day at the Dam! Or a Dam, Sunny Day?

2010-03-24T01:17:00.004-06:00

Midnight Release Party/ New Moon!

2010-03-24T00:29:00.010-06:00

We decided to brave the midnight release party of New Moon. Last year I went with some friends and we got to meet Victoria and heard a rumor that there were going to be actor's again this year, so we decided to bring our daughters. First we went to dinner at this yummy restaurant in Riverton called Marc Anthony's. If anybody cares, their breadsticks are to die for!

Amanda and Me

After dinner we went to the walmart in Riverton and found out that the rumor was true! Mike, Eric and Angela were appearing to sign DVD's. I don't know their real names (contrary to what some of you may believe...I'm NOT that obsessed! Ha.).
Well, the girls pooped out on us real early and got tired and very grouchy! Yes, we ourselves were quite surprised. But the line was long and we waited for a long time to see the actors. Kamri decided my hair was out of place...
Kamri and Maddie

While we were waiting, Maddie and Kamri got the idea to make shirts for the actors to sign. So we bought shirts and markers and the girls came up with what they wanted their shirts to say.

But after all our waiting, guess what?! The actors stayed a mere 45 and then left! They ditched us! Only a very select few people got actual DVD's signed. It was highly irritating because we had talked this up to the girls because of the great time we had last year when we met Victoria and got our DVD's signed by her. Oh well. I lifted my camera up really high and was able to snap a few shots of the actors. Mike and Eric are waving goodbye in the first couple pictures. In the last picture, Mike was signing a DVD and if you click on the picture, you can BARELY see Angela's face...or a small part of it...to Mike's left.

Maddie may disagree with me (she was tired and ornery and Kamri had major attitude this night!) but I'm glad we went!!!!!

This, that and the other....

2010-03-12T15:51:00.004-07:00

Rendon fell asleep on Jaden while he was reading a book. Such a sweet picture!

Maddie LOVES the baby and almost eats him up every chance she gets!

Okay, gag. Here I am right after nose surgery to clear out my nasal passages. This was the most AWFUL experience I've ever had! (Aside from giving birth naturally three months ago!). Anyway, all I can say now is that I'm glad it's over with! And of course I can breathe out of my nose now so that's a total plus! HIDEOUS!

We had a mini sisters weekend and went shopping! Yes, most of our time was spent at the mall and we were in heaven! Even though we couldn't afford the $175 jeans we tried on at Buckle, we had fun trying them on! Look at our cute bums! (and not at the nose.....).

Gorgeous at 14!

2010-02-09T16:24:00.003-07:00

For Maddie's birthday, she was showered with makeup (Yay!!!!! She has been waiting to turn 14 for a long time, now!) and a bedroom makeover! She is finally getting double doors put onto her room. She got new mirrored closet doors, new paint and a new bedspread/sheets/pillows! It looks so nice!!!!

Disneyland.....or Bust?

2010-01-31T00:35:00.013-07:00

So I decided (very spontaneously) that we should take a trip to Disneyland. The kids had a couple days off from school and my sister, Koriann was taking her family, so we decided to join them, last minute. Little did any of us know what adventures lay ahead: First stop: St. George. We stayed at Mom and Papa's house on the way down and Joel and Kally's house on the way back. My parents have a golf course in their back yard and my dad always takes the grandkids out to go look for stray golfballs. Here is a picture of Maddie and Amber on some cool looking bridge by the golf course.

My sweet Mom holding my sweet baby!

We had some good guitar hero goin' on....

My sister Val on vocals.

My brother, Joel on guitar.

My sister Koriann on drums and Kody helping out!

**************************************************
Our hotel was right across the street from Disneyland and was walking distance. We really loved how conveniently located it was, which ended up being a really good thing because of the need to run back to the hotel periodically and change clothes. Of all the days at Disney, what you see in this picture was as good as it got when it came to the rain. Every hour and day after this, got wetter and soggier!

Here are the kids in front of the big 'Mickey Mouse' made of flowers just as you walk into the park. Matt wanted to stay back at the hotel with Rendon so he didn't have to come out in the rain. I was so grateful because I wanted to be out and about. Little did we know that of all our vacation days, this day was the mildest!

Jaden was in heaven just outside the Star Wars ride...

The lines were so great! Because of all the rain, we didn't have to wait longer than just a few minutes for each ride. That was a total plus!

********************************
Matt, me and Jaden outside the entrance to California Adventure Park.

My baby all safe from the rain!

Me and Maddie playing in makeup at the Sephora store in Downtown Disney.

Matt and my brother in law, Tony. Before Mr. incredible showed up, Matt and Tony were almost running to get their picture taken with Mrs. Incredible- it was hilarious! But when it was their turn, Mr. Incredible showed up and insisted he be in the photo, too....the men weren't amused.

Jaden and his cousin, Bridger flirting with the ladies!

****************************
Brikenna, Brooklyn and Maddie hanging out in Downtown Disney.

Matt gets sick on the rides so he volunteered to watch the babies! Here he is pushing Aiden and Rendon in their strollers. CUTE!

Here we are just after Disney's Pixar parade.

If you look closely, you can see Amber but because of the SUNSHINE that decided to peek through (hooray!) she is a shadow! She is in front of California Screamin' rollercoaster. She was so terrified of going on this but she did it! Again and again....!

Look at my sweet baby! His first time meeting Mickey Mouse!

***************************************
And then the rains came down. We tried waiting out the rainstorm but there was no waiting about it. It was relentless and before long, it was coming down in torrents!

So we headed back to the hotel to paint our fingernails....

...and to dry off....

...and to change clothes....
The trip had many good points and many bad. Colton and Matt both got sick and threw up. Amber lost all her spending money in Disneyland, they closed down both parks EARLY each day because of the rain so we missed out on parades and fireworks, Universal Studios was cancelled altogether and I received a speeding ticket! Whoopsie!
But because of the rain, Anaheim and Las Angeles had nothing but flood warnings, mudslide warnings, tornadoes touching down, evacuations, and theme parks closing so we found some indoor fun to end our trip! We played arcades, lasertag and bowling! Looking back on these pictures, all you can do is laugh! It ended up being a crazy trip, but still worth going.

Rendon's Baby Blessing

2010-01-05T13:47:00.021-07:00

Here you are, our sweet little Miracle baby on your blessing day. You are wearing the same tuxedo your big brother, Jaden did!

This blessing blanket was sent to you by your Grandma and Grandpa Brown who are serving a mission currently in Argentina. This will always be a very special blanket. In fact Rendon, you are so happy about your Argentinian blanket, you are shouting a really loud, "Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!"...I wonder if they can hear you all the way in Argentina?!

Here you are with your tux and tails. The blessing shoes we had for you were way too big so we didn't have you wear any.

Our friends, the Searles. Jocelyn (who's holding you), Brandon, Sara, Sheri and Jimmy.

Dan and Heather Doney and their two girls, Brooklyn and Lindsey.

....and the Doney boys, Zane and Gavin. Look how handsome!

Here's your sister holding you and chatting with aunt Trisha and your cousins: Hannah, Kim, Lindsey and Lisa.

We had yummy food and were surrounded by great friends and family! Notice Uncle Mike (Tiff's husband) in the background checking out the construction. This is not the only picture I have of him looking at the construction. Funny!

Enjoying their food and being gracious because our new home addition is obviously not complete! Aunt Tracy, Seth, Nate, Braiden and Uncle Mike.

Your cousins Kenna and Allie.

Home from church, where your dad gave you a very nice blessing, today!

You and your proud parents!

Aunt Trisha and Mom.

Aunt Tracy loves you!

Uncle John, Dad, your nephew, Aiden and Amber.

Our good friends, Trent, Robyn and Tanner Tuckett.

Your oldest brother, Colton loves you! And Amber is in awe of your cute tiny tuxedo. Can you believe there are 19 years between you and your brother?!

Mom's friends, Heather and Robyn.

Mommy, Aunt Tracy, Uncle Ben, Aunt Tiffy and Aunt Guppy. Today was a very special day, Rendon! You are very much loved by all those that came to support you, and all the others that couldn't be here physically, but were here in spirit.

New Years Party!

2010-01-05T13:23:00.006-07:00

We had Tracy and Guppy's family over for a New Years Eve party....here's the whole gang.

Before midnight here's a bunch of us playing heck! Too bad mindy was manning the camera, she was the one winning everybody!

Maddie and Lindsey hanging out...waiting to blow their horns at midnight.

Jaden and Seth being goofy as always! Whenever the camera is around, there is no normal posing for these guys....

John, Andrew, Tracy, Nate, Jaden and Seth. Andy, I think your dad is trying to tell you that you are getting pretty hefty!

Brielle, Maddie, Kenna, Allie and Mindy. I had to retake these pics a zillion times- they all wanted the perfect angle taken!

Tracy, Guppy and Me. Is this night over yet?

And finally, after we blew our horns and screamed and hugged and kissed and then sang karaoke for the next hour...we called it a night. Here is Jaden konked out right where he was.

Kenna, Lindsey and Maddie fell asleep quickly as well. Whew! What a night. Happy 2010!

Christmas Eve Party

2010-01-05T12:39:00.015-07:00

Rendon's first time meeting Santa Clause! He fell right asleep to prove to Santa what a good kid he is!

I don't think Aiden know's what to think of Santa...He tried to make a run for it!

Jaden telling Santa he would like a Wii.

Maddie telling Santa she would like an ipod.

Colton still excited as a kid to be able to sit on Santa's lap.

Amber with her cute new hairdo.

Jaden entertaining Aiden with the train around the tree.

My handsome boys!!!!! I love them! Jaden, Matt, Colton, Aiden and Rendon.

All the girlies hanging out. Jordan, Lindsey, Maddie, Lisa Kim, Amber and Megan.

Time to eat!

Here we are enjoying the traditional Brown family fondue dinner...complete with fondue veggies and cheese and pork, chicken, elk, venison and antelope. Yum!

The ladies. Shereen, Debbie, Trisha.

The gentlemen. Jaden, Randall, Colton, Rendon, Matt, Aiden, Darren, Cuyler.

Auntie Shereen holding Rendon.

And here's Maddie, Jaden and Rendon with their Christmas Eve Jammies. Time to go to bed! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Winter Dance Recital

2009-12-18T22:37:00.005-07:00

Maddie had her last dance recital of the year last week. As always, she did a fantastic job up on stage!

Aunt Pam was in town for a few days and was able to make the recital with us.
In fact, she was the one who did Maddie's hair and makeup for the night...hence the reason Maddie "sparkles"!

Here is Maddie with her cousin, Allie who is also on her dance team.

And here's the whole Brown/North gang out to dinner one night.
Left to right:
Amber, Colton, Aiden, Maddie, Grandma North, Aunt Pam, Debbie, Matt, and Jaden in front.

Our new baby is here!

2009-12-03T14:03:00.009-07:00

This is how the story goes......
Wednesday night I had a bunch of family members coming into town for Thanksgiving the following day. That evening, I felt a tiny bit of pressure, but decided to just go to bed and sleep it off. On the morning of Thanksgiving, I felt just fine and went about my morning as usual. However, there was this tiny, nagging thought in the back of my head that I kept shoving aside. I wasn't due until December 27th afterall... Anyway, I decided to call up to the hospital in Tooele to see if I could possibly just get checked out really fast and give myself some peace of mind, and then I could enjoy the rest of my Holiday with the family.

Matt drove me up there and they checked me out quickly enough. But I wasn't expecting the answer I got! The doctor on call there told me I was 90% effaced and dilated to a 4 and that I was going to have a baby soon!
What?! I started crying because I was in denial about it. I just kept thinking to myself, "I have to get home and start the mashed potatoes!" Until it finally hit me that I was probably going to miss Thankgsiving Dinner!

Given my previous history and how fast Jaden came...without pain...- they didn't want to take a chance on me delivering in Tooele, then taking the baby into Salt Lake for pre-mature care. (Tooele is not equipped to take care of premie babies).

So after a shot of tributalene in my arm to stop the labor, I headed off on the University of Utah's Life Flight helicopter! I seriously was still in shock and denial....and off I go on life flight?!?! But what about those mashed potatoes! Oh dear.

Anyway, that shot of Tributalene stopped my contractions for the rest of the blasted day! I was surviving on ice chips while the rest of the family was dining on hot, fresh turkey, pumpkin pie, corn, stuffing, and of course the mashed potatoes that someone made in my place. :)

Well Thanksgiving day came and went and so we are now on to Black Friday. I could be shopping! But I began having some closer contractions that morning instead. Still no pain and still the denial that I was in labor. However, 3pm came and I was dialted to an 8 and ready to go. By now I'm starting to feel some of the contractions. Then the doctor came in and broke my water. That's when I REALLY STARTED TO FEEL IT! What the crap?! I felt nothing with Jaden and so here I am trying to go natural and it's about to kill me. In fact, I probably died somewhere in there because of the intensity of the pain!

At one point the anesthesiologist came in and I was BEGGING her to give me an epidural. They sat me up and as she was prepping, I was in more pain than ever. AND the contractions wouldn't stop long enough for her to get that needle in my back! I lied and told her as I was coming out of a hard contraction, that it was inbetween contractions and to just shove the blasted needle in my spine already! Well, I felt something, not sure what, but I was wracked with another deathly moment of horrific pain. -And then I only wanted to push!

So I told her to forget it because I was pushing! They laid me down and I pushed twice and out popped Rendon! Wait a minute, that sounded kind of easy. I only pushed twice because the pain was so excruciating, I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of the hour pushing. It was killer! I knew the harder I pushed him out, the sooner it would be over!

And after I delivered my precious baby boy naturally, my foot got a tingle in it. And hence, the teensy bit of epidural she tried putting in, started to work. Yes, AFTERWARDS!!!!! And can I just say how good Matt was the whole time, trying to put me at ease? He was wonderful!

Well, the worst of it was over and I was the happiest person in the world. My sweet baby boy was born. Matt was happy as ever to cut the cord. Rendon came during his 35th week, just like Jaden. He weighed in at 5lb. 7oz and 20 inches long. Yes, very long indeed!

But I was so happy that he got to stay in our room with us, and not be whisked away to the NICU. He did remarkably well for being such a little guy. He only was jaundice for a little bit and that was it. They released him on Monday, November 30th.

One of the worst parts of being in the hospital since Thursday, was that Maddie and Jaden were stuck at home. They weren't allowed into the hospital at all because of swine flu precautions. Luckily, it being a holiday weekend, I had a bunch of family in town to take care of them. Then from Saturday to Sunday, they went to Grandma Norths. How grateful I am for such wonderful, helpful family! Thanks so much for taking care of Maddie and Jaden! They were so concerned for me and their baby brother.

This first picture is of me enjoying my Thanksgiving Feast of ice chips. Notice the forced smile.

Our new baby! Rendon Miller Brown came at 3:48pm on 11/27/09

Little Rendon under the billyruben lights to get rid of his Jaundice.

A cute picture I took of his feet! Notice the poor little knickmarks from the I.V.s and things they had to do to him!

Big Brother, Colton

And finally, one of the greatest moments a mother can have. I was so emotional when I got to finally see my kids after such a long weekend. They had no idea I was coming home on Monday. So I hid in the front room with the video camera and got them as they walked in the house. They rounded the corner to the front room and were SO HAPPY to see the sweet baby waiting for them!

Happy Haunting...

2009-11-04T09:18:00.003-07:00

Here is my cute little family all dressed up for Halloween...
Aiden and Jaden

Amber as a nurse

Colton as a swat team member.

Maddie the hippie chick.

Jaden the Zombie

Me and Matt seeing who has the bigger belly!

Not much to report...

2009-10-13T14:31:00.003-06:00

Here I am last week at 28 weeks along.....Love this baby!

The next two pictures are of Jaden's birthday last month. He got his puppy!

These last two pictures are of Maddie and Jaden. They are always good to pose for me. Love to see what kind of pics I can take and what I can do with them on the Mac...

Excelsior Academy

2009-09-06T19:25:00.002-06:00

Well the first day of school has come and gone. My kids are loving the new charter school they started this school year. They actually get a lot of guff from friends who don't attend there but I'm really happy to say that they stay positive and LOVE their new school! They are being challenged quite a bit already and are learning rapidly. Can't say enough good about this!

WATCH THIS....It really hit home for me!

2009-08-07T10:19:00.002-06:00

Please make sure you pause my music at the bottom of the page. You'll want to catch every word of this song!

IT'S TRUE!!!!

2009-07-28T22:52:00.004-06:00

Here is my announcement to the family this past weekend. After holding in my GREAT news for four months....I can finally let the world know that I'M GONNA HAVE ME A BABY!

My cute neice, Mindy (Tracy's daughter) made me this shirt to wear for when I was going to make my announcement.

Here's little Rendon waving to all of us letting us know he's in there!

What a special time in my life this is for me. Those of you close to me know how hard and long Matt and I have struggled to have a baby together. This is truly a miracle child and although he's due at Christmas-time, December 27th...how could we ever complain? Just get here safe and sound, little one...

Campbell Family Reunion at Bear Lake

2009-07-28T09:53:00.006-06:00

Ok since this will be a long post because of all the pictures I added, I will only write a few words to go with each! Below: My brothers! Joel, Keith, Ben Shooting off the candy cannon on the beach. It shoots really high in the air and makes a huge BOOM! After all the candy falls back to earth, the kids go running for it.

Guppy with Tiff's baby Blake.

Karmen and Tracy cooling off.

Brenda's husband, Travis and two of his kids (Abby and Zack) helping him make a 'nose'...right next to the 'foot' Mike George (Tiff's hubby) made. Funny dudes!

Joel (Holy cow, dude...you look good!) with one of his boys, Kalven.

Matt and Jaden on the jet ski.

Tracy almost catching a football....but not quite!

Andrew playing some cool tunes for us!

Ben, Nadja and Tyler Campbell.

Kaycee (Karmen's daughter) and Kenna (Guppy's daughter).

Seth (Tracy's), Bridger (Guppy's), and Jaden on the jet ski.

Kelsie (Karmen's), Laynie (Ben's), and Alyssa (Brenda's).

The pink ladies! Kynzie (Keith's), Eliah (Tawnja's) and Brielle (Guppy's).

Tran, Keith's wife.

Maddie playing frisbee.

Tayzia (Brenda's) and Mindy (Tracy's) splashin' around.

Jaden, Bridger and Seth in their homemade pool.

Brenda and her cool umbrella!

Me being almost 5 months!!!! Hooray for me!!!!!

Random Tag Post...

2009-07-28T09:11:00.002-06:00

MY RANDOM QUESTIONS:
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT OBSESSION? Getting enough healthy food to eat for my baby. I honestly eat SO MUCH. And I'm going broke because of it. I will eat everything in the house that doesn't look disgusting then I will go buy more food. And every time I'm out somewhere I'm getting food from a restaraunt or somewhere, too! Eating has become a chore.
WHAT DO YOU HATE THE MOST THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO LOVE? Cole slaw. It totally gags me! And not just now that I'm pregnant...It always has. Bleck!
WHAT ARE YOU WEARING TODAY? White capri's and a turquoise modbe shirt. Although I'm 4+ months, I'm hardly showing a bit (just like it was ten years ago with Jaden!) so I can't fit into any maternity clothes yet.....although I wish I could!
WHAT DID YOU EAT FOR YOUR LAST MEAL? A grilled cheese sandwich and orange juice.
WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? Groceries. I know, boring.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU? Colleen Walch is awesome. She's many adjectives to me: inspiring, cheerful, patient, talented, accepting, etc. She's one of the first people I got to meet when I moved out here and has been a good friend ever since!
IF YOU COULD HAVE A HOUSE FULLY PAID FOR AND TOTALLY FURNISHED ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD IT BE? In a city. I know I'm vain this way but I long for city lights, movie theaters, shopping malls, and a bazillion restaraunts to choose from. Surrounded by family and friends, of course!
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES? I like to cross-stitch, scrapbook, read, be a mommy and be a homemaker.
WHAT ARE THREE THINGS THAT ANNOY YOU? Ignorance, mean people, and those who are quick to judge.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? Having a healthy baby although it's highly unlikely I will go full term. Just taking it easy and hoping for the day that the doctor WON'T put me on bedrest!
WHAT IS YOUR DREAM JOB? I'm working at it right now.....at home!
WHAT IS FOR DINNER TONIGHT? Ask me at three o'clock.
DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE... Dang...I'm vain and stuck up. Or I can be or have been. I like cute clothing and big hairstyles and I like to feel pretty and put makeup on. BUT, in my defense I make and keep friends easily and I think I'm easy to get along with.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS? Eat a bagel.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Not much of an ice cream lover. I did have some once that had chocolate and peanut butter ribboned through it and it was the best I'd ever eaten. Not sure what the name of it was though.
WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU KISSED? I beg your pardon?! Matthew, thank you very much!
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? Wow! The only think I'm reading right now is the Book of Mormon. I havent brought myself to start something new because I feel like it will take away from getting ready for a baby. We get to start all over again!!!! Hooray for us!
WHAT IS ON YOUR AGENDA THIS WEEK? Woo Hoo! Several of my siblings are meeting up in Bear Lake for a small family get-together. It's been a long time coming and I plan on telling the family while I'm up there that we are finally pregnant! After four long years of trying and meeting with specialists...it's finally happening for us. Which is why I'm writing this post on Saturday, but not actually posting it until after I get back from Bear Lake. Hee hee!
WHAT DELIGHTED YOU MOST RECENTLY? The fact that I just absolutely couldn't wait until my next doctor's appointment to find out what I'm having so I went into Fetal Foto in the mall. I was honestly CERTAIN I was having a little girl...but NOPE! I get to have me another precious little baby BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT INSPIRES YOU? People who survive horrible trials in their lives and find the energy and courage to move forward when I probably would've given up and thrown in the towel. It gives me courage to endure what trials come my way.

A mini Brown Family Reunion

2009-07-19T21:33:00.004-06:00

It's been many years since the Brown children have all been together! The only people we were missing is Matt's parents, Steve and Sue who are serving a mission in Argentina. We missed you!!! But Brenda and Greg (Matt's brother and family) came in for a visit from North Dakota. We were able to take off up the canyon and spend the day together riding four wheelers and having delicious Dutch oven! I had to be the camera nazi and get current family photo's while everyone was here. First picture: Matt's family. Maddie, Colton, Matt, me, Aiden, Amber and Jaden. Next up: Randalls family: Lisa, Trisha, Hannah, Kimmie, Randall in back and Lindsey in front.

Greg's Family: Taylor, Dakota, Greg, Brenda, Zach and Lucas.

Darren's Family: Cuyler, Jordan, Shereen, Megan and Darren.

The Brown Brother's from youngest to oldest: Randall, Darren, Matt and Greg.

The SWEETEST Sister's-in-law (Those Brown brother's don't know how good they have it!): Trisha, Deb, Brenda and Shereen.

All the girlie cousins.

All the boy cousins.

The WHOLE GANG.

And finally...this is how we felt after making everyone get together for pictures. Thanks everyone for being cooperative (for the most part!) WHEW!

I love Independence Day!

2009-07-06T09:08:00.003-06:00

Hooray!!! It's my very favorite holiday. What an awesome time of year this is. We get to celebrate our freedoms and honor our military and spend the day eating BBQ, watching parades and lighting fireworks. All in the dead of summer which too, is my favorite time of year. How can one NOT know we live in the very best Country? God Bless the USA!
My kids are such good sports because I have them go with me to the flag raising ceremony at the fire station here in town. We have an outdoor breakfast by GHS. Dance company at 7:30, then the ceremony at 8am. Then it's off to save our spots for the parade! Tiff and her family came to watch the parade with us and ended up staying the rest of the day, too! I felt badly that I didn't see her too much because I had other Brown family plans for the day. At least Tracy lives here too and was able to spend more time than I did with Tiff and her family! Here is the cutest picture of her and her 2 1/2 month old baby. She's a kangaroo!

Here we all are waiting for the parade to start. Left to right: Nathan (drinking), Allie, Tiff and baby Blake, Seth, Braiden, Mike....Mindy and Andrew in back, Jaden in front, Tracy, Matt and John.

Me and Matthew waiting for candy. MMMM Candy!

Maddie was a part of the parade with the Grantsville Dance Company. She ran behind the float handing out flyers. You can see her running with her white sunglasses in this pic.

After the parade, we took off to the park for the festivities all afternoon. This is a picture of Maddie, Jaden and Lindsey with their fishies they caught. Dang it....I have to go buy a fishbowl now!

Then we went to Darren and Shereen's house for the BBQ before fireworks at the park. Keep in mind, the back of their house butts up against the park so you can't get a better view of the fireworks than here. I choose to wear sunglasses at night because I'm afraid of the shrapnel falling into my eyes. This is a picture of Darren showing off his new barbecue.

Me, Trisha and Shereen feeding our faces..... It was a great day, as always!!!!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

2009-06-23T18:33:00.002-06:00

For youth conference this year, we got to take the Young Men and Young Women to the open house of the newest temple. We are on the wrong side of the temple for this picture but about a week or so earlier, Moroni was struck by lightning and had a black trumpet! It was fun to be able to get to walk through this with Maddie and answer a few questions. She is always amazed at how beautiful the inside of the Temple's are. If you look up at the picture above once more, you will see a cloudless sky. You must keep in mind here that every single day for weeks, it's been pouring rain here. But it stopped long enough to enjoy our visit to the temple!

Mormon Grasshoppers???

2009-06-21T19:51:00.004-06:00

I try not to be a complainer about Grantsville. Truly, I do. I live here now and have come a long way in adjusting to small town life, and raising my family. Well, these past few weeks have REALLY tested my outlook on this nice little town. Just look! Out of nowhere, baby grasshoppers have been hatching and INVADING my home, garden, and our ten acres that we live on. It's happening all over Grantsville and my skin is crawling! I can't even go outside to weed my garden (what the grasshoppers aren't eating, anyway) and the kids don't go outside to play. When I say my home is invaded, I truly mean it. They have infiltrated my entire place and are even getting in the house! I'm go glad my sweet children aren't wussy like me because I'm always screetching and yelling for them to come rescue me from a grasshopper that has gotten in the house somehow.

So...bring on the seagulls! And yes, they have come. Swarms of them, actually have been flying over my field and taking mouthfulls of them. The only problem is that there are so many billions of grasshoppers that the seagulls aren't making a dent in the problem. Tooele County has even come out to spray with planes to help with the problem. Matt has sprayed THREE different times in the last two weeks just to try to get rid of some of them. Yuck. Below is a picture of Maddie's window well. They just cover the screen. I couldn't even go out to take the picture because when you walk across the lawn, the grass is just moving with them and it freaks me out. Like I said, I have good kids that aren't as afraid like me so I had them do the dirty work and get this shot for me. I am truly a prisoner in my own home!

Taylor Swift Concert!

2009-05-27T15:49:00.003-06:00

Last night I took Maddie and Jaden to the Taylor Swift Concert in SLC. My neices Mindy and Allie and their friend Kristy also rode with us. In this first picture, we are posing by one of Taylor's semi's full of her equipment. When we got inside, our seats were the highest up that you could get but it was straight in front of the stage so we got a great show, head on! And of course, the kids had no complaints! Here she is performing. She is such a fun entertainer!

Performing "Love Story" where she changes into her Bride's dress right before she sings, "Marry me, Juliet; you'll never have to be alone....."

Her encore performance was the BEST! First she came out in a Utah Jazz Jersey and the crowd went wild. By the end of the night, she was hot and sweaty and the coolest part was at the very end when it started to rain right where she was standing. She, of course, made her signature "HEART" with her hands....

And Jaden was pretty tuckered out and actually FELL ASLEEP right before Taylor's encore! But then he woke up afterwards and we all went outside to wait for Taylor's Tour Bus. There was a small crowd that stayed afterwards hoping to get a glimpse of her or her bus. If you look closely, as the bus is pulling out, she's all dressed in her bride gown again and waving at her fans. She blew a kiss to Jaden! It was a very fun night, indeed!!! Maddie loved her first concert experience and sang along the whole time!

Before's and After's.....

2009-05-18T10:10:00.005-06:00

I decided to do one last post on the progress of the house. It is far from done by any means but on the outside, we are nearing completion and I'm very happy about it! There is much to do on the inside still but the outside is just about finished so here we go:
This is the West side of the house before the add-on. And this is after. Aaaaaah. Notice Matt on top of the house finishing up on the new shingles...

The front of the house before (well, actually, after the siding had all been ripped off...Notice the color of the shingles):

And after. Woo hoo! Not sure if you can see the shingles but we love them! They are a real heavy duty shingle and the way the overlap is really pretty. If you click on the picture you can see it a little better. The brick is a very nice colored Brown and we are so happy with it! The chimney and the pillars on the front porch will eventually be done in stone.

Tiff's baby!

2009-05-04T18:02:00.006-06:00

Okay, this might be confusing since the title is, "Tiff's baby"...let me back up. This is ONE DAY before Tiff had her baby. We were actually visiting our friend, Karen who had just had her baby on April 21st. Tiff is holding Karen's baby, little Harry....

Fast forward 24 hours...and now it's Tiffy's turn! I think her due date was May 3rd but little Blake decided to come April 22nd. He's so adorable! Here is a picture of Nadja, Laney, Tyler, Tracy, Mother, Tiffany, Braiden and me. Hmm... where's Blake?

Oh, there he is! Look at those beautiful, bright eyes. He's such a dolly. Tiff and Mike, you two did fantastic!!!!!

PROM!

2009-04-20T14:33:00.002-06:00

Here's my neice Mindy getting ready for Prom. LOOK AT ALL THAT GORGEOUS HAIR!!! Here she is putting the boutenir on her date...

Here's Colton getting ready for Prom as well. Who would've thought pink would look so good on a guy, eh???

Colton and Amber getting ready to leave for the big night!

Aiden's First Birthday

2009-04-18T09:00:00.002-06:00

Here's Aiden digging in to his birthday cake!
Aiden and Colton....April 15th 2009

The big boy! Aiden just learned to walk a few weeks earlier.....I should say he learned to RUN!

I think along with turning one, Aiden learned to scream. Don't know what was with him this day but nobody could get him to stop screaming!!! Funny kid.

Spring Break

2009-04-10T14:01:00.004-06:00

Yeah! Spring break is finally here! We didn't have any great big plans or anything but we did decide to take off to a hotel overnight and spend some time OUT with the kids. At the hotel, the kids swam all day and evening. Then back at the hotel, they watched Disney channel (that is...when Matt's disappointing Jazz game got over) until they fell asleep. Now, I know how unexciting that sounds...watching Disney. But my kids loved it because we don't watch much T.V. at all at home. Nor do we have cable.

This first picture is Jaden and Maddie at the movie, "Monsters vs. Aliens". It was in 3D and the kids thought that was awesome.

This picture is of me and Maddie right after we got finished doing "Dance Revolution".

Jaden bowling...

Maddie bowling... She won all of us!

So recently I took some family photo's of my neice, Havelah and her family...and they turned out great! So that gave Maddie and Jaden the idea to go out and do a photo shoot of each other. These are a couple of shots that they came out with. Impressive!!!!

Nose Surgery :(

2009-03-27T14:26:00.004-06:00

Well as many of you know...Maddie got hit in the nose with a big rock while she was out four wheeling and it broke her nose! This is a shot of her after we got back from night time instacare. They cleaned her up very well! Before this picture was taken, she was covered in blood. Yucky. Anyway, the rock hit her so hard it actually took out a chunk of skin. It was so deep! They ended up gluing her together....
Not that you can actually see the x-ray but you can pick out her braces that showed up!!! And then the culprit.....the rock! This was the rock found on the four wheeler still. It even has blood on it!

And here she is all smiles getting ready to go in for surgery! Notice the smile on the face now...it won't be there in a few more pictures....

Still smiling but that's just because the I.V. didn't hurt as much as she thought it might.

NO SMILE. This is post-surgery and Maddie is just coming out of her delirious/groggy state. Poor thing!!!! Anyway, she gets to wear her nice nose brace for a week but we get to take the gauze off in a while, thank goodness...

And finally, here she is being wheeled out to where I had the car waiting. All she wanted was a milkshake and a pillow afterwards!

Girls night...and Twilight!

2009-03-21T17:48:00.004-06:00

Each month we have a friend get together and this time it was at Heather's house. A few of us were heading out to the release party of the DVD Twilight afterwards while some were staying longer at Heather's to chat. Kim, who is NOT a Twilight fan...showed up with this lifesize Edward poster. We about died of laughter!!!!
Here is a picture of the whole group: Karen, Amanda, Shelby, Heather, Edward, Deb, Ginger,
Kim, Christy, and Michelle.

Well lo and behold look who showed up to Walmart at midnight?! It's Victoria herself. We were quite happy about that. This picture should be switched with the last one but I'm not starting over! Anyway, this picture was taken right after she signed my shirt (I also got a signed DVD) and the security people were whisking me away because it was the next person's turn. They were RUSHING people through! But it was worth it to see Victoria....

Here she is signing my shirt. She was SO BEAUTIFUL in person it was amazing. Oh...and lucky for me I was wearing a shirt with "The bad vamps" on it....so she must have liked that!

Browns, Campbell's and construction...OH MY!

2009-03-16T08:36:00.003-06:00

Our brick is done and we are singing praises to the mason's! It looks so nice! Well of course with new brick has to come new shingles to match. So that's Matt's next project. Here's the shingle company loading us up with all the shingles. And for now, all the hired work is complete and the remainder of the construction will be up to Matt. Yippee for a handyman husband!!! Now all I have to learn is patience for completion.....

The next four pictures are for the benefit of the Campbell side of the family and then the last five pictures will be for the Brown's benefit. I don't know why I feel the need to organize them...I'm just lame!
Anyway, I had Nadja, Tiff and Havelah come out the other day for an afternoon get together. We permed Havelah's hair and Tiff brought out artichokes for us to pig out on. The kids were so funny because I had these Hot Tamale flavored popsicles in the fridge (and they were HOT!) and the kids absolutely loved them. Even the tiny little ones sucked them right down. Left to right: Jaden, Laney, Lindsey (she's pretty much my adopted daughter from the Brown side! ...I claim her...), Tyler and Braiden.

Havelah and her brand new perm and her brand new baby, Naomi. Awwww! Sweetness!

I couldn't help it. Naomi's fingers were so tiny and dainty I begged Havelah if I could paint them. She stayed asleep most of the time but she started to wake up and wanted to curl up her fingers but I wouldn't let her. What a love!

Nadja, me, Havelah, Tiffy and Naomi. Lindsey tried taking the picture for us but she pretty much captured my and Nadja's knees so I had to prop the camera up on books and do self timer! So now you have our knees and our pretty faces!

On to the Brown's pictures....Here is my little Lindsey. I went to get my nails put back on on Saturday afternoon. I had them off for a while because I was playing church ball with the ladies in the Stake. As soon as that was over (I mean...as soon as!....) I had my nails put back on. Well Lindsey went with me and wanted to keep the long parts of the artificial nail that they cut off. So we came home and stuck them (very temporarily) to her fingers. She was in heaven!

This was the latest Brown family get together we had on March 1st. Left to right is Randall, Matt, Lindsey, Trisha, Deb, Cuyler, Shereen and Darren.

The kids table (although most of them are teens)! Left to right around the table: Chad (Darren & Sher's adopted son...he's kinda like my Lindsey to them!), Maddie, Kimmie, Jaden's head, Jordan, Hannah, Lisa and Megan.

Well I guess in this picture we have Campbell's and Brown's alike. This must be what heaven will be like!!! Anyway, this picture was taken at the Stake Center near the Draper Temple openhouse. It was so neat to take the kids through and give them simple explanations of what things are used for. They absolutely loved all the pretty things around. Especially the lights and chandeliers. Maddie's favorite room was the Bride's room and she's already excited to be married in the Draper Temple. You go girl!!! Left to right: Allie Beckett, Maddie, Jordan, Jaden and me. We are so excited to attend the Draper Temple dedication in our ward building next week. Only ages 8 on up can attend so I'll be there with Matt, Maddie and Jaden. Yeah!

After the temple openhouse we changed out of our dresses and slacks and headed over to the mall. Here are the kids posing with some funky mannequins...making their same faces! Except for Jaden who is all smiles because he got the cute pink lady!

Catchin' up a bit...

2009-03-02T13:40:00.003-07:00

Ok here is the latest on the house! It is finally getting bricked. This shot is taken in the field in front of our house. The sunlight isn't hitting the house just right so you can' t really see how pretty the color of the brick is. But it is a very nice 'brown' (We Brown's like that color) and looks so good in the light!
Below is a picture of two foreign exchange students, Danny and Noo, that are living with my sister, Guppy (Koriann) and her husband, Tony. They came to Utah for a short visit and we had a blast with them!

Ok I'm finally getting around to blogging Maddie's birthday party. I'm really bummed because apparently I had the video camera rolling the whole time and only managed to get a few still photo's. Dang! We had a blast anyway, and I'm happy that Maddie isn't "too cool" to have me involved with her parties yet. We had a lot of fun making dance and music videos to some Shania Twain and Taylor Swift songs and the girls didn't want to go home.

Maddie and her new digital camera!

Proud Mama

2009-02-09T08:10:00.003-07:00

I'm so dang proud of my kid! He's such a smarty pants...which is one of the reasons I've enrolled him and Maddie in the new Charter School coming to Tooele County. Woo hoo!
So Jaden nonchalantly says to me this morning, "Oh yeah, mom, I received this certificate at school on Friday." He says one other person in his class got one, too. Not sure how well it will shows on the computer but basically he scored in the top ten percent nationally on his Iowa tests.

Construction part 2

2009-02-02T16:55:00.005-07:00

This is a view out my back door into the backyard. The crew is pouring the cement (footings? I don't know) for the walls and floor to the basement addition.
More cement work...

So not that anyone but me really cares, but the framing process is by far my favorite because you can see the progress from hour to hour. What you are looking at below is going to be a doorway into my new laundry room. The larger opening off to the right will be double doors into the upstairs addition off my kitchen.

Holy moly! They are cruisin'. If you look at my last post, you will be able to see a side view of what this looked like before today. It's coming together nicely!

Matt and Jaden are working hard trying to get all the brick off the house. Matt's decided that he wants to re-brick the whole thing with a darker brown color. It should look very nice when it's done!

So if you can't tell, we are a muddy mess in the front and back yard. Even the garage door entrance is entrenched in mud. I've decided to fill up the mop bucket each morning and just keep pine sol in it all day because I'm finding I mop two or more times a day! Isn't this fun?!

I'm in too deep!

2009-01-20T18:17:00.001-07:00

Be careful for what you wish for...you just might get it. And then some. So...a couple of weeks ago I was complaining just a teeny little bit to my husband that I could use a pantry. As my kitchen is now, I have lot's of cupboard space but that doesn't exactly mean I have a spacious, organized kitchen. The cupboards go in really deep and it's hard to reach things in the back and when I need to pull something from the back- well- you know...it's a pain. So I casually suggested to my very 'handy' husband, that I'd like to make my laundry room a pantry, and then knock out a wall to make as my new laundry room. Sounds simple, right? Here is a before shot. What you're looking at is the side of my house. All I wanted was to take that wall with the window and move it out to be flush with the rest of the house.

Here is what my hubby thought we should do. And of course, there's no going back now. He didn't only like my idea, he added to it. And added and added until we no longer will just have one more room to the house, we now have a much larger upstairs and downstairs! Matt decided to take out most of the back of the house and extend outward. It's all very exciting, actually and will give us a lot more room. I have to laugh because I asked for a teensy little favor...a pantry room. And VOILA!!!

New Years in St. George

2009-01-06T23:04:00.008-07:00

We headed down to St. George again this year for New Years. As you can see from these photo's, the weather was fantastic! We went to this new innovative park that had all sorts of futuristic toys to play on. There wasn't one thing there that you'd see at a regular playground. Below is Jaden with his cousins, Brielle, Karissa and Emily.

Brooklyn and Maddie are playing around on this flying thing that pivoted with how much weight you put on it. It was lot's of fun but very difficult to maneuver...

We had Val's church building reserved for some of the time since there was quite a few of us down for New Years. Tracy's family, Guppy's family and mine all went down. Combine that with the Southern locals (Joel, Val and the parents)...we had a large crew. Below is Jaden.....some of his girly cousins got a hold of him and went wild with a new straightener someone got for Christmas.

Here's Matt totally winning me on the spinny thingy. See? These new things at the park didn't even have names they were so cool! Anyway, I lost my balance...

The siblings...... Joel, Valerie, Guppy and Deb. Tracy's family left a day early and didn't get to see this cool park. Bummer!

More church games. Here is Val and Guppy going up against in other in "GUTS".

More guts. Yes, they got me to play...even in heels!

Maddie, Allie Beckett, Kenna Ruud and Brooklyn Ruud.

This was one of my favorite things while we were down there! Papa made his famous french fries. He would make these while we were growing up and they were the absolute BEST!!! I can still taste them now....

This is me and Kally.....probably being all giddy and excited to go and see the movie Twilight! (Yes, again).

Well folks, here is it. My baldness. My friend pointed out to me that I hadn't really chopped off my hair since the 6th grade. Holy cow, has it really been that long?! Here's a short story as to why I haven't chopped it since then: When I was in 6th grade, one of my friends gave me their head lice! (I know, gag me omedeus.) My mom had a VERY hard time trying to get all the eggs out of my hair (go ahead, dry heave here....I am) because my hair was so thick. So she cut it off. And I mean she WHACKED it! I was my brother Ben's twin....exactly. I promise, I was Ben's clone. Not that that is bad, it's just that I was at a critical important time in my life when everything mattered and I had crushes on every boy in the 6th grade....but I was suddenly one of them. Tumultuous, I know.

Happy New Year!!!

Holiday Schtuff...........

2009-01-06T22:56:00.005-07:00

Here is what Granny (ya, that's me...) and Grandpa Brown got Aiden for his first Christmas!

Here is Maddie and Jaden with their new PJ's Christmas Eve.

We went to the annual Brown family Christmas Eve party. One of the games was to decorate the Daddy tree....Great job, kids!

Maddie had her Winter dance recital and did such a great job! There to support her were Grandma and Grandpa Brown, Grandma North, Me (manning the camera) and of course, Jaden! We had to record it for Dad to watch later because he had to work that night.

Me on my GAY 31st birthday. It's absolutely disgusting that time marches on and aging is inevitable. In this picture I'm celebrating because my sister, Tracy and her family came over and sang me the coolest rendition of "Happy Birthday" you ever heard. It was totally rockin'!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2008-12-22T12:27:00.003-07:00

Well, here is this years Christmas card and Christmas letter. If you have received one of these, you already know what's what and so go no further! But to my many dear friends and family members who were unable to get one (and believe me you....I wish I were rich or maybe just a copyright lawbreaker...then I would just copy some more off) it doesn't mean I don't LOVE you to bits and peices because you already know I do. Blame the economy or whatever, I just wasn't able to get too many printed this year. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You may have to click on the picture to see the photo's better...

What a full year it has been for us! Here is a recap of our many involvements at the Brown household, and all of the wonderful memories we have made.

Colton was very busy this past year. He graduated high school, became a father, moved out of the house & finally turned 18…which he just couldn’t wait for! And now he’s experiencing the laughter & the tears that accompany parenthood. And all the responsibility it entails & the joys of raising a baby. Aiden is 8 months old now & can sit up on his own. He’s totally happy with tupperware to bang around and is always smiling!

Maddie is in the 7th grade & will turn 13 years old next month. She is growing into such a sweet young lady. She has loved being in the Young Women’s program & went to girl’s camp for her first year this past summer & had a blast. She is the 1st counselor in the Beehives at church and enjoys serving others. Maddie is still taking piano lessons as well as being a part of the Grantsville Dance Company. They just had their winter recital and Maddie was so graceful and did just beautifully in it. Maddie’s Grandma took her to spend a weekend this past summer in Kansas with her Aunt Pam and Uncle Jeff. She had such a great time and lived it up with the girls, watching movies, going out to eat and getting her nails done. She is a big help around the house & will get into a good “cleaning mode” every once in a while-I just love it! Maddie is such a good example to her friends & is really good at including everyone & being a peacemaker.

Jaden turned 9 years old this year & is all boy. He is excited about life & loves taking new opportunities to try new things. He is still taking piano lessons as well & had his first year in football this past fall & decided that that is his sport of choice. He really liked it and his team did pretty good together! “J” is in the third grade this year which means he got to be in “The Nutcracker” at school. Since he was gone hunting with his dad during try-outs, he wasn’t all too pleased to get the part as a pennywhistle…but did a great job nonetheless! He’s is doing really well in school & is a great reader. Right now he’s very much into the Harry Potter series & you’ll seldom catch him without his nose in a book! Jaden was one out of ten chosen in his grade to participate in an excelled learning program later this month. He’s very excited & loves learning, especially science. He moved up from the Wolves, to become a Bear in the scouting program.

Matt is still with Morton Salt and I am still blessed to be able to stay home. I love being a mother and being able to be there for home and family. I also love serving in my church calling as 2nd counselor in the Primary program. Matt enjoys playing a little bit of church basketball here and there when his work schedule permits. He has completed a LOT on his barn this year, enclosing it and putting up roofing and siding. Now when there’s a car to be worked on, he can do it indoors where it’s warm and dry.

We took on a lot less farming this past summer and it has really paid off. We have been able to spend a lot of time as a family together. We’ve been camping a few times, went to a few family reunions and have taken TWO family vacations this year! We have been very blessed. Our first vacation was spent in North Dakota where we went to visit Matt’s brother and his family and then we headed down through South Dakota to see the black hills and Mt. Rushmore. Then all summer long, the kids worked really hard to save up enough money & go to Disneyland. Maddie’s cousin, Allie also saved up her money & came along with us! We went to San Diego Zoo, Universal Studios Hollywood, Sea World, Disneyland & California Adventure. What a blast!

We love all our friends and family and hope that you all have the spirit of Christmas with you this holiday season. Merry Christmas!

Love, Matt, Debbie, Maddie and Jaden Brown

Back from the warm California Sun...

2008-12-02T12:35:00.012-07:00

Well, our nine days are up already and I miss it! Holy crap we had such a great time and a million memories were made! We left on Friday, Nov. 21st and went to St. George to stay with Joel and Kally. Kally had gotten us girlies tickets to "Twilight" and can I just say I LIKED IT?! There is so much discussion to be had on the movie, both good and bad but that will just have to wait for another day.
Anyway, Allie Beckett (my sister, Tracy's daughter) saved up her money all summer long and bought her theme park entrance passes and was able to join us on our fun trip! This has been very hard in deciding which pictures to post because I took over 600.......whoopsie! This first picture is just outside the theatre in St. George right after we saw the movie. Kally and I talked all the way home about the parts we liked, disliked and what parts they should have expanded more on. We totally dissected the movie bit by bit...it was a blast!

Our first day in Cali we visited the San Diego Zoo. I must admit that it was not the greatest thing in the world, to me. I was actually kind of bummed out that it was so boorish. So I was mostly glad we didn't save this park for our last day of vacation.

Maddie wanted to get her caricature done. They guy who drew her was amazing! Her favorite part of the drawing is her braces because the guy put dollar signs where the brackets are.

Jaden was so excited to get his face painted. He walked around the park all day will cool attitude.

After the zoo we drove to Laguna Beach just as the sun was setting. Don't even get me started on our bad luck trying to find a place to park in that teensy town and all of the claustrophobic little streets! But the kids had fun splashing in the ocean so it was totally worth it.

Our next day was spent at Universal Studios, which we absolutely loved! Maddie and Allie are about to be swallowed by jaws...

This was the second worst thing we experienced in California (the first was the Mulholland Madness @ Dland adventure park...it jerks you around some roller coaster that is worse than the wild mouse at lagoon. You seriously think you will be thrown over the edge. I totally sustained whiplash injuries on that!). Anyway, back to this attraction...it was just awful! I almost wet my pants because I was really scared walking through this house of horror. The boys, meanwhile thought they were all macho about it

I want to be barbie!

Next was Sea World where the prices for cotton candy exceeded Disneyland! Grrr. Anyway, Jaden loved the place where we (I shouldn't say "we"....the kids and Matt) were brave and touched disgusting creatures. Below is Jaden holding a starfish.

Maddie and Allie were quite scared touching the sting rays. They are actually called bat rays because the actual stinger had been cut off, luckily. The girls were WAY braver than I was, but still were a tad leary of them. They said they felt slimy-ish and jello-like.

We were about to start a dolphin show. I think I disguised my irritation in this picture because I had major drama right before this picture was taken. I went to fill up my water bottle really quickly outside of the arena. When I came back, they had locked the gates and wouldn't let me in. I told them my husband and kids were in there and they wouldn't let me in unless I called them on a cell phone (which happened to be up there with them!). I had a word or two with them without using any expletives and I think upon seeing my mama bear nature, decided to let me pass through.

We finally got to spend three whole days at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Park. By far, those were the highlights of our trip! If anyone know's Jaden, they know he LOVES Star Wars and especially Darth Maul. So WO WAS HE when he was chosen from the crowd to participate in a Jedi Training Camp. And lucky him, got to have hand to hand lightsaber combat with Darth Maul himself.

Me and Allie seriously almost cried when we first saw the castle. Keep in mind here, this was my FIRST trip to Disneyland. The only other castle I had seen was in DisneyWorld in Orlando. I can't even count how many times I've been to those parks because I lived there for a few years. Well, upon seeing this castle, I just about was disappointed. It is miniscule in comparison with Cinderella's castle in Florida! But really, how can you be disappointed in any way shape or form if you're in Disneyland? So the shock was short-lived and me and Allie soon grew to love it...especially at night when all the pretty lights came on.

Aside from the huge turkey legs and cotton candy, this was my next favorite thing to buy at the food stands. You have to cough up $2.95 for one of these babies but they are WORTH IT! MMM pickles.

This was how our first day at Disneyland ended. It began to rain about 7pm and the park didn't close until midnight. I literally felt soaked through. My toes were so soggy it was gross! But we decided to brave the rain and continue going on every ride we could. We actually were happy because when I checked the weather before heading down to Cali, it was supposed to rain for four days straight. And this was all we got the entire time we were there. LUCKY!

Here is Maddie in line to see Minnie. She was lucky because they cut the long line off just after her!

Look how pretty all the lights are on "Small World". I don't think I will ever get sick of this cute attraction...even though it's just a simple boat ride!

You can't go to Disneyland without riding in the teacups!

Happy Thanksgiving to us! My favorite thing in the world....the $7 turkey leg! Yep, we spent Thanksgiving day at Disneyland and enjoyed every last second of it.

After six LONG days at theme parks, uninterupted, my legs were going to give out on me. What I needed was a nap....but that's taking it a little too far when you're here!

Last but not least, our favorite, FAVORITE ride, "The Tower of Terror!". I bet we went on this more than ten times! It was a great trip and as usual, we are glad to be home, but sad we had to leave. Long live Disneyland!!!!

See you in December!

2008-11-19T18:40:00.001-07:00

Hey all-
We are heading to California for the rest of the month and then I will be back with a major post on all the fun places we went! Later!

Happy Haunting!

2008-11-01T17:54:00.004-06:00

Ok first of all, I have to give a big "THANKS" to my friend Allison because she was smart enough to tell me how to add more than 5 pics at a time..........
Here's Maddie and Jaden last night. Jaden was Dracula, or a Vampire, or Edward or whatever...
Maddie was all decked out in her jammies and curlers. Earlier this week we went to a Halloween party at my sister in law's house. Here I am being a "Flapper Dancer" from the '20's.

Jaden Potter!

Farmer Brown taking on the role of one of his livestock... Can I hear a MOO?! How 'udderly' silly!

Maddie the disco dancer. Groovy!

Awww! Look at Aiden in his cutesy little teddy bear costume! It didn't last long. He was screaming for Colton to get it off of him right after I got my picture.

God Bless the USA.

2008-10-23T21:31:00.002-06:00

Sister's Weekend Part 1

2008-10-21T09:07:00.001-06:00

So it's been two years since we've had a sister's weekend. This was LONG overdue and quite possibly much too short but it was well worth it! Tiff had us over to her place in Salt Lake from Friday to Saturday. Below is a picture of all of us (and Ben! He stayed for a bit and then took his kids back home) who came. We missed Mom, Tawnja, Guppy, Tran and Kally who weren't able to make this one...bummer!
Back row: Ben, Brenda, Karmen, Nadja.
Middle: Deb-T, Tracy, Valerie, Jen.
Front and center: Tiffy who is 11 weeks pregnant!

Me, Tracy, Val and Tiff started off sister's weekend by running a few errands before the others arrived. We found this awesome place that had killer deals on modest shirts and dresses. It's a small warehouse in Salt Lake by Tiff's house...the DownEast Clothing line. We seriously found shirts for $2.50 and dresses for $7.50! Everyone else arrived about 5:30 that night (coming from Idaho). We had artichokes for dinner, which is a Campbell delicacy! Then everyone brought food to share. Karmen made our traditional avacado sister's night dip and Nadja brought some Danish abelskiver...just to name a few. We had so much to eat but that's part of all the fun! We kept going back for more again and again...

One or our new traditions that Tiff came up with, was to bring "our favorite things" to sister's night. We each bought, made or came up with something to bring that we considered one of our favorite things...and gave one to everyone in the group. It's a little bit hard to do because we have a $3 per person limit so it doesn't get too expensive. That was SO MUCH FUN! This first picture below is of Brenda. She brought some dried apples that she had made, and a roll of very pretty scrapbook paper.

This one is of Karmen who had made handmade greeting and birthday cards, and her favorite candy bar, an Idaho spud!

These were some of the shirts we found at DownEast! What a find, Val! We were all excited about these... Notice "Charlie" in the background about to take a bit of Val's head.

Ok, since I'm computer challenged, I can't figure out how to make my pictures smaller. It will only let me put 5 pictures on per post so you'll have to go down to the next post to see the rest of the pics from sister's night.

Sisters Weekend Part 2

2008-10-21T08:58:00.003-06:00

Here is Jen with her cute baggie of goodies. She put in some dove chocolates, some breathe right nasal strips (totally funny!) and some cherry carmex. Jaden snores so I'm going to try the nasal strips out on him!

Here's Tiffany with her tootsie rolls, some shiny lipgloss and some lotion for our purses. She and Tracy were so funny because they kept 'apologizing like a Campbell' for being too practical in their goodie bags. SILLY! That was the fun part...seeing everyones different ideas. Plus I was totally out of lotion...

This is Tracy with her bottle of Calcium pills for all of us. The funny thing about this was that we all gasped in happiness about getting this! We small boned too-skinny Campbells are starved for strong bones and it was funny to see how excited we all were about these!

Nadja made the cutest witch hats that she painted up and decorated herself. We all squealed with excitement to get a cute Halloween decoration!

I had made up some wooden blocks and decorated them up for everyone there. The 'C' is for Campbell. Each sister there had the letter for her last name to display somewhere at their house (G for George, B for Beckett, R for Ross, H for Hansen, M for Memmott, P for Pope etc...).

We stayed up til just after 2am on Friday and then crashed. Saturday we had orange rolls for breakfast and then headed off to Salt Lake Temple for a lunch and a session. There is something special about being in the temple with your family. All the sweet little old temple ladies kept commenting on how we all looked alike and was amazed at how many sister's we had.

SISTER'S NIGHT ROCKS!

Goodbye Boys!

2008-10-07T08:12:00.002-06:00

Matt and Jaden took off for 6 days to go elk hunting. Look how cute they are in their camo! Matt's got an elk tag and isn't really a hunter....but he's going up to get away, relax and have some male bonding time. They're meeting Colton and one of his friends who left a day earlier. If anyone knows Matthew, this is OUT of his comfort zone to take some time just for him. It's not out of his comfort zone to go camping because he loves the outdoors, he just rarely gets out and does something he likes. So I'm EXTREMELY happy he's gone! I know how that must sound...

Anyway, Maddie and I are at home and doing whatever we want. We're finding ways to entertain ourselves with whatever tickles our fancy! And we're NOT cleaning the house....yet. We had my brother, Joel and his two kids here over the weekend, as well as Allie, Brooklyn and Kenna Ruud (Maddie's cousins). We put on lots of makeup and painted toenails! (Joel didn't!). Last night Maddie and I went and got a pizza then went to the theatre to see "Flyboys" which she just loved. Who knows what tonight will bring!!!

Jaden's 9th Birthday

2008-09-26T13:49:00.002-06:00

Jaden turned 9 on September 11th and yes, he still thinks the entire country celebrates with him by flying their flags outside! He turned 2 years old when our country was attacked and he actually remembers it!

Well, since he's really into football right now, he wanted a football themed birthday party. Let me just say this much about the cake: I'm terrible! For the life of me, I couldn't get the stupid white frosting to cooperate which is why you don't see numbers along the yard lines in the 'field'. I finally put a dumb little piece of football candy on it and called it good.

Here's some of the gang chowing down on pizza and soda pop.

The kids all got to make their own "jersey" used for the touch football game we played at the end.

They all loved this one for some reason. They got to pick a prize when they were able to throw the football through the tire. They sat and continued to throw it through long after all the prizes were gone!

Friends and cousins! What a great team!

Go Cowboys!!!! #11 rocks!

Uh-oh...a tag. Blast!

2008-09-16T17:36:00.002-06:00

Well if you know me at all, it's rather impossible for me to put one word to a question. I am changing the rules to this tag so that I can answer any way I want to because frankly, my dear...I gon't give a tag! (I'm so gay! Ok, I'll TRY to one word it here-)

1. Where is your cell phone?
Purse
2. Your significant other?
Matthew
3. Your hair? Will be getting colored tomorrow.
4. Your mother? Loves working at Walmart!
5. Your father? Bishop
6. Your favorite thing? Pristine (That's the name of my new car and I love her!)
7. Your dream last night? None.
8 Your favorite drink? Pepsi
9. Your dream/goal? To have a baby!
10. The room you’re in? Office
11. Your hobby? Scrapbooking
12. Your fear? Spiders, the dark, airplanes, cockroaches, dogs, that I won't ever have any more babies.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? not 36 years old
14. What you’re not? Pregnant
15. Muffins? Dry and gross.
16. One of your wish list items? To have a baby.
17. Where you grew up? Idaho and Utah
18. The last thing you did? Cut up chicken
19. What are you wearing? Jeans and a striped shirt
20. Favorite gadget? My crop-o-dile! Say goodbye to the inconvenience of eyelet setter tools!
21. Your pets? 3 kitties. Unless you count the butchered cow and pig in my freezer.
22. Your computer? Wonderful
23.Your mood? Ornery. It's just that certain time...
24. Missing someone? Joel and Kally
25.Your car? Pristine!
26. Something you’re not wearing? Shoes
27. Favorite store? Mall
28. Like someone? SARAH PALIN!
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today. Life is laughable
31. Last time you cried? Today. See question 23. Grrrr.

Ok, I now tag: TIFFANY, KALLY, VAL, NADJA, BRENDA, GUPPY!

My Nephi Campbell Family Reunion

2008-09-10T17:22:00.004-06:00

My Uncle Gary held a family reunion up in Hobble Creek Canyon in Utah County. It was so fun to be able to go. My Grandma and Grandpa Campbell are so dear to me and so time spent with them it a treasure. You never know how long you'll have them with you.
This first pic is of my with my Grandma Elaine and Grandpa Nephi Campbell. Next to that one is my Aunt Pam and Uncle Jim who are brother and sister to my dad. Below left is a picture of my Aunt Terri putting on Bingo for the kids and the last one is of my cousin Steve and his girlfriend, Katie.

Here we have my Papa giving his dad a hello kiss. My parents came up from St. George for the day and turned around and had to be home for church the next day (My dad is Bishop of the singles ward down there and couldn't miss his meetings). The next photo is of my cousin Shaunee's family with her husband and 8 kids! Below left is my cousin Erika and her two kids, Mackenzie and Cameron and last is a pic of my cousin Katrina and her son, Travis.

OK here it might get a little tricky. Perhaps one of my dear cousins will help me fill in those faces I can't remember. This first pic is of my cousin, Shane and his wife Tina (Thanks, Traci!). Next to that is my cousin Travis and his wife, Jessica. Below left is my cousin Dustin and his wife, Laura and the last pic is of my SILLY Uncle Gary and my sweet Aunt Terri.

OK, this first pic is of my cousin Rachel and her two sons, Jake and Sterling. Next to that is my cousin Brandon and his fiance________. Below left is my cousin Stacie and her husband Jeff and their two kids and last is my sweet Grandma Campbell.

All in all it was a fun day to spend with my relatives that I don't always get to see all that often. Love you all!

Football,Braces and School OH MY!!!!!

2008-08-17T17:23:00.005-06:00

Well, here he is! Mr. Football himself! Jaden started his first year of football and is loving every minute of it. As a Mother, I can't get over how seriously CUTE these little guys are in their mini uniforms. They practice four times a week and games begin this weekend. Go Cowboys!!!!

This past Wednesday, Maddie got her braces put on. A whole week before school begins. Look how pretty she makes them look! She is getting used to talking funny and using up all her wax because gosh darn it....they hurt!

As long as I'm posting something...................Well I thought I'd be smart and put pictures of the kids on the first day of school....although it doesn't start for a few more days. I thought, "well heck, while I'm at it- I'll add a first day of school post!" See.......this saves me having to post something else for a while. So I made the kids get dressed up in the outfit of their choice and pose for me.

Maddie will be starting Jr. High and going into the 7th grade.
Jaden is starting the third grade this year.

Joe's Valley

2008-08-02T00:50:00.005-06:00

This past week we took off for four days to a place called Joe's Valley. We went with my sister and brother in law who own a cabin down there and lot's of water toys. We had such a blast and we want to go back every year!

Ok for everyone out there who know's me, I'm a real wussy baby when it comes to water. I actually went out on a jetski all by myself! I made sure someone snapped a picture for proof.

Here is a picture of Maddie, Jaden and their cousin Jordan on the big tube. Maddie is much like me in that she prefers the beach rather than all the water toys...but she did try the tube! Jaden however, wants to try it all. He's very brave!

Here is Megan giving her best shot at surfing on the lake. She actually had great balance!

Matt spent most of his time up there fishing. He caught several fish and we even cooked some while we were up there. MMMM they were so good!

Here is my baby! Jaden is only 8 years old and got up on waterski's! I was such a proud mother that he was able to do it! His cousin Cuyler sat with him very patiently and taught him just what to do. It took several tries but HE DID IT!

Campbell Family Reunion

2008-07-22T09:01:00.004-06:00

I want the whole world to know what a great family I have. We had our annual Campbell Family Reunion last week and for the first time in many years, we were all able to be there together. When you have a family of 14, it is difficult to all come together and we are so BLESSED that we were all able to do so. The family pictures were one of the best moments for me. There was a feeling of togetherness that I hope to hold on to forever.
A tribute to my family that I love and cherish! I love you! Pictured below in order: Front Row: Tawnja, Jennifer, Brenda, Tiffany, Jennifer, Mom, Tracy, Debbie, Valerie, Karmen
Back Row: Benjamin, Keith, Papa, Joel
Ok, wait.......if you've just read my sister, Tiff's comment, you've discovered that I can't even get my own family straight! Hilarious!!!! Go back and read Tiff's comment, and then you can look at people's faces and this time I'll match up their names CORRECTLY! ...........I hope............
Front Row: Tawnja, Jennifer, Brenda, Tiffany, Karmen, Mom, Tracy, Debbie, Valerie, Koriann
Back Row: Benjamin, Keith, Papa, Joel

Something, Anything!

2008-07-09T22:39:00.003-06:00

Well I've been getting a lot of trash from a few of my most beloved's because I've slacked on the whole blog thing. Sorry! It's summer and it's not slowing down. So I've decided to post a few random nothing's for you enjoyment. Here goes:

First, this is a picture of Matt's knee. He had some surgery on it about three weeks ago. It looks painful and digusting! He is such a trooper though and has such a high pain tolerance. He and I are total opposites. I cry at the sight of this picture.

This next picture is of Maddie right after she got some summer streaks put into her hair. They are actually a little bit purple but they look good...not nasty. Look at her blue eyes! Ok, that's mostly due to picassa but it's still a very perty shot!

Here's Jaden trying his darndest to pull out this loose tooth. This tooth has been loose for quite sometime and he's very irritated with it. He finally tied some floss to it and to the bathroom door. Well, the floss broke and his tooth is still holding on. Blast!

Here's me reading the Twilight Series for the second time before Breaking Dawn comes out. I wanted to be fresh up on it so I'm good and ready when the fourth book comes out next month.

Hope you are all satisfied! .........At least it's something posted.....................

Girls night out...on Friday the 13th. Bravery!

2008-06-14T00:04:00.004-06:00

Matt took Jaden and Colton fishing and camping overnight so me, Amber and Maddie took off to the mall. Below is a picture of Amber and Maddie trying on some knee-lenth Converses. We didn't buy them because they were a little pricey but it was fun to check them out anyway. I think they raised the prices on account of the holiday (Friday the 13th...........oooooooh!)

We went to a store that specialized in Prom dresses. The ladies at the desk were very ornery with us. It was fun trying on dresses though, until the hags informed us that they were closing up shop and we needed to leave. They didn't even bother ASKING nice!
It must be Friday the 13th or something!

We found this sign which is appropriate for Amber because she turns 16 in four days!
Well, after the mall, we stopped by the airport and watched the planes come in. We went behind some secured gate that we didn't know if we were supposed to go in or not. We were feeling brave because of the holiday and all.....so we decided to trespass. There's no way to appropriately explain to someone how invigorating it is to be so close to the planes as they are coming in for their landing. You are seriously just yards below them! The sound is so loud too! Anyway, it got dark fast so we decided to leave. That's when I became superstitous because all of the sudden, we found ourselves locked INSIDE the security barbed wire fences at the airport! Yikes! But luckily Amber had her phone on her (I left mine in the car...blast the bad luck!) and we called airport security and they unlocked it for us. Fright!

Aiden's baby blessing

2008-06-09T08:33:00.005-06:00

I'm a week late on this but it's still worth posting about. Matt was able to bless Aiden (our grandbaby boy) last week on fast Sunday. What a sweet baby he is and he didn't scream or holler during the blessing. Afterwards at the house we had a luncheon. Thanks everyone who came and supported Amber and Colton! This first picture is of Matthew and Aiden. Aiden is wearing the same blessing outfit that his dad, Colton wore at his blessing 17 years ago.

The proud parents, Colton and Amber.

Great Uncle Randall, Great Aunt Trisha and Great Grandma North.

Great Aunt Tiffany, Great Aunt Tracy and (?) second cousin (?) Braiden George (Tiff's baby).

Mindy Beckett,Havelah Allen, Seth Beckett, Tiff, Braiden and people in the background.

Jaden's Pinewood Derby

2008-06-06T15:22:00.006-06:00

Above is a picture of Dad and Jaden just before the Derby. Jaden wanted a lambourghini so he had Colton draw it up and then Dad was able to cut it out just right. Notice the big smile.

Here's Jaden at the derby. He wants me to let you all know why he's not smiling. His car kept on coming in third and fourth place and it was really frustrating him. I think he's too much like me in that he can be quite competitive at games. I was doing my best to get him to pose for me.....thus the very unenthusiastic thumbs up!

Doesn't he look great in his scout uniform?!

Tribute To Shania

2008-05-28T17:59:00.004-06:00

Ok so if anyone knows me, they know that I have a slight obsession with Shania Twain. I think she is the best entertainer, has the cutest attitude and a huge heart. I've seen her perform in Salt Lake City as well as in Jacksonville, Florida and she is awesome!

Well, I faithfully consult my People Magazine each week and to my HORROR this last issue stated Shania and her husband, Mutt Lange are separating due to Mutt's infidelity with a longtime (so-called) friend of Shania's. In fact, this "friend" has been managing their chateau in Switzerland (which is where I believe Mutt has been hiding my Princess). What a hag! Even so, has anyone ever gotten a good look at Mutt? There's no other words to describe him but an 'ugly mutt!'

There's no doubt in my mind Shania will recover from this fortunate (for her) mishap. Just a minor bump in the road for someone FEMININELY STRONG like Shania. I think it's high time she burst back into the scene with some new material.....aimed at her ignorant husband who doesn't know what he's just given up! I wonder whose bed Mutt's boots have been under ... cuz clearly, he is no longer any man of hers!

Our trip to the Dakota's

2008-05-24T08:57:00.003-06:00

One of the first stops we made was in Sturgis where they have the Black Hills Motorcycle Rally every year. Matt & I got some new head decor so we could feel tough and look like biker dudes.

We loved Mt. Rushmore! It is such beautiful country over there. There were a lot of wildlife around us and everything was green and beautiful! Jaden was dying to climb up the faces and find the city of treasure just like in the movie 'National Treasure 2'! I didn't have the heart to tell him it didn't exist.....

Above is a picture of me and two of my Sisters-in-law on the Brown side: Trisha and Brenda. We had so much fun in North Dakota where Brenda and her family live. We were able to be there for my nephew, Taylors graduation as well as my other nephew, Lucas' baptism. Brenda is the best hostess I've ever met! She is so organized and crafty and always has lot's of great food!

Above is a picture of the traveling gang. From left to right: Randall, Trisha, Hannah, Lindsey, Dad Brown, Lisa, Jaden, Matt, Maddie, Mom Brown, Kimmie and Deb. We are standing in front of Lake Pactola....somewhere in South Dakota. It is the prettiest lake I've ever seen with lush green foliage everywhere! Obviously my camera was on self-timer and I haven't cropped the pic yet....that's why we are crooked.

We also visited Flintstoneland in South Dakota. Here is Matt with Betty and Wilma. Yabba Dabba Doo!!!

On the way home, we stopped in Wyoming to see Independence Rock and Martin's Cove. Unfortunately we didn't have time to hike up to the Cove but we did get to tour the visitor's center where the kids got to try their hand and pulling handcarts. It was a very spiritual place and there was a lot to read about what many pioneers went through to try and make it to the Salt Lake Valley. Thanks ancestors!!!

Mother's Day

2008-05-13T10:11:00.003-06:00

I had such a nice Mother's Day on Sunday! Matt made me a dutch oven chicken and mushroom dinner and Maddie made me strawberry lemonade! This kind of celebration calls for the "nice" glasses! Afterwards, the kids cleaned up the kitchen while I went and relaxed. It was fabulous!

Ben's Graduated!

2008-05-05T10:27:00.005-06:00

My brother Ben just graduated from the University of Utah Pharmacy school. This is a picture of him and his sweet wife, Nadja at their graduation luncheon.
Hard work pays off, Ben!!!!! You're the best!
Here is Ben with his wife and seven of his sisters. We think you are number 1! Love ya, Ben!
From left to right: Tiffany, Nadja, Ben, Tawnja, Guppy, Jen, Deb, Tracy and Karmen in front.

Fun at the Reservoir

2008-05-05T10:15:00.003-06:00

Sunday afternoon we decided to have a family picnic up at the reservoir. It was nice to just sit back, relax and eat. It was nice having Colton, Amber and Aiden join us too. What we didn't eat, the seagulls did....they swarmed us!
This is a picture of Amber, Jaden and Maddie skipping rocks. Amber won out of everyone!
Of course Matthew had to keep "checking" the score on the Jazz game. Those blasted Lakers!
It was such a beautiful Sunny afternoon that we just loved being out in nature. Look at the beautiful mountains behind the truck. What a pretty shot for such a pretty afternoon.

Maddie and Briana

2008-05-03T20:59:00.002-06:00

We were Jumping on the tramp and having FUN, and it is SNOWING IN MAY ( Just Kidding we play around with the Picture)
Me and Briana Havin Fun We miss Brooklyn, Kenna ,mishy, and Allie

Blast from the Past....

2008-04-26T19:51:00.006-06:00

What television show or movie did you want to be in when you were little?
I wanted to be in Punky Brewster. Anyone remember that one? I could've made a way better friend than "Cherry". I also was a little annoyed at "SMURFS". I always loved Smurfette but I was inwardly jealous that she was blonde.
Most embarrassing moment your friends will never let die?
Hmmm.....well, I remember the time when I was trying to show off to a bunch of guys. We were at Wendy's and I was bringing my tray of food to the table where they were all sitting. Snobbishly, I said, "Can you all tell I used to be a waitress?" I said this holding my wrist and hand upright with my tray up over my head. Well, I turned to place it sweetly at the table when it just flew! I draped them all in root beer and french fries.
Another time when I was in middle school, I decided to wear boxer shorts with tights. But I wanted one leg red and one leg white so I proceeded to put on two separate pairs of tights on. I had nowhere to hide the two leftover dangling legs so I tied them together and shoved them in the 'nether region' area. I didn't plan on getting depansed (sp?) that day BUT I DID!!!! That must've looked odd...............
Your proudest moment or accomplishment from high school?
I went through beauty school at the same time I was going to high school. I would go to four classes a day, then leave on work release. I graduated beauty school one week before high school graduation.
One other proud moment worth mentioning here.............I drove a small volkswagon fox to school and our school was huge. I was never an early bird in getting to school so normally I would have to park about four miles out there, then walk briskly to the building, then half run to make it to first period on time. Well, it wasn't long before I realized that there was a 'hidden' parking space just in between the two portables right outside the school building. It was only large enough for a very compact vehicle -as mine was- so I would squeeze right in! This saved me an average of 18 precious minutes of sleep per weekday! ...........Like I said- worth mentioning!
What adult did you have a crush on?
My high school friends will surely laugh at me for this one: Brother Chidester! He was my seminary teacher and he was cute. I also liked Mr. Cowan in drivers ed.
What habit or personality trait do you have of your mother or father that you swore you would never do?
Oh my gosh........crossword puzzles! I love them! That one would definitely be from my mother. From my father..........I totally got his flash of lightning temper. It comes out of nowhere. It's like -BOOM! You're in a crazy angry mood and you've done something stupid you have to apologize for. But I also think I got great driving skiils and my ability to chit chat on and on from my Papa, too so that cancels out the rage.
What did you want to change your name to when you were little?
I loved the name Stacy..................must have gotten that from my cousin on my dads side. Love her!
Who was your first kiss?
A boy named Bobby Paxman. I was working at Hometown Buffet in Sandy and we had quite a crew there. I was in love with all the boys at one time or another, I think. Anyway, there was this kid named Bobby P. who needed a ride home once. So I gave him one and he thanked me with a liplock! The pervert!
What are 3 adjectives that someone from high school or middle school would use to describe you?
Outgoing, Spunky, Gay (as in HAPPY!).
What hairstyle, clothes, or other accessories did you rock back in the day when it was cool?
Clothes? I would have to probably say Girbaud Jeans, and Z Cavarricci's and maybe even Tommy Hilfiger's? I guess I wasn't all that hip because quite frankly, I don't remember.
As for hair............the bigger the better. And coloring it was even better. I was many colors before that was considered gothic. I even had a braid in the back of my hair that was bright blue, purple and pink. Very pretty!
Oh, and I think I made banana clips look good.
What job did you want to do when you 'grew up'?
To be a beautician or be in the movies. I kind of like the spotlight.
What made you laugh harder than you have ever laughed before?
Well if you read my sister, Val's blog.....she hit it right on the nose! Getting behind a shopping cart that's just sitting out in a vacant parking lot, beckons me. Seriously....you HAVE to try it. All you have to do is line your car up right behind the cart, as if you're about to push it. Then, slowly accelerate as you aim the cart towards a curb. The closer to the curb you get, the faster you get going. Then you jerk to a stop just before the curb and you watch the cart go flying! It will do flips in the air that you can't imagine! Ok, I better calm down. I'm laughing just thinking about it.
A close second is bouncing pumpkins. This one is maneuvered by taking large pumpkins at halloween time (preferably not ones stolen from someone's front porch). Go find a steep hill. At the top of the hill, carefully place the pumpkin on the hood of your vehicle. Get back in the car and hit the gas. Go for about 5 full seconds as fast as you can. Then hit the brakes equally as sudden. Here comes the hilarious part. You will see FLYING pumpkins! The bounce really high as they roll down the hill......down, down, down!
I'm immature.
Favorite memories of hanging out with your best friends?
Way too many to mention. Heather, we'd always end up peeing our pants somehow. Particularly the time(s) we went to Emo's grave in the Salt Lake Cemetery. Man we are funny when we get together!.....we seem to think so anyway.
Heidi- we'd sluff school and go up to Alta and find boys.
Amanda- we had a killer time in foods class. Or driving from Florida to Utah, making a special trip to find Reba McIntyre's house in Nashville.
Ellen and Kim- I'd have to say the time when they pretended to be an intruder when I was babysitting at Oldroyds. It was late at night and I was upstairs on the phone crying to my dad all the while hiding Stephanie and Courtney under the bed. I can still remember your voices, "Get all the jewelry!".
What's the most trouble you have ever gotten in with your parents?
Well, I think I was sometimes pretty snotty as a teenager, but I'm sure I was equally princesstic. I'm making up words here. Anyway, I was never bad really, so I didn't think I deserved punishment. Take for instance, the time when my friend Heidi B. and I snuck out of my bedroom window. When we tried sneaking back in later, my mother was waiting for me with quite the scolding. My defense you ask? Well, all we went to do is go visit Val when she was working at the Rainbo gas station or for the post office.........completely harmless.
What was your 5-year plan if you had to write it out in high school?
I probably would have wanted to work at Lake Powell (and did only it lasted a week because of a MURDER that happened next door) for a year. Then at a salon for the next year. Then I would have loved to travel lots of places and see lots of things. I like places and things! Mostly the beach.
And last but not least...What is your 5 year plan now?
Mostly I'd like to have another baby. Jaden is going to be nine this year and I have a deep desire to have another child. It hasn't happened these past three years and I think I'm coming to a point to where I must find a way to be ok without.
Another five year plan..........this one is petty: To find a way to get great legs like my sister, Tracy. Mine are way too skinny. I just want sculpted, shapely legs!

I'm a Granny!!!!!!!!

2008-04-16T20:53:00.004-06:00

Well, these are the first of possibly many pictures of Aiden Joshua Brown. Colton's baby came Tuesday, April 15th, at 12:59am. He weighed in at 7lb. 3 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. Amber was a trooper and wanted me in the room with her, as well as Colton and Amber's mom, so I got to see Aiden's entrance into this world. He came out with a smooshed up nose that will even out eventually and reddish-blonde hair. He is a beautiful baby. Never thought I'd be a granny at age 30!

The Grad

2008-04-11T21:40:00.007-06:00

Well we are heaving a great sigh of relief! Colton finished his 11th and 12th grade work and is now GRADUATED! We give a lot of credit to Colton as well as West Ridge Academy. The facility is great and they really did a lot for him while he was in the program. I'm DONE!

Here he is with Grandma North who has been so supportive in all that we do around our place. We sure do love her and wouldn't be able to do without her. Love you Grandma!
Below is a picture of Colton giving a hug to his counselor at West Ridge, John Ogden. John was so instrumental in Colton's development and achievement while Colton was in the program. We owe a lot to John for taking care of Colton for the last 8 months.
Grandma and Grandpa Brown were also present at graduation. They are such a support to us. Thanks for being there and for always being such a positive influence for Colton.
This is a picture of Colton with Sean Bradley (used to play for BYU) who works at West Ridge. Keep in mind here that Colton is no scrawny feller although in this picture, he looks it...Colton is actually over 6 feet tall. WOAH!

FFA King!

2008-04-08T18:25:00.004-06:00

Well..... here is yet another moment for me to DOTE on family. Yes, this is my nephew, Andrew (Tracy's son, just older than Mindy.....see her post below) who is also accomplishing so much right now. Andrew is Treasurer of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) at Grantsville High School and is in the 11th grade. He, too went to state - and took it- and is on his way to NATIONALS in Indianapolis, Indiana!

The second picture above was taken from the local newspaper here....It is of the Grantsville FFA Chapter, celebrating state and going to nationals. Andrew is on the far right.

Andrew also received a scholarship from Energy Solutions last year. I am amazed at the ambition of my nephew! Andrew, you rock and you will go far. Love ya!

2008-04-05T18:20:00.000-06:00

This is my Maddie! She's a beauty. Ever since I got my new camera for Christmas, I've done nothing but make my family pose for me!

FBLA Queen!

2008-04-03T21:26:00.008-06:00

Ok, so this is my neice whom I totally adore............Always have and always will! Let me brag for a minute. Last week Mindy calls me up to let me know she received a scholarship from Energy Solutions. This chick is smart and works hard at everything she does! She really deserved this scholarship...and she's only 15 years old. She's always been involved in school and sports and class offices etc. The best thing about her is that she's is a friend to everyone and always includes others.

Well, I just learned tonight that she went to state finals with the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)-----and took state!!!! In June she gets to go to NATIONALS in Atlanta Georgia. Go Mindy! One more cool thing about all of this is that my sister Tracy, (Mindy's mom) took NATIONALS in when she was in high school. Love you Shoobie!

We Love Easter!

2008-03-27T19:28:00.003-06:00

We had a fun time at Grandma and Grandpa Brown's house on Sunday. The best part wasn't hunting for eggs, the best part was watching my husband Matt try and hula hoop!

Fun in St. George

2008-03-21T14:47:00.011-06:00

The kids and I took off to St. George for a while. It was so fun visiting Mom and Papa, Joel and Kally, Val and Kory and all their kids. Maddie, Jaden and I went nuts over Karissa, Emmy, Gavin, Kalven, Kody and Julia. We can't wait to get back there and play!
Jaden was happy that Grandpa Campbell has glasses just like him.
Maddie was such a helper with her cousins and they love her to death.
I found my favorite store in the Red Cliffs Mall!
Oh, and Matt sent me some beautiful purple roses while I was down there. I was missed and loved!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-18T17:02:00.001-06:00

Give me credit.........I'm trying!

2008-03-18T15:45:00.002-06:00

Well, here is my attempt at blogging. After staving off everyone's queries as to whether I was 'to blog' or 'not to blog'..............I stave no more!
Thanks in part (OK, wholly) to my sister, Tiff for being patient with me and helping me through this difficult and tragic experience. I am seriously a computer retard so I apologize in advance if my layouts and such are dull and not to your liking!
With that being said, I'm glad to finally join you all and leave behind the gay world of myspace!
Now, if I can only figure out how to add a guestbook or something exciting.........