Christmas 2011

From 2012-01-04 Christmas

I love Christmas! So many wonderful things to be do and share with family during this time of year. Most importantly though is the gift our Savior! During the hustle and bustle of this holiday, we always try and remember to stop and take the time to teach the boys the true meaning of Christmas and not let them forget.
This Christmas we spent here at home and all of my family came up. I think we had visitors staying at our house for a solid 2 weeks! We loved it!! We were busy, busy! With the Brown's you there is always shopping and food involved so we did lots of that. We did go to Temple Square one night but it was so cold that we only lasted about 10 minutes.
Christmas morning started 6 am and of course all presents were opened by 6:20 and that was even with having to wait and take turns. The boys were so excited and just ripped through them. It was so fun to watch and see their excitement. I think that is what brings Eric and I the most joy, is just watching to see how excited they are. Lots of legos were purchased and since Church did not start until 11 we were able to spend all morning getting them put together. Andrew had 3 sets each with over 500 pieces and so he was busy. Josh got a playhouse and some legos as well and is becoming quite good at following the directions and putting them together himself. Alex got an Ipod and legos. He got the Ipod cause he needs the distraction and it is so wonderful. He loves the song Dynamite!

Grammie and Poppa freezing with some of the grandkids!!

From 2012-01-04 Christmas

Alex thinking really hard about what he wants!

From 2012-01-04 Christmas

Josh excited for whats in the bag

From 2012-01-04 Christmas

What's Christmas without christmas cookies!!

From 2012-01-04 Christmas

All the grandkids in their christmas jammies!

From 2012-01-04 Christmas

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we spent the week in Las Vegas with Eric's family. We had so much fun. We we to Circus Circus, played football and soccer at the local park, swam and of course ate lots of good food while talking and laughing.
This year we also held a service auction. Everyone had to think of one service that they would be willing to give and then we bid for them. We had cinannom rolls, manicures, pedicures, sewing of a dress or costume of your choice, teaching how to do origami. All these items were bid on and it was neat to see how much fun everyone had the joy others got from receiving the service.
We love spending time with family!!

Alex turns 6

I can't believe this little man is 6!! Where has the time gone? He is full of spice and vinegar. He is full on boy and loves to do things in his own way and at his own pace. He is definitely his own person and we love him all the more for it. He keeps us on our toes. He loves to do anything that his brothers are doing and pretty much thinks he runs the house. Notice I said "thinks". He is home before his brothers from school so he thinks he has free reign of the house while mom works. He can't wait for the boys to get home so he can have someone to play with, although he is starting to play more and more with the other boys in the neighborhood.
He was so excited for this birthday and wanted to have like 10 parties!! The more presents the better. We sure do love you Alex and are so grateful for all the joy, love and laughter that you bring into our lives.

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

Can you see the mischievousness in his eyes? I love this smile of his!

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

Our summer

I have been slacking when it comes to blogging. I have had great intentions and then another days goes by and nothing happens. So here is a snapshot of our summer. We were busy! We spent the 4th of July with my family down in St George. We had so much fun, spending time with family and hiking and driving. We did lots of driving. We drove through Zion's National Park, Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon all in the space of 4 days. We were in the car a ton but it was beautiful and many memories were made. It is always fun to spend time with family. We all stayed in the same house together, that means 25 of us in one house! Don't worry each adult couple had their own room and there was huge basement full of bunkbeds. It was amazing.

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

No vacation is complete without a water balloon fight!!

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

We also got to spend time on Grammie and Poppa's boat. The boys loved fishing and catching crawdads. They caught some big ones this year! The big story on the boat this year was getting stuck out in the middle of the lake and waiting through a lightening storm. We were on our way in and it started raining and then we had some lightening and my dad looked at my mom and they knew we needed to get off the water. So we pulled over and climbed off. We sat on the shore and waited out the storm. Meanwhile we were getting soaked and were so cold. The boys were troopers though. We said a little prayer and asked Heavenly Father to keep us safe and for the storm to let up so that we could make it back to the dock. After about 10 more minutes it stopped and we were able to get back on the boat and head in to the dock.

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

From 2011-10-13 summer 2011

Moab

We all decided to go down to Moab with Eric while he ran in the Red Rock Relay. We were going to go hiking while he ran. The boys loved it! They could not get enough of all the hikes and they would have kept on hiking but I made them wait for Dad. So we went through Arches National Park on Saturday and then on Sunday we went to Little Wildhorse Canyon and Goblin Valley on Sunday. It was a great time and we are planning on going back later next month.

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

Eric's Running

So Eric has started running and he is doing awesome. He has lost a lot of weight and is looking so good! He ran in the Thanksgiving Point 1/2 marathon and did a great job. He then ran in the Red Rock Relay with two of my brothers and a few of their friends. He had so much fun. He is really into this running. He has just signed up for a triathlon and is now thinking about a full marathon. I say more power to him and I know he can do it!!

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

Andrew Turns 11

I can't believe that we have 11 year old. He has grown up so fast. Somedays I just wish I could slow down time so that they would stop growing. He loves Phineas and Ferb, playing on the computer, Legos, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter. For his birthday this year when we asked him what he wanted he gave us a list of all the Legos he wanted. Of course the most expensive one was over $400. So needless to say he did not get that one. So that is what he got for his birthday, legos, legos and more legos.
We love Andrew and his sweet spirit. He is so sensitive and kind. He still loves to hold my hand and cuddle with me. I hope he never grows out of that. He also knows what he wants and is very determined once he makes it up. I love that he can babysit for us and that he is playing with his brothers and teaching them how to play Little Big Planet.
Andrew, we are so proud of you and of the young man you are becoming. We hope that you continue to make the right choices and stay sweet and kind and loving. We love you so much.

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011

From 2011-05-16 May2011