A Birthday!!

Yesterday my baby girl turned 1!!! Wow, this year went fast! We didn't do anything big or extravagant because Travis had to work, so we just had cake and let her open up a couple of presents. We will definitely need to step it up a bit in the years to come so that she feels like she has a special day (being so close to Christmas and all!)

Chloee's signiature scowl!! Do you think she is going to have an attitude when she is older? She is actually usually pretty happy, but she definitely knows how to scowl!

Just one candle!

Mmmmm.....Yummy chocolate cake!!

I love this one!! Parker and Chloee shoveling it in!! Chloee's face is priceless!

I took this picture in front of my mom's Christmas tree, but it turned out to be a pretty good one-year-old picture!!

My kids looked aDoRabLe at church on Sunday (I am just a little biased!!) So I wanted to get some cute pictures of them together...BUT.....Parker wasn't cooperating, so this is the only one I got. Not the best I know!!

Happy Birthday my sweet SWEET Chloee!! I love you!!

Some Thoughts

I have a lot on my mind right now, and just need to write it down, so sorry if I don't make sense!! I like to have a plan, and be in control. I get anxious when I don't know what's going on, or don't have a plan. Unfortunately it is impossible to ALWAYS be in control of my situation, which trips me up a lot! I make plans in my mind for how my life is going to go and sometimes forget that the Lord has the final say!

For example, children...I "knew" when I wanted to get pregnant and how far apart I wanted my kids, etc. BUT, the Lord knows better than me and our kids have came at the perfect time in our lives. If they would have come when I wanted them to, I wouldn't have been ready or it wouldn't have been the best time. So you'd think that I would remember this, but yet again I have made a plan for my life about kids, and haven't put my trust in the Lord that he knows best.

When we found out that Travis was getting deployed, one of my thoughts was when to have our next child, and I came to the conclusion that we needed to get pregnant again before he left so that there wouldn't be a big gap between Chloee and our next child. Well over the past couple of months I have let this affect me, and have stressed and worried about getting pregnant again, which has kind of negatively affected a lot of aspects of my life.

Well anyways, I am NOT pregnant, and so I have decided to make some changes that will hopefully make me happier now and in the future as we keep trying to get pregnant. I realized today that maybe we aren't meant to get pregnant before Travis leaves, and maybe we are meant to have a big gap between our kids, and THAT'S OK!!! OR maybe I WILL get pregnant in the coming months and that will be OK too!!

I can't decide when I get pregnant, I can only do my part (which is the fun part I might add!!) and put my trust in the Lord that he knows best and that what is meant to be will happen. I am glad that I had this realization again today, it wasn't anything new, but it was nice to be reminded to have faith in the Lord. He loves us all so much, and knows what we need, and that is SO wonderful!

Harry Potter

A couple of nights ago Travis and I went to see Harry Potter in the theaters. It was really good, and left us wanting to see Part 2 really badly!! I have enjoyed watching all of the Harry Potter movies, but have never read the books. Travis on the other hand has read all of them, and has mentioned several times to me that I needed to read them. So once again as we left the theater he told me that I really needed to read the books, and this time I decided that I would!! I just finished the first book today, and will most likely start the second one tonight!! I will most likly have them finished by the New Year!! I have a tendancy to be a little bit of an adict when I get reading a good book(s)!!

My List

I haven't taken the time to write down the things that I am thankful for this year, so I thought that I had better get it documented. (I have thought about it a lot though!!)

1. Travis--He is my everything, and I would really be lost without him. He is my very best friend!! I am so grateful for his willingness to work hard to support our family, and for his unconditional love for me. I am also so thankful that he is such an amazing father, our kids are truely blessed to have him for their daddy!

2. Our Kids--Some days I want to pull my hair out! But our kids are great!! I love having the opportunity to be their mother, and to watch them grow and learn new things. They make me so happy (most of the time!!)

3. The Gospel--Where would I be without the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, and all the many blessings that come with the gospel? I wouldn't even want to know. I am so grateful to know that no matter what I do, and how much I feel like I have failed, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me!

4. Living close to family--I loved living in Florida, but it is such a blessing to be near our family. My mom is a lifesaver and is one of my best friends. She helps us with the kids so much, and our kids adore her and my dad. Also Travis' grandma, she is such a wonderful person. I consider her my own grandma, and love that we have such a good relationship with her. Family is such a huge blessing!

5. Our little house--It is cute and cozy and keeps us warm. I am grateful that we have a place that we can call home (even if it is just a rental for now) I am also grateful to have such amazing landlords!! They make renting great!

6. My minivan!!--I know, I know its not anything too fancy, but to me it is beautiful and luxurious!! It is great to have a reliable vehicle, and one that is roomy and can fit our family comfortably.

7. Preschool--It gives me a break for a couple of hours twice a week, AND is helping Parker so much! He has become quite the little singer, and loves to sing his school songs. I am grateful that he has such wonderful teachers, and such a wonderful bus driver!!

8. My Talents--Sometimes I have a tendancy to hide them, but I am working on not doing so, and have enjoyed improving and learning new things!

9. Our Portable Dishwasher--It's a life saver!! Living without a dishwasher is NO FUN! So I am grateful that I don't have to!

10. My Calling at Church--I get to work with the young women, and I am loving it so far. I am having to get out of my comfort zone a bit, but I am learning a lot, and love our girls! They are wonderful!

All in all, I am a very blessed girl! I just need to always remember that, and work on living life with an attitude of gratitude!

Yay! for Travis!!

On Wednesday Travis went and took the AFAST test. It is the test that military people have to pass to get into flight school. Anyways he passed!! Woohoo!! He did really well, and is one step closer to becoming a Warrant Officer in the National Guard! Now he just has to get about a bazillion documents and letters put together!! Hopefully when he gets back from Iraq he will be able to start flight school shortly thereafter! Just wanted to share our good news!

I Have a Confession...

Here's my confession...I HATE to fold and put away the laundry, and usually wait until it looks like this to tackle the task.
(These are REALLY embarrassing pictures!)



I don't know what it is about this chore, but I despise it! It drives me crazy to have a mountain of laundry to put away though, so you'd think that I wouldn't let it pile up like that. Anyways I have decided to really focus on getting the laundry put away as I wash it so that I don't have it ALWaYs looming in the background haunting me!


(Two hours later, and I have my beautiful bed back! P.S. I did have a few distractions, so it probably didn't really take two full hours!)


Hopefully I will do better at one of my least favorite chores! What are your least favorite chores?

Let's Give 'em Somthin' to Talk About....

This song has been in my head for a couple of days, so I thought it would be an appropriate title for this post. Except we aren't going to be talking about Love!! It is about MY love though!! We found out a little while ago that Travis will be getting deployed next year to Iraq. We've had our fair share of emotions about it, but shock wasn't really one of them. I knew when he joined that there was a good chance that he would have to be deployed at some point, he did join the military during a war after all!! But I think that I have come to a point of peace about it. It will be hard, but we will make it through. I just have to remind myself that I made it through his basic training, so I will make it through this too!!

So sometime in June he will go to Idaho for 3 weeks for some training, then he will be back here for three weeks. Then he will go to Ft. Hood, Texas for more training for a few months, and then in December of 2011 he will head to Iraq. He will be there until September of 2012. So it will be long, but it's ok.

I have faith that he will make it through his deployment safely and that we will all be together as a family again in 2012, but being apart is definitely going to be difficult. I am so grateful for him and for his love for me. He is an amazing guy and I love him so much. I am also SO thankful for the gospel and especially for the sealing power of the Priesthood. It gives me comfort that even if something happens to shorten our time here on this earth, that it is not the end. We will be together for all eternity.

So, there you have it...that is the latest BIG news in our family.

Fun in the Fall Sun!

Wheel barrow style! A couple of weeks ago we were out working in the yard, and when we finished up the kiddos got to go for a ride in the wheel barrow!! They thought it was so much fun!! Here are some cute pics of my love, and our sweet kids!


What a stud!! The kids are cute too!!




Don't ya love Parker's cheesers!!

Peek-A-Boo...

...I see you!!!


Chloee's latest "trick"!!

Halloween 2010

We had a pretty fun Halloween this year. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Chloee was not teething with a fever/throwing up, and miserable all week!! But other that that we had a good time. On Tuesday for Family Home Evening(Travis worked Monday!) we decided to carve pumpkins. It was a blast! Chloee loved the goo, and Parker wanted ears on his pumpkin!






On Friday night we went to our friends, Betsy & Clint's house for a Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. We had yummy food, and played a fun game. Travis dressed up as a ghostbuster, I went as "Bo Peep"(I don't know if anyone even knew that that was what I was going for, we left my cute little sheep home!) and Parker dressed up as Woody. I intended to take pictures, but failed to do so!!



Then Saturday night we took the kids trick-or-treating. Parker loved it!! This is the first year that he actually said "trick-or-treat"!! Chloee just enjoyed being outside, being carried the whole way as we walked from house to house. We didn't stay out too long, but got a pretty good load of goods!!





Eliza the nerd!

Cooking and Yummy Treats

Let me just say, Travis is an excellent cook!! He lived with his dad growing up, and if he wanted to eat something besides cream of mushroom soup or frozen burritos, then he had to make it himself. So, needless to say he started cooking when he was quite young (like 8 or something!) Due to his years of experience, he is just a natural in the kitchen. Half of the time he doesn't even follow a recipe, he just whips up yummy yummy things on his own. AND....he likes to cook!!

Now, lets talk about me...
My mom taught us how to make cookies and things growing up, and when we were older we had a night that we were in charge of fixing dinner. So, when Travis and I got married, I was confident enough that I would be able to feed my new little family. I knew that I was by no means a chef, but I was adequate. And I did enjoy cooking.

Well, in the 5 years that we have been married, the majority of the time I wimped out and just let Travis cook. I cooked here and there, but Travis was the real "cook" of the house. I fought with feelings of inadequacy, but also just knew that if I wasn't in the mood, that he would take care of it. He is incredible!!

The past couple of weeks I have decided to "step up to the plate" and start being the one to cook the majority of the time. With things that I feel unsure about cooking or that Travis could do WAY better, I just have him teach me. And, it has been great!! I have really enjoyed it, and have felt like I have more worth as a wife and mother.

So, now to the "yummy treats" part of the title, fall is definitely in full swing around here, and with it has brought the desire to make yummy treats. I heard a friend talking about how good her caramel apples turned out, and decided that that would be a fun treat to learn to make. So I did!! And they turned out oh so good!



I also decided to make cake pops, which turned out pretty yummy as well!!!

An Early Christmas Present!

A couple of weeks ago, Travis and I were going to go for a drive for our date night. We didn't know where we were going to go, we were just going!! Well....

We ended up at the pet store in Tooele!! We went inside to look at the cute little animals. They had bunnies, guinie pigs, hamsters, birds, and some yucky snakes and things! They also had a couple of cool tortouses that just roamed around the store! They were aWeSoMe! Anyways, we have talked about getting a guinea pig for the kids when they get older, so we paid special attention to them. We picked out our favorite one, and asked to hold it. And then......

I fell in LoVe!! He was soooo cute!!! Oh how I wanted to take him home right then!! But, we had to walk away. So sad. We got back in the car, and made it to Wal-mart, still thinking about that adorable little guinea pig! And that is when we decided to just go back and get the cute little guy!

So now we have a new member to the Brown family. His name is Gus!! And....the kids LOVE him!!!
Reasons I love Gus:

1. He is SO cute!
2. He stays in a cage which means no pet hair all over the house, AND no messes(if you know what I mean!)
3. He is quiet!
4. He is small, but not so small that he could get sucked up by a vacuum! (Travis' pet hamster got sucked up when he was a kid)
5. He doesn't bite!!
6. The kids LOVE him! I love to see them happy!

Well that pretty much sums it up!!
And now introducing Mr. Gus Brown....

It's Time

I don't know if anyone even reads my blog, but I am going to try to be better at updating it regularly. I know it is important to document things, so I am trying to improve in this area!! Anyways I have decided to make my blog private. So...If anyone wants to read my blog, leave a comment with your email address, and I will add you!!

My Baby's First Day of Preschool

Parker started preschool this year, and he loves it. He gets to ride the bus and everything!! (which he also loves!) His first day was a little emotional for me!! I wasn't even sure that he would ride the bus, but he did!! I helped him on, and got him buckled in, and he waved to me and said "bye"! As I watched the bus drive away, the emotions caught up with me!! My sweet baby boy is a big boy!


Waiting for the bus.


Playing while waiting.


Mommy is a little nervous and emotional!


All buckled and ready to go!!

Two Months Later (Almost)

Oh my!! It has already been almost two months since the last time I wrote anything. So, I am trying to remember what has happened since August 1st. Well....Travis is home!!!! Hooray for that!! It has been Great having him back, but it did take a bit to get adjusted and get back into some kind of routine. The hardest part for me has been dealing with wanting so badly to spend every minute of the day with Travis, but not being able to due to...

1. His job, more specifically the night shift. Yuck.

2. Kids! Not saying that I don't want family time, but they have a lot of needs that require our attention.

3. Life in general. Life is busy!

It is ImPoSsIbLe for us to spend every minute together, but oh how I wish!!!

I LOVE my very amazing (not to mention very hansome) soldier hubby!! And I am SO grateful that he is home with me and our kiddos!!

Here are a couple of pictures of us picking up Travis from the airport.


Waiting for daddy to arrive.


Yay! Daddy's home!


Getting reunited!!


A Sweet reunion.


A happy family.

Our 24th of July Fun!!

Since we missed out on the 4th of July festivities, I wanted to make sure that we had a really fun 24th of July!! So the night before we went and watched a pageant put on here in Grantsville about the pioneers. It was great!! My mom and little sister were in it and did a fabulous job. It was fun to watch them, but really made me wish that I was in it!! Maybe next year I will be!! The next morning (July 24th) we got up early and headed over to the Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake! It was awesome, like always!! I love that parade for some reason! Maybe its because I know that one of the members of the First Presidency will be in it, who knows! But anyways I just love it!! Parker and Chloee did really good too which made it all the better!! Here are a couple of pictures:

Look at my cute little pAtRiOtiC girl!!!



Look at that face! You can NOT deny that he is
aDoRabBle!!




Our SWEET kids!!






Parker and I eNjOyiNg the parade!





After the parade we went back home and had a yUmMy lunch and then just relaxed for a bit!! That evening the two stakes in Grantsville had a combined cookout and pioneer carnival. It was a lot of fun but was very HoT! As soon as we were finished there my sisters (Heidi & Ciara), the kids and I headed over to Salt Lake to brave the masses of people at Liberty Park for FiReWoRkS!! We parked a ways a way and then just walked so that we didn't have to fight the traffic....there were SO many people there!

Heidi and I watching the fireworks!! The fireworks were great! We set up our blanket in the middle of the street and sat and waited with eXciTeMeNt!!







Poor Parker...He was SO excited to watch the fireworks and waited and waited....only to fall asleep literally 2 minutes before they started!! Poor kid! It was just too late for him!

What a Whirlwind!!

Where did June go?? I'll tell you where...it went to Kentucky and then to California!! But that was just the last half of the month! The first half was spent in anticipation of June 17--the day I got to see Travis again!! So let me tell you about that trip first! Travis graduated from Basic Training on June 17th, so of course I had my tickets purchased well in advance!! But then we decided it would be best if I didn't travel alone, so we got my mom a ticket the week before. Because of the timing, we weren't able to get on the same flight, so we just met each other at the airport in Louisville, KY on the 16th. That evening we found our motel, and then ate dinner at Cracker Barrell (Yummy!!) We had a nice relaxing evening, other than the volcano of emotions that I had to deal with! I don't know if you've ever experienced the overwhelming feelings of excitement, anticipation, nervousness, pride, etc. all at once, that I felt that night, but let me just tell you, it was pretty intense!! I kept having little "eruptions" where my whole body would shake and I'd get the butterflies, and just have to squeal!! It was like I couldn't contain my emotions!!

Anyways, Thursday morning came, and it was finally the day I got to see my Baby Love!! My mom and I made sure that we got up early to get ready and leave with plenty of time so that we wouldn't be late! The graduation was scheduled to start at 9:30, but we were quite early!! So we got a seat and waited for a little while, then at about 9:00 we started to hear the sweet sound of a bunch of soldiers singing cadence!! That's when the tears came! He was close enough that I could hear him! The emotional eruptions were kind of constant at this point!! It was such an amazing sight to see all of the soldiers marching together in formation. What was frustrating was knowing that he was one of those soldiers, but not being able to tell which one he was!!

The actual graduation ceremony was good. I tried so hard to pick him out of the crowd, but I just couldn't find him. (Dang this bad eyesight of mine!!) Luckily after the ceremony, they all marched in front of the audience!! That is when I finally saw my sweet Travis! (Although it took me a few minutes to realize that it really was him--he looked so different!) Then we had to go wait in line to check them out for the day. That was torture, because they were standing right there only a few feet away, but I had to wait to get my arms around him. It was worth the wait though!! I love him so much!! He is my everything, so embracing him for the first time in 10 weeks was like heaven!! Here are some pictures:

The whole company in formation! (Alpha Company)


Travis' platoon! (1st Platoon)


There's my Baby Love!! Gotta love those glasses!! (BCGs aka. "Birth Control Glasses"!!)


Our first embrace--Heaven!!


We had a great day together! Travis showed us where he did some of his training, etc. We also went to the Patton Museum there at Fort Knox. There were a ton of tanks! It was pretty cool!

Look at how skinny my soldier is!! Outside the Patton Museum.


Such a handsom man!!


Saying goodbye again at the end of the day was not so much fun! It was really hard to leave, knowing that I wouldn't see him for another 9 weeks.

Here is our last picture of the day. This uniform looked like a tent on him because he has lost so much weight!


The next day Travis was off to Ft. Lee, VA, and we flew back home to Utah. It was a really quick trip, but it was amazing to be able to spend the day with Travis!

Here are a couple of random pictures from our trip:

Playing checkers on the porch of Cracker Barrell, just to say we did!


Our beautiful rental car! I LOVED this car!!!